"Y-yes?"
Yoo-ri answered the call with a trembling voice.
─ Yoo-ri, what’s going on? I was startled by so strange people who suddenly showed up. Did you get into so kind of trouble?
"Mom! Why didn’t you answer the phone!!!"
─ Oh, keep it down. Why are you shouting? You know I don’t check my phone often when I’m working!
"A, and Dad? Is Dad there with you too?"
─ Yeah, he’s here. But what’s going on? Did sothing really happen?
Yoo-ri’s legs suddenly went weak, and she stumbled. Jin Yuhan quickly supported her from behind.
Yoo-ri’s mother and father were safe. They just didn’t check their phones often when they were working, so they hadn’t noticed the calls.
It was a huge relief that Se-hee’s light background check had been enough to confirm their safety.
’But we still haven’t located Yoo-ri’s siblings...’
Yoo-ri bit her lip anxiously.
.
.
.
"I’ve brought soone who’s an expert in this field."
Right after Se-hee’s call, Dh-hee arrived with a man. He wore round glasses and looked rather untrustworthy, with a timid deanor.
"Uh, hello... I’m a, an Awakened with analytical abilities... I, I’m not a hunter, but I work as a d, detective."
The man spoke without making eye contact, his head bowed. I looked at Do-hee, unsure if this man was really up to the task, and she clicked her tongue.
"Tsk, he might be more accurate than the police. I’ve relied on him a few tis. He hates coming out, so it was a pain to bring him here."
"...Thanks, Do-hee."
Yoo-ri murmured her thanks, her voice strained. Do-hee scratched her cheek, looking a bit embarrassed.
"You’re always the tank who takes the most dangerous attacks for us. I guess I can repay that debt a little with this."
Her words surprised ; I hadn’t expected such a sentint from Do-hee.
"...What are you looking at!"
Do-hee glared at , catching my gaze.
"It’s just that I didn’t expect you to say sothing like that."
Ahem—!
"Well, I’m off to the police now. Took too much ti bringing this guy out."
Do-hee turned on her heel and strode away, intending to go to the police directly to request an investigation.
"C-can I see the scene now...?"
The man, who had been fidgeting uneasily beside us, spoke in an awkward voice.
"Ah, yes. This way."
I led him to Yoo-ri’s room.
True to Do-hee’s endorsent, the man’s deanor changed as soon as he entered the cri scene. He scanned the room, then slowly spoke, his voice now stiff and static, unlike his earlier awkward tone.
"Hmm, four hunters and two children. A girl around 150 cm tall and a boy around 140 cm."
Crunch—
As soon as he said that, I heard soone grinding their teeth viciously beside .
’Kim Hyeji, you’ve crossed the line.’
"But the hunters and the children didn’t go together... they went separately..."
"Where are they?"
The detective tried to continue his explanation, but Yoo-ri, with her eyes rolled back in rage, wasn’t listening. She had simply accepted the fact that Kim Hyeji had kidnapped her siblings.
"...Kim Hyeji, that bitch. Where did she go?"
Yoo-ri’s fierce aura silenced the detective. He returned to his stamring state.
"Er, um, they don’t seem to have gone far... Do, do you have a map? I, I prefer paper ones..."
"Ah, I have a paper map here!"
Sophia, who had been listening beside us, fished out a paper map from her pocket.
’Why are you carrying a paper map?’
I gave her a aningful look, and she scratched her head.
"Hehe, I was tracking my favorite idol’s movents, and in case my battery ran out... Ah, no, it’s just a hobby! I, I like looking at maps!"
It was a very suspicious explanation, but that wasn’t important right now.
Swoosh—
The detective spread the map on the floor and infused it with magical power.
Vroom—
Then he took a coin from his pocket and flicked it.
Swoooosh!
The coin spun in the air and landed on the map.
Thud.
The coin had landed vertically, right near Yoo-ri’s house.
"Hmm, it’s nearby. Is there sowhere they could be hiding around here?"
Yoo-ri’s mouth opened slightly as she studied the map intently.
"...There’s an abandoned factory."
"Then they’re most likely there."
Yoo-ri clenched her fists, and fire seed to spark in her eyes.
’Kim Hyeji, you bitch. If you’ve done anything to my siblings, you’re dead.’
.
.
.
It was dayti, but the abandoned factory was dimly lit, shrouded in darkness.
Four won anxiously smoked cigarettes, taking turns. One of them, with a delinquent look, took a hard drag on her cigarette and then angrily stubbed it out on the floor.
"Hey, you bitch, Kim Hyeji! You said there would be sothing in that house for sure! But they were broke as hell!"
They had robbed Yoo-ri’s house today. It was a planned cri, as they had confird that no one was ho.
"Ah, say sothing, Kim Hyeji!"
A woman with a rough face snapped at her. Hyeji, a short-haired woman, responded with an annoyed tone.
"Ah, shut up! ...Yoo-ri, that idiot, must have put all the money she earned into that house. She must have hidden it sowhere... There has to be sothing."
"Hidden it my ass, there was nothing! Was it a mistake to stir up a hornet’s nest? She’s in the Utopia Party now!"
