He thought an awkward silence would weigh heavily on his shoulders again. But contrary to expectations, the atmosphere didn’t become as tense as before.

“I don’t like that.”

Surprisingly, the word “dislike” flowed out easily. If Jeong-ah, his older sister, had been here, she might have been startled and made a fuss.

“That?”

The voice filled with laughter built up a sense of relief once more. 

“What. Honestly expressing appreciation for lovely and cute feet?”

Choi Gang-hu wiped away the moisture clinging to his face with his large palm and asked playfully. As Ryu Seo-ha frowned at the cringeworthy feeling that made his hands and feet curl up, Choi Gang-hu even let out a low laugh.

“…My foot size is above average for adult men.”

“How big?”

He even asked back slyly. Though the walker-type item he had gifted came with a user-customized size adjustment function, he should be able to guess the size after touching his feet directly.

“Have you learned foot massage separately?”

After opening and closing his mouth slightly, he quietly changed the subject. It seemed pointless to keep emphasizing his foot size to a man who can’t wear shoes unless they’re custom-made – it would just feel like flexing in front of a pupa.

The idea of Choi Gang-hu learning foot massage didn’t match at all. This was a man who couldn’t even receive therapy services because he couldn’t accept others touching his body.

“Well. I’m not sure if you could say I learned this.”

His uncharacteristically vague answer was unexpected, making Ryu Seo-ha tilt his head. Choi Gang-hu naturally moved to sit beside Ryu Seo-ha on the edge of the bathtub and unfolded a blanket he had neatly folded to the side.

“There were a lot on video sites.”

After draping the light pink blanket over Ryu Seo-ha’s shoulders, he turned his gaze away as if embarrassed. The sight of him unable to keep his hands still, twisting and wringing the hem of Ryu Seo-ha’s coat that wasn’t even wet, felt fresh.

“I thought you were a professional. You’re so good at massaging.”

He unknowingly added praise while lightly patting the back of Choi Gang-hu’s hand. Choi Gang-hu, who had stopped all movement, stared at his face.

“Did it feel good?”

“Yes.”

“Can I do it again?”

At the gaze that felt almost persistent and the voice tinged with intense light, Ryu Seo-ha nodded without time to think deeply. Choi Gang-hu’s brightly smiling face gave a strange sense of satisfaction.

“…But how did you do the remote control?”

As if ignoring the ticklish feeling, he scattered the sweet air with a serious question.

“Given the nature of mana, you can’t maintain power for that long from such a distance, right?”

Before mentioning the issue of unfair interference, when he questioned the method again, a look of perplexity flashed across Choi Gang-hu’s handsome face. Rather than an indication of wanting to avoid the topic, it seemed to be an expression of difficulty in giving a clear explanation even for himself.

“It was possible because it was Ryu Seo-ha.”

“…Is it similar to how the underground door in the guild master’s office opened in response to my mana?”

While mana generally has clear individuality, Ryu Seo-ha and Choi Gang-hu’s mana are presumed to be mutually compatible.

Perhaps Choi Gang-hu’s mana pre-infused into the shoes recognized Ryu Seo-ha as the owner and maintained its power.

“Maybe.”

While Choi Gang-hu was clearly a transcendent powerhouse, he wasn’t an omniscient figure. If he wanted a definite answer, it would be better to have a discussion with Dr. Han Gang-seok.

“Even if that’s how it was done, we can’t let the result slide.”

“Do you mean to make it public?”

He had a headache. Since the intervention was done in a way others couldn’t even imagine, let alone imitate, if only the two people aware of the situation kept quiet, no one would raise an issue and it would quietly pass.

“Except for journalists, it would be an issue no one would welcome.”

Regardless of the right or wrong of the match results, it wasn’t incorrect. If the circumstances were revealed, the national team players, association officials, and organizers would likely be inwardly disgruntled, as if wondering why it needed to be disclosed.

There’s a saying about unnecessarily making trouble for oneself. Even Ryu Seo-ha, who vaguely thought the rule violation should be held accountable, was getting a headache just imagining the difficult process ahead.

“…Everyone thinks my ability played a decisive role in the victory.”

Instead of blindly applying a strict moral standard, he first expressed the reason for his discomfort.

“That’s correct.”

“It was your ability, Mr. Choi. I feel like I’ve become a historic fraud.”

“My influence was nothing more than helping with a few evasions.”

“If I hadn’t made those evasions, I would have been disqualified immediately.”

Behind the scenes that made it look like he had stood equally against an S-rank combat hunter were the item and Choi Gang-hu’s ability. The public, unaware of this fact, was praising Ryu Seo-ha to an uncomfortable degree.

“I admit my mistake. I intervened arbitrarily without any discussion with Ryu Seo-ha.”

He was momentarily at a loss for words at the off-point reply. Choi Gang-hu had been focusing solely on Ryu Seo-ha’s feelings all along, showing little emotion about violating tournament rules or deceiving the public.

