Chapter 98

Hong Woojin regretted it.

I didn’t think this through.

The intrusion itself had gone perfectly. He had approached the target’s cat-loving younger sister and won her heart with a pair of pitiful yet sparkling eyes.

The problem was…

“What does our Yeoreum eat to be this cute? Hmm? Hmm-hmm?”

Meow.

“Yeoreum, why do you keep trying to get out the door? Stay here and play with your big sis.”

Meow.

“Eek, you’re so cute!”

Hiss! Hissssss!

“Oh no, is Yeoreum mad? I’m sorry. Did Sis touch you too much? Okay, I’ll stay still, so play on the bed, all right?”

This damn younger sister had absolutely no intention of letting him outside. Thanks to her, he had spent more than a day and a half trapped in Jin Hayeon’s room.

I should’ve gone with a dog.

If he had been a dog, getting inside wouldn’t have been this easy. But once he was in, he wouldn’t have been practically held captive, either. At the very least, they would have taken him out for walks.

This gets me nowhere.

Swept up by a sense of crisis, Hong Woojin attempted to escape.

Let’s see who wins—you or me!

He had begun with that fierce resolve, but then…

Scritch, scritch-scritch-scritch.

“…”

Meow. Myaaaaaow.

“…”

His first attempt was a failure. He scratched desperately at the door and even tried crying as loudly as he could, but Jin Hayeon didn’t react even once.

Without even putting on earphones, she simply continued solving problems with a fierce look in her eyes and swift movements of her hands.

So this is what it means to be in the top 0.01 percent nationwide.

He had seen it in the initial investigation report. Ever since middle school, she had routinely ranked first or second in her entire school and had earned countless awards in various academic competitions. It was hard to forget a record like that.

Only today did Hong Woojin understand why.

Sitting in front of her desk, she possessed truly terrifying powers of concentration.

Someone like this would make the perfect mage… No, that’s not the point.

He continued trying to disrupt her studies somehow. He pawed at her feet without pause and kept acting cute.

But Jin Hayeon’s response was simple.

“Big sis is studying right now. Don’t bother me.”

She pulled her feet up onto the chair and sat cross-legged, putting them completely out of reach of his tiny body.

That was the limit of being a kitten.

This operation has failed.

Since his plan to disrupt her studies had gone up in smoke, he had no choice but to bring out his final card. It would deal a serious blow to his human dignity, but this was no time to be picky.

Let’s see if you ignore this, too.

Sssssssss.

The pristine white duvet turned yellow.

When nature called, it was best to take care of both kinds of business at once. Having finished both simultaneously, Hong Woojin made a solemn decision.

Fine. Since things have come to this, I might as well take care of it properly. Like a professional.

He rolled over and over.

It had been five years since he started using Familiar magic. This was the first time he had ever fallen this far.

He kept hypnotizing himself.

I’m a professional. I’m a professional. I’m a professional…

A little while later, Jin Hayeon noticed a strange smell and turned around.

By then, everything was over.

Meow.

A duvet stained with urine and feces, and a kitten covered in filth.

“Eek, Yeoreum!”

Jin Hayeon was startled and moved quickly. She pulled off the dirty duvet, then carefully grabbed the kitten by the scruff of its neck and lifted it up.

“What are you doing going to the bathroom here when your litter box is right there? We need to wash our Yeoreum.”

Yes, go to the door! The door!

This was the moment he had been waiting for.

Even though he was covered in filth and dangling from the hand of a girl who wasn’t even twenty, Hong Woojin was filled with joy.

Click.

The door was opening!

The living room he hadn’t seen since yesterday came into view!

Meow! Myaaaow!

“That’s strange. Why does it look so happy?”

Jin Hayeon tilted her head.

That was when the front door opened with the familiar electronic tones of someone entering the passcode.

“I’m ho—… What is that?”

“Where have you been—… What’s that?”

The siblings stared at each other in bewilderment.

