Episode 155

“Finally here…”

He was finally at Monica Beach, Los Angeles. Yoo-seong stretched his legs out on the white sand as he checked his location.

Meanwhile…

“Did you just see that?”

“He just landed from the sky…”

“Is he a hunter?”

Citizens and tourists who had been enjoying the beach began to make a fuss, but Yoo-seong didn’t mind them. Based on the mobile application he was using, California was still a long way from Nevada, where he was supposed to go.

‘Even if it’s only a state, its land area is larger than the whole of South Korea,’ he realized.

At this, Yoo-seong began walking with no destination in mind. The ambassador had told him that the location and detailed information would be provided once he arrived.

‘They knew when I arrived in Hawaii immediately, so they should be contacting me soon.’

There was no need for him to fly around the state of California to draw attention.

Beyond the beach was a row of terraced cafés facing the sea. They weren’t that crowded at that time of day, so Yoo-seong decided to take a break in one of them. Despite his broken English, he was able to order at the counter. Then he took a seat at a corner table.

‘Maybe it’s time to review my strategy,’ he thought.

He remembered what he had told Chae Shin-young before he left Korea.

‘-It’s not about closing the cracks. Whatever it is, they judged it as something only I could do.’

Unlike most countries, the United States had no reason to be particularly afraid of an unclosed crack. Like China, they were a special defense powerhouse that’d had no problems dealing with the increase of rift appearances.

However, unlike China, they didn’t depend on Tech.

Their strengths were their science and capital. Rather than developing individual hunters through training, the American hunting culture was focused on developing equipment that could strengthen an individual.

This mindset had catapulted the United States into a position where they had an infinite amount of manpower.

Yoo-seong’s experience in had Hawaii proved this.

Even though the Hawaiian Salamander was a dangerous beast, the companies involved hadn’t seemed worried about an endless outpouring of monsters. Rather than having Yoo-seong close the crack, they had actually been waiting to take advantage of the situation for profits.

‘They wouldn’t call me even if a Habaek-class monster appeared.’

Without Yoo-seong, Hankwang International would have been wiped out by the Habaek. However, that had been because of the size of their manpower, as well as their quality. Yoo-seong’s hunt had been remarkable because he’d achieved it alone, but if all of Seoul’s platinum-rank hunters had come to hunt the Habaek as a group, it wouldn’t have been impossible to catch the monster. Handling a Habaek wouldn’t require America to contact Yoo-seong.

‘Perhaps they need people for a Dive.’

‘Or perhaps the monster to be caught is an intelligent and dangerous beast, yet of a small size.’

In that case, the monster could pick off the hunters they sent one by one. Working in a group would not be effective as they would be destroyed individually.

However, in such a case, they could have contacted the Chinese Ship Zone. Even Lee Jae-hak would have been an excellent choice for such a mission.

And, of course, there had to be Singles in the United States. Their government wouldn’t have to outsource talent.

Yoo-seong couldn’t figure out what the mission was at this point. However, he was certain that he had to be alert. It was difficult to imagine that the US government would hire him with malicious intent, but his experience in Hawaii had put him in contact with some unsavory people. Whether arbitrarily or unwillingly, fighting was inevitable. Besides, hadn’t he come here after consecutive fights against corporations and high-ranked people?

Yoo-seong was already familiar with how that sort of thing went. When an individual faced a giant company, the individual was always seen as a villain going against the current. However, if he’d left Hawaii alone as his unknown caller wanted, would he have been able to move around the United States without any worries?

‘No.’

The unknown caller had been in possession of his phone number. That meant he was ranked high enough to access information the US government deemed confidential.

‘It has begun,’ Yoo-seong thought.

He felt a familiar sense of being carried away by a strong current beyond his control.

‘When did it start happening to me?’

When he’d been a freelance rookie just entering the industry?

When he’d arrived in a hostile country?

When he’d begun acting like a villain against large corporations?

Yoo-seong shook his head. He was facing adversities he had never imagined when he was just starting out as a hunter.

Suddenly… a shadow fell over him.

“Here you go.”

It was the waitress bringing him the coffee and sandwich he’d ordered. She had a shy smile on her face.

“If it’s okay with you, can you give me an autograph?”

