Murim Login - Chapter 98

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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 98
Hong Woo-jin regretted his decision.
‘I was shortsighted.’
The infiltration had gone perfectly. He’d approached Jin Tae-kyung’s Younger Sister—a devoted cat enthusiast—and captured her heart with pitiful, gleaming eyes. The problem, however, was….
“What does our Yeoreum eat to be this adorable? Hmm? Hmm?”
Meow.
“Yeoreum, why do you keep trying to go outside? Let’s play here with your sister.”
Meow.
“Kyaa, so cute!”
Hiss! Hisssss!
“Oh no, is Yeoreum angry? I’m sorry. Did I pet you too much? Okay, I’ll leave you alone. Just play on the bed, alright?”
This damned younger sister had no intention whatsoever of letting him outside. As a result, I’d been trapped in Jin Ha-yeon’s room for more than half a day.
‘I should have chosen a dog instead.’
A dog wouldn’t have been so easy to smuggle in, but at least I wouldn’t be under semi-house arrest afterward. They would have taken me for walks, at the very least.
‘This won’t do at all.’
Seized by desperation, Hong Woo-jin attempted an escape.
‘Let’s see who wins—you or me!’
With such grim determination, I began….
Scratch, scratch-scratch-scratch-scratch.
“….”
Meow. Meooooow.
“….”
The first attempt failed. I scratched at the door frantically and cried out loudly, but Jin Ha-yeon, sitting at her desk, didn’t react once.
Without even earbuds in, she simply continued solving problems with sharp, focused eyes and steady hands.
‘Top 0.01% in the entire nation, they said.’
I’d seen it in the initial investigation files. Since middle school, she’d consistently ranked first or second in her grade, and her awards from various academic competitions were too numerous to forget.
Only now did Hong Woo-jin understand why. Sitting before that desk, she possessed truly formidable concentration.
‘She’d be perfect as a mage…but that’s not the point.’
Afterward, I continued trying to disrupt her studies in every way possible. I constantly brushed against her feet and showered her with affection.
But Jin Ha-yeon’s response was simple.
“I’m studying right now. Don’t disturb me.”
Once she pulled her feet up onto the chair and sat with her legs crossed on the desk, my tiny kitten body could never reach her. The limitations of a baby cat.
‘This operation has failed.’
Since the study-disruption strategy had backfired, I had no choice but to play my final card. It would cause tremendous damage to my human dignity, but this wasn’t the time to be picky.
‘Let’s see if she ignores this too.’
Shiiiiiii.
The pristine white blanket turned yellow. It’s a fundamental rule that major and minor tasks should be handled simultaneously. Having completed both at once, Hong Woo-jin made a firm resolution.
‘Fine, since it’s come to this, let’s handle it properly. Like a professional.’
Roll, roll-roll.
Five years into using Familiar Magic, I’d never been in such a pathetic state before. I subjected myself to endless self-hypnosis.
‘I’m a professional, I’m a professional, I’m a professional….’
By the time Jin Ha-yeon caught a whiff of something strange and turned her head, it was all over.
Meow.
A blanket stained with feces, and a kitten equally caked in filth.
“Eek, Yeoreum!”
Startled, Jin Ha-yeon moved swiftly. She gathered up the soiled blanket and carefully grabbed the kitten by the scruff, lifting it up.
“The bathroom’s right there—why would you go here? Our Yeoreum needs a bath.”
‘Yes, toward the door! The door!’
The moment I’d been waiting for. Despite being caked in filth and dangling limply from the hands of a girl not yet twenty, Hong Woo-jin was flooded with exhilaration.
Click.
The door opens!
The living room I hadn’t seen since yesterday comes into view!
Meow! Meooow!
“That’s strange. Why does she seem so excited about this?”
It was at that moment Jin Ha-yeon tilted her head in confusion.
The entrance door opened with the familiar beep of a password being entered.
“I’m home… What the—?”
“Where have you been… What is that?”
The siblings exchanged bewildered glances at each other. More precisely, at the living creatures in each of their hands.
