He just casually stated that he knew but would keep it to himself.
How incredibly fortunate Jin-Woo must be to have come across such a reasonable person.
Or how incredibly unfortunate that someone connected the dots at all.
If Inspector Woo figured it out, someone else might, too.
And should he trust this man not to expose him?
The man didn't seem the lying type.
On the other hand, if he wanted to turn him in, would he waste his time talking to him and saying all this?
- You killed Hwang in self-defense, just like Kang, you had the right to fight for your life and that of your companions.
Jin-Woo turned pale when the agent openly spoke about killing Hwang Dong-Suk.
Many hunters died because of him. We have suspected him of committing crimes for a long time. - Woo Jin-Chul continued calmly. - But we couldn't touch him.
-Why?
- And here we come to the crux of your current problem. Hwang Dong-Suk's brother was an S-rank Hunter who emigrated to the United States some time ago. Hwang Dong-Su. This man is impulsive and dangerous. Maybe you're stronger, but you probably won't tell me how much. However, there has never been a case where an E-rank Hunter reawakened as an S-rank Hunter. So you won't win against him. He will seek revenge. It doesn't matter whether it's true or not. It may not matter to him. What matters to him is that you survived and his brother didn't. As an S-rank Hunter, he couldn't care less about rights and regulations. Be careful. You might be on the hit list of someone even monsters fear. The safest thing would be to take your loved ones and leave the country, but I have a strange feeling that you won't listen to me. But even then, no matter what you do, be watchful.
Surprised, Jin-Woo opened his mouth a little.
This man...
He didn't have to help him at all.
He didn't have to keep his secret to himself.
He didn't have to worry about it.
But still, for some reason he did it.
For some strange reason, Jin-Woo felt genuinely grateful for that.
During their first encounter, Jin-Woo had noticed the agent, but back then, he only saw the fatigue and politeness.
Today, he saw much more.
The energy that Woo Jin-Chul exuded placed him in the top ranks of A-rank Hunters, very close to S-rank, yet very far.
He moved with the grace of someone who was comfortable in their own skin and confident in their place in the world.
He gave precise, calm commands to his agents, and not a single one hesitated for a moment to carry them out.
And for some inexplicable reason, he cared.
- Thank you, Inspector, for the warning. And... - Jin-Woo looks away, unsure of what to say. - And thank you for keeping it a secret.
- I wonder what path you will take. I hope I won't regret my decision.
- You won't. - He promised him with confidence and determination that surprised both himself and Woo Jin-Chul.
Maybe he was exaggerating, but he couldn't remember the last time anyone believed in him.
It was a genuinely nice feeling.
Jin-Woo vowed to himself that he wouldn't betray the trust this agent had placed in him.
Even if he didn't know this man.
Even if he didn't know anything about him.
Even if their paths wouldn't cross too often.
***
After three hours of interrogations, the CEO of the gold processing company confessed to everything and cleared Jin-Woo and his companions of all charges.
Inspector Woo Jin-Chul was present in the room during their interrogations, but he didn't conduct the questioning himself; he observed from the sidelines, remaining silent.
He watched Jin-Woo with moderate curiosity, not being too intrusive while maintaining his polite yet stern professionalism.
He didn't look at him with suspicion or uncertainty, as if he were waiting for Jin-Woo to do something wrong and break the trust he had placed in him.
Honestly, a small part of Jin-Woo expected just that.
When they were finally released from the Association, Ju-Hee asked Jin-Woo for a short walk.
Ju-Hee stared at her feet as they walked. Every time she lifted her gaze, it landed on Jin-Woo. She wanted to but couldn't ignore the fact that the man seemed and was much stronger than before.
In the past, being close to him had felt very comfortable. Now, it was difficult to even strike up a conversation with him.
What happened to him?
Not just the fact that he easily defeated a B-rank Hunter. The man's presence felt entirely different from before. He had asked her to remain silent, so she didn't want to press him about it.
But for some reason, his sudden change worried her.
She wanted him to finally say something.
The currently silent Jin-Woo seemed so cold and distant to her, unlike the boy she had met. Gathering her courage, Ju-Hee opened her mouth with great difficulty,
- Do you remember this? I don't think I can eat anything today, so I wanted to give it back to you.
