"Whoa! Oppa, the reporters are still there."
Jinah looked out the window and spoke. It was getting late, but the reporters were still gathered like a cloud near their apartment.
"Over there!"
Thinking that they saw a glimpse of a person, the reporters clicked their cameras repeatedly.
click click click!
Surprised by the sudden flashes, Jinah quickly closed the curtain. Turning around, Jinwoo"s little sister sighed.
"Sigh-"
After returning from the Hunter Auction, Jinwoo planned to grab his first rest in a while at home. The S-ranker"s face darkened a little,
"Should I go down and say something?"
It was okay if they were just bothering his rest. But if they dared to bother his little sister"s studies…
Jinah was a senior in high school preparing for her college entrance exams. This would be an incredibly tense moment in a student"s life, enough for one to be bothered by the slightest noise.
"Not that Jinah is like that…"
Still, he was worried she would not be able to focus with all the noise outside. The Hunter got up,
"No, it"s okay, it"s okay."
Jinah waved him down.
"Oppa"s already getting trashed on the internet, I don"t want to imagine what would happen to you if you chased away those reporters."
"Trashed?"
When did he do something deserving of insults? When Jinwoo tilted his head in confusion, Jinah pulled up an article on her phone and held it out to Jinwoo. The older brother took the phone from his little sister.
"…"
On the screen, there was a picture of him taking a call in front of all the reporters in front of the a.s.sociation headquarters. As expected of a photo taken by a professional, Jinwoo thought he rather looked good on the screen. But when he read through the comments…
[His att.i.tude is s.h.i.+t.]
[He already ignores the reporters.]
[He"s so cool.]
The most upvoted comment was [Mom, I"m an S-ranker!]. The comment fit the picture so well that Jinwoo laughed despite himself. Jinah looked at him with a dumbfounded expression,
"Oppa, you can laugh at that?"
"It"s funny."
"…"
When Jinwoo showed her the highest comment, Jinah also laughed then quickly stopped herself.
"No, that"s not what important!"
With a hurt expression, Jinah raised her voice,
"Why did you have to pick up the phone over there? In front of all those reporters? Thanks to that, even my name is all over the place."
Jinwoo replied as it was obvious,
"Do I have to look out for reporters everytime I pick up a call from my little sister?"
"Hmph!"
Jinah was at a loss for words. Her older brother was correct, and she could not argue.
"…I can"t beat him in an argument."
Jinwoo handed the phone back to her.
"Here."
With a slightly upset face, Jinah took the phone back,
"Anyways, I"m alright, so don"t bother with the reporters."
"Okay."
Jinwoo nodded. Even if it was like this now, a day or two from now, the reporters will receive an order to stay away from the a.s.sociation. Jinwoo was told as much from the a.s.sociation.
"I can wait that long."
It seemed like Jinah didn"t want things to get out of hand either.
"But boy, just what is happening?"
Jinah stared at Jinwoo with an amused look,
"Oppa is an S-rank Hunter, and reporters are swarming our house…"
The existence that was that hard to even get a glimpse of, an S-ranker. Such an existence was right in front of her right now: her older brother. As anyone would be in this situation, Jinah was incredulous. But Jinwoo was sure she would get used to it soon,
"Like I did."
He smiled widely. In order to help her calm down, he playfully pinched Jinah"s cheeks lightly. Jinah reacted as she always would and kicked her brother.
"Ow!"
Unfortunately, she had to hop around the room while holding her foot.
"Hiiing."
Jinah glared at Jinwoo in pain. Jinwoo just shrugged. It seemed like it would take some time for her to adjust to the fact that her older brother was an S-rank Awakened Being.
"Anywho, looks like oppa will be busy from now on."
Jinah carefully asked.
"Mm."
Jinwoo nodded. There were many things he wanted to do and many things he had to do. But above all else, his priority was to go back and clear the Demon Castle. He had succeeded in obtaining the artifacts with flame-resistance for the upper floors. His actual funds were painfully lacking, but thankfully, he was able to put up a few rank equipments from the System"s shop as collateral and borrow from the Hunter Auction.
"To think that the first thing I did after becoming an S-rank Hunter is to get into debt…"
It was rather laughable. Fortunately, he was told that once the System"s items were sold for a good price, his debt would be cleared in an instant.
"Then I suppose it"ll be harder for me to see oppa from now on."
Hearing that he would become busier, Jinah looked a little sad. Well, it would be lonely for her at home. Jinwoo went up and put a hand on his sister"s head.
Just few more days.
Once he cleared the Demon Castle, his sister wouldn"t have to be alone at home anymore.
"I"ll make sure of it."
Suddenly.
Jinwoo"s eyes narrowed. His gaze moved over to the door.
"Someone is coming."
Jinah realized the sudden change in him. She asked with a worry,
"Oppa?"
"Go to your room."
"What is it?"
A presence got off from the elevator and was heading this way.
"A Hunter…?"
The unknown presence was giving off a small amount of magic power. His senses told him that it didn"t feel like an enemy, but at the same time, it was not an invited guest. Did a Guild send someone? Or a brazen reporter who happened to be an Awakened Being? Whoever it was, Jinwoo was not kind enough to happily receive someone who intruded upon someone else"s house this late at night.
Jinwoo stood in front of the door.
"If it"s only this much…"
He did not need a weapon. Jinwoo lightly stretched his body. As he moved left and right, he cracked his joints.
