At dawn the next day all five gathered on the drill grounds without fail.
They had come out early to loosen up before the light had even broken......
It had always been awkward, but the air was heavier than usual.
“Honestly, you're embarrassing me.”
It was because of Gwak Do-jin.
“I'm not a condemned man waiting on his execution. What are you all glancing at me for?”
In truth it was not far off.
Expulsion instead of execution, but still.
“Hey, youngest.”
“Class 21! Han Tae-ho!”
“What's with the drill-square shouting? Is this the army?”
Snorting a laugh, Gwak Do-jin rubbed Han Tae-ho's shoulder.
“We've met a few times by now, so loosen up a bit. You little punk.”
“......Understood.”
“And that time I called you a dope. I'm sorry about that. I was a bit on edge back then.”
“Oh, no! It's because I wasn't good enough......”
“No, I was the one behaving like garbage.”
At the sight of Gwak Do-jin openly admitting his own faults, the cadets around him looked surprised.
They had known Mad Dog had changed.
Was it any easy thing to come out every dawn without fail and sweat in silence?
But they had not expected him to actually put an apology into words.
Apologies are easy to swallow down and hard to spit out.
Because it takes courage to bend one's shabby pride.
“Yoon Hyeon-jong, I'm sorry to you too.”
“To me?”
“Yeah, for grabbing your collar on the first day of class. Looking back, you were right.”
“It's fine. Men can grab each other's collars on first meeting.”
Yoon Hyeon-jong did not dodge the apology either.
He was not so small-minded as to swat away an effort to repair a relationship.
A while later, having finished training, Gwak Do-jin showered and changed into outdoor clothes.
Then he checked his bank balance.
[Balance: 2,450,000 won]
“Damn it.”
It was what was left after tuition had gone out.
Precious money his grandmother had gathered from her pocket savings.
‘I meant to graduate and give her an easy life.’
Well, there would be no more tuition to pay now.
Arriving at the liquor emporium in front of the Academy's main gate, he emptied his account to buy a single bottle of top-grade single malt whiskey.
The tuition had been agonizing to lose, but the tuition he was paying his professor did not sting at all.
If he had had the money he would have bought something more expensive.
‘Yu-yeon said it yesterday.’
That a Taewang executive had come, smashed her phone and threatened her.
That just as he had appeared when Hwang Min-woo was threatening her with the contract, he had stepped in and saved her then too.
Hearing that, how could he sit still?
Gwak Do-jin carefully cradled the liquor in its fine presentation box and headed for the faculty building.
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
Kang Hyeon was leaning deep into the sofa in his office, and across from him some woman Gwak Do-jin had never seen was tapping at a tablet.
For a moment his eyes went round.
‘Wh-Who is that? His girlfriend?’
Seeing Gwak Do-jin standing there awkwardly with the bottle in his hands, Kang Hyeon jerked his chin.
“What are you doing. Come in.”
“Ah, yes. But the lady beside you.”
“My secretary.”
“Secretary?”
An exclamation escaped Gwak Do-jin's mouth despite himself.
A secretary this pretty!
So a man really did have to be strong.
“What are you staring blankly at. And what's that in your hands.”
“Ah.”
Gwak Do-jin set the fine box he had been cradling carefully onto the table.
“I drank your liquor the other day. This is tuition on top of that.”
The truth was he had emptied his entire fortune, his tuition money, to buy it, but he did not bother to let it show.
“Oh, this is a fairly expensive one.”
Kang Hyeon's eyes lit up as he opened the box.
“I don't decline gifts of liquor.”
Pop!
He drew the cork without hesitation, and a fragrant, dense oak scent flowed out.
“Good nose. Sit down there. Let's drink together.”
“With me?”
Even as he said it, Gwak Do-jin's backside was already firmly settling onto the sofa.
Honestly, his hands had shaken when he bought that top-grade single malt.
‘Do you know what that cost? I'd better at least taste it or I'll never get over it.’
Kang Hyeon did not press him on why he had bought it, or where the money had come from.
He merely poured the amber liquid into a glass and pushed it across in front of Gwak Do-jin.
Presently Kang Hyeon's gaze went to Lee Se-a across the table.
“Chick, do you want to try some too?”
