The Hero Returns

"Who? Me?" Jeon Seong-min knitted his brows. He looked up and down at the man who called him.

Since this man suddenly came for him, Jeon Seong-min thought he must have business with him. But Jeon Seong-min had no idea who he was.

He seems familiar…

Jeon Seong-min, who had lost focus because of alcohol, started to come to his senses as he remembered where he had seen this man's face.

"K—Kim Su—"

"Let's go somewhere else first."

Stomp, stomp—

Su-hyeun turned his body and started walking ahead, putting his hands in his pockets. With a nervous look, Jeon Seong-min held his breath. He had no idea why Su-hyeun came to him. Also, an alarm went off in his head somehow.

"Aren't you coming?" Su-hyeun stopped walking and turned his head when Jeon Seong-min didn't follow him. "I am sorry, but if you do not follow me, I will make you."

"I—I'm coming!"

He had no choice. What Su-hyeun said sounded like a serious threat. He naturally imagined his legs broken or a scene in which he would be forcibly dragged. Jeon Seong-min followed Su-hyeun into a lonesome alley. One more person was waiting there.

"Is that him?" the man asked.

"Yes. This is Jeon Seong-min. He was one of the men who won the bid for Mr. Dae-ho's weapon at the auction."

"He is a seedy-looking man."

"You shouldn't judge people by their looks. But, yeah, he does look seedy."

Jeon Seong-min also recognized the man who talked with Su-hyeun. His face appeared more often in media such as TV programs and articles than Su-hyeun.

He is Lee Ju-ho, the guild master of the Paragon Guild!

Jeon Seong-min still had no idea why the two of them were here and why they came to see him. His head spun. Since he had a guilty conscience, he broke out into a cold sweat.

"I am sorry, but let us ask you some questions," Lee Ju-ho said.

"W—what?" Jeon Seong-min answered in a trembling voice.

He tried not to show that he was nervous, but he could not help it. Looking at Jeon Seong-min's reaction, Lee Ju-ho thought things would go smoothly.

"I saw your post, Mr. Seong-min. 'The equipment of the blacksmith Kim Dae-ho is poor. It looked fine outside, but the inside was bad.' You wrote something like that, right?"

Jeon Seong-min's eyes went wide as he listened to Lee Ju-ho. He had written the post anonymously. Although he had uploaded the pictures of the sword and its warranty, it would have been difficult to know who wrote the post based merely on the photos.

But now Jeon Seong-min could guess how they found him. It was easy. They were both from the Paragon Guild.

Gordon Company!

With the power of Gordon and Gordon Company, the best in every field, it would not be difficult at all to figure out who the writer of the post was. But that was not the matter.

Why the hell?

The matter was why the Paragon Guild and Kim Su-hyeun moved for it. That was the real reason why Jeon Seong-min was so confused.

"So, was that true? If it were, I would like to see the weapon you got."

"I don't have it. I—I threw it away."

"You threw it away? Where?"

"Umm… It was a faulty product, so I threw it in the Han River out of anger."

"In the Han River? Out of anger? Well, okay. It could happen," Lee Ju-ho muttered, nodding.

As the conversation went on smoothly, Jeon Seong-min, who had been nervous, slightly turned his frowning face upside down.

But soon, Lee Ju-ho went on, "During lunchtime yesterday, you won the bid at the auction and immediately went to Daegu to attack the orange-colored dungeon. The attack took about half a day. Am I right so far?"

"T—that is…" Jeon Seong-min was in a panic again.

At his look, Lee Ju-ho continued as if he did not have to listen to him anymore. "You stayed at a hotel in Daegu right after that, and you came back in the morning by train. You wrote the post on Abyss Online around lunchtime today. The place where you wrote it was Suwon."

Lee Ju-ho tilted his head. "So, you could throw it away anywhere, but you went all the way to the Han River? Or were you confused about the name of the river?"

"I—I was confused. It was not the Han River. It was the lake in Gwang-gyo…"

"So, you were confused with Gwang-gyo Lake Park and the Han River. Alright. Let's say it can happen. But…"

Lee Ju-ho looked behind Jeon Seong-min. Jeon Seong-min turned his head too. Suddenly, Su-hyeun was behind him, holding a familiar-looking sword.

"It is a good-looking sword," Su-hyeun said.

Swish—

Su-hyeun drew the sword. Jeon Seong-min reached it with his hand in surprise.

"What are you doing? Give it back!" Jeon Seong-min took his sword back from Su-hyeun's hand.

"By the master craftsman, Geneva. That is an expensive sword, isn't it? It is the masterpiece of masterpieces."

"Y—yeah. I know. What about it?"

"According to your friends," Lee Ju-ho began, "it looked like you could not afford to buy Geneva's work. Well, you are just a C-Rank awakener, and you don't look like the type of man who saves money."

"Where did you get it?"

At Su-hyeun's question, Jeon Seong-min turned his head toward him. He immediately realized that the expressionless face could mean bloody for him. As Su-hyeun looked at him with a straight face, Jeon Seong-min felt scared and unconsciously stepped back.

