Chapter 91

“Do you know me?”

I answered the man striding toward me with a question of my own.

“Who are you?”

Shouldn’t you at least introduce yourself before asking me that?

My bewilderment must have shown on my face, because the man slid his dark sunglasses down, revealing handsome features and a lightly tanned face.

“Park Jihoon.”

Park Jihoon? Well, it wasn’t as if I had only met one or two people over the years.

More importantly, he didn’t look familiar at all.

“I’m sorry, but I think you have me confused with someone else.”

“No, I’m sure it’s you. Didn’t you go to Garam Middle School?”

“Huh?”

That was the school I had attended. I’d moved away before graduating and lost touch with everyone there, but I still remembered it vividly.

“Right? Garam Middle School. And you’re twenty-seven this year.”

“Yes, that’s true, but…”

“I knew it! Jin Taekyung, third year, Class Six!”

He even remembered my year, class, and name when the first two were hazy even to me.

At that point, I couldn’t deny it. I asked the sunglasses-wearing man, who was grinning from ear to ear,

“…You really know me?”

“I’m Jihoon. Park Jihoon! We played soccer together all the time in middle school! We were both terrible students, so our homeroom teacher was always calling us in and smacking us around. You don’t remember?”

Soccer? Getting smacked around by our homeroom teacher?

I opened my mouth, wondering if it could really be him.

“Park Jihwang?”

“That’s right, you punk. I’m Park Jihwang! Oh, right. You wouldn’t know I changed my name.”

“Of course I wouldn’t.”

I didn’t know Park Jihoon, but I knew Park Jihwang.

I never expected to run into an old middle school classmate here. A smile spread across my face.

“Wow, of all places. Some guy I’d never seen before came over acting like he knew me, so I was wondering what was going on.”

“You still should’ve recognized me. It’s not like we knew each other in kindergarten. It was only ten years ago.”

“Even if it had only been five years, I wouldn’t have recognized you. Your face has changed too much.”

“Has it? Ha-ha.”

There was no denying it. The scrawny kid with the dark complexion had turned into someone who could be called handsome wherever he went.

“You didn’t just get better-looking. You filled out, too.”

“Oh, good eye.”

“That’s basic.”

As I recalled, he had been about a head shorter than me. Now our eye levels were roughly the same.

“Damn, you really made it big.”

An unrecognizably changed face, a solid build, a pretty girlfriend, and a foreign car that looked like it would easily cost well over a hundred million won.¹

Jihwang—or rather, Jihoon—had changed a great deal in the ten years since I’d last seen him, and I knew why.

This guy’s a Hunter, too.

Now that my Qi Sense had reached a higher realm, I could assess people even without using the System.

I guess you could say I can feel his qi.

He was definitely a Hunter. He seemed about as strong as Im Changsoo, perhaps even stronger.

A friend I haven’t seen in ten years turns out to be a Hunter. How strange.

I could even use Qi Sense to read his Level, but I didn’t feel like going that far.

I had met an old friend in a place filled with memories. Right now, I was neither a Hunter nor a martial artist.

I was just an ordinary Jin Taekyung.

“Anyway, it’s really good to see you. You know I was really upset when we lost touch right after you transferred, right?”

“Were you? Things were pretty chaotic back then.”

I had been sixteen, right in the middle of adolescence, and my father had just died. My head had been a mess.

Once I entered high school, I devoted myself to training so I could attend a physical education college. Naturally, I lost touch with all my old friends.

“Ah, right. Things were like that back then. I’m sorry.”

Maybe he thought he had made a mistake, because Jihwang’s—or Jihoon’s—smile turned awkward.

“What are you apologizing for? It’s my fault for not getting in touch sooner. Do you still live around here?”

“My whole family lives in Seoul now. My girlfriend and I were on our way back from a trip, and I stopped by because this place came to mind.”

“Wow. What a triumphant return.”

“Don’t make it sound so embarrassing. I still have a long way to go before I can call myself successful.”

