IRNH C54

#54

“…Lee Jooyeon?”

Cough. “Y-Yes. Please, help us!”

Sihyeon’s mind quickly pieced together the situation from Jooyeon’s urgent voice. Surely, Jooyeon had no reason to contact him, and the person who should be reaching out now was Kyu-min.

But to suddenly hear such a desperate plea for help was a clear sign that something had happened.

“Damn it. Where are you?”

Sniffle, cough “Here, Cheongsan-dong… cough.”

“Wait for me. I’m coming right away.”

The call ended abruptly. Worry brimming, Sihyeon quickly dialed Kyu-min.

As expected, the call went straight to ringing with no answer. The same was true for Captain Kim Seongbin, whom he also tried calling next.

Impatience and anxiety grew.

“Hey, I’m going first.”

“Be careful.”

Though the mood seemed grim, Ha-jung refrained from pressing further, softly patting her friend’s stiffened shoulder.

Sihyeon thanked Ha-jung once more, then met Taewoon’s eyes.

Ha-jung’s house was quiet, but telepathic messages flew rapidly between Sihyeon and Taewoon.

{Looks like Kyu-min has been caught. Once he leaves here, he’ll focus more on speed than stealth.}

{Understood. I’ll follow immediately.}

As Taewoon’s reply came, Sihyeon nodded slightly toward Ha-jung, then dashed out through a half-open window.

He pulled up the location Jooyeon had mentioned on his phone’s map app and set off running immediately.

Jooyeon’s voice was as fragile as when they first met, as if any moment she might collapse.

No, it sounded even more severe; he could sense her internal organs damaged just from her cough.

In truth, since the object they targeted was in Sihyeon’s possession, he and Taewoon assumed the other side was safer—a complacency that turned out a serious mistake.

“Damn.”

“Master, don’t blame yourself too much.”

Taewoon’s quiet voice calmed Sihyeon’s unintentional harsh words surprisingly.

Leaping swiftly across rooftops with barely a disrupted breath, his calm voice slowly soothed Sihyeon’s racing heart.

“Phew… sorry. I showed a hopeless side.”

“It’s okay. I like that, actually.”

Sihyeon steadied himself after nearly stumbling, stepping on a towering building’s wall and quickly ascending onto the rooftop.

Whether intentional or not, his anxiety vanished swiftly but was replaced by embarrassment.

“Hmph!”

Though it felt like a trivial praise reminiscent of “Mom is good, Dad is good,” his body creaked oddly.

He zipped his lips and increased his speed.

Shortly after, faster than expected, Sihyeon reached the dark, shaded destination.

He lightly stepped on the spot, widening his perception to scan quickly all around.

“What? Where are you?”

Scanning hurriedly, he found no trace of Jooyeon immediately and tilted his head slightly in concern before beginning a more meticulous search.

He clearly remembered her aura, having sensed it before.

Yet the rapid failure to find her stirred a growing dread—had she already been taken?

“Master.”

Taewoon grabbed Sihyeon’s shoulder and pointed.

His finger directed toward a parking lot of a building with shutters yet to be opened.

There, in a dark, shadowed corner, Jooyeon was crouched—her aura faint but now perceptible.

Sihyeon felt a dreadful déjà vu.

He recalled experiencing a similar situation at their first meeting.

Back then, when he had lost his internal energy entirely and was starting anew, he dismissed it as illusion—but now he wasn’t so sure.

Sihyeon slipped swiftly into the parking lot and approached Jooyeon.

“Jooyeon.”

Jooyeon, one side of her top soaked in blood, cowered between cars.

Startled at the sudden presence, she stepped back, but noticing it was Sihyeon, she exhaled deeply.

“Ah, haah, Master…”

“Let’s get you to a safer place first.”

Sihyeon frowned slightly, approaching to support her, seeing how severe her state was.

“N-No!”

Jooyeon unexpectedly restrained him, forcing him to stop.

“I’m okay. I don’t know how you found me, but I can hide well. More importantly, my brother!”

Her voice shook, words jumbled, but intelligible.

Jooyeon was a hunter, albeit a useless F-rank, the lowest grade.

That didn’t bother her.

Her aptitude and foundation were more toward managing and nurturing things rather than fighting.

Her parents were a bit busy, but they had a harmonious family with nothing lacking.

But that peace was shattered recently. Her strong pillar, her eldest brother, began acting like a different person.

“Jooyeon, I’ve made a wrong call. We have to move fast.”

The reason was unknown; his attitude suddenly flipped.

Jooyeon was dragged away, imprisoned to endure a “baptism” her brother mentioned, trembling with fear.

Cough!

Startled,

One or two days later—time had passed too subtly to note—someone entered the now empty space.

“Wh-Who’s there?”

“Haah, haah. Jooyeon?”

“Brother…?”

A chilling aura swept over her arm.

Jooyeon shivered, clutching her arms, too horrified to approach her bloodied second older brother, who collapsed nearby.

“When did you get here?! What’s wrong with Brother?!”

“I don’t know… I don’t know.” sob

Years of suppressed fear and terror blurred Jooyeon’s vision.

But sitting and crying wouldn’t help.

She coughed more fiercely and stumbled toward Kyu-min, who was signaling her slowly.

“Listen carefully, Jooyeon. When you leave here, find Master Sihyeon. He’ll definitely help.”

“But how do I get out?”

“Use your skill.”

Jooyeon froze, but Kyu-min’s eyes were steadfast.

She recalled her only known skill:

[Playing Dead]

With a lame name and brutal activation conditions, she had never used it except once.

Actually, never voluntarily.

The condition triggers upon fatal injury, automatically reducing bodily signs to mimic a lifeless state.

All traces vanish, and every cell uses full power to repair the body. A true emergency escape skill.

“This is my only option…?”

“Hah… yes, for now.”

Jooyeon hesitated, looking at her bloodied state and bit her lips tightly, closing her eyes.

Hoo… Then Brother, attack for me. I can’t do it myself.

Kyu-min’s face twisted in frustration but he had no choice.

He was too weak to move and only trusted Jooyeon.

Kyu-min slowly raised his trembling hand, striking downward with all his might.

“Ahh!!”

Warm liquid streamed over his already damp fist.

At once, a piercing scream echoed within, ringing in Kyu-min’s ears, burning his eyes and making him dizzy—as if drums pounded persistently inside his head.

Jooyeon’s scream ceased shortly after that first shout.

Any residual presence or warmth became undetectable.

‘The skill activated.’

At first, pain would limit movement, but once the body began recovering, she could escape.

“And… tell her never to come back here, Jooyeon. And I’m sorry.” cough

Jooyeon lay slumped before Kyu-min, who sat shakily against the wall, clutching one arm.

After wiping tears and blood from her smeared face, she rose slowly.

“Time limit: three hours. Must move quickly… sob.”

Her legs trembled.

Since the Hunter Association tests, she had never ventured into a gate.

Though she bore visible wounds and pools of blood, all things foreign to her, she clenched her teeth.

She couldn’t remain stunned like a fool.

“Brother, I’ll come save you. Just hang on.”

Slowly, Jooyeon moved, recalling protective magic circles embedded in her body.

Though single-use, these devices cost hundreds of millions and were prepared for emergencies.

Rich clients typically had several carved as basics; her eldest brother must have known about hers.

Why he hadn’t intervened remained a mystery.

Regardless, she resolved to do all she could to escape.

[Magic Spear]

A translucent orb of magic radiated faint light, shaped like a spear, floating beside her.

Without hesitation, Jooyeon aimed at the locked door handle.