Chapter 132 (2/2)
“It would be a waste of time to exert too much effort,” the president told Joo Hwan-jin.
Humans do not run alongside horses.
In President Han Kwang-ho’s opinion, it was enough for a master to ride on the back of his racehorse or just sit and watch from a distance as the sheep ran.
“And no matter how crazy the horse is, you do not even have to hold the whip yourself.”
“But…” Joo Hwan-jin tried to object.
“Maybe it’s only natural that you are unable to see it.” Cutting off Joo Hwan-jin, President Han Kwang-ho’s words dripped with ice. “It’s because our positions differ anyway.”
At this, Joo Hwan-jin stood in silence.
Perhaps, even if the president himself would not admit it, there was still some sense of vigilance.
Joo Hwan-jin knew this. Oh Yoo-seong was someone different.
He had both his skills as a hunter and popularity. He was someone who exuded a presence that you wouldn’t want to cross.
At the moment, Oh Yoo-seong and the Hankwang Group were still going their separate ways, but…
“I’m tired. I will get some sleep,” said the president as he rose from his seat. “Wake me up if you hear anything from Jae-gyu.”
It was an order from President Han Kwang-ho to his horse.
Suppressing emotions that he could not vent, Joo Hwan-jin obeyed his owner’s instructions.
Just the way he was supposed to.
—
Yang Chang-guk stood, worried, in a lounge at the far end of the hallway of the hospital’s first floor.
“Are you okay? Your eyes were completely bloody.”
Contrary to how it looked, Yoo-seong’s broken nose was actually more of a problem. The doctors had managed to put a thin protector on top of it by adjusting the nose bone. However, Yoo-seong found the itch more bothersome to endure.
“It seems to fall by itself after some time.”
Barely managing to hold his nose, Yoo-seong threw a look at Yang Chang-guk. “I’m not the one you should be worried about right now. You look worse than I do.”
Somehow, Yoo-seong had spoken the truth.
Yang Chang-guk looked a lot thinner than when they met in Japan.
At that time, it had been evident that he hadn’t slept a wink. However, this time, Yang Chang-guk indeed looked worse.
“I’m… I’m just… Always…” Stuttering, Yang-Chang guk rubbed his eyes a few times before he was able to speak. “It’s nothing. It’s what I told you about last time, the crack near the Military Demarcation Line.
“Oh, that.” Yoo-seong nodded as if he’d just remembered.
It was an unexplored crack that had appeared for the first time in Korea.
As always, Yoo-seong was ready to carry out an operation at any time.
“We’re leaving right away.”
“No… No.” Yang Chang-guk shook his hand. Then with a quivering expression, he spoke. “I’m not asking you to close it. I think the operation to close the crack will be postponed indefinitely.”
“What?” Yoo-seong asked instantly. “Why? Nothing good will come of dragging it out. We have no idea what will come from the other side of the crack!”
“That’s not my decision to make,” Yang Chang-guk sighed in exasperation.
“But don’t you have to close the crack?” Yoo-seong knew the answer even before he asked.
There were rules when it came to closing cracks, and he knew them well. There were absolute laws that were followed in the hunting industry all around the world. Laws such as: ‘Hunters should not harm the public,’ or ‘The primary purpose of hunting operations is civilian safety.’
Among these absolute laws was: “All cracks should be closed as quickly as possible.”
So far, there had never been a reason to break this rule, though there was one aspect in an operation that had suffered because of it: the actual dive.
Sometimes, from the shadows of the industry, a joke would come out.
What if the hunters did not close any of the cracks and kept them open?
What if hunters dove through the open crack, exchanged supplies, and replaced the injured?
The dive’s success rate would surely be several hundred times higher.
Such a notion could make individual explorations possible.
However, the risk was far too great for humanity.
“Of course, not a single country wanted to break the rules. A lot of unpredictable arisen from the continuous opening of cracks. We have no idea when and what kind of danger will threaten the safety of the people,” Yang Chang-guk explained.
However, even if they could not speak out openly, quite a few thought otherwise.
For mankind, the world inside the crack was full of dangers. However, at the same time, it was also a fountain of infinite value.
“Also, it’s not as if the crack could be closed with a breaker. Technically, we are not breaking any rules,” Yang Chang-guk said matter-of-factly.
‘But I can close it,’ was what Yoo-seong wanted to say. Yet, he kept his mouth shut.
His Sky Needle could close the crack, but it still wasn’t an officially-proven fact.
In other words, what Yang Chang-guk was trying to say wasn’t simply that there was a delay in the operation to close the crack in the Military Demarcation Line.
“You are telling me to keep quiet the fact that I can close the crack.”
Yang Chang-guk did not answer.
As Yoo-seong realized it, veins of anger throbbed in his temple.
He wanted to shout at Yang Chang-guk, asking if he knew what his request meant, but he knew it was pointless.
Yang Chang-guk had made no excuses. As he’d said, it was not his decision.
Aside from Yoo-seong, Yang Chang-guk had also been working overtime to respond to cracks appearing ceaselessly in various parts of the country. As absurd as the order was, Yang Chang-guk did not have the time or energy to argue.
With these thoughts in mind, Yoo-seong tried to calm down and reserve his rage. Instead, he asked, “Can you tell me where the idea first came from?”
“A lot of conglomerates have recently entered the industry. The politicians are not really doing a good job of regulating them. One of the heads of the conglomerates…”
For a moment, Yang Chang-guk worried that what he would say could potentially harm Yoo-seong. However, how could he lie right in front of him?
“As far as I know, it’s Hankwang.”
“The Hankwang Group,” Yoo-seong said as if trying to remember.
“Yes,” Yang Chang-guk confirmed.
Just like a predator that had found its prey, Yoo-seong fixed his eyes in the air.
‘Hankwang. Hankwang. Hankwang.’
He repeated the words over and over in his head. “Oh Yoo-seong!”
His train of thought was interrupted by a nurse’s voice from the other side of the hallway.
“I need you to come in. Go straight downstairs to Injection 3,” the nurse instructed.
“Okay.”
At this, Yoo-seong rose from his seat. He firmly shook hands with Yang Chang-guk.
For a moment, Yang Chang-guk seemed to know what was running inside Yoo-seong’s head.
“As always, thank you, Director.”
“Yoo-seong.”
However, Yoo-seong had already turned the corner and was going downstairs.
‘Hankwang.’
Yoo-seong continued to think about it as he walked toward the CE injection room.
It wouldn’t leave his head.
As he approached his destination, Yoo-seong took a deep breath.
‘I must let it go, for now. I need to clear my head.’
It had been almost a year since he had gotten new energy.
Yoo-seong opened the door to the injection room.