He thought an awkward silence would weigh heavily on his shoulders again. But contrary to expectations, the atmosphere didn’t beco as tense as before.
“I don’t like that.”
Surprisingly, the word “dislike” flowed out easily. If Jeong-ah, his older sister, had been here, she might have been startled and made a fuss.
“That?”
The voice filled with laughter built up a sense of relief once more.
“What. Honestly expressing appreciation for lovely and cute feet?”
Choi Gang-hu wiped away the moisture clinging to his face with his large palm and asked playfully. As Ryu Seo-ha frowned at the cringeworthy feeling that made his hands and feet curl up, Choi Gang-hu even let out a low laugh.
“…My foot size is above average for adult n.”
“How big?”
He even asked back slyly. Though the walker-type item he had gifted ca with a user-customized size adjustnt function, he should be able to guess the size after touching his feet directly.
“Have you learned foot massage separately?”
After opening and closing his mouth slightly, he quietly changed the subject. It seed pointless to keep emphasizing his foot size to a man who can’t wear shoes unless they’re custom-made – it would just feel like flexing in front of a pupa.
The idea of Choi Gang-hu learning foot massage didn’t match at all. This was a man who couldn’t even receive therapy services because he couldn’t accept others touching his body.
“Well. I’m not sure if you could say I learned this.”
His uncharacteristically vague answer was unexpected, making Ryu Seo-ha tilt his head. Choi Gang-hu naturally moved to sit beside Ryu Seo-ha on the edge of the bathtub and unfolded a blanket he had neatly folded to the side.
“There were a lot on video sites.”
After draping the light pink blanket over Ryu Seo-ha’s shoulders, he turned his gaze away as if embarrassed. The sight of him unable to keep his hands still, twisting and wringing the hem of Ryu Seo-ha’s coat that wasn’t even wet, felt fresh.
“I thought you were a professional. You’re so good at massaging.”
He unknowingly added praise while lightly patting the back of Choi Gang-hu’s hand. Choi Gang-hu, who had stopped all movent, stared at his face.
“Did it feel good?”
“Yes.”
“Can I do it again?”
At the gaze that felt almost persistent and the voice tinged with intense light, Ryu Seo-ha nodded without ti to think deeply. Choi Gang-hu’s brightly smiling face gave a strange sense of satisfaction.
“…But how did you do the remote control?”
As if ignoring the ticklish feeling, he scattered the sweet air with a serious question.
“Given the nature of mana, you can’t maintain power for that long from such a distance, right?”
Before ntioning the issue of unfair interference, when he questioned the thod again, a look of perplexity flashed across Choi Gang-hu’s handso face. Rather than an indication of wanting to avoid the topic, it seed to be an expression of difficulty in giving a clear explanation even for himself.
“It was possible because it was Ryu Seo-ha.”
“…Is it similar to how the underground door in the guild master’s office opened in response to my mana?”
While mana generally has clear individuality, Ryu Seo-ha and Choi Gang-hu’s mana are presud to be mutually compatible.
Perhaps Choi Gang-hu’s mana pre-infused into the shoes recognized Ryu Seo-ha as the owner and maintained its power.
“Maybe.”
While Choi Gang-hu was clearly a transcendent powerhouse, he wasn’t an omniscient figure. If he wanted a definite answer, it would be better to have a discussion with Dr. Han Gang-seok.
“Even if that’s how it was done, we can’t let the result slide.”
“Do you an to make it public?”
He had a headache. Since the intervention was done in a way others couldn’t even imagine, let alone imitate, if only the two people aware of the situation kept quiet, no one would raise an issue and it would quietly pass.
“Except for journalists, it would be an issue no one would welco.”
Regardless of the right or wrong of the match results, it wasn’t incorrect. If the circumstances were revealed, the national team players, association officials, and organizers would likely be inwardly disgruntled, as if wondering why it needed to be disclosed.
There’s a saying about unnecessarily making trouble for oneself. Even Ryu Seo-ha, who vaguely thought the rule violation should be held accountable, was getting a headache just imagining the difficult process ahead.
“…Everyone thinks my ability played a decisive role in the victory.”
Instead of blindly applying a strict moral standard, he first expressed the reason for his discomfort.
“That’s correct.”
“It was your ability, Mr. Choi. I feel like I’ve beco a historic fraud.”
“My influence was nothing more than helping with a few evasions.”
“If I hadn’t made those evasions, I would have been disqualified imdiately.”
Behind the scenes that made it look like he had stood equally against an S-rank combat hunter were the item and Choi Gang-hu’s ability. The public, unaware of this fact, was praising Ryu Seo-ha to an uncomfortable degree.
“I admit my mistake. I intervened arbitrarily without any discussion with Ryu Seo-ha.”
He was montarily at a loss for words at the off-point reply. Choi Gang-hu had been focusing solely on Ryu Seo-ha’s feelings all along, showing little emotion about violating tournant rules or deceiving the public.