However, he could no longer put more distance between them. When he made a step back, Su-hyeun came one step closer. He wanted to turn his body and ran away, but he could sense that it would be pointless.

"D—don't k—kill me…"

Tap—

Jeon Seong-min, who was stepping back, turned his head when something hit his back.

Smack—

"Argh!"

Just then, Lee Ju-ho snatched the back of Jeon Seong-min's neck to prevent his escape.

"We won't kill you. Just answer the question," Lee Ju-ho whispered to Jeon Seong-min's ear. His voice promised pain.

Chill—

Fear immediately swept across his entire body. He felt as if he was being stabbed with a sword.

[Predator.]

Rumble—

"Ah…Oh…"

Jeon Seong-min's legs turned to jelly, and he dropped down to the ground with a thud. Su-hyeun, who had opened his Third Eye, walked toward him.

"Let me ask you again. What did you do with the sword you won?"

***

It was a quite long story, and the terrified Jeon Seong-min talked gibberish. When he finished talking, Lee Ju-ho said in a low voice, "Don't talk to anyone about what happened today. Live quietly as if nothing happened."

"Yes, yes, sir!"

"Go now. You should feel lucky that you were not beaten up," Lee Ju-ho told him and kicked his back.

"Argh!"

"Oops. I hit you."

"S—sorry, sir…"

"I said go! Go already!"

When Lee Ju-ho shouted, Jeon Seong-min crouched down and quickly moved his legs. When Jeon Seong-min was finally gone, Lee Ju-ho ruffled his hair irritably and looked at Su-hyeun. Su-hyeun looked relatively calmer than he expected. Between them, he thought Su-hyeun would be more upset.

"Aren't you mad?" Lee Ju-ho asked.

"Why?"

"Aren't you upset? I am so annoyed now that I can go insane."

"I am upset."

"…Really?"

Lee Ju-ho looked at Su-hyeun, disbelieving. Su-hyeun was the one who would usually go overboard with taking care of Kim Dae-ho. But surprisingly, he looked very calm.

"So? What will you do? Inside the Ripper Guild, they already talked about breaking the contract with Mr. Dae-ho. They think they can't rely on his products."

"Is that so?"

"Park Ji-yeon is trying to do something about it somehow. But it will be a matter of time. The price of his equipment will also go down soon."

"We can't let that happen."

"I mean, there is one way to solve it."

"What is that?"

"You know. Use your name."

The name Kim Su-hyeun was very important in the world these days. Kim Dae-ho's name was not known yet, even though he was talented. But if Su-hyeun were involved, things would change. If Su-hyeun said something to guarantee Kim Dae-ho, people would take an interest in him and change their minds.

"Of course, it is totally up to you. Mr. Dae-ho might not want that either…"

"I may do that later."

"Later?"

Lee Ju-ho tilted his head at the unexpected answer. He had no idea why Su-hyeun wanted to take his time and not just say yes or no.

"I have to do something first."

"What is that?" Lee Ju-ho asked.

"In fact—"

Su-hyeun told Lee Ju-ho what he was thinking. When he finished talking, Lee Ju-ho grinned. "That also sounds like a good idea."

Act 5

"The price has increased by about 20% since the last auction. It is still a little lower than originally expected, but I assume it will reach that point in the next auction—"

At the report of his assistant, Geneva quietly nodded while eating. The result got better. Still, the expected price had not been reached, but as his assistant said, he thought it would be a matter of the time at this rate.

"What about the Ripper Guild?" Geneva asked.

"The guild master, Park Ji-yeon, is objecting, but the other guild members want to contract again with us."

"Tut. What pathetic guys. The recontract is a recontract, but you have to make sure they pay the proper penalty. Okay?"

"Yes, sir."

"This our beginning in the Korean market. We have to make things right."

"Of course, sir."

After eating his meal, Geneva wiped his mouth with a napkin. Although the business in Korea did not start right, soon, he was able to make things in the right place.

"Oh, wait." Geneva clapped his hands as if he remembered something. The quick assistant came closer to him.

"Yes, sir?"

"The guys we approached last time, how are they now?"

"You mean the awakeners who received the equipment?"

"Yes, those guys. Kill them one by one every half a year. Put surveillances as well. If anyone tries anything weird, just kill them immediately."

"Yes, sir."

Given his directions, Geneva's assistant bowed and left the room. Geneva, who took care of any remaining concerns, nodded happily. He was going to move right after eating the dessert that would be served soon.

However, the assistant came back in after a moment. At first, Geneva thought that perhaps his assistant did not immediately understand his directions.

"Sir, you have a visitor," the assistant announced.

I don't know how important that visitor is, but how dare he interrupt my meal? Geneva thought.

"Ask the visitor to come back later," Geneva answered impatiently.

As soon as he said that, he heard a familiar voice. "It won't take long."

"…?"

Geneva turned his head toward the familiar voice behind the closed door.

Who is that? He searched his mind, and it instantly clicked. Kim Su-hyeun!

It was the voice of Kim Su-hyeun. With the sparkle of recognition in his eyes, Geneva got up from his seat and answered, "Please come in."