Chapter 120

The place I had gone to first, as soon as the kidnapping plan was made, was none other than ‘Happy Hamster’s’ . A shabby hamster specialty pet shop that looked like it had no intention of running a business . Do Hamin was there .

Once you got to know him, you realized the private detective agency was a side job and the main job was the pet shop . Though the main job gobbled up all of the money made by the side job . I grabbed Do Hamin at the shop that was decorated centered on hamsters neatly, unlike its outer appearance .

‘I just helped a little in finding people!’

Wheedling the guy who shouted that wasn’t hard . It was thanks to the easily scared disposition due to being much softer than the Do Hamin I knew, maybe because he had suffered less .

‘You’ve become too well known . If you keep on going like this, you’ll have to worry about your life . ’

When I revealed the several people who would aim for him, based on the difficulties that Do Hamin had told me about before the regression, that guy’s complexion quickly became pale . At the words that I would take care of his protection as well as pay him a satisfying amount if he came to work under me, Do Hamin didn’t think long and nodded his head .

‘If you let me open a pet shop in the building . ’

I said that it was hard for ordinary people to come and go, but he said that he did internet business, so it didn’t matter . He said that he sold hamster goods near to no profit margin . It was an ordeal, in that I had to listen to the now completely relaxed Do Hamin go on impassioned speeches about the various charms of hamsters for a long time, but I was able to acquire him without much hardship .

“Would you like to have some?”

Do Hamin would probably be checking my location regularly even now . At my words while gesturing at the lunchbox that Myeongwoo had brought while visiting, Song Taewon placidly replied .

“I will decline . ”

“It is delicious, though . ”

I had already eaten dinner and the remaining were snacks . Though even that was about half empty . Everything that Myeongwoo made for me was tasty, but the yakgwa[1] were especially amazing . If I put it into Song Taewon’s mouth, wouldn’t that face that was hardened like a rock also melt down a little?

“You seem excessively comfortable . As you yourself are the objective, please do not relax, even if harm will not befall you . ”

“Are you worrying about me? You should have some discontent towards me, but you are being kind . ”

“I do not have anything like discontent . From my position, it is obvious to worry about Han Yoojin-ssi . ”

It was a wooden response . It seemed like he was acting stiffer towards me for some reason, after the conversation in the interrogation room . After giving a farewell, telling me to be careful, with a polite and businesslike attitude, Song Taewon left .

When I was putting the last remaining yakgwa in my mouth while doing a crossword puzzle, the closed door opened again . ‘There is a bone inside a word’[2] – what was this again?

“Hunter Han Yoojin, due to outside circumstances, you will be moving to a different detention center . ”

The man who entered the holding room said . His attire was the uniform of a detention-center-affiliated Hunter .

“I was about to grow fond of this room; that is unfortunate . But are you working even at this late a time?”

“As there is no such thing as late nights for incidents . ”

I put the pen down and stood up from my seat . The man held handcuffs out towards me . I obediently held out both my hands as I opened my mouth .

“My younger brother – the Haeyeon Guild Leader Han Yoohyun, I mean . He is AB type . I am B type . What is your blood type?”

The man put on an expression asking what nonsense was I saying, and then I felt the curse resistance working . Not telling others Han Yoohyun’s blood type . It was the first condition of the drawn up contracts .

Breaking a contract once meant ‘the kidnappers came to find me’ .

We used contracts as a communication method, relying on my curse resistance . So that my state could be conveyed to Yoohyun anytime, even in circumstances where I couldn’t use a phone . Just in case I forgot, I had put a note with the list of the contracts written on it in my inventory . Since, inventory sealing also didn’t work thanks to the curse resistance .

‘It was a feeling of having used all the contracts I would use my whole life……’

The price shouldn’t be overlaid, so all sorts of things were staked .

“Let us go . ”

While going outside, we met other Hunters, too, but they all similarly didn’t show any particular response . The number of guards characteristic to the detention center for Hunters was small, but to think that all of them were unresponsive even so . Did they get a false notice that I would be moved, or were they all in on this?

I really hoped it was the former . Even if it was rotten, it should be reasonably rotten .

***

Noah Luire silently crossed the night’s sky . The fancy yellow gold scales didn’t lose their shine even in the darkness, but he had a hiding skill . Dragon Inside a Fog, one of the skills of the Dio Valshesis’ Twin title . It made the user’s appearance blurred and could also fool an A-Rank Hunter’s senses .