Soon, as expected,
knock knock
Someone knocked twice, and Jinah yelped and ran to her room. Jinwoo slowly opened the door a little. Through the crack, he saw a familiar young man"s face on the other side. The man spoke,
"Hyungniiiim…"
The young man was sniffling. With his nose red, Yoo Jinho was lightly crying in front of Jinwoo"s house.
"…"
"Hyungnim, I"ve been kicked out. My father kicked me out of the house."
"…"
Taking a closer look, Yoo Jinho was wearing a huge backpack. Both of his hands were also holding large baggages.
"…Didn"t you live away from your parents?"
"That"s…"
sniff
"The villa that I lived in was under my father"s name. He even froze up all my accounts."
A father freezing up all of his son"s accounts. It was straight out of a movie or TV show, but if it was the number one businessman in South Korea, Yoo Myunghan, it was certainly doable. But what did this punk do to earn his father"s ire? When Jinwoo just stared with confusion, Yoo Jinho spoke with a shaking voice,
"So I was wondering, hyungnim. Could I stay with you for a while?"
creeeeeak-
close.
Jinwoo slowly closed the door and locked it.
click.
When he turned around, Jinah, who had been watching with worry, ran up to him.
"Oppa, who was that? Someone you know?"
Jinwoo shook his head,
"Nope. First time I"m seeing him."
"You don"t know him? Then why did he come to our home?"
"Don"t worry about it. He must"ve been lost."
"…Really?"
It didn"t seem like that.
As Jinwoo pushed his sister back to her room, a pathetic voice rang out behind him through the door.
knock knock!
"Hyungniiiiim! Hyungniiiim!"
"Dear, don"t you think you were too harsh on Jinho today?"
"Hmph."
Yoo Myunghan roughly tried to remove his necktie.
That little brat.
To think that was his reply after he was offered Yoojin Guild, the Guild that would become the cornerstone of Yoojin Construction.
"I"m going to join hyungnim"s Guild."
What was that? Join hyungnim?
"He deserves every little bit of it."
Yoo Myunghan snorted. If the boy wants to stand alone, he sure as h.e.l.l will do it with his own strength. He planned to teach his son that every choice had a consequence.
Was it because he was too emotional? His tie wasn"t coming off easily today. When his rough hands began to pull at the tie, his wife came over and reached out.
"Here, let me."
At her gentle hands, the tie unraveled smoothly. Yoo Myunghan stood still and let his wife work. Suddenly, holding the tie in her hand, his wife laughed,
"What is it, wife?"
Yoo Myunghan was confused. She had helped him take off his tie their entire life. Something like a knotted tie should not have been funny.
"Dear, are you really angry?"
"Hmm…?"
Was she feeling alright? What did she mean by that. Yoo Myunghan tilted his head and looked at his face in the mirror.
"What…?"
He was shocked. His words only moments were ranting in anger, so why did he look so happy in the mirror? Embarra.s.sed, Yoo Myunghan rubbed his chin and cheeks.
"Today was the first time, right?"
"What do you mean?"
"That Jinho actually stood up to you."
"…"
That is indeed why he was angry. A business could not function if the orders from the top did not flow like a river to below. The man held the same creed in his household. Because he had ran his household with the same att.i.tude as his business, he had never allowed his orders to be disobeyed at home. But what was this? His order was thoroughly refused today. And while he was certainly angry, why did he not feel bad about it?
"I"m angry, but I don"t feel bad about it?"
He could not make sense of this feeling. As if reading her husband"s mind, his wife spoke as if comforting a child,
"For the first time, Jinho is making and going down his own path. Why don"t you cheer him on instead of being angry?"
"…"
Yoo Myunghan firmly closed his mouth. He had difficulty composing his thoughts.
"For now… I"ll watch him."
"Yes, do that."
With a gentle smile, his wife helped him take off his suit jacket.
But suddenly, Yoo Myunghan stared blankly at his wife"s face.
"How strange."
"What is?"
"Dear, I"m looking at two of you right now."
"What?"
His wife opened her eyes wide. Yoo Myunghan suddenly lost his balance and fell down.
"Dear?!"
Surprised, the chairman"s wife quickly ran to his side. Shaking his head, Yoo Myunghan took rough breaths.
"pant, pant"
His wife"s eyes became wider,
"He"s sweating so much!"
Yoo Myunghan fought back the sudden wave of sleepiness overwhelming him. The chairman lost the fight and fell unconscious.
In the VIP room of the nation"s best hospital, Yoo Myunghan opened his eyes. The hospital put up a round-the-clock watch on the chairman, rotating doctors every few hours. The doctor on duty came over and looked over Yoo Myunghan"s state,
"Are you awake, chairman?"
"…"
Looking around, Yoo Myunghan immediately understood the situation.
"How long have I been here?"
"You"ve been asleep for two days."
Two days? Diligence did not even began to describe Chairman Yoo Myunghan. No matter how tired he was, the man had never slept for more than five hours in a day.
"…"
Having closed his mouth for a moment, Yoo Myunghan spoke casually,
"It seems that I"ve been quite tired lately."
He did have quite a bit on his plate lately. The sudden collapse and long sleep must"ve been because of that. However, the doctor continued to maintain a serious expression. Yoo Myunghan was a man standing at the top of one of the nation"s top companies. He had tens of thousands of employees under him. The man knew how to read another"s expression. Looking at the darkened expression of the doctor, Yoo Myunghan asked,
"Is there… something wrong with my body?"