6kv Chapter 252
Chapter 252
Chapter 252
After receiving a call from Oh Hee-Jin, Han Dae-Ho quickly got up from his seat. He then heard Oh Hee-Jin babble on about unbelievable things through the phone.
He talked about how they succeeded in finding the long-term missing person and how they spotted a person that they suspected to be the leader of the Voodoo Cult in the abandoned building where they had found the missing person. Apparently, they had chased the woman but failed to catch her.
But there was something that shocked him more than anything else.
"Sun-Woo hit the director of the Northern Branch? By mistake? Ah, so you’re saying that he didn't just hit him—he also broke his nose and even kicked his stomach?" Han Dae-Ho said.
At first, he thought he was joking, but Oh Hee-Jin was not the type to joke around. Furthermore, his tone sounded too urgent.
He was curious about how a search mission for a long-term missing person had led to such a situation, but now was not the time to ask about that.
"Alright, return to the office with Sun-Woo for now. I’ll try my best to deal with the incident regarding the director of the Northern Branch,” Han Dae-Ho said.
—The Paladin Order Northern Branch Director insists that we come to their office, so returning will be difficult.
"Is that so? Fine, then. Let me try talking to him," Han Dae-Ho said with a frown.
After a moment of silence on the phone, someone spoke. It was the voice of the Paladin Order Northern Branch Director.
"Uh, director. I heard that my subordinate beat you up?”
—That’s right! Sun-Woo, that crazy son of a bitch, I will definitely discipline him, so keep that in mind. How dare an apprentice beat up a director? Does he even know how many levels of hierarchy I am above him within the church?!"
“I was also shocked by the news. This truly is a terrible incident,” Han Dae-Ho said.
—...
After hearing Han Dae-Ho's sarcastic remark, the Paladin Order Northern Branch Director finally realized something was amiss and closed his mouth.
Han Dae-Ho smiled faintly and continued, "Since we’re the ones in the wrong, it’s a bit much for us to ask for leniency. And even if we ask for leniency, you’re not going to listen to us anyway... So, let’s just resolve this issue according to the rules. Let’s bring in the reporters and publicize this incident too.”
—There’s no need to go so far as publicizing it...
"Of course, we have to make it public. If an apprentice paladin struck the head of the Paladin Order Northern Branch Director, it's not just a minor issue, but a huge one, isn't it?"
—...
"An ordinary apprentice paladin beat up a director. It wasn't a surprise attack on a director who was alone. Instead, he charged in and one-sidedly beat up the director while he was with his subordinates. He broke his nose and kicked his abdomen.”
—It wasn't a one-sided beatdown...
"Sun-Woo’s such a horrible person, don’t you think? The whole world should know that he's a horrible person, isn’t that right? Yeah?"
The Paladin Order Northern Branch Director did not respond. Han Dae-Ho waited for him to speak. There was a brief silence. Eventually, the Paladin Order Northern Branch Director answered Han Dae-Ho’s questions.
—It doesn’t seem necessary to make this public. I’m just asking that we discipline him according to the regulations...
“No, I want to make the incident public. I heard you only focused on extinguishing the fire because you thought no one was in the abandoned building.”
—...
"My subordinate was the one who found a long-term missing person there. You guys tried to chase a woman who might have been a member of the Voodoo Cult, but you ended up fainting on the street.”
If they decided to make the incident public, criticism would obviously be directed toward Sun-Woo and the Eastern Paladin Order. But, at the same time, the incompetence of the Northern Paladin Order would surely come to light.
The Paladin Order Northern Branch Director did not want that to happen. If the fact that he had failed to subdue an apprentice paladin and had gotten beaten up were to be revealed, and the Northern Paladin Order’s incompetence was exposed to the world, the director's reputation would plummet.
“So what I’m saying is, do we really need to press such serious charges such as mutiny and obstruction of official duties? If we just handle it as an incident of minor disobedience, we won't have to deal with all this headache, and your pride won’t be so hurt. Isn’t this a win for both of us?"
—...I understand what you mean. As you said, it will be better to talk about the details face to face.
"Alright, let's talk about the details later. Anyway, thanks for your hard work."
Beep.
Han Dae-Ho immediately hung up the phone after saying his final words to the director. Then, he put his hand on his waist and sighed several times.
After calming down his anger to some extent, Han Dae-Ho muttered, "It wasn’t even a sneak attack. If you got wasted by an apprentice paladin in a direct confrontation, then you should know how to be ashamed. Tsk.”