Meow.
Meow.
The exchange of bewildered looks was mutual.
‘Is that Hong Woo-jin?’
‘That guy’s an amateur from the Sangdong Guild?’
And the thought that followed.
‘Why is he covered head to toe in shit?’
‘Damn.’
It was the moment the last shred of Hong Woo-jin’s human dignity crumbled to dust.
* * *
“You’re telling me you defecated all over the blanket?”
“Yeah. I guess I had an accident while studying for a bit.”
An accident, my ass—it was entirely deliberate.
Ha-yeon left me in the room and went to study, so I racked my brain trying to get out somehow.
Meow….
A kitten—well, now there are two of us, so I should probably call her by name.
In any case, at Yeoreum’s feeble cry, Ha-yeon asked with a worried expression.
“She’s been lethargic since earlier.”
“Hmm, that can happen.”
I have no doubt the self-loathing is unbearable.
After all, I’d just come face-to-face with both a business rival and my surveillance target while covered in my own excrement.
“Don’t worry too much. Cats naturally hate getting wet anyway.”
“Is that why? No, when I washed her earlier, she didn’t resist at all. She was so docile.”
“Oh, really?”
“I’m not sure if it’s just my imagination, but… the kitten seems a bit out of it. Do you think she’s sorry for causing trouble?”
Our Yeoreum had truly entered a moment of profound clarity.
I suppressed my laughter and spoke.
“Who knows? Anyway, what about your blanket? We’ll need to change the sheets too.”
“It’s fine. It’s not like a person did it—it’s just an animal, so what.”
They say a frog dies when struck by a stone thrown without thought.
This was precisely that situation. Ha-yeon’s casual remark had transformed into a dagger, piercing someone’s heart.
Flinch.
A tiny kitten trembling silently, unable even to cry out. Meanwhile, the other one was absolutely delighted.
Purr, purrrrr.
Ha-yeon gazed at the Black Cat, who was contentedly rubbing his face against my leg while making pleased sounds, her expression radiating pure adoration.
“Where did you get this one?”
“From the entrance of the Apartment Complex.”
“A stray?”
“Probably. He was alone.”
“What? Then his mother might still be out there. That’s why you’re supposed to observe a kitten for at least a day before taking him in.”
“Some man told me he’s been crying alone since yesterday.”
“Ah, so he has no mother.”
Flinch!
The whimpering affection ceased abruptly. Ha-yeon, who had unknowingly achieved a double kill, laughed brightly.
“There, there. You don’t have a mother either, do you? Don’t worry—from today on, your big sister will be your mom.”
“…”
My younger sister certainly had a talent for dealing out cruelty with a smile.
The Black Cat seemed torn between professional duty and wounded pride, but ultimately accepted reality.
Meow.
The sight of him showering affection on his Mother’s enemy was almost pitiful. This was the true sorrow of the working life.
As I watched, my thoughts drifted to Mother.
“Where’s Mother?”
“I don’t know. She said she had an important appointment and went out.”
“An appointment?”
“Yeah, she’s been going out a lot lately.”
What could it be?
Mother’s outings had become more frequent recently. Perhaps now that she’d left work and had some breathing room, she was discovering her own life?
‘Come to think of it, something did feel off.’
The way she’d sit with an expression as if she had something to say, or how she’d startle if I suddenly spoke to her. There was definitely some change happening around Mother.
‘She’ll tell me when the time is right.’
Mother is the person I love and trust most in this world. As always, all I can do is trust and wait.
Of course, it was also a child’s duty to have proper conversations with their parents at appropriate times and listen to what they had to say.
“What are you thinking so hard about?”
“Nothing much. By the way, aren’t you going out anywhere?”
“What? The way you’re talking, it sounds like you’re hoping I’d leave.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Hmm, suspicious. You’re not trying to bring a girlfriend over, are you?”
“….”
I wish I at least had a girlfriend to bring over.
My expression, which laid bare my thoughts, made Ha-yeon hesitate.
