Chapter 215
Son Ju Woo
The black bag shifted slightly, trembling ever so faintly.
'Wait...'
Son Ju Woo immediately calmed his mind, then cautiously began walking toward the bag.
When he was ten steps away from it—an enormous distance by his standards—
he stopped.
Son Ju Woo was not underestimating the bag.
He had no idea what was inside.
Perhaps a powerful enemy... waiting for the perfect moment to launch a swift and deadly attack.
Perhaps a monster...
Perhaps a weapon...
Or perhaps something even worse.
The word "perhaps" echoed through his mind dozens of times within only a few seconds.
At the ten-step mark, he quietly released his magical energy.
First into his thighs,
then his knees,
then his feet...
Little by little,
until the energy reached his heels.
From there, his magical power spread outward in the form of delicate circles,
expanding from his heels into the surrounding area.
He closed his eyes.
Within his mind,
within his senses,
an image of the surroundings slowly took shape.
The circles gradually surrounded the bag,
until everything became clear.
Using this sensory technique,
he detected the presence of a person inside the bag.
But that wasn't all—
he also sensed that their strength had been almost completely drained,
that they were weak,
and dangerously close to death.
Son Ju Woo slowly opened his eyes.
With calm,
steady,
silent steps,
he reached the bag.
Then he opened it.
---
Inside a beautiful white room,
filled with the scent of disinfectant and antiseptic...
Black eyes slowly opened,
gazing around in confusion.
"W... Where am I?"
The voice was soft,
quiet,
and trembling slightly.
Mor Mai looked around in bewilderment.
She was inside a hospital room.
Her body was wrapped in bandages,
and a thin IV needle was inserted into her hand.
"Ah... You've finally awakened."
A man with gentle, calm features entered the room.
He wore a white coat,
and a warm, genuine smile rested on his face.
"My name is Dr. Jin.
It's a pleasure to meet you."
"W-Who... brought me here?"
Mor Mai asked in a frightened,
shaking voice.
'Did Kai No bring me here?
But why?
After I told him what Son Ju Woo had said at school...
After I tried every possible way to avoid the issue... he refused.
He beat me mercilessly...
In anger...
Until he nearly killed me.
But...
I don't remember anything after that.'
She trembled as she thought.
"Your friend over there brought you."
Dr. Jin pointed toward a young man
with neatly parted black hair,
dressed in elegant black clothes.
He was sitting beside the window,
a cigarette resting between his lips.
"I'm not her friend,
Dr. Jin.
Didn't I already tell you that?"
"I don't care.
Take that cigarette out of your mouth
and throw it away."
Son Ju Woo sighed quietly,
extinguished the cigarette with his finger,
then tossed it into the trash can.
"So...
how is she?"
"For someone who isn't her friend..."
Dr. Jin said with a teasing smile before continuing,
"You brought her here three days ago,
in the middle of the night.
You've been here almost every single day,
leaving only for a few hours
to change your clothes before coming back.
And every time,
you asked about her condition."
He paused briefly,
then smiled like a mischievous child.
"Are you absolutely sure you're not her boyfriend?"
At that moment,
Son Ju Woo raised his clear blue eyes,
which filled with icy anger.
Although the aura he released was weak,
an ordinary doctor
should have been terrified.
But Dr. Jin...
simply kept smiling,
as though nothing had happened.
"Alright, alright...
I apologize."
He said it in a childish tone,
then hurried out of the room.
Just before closing the door,
he looked back at Son Ju Woo
and winked at him.
'That idiot...'
Son Ju Woo let out a quiet sigh,
then turned toward Mor Mai.
"So...
how did this happen to you?"
Mor Mai was confused.
The last thing she remembered
was Kai No beating her mercilessly.
Then she had lost consciousness.
And now...
she was in a hospital,
Son Ju Woo was standing before her,
and she had apparently been unconscious for three days.
"Mor Mai...
can you hear me?"
"Huh?
Y-Yes... yes."
She gradually calmed down,
then slowly explained everything,
from beginning to end.
After she finished—
"Son...
I'm sorry, I mean, Son Ju Woo...
May I ask you something?"
Son Ju Woo pulled another cigarette
from his black metal cigarette case.
Just before lighting it,
he remembered what Dr. Jin had said.
So he simply placed it between his lips
without lighting it.
"Yes."
"Why...
didn't you kill me?
Or hate me?
Or resent me...
even after everything that happened?"
He casually played with the lighter in his hand
while listening to her trembling voice.
A few seconds later,
he lit the cigarette.
"To be honest...
I don't know.
I don't love you,
and I don't consider you my friend anymore.
But at the same time...
I don't hate you either."
He looked at her quietly.
"Mor Mai,
let me ask you something.
If someone gave you a chance
to gain money,
comfort,
and a beautiful life...
after spending your entire life suffering in poverty...
what would you have done?"
The moment he finished asking,
Mor Mai's body trembled.
It was as though the question
had pierced straight through her heart.
Son Ju Woo noticed,
then answered his own question.
"Let me tell you.
In this world,
someone who is truly determined
will do anything
to reach the top.
Me,
you,
and Kai No...
we all lived together."
A faint smile appeared on Son Ju Woo's face
as memories of the real Son Ju Woo surfaced.
"We went to school together,
studied together,
played together.
We were poor...
We had neither money nor power.
But we were true friends,
and we were happy.
Tell me...
did any of us ever dislike the idea of having money?"
"No."
"When Kai No became wealthy
after his father's business succeeded...
he slowly became arrogant.
You and I stayed close...
We met,
studied,
and played together.
Then one gloomy day,
beneath a beautiful rain,
with cold air surrounding us—"
Son Ju Woo stopped,
then extinguished the cigarette with his bare hand this time.
A heavy breath escaped his lips,
as though he were reliving a painful memory.
He looked toward Mor Mai,
only to find her drowning in tears.
Sadness...
Pain...
Self-hatred.
"That day...
I confessed my true feelings to you.
I told you how I really felt.
And in the heat of that moment,
you told me that you loved me too.
We spent several weeks together...
They were incredibly happy.
But...
one day,
Kai No returned."
Son Ju Woo sighed softly as he lowered his gaze toward the floor.
"He wore different clothes,
had a different hairstyle,
and carried an arrogant smile.
He treated me with contempt,
while treating you with kindness and affection.
To be honest...
I hated it.
I hated my poverty.
I hated my weakness.
I hated that he was rich and powerful.
I hated myself,
because as your boyfriend,
I couldn't give you anything."
| Arthur... |
Cain called out to Arthur in a low,
slightly sorrowful voice.
At that moment,
it wasn't only Son Ju Woo who was speaking—
Arthur was speaking alongside him.
Arthur didn't hear Cain's voice,
and quietly continued.
"No money...
No gifts...
No security.
I truly hated myself.
And because of that...
I left school.
And decided to become...
a Hunter."
---
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