Chapter 36

Yoon Chang-hyeon also felt no need to mince his words anymore and looked at him with a sneer.

"Ah... Yeah, damn it. If a 3rd-grade gets hit by a 1st-grade, they'll die, but even if a 5th-grade gets hit by a 3rd-grade, they'll die too!"

"...!"

A fist swung towards Yoon Chang-hyeon's face. It happened so quickly that he couldn't avoid it and tightly closed his eyes.

At that moment.

Thud!

What?

Senior Yoon Chang-hyeon opened his closed eyes. Kim Jae-hyeok, who had been approaching him with a frightening force, was lying face down on the ground. It seemed like he had stumbled and fallen.

"Sh-Shit."

He jumped up. At that moment. This time, his foot was pulled forward. Losing his balance, he fell heavily to the side once again. This time, his back hit quite hard. It happened to be the spot where Jin Soram had thrown him, so the pain was quite severe.

"What's with that person?"

"Hahaha..."

The passersby's laughter was directed at him, who had performed slapstick twice on the crowded road. With a 3rd-grade body, he should have been able to get up quickly, but he was gasping for breath with his head down. Yoon Chang-hyeon was also dumbfounded and could only think, 'Has he completely lost his mind?'

"Ahjussi, it seems you've been drinking in broad daylight. Get up."

A kind passerby approached him and tapped his shoulder.

Smack!

"Get lost! I didn't drink!"

"Geez, what the hell."

The passerby who had tried to help backed away with an offended expression.

"What are you looking at, is the show over? Can't turn your eyes away, huh?"

He had already faced many blows to his pride today. Confronted by numerous mocking gazes, his pent-up frustration burst out.

"What are you staring at?!"

"Ah, look at this. He falls down himself and then makes all this noise, what the hell?"

"Fuck, what did you say! Who the hell are you!"

"Kim Jae-hyeok, are you crazy? Don't pick a fight with civilians!"

"It's me, you fucker."

Amidst the flood of curses that increased each other's lifespans, Yoon Chang-hyeon's dissuasion was completely buried.

The one who stepped forward to pick a fight with Kim Jae-hyeok was a burly man with tattoos covering his arms, a stereotypical thug. Spitting on the ground and cracking his knuckles for no good reason, he approached Kim Jae-hyeok, leaving his girlfriend behind him, exasperated.

Seeing that, Kim Jae-hyeok flinched for a moment but soon stood up. If he was an ordinary person, he, a 3rd-grade awakener, would win with plenty to spare.

"Hey, hit me. Hit me, you thug bastard."

However, he was a hunter who was a civil servant, so the other party had to throw the first punch. And he just needed to claim that it was self-defense.

"From tomorrow, you'll be chewing food with your gums."

The thug's fist was thrown at Kim Jae-hyeok. Other passersby watched the confrontation between the thug and the madman with interest.

However, the next moment, the snake tattooed on the thug's forearm trembled. The attack landed, but rather than Kim Jae-hyeok being pushed back, it was his own hand that suffered more damage. No matter how sturdy a person was, they couldn't remain completely still like this. Then he suddenly realized what kind of building he was in front of.

"No way, damn it, an awakener..."

"Ah, an upstanding citizen was attacked while walking, so I have no choice but to engage in self-defense!"

Of course, attacking civilians was absolutely forbidden, but if even 1st-grade Jin Soram could hit people at work, what couldn't he do? Kim Jae-hyeok raised his fist. At that moment.

"Ack!"

Before he could strike his opponent, he was pulled back. Someone grabbed the back of his neck and yanked him with tremendous force. Ack, ack! Kim Jae-hyeok was pushed back like a balloon doll, his neck being strangled by his clothes.

"Ugh, let go-"

"I happened to see you while leaving work, and hunters and civilians shouldn't fight. Chief Kim Jae-hyeok."

What followed was a heavy bass voice with each syllable and spacing between words perfectly enunciated. It seemed like it would sound more natural than an AI auto-read.

