Lee Kanghyun’s life in hiding was nothing short of paradise.
Kang Yujun’s second house stood deep in the forest, so far removed from everything that the only sound he could hear was birdsong. The top-quality bedding was soft as clouds, and the refrigerator was packed full of instant food that took almost no effort to prepare.
Best of all, no one was looking for him here.
“Ah, this is the life.”
Lee Kanghyun stretched out across the sofa, rolling lazily from side to side as he crunched on a piece of candy. Outside, the whole country was apparently losing its mind over whether he was a murderer or whatever, but from inside this fortress, it felt like something happening in another country.
Kang Yujun had left a few days ago.
“I’ll take care of it, so don’t move an inch.”
That was what he had said before leaving.
He’ll handle it.
He was the best Hunter in South Korea, after all. He had money, and the public loved him.
Completely unconcerned, Lee Kanghyun picked up the remote.
He was bored. Maybe he should watch the news.
He was also a little curious to see how creatively people were insulting him.
Beep.
The instant the TV came on, red breaking-news captions filled the screen.
[BREAKING NEWS] POLICE ISSUE ARREST WARRANT FOR S-RANK HUNTER LEE KANGHYUN — NATIONWIDE MANHUNT
“Huh?”
Lee Kanghyun stared blankly at the TV.
[Hunter Lee Kanghyun Suspected of Murdering Home Intruder… “Detention and Formal Investigation Unavoidable Due to Flight Risk”]
[Police: “Hunter Lee Kanghyun’s Whereabouts Unknown; Possibility of Fleeing Country by Sea Under Consideration”]
[Self-Defense Claim Rejected: “Autopsy Reveals Clear Evidence of Torture”]
Things were taking a strange turn.
“Knew it. Someone’s pulling the strings from behind the scenes.”
Apparently, he really had pissed off someone serious.
The yellow-haired bastard was probably behind it.
To be fair, Lee Kanghyun was a little surprised. He had assumed the guy was just one deranged criminal, but now it seemed there might be a much larger organization behind him.
Lee Kanghyun thought it over.
If an arrest warrant had been issued, were they going to come all the way here to arrest him soon?
That would be annoying.
He picked up his phone to check whether Kang Yujun had contacted him.
[Don’t watch the news. Turn off the TV and your phone.]
There was a message from him.
Lee Kanghyun frowned automatically.
What?
Why wasn’t he supposed to watch?
Because of the arrest warrant?
Normally, he would have assumed Kang Yujun had a reason for saying something like that and genuinely spent the rest of the day rolling around with every electronic device turned off.
But now that he had seen the news about an arrest warrant, he needed to know what was going on.
He changed the channel.
The screen switched to a National Assembly hearing.
Camera flashes went off incessantly, illuminating a man seated at the witness table in a neat suit. His clothes were immaculate, but exhaustion had settled heavily into his eyes.
Lee Kanghyun knew him very well.
Kang Yujun.
What the hell is this?
—Witness Kang Yujun. Answer as the representative of Waterglint. Where is Hunter Lee Kanghyun right now?
A man wearing a National Assembly member’s badge barked into his microphone.
—Hunter Lee Kanghyun’s current whereabouts are unknown. There are allegations that Waterglint is systematically harboring a criminal. Is that true?
Kang Yujun remained silent.
Countless cameras zoomed in on his face.
—Answer the question. You’re called a national hero. Does it make any sense for someone like you to protect a murderer?
—As Guild Master, shouldn’t you take responsibility for the brutal murder committed by Hunter Lee Kanghyun?
—Could Hunter Kang Yujun be an accomplice as well? I heard you were at the scene.
It was less a series of questions than a barrage of accusations.
Normally, Kang Yujun would have deflected them with that smooth tongue of his or fired back with a rebuttal.
But the Kang Yujun on the TV simply sat there expressionless, saying nothing.
—I apologize.
After a long silence, the first thing out of Kang Yujun’s mouth was an apology.
—This is entirely my failure. However, Hunter Lee Kanghyun—
—Enough. I asked you where you hid him!
One of the National Assembly members cut him off with a shout.
Kang Yujun ignored the question and continued.
—Hunter Lee Kanghyun is innocent.
—Listen to this! Waterglint needs to be searched immediately!
“……”
Lee Kanghyun stared blankly at the screen.
“That fucking idiot.”
Something hot surged violently inside his chest.
Kang Yujun hadn’t done anything wrong.
So why the hell are you sitting there apologizing?
You’re supposed to be a damn hero, and you’re ruining yourself just to protect someone like me?
The comfortable sofa suddenly felt like a bed of thorns.
What a pain.
Going outside was a pain.
Explaining himself was a pain.
And standing in front of people was something he hated more than almost anything.
But watching that was even more irritating.
Seeing Kang Yujun sitting there taking all the abuse that should have been directed at him pissed him off so badly his pride couldn’t tolerate it.
“Ah, fuck.”
Lee Kanghyun swore and shot to his feet.
“You’re ruining my appetite.”
He switched off the TV with an irritated jab at the remote, then strode into the dressing room.
It was packed with suits he normally wouldn’t have spared a glance.
