Supplementary Story 44
After the live stream, Hyeonu and Reina returned to the officetel in good spirits. Seeing Reina getting on the elevator, Hyeonu stood in place and waved. âGo in first.â
âArenât you going up?â Reina asked with puzzled eyes.
âI have an appointment. I have decided to meet Hyung-nim,â Hyeonu replied with a smile.
âAh...! I understand. Get in touch.â Reina figured out the identity of the âHyung-nimâ Hyeonu was talking about and shook the smartphone in her hand.
âIâll be in touch. See you tomorrow.â Hyeonu nodded.
After confirming that the elevator door was closed, he left the officetel again.
âHyung-nim told me to go to your home.â
Hyeonu caught a taxi that was passing by.
âPlease go to Hannam-dong.â
That was where Kim Seokjungâs home was located.
âWhat does he want to talk about?â
If it were a normal story, they could talk over the phone. However, Kim Seokjung said he needed to see Hyeonu in person. This meant that it was really important.
âI am curious...â
Hyeonu didnât know what Kim Seokjung was going to say. All he could do alone was guess.
âWeâve arrived.â
The taxi arrived in front of Kim Seokjungâs house while Hyeonu was lost in thought, looking at the night view of Seoul.
âIt is here.â
After getting out of the taxi, Hyeonu pressed the doorbell of Kim Seokjungâs house.
Ding dong! Ding dong!
The tightly closed door opened after a few familiar rings.
âAh, youâre here?â Gang Jungguâs face appeared through the open door.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âHyung-nim, youâre here as well?â Hyeonu looked pleased to see Gang Junggu.
âYes, Iâm here.â Gang Junggu approached Hyeonu and placed an arm around his shoulder. âLook at this improved skin. You seem to be doing well these days?â
âI am taking care of it like that so it should improve.â
âThatâs not what Iâm saying... You know, right?â Gang Junggu winked at Hyeonu with a playful expression.
âWell... that too.â Hyeonu smiled and nodded. âRight, do you know why Hyung-nim called me here today?â
âToday? Hyung-nim didnât say anything?â Gang Junggu asked with wide eyes. He thought that Kim Seokjung wouldâve been the first to speak to Hyeonu.
âWhy did he do this?â Gang Junggu asked himself.
âIs he trying to surprise him?â He quickly found the answer.
âYes, he just told me to come and that I would find out when I came.â
âThen youâll find out soon.â Gang Junggu roughly shrugged it off and took Hyeonu inside.
âRight. Youâre here, Brother?â Kim Seokjung, who was sitting on a luxurious sofa, got up as soon as he saw Hyeonu entering with Gang Junggu.
âHyung-nim, how have you been?â Hyeonu approached Kim Seokjung and bowed his head.
âIâm always well.â Kim Seokjung sat Hyeonu down on the sofa and handed over some coffee that was made in advance. âLetâs talk about it while drinking. Junggu, why arenât you sitting down?â
Gang Junggu moved quickly at Kim Seokjungâs words. Hyeonu smiled at the sight and sipped the coffee that Kim Seokjung had given him.
âItâs okay?â
The taste of the coffee was better than he expected. He thought it was better than the coffee from a franchise cafe or a bunch of private cafes.
âI guess the coffee machine wasnât a decoration,â Hyeonu said.
âWhat decoration... It is all up to me to make it.â
âYou are great, Hyung-nim.â Hyeonu gave a thumbs-up.
âYou are making a fuss over nothing...â Kim Seokjung waved his hand a few times and drank the coffee. âRight, you must be wondering why I called you today?â
âYes, Hyung-nim.â Hyeonu nodded.
âThere is good news. You will love it when you hear it.â
âMe?â
The Kim Seokjung that Hyeonu knew was never one who would say empty words.
âI think it must be really good news for you to be saying this...â Hyeonu felt his expectations soar.
âDonât drag things out and just tell me,â Hyeonu pressed Kim Seokjung with bright eyes.
âI found it,â Kim Seokjung said with a smile.
âWere you looking for something?â Hyeonu had a puzzled expression as he gave an answer that was closer to talking to himself.
âI never asked him to find anythingâ¦â
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldnât remember making such a request.
âDid I get drunk and ask Hyung-nim to find something?â Hyeonu asked carefully. If he didnât remember it, that meant it could only have happened when he was drunk.
âYou did. You asked us to find someone,â Gang Junggu answered with a nod.
âReally?â
âYes, you did. You were so desperate... I couldnât help wanting to agree to your request.â
Hyeonu fell into deep thought with a serious expression.
âI met the Hyung-nims around a month ago... What were we talking about while drinking?â
There was once when he met Kim Seokjung and Gang Junggu and drank until they were cut off from the alcohol. However, he didnât remember what they were talking about. His memory was hazy like a fog.
âLook at this.â Kim Seokjung put a tablet PC in front of Hyeonu. A handsome blond young man was shown on the screen of the tablet PC.
âWho is it?â Hyeonu cocked his head at the blond foreigner. It was a face he didnât know.
âIt is a face I am seeing for the first time.â
âI asked you to find this person? I couldnât have done that...â Hyeonu made an expression like he was being wronged.
âYou naturally donât know the face... You have never seen it. However, it is true that you asked me to find him, Hyeonu.â Gang Junggu smiled. Hyeonuâs confused appearance was worth seeing.
âYou should know when you look at it like this?â Kim Seokjung used his thumb and forefinger on the screen of the tablet PC to zoom out. Two new people, who werenât on the screen before, appeared. They were a man and a woman.
âThis...!!â Hyeonuâs eyes widened when he saw the newly appeared man and woman. They were faces he knew.