“I'm on duty......”
Lee Se-a waved a hand in refusal, but her eyes were already fixed on the bottle.
Plainly a label she could not easily drink on a Bureau salary.
She swallowed, her mouth watering of its own accord.
Forcing her gaze away, Lee Se-a carried on with what she had been saying.
“More to the point, Professor. You've been complaining about why the liquor cabinet isn't being restocked? There's no budget left to restock it.”
“Stingy. What about that secret manual I gave you before?”
“That was spent ages ago. We swapped out the furniture for the top-grade sort twice, and kept the liquor topped up.”
“Have I drunk that much?”
“Yes, you have drunk that much. Honestly I'd like to provide more, but...... you know how it is.”
Black's budget was allocated from state funds.
The potential benefit of keeping Kang Hyeon tied to South Korea was large, certainly, but there were limits to everything.
“Still, don't worry.”
Slide.
Lee Se-a tapped at the tablet a few times and pushed it toward Kang Hyeon.
The screen was packed with listings stamped with red warning marks.
[Support Request: S-rank Dungeon Subjugation]
[Search of the Collapsed Jeju Underground Labyrinth]
[Request: Annihilation of an Internationally Wanted Organization]
......
“Clear any one of these off-hand and you could fill that liquor cabinet several times over.”
The Bureau's transparent little scheme to make use of Black.
Kang Hyeon waved a hand as though it were absurd.
“Take it away. Who are these people trying to take for a sucker?”
Then he looked contentedly at Gwak Do-jin seated before him and raised his glass.
“Still, thanks to you I'm drinking good liquor today.”
“Not at all, Professor. I'll be in your care from now on as well.”
Just as Gwak Do-jin scratched at the back of his head.
Knock, knock.
A knock sounded again at the quiet door.
Lee Se-a's eyes brightened as she asked.
“Has something taken the bait you cast yesterday?”
“Sadly, no. Come in.”
The door swung open.
Gwak Do-jin's eyes went wide at the person who appeared.
“Yoon Hyeon-jong?”
What are you doing here?
Yoon Hyeon-jong had brought a wooden case as well.
‘Is that?’
An ultra-expensive limited-edition liquor with ornate gold-leaf decoration and even a serial number!
Incomparably more expensive than what Gwak Do-jin had brought.
‘This punk? Of all moments, he brings that now?’
Gwak Do-jin bit down hard on his lip inwardly.
Kang Hyeon laughed in disbelief.
“Is there some flash gathering today? Everyone turning up as though you'd arranged it.”
Yoon Hyeon-jong set the case carefully on the table, hesitant.
“My greetings are overdue, Professor. This is a token of thanks for saving my life the other day.”
“Is that so? Then this one has to be opened too. Sit down. Let's drink together.”
Kang Hyeon did not refuse this time either.
If anything he cheerfully fetched a new glass.
Watching the scene, Lee Se-a muttered in disbelief.
“At this rate all five of those cadets are going to end up in here.”
“See? No need for missions. The children look after me like this.”
“......So they do.”
Filling the glasses, Kang Hyeon went on at his leisure.
“That's how the way of the world works. You have to treat people well without expecting anything, and later they'll do the same for you without expecting anything.”
What Kang Hyeon had received from them was not expensive liquor.
It was their hearts.
Don't worry.
I'll be handing you something far more precious than the price of this drink in the life ahead of you.
‘I know that well.’
Lee Se-a recited inwardly and nodded.
‘My salary went up three times over thanks to the professor, after all.’
She resolved it.
That a certain portion of her salary would go on filling the liquor cabinet.
If the cadets could express gratitude, could his exclusive manager fail to?
And just as that warm drinking session was about to ripen.
Knock, knock.
Another knock sounded.
“Who is it this time? Cha Yu-sik? Or Han Tae-ho? Seo Hae-in?”
“No, this time it really does seem the bait's been taken.”
Kang Hyeon spun the glass in his hand and spoke languidly.
“Come in.”
The door swung open!
What came in was a man built like a mountain.
“......!”
Gwak Do-jin shot to his feet.
He had recognized who the man was.
The root cause of his ruined life, Hwang Min-woo's father.
‘Hwang Tae-gwang!’