Ju-Hee gave Jin-Woo a magic core. It was the same core he had given her in the dungeon temple. Her hand, which handed over the magic core, was trembling.
- You've changed, you know? - The girl asked a bit sadly. Jin-Woo pretended that nothing bothered him after her words. - And I've been standing still the whole time.
- You have experienced many hardships yourself. Everyone experiences such things differently.
- Maybe you're right. - Ju-Hee looked at the already darkening sky. - I'm too scared to be a hunter. I tried to overcome my fear, but it was not that easy. As a B-rank Hunter, I should be participating in B or, at worst, C-rank dungeon raids. But I kept getting stuck in D or even E-rank dungeons... That's why I kept running into you. Treating your injuries seemed endless. I used to think you were just reckless... But somehow, you always managed to survive.
Not knowing how to respond, Jin-Woo looked at the core in his hand.
- Today is not the only day we can eat dinner. You don't have to return it right away.
Ju-Hee smiled sadly, shaking her head.
- I'm going back to my hometown, Busan. I'm retiring. Give me a call if you're ever in the area. I'll treat you to fresh sushi.
Jin-Woo was disappointed. And sad.
Maybe he wasn't participating in E and D-rank dungeon raids anymore, so he wouldn't run into Ju-Hee, but he still felt like the last piece of his former life, the piece he didn't want to let go of, was slipping through his fingers.
Jin-Woo smiled and Ju-Hee smiled back. And so, after saying the words she wanted to say, they both said goodbye.
The journey home had never felt so long and so lonely.
***
Woo Jin-Chul, despite the late hour, knocked on the door of President Go Gun-Hee's office. What had happened today required informing his superior.
To be honest, Woo Jin-Chul himself was surprised by his decision to keep his lips sealed. He didn't regret it, but he feared the president might not be pleased with his foolish choice.
- Come in.
Jun-Chul opened the door and walked through it, feeling the bitterness of fear in his mouth.
The last thing he wanted was to disappoint the man he respected so much.
Nevertheless, he could no longer go back on his decision like a mere coward.
Only if the president ordered him to would Woo Jin-Chul break his resolve.
But he really hoped the man wouldn't force him to do it.
Go Gun-Hee was not the kind of person to demand things from his subordinates without a very good reason.
The older, sturdy man sat behind his desk, reviewing some documents.
- How is the case regarding Kang Tae-Shik going?
- Slowly... - Jin-Chul cautiously admitted, standing before the president's desk and handing him the report of the day along with a description of the Hunters who had confessed to killing Kang. - Song Chi-Yul, a C-rank Hunter and a mage who lost one arm in a double dungeon a month ago, as well as Lee Ju-Hee, a B-rank healer with documented trauma from the same incident, have admitted to killing him.
- I see. - The president read the files given to him and summarized them by Jin-Chul. - The third participant was Sung Jin-Woo, an E-rank warrior. Suspected of reawakening. Did you find this boy on the altar?
- That's correct.
- Did you believe them? - Gun-Hee asked calmly, looking with curiosity at his subordinate.
Woo Jin-Chul was a truly sensible, intelligent young man, and Go Gun-Hee often consulted his decisions with him, trusting his judgment.
He really liked his unconventional but very rational way of thinking.
- No, sir.
- Yet you signed their confessions. - He observed with curiosity as he looked at the agent from above the documents. - Why?
- Despite Sung Jin-Woo's hospital test results still showing an E-rank... he was responsible for Kang's death.
A bit taken aback, Go Gun-Hee raised his eyebrows in surprise, he could see Jin-Chul being slightly nervous, which was a rather unusual sight.
- I believe there's a longer story to tell. Please start with the moment you checked his rank at the hospital.
Jin-Chul handed more papers to his superior. He opened it without a word. And he started reading.
- Ah. One of the two survivors of the Hwang Dong-Suk incident was Hunter Sung.
- To kill Hunter Hwang and seven of his comrades, five of whom, including Hwang, were C-rank Hunters, confessed to the younger son of President Yoo Myung-Han.
- This boy? - The president looked carefully at the young, smiling face of the boy.
