The only person who could have given Ho Shin-woo advice was a scammer who, far from offering help, had drained all his assets by selling him faulty equipment before vanishing like a mirage.
“To be honest, Shin-woo. I’m saying this because I’m so worried about you. I feel like you’re my own flesh and blood… If it’s really okay with you, would you mind if I went with you on the day of the contract? I might not know much else, but I have an eye for looking at contracts. I want to look over it carefully by your side.”
Sang-woong’s tone was incredibly soft, but his gaze was as firm and intense as steel. He had to protect this pure but precarious soul from the clutches of devils by any means necessary.
Ho Shin-woo hesitated at Sang-woong’s unexpected proposal. His face was colored with a complex mix of embarrassment, apology, and an unknown gratitude for this sudden kindness. He couldn’t even fully pull his arm back from Sang-woong’s grip as he laughed awkwardly and stammered.
“Um… Brother Sang-woong. You really don’t have to go through all that trouble… I feel like I’m being too much of a burden…”
His voice contained sincere apology and timidity. Sang-woong patted Ho Shin-woo’s shoulder gently but firmly. His eyes were full of serious concern instead of playfulness.
“No, man. What burden? I’m doing this because I almost suffered something terrible in the past when I didn’t know anything, just like you. It doesn’t feel like someone else’s business. And… my mind will only be at ease if I watch with my own two eyes to see if you’re making a proper contract.”
Sincerity was felt in Sang-woong’s words. His gaze, his tone, and the heart that worried for him carefully opened the closed door of the naive Ho Shin-woo’s mind. Ho Shin-woo, who was used to the coldness of the world, could no longer refuse his kindness in the face of this warmth.
“Thank you… thank you so much, Brother Sang-woong…! Thanks to you… my mind is somehow at ease.”
He smiled faintly while looking up at Sang-woong’s face, as if he had received salvation from deep despair. Tears seemed to well up in his clear eyes for a moment, but he soon nodded vigorously to express his gratitude.
Sang-woong let out a deep sigh of relief inwardly. He had succeeded in the most difficult first step: breaking down Ho Shin-woo’s guard and taking his hand.
He patted Ho Shin-woo’s shoulder once more and made a firm vow. He would definitely, without fail, rescue this pure soul from those hellish devils. His gaze burned as resolutely as the stars in the night sky.
***
A few days later, the promised day dawned. Sang-woong woke up at dawn and calmed his mind while looking out at the scenery through the window, like a general going out to the battlefield.
Today was an important day to prevent a predicted tragedy. With a solemn expression, he arrived at the meeting place first and waited for Ho Shin-woo.
A short while later, a very nervous Ho Shin-woo appeared. Sang-woong forced a smile when he saw him. The place they walked to was the office of the Sebo Guild, which boasted a respectable appearance on the outside.
The sophisticated building, shining brilliantly under the morning sunlight, looked just like a promising guild on the path to success.
However, Sang-woong knew all too well the black, greedy interior hidden behind that flashy exterior. He felt his face harden as it was reflected on the building’s shimmering glass exterior wall.
As they entered the office, guild employees dressed in neat suits greeted them with skilled, sophisticated, and somehow artificial smiles.
Like well-trained actors, a perfect kindness that left no room for suspicion was worn over their faces like a sophisticated mask.
“Welcome. You are Hunter Ho Shin-woo, correct?”
A pretty female employee sitting at the information desk addressed Ho Shin-woo in a clear and kind voice.
Her voice was as soft as a spring breeze, but a subtle, calculated, and business-like feeling was hidden within it.
“Yes, that’s right,” Ho Shin-woo replied in a voice that was almost a whisper, looking very nervous. He seemed completely overwhelmed by the unfamiliar atmosphere and the respectable office that exuded a sense of intimidation. His fingertips were trembling slightly. Sang-woong reassured him by lightly pressing down on his shoulder.
“I will guide you to the consultation room. The manager is waiting for you.”
The female employee guided them to the consultation room with a polite smile. The inside of the consultation room had a calm and luxurious atmosphere, unlike the office lobby.
A contract with a thick hardcover was placed on a high-end table.
A middle-aged man with a tough-looking face, who was already seated, stood up when he saw them and wore an exaggerated smile.
He began his explanation by pointing at several parts of the contract with skilled gestures.
A business smile was hanging on his face, but his fierce and greedy eyes shone sharply, showing blatant wariness the moment he discovered Sang-woong, an unfamiliar guest.
“Now, Hunter Ho Shin-woo. You must have already heard sufficient explanations about the detailed contract conditions beforehand. Here, please write your name in print in this part and this part, and finally sign here, and all contract procedures will be cleanly completed. It’s very simple, right?”
His voice was as kind as if it were coated in honey. However, Sang-woong saw through the man’s sinister and cunning nature hidden behind it. News from his past life flashed through his mind.
‘The notorious evil guild, Sebo.’
