# Chapter 108
‘Homeschooling teacher?’
Lee Hwan’s eyes shot open in a triangular shape when he heard that. It was a story he knew well.
He had heard several times in the past that Taesung had studied at home to avoid reporters and various dangers. As a result, he had barely interacted with peers his age. This was one of the things he experienced after losing his guardian and being incorporated into the Kang family—a story that rarely emerged when he was feeling down.
‘When he talked about such things so calmly… I couldn’t bring myself to leave and go home even if I had appointments.’
How many appointments had he canceled to comfort Taesung, who pretended to be fine and forced a smile to avoid worrying him? Not just meetings to be introduced to people, but also drinking sessions meant to socialize with other hunters.
Thinking about it now, there was a clear reason why he hadn’t made many close friends after Taesung. At work, he was with him. On days off, also with him.
Being together almost every day, he had worried about Taesung finding a lover and growing distant. Unless someone was divinely appointed to him like the Annunciation, such a thing would never have happened to him.
Anyway, that’s why Lee Hwan was so confident about this topic. He was sure he could easily see through Yeomhwa’s futile attempt. With his eyes still narrowed in a triangular shape, he quickly typed a reply.
[JooJooLeeHwanHwan: The homeschooling teacher was male.]
[Yeomhwa: I guess the replacement was male. Before his Awakening, it was a female.]
[JooJooLeeHwanHwan: Replacement?]
[Yeomhwa: Not long after Kang Taesung’s Awakening, all the people who had been working for him were replaced.]
[JooJooLeeHwanHwan: How am I supposed to believe that?]
[Yeomhwa: Go ask him yourself. Since you’re friends, right?]
‘Hmm…’
He’d been caught off guard. Lee Hwan recalled the stories Taesung had casually shared and wondered if Yeomhwa might be right.
After Taesung’s Awakening, various members of the Kang family tried to either check his power or use him. Except for the Chairman, who had already built his kingdom and raised his successor, most people closer to power were wary of him.
A minor who had lost both parents and was forcibly taken in by relatives. If he suddenly Awakened as S-class, whoever was managing him would have wanted to surround him with their own people.
[JooJooLeeHwanHwan: Fine. I’ll believe you. I get the situation. So what do you want? Among the countless fans, you’ve finally met someone who actually knows Kang Taesung like you do, so you want to introduce yourself? Is that it?]
[Yeomhwa: Yeah, something like that.]
[JooJooLeeHwanHwan: Just to be clear, I don’t expose Kang Taesung’s personal information. Especially not on sites like this. As I said, because he’s a friend.]
Oops. Lee Hwan regretted sending the message a moment later. He should have charmed them, become friendly, and then used their information to either avoid or make use of Taesung, but his irritation had made him take a confrontational stance.
Just as he was starting to worry that Yeomhwa might get upset and kick him out, the response was surprisingly moderate and calm.
[Yeomhwa: That’s fine. I’d like to discourage people from exposing Kang Taesung’s personal information too.]
[Yeomhwa: This place is how should I put it]
[Yeomhwa: An asylum for crazy people? Something like that]
[JooJooLeeHwanHwan: What?]
Had he misunderstood the site? Scrolling up quickly to check, the page was still definitely a fan site. While he was considering whether to ask for clarification, Yeomhwa explained unprompted.
[Yeomhwa: I don’t know if you’re aware, but Kang Taesung fans have a terrible image online.]
[Yeomhwa: Maybe because he’s the youngest S-class lol or because he’s the first domestic S-class in 12 years, but there are a ton of weird fans]
[Yeomhwa: Even among hunter fans, they’re known for doing a lot of crazy things….]
[Yeomhwa: They claim to be Taesung fans but bash other hunters in front of hunter fans, spread rumors and all that]
[Yeomhwa: Now you can’t support Kang Taesung in most places. Some places even ban his name]
[JooJooLeeHwanHwan: Ah……..]
So that’s why, after searching the vast internet, only this one fan site came up. Even though Kang Taesung was a hunter affiliated with a private company, with his abilities and looks, it seemed strange that only a small number of fans were gathered on such a shabby site.
[Yeomhwa: I originally just had a personal site I enjoyed alone]
[Yeomhwa: But suddenly all the Kang Taesung fan sites got shut down and everyone flocked here.]
[Yeomhwa: Just the genuine ones, at that. I was going to kick them out because it was getting chaotic]
[Yeomhwa: But when I realized all those crazy people came here, I suddenly felt responsible.]
[Yeomhwa: Like… I need to manage these trash people well so they don’t tarnish Kang Taesung’s decent image]
[Yeomhwa: Well, he’s not really that decent. Had attitude issues too. Anyway…]
What an easy person to talk to. Yeomhwa had judged Lee Hwan to be Taesung’s friend, or at least a very close acquaintance, and was freely sharing their story.
Looking at it carefully, they didn’t seem entirely sane either, but at least they didn’t seem like the type to stalk someone and scratch their car.
Lee Hwan sighed with relief as he carefully read the messages and began voluntarily selling a story that didn’t exist.