Why is that man here?
***
Having moved elsewhere, the two men sat facing each other in the faculty building's reception room.
“Forgive the abruptness of my visit.”
Hwang Tae-gwang bowed his head first.
Kang Hyeon returned the greeting.
“Contract professor. Kang Hyeon.”
Outwardly he observed the courtesies, but Hwang Tae-gwang knew.
That this man was the monster the Bureau was protecting.
“Ahem. I'll speak plainly. Yesterday one of our people committed a grave discourtesy. The responsibility is entirely mine.”
Without bothering to answer, Kang Hyeon rolled the whiskey glass with his right hand.
Hwang Tae-gwang knew very well that it meant: skip the pointless talk and get to the point.
“The footage in your possession. I would like to end that matter quietly.”
“Quietly?”
Sniff, sniff.
Kang Hyeon lifted the glass and took in the aroma.
“A moment ago you called it a grave discourtesy, and now you want it settled quietly......”
“You are not wrong to say so.”
Hwang Tae-gwang nodded.
“I am the head of an organization. I cannot move on feeling alone. I simply wish to contain this before it grows larger. If there is compensation required, Taewang will bear it.”
The corner of Kang Hyeon's mouth curled faintly.
“Any compensation at all?”
“If it is within what Taewang can bear.”
Kang Hyeon set the glass down.
Click.
It was a small sound, but Hwang Tae-gwang felt his shoulders stiffen instinctively.
“Let me ask one thing.”
“Please do.”
“Your son is very precious to you, isn't he?”
At the sudden question, Hwang Tae-gwang's gaze wavered briefly.
“......He is precious.”
“And the guild?”
“More precious.”
An answer without hesitation.
Kang Hyeon looked at him flatly.
It was not a lie.
Which made it more interesting.
“Very well. Then let me ask one more.”
Kang Hyeon rose slowly to his feet.
The feel of him was entirely different from when he had been leaning back on the sofa.
The air in the reception room grew heavy.
‘So this is the presence!’
Hwang Tae-gwang felt he now understood why Song Cheol-ho had made such a scene of it.
Having been through everything there was to go through, he could tell from the eyes alone.
‘This man is a tiger.’
A predator that can devour anyone.
You do not need to fight a tiger to know it is strong, do you?
Instinct was telling him.
You will lose if you fight.
“What is it you want to protect right now?”
“Taewang.”
“Then does that mean you can discard your son?”
Hwang Tae-gwang's eyebrow twitched.
He was not stupid enough to miss the meaning behind the words.
“If it is necessary.”
Kang Hyeon laughed shortly.
“Easy to say. When the blade's edge actually comes to your own blood, it tends to be another matter.”
His voice was as languid as ever, yet strangely cold.
Hwang Tae-gwang did not reply.
He judged that saying nothing at all was the better course.
Kang Hyeon moved toward the window.
And looking down at the Academy's grounds through the gap in the curtain, he spoke.
“There are two things I want by way of compensation.”
Hwang Tae-gwang's eyes settled.
“Say them.”
“First. That Hwang Min-woo pay the price himself for what he did to Baek Yu-yeon and Gwak Do-jin.”
“......!”
“Second. That Taewang clean up the rotten strings it has strung through this Academy.”
Kang Hyeon did not bother to raise his voice.
He merely turned his head and looked Hwang Tae-gwang straight in the eye.
But in that instant, Hwang Tae-gwang's instincts screamed.
This man is not negotiating.
He is warning.
‘Save the son and the guild dies; kill the son and the guild lives.’
And at the same time, he is offering a chance.
‘Whatever your Taewang Guild does out there, whatever muck you roll in, I will not go digging into those sins. Only — the filthy scheming you have done inside my territory, this Academy, you will take responsibility for and clear away completely. If you cross even that line, then guild or no guild, I will smash you without leaving a trace.’
Gulp.
Hwang Tae-gwang's throat bobbed.
Kang Hyeon crossed the floor and took hold of the door handle.
“I'll hear your answer at the committee tomorrow. Do make a fitting choice.”
Click!
With the sound of the door shutting firmly and Kang Hyeon gone.
“Haa.”
Only then did Hwang Tae-gwang let out the breath he had been holding.