“Oh, sorry.”
“…Don’t apologize. It just makes me feel twice as pathetic.”
“I really am sorry.”
“Are you doing this on purpose?”
“Now that I think about it, I need to return some books to the Library.”
She bolted into her room and emerged with her bag slung over her shoulder at light speed. As the Entrance door shut with a bang, the apartment fell silent.
‘Poking at a single man’s heart like that.’
My chest felt hollow, but the stage I’d been waiting for had finally materialized.
This was a problem best solved when the family wasn’t around.
Meow.
Meow.
Two cats—one black and one white—crept closer and began circling around me. Their eyes gleamed with curiosity, their ears perked up attentively.
I turned away from the Familiars, who were desperate to glean information about me, and stepped out onto the balcony.
The first thing that came into view was a parking lot lined with hundreds of vehicles.
‘Parking lot is clear.’
Before returning home, I’d walked around the Apartment Complex once, cradling my Familiar. To anyone watching, I must have looked like a leisurely stroll on a nice day, but my real purpose was to check the vehicles.
The result: nothing suspicious.
‘So they must be outside the complex after all.’
This confirmed that the watchers had made the recently purchased apartment their base of operations. I recalled the information I’d obtained from the Real Estate Office.
‘Building 5, Unit 901. Building 4, Unit 302. Building 3, Unit 202.’
Coincidentally, all three locations formed a perimeter around our building. From their windows, they could look down at the building entrance—ideal positions for surveillance.
It wouldn’t be strange for the watchers to be in any of those places.
‘The problem is figuring out which one they’re hiding in….’
They were cautious enough to use Familiars instead of magical equipment to avoid detection.
If I approached carelessly, I’d lose them. To make a certain arrest, I had no choice but to cast a sufficiently large bait.
‘Time to get started.’
Whoosh, rustle.
First, I drew all the curtains in the apartment. Despite the midday hour, the living room grew dim. I rummaged through my pockets in the center of the darkened space.
‘Inventory open. Mana Detection Equipment.’
Simultaneously, a piece of metal the size of half my palm materialized in my hand.
Equipment that could detect mana, just as the name suggested—something I’d purchased from the Store for twenty million won.
‘Next phase: search.’
I swept through the apartment methodically with detection equipment in hand. After confirming no mana signatures within, I pulled out my smartphone and made a call.
Beep, beep. Click.
The other party answered as the call connected.
– Hello?
I responded.
“It’s me, Jin Tae-kyung.”
Two familiars watched my every move without even breathing.
* * *
Kim Jun-su’s eyes snapped open and he shouted.
“He’s here, he’s here!”
The Security Team members huddled together writing incident reports jolted in surprise.
“What?”
“Who’s here? Our Team Leader?”
“Or could it be…”
Kim Jun-su nodded toward the teammate whose words trailed off.
“The target. This bastard reeks of something serious.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Something felt off from the moment he closed the curtains after leaving, but then he actually used detection equipment to inspect the apartment.”
Not the kind of thing an ordinary C-rank Hunter on vacation would do. Everyone in the room swallowed hard.
“So, so what happened?”
“He pulled out his phone and made a call.”
“A call? To who?”
“I couldn’t tell.”
Kim Jun-su furrowed his brow.
“The conversation lasted less than three minutes, but you could feel how carefully he chose his words?”
“That’s enough. We can report this upstairs and pull his call records.”
“Right, anything else?”
“Why wouldn’t there be? You want to know what he said?”
He cleared his throat once, then his low voice emerged.
“The plan is proceeding without complications. Yes, yes. The Sangdong Guild still hasn’t noticed. I have the item secured.”
The team members listening slapped their knees.
“That’s it!”
“Finally caught something.”
“Wow, I just got chills. This guy’s like a secret agent or something.”
Then Kim Kwon-dong, who had been listening quietly, suddenly spoke up.
“Jun-su, didn’t that bastard just say he has something?”
“Good point.”
Kim Jun-su smiled meaningfully.
“He’s got a USB drive.”

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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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