Every single one belonged to Kang Yujun.
“I’m borrowing one.”
Lee Kanghyun asked permission from empty air.
If Kang Yujun didn’t like it, he could come all the way back here and stop him.
He pulled out the sharpest-looking black suit in the closet.
They were almost the same height, but Kang Yujun had a broader build and more muscle, so the clothes were a little large on him.
It didn’t matter.
They fit well enough.
The shirt tightening around his body felt unfamiliar.
When was the last time he had worn one?
At a funeral, maybe.
He wore loose T-shirts every day, so having a stiff dress-shirt collar wrapped around his neck felt suffocating.
He endured it.
Right now, Kang Yujun’s miserable face on that television was harder to tolerate than a tight collar.
Lee Kanghyun stood in front of the mirror.
His disheveled hair hung into his eyes.
If he went out like this, he would just look like a homeless guy in a suit.
He picked up the hair wax sitting on the vanity. A faint fragrance drifted out when he opened it.
“Never thought I’d live long enough to do this shit…”
Muttering under his breath, he scooped some wax into his palm and rubbed his hands together roughly.
Then, without hesitation, he swept his bangs back from his face.
The moment his forehead was exposed, his entire impression changed.
The eyes that were usually half-lidded and languid now looked sharply defined, while his dark eyebrows and high nose stood out clearly.
Lee Kanghyun gave the mirror one indifferent glance and turned away.
Anyone else would have been left staring at his appearance in awe.
Lee Kanghyun himself could not have cared less.
He only thought he looked presentable enough now.
He was ready.
He headed down to the underground garage.
Supercars filled the space.
And damn, were the colors flashy.
Kang Yujun always drove dull black cars around for the sake of his public image, yet apparently he had been itching to own ridiculous things like these in private.
How had he even restrained himself?
Lee Kanghyun let out an amused snort.
It was so completely like Kang Yujun.
He slowly swept his gaze around the garage.
His eyes stopped on a red sports car parked in the farthest corner.
He picked up the car key left in the garage and climbed into the driver’s seat.
Leaving the keys lying around like this seemed like a great way to get the car stolen.
Then again, there probably wasn’t anyone who would go out of their way to find this place.
VROOOOM!
The roar of the engine exploded through the underground garage, loud enough to shake the walls.
“Wow…”
That was seriously loud.
Was this thing illegally modified or something?
Whatever.
Lee Kanghyun stepped on the accelerator.
The car shot forward.
***
The area in front of the National Assembly building was absolute chaos.
News that an arrest warrant had been issued for Lee Kanghyun had collided with Kang Yujun’s appearance at the hearing, drawing hundreds of reporters, protesters, and streamers into one tangled mass.
ROOOOAR—!
A deep, vicious engine note thundered from the distance.
Every head turned toward the road.
“What the hell?”
“What’s that sound?”
A bright-red sports car came hurtling toward the National Assembly’s main entrance at an insane speed.
Police officers blew their whistles and moved to block it, but the car showed no sign of slowing down.
SCREEECH.
With the smell of burning rubber filling the air, the sports car stopped inches from the protesters.
Everyone fell silent and stared at the red car.
The windows were tinted too dark to see inside.
“W-Who is that?”
“Holy shit. That car looks insanely expensive.”
The murmuring grew louder.
Whirr.
The sports car door swung upward.
A polished black dress shoe emerged from the car and touched the pavement.
The man inside slowly straightened.
A perfectly fitted black suit.
Slicked-back hair exposing his forehead.
Long, clean lines from waist to ankle.
“Gasp…”
Someone audibly sucked in a breath.
The reporters lowered their cameras in a daze.
The sight was so unreal that for a moment, they actually forgot to press the shutters.
A celebrity?
An actor?
No.
The man had a presence even more overwhelming than that.
He buttoned his jacket, his brow furrowing in obvious irritation.
“Move.”
The instant they heard the low voice thick with annoyance, a name flashed through everyone’s mind.
“L-Lee Kanghyun?!”
“It’s Lee Kanghyun! Lee Kanghyun is here!”
Lee Kanghyun is here.
What kind of reaction is that?
You’d think a monster had appeared.
Lee Kanghyun regarded them with mild indifference.
“Murderer! Get out of here!”
One of the protesters finally came to his senses and hurled a raw egg at Lee Kanghyun.
Whoosh.
Lee Kanghyun did not even look at it.
He merely tilted his head a fraction.
The egg flew past his ear and smashed against a police shield behind him.
He ignored it and kept walking.
The surrounding crowd looked more shocked than Lee Kanghyun himself.
The police officers hesitated, exchanging uneasy glances.
He was a wanted man.
They were supposed to arrest him.
But Lee Kanghyun’s eyes had gone so cold that he looked ready to put someone in the ground, and not one of them dared approach.
Lee Kanghyun ignored the police as well.
He stopped and slowly swept his gaze across the countless camera lenses pointed at him.
Then he looked directly into the camera broadcasting live and spoke.
“My Guild Master is in there listening to a bunch of bullshit.”
He jerked his chin toward the building.
“So I came to get him out.”