Chapter 36
Baekrang, the son of Wolf and the sixth S-Class hunter in Korea, was a celebrity, but ironically, Siwoo was not.
It was because he was famous for being the only son of Wolf's leader, Shin Gwihoon, but personal information such as his face were not known.
Therefore, although Siwoo had recognized Minjoo, Minjoo could never know Siwoo's identity by only looking at his face.
"Since you saw through my trick, I think you're a pretty high class. Who are you affiliated with?"
However, Minjoo seemed to have noticed right away that Siwoo was both an awakener and a hunter.
Thump, thump, thump…
The table vibrated faintly. The cheeky little boy was shaking his legs.
Siwoo burst out a small dry laugh at the attitude that had changed as easily as a mask, which was completely different from how he acted around Eunha. He wasn't particularly surprised.
"I'm so honoured that you gave me a good evaluation just for being able to see through such a shallow trick."
"It's nothing. The state of active hunters these days isn't very good. That's why you were able to get a compliment."
Trickster moved his still finger and continued folding his tissue once more. His small hands were quite skilled. Without even looking at Siwoo, Trickster parted his lips.
"You asked me if I was going to do something, didn't you? It's not like that. I just became interested in a person with the same hobby as me. That's a given, right?"
"The same hobby?"
Siwoo slightly furrowed his brow. From what Siwoo knew, Eunha's hobbies were probably watching reruns of 90s music specials and classic movies.
'Does this youngster have such a hobby?'
He couldn't believe it. So, he judged it as such. He was definitely lying right now.
"Let me make one thing clear."
A strange air flow flowed between the two of them after the calm, low-pitched voice spoke.
"You better not approach her more than necessary."
Crackle—
White frost formed on the glass of water in front of them. As if it was winter, the air around them turned chilly.
"Is that a warning? Or a threat?"
Trickster laughed joyfully and tapped the frozen cup. He didn't look intimidated at all.
"Do you know who I am?"
"I do. Why?"
"You're quite confident against Corps. Hyung, are you part of Wolf?"
"Hm. Do I have to answer?"
At Siwoo's response, the smile that had been on Trickster's lips disappeared like smoke. Silence drifted like a chill between the two of them again.
Clack, clack.
The sound of small nails tapping the frozen cup was particularly loud.
"Ah, I see."
The gaze that had been looking into the air suddenly reached the man on the other side of the table. Trickster's round eyes curved into crescent moons.
"Seeing you say that, Hyung, you seem to have a pretty deep relationship with Noona?"
A deep relationship.
Was their relationship something that could be called deep?
In reality, the answer was clear.
They were simply in a contractual relationship, nothing more, nothing less.
But for some reason, he didn't want to bring that simple fact out of his mouth. And absolutely not in front of the brat before him.
"And if I do?"
In response to the answer that he gave, the boy's lips drew a curve, as if he had been waiting for that.
"Actually, Noona stole from a gate that our Corps won."
"…What?"
A faint crack appeared on Siwoo's unwavering face.
Did he just hear it wrong?
A gate… What did he mean?
Sensing his reaction, Trickster said with a playful smile.
"Hyung is a hunter too, right? You should know it well. When a stealer appears at a successfully auctioned gate, the guild has the right to arrest and punish the stealer. The association can't even intervene with that."
"Don't make me laugh."
Siwoo narrowed his eyes and spoke without shaking.
"She's not the type of person to become a stealer."
That's right. He was a little surprised to hear that a gate was stolen from, but that was the correct answer.
Siwoo didn't have the slightest bit of trust in the Trickster he had only met for the first time today. It was the right decision to trust Sunbae rather than this cheeky kid.
"Check it out for yourself. It's in Noona's right front pocket. 'My' gate core."
However, Trickster's attitude was strangely confident. To the point where he wondered if he was telling the truth.
Of course, if everything he said was true, then it would be quite a nuisance.
As Trickster had said, stealing from a successful bid was equivalent to a high-level crime in the hunter world.
In Eunha's days, there wouldn't have been a system for auctioning or bidding on a gate, so she wouldn't know. If that had really happened, it would be his fault for not explaining it to her in detail.
However.
'I don't care.'
Siwoo raised his chin with a relaxed expression.
"If it's just the gate core, isn't it enough to compensate you?"
'Just say the price. I'll give it to you, so go away like I wanted since you're done eating.'
"No."
Trickster smiled meaningfully, showing his canines.
"She dared to steal from Corps's gate. Don't you think the price of that crime can't be converted into money?"
"…Then? Tell me what you want."
"There's only one thing I want."
Trickster slightly shrugged his shoulders, then opened his mouth.
"You should mind your own business."
"…What?"
Siwoo's eyes changed sharply. However, Trickster continued speaking easily, not paying attention to him.
"I said that I was interested in someone with a common hobby."
"…"
"As evidence of that, I didn't hold Noona responsible for stealing the gate core. Don't you see my colleagues behind us? Those guys didn't even raise a hand at Noona. Even though either of us could've done that, we came here to eat rice soup together instead."
Trickster tapped an empty bowl of rice soup. He curled his lips, small fangs poking out.
"If you don't want this to escalate into a conflict between guilds, I recommend you mind your own business."
With those last words, Trickster reached for his tissue and started folding it again. As he was humming and concentrating on folding the paper, he looked like an ordinary boy, but Siwoo still stared at him with sharp eyes.
Just mind your own business.
