Chapter 3: Hope (4)
As the sunset approached, Harmu saw Jin-woo off along with Aina.
Aina seemed quite disappointed. Harmu stroked Aina’s hair.
Harmu’s expression wasn’t good.
Dr. Kim Jin-han’s words came to mind. He said her condition had worsened further and at this rate, she wouldn’t last even a few months.
Harmu had donated money for Dr. Kim Jin-han’s research and purchased things that were said to be good for the body at a high cost, but there was no effect.
The reason for earning money.
Perhaps it was to turn a blind eye to reality.
She had been clinging to a small hope and escaping from reality. But the reality she faced today was devastating.
Dr. Kim Jin-han was the highest authority.
‘I think it would be better to hospitalize her long-term. This place would be better than a big hospital. I’ll do my best.’
‘…Is there a possibility?’
‘If unified medicine is completed… It’s not impossible. Not only Aina, but we can save humanity from diseases. Now, just one step, only one step remains.’
Harmu postponed her answer.
They said her life expectancy was only a few months. It was too cruel to tell her to stay in the hospital during that time.
The regular treatments she received were also quite painful. Aina had never complained to her even once.
Harmu was hesitating too much about how to tell Aina.
At that moment,
“Sis, let’s go home.”
“Aina, that…”
“It’s okay. You can stop now.”
Harmu wanted to say something, but the words wouldn’t come out. She could only purse her lips and lower her head.
Aina knew what Harmu was going to say and had already accepted everything.
Dr. Kim Jin-han came out of the examination room and approached.
“Doctor, I’m sorry, but we’ll go home today.”
“…Hmm, I see. Alright. I’ll catch a taxi for you, so wait.”
“No. We have a car.”
The young master had a van on standby. To ensure they could safely return home tomorrow.
It was incomprehensible why that famous Lee Jin-woo was doing this for them.
“I see. Don’t feel burdened and come anytime.”
“Thank you.”
Dr. Kim Jin-han nodded and approached the tent.
As night fell, more patients and homeless people gathered.
Harmu got in the car and headed home.
Aina was tired, so she dozed off. Harmu lent her shoulder for Aina to sleep comfortably.
‘…I should quit.’
She planned to spend all her time with Aina from now on.
She never thought she would feel sad about not seeing that arrogant young master anymore.
Did the young master just highly value her abilities and hire her?
Such doubts arose, but it was no longer an issue to think about.
As they arrived near their home, they got out of the van and headed to the house.
“Um…”
“Yeah?”
“Sis, can we go to the hair salon?”
Harmu had tried to take her to the hair salon before, but Aina didn’t want to go out, so Harmu had been cutting her hair until now.
Aina fiddled with her hair, feeling embarrassed.
“Sure, let’s go together tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
“But why the sudden hair salon visit?”
“That’s… with Jin-woo…”
When Jin-woo’s name came up, Harmu blinked.
Just as she was about to speak,
Bang!
Suddenly, with a sound of something exploding, all the electricity in the surrounding area went out. Not only the villa buildings but also the streetlights were all turned off, making the surroundings pitch black.
“This is…”
“Sis?”
It wasn’t an accident.
Vroom!
The black vehicle rushing towards them from behind proved that. With its headlights off, it charged toward Harmu.
Harmu quickly pushed Aina’s wheelchair to the side and reached out her hand.
Swoosh!
As the defense magic circle was activated, it collided with the vehicle.
Boom!
The semi-transparent barrier that appeared in front of Harmu shattered instantly, and the vehicle’s hood crumpled. The 9th-grade defense magic hastily cast was insufficient to block the force of the accelerating vehicle.
Bam!
The vehicle that penetrated the defense barrier collided with Harmu’s body.
Harmu’s body flew into the air and rolled on the ground.
“Ugh!”
The impact made Harmu’s mind go hazy.
“Sis! Aaah!”
Hearing Aina’s scream, Harmu gritted her teeth and barely got up.
Drip!
Blood flowed from her head, obstructing her vision. Through her blurry vision, she saw men in black suits covering Aina’s mouth and shoving her into the vehicle.
“Aina…!”
Harmu rushed towards the vehicle.
A 9th-grade magic circle for ‘Lightning Emission’ floated above her hand.
She intended to stop the vehicle’s engine.
However, the men in suits who got out of the vehicle blocked her way.
“Move!”
Harmu had no room for other thoughts.
She was solely focused on getting rid of the obstacles and saving Aina.
Harmu reached out her hand and reconstructed the magic.
She increased the power from 9th-grade magic to 8th-grade level and activated the magic. It had enough power to instantly electrocute a person.
Crackle!
Lightning spread out and engulfed the bodies of the men in front of her.
She thought they would collapse instantly, but her expectation was wrong.
Swish!
The man at the front raised his hand and stretched it to the side. The lightning that had engulfed his body instantly escaped and disappeared into the ground.
It was the moment Harmu’s eyes widened.
Swoosh!
The man’s figure instantly appeared right in front of her. Harmu tried to dodge backward and use magic, but she couldn’t.
“Ugh!”
The moment the man’s palm touched her chest, she was blown away as if something had exploded.
Harmu coughed up blood and barely raised her head.
“Martial arts…?”
The move he had just shown.
It was martial arts.
As if he knew the weakness of a mage like Harmu, he neutralized her in an instant.
He wasn’t an ordinary criminal.
There was no way an ordinary criminal who had mastered martial arts to this extent existed.
“Your skills are better than expected.”
“You…! Why… why Aina…!”
“At the moment of impact, did you protect your heart with mana? This is why mages are troublesome.”