More precisely, they stared at the creatures in each other’s hands.

Meow.

Myaow.

The two cats exchanged equally bewildered looks.

That’s Hong Woojin?

That guy is the Sangdong Guild’s amateur?

And then came the next thought.

Why is he covered in shit from head to toe?

Ah, fuck.

It was the moment the last shred of Hong Woojin’s human dignity collapsed.

“You smeared poop all over the duvet?”

“Yeah. I guess he had an accident while I was studying for a bit.”

An accident, my ass.

Since Hayeon had kept him in her room, petting and cuddling him nonstop, he had wracked his brain for a way to get out.

Myaow…

A cat.

No, there were two of them now, so I supposed I should call them by their names.

Whatever the case, Hayeon asked worriedly at the sound of Yeoreum’s feeble cry.

“He’s been looking weak for a while.”

“Hmm. That can happen.”

I couldn’t say for sure, but his self-loathing had to be something else.

He had run into both a fellow professional and his surveillance target while covered in shit.

“Don’t worry too much. Cats normally hate getting water on their bodies.”

“Is that why? No, he didn’t even resist when I washed him earlier. He was completely docile.”

“Oh, really?”

“I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but he seems kind of out of it. Maybe he knows he made a mess and feels sorry?”

Our Yeoreum had a serious case of post-nut clarity.

I swallowed my laughter and said, “Who knows? Anyway, what are you going to do about the duvet? You’ll have to change the sheets, too.”

“It’s fine. It was an animal, not a person. What’s the big deal?”

They say a frog can die from a stone thrown without a second thought.

That was exactly what had happened here. Hayeon’s offhand remark turned into a blade and lodged itself in someone’s chest.

The kitten trembled violently in silence, unable to even cry out.

Meanwhile, the other one was having a wonderful time.

Purr. Prrrr.

Hayeon gazed at the black cat with a face full of adoration as it repeatedly rubbed its face against my leg, making happy noises.

“Where did you bring him from?”

“The entrance to the apartment complex.”

“Is he a stray?”

“I guess so. He was alone.”

“What? Then he might have a mother. You’re supposed to watch a kitten for about a day before bringing it home.”

“Some man told me he’d been crying alone since yesterday.”

“Oh, then he doesn’t have a mother.”

The black cat flinched.

Its purring and attempts to act cute stopped dead. Without realizing it, Hayeon had scored two kills, and she smiled brightly.

“There, there. You don’t have a mother, either. It’s okay. From today onward, Sis will be your mommy.”

“…”

For my little sister, she certainly had a talent for screwing people over with a smile.

The black cat seemed torn between professional duty and the cheap shot at his mom, but soon accepted reality.

Meow.

The sight of it acting cute for its mother’s enemy was downright pitiful.

That’s the hardship of being a working stiff.

Watching them, I suddenly thought of Mom.

“Where’s Mom?”

“I don’t know. She went out because she had an important appointment.”

“An appointment?”

“Yeah. She’s been going out a lot lately.”

What’s going on?

Mom had been leaving the house frequently these days. Now that she had some free time after quitting her job, was she finally looking for a life of her own?

Come to think of it, she had been acting strange.

Sometimes she would sit there with an expression that looked as though she had something to say. Other times, she would jump whenever I suddenly spoke to her.

Something had definitely changed around Mom.

She’ll tell me when the time is right.

The person I loved and trusted most in this world was my mother. Just as always, all I could do was trust her and wait.

Of course, listening to her and talking things over at the right time was also a child’s duty.

“What are you thinking about so hard?”

“It’s nothing. By the way, aren’t you going out?”

“What, you sound like you want me to leave.”

“Not exactly.”

“Hmm. Suspicious. You’re not planning to bring a girlfriend over, are you?”

“…”

I wish I had a girlfriend to bring over.

My expression must have revealed my thoughts, because Hayeon hesitated.

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. It makes me twice as pathetic.”

