I saw a beautiful woman in front of me, smiling. Her overwhelming beauty was enough to make me forget about the imposing bodyguard standing behind her.
Her dizzyingly high heels and black H-line mini skirt that emphasized her body line, along with the white chiffon blouse that faintly shimmered as if what was hiding inside was trying to peek out, stimulated my imagination.
When she’s expressionless, she exuded a haughty feeling that’s hard to grasp, but when she smiled, she could softly disarm men’s hearts.
I knew who this woman walking towards me was.
She is Lee Se-hee, the second daughter of the chairman of the Sacred Group, and a young woman who would one day control both the Sacred Group and the Sacred Guild.
She was a charismatic owner and an exceptional awakened individual, as well as the most influential celebrity in South Korea. She used her influence to bring up the market share of the Sacred Guild’s equipment production to an astonishing level.
The equipment produced by the Sacred Guild not only had superior performance, but also appealed to one’s emotions and aesthetics.
I never thought that marketing terms used on smartphones would be used in awakened equipment.
Her current level was an incredible 6, and she was considered one of the top talents among the younger generation. However, her abilities were often overshadowed by her flashy beauty and sharp wit.
“Are you Mr. Choi Jun-ho? Can I speak with you for a moment?”
The attention of those around us gathered. It was a gaze that contained various meanings, and it was a pressure that came unconsciously, all directed by Lee Se-hee.
“Do you have any business with me?”
“I just wanted to have a conversation with someone whose reputation is on the rise these days.”
“Please have a seat.”
“Thank you.”
Lee Se-hee brought a chair and sat down across from me, crossing her legs. I felt the eyes around us gather again, but I didn’t care and just looked at her.
She’s like a spider; if you get caught in her web, she would be a bother for a long time.
“We’re sorry about what happened. We should have properly managed the Whiha Guild, but we were careless,” she said.
“If it was resolved, then it’s no problem.”
“Still, we’re sorry for putting you in an inconvenient situation.”
It was all because of the drug cartel that I broke. If I hadn’t meddled, this situation wouldn’t have happened.
“Wang Ju-yeol was Mr. Choi Jun-ho’s boss. It must not have been easy for you,” Lee Se-hee said, probably thinking that I was burdened by arresting my superior.
But was that really a burden?
I was the type of person who didn’t care about hierarchy, so I had no qualms about catching Wang Ju-yeol. If it was Director Jung Ju-ho who did something wrong, I would’ve caught him too.
I didn’t say anything, so Lee Se-hee continued.
“As it was caused by us, we promised to apologize to Director Jung and provide munitions to the National Security Agency from our Sacred Guild.”
“That’s good news.”
“We’re able to hunt demons thanks to the Villain Task Force that maintains the safety of the city. It’s the least we can do.”
Even the way she casually flipped her hair back was natural.
She’s a woman who knew how to act and appeal to men to get their attention. The National Security Agency officials around us couldn’t take their eyes off Lee Se-hee.
“I also want to repay Mr. Jun-ho.”
“Repayment?”
“You removed something that could have been a hindrance, so it’s about that. Would you visit the Sacred Guild when you have time?”
She asked me quietly, looking straight into my eyes. If I thought I had to accept her words as a matter of course, it was not a lie.
“I know roughly what your intention is.”
I raised the corners of my mouth.
“I’m getting annoyed by you using Gift all the time.”
“...!”
As soon as I stretched out my hand, astonishment spread across Lee Se-hee’s face.
Before my hand could touch her, the bodyguard behind her stepped forward and blocked my way. The fist, which was filled with strong energy and muscles that seemed to burst, struck out at my hand like a lightning bolt.
It seemed that they had already investigated the Gift that I was using. The first attempt had failed, but I twisted the trajectory of my hand, which had slipped away, and wrapped it around the guy’s arm like a snake.
He grabbed me before I could make any fancy moves, but he failed to stop my Gift after.
“Ugh!”