It was a form of intimidation. However, Siwoo wouldn't be threatened by a middle school boy.
It didn't matter if the opponent was an S-Class hunter. He didn't want to lose to an immature kid who didn't know how to back down.
"Hey."
The moment Siwoo called out to him.
"Let's go."
Eunha had just returned and stood by the table.
The frozen glass of water reflected in Eunha's dark irises. Obviously, the water was lukewarm before she went to the bathroom.
"…"
After staring at it for a long time, Eunha turned her head back to them.
Outwardly, the two didn't seem any different.
"…You're here already?"
Siwoo raised his head and looked at Eunha. It sounded as if he had wanted her to come a little later.
"I already paid. Let's head out."
Eunha quickly turned her back. Following her, Siwoo and Minjoo also rose from their seats.
But at that moment.
"…"
Siwoo's gaze was pinned to the bump in Eunha's pocket.
"Sunbae, you have something in your pocket."
"Ah. This."
Eunha rummaged through her pocket as if it was something insignificant. Shhk, the thing that she calmly pulled out was—
"A gate core."
"…!"
Siwoo's eyes widened as he faced the purple marble.
'Bleh.'
Trickster met his gaze while hiding behind Eunha's back and stuck out his tongue, as if to show off.
"I happened to be swept in by a burst gate on the way here, and I picked it up after killing the boss."
"So… a burst gate."
Come to think of it, the terminal had sounded while he was waiting for her.
A crack had occurred in Banha-dong at H Hotel.
Could it be that she was swept up there? How the hell did she 'accidentally' get swept away by a burst gate? Agents from the association, police officers, and firefighters weren't just for decoration.
"Mhm. A burst gate."
Eunha lightly nodded her head while holding the gate core. The aloof demeanour he thought he had gotten used to was strange after a long time apart.
Trickster's words were true.
How should he handle this? While he was in deep thought about it.
"This, what do I do with it?"
Eunha suddenly thrust the gate core in front of Siwoo's eyes.
In Eunha's days, the rule was to submit obtained gate cores to the people above her. If she were to say who her superior currently was, it would be Wolf, who had hired her, or in other words, Siwoo.
"This gate core is—"
The moment Siwoo opened his mouth urgently.
Bzzt—
A vibration sounded. It was Siwoo's cellphone.
"…Please wait a moment."
Siwoo stared at the phone with an embarrassed expression.
Seeing the name that appeared on the screen, Siwoo frowned slightly. What was going on during such an important moment like now?
"I'll take this call and be right back."
After leaving the restaurant, Siwoo answered the call in the alley next to the store.
"Hey. What is it?"
「President, where are you now?」
"I'm out somewhere. Why?"
「A… guest has arrived.」
"A guest? For me?"
He didn't know if the owner of Wolf, Shin Gwihoon, had a visitor, but for him?
'Are they from the association?'
That was all he could think of. Otherwise, he couldn't think of anyone who would come to visit him.
"Send them back."
「What?」
"Send them back. Just roughly make something up and do it."
Ugh… To the small groan that came in through the receiver, Siwoo added more words at the end.
"I'm a little busy right now. Kick them out, and don't let them come back. You know what I mean, right?"
「Yes, I understand.」
"Okay. I'm hanging up."
What was important now wasn't an unknown guest. Siwoo put his phone in his back pocket and put his forehead in his hand.
'The gate core.'
'I happened to be swept in by a burst gate on the way here, and I picked it up after killing the boss.'
"Ha."
He roughly understood the situation. So, Sunbae stole the core from the gate that Corps had won the bid for, and the Corps guild members who noticed it came after her.
But apart from that, there was one thing he didn't understand.
'Why is Trickster hiding his identity from Sunbae?'
That point was still dubious. Whether it was inside the gate or on the way to the rice soup restaurant after her escape, he could have reclaimed the gate core from her at any time. But he didn't.
'I'm just interested in a person with the same hobby as me.'
…No, he would never believe that. But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't come up with a reasonable answer.
'Let's head back first.'
Trying to do this here wouldn't give him an answer.
As he strode towards the restaurant, he felt a vibration in his back pocket again.
He thought that he had explained everything clearly, but it seemed that it wasn't the case. Siwoo answered the phone again with a brief sigh.
"Why are you calling again?"
「P-president.」
The voice over the phone was nervous to the point that it was incomparable to before.
「The representative said that if you were away, they would go to see the master. What should I do?」
What? Siwoo furrowed his brow. They were the one who came to him without prior notice and demanded a meeting.
"Since when did the Wolf Guild's headquarters become a neighbourhood supermarket?"
No one didn't know of Wolf's status in Korea. Jehwi stuttered at Siwoo's words.
「They want to talk about something related to the Princess of Dark Flare.」
Freeze.
The Princess of Dark Flare. At those words, Siwoo paused.
A long silence passed after that. Then, Siwoo slowly opened his mouth.
"Who is it, that bastard?"
His cold voice seemed to have no intention of hiding his hostility and wariness.
「That… They said that they came from the 'Chaser' Guild.」
"Chaser?"
It seemed like he'd heard it from somewhere before. Where was it? It didn't seem like a very famous guild, since it hadn't remained clearly in his memory.
As he was deeply immersed in his thoughts, Jehwi's voice came through the receiver.
It was a cautious and discreet voice, as if he was afraid of being eavesdropped on by someone.
「It's the American hunter guild, Chaser.」