Auto Hunting

The magic was over. The glass shoes had disappeared.

When he entered the house, he saw that the old man was gone. It was only Yoo-seong who was sitting at the table.

“Where is he?”

“He left.”

Sung-wook went straight towards the refrigerator. His throat was dry, and the drinks on the table were lukewarm.

“I have to thank him.”

“…”

“For real… It was an experience I never thought possible. I thought I would never be able to run like that again.”

Sung-wook was still breathless, yet he looked exhilarated all the same. His lips and throat were dry from intense running, but he couldn’t feel any pain on his limbs or on his veins.

“That one hour was the happiest I’ve ever experienced in three years. I think it would be greedy to want something more.”

Yoo-seong kept his silence, Sung-wook observed. He then changed the topic.

“Oh, you haven’t eaten yet? I am very hungry, too. I ran like crazy.”

“Brother…”

“Wait a little, let me heat it up again.”

“I talked to the old man…”

“Stop.”

Sung-wook closed his eyes.

“But… there’s a way,” Yoo-seong started to explain.

“And it won’t be free,” Sung-wook cut him off.

Three years.

For the past three years, Sung-wook had looked for any means to recover.

He had searched not only through the top medical institutions in the country, but also through the new technologies available overseas.

The answer was always the same. There was no way to fix his damaged veins.

There was temporary relief, such as the pill he took to demonstrate Spinnenschrift to Yoo-seong.

But there was no cure. Only a miracle to get him out of his situation.

However, the old man that Yoo-seong brought has managed a miracle.

Even if it was for a short period.

Perhaps, Sung-wook thought, there was really a way. Once the glass shoes had worn off, as he walked back home, he organized his thoughts.

That old man. The broken Korean with a foreign accent. The transcendent Ki control.

They were all pointing towards Ship Zone.

Tycoons from the Ship Zone would not have come to his house without getting anything for it. As Yoo-seong and Sung-wook both saw, the procedure that Jin Wei-baek did to coat his veins was done as easily as if it was routine.

It must be some kind of bait.

The old man wanted Yoo-seong to see how Sung-wook would react to his temporary recovery. The price for it… it could only be something worth more than just money.

“That’s enough. You don’t need to go through anything for my sake,” Sung-wook’s voice was firm.

“You don’t even know what our agreement was. It’s not something as bad as you think…”

“Stop! Whatever it is, just stop!” Sung-wook raised his voice.

“Even if it was just for an hour, I am extremely satisfied with it. There’s no need to do more. Anything in the world comes with a price. I’m okay…”

“You’re saying you’re okay,” Yoo-seong replied.

“I am. It’s okay. I am okay…”

“Then look at what you’re holding in your hands. Look at it before talking again.”

There was silence in the room as Sung-wook stared at what he got from the refrigerator. Yoo-seong and Sung-wook had developed a close relationship over the past months.

Before and after dinner, Sung-wook quenches his thirst by downing a can of beer.

The motion was almost automatic every time he opened the refrigerator.

Yoo-seong asked him about it once.

“When I was active, I had to take care of my body and couldn’t drink alcohol. Since I retired three years ago, I prefer beer over water,” Sung-wook explained with a laugh.

Now, what was in Sung-wook’s hand wasn’t a beer can.

It was bottled water.

It was as if his hope, buried deep in the corner of his heart, has awakened and made itself obvious.

“The condition we agreed to,” Yoo-seong calmly explained as Sung-wook kept staring at the water bottle.

“A 5-time contract with Tenz. I have permission to operate in China for five times. After the 5th operation, it’s over.”

Sung-wook’s eyes widened.

“It’s similar to what I did with QR. I don’t have to be signed with them, but I’ll get my share of the profits and the by-products.”

“That’s unbelievable,” Sung-wook exclaimed.

“Go look at the contract thoroughly to see if I’m kidding.”

If that was the case, it would be as if Yoo-seong wasn’t losing anything. He would get paid to work accordingly. On top of that, gaining experience in China was something that every hunter wanted.

“Still, it doesn’t matter if you agree with it or not. Because that person, Jin Wei-baek, and I, have already agreed to it.”

Sung-wook flinched. Contracts have to go through a hunter’s agent. If Yoo-seong had signed with Jin Wei-baek himself, then…

“I have decided not to have you as my agent from now on,” Yoo-seong said.

“Goddamn it!” Sung-wook threw his water bottle. “Don’t play with me.”

