Chapter 244 – Return Home

During the flight back to Korea, Jeong Hye-won explained what had happened at the set.

“I still don’t know how I was kidnapped. One moment I was somewhere else, then suddenly the location changed and I fell asleep. It was probably a sleep spell.”

She was explaining everything without even being asked, seemingly wanting to share the information.

“There was a Chinese dark mage there who said I was kidnapped by someone named Jin Weibai. I don’t know who that is…”

Min Do-jun didn’t know who it was either, but he had more information than Jeong Hye-won who had been asleep.

After all, he had been monitoring Kang Hyuk-su through Parasite while flying to China.

‘Before Hye-won woke up, there was that Chinese man called Jin Weizheng. I heard he was Jin Weibai’s twin brother.’

Those twin brothers must have kidnapped Kang Hyuk-su and Jeong Hye-won using teleport.

It seemed Jeong Hye-won was unaware of teleport’s existence.

“Then Kang Hyuk-su killed the dark mage, and those people appeared. An American and an Asian man. I have no idea who they were…”

Min Do-jun, on the other hand, knew who they were.

He had already seen them through Weakness Detection before dismounting the Ghost Wolf.

‘The American’s name was James. His twin brother is David.’

It wasn’t difficult to identify the brother as well.

The two were famous S-rank twin hunters in America.

“The mastermind behind the kidnapping was the Asian man. He seemed to be the leader, and he knew our combat power exactly, as if he had a trait that could see it.”

‘That’s not a trait. It’s probably like me-he can see combat power through the set effect of enhanced legendary items.’

It was just a guess, but it was likely correct.

The Asian man had been wearing items that looked expensive at a glance.

‘So I’m not the only one with legendary items enhanced by Magic Cores…’

He had no idea where the man had obtained such rare Magic Cores and legendary items.

‘What’s certain is that he has a trait that can control minds.’

It couldn’t be a skill.

If such skills existed in multiple forms, they would have become known in the future.

‘I’ve never heard of anything like that. A trait that can bewitch people.’

He didn’t know the exact ability, but visually it seemed like a mental debuff.

“I wonder why Kang Hyuk-su acted that way? After talking with that man, he suddenly became like a subordinate and tried to attack me. Did that Asian man really control Kang Hyuk-su’s mind?”

“It seems that way. After all, he tried to kill me at all costs following that man’s orders.”

“Then why did he only try to control Kang Hyuk-su’s mind? With his power, he could have easily controlled me too.”

“I’m not sure.”

That was a point that puzzled Min Do-jun as well.

Though he did have some suspicions.

‘There must be some condition. Either a long cooldown or something else…’

The Asian man had said that Jeong Hye-won couldn’t become one of his people.

‘From the conversation, it seemed like he wanted Kang Hyuk-su to commit murder, whether it was Hye-won or the dark mage.’

The decisive factor was what the man had said to Kang Hyuk-su before controlling his mind.

‘He said if Kang Hyuk-su hadn’t committed murder, he wouldn’t have become a puppet.’

Gathering all the clues, he could somewhat infer the conditions.

‘Can he only control the minds of murderers? Is that why he wanted Kang Hyuk-su to commit murder?’

If that was the case, it would explain why he said Jeong Hye-won couldn’t become one of his people.

Given her personality, she wasn’t someone who would commit murder to save her own life.

“By the way, Do-jun, can I ask you something?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve been wanting to ask this… How did you know where I was and find me?”

“Well…”

Min Do-jun wasn’t flustered.

It was a question within his expected range.

“I got help from someone with the Hunting Dog trait.”

“The Hunting Dog trait? The one that tracks people by scent?”

“Yes.”

She seemed to understand and nodded.

Since she didn’t know the details about teleportation or the Hunting Dog trait, the explanation was convincing.

‘Should I ask about his healing ability?’

The thought crossed Jeong Hye-won’s mind, but she quickly shook her head to erase it.

‘He said it was a secret, so he’d be troubled if I asked.’

She had decided to take it to her grave, so she chose not to think about it at all.

Instead, she expressed her gratitude that she hadn’t fully conveyed before.

“Thank you, Do-jun. For coming all this way for me.”

“I couldn’t just sit by when a colleague went missing.”

Jeong Hye-won was the only colleague who hadn’t betrayed him before his regression.

‘There’s no reason not to save her.’

Whether in his past life or current one, there was no downside to helping someone who had proven to be an ally.

‘Thanks to this, I think I’ve also discovered the mastermind behind the coup.’

The details would have to wait until he met the Asian man, but still.

“As a token of gratitude, I’d like to offer some compensation. What would you like? I’ll do anything I can.”

Min Do-jun waved his hand at Jeong Hye-won’s words.

“No compensation is necessary.”

“But still…”

“Instead, I’d appreciate if you didn’t talk about what happened here. Especially about Kang Hyuk-su’s death-you should pretend you don’t know anything.”

“Why is that?”

“There’s no evidence that Kang Hyuk-su attacked first. Even if we tell the truth, people won’t believe us. Moreover, if we mention something as outlandish as mind control, it will only cause confusion.”

“Ah…”

“You were simply kidnapped by someone, and with my help, the kidnappers fled and you managed to escape. There’s no need to disclose any other information. Though I suppose very few people even know you were kidnapped in the first place.”

“So you’re saying there’s no point in making this public when we have no evidence, right?”

“Yes.”

“I understand. I’ll do as you say. But could I borrow your phone when we arrive in Korea? I’m worried my father might blow this out of proportion.”

“Of course.”

Eventually, the two arrived at Incheon International Airport.

