Retire 346

346 Reciprocity (1)

[Early this morning, a warehouse in Dong-gu, Busan, collapsed. Fortunately, thanks to swift evacuation, there were no casualties, but fire authorities are investigating the cause….]

Imi-seon turned off the TV with a complicated expression.

I blurted out reflexively.

“We didn’t do it.”

“We really didn’t do it.”

“We didn’t do it.”

Kim Chaemin and Hong Seokyeong said it at the same time.

Imi-seon looked at us in disbelief.

“Who said you did? How are you all saying the exact same thing…?”

“Didn’t you look like you were about to say something?”

“This is…”

Imi-seon closed her mouth.

“…This is?”

“No, that’s not what I meant!”

I shrugged.

Imi-seon pressed her temples and spoke.

“I’ve managed to clean things up so it won’t cause trouble. There were no witnesses… There is a report from a week ago when Hunter Hong and Mr. Woo entered, but there’s nothing that will get flagged.”

“As expected of this Hunter. I knew I could count on you.”

“…That doesn’t mean you should just do whatever you want, right?”

Imi-seon shook her head.

Naturally, we all protested our innocence. The more excuses she heard from the three of us, the deeper the crease in Imi-seon’s brow became.

“Alright, alright. From here on out, it’s out of my hands. You said there was… a passage inside?”

“There was a dungeon at the very back.”

“A dungeon…”

“But it exploded from the inside, and we confirmed it closed.”

“I did wonder if you’d stay inside, but it’s good you came out. No one expected the warehouse itself to collapse.”

“See, I told you I had a bad feeling and suggested we wait outside the dungeon. Listen to your elders and good things happen.”

Kim Chaemin shuddered, remembering what had happened in the dungeon.

That explosion was artificial, no matter how you looked at it.

Even with a mage like Kim Chaemin, he wasn’t omnipotent. Even if you could somehow block the explosion, if the shock collapsed the underground, getting out would be another matter. It’s better not to get trapped in the first place. That’s why we ran so hard. We’d gone deep inside because we’d been too diligent about cleaning up with Hong Seokyeong, and the explosion didn’t even start from the innermost part.

To be precise, it was the fluid of something—monster or not—that burst out.

The wooden puppets vanished as their threads were severed. But the transparent fluid remained on the floor. Yes, that burst. It exploded.

What Kim Chaemin sensed first was an explosion from a lower area we hadn’t entered. But explosions also went off in places we’d already passed. We forced our way through blocked paths, Kim Chaemin using magic to hold up collapsing ceilings.

Even after escaping the underground, it was the same. There had been plenty of monsters on the beach and in the forest.

Thinking we couldn’t hold out much longer, we headed straight for the gate. Who knew if the core would survive that explosion? Even if it broke, it would take time for the dungeon to close completely. Rather than wait around, it was better to get outside.

Apparently, Kim Chaemin had been right about the warehouse being quiet—there was still no one watching.

‘That wasn’t a normal explosion, was it?’

‘Given Henry Lehmann’s presence, maybe there was some kind of self-destruct device… Oh. The gate’s closed now.’

‘But don’t you hear something?’

‘…Get out!’

And so, the Atlas warehouse collapsed…

After that? Aside from the two police officers Imi-seon had called, no one knew we’d gone in, so we just returned to Seoul.

“I have a lot to say, but… you wouldn’t listen anyway, so let’s just drop it.”

I wanted to object, but I wasn’t mean enough to argue with someone who wanted to let it go. I should be grateful, really.

So I kept quiet.

Still, it felt unfair to be lumped in with these two, especially Hong Seokyeong. When had I ever caused some ridiculous accident? I’d been working hard, stuck at Yangseong High. Sure, I’d asked Imi-seon for the occasional favor, but that was always for the school and students, never for my own personal gain! Well, maybe I’d benefited a little on the side…

But compared to Hong Seokyeong, I was a civilized human being. Originally, we’d planned to keep Imi-seon out of this warehouse investigation. Now that things had turned out this way, that was impossible, but if she would just let this slide…

“What exactly was in that warehouse?”

“……”

Imi-seon asked directly about the warehouse.

“I helped because Hunter Hong said it was necessary, but you know you’re not supposed to do things like that, right? I only did it because it was you, Hunter Hong.”

“Mm. I appreciate it.”

“So what happened? The warehouse didn’t just collapse on its own, did it?”

“I told you, it wasn’t us.”

“Then someone else must have done it, right?”

I didn’t know what to say, so I just stayed quiet. There’s a limit to how much you can dodge the question…

“Well, of course.”

Hong Seokyeong answered without a hint of concern, his expression unchanged.

“You remember I had to rush back from the States, right?”

“…Yes.”

“There was something from before I needed to check on.”

“The States?”

“I had to confirm something quickly, so I came back to Korea for a bit, along with other business.”

“……”

Imi-seon’s suspicious gaze didn’t waver.

Well, I’d be suspicious too. Taking advantage of her help and skipping the explanations—there’s no bigger scoundrel.

“It’s not exactly classified…”

Apparently thinking the same, Hong Seokyeong continued calmly.