[He just left the detention center . ]

Do Hamin’s voice came out of the thin headset hung on Noah’s ears . The dragon wrapped in hazy fog slowly went one circle in the air above the detention center . His eyes saw one car entering the road .

-I found him .

The car started to increase the speed, but Noah quickly caught up with just one light flap of his wings . After checking the license plate and telling it to the other person, he continued to follow behind . The car stopped at a quiet side of the road, and they switched to a different car that was on standby .

When Han Yoojin appeared, Noah unconsciously moved his head a little . He could snatch him away at any time, but since he had to hold back even with him in front of his eyes, the anxiety made his scales itchy .

-He moved to a different car . The license plate number is ○○U ○○○○[3] . They are departing again .

The place where the car arrived after driving for a long time was none other than an airport . A foreign woman went toward the car that stopped at a remote place . Right after she grabbed Han Yoojin’s arm, the two people’s appearance disappeared .

-It seems like an instant movement skill was used!

[Please wait a moment, about 300 meters to the northeast . And again?]

Noah moved following Do Hamin’s instructions . Maybe they had gone inside, because Han Yoojin couldn’t be seen from the air . The place where Noah discovered the two people again was next to a private plane . Noah quickly let the other person know the plane’s marking .

-It seems like they are getting ready to take off . I will follow like this .

[I will leave it to you . ]

It was Han Yoohyun’s voice . The golden dragon landed lightly on top of the plane .

***

It was a world good for committing crimes .

If you Awakened with a good rank, your power became stronger, and useful skills also appeared . The ordinary people you could wield that against were overflowing, so it was natural that there were a lot of people who felt wrong impulses .

If just Awakened People appeared, without dungeons, severe social problems could’ve occurred . Of course, it wasn’t that dungeons fulfilled Awakened People’s desires so entirely that crimes didn’t occur .

‘Instant movement is quite a good skill to use on nasty deeds . ’

Teleportation was the best, but I hadn’t seen anybody with that except for the Dokkaebi . Even if it was just instant movement, it didn’t leave evidence and it was enough to do bad things .

Like bringing me over to the plane .

‘I didn’t know I would be made to leave the country this fast . ’

Even if I left Korea, I thought it would be by sea, but to think that it was a private plane . They sure prepared a lot . I stared at the female Hunter who was sitting on the opposite side of the seat that was wide enough to make you believe that it wasn’t inside of a plane .

“Excuse me, can I ask where we are going?”

“To Hong Kong . ”

It wasn’t that far, huh . If it was Hong Kong, was it a distance you could get to with one time through Yoon Yoon’s ultra long distance gate? Though Noah was supposed to follow, so I could get his help in an emergency .

‘And I have Eunhye and the earring’s shielding skill . ’

I blocked my earrings from being taken by pointing out that there needed to be a way to protect me in case of an emergency . I had put Eunhye in my inventory and secretly taken it out after a frisk and put it on my ankle, hiding it with my clothes .

When I pretended to be timid and quietly stayed sitting, the plane slowly started to move .

‘To think my first overseas trip is kidnapping . ’

It was illegal departure and arrival to a country without a passport . And I didn’t have a single cent . According to the plan, it was decided that I would be kidnapped for about 3 days, so I wanted to buy a souvenir at least, if I had the time . Should I ask them to lend me some money?

While I was trying hard not to doze off, the plane landed .

Hong Kong was one of the places where there was a lot of damage from dungeon breaks . Above all, a big part was thanks to a considerable number of high rank Hunters being robbed to the China mainland . High rank dungeon management wasn’t done properly, so they burst open several times, and the amount of land was small, so the downtown area was uncontrollably destroyed each time .

Because of that instability, the level of security had dropped at a high speed . I had heard that the anti-China sentiments had become much worse compared to before dungeons appeared . It made sense .

“Please come over, Hunter Han Yoojin . ”

When I got off the plane, a middle aged man with a good appearance smiled widely and met me . What was this? As a kidnapping victim, I wasn’t sure how to respond . On top of that, he took off the handcuffs right away . Though the inventory sealing bracelet was still on .

“I am Henry Gregson . ”

Gregson-ssi, who looked like an Easterner, requested for a handshake . What was this, really?

“Now that you have come all the way here, please be at ease . ”

“…Ah, yes . ”

Be at ease… what bullshit was this from a kidnapping bastard? Was he telling me to get Stockholm syndrome? When we left the airport without even an inspection, a limousine was waiting . The driver opened the door for me along with a smile that was full of a heart for service .

…It was an atmosphere like if I said I wanted to sightsee, they would introduce a full course on top of taking care of the travel expenses . What was this? Did I have to buy a souvenir to give to the kids?

