Chapter 74 – Evening Appointment

As morning came, Lee Cheon-sik hurriedly prepared for work.

Having tired himself out from yesterday’s surveillance, he woke up late.

Now he had to become rookie investigator Kim Hyun-jun, not hunter Lee Cheon-sik.

Lee Cheon-sik hastily left home with his bag.

Not knowing someone was watching from behind.

‘Shall we begin?’

Min Do-jun, who had been waiting in front of the house early morning, tailed Lee Cheon-sik.

He didn’t know where the other was rushing to.

He followed comfortably, knowing time would reveal all.

Though closer than yesterday, he wasn’t worried about being caught.

‘I can use invisibility if needed.’

Since the guy’s level was lower than his, using invisibility when needed meant no risk of detection.

Lee Cheon-sik, who seemed likely to take a taxi, surprisingly took the subway instead.

Seeing him squeeze through crowds from morning, he looked like a commuting office worker.

‘What workplace would a hunter commute to?’

But his destination was unexpected.

‘Korean Hunter Association?’

Min Do-jun hesitated momentarily seeing Lee Cheon-sik confidently entering as if it were his workplace.

‘What business would a hunter have there?’

His steps were too confident for just having some business there.

‘He couldn’t actually work here, could he?’

Most hunters don’t work at the Association.

Who would want to work there when hunting even weak F-grade monsters pays more than an Association employee’s annual salary?

Rather, working at the Association is often considered a waste of talent, like an athlete becoming a teacher through study.

Though Min Do-jun was curious, it didn’t matter.

‘Following will reveal all.’

Min Do-jun used invisibility in a CCTV-free spot after equipping hunter gear to raise his magic stat.

Swish-

[Time Remaining: 3 minutes 16 seconds]

With magic near 2,000, he could maintain it for about 3 minutes.

He ran quickly due to limited time.

No footsteps could be heard despite running and jumping.

‘Ghost Step Boots are useful at times like this.’

Though he entered the Association, no one noticed his presence.

Natural, since he was invisible and silent.

Min Do-jun saw Lee Cheon-sik exchanging greetings with the desk clerk.

“Hello, Mr. Kim Hyun-jun.”

“Hello.”

Though he didn’t pay much attention at first, everyone passing by called Lee Cheon-sik ‘Kim Hyun-jun’.

‘What’s this? His name should be Lee Cheon-sik?’

Lee Cheon-sik took the elevator with others.

Unable to ride together, Min Do-jun quickly climbed the stairs.

He had to check which floor the other got off at by catching up to the elevator at each floor.

Fortunately, Lee Cheon-sik got off soon.

He headed to the Crime Investigation Department on the third floor.

“Hyun-jun, you’re here?”

“Hello, senior.”

“Why are you late when you usually come early? You almost missed work!”

“Sorry. I overslept yesterday.”

“Looks like you enjoyed your day off yesterday. Tsk! Follow me. We have mountains of work today.”

Min Do-jun slipped out as Lee Cheon-sik disappeared with his senior.

Swish-

Fortunately, invisibility wore off right on time.

‘So that’s it.’

Min Do-jun understood why Lee Cheon-sik was called Kim Hyun-jun.

‘He infiltrated under a different identity.’

He disguised himself as an ordinary person since infiltrating as a hunter would look suspicious.

‘The purpose must be monitoring investigation trends and surveillance.’

The Black Sea Guild was an assassin group committing all sorts of crimes.

Infiltrating their guild member as a spy in the Crime Investigation Department would be advantageous in many ways for avoiding investigation.

They could even get information about impersonators like now.

‘I wondered what information made him tail me, but he was working at the Association.’

This meant they didn’t have any substantial evidence yet.

‘He’s probably tailing me on mere suspicion like Team Leader Kim Sang-yeop.’

But it didn’t seem like the Association ordered it.

Even in the conversation with his senior investigator just now, they thought he was late from oversleeping after playing.

‘He’s either acting alone or under Black Sea Guild orders.’

While it could be either, it was clear that Lee Cheon-sik suspected him.

‘I’ll have to pretend not to know for now.’

He decided to let it go, as digging deeper would only complicate things.

Confirming he was an Association spy was already a significant discovery.

‘He might even stop the surveillance.’

Min Do-jun turned away, deciding not to interfere with Lee Cheon-sik for now.

* * *

Ten days passed.

During this time, Min Do-jun took his driver’s license test.

Of course, as someone who had regressed, he didn’t need practice.

He passed both written and practical tests in record time and received the foreign car he had contracted earlier.

There was no special reason for choosing a regular sedan over a sports car.

‘Sports cars stand out too much.’

Though a Mercedes was also conspicuous, to Min Do-jun who had only seen sports cars, it seemed ordinary.

‘How long is this guy going to keep tailing…’

Min Do-jun thought Lee Cheon-sik would stop after a few attempts.

