025 – Reuniting with an Old Connection #3
Buaaaang-.
The motorcycle was louder than I expected.
Did they modify it to make it intentionally noisy?
Even the driving was reckless.
It was basic to cut into traffic, sometimes weaving between cars.
I wondered if this kind of driving was against the rules, yet I was more worried about falling off the motorcycle, so I firmly held onto the waist of the delinquent girl.
It was thin and slender but surprisingly firm.
However, no matter how I looked at it, it felt wrong to grab a woman’s waist without permission.
It was the first time in my life.
One could say it was my first waist.
I thought it was a very rude thing to do, but the delinquent girl, Lee Jin-A, seemed to be concentrating on riding the motorcycle without paying any attention to me.
Is this how all bikers are?
Well, maybe I was just showing how much of a newbie I was.
Just as I was thinking that, we arrived at my neighborhood. I tapped the delinquent girl on the back as she slowly slowed down.
“I think it’s good to stop around here. Thanks to you, I arrived early.”
I expressed my gratitude.
The delinquent girl took off her helmet, which looked like a bulletproof helmet, and glanced around before frowning.
“Why are you living in a place like this? You have a house, right? Your aunt and uncle were worried. You haven’t been home in six years, right?”
With those words, the delinquent girl sped off on her motorcycle. What was that all about? Aunt and uncle seem to refer to my mom and dad.
How did she know I hadn’t been back home for six years?
Could she be the daughter of my parents’ friends?
Or maybe a friend of my little sister? She seems like a delinquent, but since she must be around twenty now, she could be similar in age to my sister.
I don’t know.
What was important to me now was the message that Lee Joon-Hun was outside my house.
If an S-class Awakened, one of only three in Korea, came looking for me, I might have to consider it an honor.
However, lately, due to conversations I had with Yu Ara and Seo Ye-rim, I had negative feelings about Lee Joon-Hun and the company he runs, Osa Pharmaceutical.
Lee Joon-Hun surely didn’t come looking for me on official business.
He probably came to find me secretly and discreetly.
Let alone, there was Inoi at my house.
Feeling worried, I ran toward my front yard and spotted a man squatting. He was dressed in a suit but was oddly wearing a gas mask.
“Lee Joon-Hun?”
Chwi-yiing-.
The sound of breathing through the gas mask was strangely audible.
The man stood up, straightened his knees, and lifted the gas mask to show his face.
“It’s me, cough, ugh, cough-. Ha… cough.”
I recognized that face.
I wasn’t personally close to him, but I had seen him a lot on the internet.
“Cough! Cough, ugh! Ugh! Cough!”
However, Lee Joon-Hun’s cough was worse than I expected.
He coughed as if he was about to clear his lungs, and I felt concerned.
He quickly put the gas mask back on and took a few deep breaths before calming down.
“Lee Joon-Hun, what’s going on?”
I asked the third-generation conglomerate influencer, who seemed to be calming down. Lee Joon-Hun, still catching his breath, pointed at the yard.
“There’s a strange ant. What is this? Is it even an ant? It’s golden!”
A strange ant.
Was he talking about Emperor Ant Angangi?
It seemed Lee Joon-Hun had been watching Emperor Ant Angangi stack firewood in the yard while waiting for me.
It’s probably because he’s a guy that he finds the shiny exoskeleton of the Emperor Ant appealing. It’s like the feeling of seeing a Gundam robot, I suppose.
Yu Ara and Seo Ye-rim didn’t seem very interested, though.
With a sense of pride, I introduced Ant Angangi.
“This is Emperor Ant Angangi.”
“Angangi? That’s a hot name.”
A hot name? I guess so.
Thinking about it, it did seem that way.
Nevertheless, that wasn’t what mattered right now.
I was very curious about why Lee Joon-Hun came here. I wondered how to get him to speak honestly when he reached out his hand to me.
“I heard you went from D-class to C-class? Congratulations. I brought you a gift; I hope you’ll like it. I heard you like meat, so I brought a variety.”
Looking down, I noticed a package at Lee Joon-Hun’s feet that one would typically see during holidays.
It looked very luxurious, with a black background and gold embroidery that read, “Osa Hanwoo Assorted Gift.”
I wonder how much it costs?
In any case, I shook his outstretched hand.
“I just barely made it to C-class. And you? You’re doing super well, shooting commercials, developing new drugs, totally flourishing!”
I complimented him, but it felt very awkward.
Was it how Yu Ara and Seo Ye-rim felt when they hadn’t seen each other for a while and shook hands?
Suk-.
Soon after, Lee Joon-Hun let go of my hand and said,
“Not exactly. There’s been a problem.”
Lee Joon-Hun swirled his fingers around his face.
Seeing him wearing a gas mask certainly made it seem like he had an issue. I had no clue what it could be.
Haa–, Lee Joon-Hun sighed.
He said,
“Haildo, do you have any interest in doing a part-time job? It’s a simple job. Just drawing some blood, getting a shot, and monitoring the results.”
“Clinical trials for a pharmaceutical company?”
“Yeah, exactly that! You’re quick to catch on since you are from the military. I like people who understand me. I’ll pay you well. It’s been done by many people, so it’s safe.”
Is it really safe?
Thinking slowly about the reputation of Osa Group, I immediately recalled the issues stemming from the power struggle among the brothers.
However, I had never heard of industrial accidents or lawsuits from victim groups due to side effects during clinical trials of new drugs.