Hye-ji gave them a disdainful look.
"Hey, do you believe that?"
"What? But the articles clearly stated..."
"Yeah, well, it’s true that Yoo-ri could be a mber of the Utopia Party. That part’s probably true."
Then isn’t it dangerous?
The won exchanged glances.
"But what can she do there? A few months ago, she was just a trash hunter who was crawling through E-rank dungeons with . What can she do in a party with Cheonhwa and Fighting Dog?"
"...Then why is she there?"
"Probably pulling the poverty card again."
"...The poverty card?"
"Well, first of all, she’s got a pretty face. And the image of a girl who’s supporting her family is perfect for a sob story."
The other three won slowly nodded, finding her argunt quite convincing!
"Hah, being poor isn’t sothing to be proud of."
"I’ve always hated that bitch."
"Agreed, we should’ve trampled her back in school."
Their voices were laced with jealousy.
The won gathered here were all Yoo-ri’s high school classmates.
Of course, they had forgotten the past where Yoo-ri, taking advantage of her poverty, had beaten them up one-sidedly.
As the atmosphere settled again, Kim Hyeji nodded.
"Anyway, what do the high-ups care about? They’ll milk the sob story for all it’s worth, gain so popularity, and then discard her. There’s no reason to keep a poor bastard like that around."
"...But that ans Yoo-ri is sowhat useful to Utopia right now. What if Utopia starts tracking us down...?"
One of the won spoke anxiously, but Hye-ji just laughed it off.
"Hah, there’s no way she would."
Kim Hye-ji knew Yoo-ri’s personality well, having known her for a long ti.
’That bitch, always acting so high and mighty despite being dirt poor... It really pissed off.’
When she heard that Yoo-ri, whom she had always considered beneath her, had not only been accepted into the Velvet Hunter Academy but had also joined the Utopia Party, she had been seething with rage.
Yoo-ri was the type who hated relying on others or exposing her weaknesses.
There was no way she would ask for help from Utopia or report this robbery to the police, especially since it involved her poor family.
That’s why they had acted today.
If they ssed with her during the school term, the Velvet Academy would get involved. It wasn’t a joke; it could literally be life-threatening.
But today was the start of the Academy’s vacation, so it was different.
’So, I thought there might be so valuables in her house that we could steal...’
However, there were three things Hye-ji hadn’t expected.
First, the money that had been deposited into Yoo-ri’s family’s account had all gone towards paying off debts, leaving nothing of value in the house.
Second, with the house in disarray and her family unreachable, Yoo-ri was currently in a state of panic and couldn’t think straight.
And third, there was a boy and a girl who had been following them.
"...Hey, Hyeji. Who’s that kid?"
"Kid?"
"Huh, that kid hiding behind the pillar, staring at us. Doesn’t he look... exactly like Yoo-ri?"
In an instant, Hyeji’s eyes widened in shock.
"...Yuna?"
At the sound of her na, Yuna slowly stepped out from behind the pillar.
"...Hyeji unni, it’s been a while."
Yuna kept her younger brother hidden behind her as she spoke in a stiff voice.
"Oh my, Yuna! It’s been so long! What brings you here?"
They had once been part of Yoo-ri’s team. Hyeji had been the dealer, and Yuna the porter.
Hyeji put on a friendly face and spoke in a sugary tone.
"So, what brings you here?"
"...Why did you do that to our house?"
"What? What are you talking about?"
Hyeji and her gang stiffened at Yuna’s question.
They hadn’t expected Yuna to have witnessed everything and followed them here!
"Hey, no one saw us!!!"
"Bu, but no one could have seen us...!"
"If Yoo-ri finds out about this, we’re dead, aren’t we?"
The gang stamred, clearly flustered. Hye-ji swallowed hard and looked at Yuna.
"I have no idea what you’re talking about."
"I saw everything. You and your friends trashed our house and ran away. Why did you do that?"
As it beca clear that Yuna knew everything, Hyeji’s face turned cold.
"Hah, Yuna. You’ve grown up a lot. You used to be too scared to say a word in front of ..."
"It’s the growth spurt phase, so I’m growing a lot. So, why did you do that to our house?"
"..."
"And sister, you ran away with the money last ti. Do you have so kind of grudge against us?"
Hyeji didn’t like the way Yuna looked at her, with eyes that were so similar to Yoo-ri’s, clear and unwavering, as if she had no doubt about her beliefs and thoughts.
Hyeji found herself biting her lip.
"Hyeji unni, do you have so kind of inferiority complex towards my sister?"
Grrr—
Those words stabbed at her insides.
"You bitch... Let’s see what you’ve got!"
Hyeji raised her hand, but Yuna closed her eyes tightly.
Just then—
Thud.
A firm grip on her wrist.
"Hey, Kim Hyeji."
A voice as cold as ice. Hyeji’s gaze shifted to the person holding her wrist.
"Y-Yoo-ri...?"
"You bitch. Were you trying to hit my sister?"
"Th, that’s not what I..."
"The money for your gate fee you owe , I won’t take it back."
Grrrrr—
"Just use that as your bail money."
﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌
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