But that was an underestimation.

‘Following without missing a day for over ten days…’

According to the ghost wolf’s reconnaissance, Lee Cheon-sik had been tailing Min Do-jun every single day without fail.

His dedication was remarkable, heading straight to Min Do-jun’s home after work.

On days off, he spent the entire day just monitoring Min Do-jun.

‘Doesn’t this guy want to rest?’

It would be one thing if he didn’t know about the surveillance, but knowing made it impossible not to mind.

Even going outside had become uncomfortable.

‘Can’t even go to the cult because of this guy…’

Due to the surveillance, he had missed last week’s service.

‘I must go today.’

He couldn’t miss the cult twice.

‘Little brother, go outside and bark once if someone’s tailing me, twice if not.’

The ghost wolf returned quickly with a short, clear report.

[Wang!]

‘As expected, he’s here today too.’

Min Do-jun was discouraged.

Unlike appearances, the stalker was quite persistent.

‘What should I do? It’s burdensome to skip again today…’

Min Do-jun had been acting normally despite knowing about the surveillance.

It was to escape suspicion.

‘That’s important, but gathering cult information is important too.’

The best outcome would be Lee Cheon-sik dropping his suspicions and withdrawing on his own, but…

‘That’s unlikely to be today.’

Resigned, Min Do-jun pondered how to escape Lee Cheon-sik’s surveillance.

‘Should I disguise myself as someone else?’

Min Do-jun soon shook his head.

Lee Cheon-sik had entered the apartment complex and was watching for the door to open.

If someone else suddenly came out, it would look suspicious.

‘Or should I use invisibility while walking in an alley?’

Min Do-jun shook his head again.

Suddenly disappearing might make him suspect his surveillance was discovered.

Sudden actions were forbidden.

‘Sigh… or should I just kill him?’

If the Black Sea Guild knew about Lee Cheon-sik’s surveillance, killing him would be the worst move.

If Lee Cheon-sik died, the Black Sea Guild would suspect him first.

Then becoming their target would be just a matter of time.

‘Then what should I do…’

While pondering, Min Do-jun picked up his smartphone.

There were dozens of missed calls.

All from high school classmates.

They must have really wanted to contact him, as calls had been flooding in like this for days.

‘They probably called hoping to get some scraps after learning I became a hunter.’

This wasn’t just negative thinking – it actually happened.

In his previous regression, they congratulated him on becoming a hunter but ultimately begged to borrow money.

Their motives were clear.

‘I lent them money because they begged so much, but what happened?’

They kept saying they’d pay back, asking for more time, but not a single one actually repaid.

‘After that, I cut ties with all of them.’

Because of that experience, Min Do-jun hadn’t answered classmates’ calls from the start.

But it seemed necessary to make one call.

Ring ring ring-

After the dial tone, a surprised voice was heard.

-Gasp! D-Do-jun?

“Yeah. Long time no see, Sang-hyung.”

Min Do-jun called Kim Sang-hyung, his first-year classmate.

-Hey, you remember my name?

“Of course. We were desk mates.”

-Why are you only calling now? Do you know how many times I called!

“I’ve been too busy to contact anyone.”

-Well, you must be busy since you became a hunter.

“How did you know I became a hunter?”

It was something he’d always wondered.

How did it spread for so many calls to come in like this?

-Hyung-chan told us.

“Im Hyung-chan?”

A classmate who sold the maze dungeon’s location in his previous regression.

‘An unforgettable bastard.’

He was trash who sold information knowing they couldn’t enter due to low levels.

‘He probably called trying to sell me information in this life too, right?’

He had called right after stopping the dungeon break and finding the maze dungeon.

Of course, Min Do-jun cleared it in record time, ignoring any information.

‘He probably still doesn’t know I cleared it.’

He doesn’t know what happened since there was no contact after that.

-Hyung-chan works at the Hunter Management Center. He saw your level.

“Oh, really? But did he volunteer that information? About me becoming a hunter?”

-No. He told us when we asked?

‘As expected.’

Im Hyung-chan, who had an inferiority complex towards him, wouldn’t have brought it up first.

-Anyway Do-jun, do you have time?

“If I do?”

-We haven’t met since graduation. Let’s have a drink after so long.

‘Thankfully, he’s saying what I was going to say first.’

Min Do-jun grinned.

“Sure. Let’s meet. How about dinner at 6?”

-Okay. I’ll call others too.

“Are you calling the girls too?”

Min Do-jun’s class was mixed gender.

Naturally, there were female classmates too.

-Well? What should I do? I won’t call them if you don’t want.

“No, call a few. Though not sure if they’ll come.”

-They’ll definitely come if you’re coming! Hehe.

“Then text me after you set a good place.”

-Okay. See you later.

After setting the appointment and ending the call, Min Do-jun prepared to go out.

‘Should I meet friends after so long?’

——

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