Chapter 17: An Apology on the Grill (2)
Beyond the speaker, Jeong Ha-seong’s neat voice resonated.
– “Since the mobile phone camera is broken, video calls are difficult.”
Well, if it’s difficult, there’s nothing to be done about it.
I signaled Ahn Yoon-seung to go ahead and eat first and focused on the call.
“It’s okay. Forget what I said earlier. But the reason you reached out is…”
Jeong Ha-seong must know the whole truth and probably sees me covering for Kang Chang-ho as a thorn in his side.
I was contemplating how to sincerely express my apologies when he spoke up.
– “I have a question about what happened yesterday. Did you really knock me out?”
The nuance of his tone felt strange.
– “To be honest, my consciousness blacked out so suddenly that I don’t remember what happened before or after.”
Oh hell.
– “I suspect it was Hunter Kang Chang-ho’s doing, but I’m not sure.”
A cold sweat started to form as I listened to his words.
After listening closely…
Jeong Ha-seong remembers feeling a prick in the back of his head and turning around.
The problem is that the scene he saw when he turned was Kang Chang-ho wiping his mouth and glancing sideways at him.
And the expression of some other Hunter who showed no change, even after such an incident happened.
‘Hey, you bastard! This isn’t right!’
This S-Class is in a situation of memory confusion.
And with all this, there’s some ridiculous report coming out, and he’s contacted me to confirm.
‘Oh, this is bad.’
My predictions went totally off the mark, making my hands tremble.
Arguing with someone who knows the whole story and lying to someone confused about their memory are two very different things.
‘If this continues, he’ll really think I attacked him.’
Should I just be honest with Jeong Ha-seong? Say I was threatened?
But I hesitated to speak.
‘What do I trust in this guy?’
I looked it up afterwards.
The reason Jeong Ha-seong is called a national hero isn’t because he’s particularly righteous; it’s simply because he has an overwhelming number of Gate closures.
‘They say he’s an Earthling who hardly cares about anything other than Gate raids, even being called a Dungeon-crawling machine.’
But would this workaholic really take the time to protect someone like me, an F-Class?
Could he even defeat Kang Chang-ho in the first place?
“…”
A storm raged in my mind.
After a moment of contemplation, I managed to open my mouth.
“I did knock you out.”
Life is…
Sometimes avoiding one madman can be better than meeting a benefactor.
“I’m really sorry, Ha-seong.”
But Jeong Ha-seong wouldn’t kill a person, right?
“But please, just listen to my story for a moment!”
After sincerely apologizing, I quickly followed up with an explanation faster than light.
“I didn’t do it with any bad intentions. It’s a long story, but you were sacrificing your blood for me, right? Yeah?”
-…
“But as I looked on, the situation showed no signs of ending. Your face went pale. I thought you’d die.”
This was a prepared excuse I had in mind for situations like this.
“I thought you were overdoing it, so I tried to intervene, and that’s how it ended up. I meant to take your place as a sacrifice while you were sleeping.”
This was a lie born out of a desire to avoid angering Jeong Ha-seong at all costs.
Who would get mad if I said it was all a choice for your health?
– “Are you kidding me?”
Looks like he got mad.
– “You knocked someone out against their will? This is something that could have been resolved through conversation.”
“Well, that’s— I was worried I couldn’t convince you in such a short time… um, because of the Monster Wave…”
To cover a lie, a bigger lie was needed.
I spewed out a new excuse and waited for his response. Unfortunately, Jeong Ha-seong’s anger only seemed to grow.
– “Did Kang Chang-ho silence you? What’s the problem? Money? Threats? How could an F-Class like you…”
Right. Even you must find it strange. But what can I do? My life is on the line.
“I really have nothing but apologies to offer.”
Just hold on until I regain my magic. After that, I’ll deal with Kang Chang-ho and reveal the truth.
“Ah, Jeong Ha-seong, I had something to give you as an apology.”
After finishing the explanation, I jumped straight to the compensation talk.
The bracelet from the Gate-clearing reward.
Inadvertently, I brought it up, and though I haven’t looked at it closely yet, it must be a magic tool for sure.
“I’d like to transfer the item. Where can we meet…?”
A heartfelt apology and proper compensation.
What could be a more perfect response? I acted as if I could go and hand him the bracelet any moment.
– “Don’t make me laugh.”
But the response that followed was cold.
– “You think you can smooth things over with just that trivial item? Your actions are pretty vile.”
“Excuse me?”
– “You knocked someone out in a Gate, and your ulterior motive is pretty clear. You were planning to sacrifice me to escape safely, weren’t you?”
“No, that’s not true.”
– “Speaking of which, Kang Chang-ho Hunter knew you. I’m starting to suspect you were in cahoots from the start.”
Sharp comments started pouring out.
I was flustered and spat out a one-dimensional rebuttal.
“That’s a misunderstanding.”
I completely misread an Earthling named Jeong Ha-seong.
Now it seemed this person was surprisingly easily provoked and not at all composed…
– “Are you really an F-Class hunter?”
Kinda scary.
At the cold tone of the other party, I suddenly gulped.
“No, it’s just that I have valid reasons…”
– “That’s enough. There’s no point in dwelling on the past.”
Jeong Ha-seong didn’t even give me a chance to explain.
– “I’ll be watching you from now on.”
Click.
With those words, the call ended. I stared blankly at my silent mobile phone before slowly putting it back in my pocket.
An extended silence followed.
“Sorry, the call took a long time? Don’t worry about it, just eat.”
