NOVEL NEXT chapter 247 - 🖼️
The logo stamped on the documents belonged to an organization Kwon Taehyuk knew all too well.
Spiderweb.
A covert intelligence group that operated more actively in China than in Korea.
“Why would Spiderweb be helping with this?”
With its massive population, China was a place where incidents occurred daily.
They should’ve had their hands full managing that. So why would they suddenly take an interest in Korea? Especially Spiderweb, a powerful organization even among illegal factions.
“Are they after Cha Seohu too?”
Right now, that seemed the most likely explanation.
With news of an SS-rank Supporter having gone public, interest in Cha Seohu had exploded both domestically and abroad.
If it were Spiderweb—famous for getting wind of things faster than anyone else—they might have been watching Cha Seohu from the very start.
“…Ha.”
The thought of a naive and kind person like Cha Seohu getting tangled up with an illegal organization made Kwon Taehyuk’s temples throb.
As he rubbed at them with a tired expression, Park Minhyuk called out to him.
"Guildmaster Kwon?"
“…It’s nothing. I don’t know who the anonymous informant is either. We don’t have the luxury to dwell on that right now. Just check the contents first.”
Park Minhyuk took the documents and began scanning them.
“Zone?”
“You’re aware of this group to some extent, aren’t you? Even the Association.”
“That’s true. Especially this one…”
Park Minhyuk trailed off.
C-281 Zone.
Since the world had turned upside down due to the appearance of monsters, dozens of zones had been created and destroyed across Korea.
Some collapsed on their own, but most were forcibly dismantled by the government. After all, most were nests for low-level criminals who couldn’t hold their ground.
But C-281 was different.
Decades had passed, and it still stood strong, with such tight security that it was nearly impossible to know who lived within its borders.
While countless other crime syndicates flickered out like candles in the wind, C-281 maintained its power without the slightest tremor.
Flipping through the documents, Park Minhyuk recalled the Hunter he’d encountered in the first-floor lobby.
The one playing the violin had to have been S-rank. The energy flowing from that performance had been overwhelming.
He hadn’t seen their face, but the one outside who had manipulated massive amounts of water—also definitely S-rank.
“Kwon Seoyul, possesses S-rank performance skill. Kang Haeil, possesses S-rank water creation and control skill.”
The descriptions in the documents matched perfectly with what he’d witnessed.
There were two photographs attached, clearly taken in secret. They showed the faces of Kwon Seoyul and Kang Haeil.
Even if he didn’t recognize Kang Haeil, he knew instantly that Kwon Seoyul was the same man who had played the violin.
And then—there was one more.
“…S-rank programming skill holder.”
The incident had gotten buried under the chaos, but the security team had been ambushed that day as well.
While the guards were unconscious, someone had hacked into the security-locked CCTV footage and the Association’s internal schematics.
According to the file, the hacker was a Hunter named Hyun Dowoon.
“Are these three the only S-rank Hunters affiliated with the zone?”
“There may be more. But for now, they’re the only ones we’ve confirmed.”
With a small sigh, Park Minhyuk closed the file and turned to Kwon Taehyuk.
“How did you even find out these people are from the C-281 zone?”
If they’d known the attackers were from C-281, the Association would’ve started collecting data far earlier.
Which made him all the more curious.
Just how had Kwon Taehyuk discovered the connection between those Hunters and the C-281 zone?
If he’d looked into it so thoroughly, there had to be a reason.
“……”
Kwon Taehyuk didn’t answer. He kept his mouth shut.
There was only one reason.
Because Cha Seohu was from that zone.
But he had no intention of sharing that with Park Minhyuk.
He had no idea how Park Minhyuk would react to hearing that Cha Seohu had grown up in the illegal C-281 zone, and more importantly, he didn’t want to expose Seohu’s past without his permission.
Honestly, if those so-called “brothers” hadn’t started following Seohu around, Kwon Taehyuk might never have found out. Seohu had clearly wanted to keep that part of his life hidden.
Instead, it was Ryu Sunghyun who broke the silence.
“You’re asking for a lot, Team Leader Park.”
He hadn’t spoken a single word since arriving at the Association, but now Ryu Sunghyun’s voice rang out, cold and steady.
“You should be grateful Guildmaster Kwon is even sharing this information with you. After dragging Hunter Cha Seohu away, this is the result?”
“……”
“Don’t tell me you think you’ve been wronged. Not broadcasting the fact that he was kidnapped was the right move—but who doesn’t know the Association kept quiet for its own benefit?”
And now, when things spiraled out of control, they’d come running to them for help. It was almost laughable.
Sure, the Association President was largely to blame for how things turned out, and Park Minhyuk had probably just followed orders.
