Chapter 38

"Um…"

Tick, ​​tock.

The sound of the clock ticking in the silence was particularly loud. Jehwi made a stressed noise and opened his mouth with difficulty.

"President, this is Catherine from the United States…"

Siwoo disregarded Jehwi and turned his gaze to Catherine.

"What are you doing so far from America?"

It was not Catherine who was rather embarrassed by the blunt question, but Jehwi, whose presence had already disappeared. Jehwi made a short "Ah…" and looked at Catherine.

"I've come because there is an important matter here. I hope you understand."

Siwoo sat down on the sofa and fixed his messy bangs.

Catherine smiled calmly and put down her teacup.

"I'm sorry if the sudden visit was very rude, Hunter Shin Siwoo. I'm Catherine Hudson from Clamp Management, a subsidiary of the Chaser Guild."

Catherine handed out her business card to Siwoo as she did with Jehwi.

Siwoo stared at Catherine's business card with narrowed eyes.

Chaser. It was really Chaser.

What the hell did an American Hunter Guild have to do with Wolf and the Princess of Dark Flare?

First, be vigilant and wary. That was also the old policy of Wolf. Like a dog's traits.

Siwoo took his eyes off her business card and looked at her carefully this time.

Beyond her transparent glasses, emerald green eyes curved into crescent moons. It was a smile that showed her proficiency rather than beauty. In other words, it was the type that Siwoo hated.

"The reason I came today is because I have a proposal for the Princess of Dark Flare, who has a contract with Wolf."

"…But why did you come to me?"

Catherine grinned at Siwoo's feigned ignorance.

"It's because it wasn't Wolf that she contracted with, Hunter Shin Siwoo. It was you."

"…"

"Wasn't it?"

Siwoo didn't answer, but looked at her deeply as if he was trying to figure her out.

How did Catherine Hudson, no, Chaser know that?

And when did they find out?

Siwoo glanced at Jehwi and glared. Jehwi flitted like a pigeon and shook his head violently. 'It wasn't me!' He seemed to insist.

"This."

Catherine picked up the suitcase she had next to her and put it on the desk. She opened the case with a deft hand.

"…!"

Jehwi's eyes widened when he saw its contents. The briefcase was filled with a huge amount of dollar bills, with not even a single gap between them.

'How much is all of that worth?'

Gulp. His throat moved reflexively.

However, Siwoo had an unmoved expression with his arms crossed, his gaze still fixed on Catherine and not the money. So was it this kind of business? They wouldn't have come if that was the case.

Even in front of the cold Siwoo, Catherine's dazzling smile remained.

It was as if she had a long-standing immunity to such things.

"My boss has an interest in the Princess of Dark Flare. It will be in the form of terminating the contract before its designated end, but if you agree to my proposal, we will naturally pay the full amount in the above data…"

"I refuse."

Siwoo stood up, as if he didn't need to hear any more.

"I don't need any money. Go back and tell that to your boss."

His blue eyes darkened terribly in an instant.

"And get rid of your interest."

As if she had expected this to happen, Catherine opened her mouth with a relaxed face.

"Excuse me. It seems like I said that too bluntly. In addition to the payment, my boss has added that he will send an A-Class hunter specially trained by Chaser for five years for a three-year contract. Without any cost, of course."

"Even if you send an S-Class hunter instead of an A-Class, my answer will remain the same."

The air surrounding them chilled. Even though the room had no windows, it felt like an outside breeze had blown in from somewhere.

"Is that so?"

Catherine pushed up her glasses and closed the briefcase. Was this development also expected? She didn't look disappointed at all.

Jehwi looked between Catherine and Siwoo with an anxious face.

'No, why is the president so angry?'

Could it be that they'd hurt his pride by offering too small of a sum to the unrivalled Wolf?

It could've been. For Jehwi, it was an eye-widening amount, but for Siwoo, the young master of Wolf, it may have not been so.

But was that something to be so upset about? As always, it seemed difficult to understand him.

"I understand. I'll leave and deliver the message."

"Wait a moment."

Just before Catherine left the room, Siwoo stepped in front of her.

"Your boss. You have to tell me who they are."

Why was it that an American guild from overseas, not the Hunter Association or another large-scale guild in Korea, wanted the Princess of Dark Flare?

'They even dug up information and willingly offered that sum of money.'

Whatever the reason was, Siwoo had no intention of breaking the contract with Eunha. But, he needed to know who wanted Eunha, where they were, and what they did.

Catherine met Siwoo's blue eyes and looked at him quietly. If she had not been resistant to that type of gaze, his cold eyes would've been enough to make her legs go weak.

But she was someone who had similar experiences dozens of times. There was no way she would be intimidated.

"He will introduce himself, not me."

Click. As she turned the doorknob, she spoke softly.

"I'll be seeing you soon, Hunter Shin Siwoo."

* * *

The next morning.

Eunha had given Minjoo the bedroom and woke up on the sofa. She slowly raised her upper body and opened the curtains. As the window faced south, the dazzling morning sun broke out like waves onto the marble tiles.

