At Seo Jihoon’s words, Lee Kanghyun frowned as if he didn’t understand. Seeing him keep silent as if he knew nothing, Seo Jihoon unconsciously felt frustrated and beat his chest.
That clueless bastard. If not for the hundreds of millions in Magic Stones, he would have kicked him out right away. But as a slave to capitalism, he couldn’t bring himself to kick out a client. Instead, he let out a deep sigh and turned on the computer.
“Ha… Fine. I’m the sinner for taking the money. Sit down. I’ll run the composite sketch program.”
Lee Kanghyun slowly pulled over the chair next to Seo Jihoon and sat down. A program for setting a person’s facial outline appeared on the monitor screen.
“Okay, let’s start with face shape. Is it slim? Angular? Or round?”
Lee Kanghyun tried to recall his memory. How did it feel when he punched that bastard?
“It was hard.”
The wrinkles on Seo Jihoon’s brow deepened.
This really hopeless bastard… He took a deep breath to avoid getting angry. Be patient. Right now he’s the customer. That bastard is my client.
“…Not the hardness of the bone, what was the shape like?”
“I don’t know. I was too busy to look closely.”
Seo Jihoon did some mind control to maintain his patience and moved on to the next question.
“Fine, let’s roughly skip the face shape for now. Hair style. You said yellow hair. Was it long or short?”
“It was short.”
“Okay. Short cut.”
When Seo Jihoon clicked the mouse, a yellow wig was placed on the egg ghost on the screen. He didn’t ask specifically what style it was. He was certain he’d get a weird answer that would turn his stomach anyway.
“Now, the most important part—the eyes. Are they sharp? Or do they look kind of gentle?”
Lee Kanghyun furrowed his brow. He tried hard to recall his memory.
“I don’t know. They were just crazy bastard eyes.”
“Hey!”
Seo Jihoon finally exploded.
“Are you kidding me right now? There’s no ‘crazy bastard eyes’ option here! Tell me what they looked like, what they looked like!”
“But I can’t remember.”
“Double eyelids! Did he have double eyelids or not?”
Lee Kanghyun looked at Seo Jihoon with a blank expression.
“Men have double eyelids too?”
Seo Jihoon took off his glasses and dry-washed his face.
“Kanghyun. Don’t you look in mirrors? You have inner double eyelids too.”
“I do?”
“…Yeah, what am I expecting from you.”
Seo Jihoon pointed at his own eyes with his finger.
“Look, look at me. If there’s a line like this like mine, it’s double eyelids; if not, it’s monolids. Did that bastard’s eyes have a line or not?”
Lee Kanghyun stared intently at Seo Jihoon’s eyes, then turned his head.
“That’s uncomfortable. Move it away.”
“Ah, seriously! Try to remember! You said he smiled at you! What happened to his eyes then!”
Lee Kanghyun forcibly dug up the memory. It seemed like his eyes curved when he smiled.
“His eyes disappeared when he smiled.”
“Oh, eye smile? So is it kind of droopy puppy-like eyes?”
Seo Jihoon displayed a sample of downturned eyes on the screen as if he’d found hope.
“Like this?”
“No. More unpleasant than that. Make them more slanted.”
“Like this?”
“No, more.”
“Hey, this is an alien now?”
“Ah, I don’t know. That’s just the feeling. His pupils were black. Or were they brown? Anyway, they were kind of wild eyes. Like dilated pupils.”
Seo Jihoon struggled to somehow visualize Lee Kanghyun’s abstract description.
30 minutes later.
On the monitor screen, one bizarre creature had been completed. Bright yellow hair, eerily slanted eyes but with an eye smile, and a chin shaped like a pointy comb-pattern pottery.
“……”
Seo Jihoon asked with a trembling voice.
“Lee Kanghyun. Did you… not fight a person, but maybe fight a monster?”
Lee Kanghyun had nothing to say either. They’d combined it according to what he said, but the result was too hideous.
“How do I find a person with this? If I put this picture on a wanted poster, people will think aliens have invaded!”
Seo Jihoon banged on the desk.
“You’re S-rank! You have good dynamic vision! You can see even fine hairs, can’t you? Why can’t you remember the face!”
“Because I wasn’t interested.”
Lee Kanghyun replied somewhat deflated.
“I was more concerned with how to punch through his solar plexus than what he looked like. What’s the point of memorizing the face of someone who’s going to die soon anyway?”
“You didn’t kill him and let him escape, you idiot!”
“That’s the problem.”
Lee Kanghyun let out a deep sigh. He knew it himself. That his current attitude was hopeless. But what could he do? He really couldn’t remember. But he also couldn’t just give up on finding him.
“Fine. Just keep in mind that he has yellow hair and an unexpectedly gentle impression. Just find someone roughly similar. Yellow hair, someone who grins like an idiot. And his build was similar to mine. His height too.”
Seo Jihoon leaned back heavily in his chair. Should he just tell him to take the Magic Stones back? He didn’t want to do this kind of work. Even if he liked money, he still had something called dignity.
But he immediately shook off the thought. 100 million. 200 million if successful. It was too much to refuse.
“Fine, fine. I’ll work hard on behalf of your meager brain cells.”
Seo Jihoon irritably closed the composite sketch program.