“I’m really sorry.”

“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”

“Come to think of it, I have some books to return to the library.”

She sprinted into her room, threw on her backpack, and came back out at the speed of light.

The front door slammed shut, and the house fell silent.

She really went and gouged out a single man’s heart.

A corner of my chest felt hollow, but the stage I had been waiting for had finally been set.

This was a problem I needed to deal with while my family was out of the house, if possible.

Myaow.

Meow.

Two cats, one black and one white, began creeping toward me and circling around.

Bright eyes. Perked-up ears.

I left the Familiars, who were dying to learn more about me, behind and stepped onto the balcony.

The first thing I saw was the parking lot, where hundreds of cars were lined up.

The parking lot is clear.

Before returning home, I had carried the Familiar in my arms and taken a lap around the apartment complex. To everyone else, I probably looked like an idler out for a walk on a pleasant day.

My real purpose had been to check the vehicles.

The result was nothing suspicious.

Then it has to be one of those houses.

That confirmed the watchers had made one of the recently traded apartments their base. I recalled the information I had obtained from the real-estate office once more.

Building 5, Unit 901. Building 4, Unit 302. Building 3, Unit 202.

Coincidentally, all three were positioned around our apartment, forming a sort of ring. They were ideal for surveillance, since their windows offered a view of the entrances to the buildings.

It wouldn’t be strange for the watchers to be in any one of them.

The question is which one they’re hiding in…

They were cautious enough to use a Familiar instead of magical Equipment to avoid being discovered.

If I approached recklessly, I would lose them. To make a definite capture, I had no choice but to throw out equally substantial bait.

I think it’s time to begin.

Swish. Rustle.

First, I drew all the curtains in the house. Even though it was the middle of the day, the living room had grown dim. I reached into my pocket.

Inventory open. Mana-detection Equipment.

At the same time, my hand closed around a lump of metal about half the size of my palm.

As its name suggested, it was Equipment that could detect mana. I had paid twenty million won for it at the Store.

Next step: search.

I carefully swept through the house with the detection Equipment. After confirming that no mana was being detected inside, I took out my smartphone and called someone.

Beep. Beep. Click.

The other person answered as the call connected.

—Hello?

I replied.

“It’s me, Jin Taekyung.”

The two Familiars watched me without even seeming to breathe.

The moment Kim Junsu opened his eyes, he shouted.

“He’s here! He’s here!”

The Security Team members, who had been sitting close together and writing their assessments, jumped in surprise.

“What?”

“Who’s here? Our Team Leader?”

“Or could it be…”

Kim Junsu nodded at the team member who had let his voice trail off.

“The target. This guy reeks to high heaven.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes. I got a bad feeling when he drew all the curtains as soon as the house was empty, and then he even used detection Equipment to inspect the inside.”

That wasn’t something an ordinary C-rank Hunter, especially one on vacation, would do.

Everyone in the room swallowed hard.

“Th-then?”

“He pulled out his phone and made a call.”

“A call? To whom?”

“I don’t know.”

Kim Junsu furrowed his brow.

“The call was so short that it didn’t even last three minutes. But more than that, I could tell he was being extremely careful about how he addressed the other person.”

“That’s enough. We’ll report it up the chain and pull that bastard’s call records.”

“Right. And there was nothing else?”

“How could there be nothing else? Do you know what he said?”

He cleared his throat once. Then a low voice came from his mouth.

“‘The plan is proceeding without a hitch. Yes, yes. The Sangdong Guild hasn’t noticed anything yet. I have the item with me.’”

The team members listening slapped their knees.

“This is it!”

“We finally got something!”

“Wow, I just got chills. What is he, some kind of secret agent?”

At that moment, Kim Gwondong, who had been listening quietly, suddenly spoke.

“Junsu, didn’t that bastard say he had an item?”

“Good observation.”

Kim Junsu smiled meaningfully.

“That guy has a USB.”