After all, Osa Pharmaceutical’s capabilities are genuine, so they probably have some confidence in their safety.
“Just give me two days. I’ll give you ten million won. If you’ve just reached C-class, you’ll need new suits and an entropy meter, right? Osa will support you. What do you think?”
Ten million won for two days?
What kind of experiment were they planning on me?
While I was feeling tense in many ways, Lee Joon-Hun added,
“Okay, okay. I’ll give you twenty thousand!”
I could roughly guess that Lee Joon-Hun was not new to enticing people to participate in experiments.
He must have paid quite a few people to involve them in various experiments.
It was the moment when I completely understood why Osa Pharmaceutical had shown outstanding results after the Era of Cracks.
I replied calmly,
“No, right now, money isn’t the issue. I think I need to know what you want to do. It seems serious, so I’ll listen and decide.”
“Ha…”
Lee Joon-Hun let out a sigh.
Then he glanced around as if checking his surroundings and confirmed there was no one around before pointing to his gas mask.
“Do you see this? It happened suddenly. I think it’s some kind of allergy. I’m coughing, have a runny nose, and it’s hard to breathe. It’s not a joke. And this is a secret, but my internal magic level has dropped too.”
His magic level has dropped?
That was quite serious.
Could the total amount of internal magic a person possesses decrease? Are you saying the C-class I barely attained could drop back to D?
Just imagining it sent a shiver down my spine.
“It’s a serious matter.”
What’s more, Lee Joon-Hun is an S-class Awakened.
Considering that an S-class Awakened feels like the ultimate weapon guarding the 21st century, Lee Joon-Hun’s downgrade would be a significant loss for the country and humanity.
What should I say?
It’s like one of the three nuclear missiles you held for defense has broken down.
Didn’t the news mention something like this?
Of course, they would keep such things a secret.
A drop in rank?
It was clear that panic would arise among the Awakened. If there was panic among the Awakened, ordinary citizens would naturally be disturbed, and disorder could return just like before.
“Lee Joon-Hun, so that’s why you met Yu Ara. You had her test you privately to keep the results under wraps.”
“Right! Yu Ara, she might be a bit creepy, but her skills are good! Didn’t Yu Ara contact you today, telling you to meet with me?”
Not particularly.
I couldn’t answer, so as he sighed behind the gas mask, I heard him mutter something under his breath in a low voice, “Yu Ara, that guy—.”
“Anyway, it’s serious! Help me out! You’re one of the few people who knows my situation. I came here secretly, too. You’ve just leveled up from D to C, right? After eight years! If you know how it happened, maybe I can get back—.”
Lee Joon-Hun seemed quite desperate.
That made sense.
When someone who was at a high position falls, they’ll experience the most severe drop.
“As for how I ascended to C-class…”
In a sense, it was purely by chance.
I just met Nymph Inoi and had her lift a curse.
A curse.
That keyword suddenly came to mind.
Didn’t I say that the curse I lifted could return to someone?
Could it be….
“Lee Joon-Hun, do you know about curses?”
I asked.
Lee Joon-Hun blinked under his gas mask.
“A curse? What curse?”
He reacted as if hearing it for the first time.
Acting?
Does he really not know?
Either way, it would be wise to withhold cooperation with Lee Joon-Hun for now.
“I’ll think about this matter.”
“What do you mean think! My life is being destroyed in real-time! Why isn’t anyone listening to me?!”
Baeck-.
Lee Joon-Hun suddenly shouted, startling me. He sniffed behind the gas mask and pulled something from his waist.
It was a cylindrical object, and just when I thought it looked like a flashlight, it suddenly emitted a bright beam.
“Is that a beam saber?”
I was genuinely surprised.
It was Lee Joon-Hun’s main weapon, the beam saber as an S-class Awakened.
To see it right in front of me was something else entirely.
And it meant a lot of misfortune for me in various ways.
“Just follow me quietly. I’ll pay you! Otherwise, are you ignoring me as if I’m just your second wife’s child? Do you still think you’re my senior? Do I look like a loser who used to be your follower? Huh?!”
Lee Joon-Hun seemed half out of his mind. Naturally, because it was time to drop all his glory, he couldn’t maintain his sanity.
I understood his situation but couldn’t help but feel tense.
I had heard that a beam saber could split even thick steel like paper.
Yet it still needed to be corrected.
“Lee Joon-Hun, it seems you misunderstood; I’ve never said you should follow me like a follower. I brought my own plate and disposed of it myself. Just calm down. Breathe deeply. Haa–.”
I tried to buy time and reached behind me. I unlocked the case connected like a bag. The moment I did, I felt a shiver run down my nape.
Zuuung-!
The beam saber, known for cutting anything, sliced through the air toward my head. I barely managed to roll out of the way just in time; otherwise, I might have been seriously injured.
“Ugh, since this has come to this, I’ll force you to come along. I’ll pay you later, so don’t blame me.”
Is this for real?
Am I supposed to fight against an S-class Awakened?
It had been far too long since I fought a human rather than a demon, and I felt profoundly awkward.
Paan-!
With a loud impact, Lee Joon-Hun’s body shook violently.
Kkeungkkung…!
It was Kkungkkungi that came out of the case.
Kkungkkungi, who stood between me and Lee Joon-Hun.
Krrrwwwl…!
Watching the Squirrel Beast Kkungkkungi puffing up its fur, Lee Joon-Hun, who was adjusting his gas mask, let out a high-pitched sound, seemingly panicking.
“What is this…!? Cough-. Cough-.”
