CHAPTER 54: MURDER IS BAD

"YEJUN-ah, stay here," Wonhee said after Ahyeon parked the car. "Ahyeon and I will just check on our friend real quick."

"I need to talk to Gong Yool-ssi and convince him to stay with the Center since he refused our protection before," Geon said worriedly. "There are Hunters that I sent to watch Yool from afar, but they haven’t reported anything strange to me. But you said your friend sent an S.O.S?"

"That’s right, Oppa," Wonhee said while nodding. "Yool isn’t the type of person to ask for help unless it’s a life-and-death situation, that’s why Ahyeon and I are really worried."

Ahyeon nodded eagerly in agreement.

"I see," Geon said, his jaw clenched. "Then I’ll assume that the Hunters I sent as Gong Yool-ssi’s secret bodyguards have either been compromised or..."

Dead.

[They could already be dead, and Geon Oppa has been receiving fake reports...]

Wonhee was about to console his brother-in-law, but stopped when Yejun suddenly moved.

Yejun simply wiggled his body, and the white bandages wrapped around him snapped.

Everyone– Wonhee, Geon, and Ahyeon– gasped when they saw Yejun’s eyes had turned glowing red!

The X-Class Hunter was also emitting cold ice from his body.

[Why does Yejun look so angry...?]

"He’s here," Yejun said, almost growling as if he was seeing an invisible enemy right in front of him. "That old bastard who smells like death is here."

***

YOOL HAD finally lost it.

He slapped THE Song Moonho.

The Autumn Guild Master.

The only bastard crazier than Hwang Frost.

The main antagonist of ’Guide To Your Heart.’

[Is this how I die the second time? Will I return to my original body once I die here? Ah, fuck it. I should have at least said goodbye to Wony and Ahyeon...]

"Your slap didn’t hurt me physically," Song Moonho said indifferently while removing his hand from Yool’s throat. "But you did a number on my ego."

"I’m relieved to know that I managed to scratch your ego that’s probably as big as your guild building," Yool said, his wrist slightly hurting after giving the bastard a bitch slap. And he could finally breathe again since Song Moonho already stopped strangling him. "I can die peacefully now."

"Did you think I would kill you?"

"You grabbed my neck just like how male leads in dramas grabbed the wrist of the female lead," Yool said sarcastically. "May I remind you that I’m a Civilian? You could have easily snapped my neck with just a little squeeze."

"People don’t die that easily, young man."

"You’re a fucking NATURAL S-Class Hunter and I’m a weak Civilian, Ahjussi."

Song Moonho smiled "innocently." "Even so, I wouldn’t have killed you. Murder is bad."

"And you aren’t?"

"Why do I have a feeling that you think poorly of me, young man?"

"Do you expect me to have a positive impression on you after you almost strangled me to death?"

"I’m sorry for being harsh, young man," Song Moonho said, smiling apologetically at him. "You must understand that I had to do what I had done as the Guild Master of the Autumn Guild, though. I have to know how the information about our Vice Guild was leaked. If you weren’t hiding something, then you could have been just honest from the start."

"Are you trying to gaslight me now, Ahjussi?"

The (handsome) old man simply sipped his (instant) coffee. "Instant coffee doesn’t taste as bad as I thought it would be. Perhaps it’s because Gong Yool-ssi made it for me?"

"Instant coffees of that brand taste the same whoever makes them."

"I see you’re a tough nut to crack," Song Moonho said, tilting his head to one side. "I wonder if I should have brought a mallet here with me."

Yool let out a gasp. "And what would you do with a mallet?"

"What does a mallet do to a nut, I wonder?"

[So this old bastard wants to hit me in the head with a mallet!]

"Can I strangle you just once?"

Yool only realized that he said it out loud when Song Moonho suddenly laughed out loud.

"You can," Song Moonho touched his neck. "Let’s call it even after you strangle me."

Okay, that was tempting.

Yool wasn’t a violent person. He hated getting hurt. Hence, he didn’t want to inflict pain on other people.

But this old bastard strangled him.

[It’s not every day you get to strangle a member of the Big 4.]

"Ahjussi, you’re not going to fight back, are you?"

"I won’t, young man," Song Moonho said, then he closed his eyes. "Do it now."

Yool immediately got up from his seat and approached Song Moonho.

The old bastard didn’t move an inch from his seat.

[This is crazy, but...]

Yool’s heart was beating hard, fast, and so loud against his chest that he couldn’t hear anything else.

Before he knew it, his hand was already wrapped around Song Moonho’s neck.

[Oh, this ahjussi’s neck is quite thick...]

Yool had to use both of his hands, and then he wrapped them around Song Moonho’s neck.

[Why does this feel exciting?]

"Yool-ah!"

Huh?

Yool looked over his shoulder...

... and saw Wonhee and Ahyeon (and two other people behind his friends) looking at him in disbelief.