Harmu tried to reach out her hand and use magic, but the man walked over and firmly stepped on her hand.
The vehicle that had kidnapped Aina quickly reversed and disappeared.
“Ah, ugh… Aaah!”
Harmu tried to get up somehow, but her body wouldn’t listen.
Bam! Thud!
The man kicked Harmu’s abdomen with his foot. Harmu was pushed back and crashed into a streetlight.
“Aina… Aina…”
Harmu tried to get up while releasing mana.
Her aura was so fierce that the man let out a small exclamation.
The man shook his head and drove his fist into her solar plexus, then slung the slumped Harmu over his shoulder.
The man, along with one of his subordinates who had gotten out of the car, went to find Harmu’s house.
As if they already knew the address, they moved without hesitation.
The second floor of the old villa.
They easily picked the lock and entered, then roughly put her down on the floor.
“Ugh, ugh…”
As she regained consciousness and raised her head, the man chuckled and looked at her. At the man’s gesture, his subordinates placed something next to her.
It was a small corpse.
Similar in size to Aina.
“Let’s make it look like both of you died together in an accident. Electrical short circuits easily happen in old villas like this, right? A gas leak would also be plausible.”
The man’s subordinates brought tools and started manipulating them.
It was definitely not a simple crime.
They knew her home address. It was a meticulously planned crime.
They were too skilled as if they had done this many times before.
“Why… why… I don’t mind dying, but Aina… Please…”
“That little one won’t die right away either. You should have wished she died here instead.”
“I’ll… I’ll kill you! Aaah!”
The man sprinkled powder on her body and the corpse to make them burn well. It was a camouflage powder that helped the fire to ignite naturally.
‘I have to save her. I’ll save you. I will definitely…’
Harmu struggled desperately, but the man laughed at her and stepped on her.
The man’s subordinate manipulated a tool to set the room on fire.
Whoosh!
Instantly, the fire shot up, and the surroundings were engulfed in flames.
“It’s done.”
The man turned his back.
Harmu barely reached out her hand to grab the man’s foot, but she couldn’t reach it.
The flames rose to the ceiling, and the searing heat could be felt.
‘Please…!’
She prayed for a miracle.
If there was a god, she prayed that Aina would be saved even if she herself fell into hell.
It was the moment her outstretched hand fell to the floor.
“Hmm?”
“What’s this? The fire…”
Crackle!
The temperature dropped drastically.
The chill that descended along the walls devoured the flames on the walls and ceiling, making them disappear.
Ding dong!
The doorbell rang.
The man flinched and signaled to his subordinate. The subordinate nodded and approached the front door.
It was the moment he cautiously grabbed the doorknob.
Boom!
“Aaaah!”
A intense lightning burst out, burning all the subordinate’s clothes.
Thud!
He collapsed to the floor, charred black.
Smoke rose from his body.
Creak!
The door opened, and someone walked in.
Small footsteps.
In the darkness, a not-so-large figure could be seen.
“Harmu, didn’t you say you were on vacation until tomorrow? Are you already asleep?”
It was a very familiar voice.
At that moment, the power was restored, and the lights came on.
“…Young master?”
Harmu’s voice trembled.
Through her eyes, she saw Jin-woo slowly walking into the room.
“It doesn’t seem like you’re enjoying your vacation…”
Jin-woo looked at Harmu and then shifted his gaze to the man standing in front of her.
“Were you the one who touched my employee?”
The expression that always seemed leisurely and arrogant was now as cold as it could be.
* * *
Jin-woo didn’t go to the main house.
The vehicle that came to pick him up to go to the main house, but he sent it back.
Lee Jin-woo was already a disowned child and had always acted recklessly. Although the successor position seemed to be out of reach for defying the chairman of Ilshin Group, he wasn’t interested in such a position in the first place.
He was a bit late because he had to shake off the persistent members of Ilshin Group. And they acted faster and more boldly than Jin-woo had anticipated.
Jin-woo looked at the man.
The man had a muscular body that seemed to tear through the black suit. Judging from the aura he exuded, he was definitely not an ordinary person.
“Hmm, you’re quite something for a young kid.”
The man also didn’t let his guard down even after seeing Jin-woo’s appearance.
Because he knew that the boy in front of him was the one who had instantly extinguished the fire and reduced his subordinate to a half-dead state.
“You’re not an ordinary guy. Are you a mage?”
“An Archmage.”
“What?”
Jin-woo thought for a moment and then spoke.
“Soon, very soon.”
The man let out a scornful laugh. Then he glared at Jin-woo.
A rather intense killing intent emanated from him. He immediately took a stance to kill Jin-woo.
There was no hesitation at all.
“Are you an agent from Hancheon?”
“…Die.”
Seeing his eyes slightly tremble, it seemed he was indeed from Hancheon. The man’s muscles expanded and rapidly accelerated, charging at Jin-woo.
Jin-woo stepped to the side and cast a defense magic.
Clang!
The wall was dented, penetrating the defense barrier.
Even with some distance, he landed a blow.
The power was so great that it easily pierced through a 9th-grade magic barrier.
As Jin-woo dispelled the defense barrier, the man grinned.
“It’s too late to regret acting ignorantly. I’ll kill you very painfully. Are you curious about the pain of burning alive?”
“So that’s the method you used to make my employee like that.”
It was the basic martial art of Hancheon Corporation’s agents.
Although it was a basic martial art, it required quite a long time to manifest its characteristics.
That was the nature of all martial arts.
If one could reach the level of manifesting the characteristics, the power was tremendous enough to surpass low-level magic.
Only those who could use such characteristics were called martial artists.
“Young… master. Aina is…”
Harmu’s tearful words were heard.