“Before making excuses that I had no choice, there’s sothing I need to apologize for first.”
Anxiety swept over him at the sight of Choi Gang-hu announcing a confession with an expression no different from usual. Saying he’ll apologize before making excuses. What else had he done? Choi Gang-hu suddenly took out his phone from his pocket.
“Kwon Se-jeong is asking if she can talk separately.”
After briefly scanning the screen, he spoke out of the blue.
“…Now?”
“After the healer eting ends tomorrow.”
Ryu Seo-ha’s gaze fixed on the phone in Choi Gang-hu’s hand. The latest matte black smartphone released this month by Gangseong Electronics. It was indeed Choi Gang-hu’s upon closer inspection. In fact, Ryu Seo-ha had left his own phone in a locker before the match and hadn’t retrieved it yet.
“Jung Woo-bin contacted too. He said he applied to change the assigned dical staff for the individual match the day after tomorrow, asking to be in charge of you personally.”
Jung Woo-bin wouldn’t have any reason to contact Choi Gang-hu, who viewed him unfavorably, and even less reason to convey such content. A brief confusion muddled his thoughts, but the question ca out imdiately.
“Did you install a monitoring function on my phone?”
Choi Gang-hu, who had put down the phone on the bathtub rim, nodded calmly. He wasn’t sure if he should seriously ask for the reason here, or first examine the connection with the match interference.
“The chaleon-like guy who kidnapped Ryu Seo-ha appeared again, didn’t he?”
Was it really a asure taken after the Fourth Apostle’s reappearance? Hadn’t it been that way for a long ti? Were there other aspects he was carrying out without my knowledge? Complex thoughts swirled.
“I don’t know why he keeps hovering around Ryu Seo-ha, but I thought he would definitely try to contact again in so way.”
“Then you should have told
in advance.”
I understand that due to his background, Choi Gang-hu is accustod to making judgnts and acting unilaterally. Still, it wasn’t pleasant to belatedly realize that my privacy was being monitored like this every ti.
“I thought you would find it creepy.”
His voice, muttering lowly, carried a sowhat gloomy feeling, as if wondering if his sense of morality was slightly twisted but not entirely ignorant of common standards.
Half of
was curious about why he was suddenly confessing parts he had been so reluctant to reveal and had carried out secretly, while the other half didn’t want to know. But I couldn’t help but ask.
“So, you an the reason for infusing mana into the item was along the sa lines?”
Faced with his readily nodding appearance, I beca at a loss for where to start pointing out issues.
“If it was a precautionary asure, you shouldn’t have interfered with the match.”
“I received contact.”
“What?”
“From the chaleon.”
Ryu Seo-ha’s eyes widened.
“If you want to know Director Hwang Munseok’s whereabouts, visit the location guided by the invitation card the day after the IHL closing ceremony.”
Choi Gang-hu explained, showing the text ssage he had received directly. A photo caught his eye of a blonde boy dressed neatly like a mobile wedding invitation, holding a bouquet of flowers and smiling brightly.
“When on earth…”
“Around the start of the match.”
Could it be that even he, of all people, had his anxiety triggered? Enough to react sensitively and move to protect Ryu Seo-ha even during the sudden attack in the match?
“…Does this an the Director is alive?”
“They probably want us to believe that and co looking.”
Issues like violating international competition rules and installing monitoring modes without consent were pushed to the back of the priority list. First, we needed to discuss counterasures regarding this issue with association officials.
?? ?? ??
Ti truly flew by. After first discussing with Kwon Se-jeong, who was both Director Hwang Munseok’s blood relative and in charge of practical affairs, we held remote etings with key association personnel, ignoring ti differences.
All eting contents were treated as top secret, and not only the established rescue operation but also the fact of Director Hwang Munseok’s disappearance remained strictly confidential.
“…”
On D-1, the day of the closing ceremony, which arrived hastily amid tension detached from the festive atmosphere. Choi Gang-hu showed signs of discomfort. His sharp gaze glaring around vigilantly looked like a beast just before its territory was invaded. It was an unusual sight.
“What’s wrong?”
As if he himself didn’t know the reason, or as if proper expression was difficult, Choi Gang-hu slowly shook his head. Even as he did so, his gaze shooting around had a cold edge to it.
“I don’t feel good.”
In the midst of the ceremonies unfolding for national teams that had participated in individual and team events, he muttered lowly as if talking to himself.
Great cheers erupted at the movents of hunters from various countries unleashing flashy skills according to pre-determined guidelines for fan service.
Each ti, his pitch-black pupils rolled even more busily as if trying to find sothing. It was worrying. Knowing how incredible Choi Gang-hu’s animal instincts were.
“Mr. Choi, what kind of…”
Boom!
Sure enough, an untily roar shook the main stadium. Turning his head while covering his deafened ears, he saw the ss of the opposite stands. It was a bomb attack.
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