CH 10

Since the accident, time has seemed to fly by. I turned twenty-three this year. I survived seven years without loving anyone, just like I decided that day. I only have one year left to live, but I’m trying to make the best of it.

If climbing a cliff in broad daylight with a ‘fall hazard’ warning sign is living hard, then so be it.

“What the hell is in this mountain valley….”

Today, I’m hiking on a commission. There is a herb that only grows on the top of the mountain, so I climbed the steep cliff again and again. When I reached the top, drenched in sweat, a cool breeze blew in. But there’s no time to admire the view. I squatted down and scanned the area for possible medicinal plants.

I looked under the rocks and found a clump of grass as long as my finger. I dug up the surrounding soil to avoid damaging the roots and carefully pulled out the herb. I put it in a plastic bag, took a picture, and that was it.

[I’ll leave it in the locker at Exit 1 of Gangnam Station].

It was only after I sent him a tweet with the photo that I finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Haha, what a morning.”

I wish I could have used my cursed body to my advantage and become a hunter like my mom, but I gave up because I had to hide my ability to see other people’s waking conditions. Of course, there was also the anxiety of becoming a hunter and running into Heo-sang.

For now, I’m happy with my job. I’m getting more requests than I thought I would, and I’m making good money. After paying for my living expenses, I send anonymous donations to Jeongdong Cathedral.

It’s not purely a donation; it’s a repentance for the false image I brought to the cathedral that day.

tiring-

In the meantime, a new open chat was opened. I opened it, thinking it was another request, and frowned.

[Do you accept requests to take pictures of hunters?]

This guy can’t tell me when he’s seen me. For a moment, I was furious, but then I realized that he was a customer.

[Let’s see who it is].

[You know the Apostle’s Guild, right?]

[Yes, I know.]

[Simeon, the guild leader there.]

…Simeon?

As soon as I heard the name, I couldn’t help but laugh.

Even I, who don’t know much about hunters, know about ‘apostles’.

[That would be difficult.]

Arthur, it would do you no good to tangle with such a dangerous man.

Besides, I’ve heard rumours about him before. A reporter was caught snooping around behind him, and he disappeared without a trace. He still hasn’t been found, so he was taken away by the Apostle, and he’s being held at his home base… Only ugly speculation abounds.

I’m just taking a few pictures, not a full investigation, but I didn’t want to take any chances.

Still no…

[I’ll get you three big ones.]

…but there’s a lot of people making money taking pictures of hunters these days, so I’m sure I’ll be fine.

[What’s the deadline?]

[In a month.]

[I’ll need a 30 per cent down payment first.]

After sending the text, I got a deposit alert almost immediately, which made me smile at the size of the deposit.

[Okay. ^^ but where are you going to use the photo?]

The client, who had been texting constantly, read and chewed for once.

“An errand boy doesn’t need to know that much… That’s it.”

Meh. As long as the money comes in on time, I don’t care.

As soon as I got down the mountain, I hopped on a bus to Gangnam Station, dropped off the vials of herbs at the pre-determined locker, and gave the client the password. I hummed to myself when I realised that I had received the balance.

That was one job done. The next, and more important, request had begun.

“Where can I find Simeon….”

If you want to take a picture of a tiger, you have to go into the tiger’s den, but I don’t know where it is. Unlike other Hunter Guilds, the Apostles are shrouded in mystery, even their home base. So, if I want to find Simeon, I’ll have to rely on luck or Nogada.

I chose the latter, as I’m not very lucky.

[Location of the Seoul Hunter’s Association].

Even the most elusive Simeon will appear at least once near the Hunter’s Association.

From that day on, I stayed near the building day and night. I think I’ve seen all the Hunters I’ll ever need to see, but Simeon hasn’t come. I thought I might even see a member of the Apostles’ Guild, but there was no sign of a black mask.

But there were so many black-haired Hunters. Even the ones with calmer hairstyles and taller stature seemed to be Heo-sang. One day, I saw a Hunter whose backside was really similar to his mask, and I instinctively followed him and grabbed his wrist.

”Hey.”

The man whipped around and frowned as soon as he saw me.

“What is it?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I got the wrong person.”

As soon as I met his unpleasant gaze, I snapped out of it.

What the hell was I doing? What if he’d been Heo-sang, and I’d grabbed him earlier, and now I was going to pretend to know him with a steel plate in my face and say, ‘It’s me, John, the brother who disappeared without a word seven years ago.’

“I’m crazy….”

A week passed with no sign of progress, and I was about to give up.

[Simeon moxibustion under Mapo Bridge.]

The hunter community that I’d been dipping into for information finally got wind of it, and I hailed a taxi and headed to the Mapo Bridge. I had no idea why he was suddenly in the middle of the city centre, but all I could think about was taking a picture of Simeon.

“Keep the change!”

Without even looking at how much I had, I pulled out all the 10,000 won in my wallet and got off. As I hurriedly ran to Han River Park under Mapo Bridge, I could see people gathering in the distance. When I finally broke through the crowd, I was met with a pair of glowing yellow eyes.

“Awesome….”

An A-list salamander that burns everything in its path was pinned down under Mapo Bridge, and standing against him were two black-masked Hunters. Without even checking to see if they were Simeon, I raised my camera and started filming.

The first to move was a hunter wearing a frilly dress that came down to her ankles. She leapt out of place, barefoot, and landed on a lamppost. Her iron prosthetic leg gleamed sharply beneath the fullness of her skirt in the night breeze. The next moment, she was soaring like a butterfly, mercilessly slamming the salamander against the bridge.

The lizard squirmed and screamed as it hit the ground.

KEEEEK-!

As the enraged Salamander breathed fire, another Hunter waiting below quickly reached out. It was a giant tree that held the flames at bay. With a wave of his hand, an ordinary street tree grew as tall as a wall.

A tree that could not be burned. It could only be described as a miracle created by Hunter’s unique ability.

I watched in fascination for a while, and only then did I notice something strange.

“Huh…?”

Sure enough, the report said Simeon was here, but there were only two hunters in sight. I looked around frantically, thinking I hadn’t found him. Just then, the fire from the Salamander hit the sign for the Mapo Bridge.

BANG!

A huge ball of iron fell towards the onlookers. The area quickly turned into an abyss. People started to run like crazy, as if they knew the danger at any moment.

As the smoke cleared, I could see In-young in all his glory. Black mask, black suit. The hunter I’ve been looking for.

“Simeon…!”

I immediately locked on to his figure.

Unlike the two Hunters, who were furiously trying to stop the Salamander, Simeon simply stood in place. He was far too calm to be frozen in fear. Then he began to slowly move his hands in the air. His graceful movements were like conducting.

I stared, wondering what he was doing, and then realised. That’s not conducting, that’s chess. With the fire-breathing Salamander behind him and his colleagues struggling to subdue it, the Guildmaster is leisurely playing chess. But instead of blaming him, people were holding their breath and looking at his hand gsture.

Before I knew it, I was drawing a chessboard in my head as my long fingers moved.

White moves a pawn to e4, and Black responds with a pawn to e5. If White puts a knight on f3, Black will counter with a knight on c6. From there, White puts his bishop on c4 to take control of the centre and put pressure on Black. It was a popular ‘Italian game’ used by White.

It didn’t take me long to recognise it, as it was the first opening I taught Heo-sang.

”It must be a coincidence….”

There were a few more exchanges after that. Every time I watched Simeon’s hands move, I felt a strange sense of foreboding, but I tried to ignore it. But as soon as he tapped the air, goosebumps broke out all over my body.

It was Heo-sang’s habit when he was sure of victory.