Holy B-Class Life

#051

Yoon Pa-ran frowned as he recognized the face. Should he consider this unexpected, or had he anticipated it?

“I know. I reported it recently. This person tried to enter our orphanage without permission.”

Of course, there were things he couldn’t bring himself to say out loud now. Like how the civilian corpse found in the gate he had entered recently might have been this person’s arm.

Yoon Pa-ran’s gaze scanned the photo again. It seemed to be a promotional photo for an investment company, with Lim Hyun-sung striking a stylish pose. On his arm, raised near his face, was the watch he had seen before.

Is this really the guy?

Why was he dead at the gate?

While he was lost in these complex thoughts, the two police officers exchanged meaningful glances. He didn’t like the aura these two had been giving off from the start.

Sure enough, they soon began to spout nonsense.

“We received a report that a hunter here put pressure on the missing Mr. Lim Hyun-sung.”

“Pressure?”

“Yes. Based on the testimony at the time, for investigation…”

“Ha.”

Yoon Pa-ran cut off the continuing words with a scoff.

The atmosphere with the police car parked at an angle was strange, but he had hoped for the best. He thought they might have come to inform him about the report he had filed recently.

The way things were turning out was very odd.

“Didn’t you hear what I just said? This guy tried to enter the orphanage full of children with a group of skinheads and even brought tools.”

“…”

“When I reported it, you were oddly late to respond. And now you’re saying I put pressure on this guy based on some report?”

“…”

“Does this make any sense to you?”

As he pointed out each detail, the officers’ faces reddened. They seemed quite irritated, but it was clear they were holding back because of the hunter in front of them.

However, whatever they were thinking, they didn’t back down from their purpose for coming here.

“Ahem. There’s also an issue of violating the Special Hunter Law, so for now, you’ll need to come with us.”

“This is ridiculous.”

Even after racking his not-so-great brain, he couldn’t see how there could be any charges against him. He wondered if the corpse from the gate was the issue, but he doubted ordinary police would know about that.

As Yoon Pa-ran was pondering what was going on, one of the officers twisted his lips and barked out more nonsense.

“The director, Yoon Seul, should also come as a witness…”

“Hey.”

Yoon Pa-ran suppressed all the intimidating aura he possessed. It wasn’t a good idea to direct killing intent at police officers who were mentioning the Special Hunter Law.

But just because he wasn’t showing killing intent didn’t mean he had nothing to say.

Yoon Pa-ran stared intently at the face of the officer who was running his mouth carelessly and said, his expression hardening,

“Say one more word.”

“Uh, ahem.”

Finally seeming to come to his senses, the officer hastily shut his mouth.

Should I be glad he stopped his pathetic threats?

“No. What’s going on here?”

At that moment, a security company employee who had been silently observing the situation from the side intervened.

He seemed to be higher-ranking than the person who had come to call Yoon Pa-ran earlier. He remembered the security company president referring to this person as a director.

“How could the hunter have put pressure on that person? When those guys tried to force their way in here like madmen, the hunter was inside the gate! Isn’t that right?”

“That’s right.”

If he had to guess, the police were probably referring to when Lim Hyun-sung first came looking for him.

Knowing this, Yoon Pa-ran still nodded, playing dumb. It was true that he had been in the gate when they tried to break in, after all.

As expected, the officers’ faces twisted in embarrassment. By this point, he couldn’t understand what these guys were aiming for.

“That incident was all captured on the CCTV here. Which police station did you two say you were from again?”

The security company director said, pointing here and there. Only then did the officers seem to notice the ruthlessly deployed CCTVs around the orphanage walls, looking surprised.

It was excessive security for an ordinary orphanage. They were things that had been gradually acquired with the money Dan Joo-hyuk regularly provided.

When Yoon Seul had complained it was a bit much, he wondered if it was unnecessary, but now it seemed like it had been a good decision.

“Ahem. I told you earlier, but you must not have heard.”

The officers could no longer hide their anxious expressions. However, Yoon Pa-ran found this attitude of the police even more ominous.

They really seemed to have something to hide.

But why?

As the security company director’s voice rose, murmurs could be heard from the surroundings. It was the sound of quite a few nearby residents who had gathered, buzzing with speculation.

“What’s going on?”

“…Did the orphanage kids cause some trouble?”

The hunter’s keen ears couldn’t help but pick up the conversations going on.

“Sigh…”

Thoughts of the complaints he had heard from his brother Min-soo, a civil servant, floated through his head. He was also aware of the small presences fidgeting behind him. It must be the little ones wondering why Yoon Pa-ran hadn’t returned yet.