That notoriety was vividly felt from the man in front of him.
“Yes…”
Despite the anxiety he felt from Sang-woong, Ho Shin-woo held onto the hope that he could hospitalize his mother.
He took the contract the man handed over and picked up a high-end fountain pen. Instead of a shred of excitement about a new beginning, a mix of slight tension and anxiety crossed his face, as if he just wanted all these procedures to end quickly. His hand was trembling.
Just before signing, as if squeezing out his last bit of strength, Ho Shin-woo confirmed what he thought was most important once more with a trembling voice.
“Um… if I sign the contract… my mother will be admitted to the Dungeon Disease Specialty Hospital immediately… is that for sure?”
The man seemed flustered for a split second, but he soon answered with a slick smile. A hint of annoyance flickered in his eyes for a very brief moment.
“Haha, of course. Certainly. We are on very intimate terms with the director of that hospital. If you just sign, we will take measures so that we can take her in as early as this afternoon. Don’t worry.”
“I… I understand. Thank you.”
Ho Shin-woo held onto those words like a final hope. He brought the tip of the pen over the contract with a trembling hand.
He thought that his life and his mother’s life depended on this single sheet of paper. Just at the moment when Ho Shin-woo was about to bring the pen tip down onto the contract—
“Wait a second!”
With a thunderous shout, Sang-woong reached out his hand as fast as a shadow and snatched the contract from Ho Shin-woo’s hand. His movement was incredibly swift and accurate.
Not only the contract manager, who had been wearing a slick smile until a moment ago, but even the other guild employees standing by the door—a subtle expression mixed with uncontrollable confusion and displeasure flashed across all their faces in an instant.
It was a moment when the greedy true nature hidden behind their sophisticated masks was revealed starkly, even if only for a fleeting second.
“Hey, what do you think you’re doing right now?” the manager growled in a low voice, furrowing his brows. His gentle gaze vanished, and he shot a fierce and aggressive look at Sang-woong. Even a murderous intent could be felt in his voice.
Sang-woong replied in a voice that was cold as ice, yet calm.
“I need to check the contract for a moment. I don’t think it’s right to proceed with such an important contract as if we’re rushing through it at lightning speed.”
He unfolded the snatched contract and examined it in detail and meticulously from the first page, as if observing it through a microscope.
Ho Shin-woo, flustered by Sang-woong’s sudden and resolute action, was restless and didn’t know what to do, but he did not stop Sang-woong’s actions because he already felt deep trust in him.
He only looked back and forth between Sang-woong and the manager with anxious eyes.
“Are you saying you’re going to look at it now? I have already explained all the contents to Hunter Ho Shin-woo in detail and kindly! You’re not even a party to the contract, so by what right are you interfering in someone else’s contract?!”
The man’s voice gradually rose with irritation and anger. Before anyone knew it, his hand had subtly moved over the handle of the heavy weapon at his waist.
The gazes of the other guild employees standing at the door of the consultation room were also focused on Sang-woong, cold and threatening like beasts stalking prey.
The air inside the consultation room cooled down rapidly, and a bloodthirsty energy even began to circulate.
Their collective pressure toward Sang-woong was a clear expression of intent that they would not let him be if he caused problems unnecessarily.
Sang-woong ignored their protest, which was like a threat, as if it were non-existent noise, and focused all his nerves only on the contract.
His sharp eyes dug through the poisonous clauses one by one, which were cleverly hidden in small print or packaged in ambiguous expressions.
On the surface, it looked like an extremely ordinary and reasonable Hunter contract, but Sang-woong already knew their atrocious methods through numerous news reports and analysis articles related to Ho Shin-woo from his past life.
All his senses were on edge to find the hidden traps.
As he turned one page, then another, Sang-woong’s expression gradually hardened, and eventually, he flushed bright red with anger.
His lips were tightly shut, and blue veins pulsed violently on his temples. Finally, a cold groan mixed with suppressed anger and contempt flowed out of his mouth after discovering all the poisonous clauses that were so atrocious and cleverly hidden that they made his skin crawl.
“This… this is lower than a dog… This nonsensical contract…”
Sang-woong’s voice was low and muffled, but a violent anger like hellfire was boiling within it. The high-end hardcover contract in his hand was already being crumpled miserably by his strong grip.
“WHAT IS THE PROBLEM! SPEAK UP!” the man shouted with a rough voice, as if he had finally reached the limit of his patience.
His face was flushed red with anger, and his gaze was ferociously distorted as if he would jump at Sang-woong at any moment.
The expressions of the other guild employees had also turned murderous. Before long, the air in the office was filled with a touch-and-go tension, like a powder keg on the verge of exploding.
It was a level of pressure that would make it hard for an ordinary Hunter to even breathe properly in this bloodthirsty and heavy atmosphere.
However, Sang-woong did not care at all about their murderous threat.
Rather, his eyes shone even more coldly.