## Chapter 216 – 216. Joo Seo-Yeon
#216. Joo Seo-yeon
I walked up the familiar hill, following the well-known streets.
The alleyways were deserted, and the shopping district was full of closed, bankrupt stores.
Everything was the same.
And familiar.
I felt like I’d come home for some reason.
Maybe it was because this was the neighborhood where I’d first started living on my own in a studio apartment, so it felt like nostalgia was kicking in.
‘This neighborhood doesn’t even have any talk of redevelopment.’
Well, if they had the resources for redevelopment, it would be better to focus on restoring the other cities that had been devastated by gate outbreaks.
In this day and age, redevelopment was more unusual.
In that respect, the last redevelopment in Taepeong-dong had been very problematic.
Of course, it seemed to have been halted because of me.
Still, considering that a few committee members, a few congressmen, and even high-ranking government officials had died, the aftermath was surprisingly small.
Recently, it seemed like articles were being posted less frequently.
I suspected that the National Intelligence Service probably couldn’t catch the culprit themselves, so they were putting pressure on the media to avoid mentioning the incident.
I was grateful, but was South Korea really okay like this?
‘Well… it’s still better than other countries. I heard that half of the Philippines was swallowed up by a gate outbreak a few months ago.’
Of course, the damage from the gates wasn’t limited to Southeast Asia.
Even China and Russia were having great difficulties due to a shortage of personnel to handle the gates that appeared in remote areas.
The situation wasn’t much different in Europe and the United States either.
Looking at it that way, we were in a slightly better situation since we only had to defend the northern side.
The problem was that the demonic forces occasionally invaded from that direction.
That was also why my parents had died.
‘It’s already been more than 10 years.’
I was too young to remember well, but the scenes of people screaming and running away, the sirens of police cars constantly blaring, and the image of a demon appearing from somewhere and engulfing my parents were still vivid in my mind.
I was even on the news a few times as a lucky survivor who had endured for days under the cold bodies of my parents before being rescued.
“Hmm…”
I suddenly felt sentimental.
This was why I should refrain from reminiscing about the old days.
After sighing for a moment, I immediately leaped onto the building.
I had seen on NewTube that it was good to just run when you were feeling down.
The wind was blowing coolly, so I crossed the neighborhood, jumping from rooftop to rooftop.
‘…It’s surprisingly tricky to control my speed.’
The distance was too short to run at full power.
As I enjoyed the cool breeze and jumped over a few buildings, I saw a familiar building.
But there was an unfamiliar sight in front of the building.
‘…A person?’
Someone was standing in front of the building.
With ears perked up on top of their head and a tail wagging gently, they seemed to be a wolf beastman.
I hadn’t seen anyone around here, so what was going on?
Of course, I could just brush off the fact that someone was standing there.
But they were too glamorous to be in this kind of slum.
Snow-white hair like it had been snowing and golden eyes looking up at the building.
The sight reminded me of my master at the dojang.
Their faces were quite similar. No, on closer inspection, it wasn’t just similar. Aside from the slight difference in hairstyle, they were practically twins.
At that moment, what Choi Hye-na had told me flashed through my mind.
The Triads.
‘I’m sure my master said that she was the same race as Cheonju, one of the leaders of the Triads…?’
I think she said they were the Silver Wolf tribe.
Hmm, now that I looked again, it was silver-white hair, closer to silver than white.
I immediately turned around.
My instincts were screaming at me not to get involved with this woman. In this case, it was best to sneak into the building through the rooftop.
But was it because I moved too late?
“Heung…”
When I turned around, the wolf girl who had been standing in front of the building just a moment ago was right in front of me.
Fast.
Even if I was off guard, she was so fast that I couldn’t even keep up with my eyes.
At least A-class, or even higher.
“…Hello?”
I swallowed hard and looked at the wolf girl.
Maybe it was because she resembled my master, but she was incredibly beautiful. But her outfit was a bit unique.
‘A qipao…?’
Also called a cheongsam.
I couldn’t help but be drawn to her exposed white thighs.
It was an irresistible, almost instinctive urge.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such blatant gazes.”
A smile spread across the wolf girl’s lips.
A variety of emotions flickered beyond her gleaming eyes. Mostly interest and curiosity.
I gave an awkward smile.
Running away was an option, but fortunately, she didn’t seem to be hostile towards me.