“You’ve already succeeded plenty. What more could you want?”

We kept talking and laughing. Most of our conversation was about memories from middle school, but that alone made for an enjoyable time.

A considerable amount of time passed before Jihoon’s girlfriend subtly hinted that her legs were hurting.

“Oppa,² my legs hurt.”

“Hm? Then do you want to wait in the car? I’ll talk a little longer and be right there.”

“…Is that really what you should be saying?”

I had no intention whatsoever of interfering with my friend’s love life, so I took the hint and waved him off.

“No, let’s talk about the rest next time.”

“Next time? Didn’t you say something like that ten years ago, too? ‘I’ll contact you next time.’ Then you left and never contacted me once.”

Put that way, I had nothing to say. As I smacked my lips, Jihoon held out a business card.

“Forget it. Call this number right now.”

Myeongdong Guild, Team 1
Hunter Park Jihoon

Myeongdong Guild might not have ranked among Korea’s top ten Guilds, but it was easily in the top twenty. It was a major Guild.

And being in Team 1 meant he was recognized as an elite even there. He was good enough to transfer to any decent mid-sized Guild and easily land a Team Leader position.

I figured he was doing well, but this is more than I expected.

Hiding my surprise, I called the number on the card.

Bzzzz.

Jihoon checked his smartphone and grinned.

“I’ll call you. We have to grab a drink sometime.”

“We’ll see. If I’m busy, I can’t make it. If I’m free, I’ll come.”

“What kind of answer is that? You came up at the last class reunion. People were asking what you were up to.”

“They talked about me?”

“Why do you sound so surprised? You were popular with the other kids.”

“Was I? I spent all day on the field, so I guess I was friendly with the boys, at least.”

“You were popular with the girls, too. A few of them had crushes on you. You seriously never noticed?”

“…Really?”

“Everyone in the class knew. Why were you the only one who didn’t?”

Damn. They should’ve told me sooner… No, wait.

Not that it mattered now that I had Ms. Songi. I was a one-woman man. Now that I’d met my destined partner, none of that mattered.

“We’re planning to get together soon, so come if I call you. You can see your fan club’s faces, too. Okay?”

“O-Okay.”

Yeah, I’m only going to see their faces. They’re just old classmates.

Jihoon gave me a quiet laugh, then stopped as he was opening the driver’s-side door.

“It was good seeing you.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah.”

“See you again.”

Vroom.

As I watched the car disappear with the roar of its large engine, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

“Were we really that close?”

“You two really looked like childhood best friends.”

“Who? Oh, Taekyung?”

“Who else would I mean?”

“What’s with that tone? You didn’t like him?”

“Yeah. I didn’t want to say it because he’s your friend, Oppa,² but honestly, he was kind of off.”

“That’s strange. He was really popular when he was young.”

“Why?”

“Plenty of reasons. He was tall, well-built, and great at sports. He was fairly handsome, too. His only problem was that he was completely oblivious when it came to romance.”

“Hmm. I didn’t care for him. Doesn’t he look too much like a complete unemployed bum? What does he do for a living?”

“Hmm. I forgot to ask. He dreamed of becoming a physical education teacher when he was young, so maybe he went into that field.”

“He’s a twenty-seven-year-old man, so… Is he still in college? Studying for an exam?”

“I don’t know either.”

“Maybe it’s because I’m dating you, but other men just don’t measure up. You’re handsome, sweet, and incredibly capable.”

“Even if it’s only lip service, it’s nice to hear.”

“It isn’t. You’re a hundred times better than that friend of yours who has nothing going for him but his looks.”

“Don’t say that. He’s a good guy.”

“You said you hadn’t seen him in ten years. He was even the one who cut off contact. Were you really such close friends that you’d still defend him?”

Park Jihoon smiled gently.

“No. Not at all.”

“What do you think?”

The real estate agent’s voice was thick with phlegm. He had chain-smoked for an hour while waiting for me, and his complexion looked awful.

“It’s nice.”