“Truthfully, I am considerably baffled; I have been kidnapped and Gregson-ssi is the kidnapper… is that correct?”

Gregson-ssi, who had gotten into the limousine with me, laughed . Of course it wasn’t just him alone, and Hunters that seemed like guards also rode with us .

“If Hunter Han Yoojin was even stat C-Rank, it would not have been that mild of an atmosphere . But there is no need to purposely persecute someone who is no different from an ordinary person . ”

Saying so, Gregson introduced himself as an Awakened People manager . He said that he mainly found usable Awakened People from developing countries and found them places to work .

“Isn’t that just human trafficking?”

“It is merely that the mediation fee is slightly expensive . I think that Hunter Han Yoojin’s fee would become the highest price of all time, so there is a lot of anticipation . ”

There was a lot to say, but there was nothing to say . He was truly impressively shameless . I wanted to kill this bastard and go home . I repressed the urge to immediately call Noah over, and asked that guy .

“Then, is Gregson-ssi the one behind kidnapping me?”

“Would that be so? Unfortunately, I really am the mediator this time . There is a different person who acquired and delivered the goods . ”

So it wasn’t this guy . As expected, it seemed to be a person within the country, related to the Association . They were probably steadily being discovered by Haeyeon and Seseong around now .

After passing places where there were traces of destruction here and there, the limousine stopped in front of a grand hotel . When we went into the lobby that was shining glossily from the ceiling to the floor, I was more and more dumbfounded . This wasn’t what I had imagined . I mean, well, a 5 star hotel was better than a terrifying prison .

“You should be tired after coming a long way, so please rest well . ”

Telling me to let him know if I needed anything at all, the slaver guy laughed . So I tried asking him to give me a smartphone for which communication was possible, but he refused, saying that wasn’t allowed .

Then the place I was guided to was a highest class suite room with an incredible view . To think my first 5 star hotel suite room was the imprisonment place for my kidnapping . The way life goes, you really couldn’t know the future, huh . Yoohyun, it looks like hyung will comfortably spend time well, so don’t worry so much .

“So that it will not be uncomfortable during your stay, the security will be placed in front of your door . Please use the hotel service to your heart’s content . Using the swimming pool, fitness club, lounge, and other various facilities is also possible, of course . ”

“Yes… yes . ”

Fuck, I was about to say thank you . The slaver told me again to comfortably rest and then left the room . I mean, was he really leaving me alone? Of course, I wouldn’t be able to run away alone with my own strength, but still, what was this?

Wondering if Noah had come nearby, I tried to go out to the terrace, but the door was firmly locked . I tried pushing and pulling several times before giving up, when a sheet of paper stuck lightly to the opposite side of the glass door .

[Are you okay?]

They were letters that were shaky like the work of a young child who had just started to learn how to write Korean . I couldn’t see him, but it was Noah, huh .

‘I am okay . OK[4] . ’

I thought there might be security cameras, so I just moved my mouth and nodded my head .

[Careful . I am here . ]

He’s here? Um, was he standing guard on the terrace? He should just go sleep . I couldn’t say anything to him and just smiled .

I went to the sofa, and while hiding my hand with a cushion, I took out a Tillira branch[5] from my inventory and broke it . Not breaking the Tillira branch that Yoohyun gave me . It was the condition of the fifth contract .

The curse resistance came into effect . The contract’s meaning was ‘I’m well, I’m safe’ .

***

The next morning, after I had slept well since it was a comfortable expensive room, a guest came to find me . It was a familiar face that I didn’t know I would meet here .

“…Why are you here?”

“I’m a guest staying here . ”

The Seseong Guild Leader said . What was he talking about, what the heck .

[1] type of fried wheat-based cookie made from honey

[2] referring to an idiom that goes ‘there is meaning and bones in words’, so since this is a crossword and usually the answer to a crossword riddle is a word, the answer is probably 언중유골(言中有骨), which is the same thing literally and metaphorically (it’s the krn pronunciation of a presumably chn idiom); they both mean ‘there is genuine meaning hidden in words’ or ‘even insignificant words have meaning behind them’ . The crossword answer is just conjecture on my part, though .

[3] the plate number was all censored except for one character, so I just put a random letter where it was in the raws . I picked ‘u’ since the syllable used was ‘oo’

[4] written in eng

[5] I’m assuming ‘tillira’ is a made up name, and it could either be ‘branch’ (as in tree branch) or ‘eggplant’ but I assumed it was branch… who knows tho