Then suddenly.
‘This… if I play my cards right, isn’t this an opportunity to find out something about my master?’
Jeon Seo-ha, that was the name my master had given me, as if doing me a favor.
But that was all I knew. I didn’t even know her age, let alone what she did.
She had skills comparable to an A-class, but I didn’t know why she was running a dojang in this slum, what her relationship was with the Triads, or anything else.
Of course, there was no reason for my master to reveal her personal affairs to me, whom she had only known for a short time.
But as her only disciple, shouldn’t I know roughly what her circumstances were?
What? That’s meddling?
Yes, it was meddling.
She seemed somewhat precarious, and I was uneasy about leaving my master alone.
So much so that she occasionally lingered in my mind.
This was an opportunity.
If I played my cards right, I might be able to get some information about my master.
So I was trying to build rapport by smiling and being nice.
“Sniff, sniff.”
“?”
This woman.
As if she wasn’t a wolf, she suddenly closed the distance and started sniffing me.
‘What is this?’
She was like a dog. No, should I say a wolf?
It felt strange to have a beautiful woman sniffing me like this.
I was wondering if I should just let it go.
“…Wolf scent.”
A strange light flickered in the wolf girl’s eyes.
My instincts screamed as a sudden wave of hostility washed over me.
As the intense warning signal blared, my body moved before I could even think.
It was a fluid, natural movement, almost instinctive.
Clack!
I knocked away the wolf girl’s hand as it reached towards me.
My hand, which had achieved the third level of the Imperishable Vajra Body, was tingling. She wasn’t an ordinary A-class.
Maybe even stronger than my master.
“?!”
I wasn’t the only one who was flustered. The wolf girl seemed surprised that I had knocked away her hand, and she lightly stepped back to create some distance.
Just then, the wind blew, and the hem of her qipao fluttered.
The dress, which reached down to her ankles, rolled up, revealing her intimate area…
Thwack!
“Ugh?!”
At that moment, a powerful kick flew towards me. I thought I would only be able to follow it with my eyes, but surprisingly, I managed to block it again.
My crossed arms throbbed, but I had blocked it nonetheless.
“Twice…?”
The wolf girl’s eyes widened as she looked at me.
I was just as surprised.
Her legs were slender and well-shaped, but I didn’t think that a physique of around 150cm could execute such a threatening leg technique.
But what was important in leg techniques wasn’t physique.
‘…She’s damn fast.’
It was speed.
The wolf girl’s movements were on par with when I used the Imperishable Swift Steps at full power.
No, she didn’t even seem to be using her full power, so maybe even faster.
“What are you doing?”
I circulated my inner energy, raising the senses throughout my body.
In fact, I could just use a barrier, but I shouldn’t rely on barriers if I didn’t want to completely abandon martial arts.
The wolf girl didn’t answer my question.
She just stared at me with a fierce look in her eyes.
A heavy silence accompanied the confrontation.
“…Ah?”
The wolf girl suddenly relaxed her stance.
What was this?
It was too defenseless to be an attempt to lower my guard.
She couldn’t be stupid enough to underestimate an opponent who had already blocked her attacks twice.
A sense of unease washed over me, but only for a moment. An inscrutable smile spread across the wolf girl’s lips.
A faint madness could even be seen beyond her deep golden eyes.
As I had somewhat expected since she had suddenly kicked me, she didn’t seem to be in her right mind.
I was wondering if I should leave now, but then.
“Hello?”
As if nothing had happened, the wolf girl greeted me with a bright smile.
It was a lively smile that made it hard to believe she was the same person who had just used Chin Na and a fierce kick.
“…Is she really crazy?”
Ah, I meant to think that in my head, but it slipped out.
In my experience, crazy people hate being called crazy the most.
But the wolf girl’s reaction was different from what I expected.
“…Pfft.”
Swish-
She covered her mouth with a wire fan she had pulled out from somewhere and burst into laughter.
It was just a laugh, but it tickled my ears.
If there was a siren’s laugh that stirred men’s hearts, would it be like this?
I swallowed hard without realizing it.
She was definitely small, but her figure, which was clearly revealed by the tight-fitting qipao, was unusual.
Her cute, plump breasts, her smooth abdomen, and even her thighs that could be seen with every movement.
She was a seductress through and through.
Regardless, the wolf girl laughed for a long time before wiping away her tears with her fingertips and folding up the wire fan.
