<Episode 108>
The next day.
After closing the shop, I headed to a detention center located on the outskirts of Seoul.
“Visitation time is fifteen minutes.”
Guided by a correctional officer, I entered the visitation room.
A bleak atmosphere lingered around the transparent reinforced-glass partition separating the two sides.
A moment later, the iron door on the opposite side opened.
A man wearing handcuffs walked in.
It was Park Seongcheol.
Gone was the man who always wore luxury suits and kept every strand of hair perfectly in place.
Dressed in a loose prison uniform, he looked haggard. His skin was rough, his eyes sunken, and blood vessels were visible in his reddened gaze.
The moment he sat down, he stared directly at me.
“When Lee Hyunwoo was young, that brat used to follow me around so well.”
That was his first sentence.
No greeting. No introduction.
“After he awakened, I went to see him for the first time in a long while, and his personality had changed quite a bit. Is it because his parents abandoned him? Tsk, poor thing.”
He let out a vulgar chuckle, deliberately provoking me.
I clenched my fists.
“Do you even have the right to say something like that?”
“Haha! The right? Like it or not, I’m his biological father. Blood ties can’t be erased.”
A grotesque smile spread across his bloodshot face.
“Being locked up in here made me think about Hyunwoo. Now that he’s finally settled down and started playing the hero, I wonder what would happen if people found out I’m his real father.”
Clicking his tongue, he pretended to sound regretful.
“The deeper I fall, the more an indelible stain will fall on Hyunwoo as well. People will start questioning whether he’s really a hunter worthy of their respect.”
“…Like your son Park Jaemin?”
The moment I mentioned Park Jaemin’s name, the smile slowly disappeared from his face.
“Ha… Yeah. That’s where it all started. Do you know how he’s living now? He’s an A-Rank Hunter, yet he doesn’t receive any proper treatment. He wanders from gate to gate alone! Under twenty-four-hour surveillance!”
I knew very well what had happened to Park Jaemin.
He wore mana restraints in daily life and was only deployed when emergency support was required.
Even then, he wasn’t allowed to participate in team operations and could only perform solo gate clearances.
In practice, he was little different from a prisoner.
Personally, I thought his punishment was light considering what he’d done.
But Park Seongcheol clearly disagreed.
“Hoo…”
Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he leaned back in his chair.
“This isn’t what’s important right now. In the end, you came here because you don’t want it revealed that Hyunwoo is my son, right?”
“…What do you want?”
Forced to ask what he wanted, I watched a strange gleam appear in his eyes.
“That side-effect treatment item of yours. Stop producing it immediately.”
“What?”
I frowned.
“What does that item have to do with you?”
At my question, Park Seongcheol leaned his upper body forward eagerly.
Getting close enough that his breath fogged the glass, he glanced around before whispering conspiratorially.
“What does it have to do with me? This trial is just a formality anyway. Do you know how many connections I built during my years in politics? I’ll only serve a few years as an example. I could even get a special pardon before that.”
“Don’t tell me… you’re planning to sell Nutrafil again after you get out?”
“No need to wait until then.”
His eyes gleamed like a man who had already won.
“There are plenty of people outside willing to help me.”
He continued enthusiastically.
“This time, the formula was too excessive. All it needs is a tiny adjustment. Just a little. Hunters are tough. They’ll be fine. Nutrafil is dead anyway, which means the market needs a new supplement.”
Lost inside his own delusions, he painted a horrifying blueprint.
Countless hunters had collapsed, coughing blood.
Yet to him, hunters were nothing more than laboratory rats that generated money.
A moment later, returning from his fantasy, he made me an offer as though granting a favor.
“Let’s make a deal. If you stop production, I’ll keep my mouth shut forever. You quietly run your shop. I quietly run my business. Sounds nice, doesn’t it?”
Unable to hold back anymore, I glared at him and spat out coldly:
“You piece of trash.”
“…What?”
