The moment Yeona received the call, her mind went blank.
Her father, Dok Jong-pal, was in the emergency room at Hanguk University Hospital.
How could she even think about finishing her meal after receiving such news?
In the end, Jong-sik and Yeona’s peaceful dinner came to an abrupt end.
And now, they were at Hanguk University Hospital’s emergency room.
“The, the patient’s Dok Jong-pal! Where is the Dok Jong-pal patient from Ewha Guild?”
Yeona grabbed a busy nurse and asked. The nurse pointed to one side and replied before Yeona could even finish her sentence.
“If it’s Ewha Guild, go over there.”
Before the nurse finished speaking, Yeona dashed off.
Jong-sik quickly followed behind her.
The ward they arrived at, well, it was chaotic.
It was like a battlefield.
“Ugh.”
“Healer, we need your help too.”
“Aaargh! Help me first!”
“Darn it, does it even matter if we die?”
The ward was filled with the smell of blood, and the patients, lying on the cold floor due to the lack of empty beds, groaned in pain.
And in the midst of these patients, Yeona began to search around.
“Dad, Dad! Where are you? Dok Jong-pal!”
Perhaps hearing Yeona’s thunderous voice, a man crouching against the wall raised his head.
She keeps calling out her Dad’s name.
“Dok Yeona… Ugh. Dad’s here… Um.”
It was Jong-pal. Upon seeing him, Yeona rushed to him in tears.
On the other hand, Jong-sik had already spotted Jong-pal before, but for some reason, his steps faltered.
“Dad! Are you okay? Let me see. Hu-hu.”
“Dad, it’s okay. Why are you crying? It’s nothing serious. Why did you call her and make a fuss?”
“What, what’s wrong? Why is my arm like this? Excuse me! Can someone please take a look at this?”
“I’m going to lose my mind. Just wait. They’ll attend to urgent cases first. You can wait a little longer.”
“No! I can’t wait. I’ll call a nurse. Excuse me, excuse me!”
Yeona swiftly turned around, and in doing so, she came face to face with Jong-sik, who was standing there awkwardly. For a moment, Jong-pal doubted his own eyes.
“…Hyung?”
It was someone he never expected to see there.
Wasn’t it his brother, Dok Jong-sik, whom he had only dreamed of seeing?
“What’s with the sight I’m seeing after so long?”
Such words came from his brother. It wasn’t a hallucination caused by addiction.
“Hyung!”
Jong-pal hugged his brother tightly, forgetting the excruciating pain in his arm.
***
Meanwhile, Yeona was pleading with the nurse.
“Please, I’m begging you. There are three of you here. There are many patients over there too. I understand you’re a healer, but please, could at least one nurse come and take a look here? Please?”
But to the nurse, it was like talking to a brick wall.
The nurse didn’t even acknowledge Yeona’s words and began attending to her duties, inserting an IV into a man lying on the bed.
“The patient’s sensitive.”
“He’s not a patient, I told you to call him ‘sir.’”
“This is a hospital.”
But Yeona wasn’t about to give up.
“Then, is there no empty bed available? If he stays like this, it will only get worse….”
Yeona glanced at the people lying on the beds, mostly with minor injuries. Moreover, the man lying in front of her seemed to have no visible injuries.
“Oh, you’re really annoying. Hey, are you asking me to listen to you?”
The man who had been lying silently suddenly furrowed his brows and spoke, instantly creating a tense atmosphere.
“If you move, it’ll get worse! I’ll handle it, so please lie down and rest for a moment.”
Finally, the nurse shouted at Yeona.
“Family! If you keep this up, I’ll have to call security. This is your last warning. Please go and wait. Especially for patients from the Ewha Guild, the professor needs to come down personally.”
“Well, then can you at least tell me how long we have to wait…”
“Looks like talking won’t work.”
Yeona’s attempt to argue only made the nurse pull out her walkie-talkie.
At that moment, Jong-sik, hearing the commotion, hurried over to Yeona.
