NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 39. Misunderstanding
Beep beep. Beep beep. Beep beep.
I blankly watched the students being taken away in an ambulance.
‘Goodbye.’
We managed to rescue the missing persons, and while we were struggling inside the Gate, the culprit was apprehended safely.
Now, I had nothing left to do.
The police would handle the rest.
‘Tomorrow marks the end of the promised two weeks.’
I suddenly thought while sorting my schedule in my head.
By the way, earlier I had smiled at Seonwoo-yeon to thank her for saving me!
What would the locals think of my emotional expression?
‘I practiced at home, but it was my first time using it in the real world.’
Thump thump.
I turned my gaze slowly, filled with anticipation.
In the distance, I spotted Seonwoo-yeon’s face.
Her expression seemed… shocked.
‘Did I really look that strange?’
After ten days of intense training…
Clearly, conveying my feelings through facial expressions wasn’t the best choice.
I swallowed my tears, trying to ignore Seonwoo-yeon as she looked this way.
Darn it, someday I’ll definitely express emotions so well that even Earthlings won’t be able to tell!
*
The Eunpyeong District missing person case has been resolved.
Today is the first holiday since the incident.
Seonwoo-yeon walked into a branded cafe near the Hunter Association and ordered a weekend special set menu.
“Oh! Seonwoo-yeon Hunter! Hello! The weather is really nice today!”
As I killed some time, the person I was waiting for soon appeared.
Seonwoo-yeon calmly greeted him.
“Hello, Ahn Yoon-seung Hunter.”
Today was the day she had arranged to meet the A-Class Hunter Ahn Yoon-seung.
“By the way, what did you call me for? You don’t usually schedule weekend appointments.”
Ahn Yoon-seung was an outdoor hunter who primarily dealt with Dungeon Breaks.
Since Seonwoo-yeon couldn’t enter the Gate for her reasons, they often crossed paths outside.
It was only natural to have built a camaraderie to the point of having meals together.
“Just wanted to ask you something briefly.”
Yoon-seung accepted the offered free coffee without much thought.
“Are you close with Kim Gi-ryeo Hunter by any chance?”
But no matter how much of an A-Class Awakened he was, he couldn’t stop the coffee from going up his nose.
“Cough!”
“We haven’t even started, and you’re already raising suspicions.”
“Oh, no! I was just surprised to hear another name suddenly…”
Seonwoo-yeon frowned, her lips curling down as she scrutinized Yoon-seung coldly.
“I’ve known for a while that you and Kim Gi-ryeo know each other well.”
“Because of the kidnapping?”
“I didn’t think much of it back then, but seeing an A-Class and an F-Class come out of the Gate together made me wonder.”
Slurp.
Seonwoo-yeon took a sip of her hot Americano, choosing her words carefully.
“How did you get to know Kim Gi-ryeo Hunter?”
Yoon-seung crossed his arms and looked away.
“Why are you asking about that all of a sudden?”
“Sure, it must be quite shocking for you in your position. But don’t worry, the Association is not involved.”
“Really?”
“It’s just a personal concern.”
He seemed rather defensive.
Seonwoo-yeon tilted her cup, glancing beyond it.
“To be honest, I suspect that Kim Gi-ryeo might be a criminal.”
“Excuse me?”
“So if, by any chance, Ahn Yoon-seung Hunter is stuck with a bad Awakened and facing difficulty, I would like to help…”
“What?!”
Ahn Yoon-seung nearly slammed his hand down on the table, barely stopping just in time.
“No way! That’s nonsense! My brother is a criminal? He is…!”
“He’s hiding his Awakening Level.”
“Excuse me?”
“Failing to report your rank is a crime. A crime.”
Thud.
Seonwoo-yeon slammed her mug down firmly.
Her eyes were filled with conviction.
“In an industry where even a one-rank increase changes your salary scale, can you believe someone would underreport?”
“Hmm.”
“Such people usually try to gain some other benefits through this misconduct.”
“That’s true.”
“Is it really that strange to doubt Kim Gi-ryeo as a potential risk factor?”
Seonwoo-yeon took a shallow breath and continued calmly.
Somehow, Ahn Yoon-seung was left speechless and fidgeting, although she hadn’t meant to push him this hard.
“I’m not saying I’ll arrest you or Kim Gi-ryeo right now… I just want to confirm the facts.”
Confirm the facts?
Yoon-seung lifted his head, which he had lowered.
“Everyone in the Association knows Ahn Yoon-seung Hunter is upright and diligent, so why would someone like you associate with that F-Class…”
“Um.”
“Maybe there are circumstances behind the false registration.”
“Hmm.”
“Or maybe, conversely, that person is an Awakened so weak that even an A-Class can’t handle them, and soft-hearted Ahn Yoon-seung is being used without being able to say a word.”
Countless hypotheses popped up in her mind.
That F-Class Awakened never revealed his inner thoughts, making distinguishing between good and evil difficult.
He would give advice on skill usage, then, at the last moment, reveal hidden strength, causing confusion!
His actions were also quite suspicious.
“I need information. Information to judge this Kim Gi-ryeo person.”
Seonwoo-yeon let out a deep sigh.
“That’s why I called you, Yoon-seung. Since you exchange contact with Kim Gi-ryeo Hunter, you might know something.”
However, rather than her darkening expression, Ahn Yoon-seung’s color quickly returned.
When an association employee suddenly started asking about Kim Gi-ryeo, he thought she might be trying to nail him for something.
‘Phew, that wasn’t it.’
He fell into contemplation.
Judging by her reaction, Kim Gi-ryeo must have already revealed his true Awakening Level.