He was more irritated by the Paladin Order Northern Branch director’s pettiness than Sun-Woo.
Not long after, Sun-Woo and Oh Hee-Jin returned. Oh Hee-Jin was hunching his shoulders as he entered, expecting Han Dae-Ho to reprimand him.
Han Dae-Ho approached them with large strides. Oh Hee-Jin's body shrank even more.
However, Han Dae-Ho grinned widely and lightly patted Sun-Woo's head.
Pat!
"Hey, why’d you have to beat up the Northern Branch director of all people? Tone down your ego a little. If you go to Central and do that, I can't cover for you."
A little. Was she a little tired right now?
"No, I guess I’m fairly tired? I don't know."
She couldn’t tell the difference between 'a little' and ‘fairly.' In-Ah tried to clear her mind and refocus on studying after shaking her head.
However, when she saw a single raven outside the window, she couldn't help but be distracted by it. The raven was perched on the windowsill, staring intently in her direction with its eerie eyes. It seemed as if it was staring right at In-Ah.
‘I will come back. Wait for me.’
Suddenly, an unwelcome voice that she didn't want to remember echoed in her ear.
‘Have you forgotten about me?’
The dreadful voice, which she didn't want to remember, began to speak new words instead of repeating past ones. Even words that the voice had never said before echoed in her ear.
The raven was still gazing at her. Its eerie eyes sent shivers down her spine. It felt as if the raven was looking directly at her.
‘I feel hurt. Have you forgotten? Do you want to forget?’
"Shut up. You never said such things," In-Ah muttered, trying to push the voice out of her ear.
The voice didn't say anything more, but instead, it laughed. It was a disturbing laugh.
Even when she covered her ears, she could still hear the voice. Even when she closed her eyes, it was the same. If anything, when she closed her eyes, the voices seemed louder in the darkness.
Cold sweat dripped down and fell onto the textbook. In-Ah tried to grab her pen in a hurry. However, she couldn't figure out where her pen was.
Her hand only fumbled on her desk without grasping her pen. Cold sweat continued to flow out. She struggled to breathe.
Knock knock.
Then, she heard a knocking sound. In-Ah's heart sank for a moment, and she looked at the clock. There was no reason for anyone to come.
Her parents wouldn't have arrived already. Besides, if it was her parents, they had no reason to knock. She looked out the window. The raven that had been staring in her direction had disappeared.
She shivered.
Knock knock.
The knocking sound continued persistently. She deliberately didn't respond. She thought they would leave if she didn't respond. However, the person on the other side of the door stubbornly continued to knock.
Knock knock...
With each knock that echoed throughout the house, cold sweat dripped onto the floor. Her heart beat roughly.
In-Ah picked up her phone and found Sun-Woo's contact information. In this situation, there was no one else she could call immediately besides Sun-Woo.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Who is it?"
She immediately prepared to call Sun-Woo and spoke to the person on the other side of the door. The person on the other side did not respond. They didn't even knock.
Within the deep silence, In-Ah heard her own heartbeat. Her whole body trembled in sync with her heartbeat.
Buzz—! Buzz—!
Then, her phone vibrated.
Startled, she almost dropped the phone. In-Ah picked up her phone and looked at it. A call was coming from Sun-Woo. She answered the call.
However, Sun-Woo didn't say anything. Silence lingered. In-Ah wanted to say something to Sun-Woo. She wanted to tell him that it seemed like a strange person had come to her house and she wanted to ask if he could come over.
But due to nervousness or fear, her voice wouldn't come out.
—It's me.
The first to break the silence was Sun-Woo. His voice could be heard simultaneously from both the other side of the door and the phone.
In-Ah opened the door as soon as she heard the voice. Sun-Woo was standing in front of the door, holding his phone and smiling mischievously at her.
Upon seeing him, her pounding heart calmed down. Seeing his mischievous smile, she couldn't help but laugh.
Wiping the cold sweat on her forehead with her sleeve, In-Ah said, "What's so funny?"
"I thought you weren't here, but you were. Why didn't you answer?"
"I didn't know it was you. If you were coming, you should have contacted me first," In-Ah said.
In-Ah looked at Sun-Woo quietly and continued, "Why did you suddenly come?"
Sun-Woo didn't answer her question for a while. Instead, he silently stared at her, as if choosing his words carefully. In-Ah waited patiently for him to speak. Finally, Sun-Woo smiled faintly and said, "To apologize."