Perhaps what the officers were aiming for was the commotion itself. Once he considered this possibility, even the flimsy excuse the officers had brought seemed suspicious.

He decided he needed to resolve this situation for now.

“So, you’re saying I need to go with you?”

“Yes, yes! That’s right.”

When Yoon Pa-ran, who had seemed like he would resist, said this, the officers’ faces lit up.

“What will we do when we get there?”

“We’re investigating the circumstances of this person’s disappearance. Just as a witness, ahem, we have a few questions…”

“Didn’t you mention a violation of the Special Hunter Law?”

“Th-that was just an explanation given due to procedure…”

Watching them explain while gauging his reaction, they really did seem like civil servants uncomfortable with calling in a hunter as a witness.

Yoon Pa-ran frowned as he organized his thoughts, then made up his mind.

“Fine. Let’s go.”

Let’s go and hear what nonsense they have to say.

Though he was being pushed around by Dan Joo-hyuk, Yoon Pa-ran wasn’t worried about getting hurt anywhere. Especially not in the real world outside of gates.

“Hunter, don’t worry about this place and go.”

“I have a favor to ask.”

The security company director spoke from behind, seemingly also concerned about the attention from onlookers.

Yoon Pa-ran looked back at the orphanage before getting in the car. Yoon Seul, who had come out to the entrance at some point, was looking this way with worried eyes.

“I’ll be back soon.”

“Pa-ran…”

He deliberately spoke lightly, not wanting to worry her.

But that wasn’t enough to erase the concern from Yoon Seul’s face.

❖ ❖ ❖

It seemed ominous, and sure enough.

The car arrived at one of the larger police stations in the area where the orphanage was located. Yoon Pa-ran, who got out of the police car and was led inside, frowned.

The car had gone to a back corner instead of the main entrance of the police station, and the place he was being guided to was also strange. Instead of a normal place for questioning a witness, it looked like an interrogation room in a secluded annex building.

“Is this the guy? Come on, hold out both hands quietly.”

When they arrived, a skeleton-like man came over and picked a fight right away.

“Handcuffs?”

“You should cooperate obediently. It’s a procedure for the investigator’s safety.”

The police officers who had brought him were gone somewhere. But judging by their attitude when handing Yoon Pa-ran over to this guy, the skeleton man seemed to be of quite high rank.

He didn’t seem to be a hunter, and there was no reason to meekly go along with this pathetic act.

“Do you question witnesses in handcuffs these days?”

In truth, Yoon Pa-ran didn’t really know what witness questioning entailed. He just felt there was no reason to be treated like a criminal when he had clearly come to just talk.

His guess seemed to hit the mark, as the man who had been clumsily twirling the handcuffs flinched.

“And what are you going to do with those measly handcuffs anyway? Are they made from A-rank monster bones or something?”

The man’s face flushed red at the heavy sarcasm. Yoon Pa-ran deliberately spoke more rudely to gauge the other’s reaction.

Soon, the man slammed the handcuffs down on the metal table where Yoon Pa-ran was sitting and opened his mouth.

He seemed to have quickly calculated something in his head, and his recovered confidence was not pleasant to see.

“There’s no need for that. If Hunter Yoon Pa-ran has no intention of running away, you can just wear them quietly.”

Hearing that slimy tone, Yoon Pa-ran’s face hardened slightly.

As expected, something was off.

He felt like things were getting messier. It would be no problem to just leave this place right now, but the orphanage was the issue.

Let’s be patient for now. Yoon Pa-ran’s insides boiled as he found himself holding back his anger multiple times in a day, unlike his usual self.

“I’ll just play the role of a witness and go back.”

“Well, if you’re going to be stubborn until the end. Alright.”

When Yoon Pa-ran answered seemingly docilely on the surface, the man became even more smug.

“Please wait a moment.”

Then he boldly turned his back on Yoon Pa-ran. He had to work hard to contain his anger that kept trying to leak out as an aura.

Wondering if he should try searching the internet or something, Yoon Pa-ran was pondering in perplexity when the man, thinking he was far enough away, muttered quietly.

“Arrogant bastard. I don’t know who’s backing him, but it must be because he acts so stupidly. Tsk.”

It was a distance that a B-rank hunter wouldn’t have been able to hear. However, Yoon Pa-ran’s sensing ability was broader than that of a typical B-rank hunter.

Much was understood from that brief self-talk. At least that the reason he had been brought here was not ordinary.

Suddenly, Yoon Pa-ran stood up with a start, as if shocked.

No way, is this Dan Joo-hyuk’s doing?