After lending her his phone, Jeong Hye-won called her father.

“I’m fine, so don’t worry. If Hunter Min Do-jun hadn’t shown up in time, I would have been in big trouble. By the way, Father, you didn’t tell the media about my kidnapping, did you?”

Jeong Hye-won nodded and gave Min Do-jun an okay sign.

“I just arrived in Korea. When can you come? Oh, just a moment.”

Lowering the phone briefly, Jeong Hye-won turned to Min Do-jun.

“Hunter, are you going straight home?”

“No, I was thinking of stopping by the guild first.”

“Then is it okay if I tell my father to come to the guild? He says he really wants to meet you.”

“Yes, that’s fine.”

After telling her father to meet at the Guardian Guild, Jeong Hye-won ended the call and returned the phone.

“Shall we go?”

* * *

“Hye-won!”

The person who greeted them as soon as they arrived at the guild by airport taxi was none other than Jeong Hye-won’s father, Jeong Dae-geun.

“You’re already here, Father.”

“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine, as you can see.”

Jeong Hye-won didn’t cry during the reunion with her father.

She was just surprised by the sight of Jeong Dae-geun looking worried and examining her from head to toe.

‘I didn’t know Father had this side to him…’

Until now, she had only seen his stern side as the leader of the group, but now he was the very image of a father concerned for his daughter.

‘He was really worried about me.’

It made her smile rather than cry.

“Don’t worry anymore, Father.”

Ironically, it was the kidnapped daughter who hugged her father and offered words of comfort.

Jeong Dae-geun, who almost shed tears, managed to hold back and asked a question.

“What happened? Who kidnapped you?”

“Well…”

Jeong Hye-won told only the necessary parts as they had agreed beforehand.

“And the kidnappers?”

“They all fled when they saw Do-jun.”

At the news that the kidnappers had escaped alive, Jeong Dae-geun jumped up.

“Those bastards should all be caught and killed!”

The enraged Jeong Dae-geun picked up his phone.

“I should report this to the Association right away so they can track down those bastards…”

“Father! You promised me! We agreed to keep my kidnapping a secret.”

“But I can’t just sit by and…”

“There’s no need to worry too much. I’m planning to track them down personally.”

At Min Do-jun’s words, Jeong Dae-geun lowered his phone.

“Hye-won.”

“Yes?”

“Step out for a moment. I have something to discuss with Hunter Min Do-jun.”

“Ah, I understand.”

After she left and the two were alone, Jeong Dae-geun bowed his head.

“Thank you so much for saving my daughter, Hunter.”

“It was nothing.”

“If there’s anything you want, please say so. I’ll do whatever I can.”

“I don’t want anything. I didn’t do it expecting a reward.”

“Are you sure there’s nothing you want? If it’s financial assistance, I can provide it…”

“You may know this, but S-rank hunters earn revenues comparable to mid-sized companies.”

In truth, there wasn’t much a corporate executive running a large company could offer to help Min Do-jun.

‘I already have more than enough money.’

Min Do-jun was already wealthy enough to be considered part of the elite.

“T-then, are you interested in running a company?”

“I’m not interested. I already have a guild to run.”

“Then what about my daughter?”

“…”

When Min Do-jun remained silent, Jeong Dae-geun belatedly realized his mistake.

“I-I’m sorry. Was I being too forward?”

In his eagerness to offer something, his true intentions had slipped out unconsciously.

“Since it’s come to this, I’ll be honest. Actually, I don’t want my daughter to date hunters. It’s such a dangerous profession-you never know when you might die. But if it’s Hunter Min Do-jun, I could allow it. If you have any feelings for my daughter, I’m prepared to accept you as my son-in-law…”

“Hye-won is just a colleague to me. I have no personal feelings for her.”

“I-is that so?”

Looking at Jeong Dae-geun’s face, he seemed very disappointed.

“Still, considering my position, you should accept something…”

“If you insist, please make sure this incident doesn’t leak to the media. Be careful about keeping it quiet.”

“That much is certainly…”

“That’s all I want. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m busy.”

As Min Do-jun bowed and entered the guild office, Jeong Dae-geun muttered to himself.

“I heard hunters are greedy for money, but I guess I was wrong.”

It was surprising that he would refuse something offered for free, regardless of how wealthy he was.

“The more I see him, the more impressive he is…”

Jeong Dae-geun looked at his daughter.

“Hye-won, are you really not involved with Hunter Min Do-jun?”

“What? Of course not. You always said you’d never allow me to date a hunter…”

“Min Do-jun is an exception. I would allow it.”

“What?”

“I really like that young man. Couldn’t you try to make something work? This is a good opportunity…”

“Dad!”

Jeong Hye-won scolded her father with a face that had turned bright red.

* * *

“Stop here, please.”

“Will it take long?”

“Just a moment.”

“Then I’ll wait here.”

After getting out of her father’s car, Jeong Hye-won stopped by the Hope Guild where she was a member.

She needed to explain her unauthorized absence for the past two days.

“Oh? Hunter Jeong Hye-won!”

The guild master was surprised by her appearance.

“Why haven’t you been in contact? We were worried!”

“I’m sorry. Something came up.”

There was no need for a long explanation.

She just needed to fill out a form explaining her unauthorized absence from the dungeon raid.

“I just need to fill this out, right?”

“Yes. But before that, there’s someone waiting for you.”

“What? Who…”

“It’s me.”

Jeong Hye-won finally noticed Shin Kyung-min sitting on the sofa.

“Hunter Shin Kyung-min, what brings you here?”

“There’s something I wanted to ask you, Hye-won.”