[JooJooLeeHwanHwan: This works out well]
[JooJooLeeHwanHwan: I said I joined out of boredom but… I actually joined because of Kang Taesung]
[JooJooLeeHwanHwan: He’s the type who keeps his mouth shut no matter what happens. You know that, right? And I noticed people here seem to roughly track Kang Taesung’s locations]
[Yeomhwa: I try to block things when they cross the line by creating drama with secondary accounts. Still, incidents happen]
[Yeomhwa: If the admin steps in, they go crazy]
[JooJooLeeHwanHwan: No, I’m not complaining. Actually, I have some issues I can’t talk about, and it seems Kang Taesung keeps going places without saying anything.]
[JooJooLeeHwanHwan: I was wondering if I could use fan information for reference in case of emergencies or when something happens. Can I ask you about various things later?]
[Yeomhwa: That… should be possible. I’ve gathered the genuine lunatics and made them special members, so if you ask about Kang Taesung’s sighting locations in their board, they’ll tell you right away]
[JooJooLeeHwanHwan: Ah, so that rank is…]
[Yeomhwa: But try to avoid mixing words with them through replies or private messages if possible. They’re obsessed with having the last comment and they’re crazy]
The conversation that followed, along with several precautions, was roughly about Kang Taesung. Lee Hwan sent messages eagerly while thinking about Taesung during this time period, and realized that Yeomhwa was still subtly testing him.
Well, even though they said they believed him initially, it’s natural to feel some anxiety after opening up to a stranger. Lee Hwan sensed that this was proof that Yeomhwa’s story wasn’t a lie, which made him feel more at ease.
[Yeomhwa: I don’t know much, but ask me anything if it will help Kang Taesung.]
Only after bombarding them with a few more questions did Yeomhwa seem to completely believe that Lee Hwan was a friend and stopped messaging. Lee Hwan finally put down his phone with inner relief.
‘I’m starting to get some useful cards…’
Soon it would be 6 PM. The end of the workday was approaching. With fieldwork coming up, there wasn’t much left to do in the office. Lee Hwan quietly hummed a tune as he finished checking the document he had been looking at earlier and stealthily began packing his things.
He planned to dash out of there the moment it hit 6:00:00 PM.
Just then, his wristwatch vibrated. Lee Hwan wondered if he was getting notifications from the fan site and picked up his phone again to check the screen.
[See me after you finish.]
It wasn’t a call from Yeomhwa or the crazy fans, but a significant summons from someone he couldn’t ignore. A name he had been anxiously wondering about the lack of contact from until this morning—a short message had arrived from Mulju.
The corners of Lee Hwan’s mouth, which had been happily packing his bag, dropped slightly. Honestly, he was uncomfortable seeing him. Both because of what happened the night they drank together, and because he felt uneasy having stolen his ID card.
Above all, the memory of his final moments, being torn to pieces in a miserable state, kept lingering in his mind.
“Sigh…”
When he sighed audibly, his colleague across the partition peeked over to look at him. Lee Hwan shook his head and waved his hand casually, as if to say he should be used to this kind of behavior by now.
* * *
For once, Lee Hwan knocked before opening the door. As autumn approached and the days grew shorter again, the sky was gradually turning red through the bright window beyond.
Kang Dongha was sitting at his desk, intensely examining something. He was even wearing glasses that Lee Hwan had never seen before, making him briefly wonder if his eyesight was bad.
Unusually, he didn’t even look up when Lee Hwan entered. He seemed to be dealing with something important.
However, since nothing was more important to Kang Dongha after the regression than Lee Hwan, either in a positive or negative sense, this was likely a form of protest.
It meant he was angry, or at least had reason to act imposingly in front of someone.
“Why did you call me?”
Eventually, Lee Hwan, who had something to feel guilty about, broke the silence and asked first. Kang Dongha continued what he was doing without answering, and only slightly raised his head when Lee Hwan sat on the sofa with an indifferent expression.
Then, in a voice neither loud nor soft but dry, he spoke.
“What did you do there?”
It was a deliberately vague question, not specifying where “there” was or what incident from when he was referring to, but Lee Hwan felt his heart skip slightly.
As expected, he remembered the night he was drunk. Or at least, he seemed to have noticed that his ID card had disappeared once.
But why hadn’t he contacted him immediately? Why was he starting this interrogation only now after letting time pass?
“Why are you asking that?”
It was a brazenly evasive answer even to his own ears. But Lee Hwan couldn’t find a better response. Unless he had calmed him down the very day after infiltrating the basement, belatedly trying to explain the ID card issue now would be completely ineffective.
‘Well, I was also sick in bed then…’
Kang Dongha twisted up one corner of his mouth. By any measure, it wasn’t a particularly pleasant expression. His already sensitive appearance now looked downright petty.
As Lee Hwan stared at his face blankly, Dongha stood up and began walking toward him with heavy steps. Lee Hwan prepared to use his ability in case something happened, but unlike before, nothing fell from the ceiling.
Coming close enough to reach him, Kang Dongha bent down, stared at him intently, and spat out:
“After doing something so obviously suspicious and leaving, I patiently waited to see when you’d come forward to confess… but now I’m out of time.”