But I couldn’t stay quiet forever.
I awkwardly offered food to Ahn Yoon-seung across from me.
“Yoon Seung-ah?”
However, his response was a bit strange.
Ahn Yoon-seung stood there, mouth agape, completely oblivious that the spoon in his hand had fallen, just staring at me.
“Ah! Yes. Uh, of course. Haha…”
He only seemed to snap back to reality after his name was called, hurriedly shoving food into his mouth.
‘Did he get a shock from yesterday too? Looks like he’s spaced out.’
Well, still, now’s not the time to care for another Earthling.
I picked up the chopsticks that had been neatly arranged again and fell into thought.
‘Hmm.’
If it’s delayed in regaining my magic, I might get hit by Jeong Ha-seong.
*
Meanwhile.
In a hospital owned by a large corporation.
Lying in the VIP ward, Jeong Ha-seong sets down the mobile phone that had just ended the call.
And he picks up an A4 sheet of paper placed on the bed.
It was a collection of articles that came out that morning.
“The guild has taken immediate action, and now all articles have been retracted. So, there’s no need to worry about…”.
Though the secretary beside him urged him not to read the comments.
Jeong Ha-seong ignored it and scanned the words on the paper.
[(Breaking News) Jeong Ha-seong ‘Unconscious’… “Not due to a monster.”]
[The recent large-scale disappearance incident was caused by an EX-Class Gate… (truncated) …The returned Jeong Ha-seong S-Class Hunter was transported to the hospital without regaining consciousness. A certain Hunter who came out with Jeong Ha-seong stated “there was friction during the Gate raid…”]
┕ So you got knocked out by a Hunter? Hahaha, they call him a national hero and top-tier, but he’s just a national embarrassment.
┕ Let’s not stray from the point. Honestly, Jeong Ha-seong shouldn’t be judged on his skills.
┕ Just looking at the photos with a mosaic is already— it looks ridiculous! Could it be that an illegal alien targeted our fine youth in Korea!
┕ Why does our country always hide the perpetrator’s face…?
┕ Wishing for the speedy recovery of Jeong Ha-seong Hunter.
The most famous Hunter in Korea.
Jeong Ha-seong.
He had never appeared disheveled in front of reporters until now.
To present himself perfectly to the public, he always hid any injuries and tidied his clothes before stepping into an interview.
But one day, Jeong Ha-seong came out of the Gate unable to maintain even that minimal decorum.
What’s more, the one who knocked him out was a Hunter he had never heard of.
Could there be any more shocking news than this?
If his standing were shaken, the country’s economy would also be affected.
This was to the extent that Jeong Ha-seong represented a hunter of an entire nation.
Thus, the guild and the government hurried to control the articles, but isn’t the internet just too fast these days?
┕ So, who actually knocked Jeong Ha-seong out??
The water has already spilled.
In the wake of the prior articles, they hurriedly clarified it was misinformation, but corrections rarely grab attention.
“Phew…”
The image has been tarnished.
Now that it’s been revealed that an S-Class Hunter is not invincible, the citizens would feel anxious.
The citizens…
Jeong Ha-seong’s correct image briefly frowned.
Seeing this, the secretary swallowed hard and spoke hastily.
“Ah! As you instructed, I’ve looked into that Hunter’s identity. They really are an F-Class.”
“Really?”
“Personally, I also think that, as many have said, Kang Chang-ho Hunter is likely responsible for this situation.”
A historical hero who significantly contributed to stabilizing Gate-related incidents in Korea couldn’t have been defeated by an F-Class.
That was based on common sense.
“I briefly thought that way too, but there’s something that concerns me.”
“Excuse me?”
However, Jeong Ha-seong didn’t seem to agree with this view.
“If that Hunter was genuinely just an F-Class, Kang Chang-ho wouldn’t have spared him.”
“…!”
“If someone as weak as an F-Class was used to barter or threaten to take the blame instead? Usually, one wouldn’t need to go through that; they’d just kill everyone.”
Besides…
Even if it’s assumed that Kang Chang-ho used his influence.
At that time, Kim Gi-ryeo had to see everything unfold due to his position.
Yet, the last expression of Kim Gi-ryeo he remembered did not feel at all like that of a witness to a violent incident.
‘The look in his eyes as he watched me collapse…’
It was as if he were staring not at a person, but at a fallen object, with a mechanical gaze.
Thinking back, that Hunter treated a ranking No. 1 Hunter as if he were just a nobody passing by.
He didn’t care at all, even when hearing the name Jeong Ha-seong.
In every situation, he was simply indifferent. Perhaps this is because the S-Class Hunter didn’t see him as anything special?
“……”
Suddenly, a chill ran down my spine.
Since awakening, have I ever met someone who gave off such a sense of discomfort?
“I’m certain he’s not just an ordinary F-Class.”
Right.
I should have realized it from the start when Kang Chang-ho remembered his name.
“I’m now certain we can’t afford to let our guard down. Looking back now, him introducing himself as an F-Class and pretending to be weak could be a tactic…”
Kang Chang-ho Hunters show interest only in those above a certain level.
“Indeed, the possibility of grade manipulation seems high. Secretary, contact the association immediately.”
Ha-seong spoke assuredly.
“I’ll request a re-evaluation of Kim Gi-ryeo Hunter’s awakening level.”
In a situation where South Korea’s ranking No. 1 has put his name on the line to report to the association.
However, Kim Gi-ryeo had no way of knowing that he was merely spending a leisurely lunch break.