Taking her swollen arm in his hands, he bowed his head.
He needed to calm the situation down.
“I’m sorry. Please understand that it’s out of concern for her father. You don’t need to call security. I’ll take my daughter and leave.”
“Dad…”
Suddenly, the man lying on the bed chuckled and raised himself up.
“Who’s this? Hey, you’re Jong-pal, right? This guy’s Jong-pal! Ah, Minji. I know this person. It’s fine, go do your job. I’ll wait until you finish work.”
Even the sharp-tongued nurse quickly left at the man’s words.
‘…What a sucker.’
Jong-pal sighed inwardly as he looked at the man, who was now laughing while looking at Jong-sik’s arm.
“Are you from the Ewha Guild?”
Judging by how quickly he recognized my injury, he must have come as part of the support team, Jong-pal thought. So, he must be from the same guild since we’re in the same hospital.
“Yeah. It’s been a while.”
“Haha. I never expected to see you here like this. Well, if not here, maybe we could have met in a dungeon. Our guild handled rescue support missions.”
“…Oh, really? Thanks to you, I was able to get out safely. Thanks.”
“You should be thanking me. But, is that guy your brother?”
“Oh.”
“I didn’t recognize him at first, but he’s quite funny. He was always a bit gloomy when he was younger. But did he have hobbies like this? Hmm. Well, at least he has an interesting face.”
The man, glancing briefly at Yeona hidden behind Jong-sik, smirked.
At his words, Jong-pal instinctively clenched his teeth. There was no need to explain anything to such a guy.
“That’s not what you think. Yeona, let’s go.”
“Huh? You haven’t finished talking, and where do you think you’re going, punk? And why are you looking at me like that? I spared your life like my brother.”
The man reached out towards Jong-pal’s injured arm. It was a deliberate action. However, he wasn’t able to do it.
“Ow!”
Someone forcefully grabbed his wrist midway.
“Who’s going to die? Does it look like I’m dead to your eyes?”
It was none other than Jong-sik. He gripped the man’s wrist tightly while glancing at the name tag attached to the bed.
“Sucker.” It was the same guy who used to subtly torment his younger brother Jong-pal during their time at the orphanage.
People indeed don’t change.
“What, what are you doing? Won’t you let go of this?”
To this, the man quickly deployed the [Shield] skill. Yet, the pain didn’t subside.
“Ow!”
“You’re making so much noise like a chick. Sucker. What did I tell you? Have you already forgotten?”
While saying this, Jong-sik didn’t release his grip.
‘Dok Jong-sik? He, he’s alive? But more importantly, how is he so strong…’
Seeing Jong-sik’s face belatedly, the man felt a chill run down his spine. It felt like the ingrained fear from his childhood was resurfacing.
‘He’s not my opponent. At least, he’s A-grade. At least…’
Ultimately, the man made a choice not much different from before.
“I, I apologize for the trouble, Jong-sik.”
“Remember my face and my words well?”
“Yes, yes, I understand.”
The nurse, who had been attending to another patient, glanced at the scene and picked up the walkie-talkie, but…
“Calling security? There’s no point in wasting your time since they’re not planning to stay here any longer. Instead of that useless effort, come here and attend to your male friend or something.”
She simply rolled her eyes at Jong-sik’s words, with no other response.
***
On the way back home,
“Uncle, are you sure it’s okay to go like this? Let’s try going to another hospital now.”
Yeona expressed her concern. Jong-sik tousled her hair reassuringly and asked his younger brother, Dok Jong-pal,
“I can handle it, so don’t worry. Dok Jong-pal, was that arm injured by the Red Mist Dance?”
“How could it not be? No, more importantly, what happened? How did you come with Yeona, and what have you been doing all this time…”
Jong-pal had a mountain of questions he wanted to ask his brother, Jong-sik. However, in the face of his family’s solemnity, he ultimately couldn’t bring himself to speak up.
“We’ll talk about that later. You’ll be in pain, so just endure it until we get home.”
