How to Seduce S-Class Hunters with Bungeoppang - Chapter 67
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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【Chapter 67】
I swallowed hard, careful not to let my tension show as I rolled my tongue once inside my mouth.
‘…I thought we’d be caught up in discussions about Park Jae-min’s treatment for a while.’
I figured it was time to focus on Park Jae-min, who had confessed to the crimes, rather than myself. That’s why I let my guard down—only to be suddenly dragged to the Vice Director’s Office on a late evening, no less, on my way home from work.
“It was quite difficult bringing you here while avoiding other people’s eyes. The way you kept moving around here and there.”
Park Sung-chul, seated across from me, was unnervingly calm. Even though his own son had been revealed as a murderer, not a trace of shock or distress crossed his face.
“Are you satisfied now?”
When he suddenly asked that, my hand froze on the teacup and I lifted my head.
“…Excuse me?”
“You’ve orchestrated quite an entertaining situation.”
He set the cup down with a sharp clink and looked down at me. Behind his frameless glasses, his unsettling gaze slowly swept across me.
“You released the recorded footage, then sent it directly to a current affairs program without going through the Management Bureau…. Yes. You put considerable thought into this.”
The corners of his mouth twisted upward in an eerie smile. Yet beneath it, he couldn’t quite conceal the fury simmering underneath. The faint smile that had been mixed in gradually faded as he continued.
Finally, his face returned to one devoid of all warmth as he issued me a final warning.
“You’ve made a grave mistake. You should have stopped while I was still favorably disposed toward you.”
“….”
“You’ll soon discover just what kind of person you’ve touched.”
He was clearly anxious—even though he’d drawn a clear line between himself and Park Jae-min, he was anticipating the fallout that might reach him.
I finally voiced the question I’d been holding onto all this time.
“…Did you know that Hunter Park Jae-min killed civilians?”
The moment my words left my mouth, Park Sung-chul burst into laughter as if he’d just heard an amusing joke.
“Aha! Did I know? How could I? But what does that matter anyway?”
That reaction. He’d definitely known about Park Jae-min’s crimes long ago. But he’d probably covered it up on his end because the situation was becoming troublesome. His eyes, revealed at the end of his laughter, had turned cold as ice.
“Did you see the footage from the Incheon Gate? It was absolute hell. Those poor citizens would have died at the monsters’ hands regardless of whether that boy had acted so recklessly or not.”
“…Recklessly, you say.”
My breath caught. Park Sung-chul was treating what Park Jae-min had done as nothing more than ‘youthful indiscretion.’ I barely managed to suppress the fury and revulsion that surged up in me.
“Well, if it weren’t for Hunter Park Jae-min, my parents might still be alive.”
“Ah, I see. So that’s why you’ve been charging in so desperately. Your parents were the victims. Yes, I understand.”
An unmistakable hint of annoyance flickered across his face. Yet there was not the slightest trace of guilt for the horrific acts his son had committed.
“If you had shared this with me first, I would have compensated you generously. Before things spiraled out of control like this.”
Park Sung-chul leaned back against the sofa with a sigh. Then he shaped his voice with nauseating artificiality.
“I too have actually lost someone precious at a Gate. So I understand your feelings, Hunter Ha-neul.”
Lost in thought for a moment, he tapped his fingers against the armrest of the sofa.
“But what if we looked at it this way? Park Jae-min is an A-rank Hunter. He possesses the ability to save hundreds, thousands of people in the future.”
“…Why are you suddenly bringing that up?”
“I’m asking us to weigh the utility of his value.”
A gentle smile appeared on his face.
“Is it really right to render an outstanding A-rank Hunter permanently incapacitated over a single mistake made in his reckless youth?…That’s what troubles me.”
He even tilted his head slightly, as if coaxing an ignorant child.
I rose from my seat without bothering to respond. I had no desire to continue indulging this pointless conversation.
“If that’s why you called me here, then there’s nothing more to say. I’ll be taking my leave.”
He didn’t try to stop me. Instead, he simply offered a casual farewell.
“Well, if that’s what Hunter Ha-neul wishes, then so be it.”