“Before making excuses that I had no choice, there’s something I need to apologize for first.”

Anxiety swept over him at the sight of Choi Gang-hu announcing a confession with an expression no different from usual. Saying he’ll apologize before making excuses. What else had he done? Choi Gang-hu suddenly took out his phone from his pocket.

“Kwon Se-jeong is asking if she can talk separately.”

After briefly scanning the screen, he spoke out of the blue.

“…Now?”

“After the healer meeting ends tomorrow.”

Ryu Seo-ha’s gaze fixed on the phone in Choi Gang-hu’s hand. The latest matte black smartphone released this month by Gangseong Electronics. It was indeed Choi Gang-hu’s upon closer inspection. In fact, Ryu Seo-ha had left his own phone in a locker before the match and hadn’t retrieved it yet.

“Jung Woo-bin contacted too. He said he applied to change the assigned medical staff for the individual match the day after tomorrow, asking to be in charge of you personally.”

Jung Woo-bin wouldn’t have any reason to contact Choi Gang-hu, who viewed him unfavorably, and even less reason to convey such content. A brief confusion muddled his thoughts, but the question came out immediately.

“Did you install a monitoring function on my phone?”

Choi Gang-hu, who had put down the phone on the bathtub rim, nodded calmly. He wasn’t sure if he should seriously ask for the reason here, or first examine the connection with the match interference.

“The chameleon-like guy who kidnapped Ryu Seo-ha appeared again, didn’t he?”

Was it really a measure taken after the Fourth Apostle’s reappearance? Hadn’t it been that way for a long time? Were there other aspects he was carrying out without my knowledge? Complex thoughts swirled.

“I don’t know why he keeps hovering around Ryu Seo-ha, but I thought he would definitely try to contact again in some way.”

“Then you should have told me in advance.”

I understand that due to his background, Choi Gang-hu is accustomed to making judgments and acting unilaterally. Still, it wasn’t pleasant to belatedly realize that my privacy was being monitored like this every time.

“I thought you would find it creepy.”

His voice, muttering lowly, carried a somewhat gloomy feeling, as if wondering if his sense of morality was slightly twisted but not entirely ignorant of common standards.

Half of me was curious about why he was suddenly confessing parts he had been so reluctant to reveal and had carried out secretly, while the other half didn’t want to know. But I couldn’t help but ask.

“So, you mean the reason for infusing mana into the item was along the same lines?”

Faced with his readily nodding appearance, I became at a loss for where to start pointing out issues.

“If it was a precautionary measure, you shouldn’t have interfered with the match.”

“I received contact.”

“What?”

“From the chameleon.”

Ryu Seo-ha’s eyes widened.

“If you want to know Director Hwang Munseok’s whereabouts, visit the location guided by the invitation card the day after the IHL closing ceremony.”

Choi Gang-hu explained, showing the text message he had received directly. A photo caught his eye of a blonde boy dressed neatly like a mobile wedding invitation, holding a bouquet of flowers and smiling brightly.

“When on earth…”

“Around the start of the match.”

Could it be that even he, of all people, had his anxiety triggered? Enough to react sensitively and move to protect Ryu Seo-ha even during the sudden attack in the match?

“…Does this mean the Director is alive?”

“They probably want us to believe that and come looking.”

Issues like violating international competition rules and installing monitoring modes without consent were pushed to the back of the priority list. First, we needed to discuss countermeasures regarding this issue with association officials.

❖ ❖ ❖

Time truly flew by. After first discussing with Kwon Se-jeong, who was both Director Hwang Munseok’s blood relative and in charge of practical affairs, we held remote meetings with key association personnel, ignoring time differences.

All meeting contents were treated as top secret, and not only the established rescue operation but also the fact of Director Hwang Munseok’s disappearance remained strictly confidential.

“…”

On D-1, the day of the closing ceremony, which arrived hastily amid tension detached from the festive atmosphere. Choi Gang-hu showed signs of discomfort. His sharp gaze glaring around vigilantly looked like a beast just before its territory was invaded. It was an unusual sight.

“What’s wrong?”

As if he himself didn’t know the reason, or as if proper expression was difficult, Choi Gang-hu slowly shook his head. Even as he did so, his gaze shooting around had a cold edge to it.

“I don’t feel good.”

In the midst of the ceremonies unfolding for national teams that had participated in individual and team events, he muttered lowly as if talking to himself.

Great cheers erupted at the movements of hunters from various countries unleashing flashy skills according to pre-determined guidelines for fan service.

Each time, his pitch-black pupils rolled even more busily as if trying to find something. It was worrying. Knowing how incredible Choi Gang-hu’s animal instincts were.

“Mr. Choi, what kind of…”

Boom!

Sure enough, an untimely roar shook the main stadium. Turning his head while covering his deafened ears, he saw the mess of the opposite stands. It was a bomb attack.