‘They say there was an accident in the Gate search during the Eunpyeong District incident.’
Ah, he must have had to showcase his skills to protect Seonwoo-yeon and the missing persons…
Honestly, it was obvious even without seeing this much.
With his F-Class disguise broken, what value was there in keeping all information secret now?
‘Hmm…’
Ahn Yoon-seung thought about this issue from another angle.
What if he tried to clarify the truth and dispel misunderstandings instead?
He judged that would be much more helpful to Gi-ryeo.
Surely, Gi-ryeo would not want to keep receiving intense attention from association employees.
“Then I’ll tell you about brother Gi-ryeo. But could you keep this a secret?”
Yoon-seung steeled himself and made the proposal.
Seonwoo-yeon nodded, her eyes earnest.
“Of course. I promise.”
She is someone whose mouth is sealed when it comes to secrets, so her promise would be kept strictly.
Five minutes passed.
“I met him on a summer day…”
The A-Class Hunter began to describe that day’s first meeting in a deep voice.
“You know about my team’s collapse in the unusual mutated Gate, right?”
“I do. It was quite a big incident.”
“But that time! The reason I made it back alive was all thanks to him!”
Seonwoo-yeon listened intently to his words without wavering.
“I still can’t forget that scene. He effortlessly subdued a Golem that I couldn’t even touch and ripped its heart out!”
A long-winded explanation ensued, but to summarize how Ahn Yoon-seung and Kim Gi-ryeo first met:
‘Ahn Yoon-seung took out a suspected boss-level monster in the blink of an eye? A minimum of A-Class confirmed.’
How many layers was this guy hiding?
Seonwoo-yeon’s expression soured slightly.
“Um, so are you worried about Gi-ryeo’s Awakening Level?”
As Seonwoo-yeon’s reaction wasn’t great, Yoon-seung began to defend Gi-ryeo even more vigorously.
“But it seems like there’s a reason for it, so can you just let it slide a little?”
“What reason?”
“I’ve never asked directly, but maybe he worries about interference from the outside world…”
Ahn Yoon-seung stroked his chin, deep in thought for a moment, as if recalling something before uttering his next line.
“And he quietly adjusts his magic power to seem like a pesky bug.”
Pesky bug.
That was definitely true, but the word was a bit…
“It seems he puts a lot of effort into suppressing his power. He could be like Jeong Ha-seong in that regard.”
“Jeong Ha-seong?”
“He’s careful because he doesn’t want the people around him to feel uncomfortable. Like that event during his interview… you remember?”
Ah.
As soon as the word “interview” came up, Seonwoo-yeon seemed to understand.
That Hunter, who boasted to be the undisputed Rank 1, was famous for having an incredibly high Awakening Level.
“There have been cases where ordinary people fainted collectively due to his magic.”
Of course, even if it wasn’t that extreme, from the A-Class onwards, it would certainly impact those around them.
“Haha, but in a way, it makes sense that my brother got caught for false ranking.”
“He didn’t even flinch while standing next to you.”
“He’s someone who doesn’t get intimidated even in front of S-Class, what can I say?”
Ahn Yoon-seung quenched his throat with the half-melted Americano.
“Anyways, what I want to say is this. He would never get involved in crime.”
“…”
“If he had dubious motives for disguising his rank, he’d be interested in murder or dirty money, yet that’s not the case, right?”
“Is it really true that he’s not greedy at all?”
“My brother eats gookbap for his meals!”
A string of positive affirmations followed.
Yet Seonwoo-yeon still couldn’t seem to muster a pleasant expression.
“Why do you hold him in such high regard? You’ve only just met the guy.”
Yoon-seung paused for a moment, then let out a wry smile.
“But he’s helped me a lot.”
Yoon-seung recalled what had happened not too long ago.
When he caught a Hunter who was hunting Hunters, that frog incident.
“Gi-ryeo seemed worried I’d live a life burdened by my past failures.”
“Worried?”
“So one day, he directly assisted me in finding my confidence.”
“…”
“He sacrificed his own well-being without a care.”
Could anyone suspect someone like that?
With that statement, Seonwoo-yeon couldn’t refute him.
Looking back, she had undergone similar experiences herself.
‘The reason I could use my abilities was because he willingly got hurt…’
Suddenly, the image of him stained red from blood passed through her mind.
‘I was so worried he’d end up in a bad state without any recovery potions…’
But who asked him to go as far as that to help her use a skill?
When she thought of the anxiety she’d felt at that time, it was still infuriating.
So Seonwoo-yeon grabbed at a trivial thing, sounding annoyed.
“Well, I still don’t trust him. That Awakened has some evidence of attacking another Hunter inside the Gate.”
Hearing this, Ahn Yoon-seung casually inquired, hoping.
“Are you talking about the Baek-ui Maze incident? The thing with Jeong Ha-seong?”
“……!”
“As far as I know, that’s the only case where my brother attacked another Hunter.”
Attacked another Hunter. His tone exuded confidence.
Could it be true that that F-Class had indeed knocked out the Rank 1 Hunter in that incident?
“Are you saying it wasn’t some setup by Kang Chang-ho, but really something Kim Gi-ryeo himself did?”
Seonwoo-yeon felt cold sweat break as her words trailed off. Just then, Yoon-seung rushed to defend Gi-ryeo.
“Wait! Don’t misunderstand! I know the full story! He didn’t actually fight with Jeong Ha-seong Hunter….”
He looked incredibly wronged.
Not long after, the explanation of the incident flowed from Ahn Yoon-seung’s mouth.