After finishing his words, he turned his head to the side with a displeased expression. Fortunately, the passersby forgot his stiff lines, surprised to realize his identity.

"Oh... Ha, it's Han Tae-un!"

"They said you could see hunters leaving work in front of here, and it's true..."

"Excuse me, can I take a picture?"

"Ah, not right now. I'm sorry."

Tae-un spoke in perfect pronunciation once again. Thinking that he was being played by another 1st-grade, and from the same Team 7 at that, Kim Jae-hyeok's anger flared up.

"Let go, you bastard!"

Kim Jae-hyeok swatted Tae-un's arm away. In fact, he thought a 1st-grade wouldn't be swayed by this level of force. However, Tae-un immediately let go, and at that moment, something invisible lightly pushed next to Kim Jae-hyeok's foot. As the timing aligned, it appeared as if Kim Jae-hyeok had fallen over on his own again while pushing Tae-un's arm away.

"My goodness. Go inside and calm down before leaving."

Tae-un dragged him by his clothes and strode into the Rift Management Headquarters building. He dropped Kim Jae-hyeok on the lobby sofa as if throwing him. It was late in the evening when most people had left work, so there were hardly any people around. Even the resident security personnel had gone to stop people trying to peek inside.

Tae-un sighed deeply while running his hand down his face. His expression had a hint of displeasure. However, he sternly rebuked Kim Jae-hyeok.

"Quietly get lost."

"Y-You, you're the same as Lee Ayoung and Jin Soram! Looking down on people and treating them carelessly just because you have some innate ability! Even though you receive all kinds of privileges!"

"..."

Tae-un, who was about to turn around and leave, stopped in his tracks.

"Let's say Ayoung receives privileges for being a 1st-grade."

Someone might feel that way. But.

"Do you have the right to judge that?"

"..."

"Above all. Is ruining the exam Ayoung worked hard to prepare for a way to take away privileges?"

He sighed, furrowing one eye.

"The reason I felt sympathy for you, even for a moment, was because I empathized with the helplessness you felt as a 3rd-grade. I thought jealousy might arise if the desire to fight rifts in the Operations Bureau grew."

"I..."

"But when I saw you during the interrogation, it seemed that wasn't the case at all. You were just a pathetic bastard who had already abandoned even the duty of a hunter to save citizens due to simple inferiority."

"..."

Most people in the Rift Management Headquarters, including Kim Jae-hyeok, knew Tae-un as an unkempt and inarticulate person. It wasn't entirely wrong. However, Tae-un was also someone who had aimed to become a judge, a person who logically presented arguments he believed to be right more than anyone else.

He looked down at Kim Jae-hyeok heavily.

"If you show up in front of our team members again, I won't just stand by in silence."

"Ha, no matter how much you cover for him, if I sue Jin Soram, it's over. I'll sue him for assault, and what, will he kill or save me? No settlement. I'll make sure that bastard goes to jail for his entire life...!"

Even as he mentioned Soram with his own mouth, Kim Jae-hyeok's face turned a little pale, and his voice trembled. That trauma might have been forgotten with a victory in a lawsuit, but.

"Do you have evidence?"

It would be impossible.

Kim Jae-hyeok spat out a sneer.

"Evidence? Damn it, I'm going to get a medical report right now. Because of what Jin Soram did earlier, I'm all bruised up here..."

"Those are the bruises you got from falling in front of here just now."

... What?

Kim Jae-hyeok felt a chill throughout his body. He had definitely fallen on top of the injuries caused by Soram, but... He hurriedly fumbled the back of his neck, which had been scraped when Soram pulled him hard. Tae-un spoke again.

"That's the injury you got while I was stopping you from assaulting a civilian."

"... You, don't tell me, you...!"

"Then go ahead and sue him. Try posting it on the internet like you threatened Chief Jin Soram. There were quite a few onlookers in front of here."

Ah, Tae-un covered his mouth. Just now, Soram's way of speaking had definitely rubbed off on him.