He fought against the Gift that had penetrated him and opened his eyes wide, swinging his other fist to push me away. I caught that arm and put the Gift in, then stepped back quietly and watched him.
Once the Gift penetrated inside, it was like a virus. To solve this, you need to either crush it with much more force than the injected force or disassemble it with delicate control.
The bodyguard, who didn’t have either option, chose to gather the Gift that was raging inside and explode it into one place.
Crack! Crack!
A mine exploded at a single point, cleanly breaking both bones in his arms.
“Argh!”
It was a momentary decision to prevent his arms from being completely twisted. However, the bodyguard whose arms were broken could not perform his duty. As I took a step forward, Lee Se-hee also stepped forward.
“I’m sorry. I’ll apologize. I did it because I wanted to impress Mr. Jun-ho.”
Seeing her bow her head, I lowered my hand that was about to attack. I guessed that Lee Se-hee’s gift was likely to be in the mental appeal or seduction category.
I didn’t resist because there was a high probability that she was trying to win my favor and recruit me into the Sacred Guild. If it was hypnosis or brainwashing, I would have used a more aggressive approach.
“Accepted.”
“Thank you. Use this, Jin-hyung.”
The bodyguard applied a healing potion to his broken arms and swallowed a healing pill. As his obvious wound began to heal, he stood quietly behind Lee Se-hee. However, there was a hint of fear in the eyes that were directed at me.
It was the same gaze I saw a lot when I was still a villain. If it was my previous life, I would have twisted his neck because I didn’t like it, but in this life, I remained composed.
Lee Se-hee’s face towards me was not as relaxed as it was a moment ago.
“You’re tougher than I thought.”
“If you don’t mess around, there won’t be any problems.”
“It’s my fault. I should have just said thank you.”
“Quickly assessing the situation and correcting it is a skill. Just avoiding the worst-case scenario is worthy of praise.”
“I don’t know if I should consider that a compliment.”
Lee Se-hee’s voice was a little broken as she was shaking her head.
“So, do you have anything else to say?”
“There shouldn’t be anything else. I wanted to coax you gently and make you come to our guild, but if I do it wrong, my head might break.”
“Even if your head breaks, your social status will still be there.”
“Although Mr. Jun-ho seems tempting, it wouldn’t be good for me to rush in without being fully prepared. Anyway, I’m grateful that you helped with our guild’s little problem. I’ll show my gratitude next time.”
“...”
Feeling slightly embarrassed by the other person’s apology and reflection, I thought it would have been simpler if she had used her wits and persisted until the end.
I thought about how to wrap things up and asked, “Should I bear the cost of the recovery potion?”
“Can Mr. Jun-ho afford it, even with two years’ salary?”
“It’s expensive.”
“No, don’t you know that the recovery potion that has an effect like ours is worth its weight in gold? Anyone who sees it would think our premium recovery potion is a bargain.”
Whether I touched on a sensitive topic, Le Se-hee’s face turned red. Since the speed of recovery was important, I also knew its worth well.
“Indeed, it seemed to be very effective.”
“Of course! It’s the best in the world. It’s a masterpiece created over several years of research by Korean doctors and the by-product of the highest level of demons... Ah, but that’s not why I came here to say.”
Le Se-hee lost all of her composure and roughly messed up her hair before letting out a sigh.
“If I knew this was going to happen, I would have contacted Da-hyun and had her come.”
“Are you close with Miss Da-hyun?”
Come to think of it, I remembered that Jung Da-hyun was in the Sacred Guild before she transferred to the National Security Agency.
“I think we’re close. Da-hyun feels burdened by me, though. Really, there was a time when I wanted to be close to Da-hyun so badly that I only ate soybean paste stew for a month, but then she went to protect the country against villains and left the guild.”
Suddenly, I had a better opinion of Lee Se-hee.
Lee Se-hee, who was playing the drums and gongs alone, got up from her seat with a sigh.
“I hope our next meeting is better than today.”
“Just don’t use you Gift awkwardly.”
“I won’t!”