“You know about the place where Mr. Woo was, right?”

“The Ark?”

“No. The research lab.”

I couldn’t follow what Hong Seokyeong was getting at. I had no idea what he was trying to say, but figured he must have some plan, so I kept my surprise hidden and put on a serious face.

A quick glance at Kim Chaemin showed he was wearing the same look. Whatever it was, he was pretending to know too.

I did worry whether Hong Seokyeong’s idea was sound, but…

“You know about its predecessor, right?”

“Atlas?”

“Right. Apparently, the Americans have been tracking it for a long time. They say it set up a small community out in the sticks. Oh, you know about that, too.”

“…Yes.”

“Anyway, they’re sensitive about that kind of thing over there. Cult organizations.”

Fraud using magic was becoming a serious social problem in Korea as well. Not to compare the severity, but the scale of things in this small country and in America was just different.

America, plagued by countless self-proclaimed gods and cults, had every reason to be sensitive. The number of victims there was on another level.

“But it seems they never managed to connect Atlas and the Ark. Apparently, the research was all moved to Asia.”

“So you were tracking the Ark?”

“No. Atlas.”

Imi-seon frowned slightly.

“We’re still trying to get a handle on it, but there are a lot of factions. That’s why you can’t trust cultists.”

“So what about Mr. Woo?”

“Of course!”

Smack!

Hong Seokyeong slapped his knee.

“It’s because of Irok.”

And then he said something I never expected.

…What is this man really up to?

But oddly enough, that made me feel relieved. There’s no way he’d ever do anything to harm a child, especially Woo Irok.

“You know Irok grew up in that lab, right?”

“Yes, but what does that have to do with this…”

“Of course it’s related.”

Hong Seokyeong’s voice rose.

“The experiments Irok underwent.”

“……!”

“We have to find out what they were.”

“Ah…”

“We don’t know what effect they might have had on him—we can’t just leave it alone. And Irok wasn’t the only child who lived in that lab.”

Kang Taewoo and Sophia, and the other children Gamble had spirited away. The children scattered to orphanages. The ones who’d been kidnapped.

…And those who still hadn’t been found.

“They kept children locked up in that tiny space. Did they repeat the same experiments on dozens, hundreds of kids? What was the purpose of each experiment? If they succeeded, if they failed, what were the side effects? What symptoms might appear if there were aftereffects?”

This wasn’t something Hong Seokyeong was saying just to fool Imi-seon. He was completely sincere.

“We’re rounding up the people who worked at the lab, but nothing is coming out. The research data is gone, and the key researchers are either missing or dead.”

“……”

“This Hunter. I need to say this clearly, right now.”

Imi-seon tensed up.

Everyone present knew this was a crucial moment.

And that the one holding the initiative was Hong Seokyeong.

“I owe you a lot. So at least here, I’ll be honest.”

“…Yes, Hunter Hong.”

“I trust you. The same goes for Daseon.”

“Th-thank… you?”

Imi-seon bowed her head in awkward gratitude. But Hong Seokyeong was only just getting started.

“But I don’t trust the Association.”

Ah. So this is how he’s going to play it.

What a sly old fox.

Now I understood exactly what Hong Seokyeong was after. I relaxed and decided to enjoy the show. To think he’d steer the conversation here…

I laughed inwardly.

So much for teaching me everything. There’s still so much I have left to learn from him—besides what I’ve already decided not to learn.

“The moment the information I give you gets passed to the Association, I can’t be sure how it’ll be processed.”

“……”

“What about you, Hunter? Can you guarantee it won’t be used again? Can you guarantee the Association won’t track down the children who were test subjects?”

Imi-seon fell silent.

“Or even now, can you guarantee they’re not already checking on those kids?”

“…Hunter.”

At that, I called to Imi-seon. She knew my and Woo Irok’s true identities.

The whistleblower who escaped the Ark, and his younger sibling, the test subject.

Imi-seon shook her head urgently.

“No! Irok—Hong Hunter went with him. As long as Hong Hunter is protecting him, even if the Association knows, they can’t touch him.”

“What about Taewoo and Sophia?”

“…Right now, they’re under Hunter Hong’s protection.”

Which meant they hadn’t been, before.

At the same time, it was an admission that Hong Seokyeong had erased their records from the Association.

Hong Seokyeong let out a short breath. Too short for a sigh, too heavy for a scoff.

“See? That’s why it won’t work. I’m not willing to compromise on this.”

“……”

“I trust you’ll understand, Hunter.”

He spoke with a finality that brooked no argument.

Conflict flickered across Imi-seon’s face. Her wavering gaze turned to me.

Besides her ties to Hong Seokyeong and her duty as branch chief, Imi-seon had her own personal reason for helping me. She’d told me so directly, once.

The person who saved her beloved niece’s life.

“…I understand.”

“Right?”

Imi-seon looked at me as she spoke to Hong Seokyeong.

“If you ever need my help, just come up with a plausible excuse. The Ark, whatever. Say suspicious people fled that way, like this time.”

Imi-seon closed her eyes.

“You don’t have to tell me anything more. If I don’t know, I can’t report it to the Association.”

Truly, it pays to live a good life.