“Hehe, a crazy woman… that’s the first time I’ve heard that.”
The corners of her eyes curved beautifully.
I was the one who had insulted her, but why did she seem to be in a better mood?
Suddenly, what Cheon Yeo-hwa had told me came to mind.
The Shin-gyo was a place where many madmen gathered, but the craziest of them all were those who enjoyed being insulted.
The wolf girl was exactly like that.
“Name.”
“Pardon?”
“What’s your name?”
Was she asking for my personal information at this timing?
I was momentarily dumbfounded by the wolf girl’s brazenness.
I was the one whose hand and arm were still throbbing from being hit.
Did this woman even have a conscience?
After hesitating for a moment, I made up a fake name and told her.
“Hong Gil-dong.”
Unable to call my father father.
Unable to call my brother brother.
For reference, Hong Gil-dong was the name of a hunter who was active during the Joseon Dynasty.
Although the ranking system at the time was different from the current one, according to the Joseon Records of Strange Occurrences, Hong Gil-dong’s estimated rank was S-class.
“Hong Gil-dong? That’s a unique name.”
I was convinced by the wolf girl’s reaction, as if she didn’t think much of it.
This woman wasn’t Korean.
No Korean would react like that to the name Hong Gil-dong.
“I hear that a lot. What about you?”
“It’s a secret.”
“?”
The wolf girl made eye contact with me, smiled, and waved her hand.
“Then, see you next time?”
With a short greeting, the wolf girl completely disappeared. I was clearly watching her, but I still lost her.
I had suspected that the speed she had shown earlier wasn’t her full power, but I didn’t think it would be this much.
Of course, I could use magic detection to find out where she had run off to, but I didn’t want to reveal that I was a mage.
Besides, I had already found out her name, so there was no need to be impatient.
[Joo Seo-yeon
Status: Virgin]
“Joo Seo-yeon…”
I had never heard that name before.
I thought she was my master’s sister because they looked so alike, but it seemed not since their surnames were different.
‘Would Choi Hye-na know anything?’
I decided to leave her a message for now. She seemed to be too busy to even answer the phone these days.
I shook off the lingering effects of the battle and headed to the dojang. My master was sensitive to things like fighting since she was a beastman.
As I opened the door to the dojang and entered, I ran into my master, who was coming out of the office.
“Master!”
I immediately took off my shoes and approached my master.
But.
“D-don’t come any closer!”
“…Yes?”
On the contrary, my master recoiled in horror.
I felt a pang in my heart at her blatant rejection. On closer inspection, my master’s condition was strange.
Her whole body was soaked with sweat as if she had been training intensely, and her face was flushed.
Was she sick somewhere?
“Are you, okay…”
“Don’t come any closer!!”
Ah, okay.
Eventually, my master seemed to calm down only after I took a few steps back.
“…What’s going on all of a sudden?”
“I came to see you, Master.”
“The Magic Tower?”
“I decided to take a day off.”
At first, I was going to take an unauthorized leave, but thanks to the investigation, I could legally rest until tomorrow.
But I had to go to the association tomorrow.
“…Then go warm up. I’ll be there soon.”
“Yes.”
I didn’t really come to swing a wooden sword, but it would be okay once in a while.
Besides, there was nothing better for clearing my complicated head.
“Ah, right. Master, do you happen to know someone named Joo Seo-yeon?”
It was clear that that woman was related to my master.
Even if I didn’t pry into her identity, I should at least let her know that that woman had come.
That was what I was thinking when I said that.
But.
“…Master?”
When I turned my head because she hadn’t answered for a long time, I saw my master trembling with a pale face.
Beyond her constantly trembling eyes, there was clear anxiety and fear.
***
A deserted alleyway.
Something rose from the darkness.
“Cheonju-nim.”
A bizarre voice flowed from the figure covered in viscous shadows.
The wolf girl, no, Joo Seo-yeon, nonchalantly held out her hand towards the figure.
A bundle of documents popped out from the shadows.
It was a meager report consisting of only two or three pages, but Joo Seo-yeon scanned the documents without saying a word.
The first page of the document contained Kang Hyun-woo’s photo and personal information.
“I was wondering how he was living in the backwoods… it seems he’s found quite the decent match?”
Soon, the corners of Joo Seo-yeon’s lips curved into an arc.
Sister.