- It was his first raid. He had no prior experience, and during his testimonies, it seemed like he barely understood the basic rules of the Hunter community and the specifics of raids. He had decent equipment, but I don't believe it would have been enough for him to kill eight very experienced Hunters, five of whom outranked him.
- I agree. - Go Gun-Hee acknowledged slowly, still reading through the notes from that incident. - If any equipment could amplify the strength of Hunters and compensate for their deficiencies, rich E-rank or D-rank Hunters would be able to take on B-rank Hunters. A complete absurdity. Hmm, the only survivor besides him was Sung Jin-Woo.
Go Gun-Hee looked at Jin-Chul with a frown.
- Neither a D-rank Hunter nor a crippled mage with a stigmatized healer would have been able to handle Kang Tae-Shik, neither would they have been able to fool him. The common point in these cases is Hunter Sung. Did he tamper with the measuring device?
- Honestly, I doubt it. He woke up only a few minutes before we entered his room. He was surprised, scared, and tired. He wouldn't have known about his increased power, let alone how to trick such a precise device. There's also no way he could have... undergone a reawakening before that.
- So he's definitely not a False Ranker?
- No. History of raids has clearly shown that. Many incidents in the D and E ranks, frequent hospital stays with quite serious injuries. No S-Ranker would go through so much trouble just to maintain appearances. He... was truly weak.
Woo Jin-Chul didn't say it as an insult or mockery. He calmly stated an obvious fact without emotion.
- Could there have been a second awakening after he left the hospital? - Gun-Hee asked Go.
- We can't rule that out because we don't have any basis for it. But we can't confirm it either. But... when I talked to him unofficially and warned him about Hwang Dong-Suk, he acknowledged that he killed Kang Tae-Shik and Hwang Dong-Suk. He didn't deny it. He looked more scared that I knew. He even asked why I went along with Mr. Song Chi-Yul's version.
- I understand, so it's a second awakening. Although to be honest... I'm also curious why you let them lie?
Pressing his lips into a thin line for a moment, Woo Jin-Chul took a calming breath through his nose and continued.
- I thought it would be worth it to observe him for now and find out why he's hiding. - Woo Jin-Chul admitted honestly. - I'm fully aware that I'm acting against the Association's principles.
- Do you think anything good can come out of these observations?
- I don't know. - Woo Jin-Chul admitted honestly. - The killings he committed were in self-defense. He protected young Yoo Jin-Ho and later Lee Ju-Hee and Song Chi-Yul. For four years, he risked his life to keep his younger sister as one of the top students in her high school, while his mother fell into the "Eternal Sleep." It's strange that, given the opportunity to raise his rank and make more money, he still holds onto the E rank and has only been on two raids since his hospital stay. One with Hwang to the C-rank gate and one today to the D-rank. And... if he's a strong Hunter... he must be at least a B, he could be valuable to the Association.
- Do you think... he could be recruited if he reached B or A rank? - Go Gun-Hee asked with great interest and skepticism.
- I don't know. But it won't hurt to try. If he really destroyed the double dungeon, either he doesn't admit it or he doesn't remember. To accomplish that, he would need at least an A.
- Do you think even higher? - Go Gun-Hee asked with great interest and skepticism.
- I don't know that. But... the Association needs strong Hunters in its ranks. Additionally, we lost one today. Kang Tae-Shik was a disgusting person, but he was a strong Hunter.
- Losing him is a blow. -Go Gun-Hee agreed. - I give you permission to observe him quietly. If you think he won't do anything inappropriate by breaking the law, I'll trust your judgment.
- Thank you. I warned him that if he broke the law in any way, I would immediately reveal his secret and bring him to very severe criminal responsibility. He seemed... - Woo Jin-Chul hesitated.
- Yes?
- He seemed very grateful that I won't reveal what I know. He promised that... I won't regret my decision. He sounded very serious. And sincere.
- We'll see how this unfolds.
Go Gun-Hee himself was curious how this would develop. He couldn't say that he would have acted like Woo Jin-Chul in this case, but he didn't think his subordinate had done anything very wrong or reckless.
At least until young hunter Sung Jin-Woo does something very stupid and heartbreaking law.
However, he trusted Woo Jin-Chul's judgment.
< Episode 3: Dungeons & Hunter's Association > Fin.