Ah.

[I didn’t hear the sound of my door opening because I was too nervous.]

As a result, Yool was caught by his friends while strangling Song Moonho!

***

WONHEE immediately punched the passcode to Yool’s apartment.

Both she and Ahyeon knew the password to Yool’s place the way Yool and Ahyeon knew the password to her penthouse.

"Yool-ah!"

Wonhee immediately called for her friend’s name when she entered Yool’s apartment with Ahyeon.

Yejun and Geon were behind her.

All of them were shocked to see Yool strangling a man.

[I expected the opposite...]

"Yool-ah, what are you doing?" Wonhee asked, confused. "Please tell me it’s for self-defense."

"I am innocent," Yool said, immediately removing his hands from the other man’s neck. "Murder is bad."

The man sitting behind Yool laughed while getting up from his seat. "Yes, yes," he said, opening his eyes. "Murder is bad."

Oh.

[Song Moonho-ssi’s eyes are almost red...]

Of course, Wonhee immediately recognized Song Moonho– the Autumn Guild Master, and one of the Big 4.

[There’s a saying in Korea that goes ’Children born after the Outbreak learn the Big 4’s names first before their own parents’ names.’]

But there was another reason why Song Moonho was famous.

[He’s dubbed as the ’most handsome Hunter’ in Korea.]

Song Moonho was already in his early forties, yet he still looked youthful and very fit for his age.

[Not that forty is that old.]

"Corpse-like bastard."

Wonhee heard Yejun cursing under his breath, but she chose to ignore it.

[I heard it was Song Moonho-ssi who arrested Yejun during his rampage last year, so it’s only natural for Yejun to hate Song Moonho-ssi.]

"Hunter Moonho, why are you here?" Geon asked sternly. "I placed some of the Center’s Hunters to guard Gong Yool-ssi from afar. But I didn’t get a report saying that you’re here. Did you do something to our Hunters?"

"Why do people keep on accusing me of doing bad things?" Song Moonho complained lightly. "I’m a law-abiding citizen of the country, you know?"

"Just answer my question, Hunter Moonho."

"Your Hunters are fine, Geon-ssi," Song Moonho said, shrugging. "It’s not my fault that you sent Hunters who can’t see me in my Ghost Mode."

Geon let out a sigh as if he was insulted. "Your ’Ghost Mode’ is an S-Grade ability that allows you to be invisible and pass through solid objects like walls. You practically turn into a ghost, hence the name. Only the other Big 4 members and some exceptional Hunters with ghost-related abilities can see you when you’re in that form."

It wasn’t like Song Moonho’s Ghost Mode ability was a secret.

Wonhee had already heard and seen it many times before.

[Song Moonho-ssi likes showing off his Ghost Mode to public broadcasts. Well, more like he likes disappearing in front of the camera when he doesn’t feel like talking to the reporters anymore.]

"You must be Chu Wonhee-ssi."

Oh.

Wonhee was surprised when Yejun’s broad shoulders and strong-looking back suddenly blocked her view.

She belatedly realized that Song Moonho tried to approach her.

Hence, Yejun stood in front of her quickly.

[Geon Hyung and Ahyeonnie were a step late protecting me. Or was it because Yejun and Song Moonho-ssi’s speed was just on a different level?]

"Hwang Frost, you’re back," Song Moonho said cheerfully. "I like your current eye color."

Yejun growled lowly in response. "Don’t you have something to say to me, Song Moonho?"

"That’s not how you talk to a hyung, Hwang Frost."

"If you want to be treated like a hyung, then maybe you should act like one."

"Aww. Is our maknae1 still mad that this hyung arrested you under the APA’s order?"

Oho?

Wonhee was reminded that Yejun was the ’maknae’ (aka the youngest) among the members of the Big 4.

Yes, Yejun was the baby of the group.

[I know Song Moonho-ssi is annoying Yejun on purpose, but it’s cute how he’s talking to Yejun like he’s talking to a child.]

"Yejun-ah, this hyung had no choice," Song Moonho said, addressing Yejun by his real name this time instead of his "stage name." "You almost destroyed the entirety of Gangnam back then, and many Civilians got hurt as a result. This hyung had to do his duty as a Hunter, and even more so as a member of the Big 4. Our privileges come with a price, remember?"

Hmm?

Wonhee couldn’t help but think Song Moonho wasn’t as bad as his reputation suggested.

[Yool said that Song Moonho-ssi is the main antagonist in the BL novel that he has read in his original world, though.]

Ssssssss...

Hmm?

Wonhee’s Status Window suddenly popped up at the same time a big snake with glowing golden eyes fell from the ceiling while hissing at her.

WARNING!

Hunter Song Moonho has secretly used his Dead Monster Puppet to attack you!

Oh.

[So this is why Song Moonho is the antagonist...]

***

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youngest~