Yoo-seong took the napkin and ballpoint pen she held out and wrote his name nicely in cursive. The woman’s face brightened, and Yoo-seong also felt good seeing her smile.

After the woman walked away, he took a sip of his coffee. It tasted delicious. The sandwich was very tasty too.

The café wasn’t that busy, and from his spot, Yoo-seong could quietly enjoy the beach’s scenery. He watched surfers ride the waves as he munched on his sandwich. A quiet and pleasant ten minutes passed like that.

He took the last bite of the sandwich and drank the rest of his coffee before wiping his hands and lips with a napkin.

“Whew. That was delicious. Really.”

Yoo-seong had a sudden realization as he uttered those words: the meal he’d just had was probably the first meal he’d enjoyed in the past one or two years.

No plans, no calculations, no commitments. Just a pure, delicious meal and a relaxing view.

Was it because it had been his first meal on the American continent, or because of the food and atmosphere of the café? Perhaps it was related to the monologue he’d spoken while Ali tattooed him.

Maybe…

Just a little…

He was feeling tired of everything.

He was currently the best hunter in Korea, a national hero who had saved countless people. He had brought back all the stolen Tech from their history. Perhaps he wasn’t just tired of facing gigantic enemies, be they people or beasts. All the grand titles and achievements were also beginning to pile up on him heavily.

Two years ago, he had been just an ordinary young man. His grand dream had been a simple future of having his own restaurant.

Perhaps the simple meal he’d just eaten had reminded him of his younger self.

After a few moments of silence, Yoo-seong rose from the table. “I really enjoyed the meal. Thank you,” he said to the waitress in Korean. She didn’t know what he was saying, but she understood that he was saying goodbye. She nodded and smiled as she lifted the napkin Yoo-seong had signed for her. Just before leaving the café, Yoo-seong turned to look at the corner where he had just been sitting.

He held on to the view of the beach, and the quiet tables, as the young man in his heart began to dissolve.

Now he was left with just himself and the questions in his head. ‘Will I be able to return to that simple life again?’

‘If one day, I decide to do so…’

‘Could I really stop?’

Yoo-seong paused for a few seconds as he searched himself for the answer.

Then he pushed the door open and walked quietly out of the café.

***

He didn’t have to walk very far.

Just a block away from the beach, Yoo-seong saw a row of black sedans. They looked as if they had just pulled out of the factory.

Considering that Yoo-seong had arrived less than an hour ago, it was a really quick response.

‘Were they tracking me this whole time?’

“Hello, nice to meet you,” a man in front of the sedan greeted him in awkward Korean. He seemed to be their leader.

He was a young, handsome white man, his body built lighter than Yoo-seong’s but taller.

“My name is Dennis Wilder, assistant to the Vice President of the United States.”

An interpreter stood next to him and began translating his introduction.

Dennis Wilder looked pretty polite.

He also looked a little shy, perhaps because he was young, at the age when most people treated hunters like sports stars.

“Welcome to America,” he added.

Yoo-seong nodded his head silently but did not take Wilder’s hand.

“Mr. Yoo-seong Oh? Is there a problem?”

The embarrassed interpreter quickly mediated. He began to explain that Yoo-seong was supposed to shake Wilder’s hand, thinking that Yoo-seong might not be aware of the gesture due to cultural differences.

Yoo-seong chuckled. He wasn’t an idiot, after all. Who didn’t know about shaking hands?

However, instead of taking Wilder’s outstretched hand…

“What’s your name?” he asked Wilder directly, in Korean.

The young man seemed a little flustered.

“My name is… Dennis Wilder. Uh, I apologize that the Vice President wasn’t able to meet you himself; we were in quite a hurry because your arrival was…”

Yoo-seong smiled and turned to the interpreter,

“You can go.”

“Yes?” The interpreter was confused.

“He doesn’t need an interpreter.” Yoo-seong paused before turning to Wilder. “Right?”

Dennis Wilder’s eyes widened.

“I could hardly understand you on the phone yesterday. It’s a pity the voice modulator you have doesn’t come with an interpreter.”

With a smile on his face, Yoo-seong kept speaking in Korean.

“Did you think I wouldn’t recognize you?”

To the unknown caller in Hawaii, who had not answered the same question over the phone, Yoo-seong asked firmly once more, this time face to face:

“What is your name?”