“Go. If you stay longer, my lifespan will shorten. I’ll contact you when I find him.”
Lee Kanghyun stood up without regret.
“Oh, and.”
Seo Jihoon stopped Lee Kanghyun from leaving.
“Quit the drugs. I really won’t give you any next time you come.”
Lee Kanghyun pulled his cap down low.
“I’m trying.”
“Says the guy who looked for drugs first thing when he came in this time.”
Ignoring him, Lee Kanghyun just opened the door and left. When he disappeared, Seo Jihoon clicked his tongue.
“That foolish bastard. How long is he going to live like that?”
Seo Jihoon picked up the huge Magic Stone on the table. He could feel the heavy weight.
“Better earn my money’s worth.”
His fingers began moving quickly over the keyboard.
***
After that day, a big change occurred in Lee Kanghyun’s lifestyle pattern. That hikikomori Lee Kanghyun, who wouldn’t take a single step outside his house, finally did something called going out.
Of course, the destination wasn’t a gate. It wasn’t the Hunter Association either, nor was it Kang Yujun’s house. It was Seo Jihoon’s hideout.
“Seo Jihoon.”
“……”
“Did you find him?”
Seo Jihoon irritably threw off the glasses he was wearing.
“Hey, you crazy bastard. It hasn’t even been 30 minutes since you came! If you’re going to ask every 30 minutes, just get out!”
“I’m curious. I’m worried you might take my money and run.”
Lee Kanghyun replied while lying sprawled on an old sofa in one corner of the lab, flipping through a comic book.
He really was no help at all. All he did after coming was steal the cup ramen Seo Jihoon had been saving, hog the sofa and take naps, and peck at him whenever he got the chance with ‘Did you find the yellow-haired guy?’, ‘Do some work.’
“I can’t do my research because of you, research! My new drug development schedule is all behind!”
“What are you going to do developing that anyway? It’s all illegal.”
“I’m going to feed it to you, you bastard!”
Seo Jihoon huffed and turned his head back to the monitor.
“Hey, Seo Jihoon. I’m hungry. Got any ramen?”
“You ate it all, just now.”
“Then go buy some. I gave you Magic Stones.”
“You think you gave those to buy ramen? That’s the commission fee!”
Lee Kanghyun shamelessly tossed the empty cup ramen container into the trash. Seo Jihoon grabbed the back of his neck. Was that an S-rank hunter or a neighborhood unemployed thug?
“Does Kang Yujun know you’re going around like this?”
“Would he? If he knew, he would’ve already stormed in here and put you and me in jail together.”
“Please get caught. I’d be happier if Kang Yujun put me in jail rather than being tormented by you.”
Even at Seo Jihoon’s sincere curse, Lee Kanghyun just snorted.
That’s when it happened.
Tap, tap. Seo Jihoon’s hand that had been tapping the keyboard stopped.
“Huh?”
“Did you find him?”
Lee Kanghyun bolted upright. His eyes sparkled.
“No. I didn’t find that alien… Hey, Lee Kanghyun. Come here.”
Seo Jihoon’s voice was unusual.
“Why? What is it?”
“You said a thief broke into your house a while ago, right?”
“Yeah.”
“You said he died.”
“He died. He took drugs himself.”
Lee Kanghyun got off the sofa and approached behind Seo Jihoon.
“But why?”
“Look at this.”
On the monitor screen Seo Jihoon pointed to, a portal site’s news page was displayed. And below that, articles with provocative headlines were ranked in a row.
[S-rank Hunter Lee Kanghyun, controversy over excessive suppression of home intruder… Death during restraint process]
[Autopsy results, cervical fracture and organ rupture. Restraint or assault?]
[‘Self-defense’ crossed into ‘murder’? How far does Hunter Lee Kanghyun’s rampage go?]
Lee Kanghyun’s eyes narrowed.
“What bullshit is this?”
“Read the content. It’s even more ridiculous.”
The article body portrayed Lee Kanghyun as a complete murderer.
On the 23rd, an unidentified intruder infiltrated Hunter Lee Kanghyun’s residence.
(omitted)
However, the problem was the restraint process. The condition of the discovered corpse was gruesome. The arm bones were crushed, and serious damage was found in the spine as well.
Experts pointed out, “If an S-rank hunter uses abilities when restraining an ordinary person, this is not self-defense but murder.”
Some are raising suspicions that even though the intruder had lost the will to resist, Hunter Lee Kanghyun couldn’t control his emotions and committed violence.
Currently, the Association claims the intruder ‘committed suicide.’
Comments:
- As expected of someone with a rotten personality, look at him shamelessly walking around after killing someone
- Even if he’s a thief, isn’t killing him a bit much? He could’ve just handed him to the police, but he had to show off his strength…
- You said he crushed his bones? He just vented his anger, right? Being S-rank isn’t a privilege, seriously
- I heard Kang Yujun shielded him, aren’t the two of them in cahoots trying to cover it up? Disappointed in Kang Yujun too
- Murderer Lee Kanghyun. Killing people outside gates too. Isolate him from society.
Lee Kanghyun scrolled down with an expressionless face. Surprisingly, he didn’t feel any particular emotion. Was it because not a single thing was true? He was so absurd he didn’t even have the energy to get angry.