Eunha yawned a little and put on her slippers, heading to the bedroom where the boy was.

It would be a good idea to eat breakfast before heading down to the police station. Seeing that there were no noises, the boy must've still been soundly sleeping.

"…"

No.

Eunha stood still and listened quietly. The room was quiet. To the point where it was unnaturally so.

Tak, tak.

She knocked on the bedroom door.

There was no answer back.

After a few more knocks, Eunha slowly opened the door. Sure enough, no one was there.

"…Where did he go?"

Eunha murmured as she stood in place.

Wrinkle-free bed sheets.

Tightly closed windows.

Tidied slippers.

It was like putting the boy to sleep yesterday had been a dream. The bedroom was neat to that extent.

Suddenly, a sticky note on the bed sheet caught her eye. Eunha walked to it and checked it.

It was written in a rounded font.

It seemed like the boy had left it behind.

Below that, one more sentence continued.

Eunha took her eyes off the post-it note.

Black eyes once again scanned the empty bedroom. It was a very clean bedroom, like no one had been there all night.

But there was something even weirder than that.

'….When?'

Her gaze passed through and out of the bedroom, as if she was drawing a line with her eyes to the front door.

She was a light sleeper. After making a contract with the cat, she had become even more sensitive.

And even last night with the boy, she had slept more lightly than usual. Because it would be necessary to defend the boy and get out of the house in case the green cloaked people were still after him.

'However.'

She didn't realise.

Up until when the boy had already tidied up the room, opened and closed the door, and exited the front door.

It meant that Eunha had been asleep and didn't notice it.

It was a nonsensical concept.

"…"

Eunha stared at the front door before turning her head again to look at the sticky note. Eunha's eyes narrowed as they stared at the bubbly handwriting.

Suddenly, a small murmur resonated in the silent room.

"I didn't need to walk him home."

* * *

Seoul, Korea. 9:36 a.m.

There was a large door located in the corner of the top floor of the Hunter Association. It was a drawing room that only President Go Daeyoon and his guests could use.

"Is that really true?"

Daeyoon asked with a strangely hardened face. The middle-aged man in a dark grey hat nodded his head.

"Yes. I tried asking the teaching assistants who worked in the training centre at the time after being called by the association, but…"

The man trailed off for a moment before carefully opening his mouth.

"No one remembered a trainee named Lee Yura."

Daeyoon gently rubbed his chin.

He had expected it to some extent, but it was still surprising.

In October 2029, the Pocheon Hunter Training Centre was closed due to an unknown gate. The man sitting in front of him now was the head of the city's training centre at the time.

"Of course, the number of trainees under each leader is not small, so they may not remember the names and faces of every trainee."

"Yes, I suppose so."

Daeyoon nodded lightly and stared intently at the papers on his desk. It was the personal information of Lee Yura that he had found so far.

Of course, there was nothing much about her personal information. As Daeyoon's subordinate, Gwanghyun, had said, she was shrouded in mystery.

'But she couldn't have fallen from the sky.'

Daeyoon sighed and lifted his head.

"That'll be all for now. More importantly, today is—"

The door to the drawing room swung open without warning.

"A-association President!"

"Ugh. This damn guy…"

Daeyoon, who was having a conversation with the training director, stood up and frowned.

"What kind of urgent matter is there for you to open the door without knocking?"

"S-sorry."

Gwanghyun had an unusually dishevelled appearance and was breathing heavily.

"Your tie is lopsided. And elevators aren't just for show."

At Daeyoon's mention, Gwanghyun hurriedly corrected his crooked tie. Daeyoon clicked his tongue, then opened his mouth to scold him.

"What happened this morning? Did a burst gate appear?"

"N-no."

"Then, did you get any information about Hunter Lee Yura? If so, then I understand."

"No, no."

Gwanghyun scratched his cheek shyly.

"Hunter Lee Yura… We are still investigating the Princess of Dark Flare."

As expected, it seemed that they weren't able to find anything either. It seemed to take longer than expected.

"Is that so?"

Daeyoon looked away from Gwanghyun and turned to the training camp director he was talking to.

"I'm sorry. He's usually a competent subordinate. This is just an extreme case."

"No, don't worry about it."

"Um, Association President."

Gwanghyun suddenly butted in again.

"It's not about Hunter Lee Yura, but there's something just as… No, there is something more important than that."

"What is it?"

Daeyoon answered offhandedly and shuffled through the materials on the table.

"Maestro is coming to visit Korea."

Freeze.

The hand that was flipping through the papers stiffened in the air. The eyes under his greyish brown eyelashes began to tremble. The former training camp commander who sat quietly next to him had the same reaction.

"What did you just say…"

Did he hear it wrong? Yes, he must have misheard it. That's right, it couldn't be true. He must've said the wrong person.

But the composure he had struggled to maintain was of no avail. It wasn't an illusion, as Gwanghyun placed both hands on Daeyoon's desk and confirmed his previous statement.

"Maestro, I said Maestro. The first Korean, no, the first S-Class hunter of Korea."

His anxious voice trembled faintly.

"It's Hunter Baek Yijun."