But the moment I turned my back, a low voice reached me from behind.
“Just remember this. The courtesy I’ve shown you… ends today.”
I walked straight out of the Vice Director’s Office. In the quiet hallway, only the sound of my breathing echoed. My fists trembled with an emotion I couldn’t quite name—fear or anger, perhaps both—and I clenched them tightly.
* * *
Not long after, the Director held an official memorial service for the victims of the Incheon Gate incident.
On a day when rain fell softly and steadily, tears already filled the air before the ceremony even began. They were the tears of bereaved families who had fought a lonely battle for so long, carrying the weight of their sorrow.
“Family members, please move to the front.”
As a staff member guided them, people quietly made their way to their seats. I stood in the back, holding a large umbrella, and moved silently forward.
I could see the Director ascending the podium. The soft click of the microphone turning on seemed unusually loud.
“Today, I stand here to take responsibility for the terrible stain of the Incheon Gate incident. I promise to remain vigilant so that such a tragedy never occurs again.”
The Director’s steady voice resonated through the microphone.
“To the victims and the bereaved families… I sincerely apologize on behalf of the Hunter Management Bureau.”
She bowed deeply toward where we stood. At the same time, all the Management Bureau staff standing behind her bowed as well.
“Sob… sniff.”
“You’ve endured so much, truly… so much.”
“You’ve suffered too, noona….”
Finally, the tears Se-ah had been holding back burst forth. The people around her wiped away tears—or perhaps raindrops, it was impossible to tell—and embraced her.
Watching this scene, I clenched my fists tightly. The sensation of my nails digging into my palms felt strangely comforting.
I quietly turned and made my way to the columbarium where my parents had been newly enshrined. Perhaps because the memorial service was still ongoing, the interior was silent.
I gently touched the photograph placed in the small space.
“Mom, Dad. How do you like your new place? It’s spacious and quiet. Quite nice, isn’t it?”
The moment I opened my mouth, something hot surged up my throat. My parents in the photograph continued to smile brightly, as if they knew—or perhaps didn’t know—what was in my heart.
“…I’m truly sorry. For not knowing anything all this time. For foolishly believing only what the police said.”
Se-ah had spent five years trying to uncover the truth about her fiancé’s unjust death. But what about me? What had I done during that time?
I hated myself for knowing nothing and simply chasing my own happiness. How much had Mom and Dad suffered? How frightened and frustrated must they have been?
“Now that I’ve uncovered everything, please visit me in my dreams next time. Tell our daughter that she did well, that you’re grateful. Please….”
At that moment, a gentle breeze rustled through my hair. When I looked up, I saw an open door at the end of the hallway. Had I left it open when I came in?
“Ah….”
The rain had stopped, and the sun had emerged. Beyond the glass door, cherry blossoms drifted slowly like a painting. I smiled softly at the spring that had arrived without my notice.
“Are you comforting me? Thank you. Mom, Dad.”
Ha-nyang came to my side and gently tapped my leg. I laughed and lifted the cat.
“Ha-nyang! Would you like to say hello to our parents?”
I brought Ha-nyang to the photograph.
Ha-nyang pressed his nose right up against the frame and stared quietly for a long moment.
“These are our parents. What do you think?”
“…Hmm, now that I see them this way, I understand, meow.”
“Understand? Understand what?”
“You really do resemble your parents quite a bit,” Ha-nyang said.
The Tricolor Fat Cat’s tail swayed gently back and forth, and I let out a soft chuckle at Ha-nyang’s peculiar observation.
“Well, of course I do—I’m their daughter!”
“It’s not quite that simple,” Ha-nyang replied.
“Haha! Alright then, shall we head back?”
Ha-nyang answered with a light meow. Before leaving, I retrieved a fish-shaped keyring and placed a recent photograph I’d taken with Ha-nyang beside the picture frame.
I’m doing well. So don’t worry about me—rest easy. I’ll visit again soon.
From now on, I should visit my parents more often. With that thought, I stepped out into the world beyond, where the rain had finally ceased.
And the very next day, Se-ah submitted her resignation at the Shop.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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