Lee Se-hee said that and then bowed her head slightly and left. I thought she was a cold-hearted businesswoman from my past life, but she was surprisingly humane.
***
Until Lee Se-hee arrived at the underground parking lot, her footsteps did not falter. However, the moment she arrived in front of the car, her legs gave out.
“Miss!”
“I’m okay.”
Lee Se-hee raised her hand to stop the bodyguard and took a deep breath.
She acted like everything was okay, but her heart felt like it was about to burst.
“He tried to kill me without any hesitation.”
It was not fear but surprise.
Her gift, “Fascination,” was a gift that everyone liked. Lee Se-hee, who had worked hard to cultivate her innate beauty and background as a member of the Lee Family of the Sacred Group, had obtained everything she wanted in life.
As a result, the Sacred Guild had achieved great success not only in South Korea but also worldwide.
Although Jung Da-hyun, whom she had set her sights on, left halfway, it was just a minor variable.
However, Choi Jun-ho was different.
A level 5 awakener who appeared like a comet. With decisive hands and unwavering steps, he caused a commotion in the country’s National Security Agency and even captured the leader of a special team, Wang Ju-yeol.
Lee Se-hee did not think that this person was a level 5 awakener, so they wanted to confirm and bring him to the Sacred Guild. And today, they gained certainty at their meeting.
“At least level 7,” Lee Se-hee thought. Maybe even higher.
Lee Se-hee had never seen a high-level awakener at such a young age.
If that’s the case, they must use any means necessary to recruit him.
Lee Se-hee held her smartphone while in the car.
“Increase the number of equipment supporting the National Security Agency. Give recovery potions to Choi Jun-ho as an apology. And... bring me all the information about Choi Jun-ho.”
***
Yoon-hee’s training was going smoothly. Based on my judgment, she had reached a level close to level 3 and was even qualified to join the Sacred Guild, the top choice in Korea.
But the biggest enemy was always complacency. I staged a different crisis every day to prevent Yoon-hee from letting her guard down.
Yoon-hee begged me, asking if this was really helpful for her qualification, but I firmly said it was a sure-fire way to improve her skills.
Every time training ended, she asked me if I was satisfied, but I never answered emotionally.
Well, I guess not.
After the rewarding training session, Yoon-hee came out of the shower and said to me,
“Lee Se-hee came to the National Security Agency?”
“How did you know?”
“I saw it on the news.”
The head of the overall operation team for Sacred Guild, Lee Se-hee, was described by Yoon-hee as an outstanding awakened and a celebrity who was admired by everyone and always the center of attention no matter where she went.
“Have you talked to her about what happened recently?”
“Yeah.”
“Really? With Miss Se-hee?”
“What’s so surprising about that?”
“Of course it’s surprising! It’s none other than Lee Se-hee! The woman every girl wants to be! What was she like when you met her? Was she pretty?”
If she was pretty, it would be because of her good looks. But it seemed inadequate to describe Lee Se-hee that way.
She knew how to use her beauty appropriately and proactively when the situation called for it, but she also knew when to step back and yield.
“She was impressive.”
“What do you mean by that evaluation?”
“Just like that.”
“Well, did you talk to her and get ignored? Which is why you’re saying that?”
On the contrary, a collision had occurred, but I didn’t bring that up.
Yoon-hee seemed uninterested and brought up another article in front of me.
“But this article is a bit harsh.”
The headline read, “Villain treated like a bug? Controversy surrounding the National Security Agency’s Special Team!”
“Isn’t this targeting you, Brother?”
“It seems like it.”
“The same person has been writing these articles. Go Ye-jin also wrote this one. But what are they saying about someone who is working hard catching villains?”
I examined the articles written by Go Ye-jin at Yoon-hee’s words. It wasn’t just Yoon-hee’s excitement talking; one headline alone was an artistic masterpiece.
“Once I see them, I’ll tie them well.”
“Oh, um. But don’t kill them.”
“Do you think I’ll kill them?”
“You’re clenching your fist right now.”
“...”