“Because of you, countless hunters nearly died. Civilians were put in danger because gates couldn’t be cleared in time. And despite all that, you’re saying you’d do it again?”
At my scathing criticism, he threw his head back and burst into laughter.
“Hahahaha! What’s wrong with doing something again if it can succeed? Haven’t you ever heard that failure is the mother of success?”
Rubbing the corner of his eye with his handcuffed hands, Park Seongcheol shamelessly shrugged.
“Besides, you don’t want poor Hyunwoo getting hurt either, do you? As his father, I don’t want that either.”
Twisting his lips into a victorious smile, he looked completely certain that I would grant his request to protect Hyunwoo.
Looking directly at that disgusting face, I spoke slowly.
“The fact that Lee Hyunwoo being your son is something you consider blackmail material… that’s basically you admitting with your own mouth just how far you’ve fallen.”
Park Seongcheol’s face instantly flushed red like that of a demon.
He shot up from his chair and glared at me.
“If you want to reveal it, then reveal it. Though I doubt anyone will care.”
“…What?”
Watching his wavering eyes, I crossed my arms and smiled leisurely.
“Actually, I spoke with Hyunwoo before coming here. We figured you’d try exactly this kind of blackmail, so we decided to strike first.”
“N-No way…”
“Yes. That’s right.”
I nodded.
“Hyunwoo already revealed everything himself. How you abandoned him as a child. Even the contents of his mother’s suicide note.”
Then I drove in the final nail.
“Hyunwoo will personally push for the harshest possible punishment against you. Because he loves the Management Bureau he belongs to more than the father who abandoned him.”
Park Seongcheol’s mouth opened and closed soundlessly.
But no words came out.
He seemed overwhelmed by the realization that his final trump card had become completely worthless.
I stood up and coldly declared:
“I came because I was curious what you wanted to say. Turns out it wasn’t even worth hearing.”
“W-Wait! Do you think my connections will just sit quietly?! Once I get out!”
“Ah, those wonderful connections?”
I stopped before opening the door and looked back.
“From what I’ve heard, nobody’s even answering your calls anymore. According to your lawyer, your political friends actually submitted petitions demanding the harshest punishment possible.”
“L-Lies… That’s impossible!”
His face turned deathly pale.
“Why do you think it’s a lie?”
I checked the remaining visitation time and smiled.
“You left politics quite a while ago. It’s not strange for a generational shift to happen.”
Then I added:
“Besides, this incident was basically terrorism that threw the entire country into chaos. Who in their right mind would help you? Unless they’re desperate to go down with you.”
The color drained completely from his face.
Leaving him like that, I opened the visitation room door.
“Rot in there for the rest of your life. It’s the only place that suits you.”
“Hey! Get back here! Once I get out, I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!”
Behind me, I could hear Park Seongcheol screaming in rage and pounding violently against the glass.
But I never looked back.
I walked out of the visitation room feeling as though a massive weight had finally been lifted from my chest.
“Did the visit go well?”
Outside, Hyunwoo approached.
Apparently worried that I might be upset, he carefully examined my expression.
Soon, a relieved smile appeared on his face.
“Looks like things ended well.”
“Of course.”
I laughed.
“Being locked up in there has made him completely out of touch with the outside world. He’s still talking about connections and influence. It’s honestly pathetic.”
I lightly tugged on the arm of Hyunwoo, who had undoubtedly suffered through preparing that major press conference.
Caught off guard by the unexpected contact, his eyes widened.
“How about we get something delicious for dinner? My treat!”
At my suggestion, he let out a soft chuckle and nodded.
“Sounds good. I’ll look forward to seeing just how delicious this meal will be.”
“Beef? Or maybe seafood?”
“Either is fine with me. Let’s eat whatever you want, Haneul.”
***
Not long afterward, during the first trial, Park Seongcheol was convicted on dozens of charges… including manufacturing narcotics, soliciting murder, and conspiracy to incite national rebellion.
He was sentenced to the maximum punishment available:
Life imprisonment.
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