“Tell me, Team Leader Park. Did you really not see this coming? You knew full well Hunter Cha Seohu’s skill wasn’t ordinary. Did you truly not expect that people would come after him once the re-evaluation results were public?”
Even so, that didn’t absolve him of responsibility.
“The fact that his captors were from the C-281 zone doesn’t matter. The Association failed to protect Hunter Cha Seohu—and now it has to take responsibility. That includes you, Team Leader Park.”
“……”
“Orders or not—was doing nothing for three days really the best you could manage? Was there truly no other way? You dragged him out in front of everyone just for this?”
Despite the accusations sounding more and more like outright blame, Park Minhyuk couldn’t say a word.
Because nothing Ryu said was wrong.
Yes, he’d followed the Association President’s command—but that had been his decision too.
Maybe he’d just been rationalizing.
Told myself it was the Association President’s responsibility. That I was just obeying orders. Dumped everything on him and ignored the guilt.
If the Vice President hadn’t intervened, he wouldn’t have contacted any of them.
He probably would’ve sat back, cursing the President for hiding in the shadows and covering his own ass—never admitting he was no better.
“Ryu Sunghyun Hunter. That’s enough.”
“…No.”
Park Minhyuk gave a bitter smile at Kwon Taehyuk’s attempt to stop him.
“He’s right.”
Now that he thought about it, he’d never once let himself imagine what kind of suffering Cha Seohu might be going through these past three days.
There’s no way a criminal organization would treat Seohu kindly.
If threats didn’t work, they’d do anything to extract his buff skill.
Brainwashing him with hypnosis… hurting him physically… maybe things I couldn’t even imagine.
Cha Seohu wasn’t the type to submit easily—and that made him even more at risk.
If he resisted those criminals, he’d only be hurt worse…
“……”
Park Minhyuk shut his eyes tight.
The guilt he’d buried surged up and clouded his thoughts.
Then, of his own will—not by someone’s order—he said:
“I’ll do everything I can to help with the rescue of Hunter Cha Seohu.”
***
His chest felt like it was about to burst.
His water-soaked hair floated wildly. His hands, bound in handcuffs, flailed beneath the surface before wrapping around his own neck.
He couldn’t breathe.
His mouth opened instinctively. But what flooded in was water—so cold it made his whole body tremble.
His vision turned white. His body, pushed past its limit, began to lose strength.
Just before he blacked out—
SPLASH!
The water surrounding Cha Seohu’s body lost its form and crashed downward. He fell with it, landing hard on the soaked mattress below.
“Cough! Guh! Haaah, huff…!”
Cha Seohu finally escaped the water and gasped violently for air, coughing and wheezing.
Collapsed on the bed and trembling uncontrollably, he could barely lift his head as Kang Haeil watched from his seat nearby.
“How was that, Seohu? Changed {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} your mind a little?”
No answer came.
Cha Seohu didn’t have the strength to respond. He just panted, blinking faintly.
“…Too bad.”
Kang Haeil raised his hand again.
The moment Hyun Dowoon saw more water forming above Seohu’s head, he called out in a panic.
“Wait a second! If you keep pushing him like this, it’ll backfire! Just let him rest for today and—”
“Tomorrow? And when exactly tomorrow?”
“That’s—”
Kang Haeil smiled with a furrowed brow.
“You’re being unfair, Hyun Dowoon. This could all be over today. Why drag it out? I don’t want to torment our Seohu tomorrow too.”
“……”
“And you think I’m doing this for fun? He could’ve ended this ages ago if he’d just used his skill. But no—he keeps stalling. Honestly, who’s the one playing games here?”
Kang Haeil shook his head in mock exasperation, as if to say what can you do.
Hyun Dowoon, speechless at the shameless logic, turned to look at Kwon Seoyul.
Still snapping pictures of Cha Seohu collapsed and gasping on the bed, Kwon Seoyul simply shrugged when he caught Dowoon’s gaze.
“Wouldn’t it be better to just get scolded for one day and be done with it? Judging by his condition, just a few more times and he’ll give in.”
As expected, another completely deranged response.
Sighing internally, Hyun Dowoon hesitated.
Should I just let this go?
Calling their superior wasn’t an option.
Cha Seohu didn’t know it, but the room was already equipped with CCTV. If the higher-ups were displeased with the situation, they would’ve intervened by now.
When Hyun Dowoon held back from interfering further, Kang Haeil moved his hand again.
The newly formed sphere of water hovered above Cha Seohu, preparing to engulf him once more—
Knock knock.
A crisp knock echoed through the room.
Then the door opened, and a servant wheeled in a tray of food.
“Your meal has arrived.”
The servant bowed politely to the “brothers” and began setting the dishes on the table.
At that moment, Cha Seohu slowly raised his head.
His gaze landed on the knife being placed on the table.