“Uncle’s right. Dad, stop talking now. Every time you speak, your arm seems to darken more. Ah! You don’t have to answer.”
“Yeah. Listen to your daughter.”
***
At that moment,
The Korean Guild was known for advocating for a punctual departure from work, but today was an exception.
Korean Guild 7F Conference Room
The guild president, along with vice presidents, team leaders, and senior executives, gathered for a meeting.
As midnight approached, the heat inside the conference room showed no signs of dying down.
“The video you just watched is a recording of the interrogation process of Choo tae-sik. As you saw, Choo tae-sik referred to Dok Jong-sik as a monster. He also admitted that his attacks were futile. Furthermore, he mentioned that he couldn’t even scratch the body of the creature he was dealing with.”
Mr. Oh Hyeong-taek, the manager leading the meeting, continued speaking, his gaze fixed on the pad he was holding.
“But that’s not all. Please take a look at the document you just received. This document is the awakening questionnaire completed by Dok Jong-sik himself.”
At his words, Assistant Manager Seo Seok-hoon, who was standing with a firm posture, swiftly turned the paper on the table. The focus of the meeting was Dok Jong-sik. It contained his personal information and the awakening questionnaire he had filled out.
“His stats add up to 2000…”
“That’s excessively high.”
“But why didn’t he take the awakening test if he has such abilities? He has no reason to self-proclaim an F-rank, does he?”
“Hmm? Seems like his family relations are quite complicated.”
“The only evidence we have is Choo Tae-sik’s testimony. I personally find it hard to believe that guy.”
“But what if it’s true?”
Unable to find any corner that could be considered ordinary in Dok Jong-sik’s history, the executives continued to speculate among themselves.
Then, it happened.
Bang!
Guild President Kang Mu-tak slammed the table, instantly restoring order to the chaotic atmosphere in the meeting room.
“Continue.”
Manager Oh Hyeong-taek cleared his throat and continued his explanation.
“His physical stats, the number and grade of skills listed, may seem ambiguous. At first, I had the same thoughts. But would you all please pay attention to the bottom of the awakening questionnaire? Yes, there’s a timestamp.”
“…?”
“That’s where I began to reconsider my views on him.”
“What do you mean?”
“At 11:20, the responsible staff completed the examination. And the time we received the tip-off call about capturing Choo Tae-sik in our Korean Guild was 1 o’clock. According to the verification results, Dok Jong-sik was confirmed to have used a taxi to get from where Chutae-sik was hiding to Gaewong Mountain. Excluding the 30-minute travel time….”
“That’s real.”
Someone understood what Manager Oh Hyeong-taek was trying to say. It was Guild President Kang Mu-tak. He spoke as if amazed.
“The time it took to infiltrate Choo Tae-sik’s hideout, capture him, and then take him to Gaewong Police Station. It’s impossible for an F-rank Hunter to handle all of that in just one hour. Not even an A-rank Hunter could manage it.”
At his words, the room buzzed with renewed interest.
“Yes, that’s correct. Additionally, according to our support team manager, Mr. Seo, he personally met Dok Jong-sik regarding the bounty payment.”
“Really? What did he say after meeting him?”
“Although Manager Seo didn’t even look at the awakening questionnaire, he immediately recognized something was different. He realized that Dok Jong-sik was not your typical F-rank hunter.”
“He’s good at spotting talent.”
Sales Support Team Manager Oh Hyeong-taek chuckled at the praise from President Kang Mu-tak. Kang Mu-tak felt the same. He couldn’t contain his excitement at the thought of securing a super rookie.
“Let’s arrange a meeting as soon as possible, starting tomorrow. We must recruit him into our guild by any means necessary.”
“Yes! I already mentioned contacting him regarding a job offer.”
“Haha. Well done, well done. Since we’re all gathered here, how about we have a dinner party or something?”
“Sounds good!”
However, there was something President Kang Mu-tak was mistaken about.
The dagger in his pocket was something he couldn’t hide forever.