“It’s not a joke. It’s different now, now that there’s a way for you to recover.”

“But I’m fine! I don’t need it!” Sung-wook’s voice broke. “You… you’re deciding what I want to do with my body?”

Yoo-seong kept silent.

“Don’t treat me as if I’m an imbecile!” Sung-wook threw a punch.

Yoo-seong caught it in his grip. Sung-wook tried to pull it back, and the two men struggled.

Yoo-seong did not even use CE.

“In my eyes, you look like an imbecile now, brother.”

“Shut up!”

“An idiot who thinks too much and doesn’t admit what he wants.”

Yoo-seong overpowered Sung-wook and brought him down. Then, he pressed down Sung-wook’s shoulders with gentle pressure.

Sung-wook fell gently into a chair.

“Brother. You can start rehabilitation starting tomorrow. We can start with your physical strength.”

Yoo-seong’s voice was soft but stubborn at the same time.

“Then, as soon as I return to Korea…”

“You don’t know what’s going to happen to you there,” Sung-wook warned.

“Don’t worry about it. You don’t have to think of this as a debt to me. Aside from everything else, getting to hunt in China will be a great opportunity for my career, Nevertheless, if you feel bad about it…”

They both thought about the time Sung-wook offered his CE to Yoo-seong.

“It’s just for my self-satisfaction,” they said at the same time.

Sung-wook then turned silent. He had mixed emotions, a complicated feeling that can’t be described with words.

“Wait for me, brother,” Yoo-seong said, before turning around and leaving.

***

Three days later.

An airport platform was crowded with reporters.

“Why was it so sudden, what happened?” one of the reporters yelled out.

“Oh Yoo-seong! Please, answer a question!”

Yoo-seong passed through the roaring crowd in a rush.

The terrorist incident with Zhang Liu has not even been resolved yet, and now rumors of a contract with Tenz has dropped like a bombshell to the public.

A solo hunter free contract.

It was unprecedented for a company like Tenz to invite speculations and rumors were all over social media.

Some said that Tenz and Yoo-seong were already in contact, and Goryong Company through Zhang Liu had tried to sabotage it. Others said that Tenz scouted Yoo-seong because they appreciated how the hunter had faced Goryong.

Some even pondered whether Yoo-seong was of Chinese origin.

On the plane, Yoo-seong was led into a first-class seat provided by Tenz. Yoo-seong sank into it and sighed as he browsed articles online.

The local opinion in China was also criticizing Zhang Liu’s actions, but that didn’t mean that they supported the Korean government.

Rather, there were negative reactions about the Korean plans to impose regulations on Chinese companies.

Yoo-seong shook his head. He knew that he would bear the brunt of the negative public opinion.

It was a problem that he would have to face alone.

No one could help him or advise him, not even Sung-wook. Once he was in China, he would be out of contact.

Yoo-seong leaned against the airplane seat and closed his eyes, but he couldn’t sleep.

In fact, he hadn’t slept properly for the past two days.

A reminder that the plane was about to take off rang out. Just before the passengers were asked to turn off their mobile phones, Yoo-seong’s phone vibrated.

It was a video call.

Yoo-seong picked it up in a hurry.

It was a familiar landscape. Yoo-seong recognized it as the training room in the basement.

He heard a man’s sigh. It was Sung-wook. His head and face were all wet with sweat.

-As you can see, I started exercising again.

Yoo-seong smiled.

-Is there anything you want to say about it, huh?

The two men chuckled awkwardly. It echoed both in the training room and on the plane.

Just then, the reminder to switch off the mobile phones rang out.

Sung-wook also heard it from the other line.

“Brother,” Yoo-seong said. “I have to hang up.”

Sung-wook nodded.

-Yeah, well. I don’t have much to say to be honest. I can’t advise you anything. I haven’t been to China either.

Then, Sung-wook raised his fist.

-So… just this. I believe you.

Yoo-seong smiled and nodded.

“Okay.”

The stewardess checking the aisles saw Yoo-seong’s phone and approached him. Yoo-seong asked her for patience.

Suddenly,

-YOU CAN DO IT!

The stewardess was surprised at the Sung-wook’s shout that bust out of nowhere.

“Oh, sorry,” Yoo-seong quickly ended the call and apologized to the stewardess.

Soon, the plane took off.

Yoo-seong closed his eyes. This time, the sleep that he sought for finally came.