âArenât they the emperor and Saintess?â
Those were the identities of the man and the woman.
âWait...?â Hyeonu moved his hand to enlarge the photo that Kim Seokjung had shrunk a bit. The face of the young man he was seeing for the first time was strangely similar to the couple.
âYes, it is him. The imperial prince that our brother was searching for so much.â Kim Seokjungâs mouth curled up in a smile.
He found the imperial princeâthe son of former emperor Alexander, whom Hyeonu had been searching for.
âHis name is Heizer. His age isnât well known. He seems to be stronger than me or Junggu. He grew up in the Holy Kingdom... He isnât a member of the temple,â Kim Seokjung generously relayed the information heâd found to Hyeonu. In any case, it was an NPC he found because of Hyeonu, so there was no need to hide it.
âWhat is his personality like?â Hyeonu looked at Kim Seokjung with a serious expression.
âHis personality? Letâs see... Junggu, what do you think?â Kim Seokjung turned his head to ask Gang Junggu, who was drinking tea.
âHis personality? I think it was okay, right? There were no terrible parts. Instead, I think there was a slight sense of timidness.â
âTimidness?â
âHe couldnât go against the words of the Saintess.â
âDoes the Saintess have a strong spirit?â
âIt isnât just at the level of being strong. She is a heroine, a heroine. Even the emperor seemed to be avoiding her.â
Hyeonu roughly realized it from these words. âIt is a scene I have seen a lot.â It was a very common sight in Hyeonuâs own house or in Yeongchanâs house. Their mothers were the number one in rank in the family. The father and children were under the mother.
âI know how to get the prince out of the Holy Kingdom.â
In Hyeonuâs mind, several plans were based on this fragmentary information alone. Hyeonu chose the one that was most likely to succeed.
âBrother, thank you for telling me about the imperial prince. Can I ask you for one more favor?â
âA favor? Tell me. I will listen to anything if it is possible.â Kim Seokjung nodded without even listening to Hyeonuâs request.
âPlease seduce the prince.â
âPfft!â Gang Junggu spat out the tea he was drinking. It was because Hyeonuâs words were so ridiculous.
Gang Junggu said, âThe imperial prince? Hyung-nim?â
It was a really unreasonable request.
Hyeonu shook his head and explained again, âThat isnât what I meant. Take the prince out of the Holy Kingdom and lead him to the battlefield. That is what I mean.â
Finally, Gang Junggu looked like he understood.
âThen which direction should we take him?â
Gang Junggu knew that there would be a war taking place in three directions.
âWouldnât the north be the best? The distance is close... It is good in many ways there.â Hyeonu chose the north without any hesitation.
âThe only place where I can control everything is the north.â
Raccoon and Jeras wouldnât move readily at Hyeonuâs words; they were just giving a bit of help. Meanwhile, the north was different. Edward would move as Hyeonu wanted.
âThere are two shackles... He has to do it.â
John Blake and Callioraksâthey were safety devices that Hyeonu had prepared in advance.
âCallioraks... All I need is Tang-E.â
The monster named âCallioraksâ was always going to help as long as Tang-E was with Hyeonu. Of course, he wouldnât do unreasonable requests, but Hyeonuâs requests were really easy for Callioraks.
âJohn Blake has a moral obligation.â
John Blake was similar. He would be willing to pressure Edward if Hyeonu put forward the justification of transferring power to Heizer, the legitimate heir of the Yusma Empire.
âIâm sorry... It canât be helped.â
It was no different from being a puppet, but Hyeonu didnât care about this. Right now, it was Hyeonu himself who was in a hurry.
âThe north? Wonât it be convenient for us as well?â Gang Junggu agreed with Hyeonuâs choice. The north was the war with the undead. There was no better place to create a situation for Heizer to move.
âI made a scenario. Listen. Listen to your hyung-nim,â Gang Junggu said, attracting the attention of Hyeonu and Kim Seokjung. âFirst of all, Hyeonu, send a request for support to the Holy Kingdom. Multiple wars broke out at the same time, so you need help. However, going against the League of Different Species will be uncomfortable for the temple to do, so ask them to help instead in the north where the undead come out.â
The Holy Kingdom and the League of Different Species werenât in a hostile relationship. However, that wasnât the case with the undead. From the perspective of the Holy Kingdom, the undead were beings that had to be dealt with.
âOkay, it wonât be easy for the Holy Kingdom to say no.â
The plan was perfect so far. He might be the interim emperor but it was still a request from the emperor of the great Yusma Empire. There was a definite justification.
The Holy Kingdom had to listen.
âThen Hyung-nim, you will be talking next to the imperial prince. Mention things like noblesse oblige or that one should experience the world when they become an adult. Say things like this,â Hyeonu added his opinion to Gang Jungguâs scenario. âIn addition, the opponents are the undead. From the perspective of the imperial prince who grew up in the Holy Kingdom, he can kill the undead and protect the empire. He might think of it as killing two birds with one stone.â
Gang Junggu nodded at Hyeonuâs words.
âGood, if this is the case... it is perfect.â
âThen letâs start like this. If something goes wrong, we can make a correction at that time.â Hyeonu smiled slightly and put his hand in front of him.
âIt is interesting. Letâs go ahead with this.â Kim Seokjung put his hand over the back of Hyeonuâs hand.
âDonât think about backing out. Your hyung-nims will move with you.â Gang Junggu also put his hand on the back of Kim Seokjungâs hand.
âBrothers!â Kim Seokjung screamed loudly.
âFreedom!!â Hyeonu followed up.
âFor the cause!!!â
The moment Gang Jungguâs cry exploded, the hands of the three men shot upwards.
âThere really isnât much left...â