I wasn’t just being polite. The two-story detached house with a broad lawn was better than any house I had seen so far.

Four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a spacious living room.

It looked like something straight out of a fairy tale. I toured the house while half-listening to the real estate agent’s detailed explanations, then stepped out through the front gate.

“Listings like this are hard to find. The current owner has several buildings, but he’s putting this one up as a quick sale because he’s planning to put up another building in Incheon.”

“So what’s the market price?”

“Exactly what you saw online. 3.38 billion won.³”

It was still an amount that made me want to swear, but the house was worth every bit of it.

For my family’s safety, and because this place held special meaning for us.

“Please contact me.”

“Then…?”

“I’ll buy it.”

“Oh, you’ve made an excellent decision, Boss!”

I firmly clasped the hand he offered me.

“Since we’re on the subject, would it be all right if I took another look around the neighborhood?”

“…”

“I’m joking.”

Look at how hard he was squeezing my hand over one little joke.

“Have a safe trip home.”

“Thanks. Take care.”

I left the real estate office after putting down a ten-percent deposit. The owner and I had agreed to set a date soon and proceed with the formal purchase. Since he needed cash quickly, everything had been settled without delay.

I’ll have to put off moving for a while.

The new house was about an hour from where my family currently lived. Even after buying it, moving in right away would be difficult.

More importantly, Hayeon had her college entrance exam this year.

I would surprise them with the news immediately afterward.

I’ll need to remodel the place, too.

I intended to make it as similar as possible to our old home. It had happened a very long time ago, but perhaps because we had lived there for sixteen years, I remembered the layout perfectly.

I’ll sign the formal contract and find an interior contractor… What else is there?

I knew how to thrust a spear inside a Gate, but I was a complete novice when it came to any of this. I had no idea where to begin.

I was turning into a dark alley while thinking about this and that when—

Hm?

The back of my neck prickled. My fine hairs stood on end, and the air seemed to shift.

I sensed someone secretly watching me from behind.

Open Inventory. Summon.

I spun around like lightning, a dagger already in my grip. But…

Meow.

“What? A cat?”

Meow.

A mottled cat jumped down from the wall.

It glanced at me, then slowly wandered away.

Did I overreact?

My senses had become more acute as they improved. Normally, I would have grown accustomed to them gradually as I developed, but I was progressing too quickly for any adjustment period to matter.

No. Something felt strange this time.

I belatedly raised my Qi Sense, but there was nothing in the deserted alley.

Beep.

System

There are no targets for Qi Sense to detect.

If the System said there was nothing, then there was nothing. I must have been especially tired lately.

“Ah, now I suddenly have a craving for samgyetang.⁴”

Since I had thought of it, maybe I should go out to eat with the whole family.

The thought of tender chicken and piping-hot broth put a spring in my step.

In a dark, cramped room, a young man deep in meditation snapped his eyes open.

“Gasp!”

His hair stuck out in every direction, soaked with sweat, and his breathing was ragged. He hurriedly gulped bottled water, then let out a relieved sigh.

“Fuck, that scared me.”

Everything had gone smoothly. In fact, it had been downright boring.

The investigation target happened to be on vacation, and his movements were predictable. Home, convenience store, home. Today, he had traveled as far as an hour away, but tracking him had still been no trouble.

But then…

“What the fuck was that? Why did that bastard suddenly turn around and start pulling that shit?”

The moment he saw that sharp gaze, his heart had dropped. If he had not hurriedly severed the Link with the cat, he might really have been discovered.

“He didn’t know, did he?”

The target was only a C-rank Hunter. Compared to the people he had investigated before, the man was far beneath them.

There’s no way. Who do you think I am?

Hong Woojin, a B-rank mage and information broker, shook his head.

He was a master of tracking and surveillance magic. He couldn’t cast flashy offensive spells, but in this particular field, he prided himself on being the best.

“That’s right. There’s no way. It was just a coincidence. A coincidence.”

Hong Woojin muttered the words like a mantra. Anxiety lingered in his voice.