Without realizing it, I was already clenching my fist.
***
Government hunters were government officials. They maintained the balance by protecting the citizens from villains and monsters under the country’s umbrella and regulating large guilds.
In fact, some third world countries that failed to regulate this have fallen into the hands of a small number of guilds.
Therefore, the central government was desperate to maintain the government hunters’ power and offered them the authority instead of better financial rewards than several large guilds.
The power of a government hunter was quite strong if they chose to use it, although it was not often used due to severe penalties if misused. If there were any suspicions, immediate on-site arrests were possible, and self-defense rights were widely recognized.
However, I had the opposite view.
The power was good. With a justifiable reason, I could rationalize anything by using the following reasons; “To prepare for a villain’s attack,” “to prevent a villain’s uprising,” “to study the villain’s pattern,” and so on.
The power of a government hunter helped me find Oh Jong-yeop.
I was able to find him with just his name, age, and family information.
“I really like this power.”
Finally, I found him. Slash, Oh Jong-yeop.
My friend who believed in me until the end.
However, in the final moment, I failed to live up to my friend’s expectations and ripped out his heart.
My relationship with Oh Jong-yeop was not pure. When he had just become a villain, he would cover his face while joining forces with me to disperse the pursuit.
At that time, we were the same age, and I had not fallen into crime from the beginning, so we could become friends.
Being half-mad, I was able to evade pursuit with Oh Jong-yeop’s help.
“You’re normal! Snap out of it!”
Those were the words Oh Jong-yeop said to me the most.
I wasn’t a madman from the beginning, either.
To be exact, it was the difference between being slightly crazy and completely crazy. I desperately struggled to suppress my instinct to seek blood to gain more power.
To stop that, I tried all sorts of drugs, like hallucinogens, stimulants, narcotics, and later even ate the by-product of a demon known for its deadly toxicity.
Oh Jong-yeop worked hard to help me with this. I also did my best to live up to the expectations of my first friend.
But everything was in vain.
In the end, I couldn’t even recognize my friend’s face and killed Oh Jong-yeop with my own hands.
But even in the moment my hand pierced his heart, he did not resent me.
“See you in hell, my friend.”
Even now, I still clearly remembered his face.
I returned to the past, not to hell, but to find him and fulfil our promise to meet again.
The place I arrived at was Ansan.
Oh Jong-yeop lived in the suburbs, not in the city.
At that time, he was preparing to become a corporate hunter. However, his younger brother’s rare illness, which he was suffering from during hospitalization, hindered Oh Jong-yeop’s progress.
The guy who needed astronomical medical expenses ended up becoming a villain by accepting the proposal of a villain organization to secure the cost of his brother’s hospitalization.
I would help to ensure that such a thing would not happen in this life.
The place where Oh Jong-yeop lived was an old shabby shack that was about to collapse.
“...”
I arrived at the house, but couldn’t step forward right away.
Was it the debt from the previous life that was holding me back? Or was it the guilt of having killed a friend who had trusted me?
I was surprised to find such emotions within me. These unfamiliar emotions made me realize that I was in my right mind.
As I hesitated, a familiar but sharp voice reached my ears.
“Hey.”
When I turned my head, Oh Jong-yeop, who looked much younger than the last time I saw him, was standing there.
“Who are you, standing in front of our house?”
“I have something to discuss.”
“Discuss? What kind of discussion?”
“I came to see you.”
At my words, the guy’s eyes became even more hostile.
“I don’t know a parasite like you.”
Come to think of it, I remembered that the guy had said he was a significant landowner before becoming a villain.
I could understand since he must have suffered a lot of injuries in the world.
Apart from killing him, Oh Jong-yeop was the only friend who trusted me until the end.
So, I felt affectionate for him, or rather, I tried to accept him affectionately.
“What are you looking at?”
“...”
As my gaze moved down for a moment, I saw a tightly clenched fist.
Yeah, it’s normal for friends to argue sometimes.
First, I need to create an atmosphere where we can talk.
