Chapter 223
[The Halo of Good and Evil, Yu MinSeo, has returned to her homeland!]
[The Halo of Good and Evil single-handedly annihilated the Kabestan villain group!]
[Her combat ability is beyond an average rank 7s!]
[The Association has recognized her as being the closest to rank 8.]
MinSeo returned to Korea after clearing a famous villain group in Italy and became a worldwide headliner thanks to her achievement. Only a select few hunters ever reached rank 5, and most considered them to be talented. Among those hunters, even fewer reached rank 6, which required both luck and talent.
Rank 7 hunters, though, were on an entirely different level. They were so rare that, even in countries with hundreds of millions of people, the rank 7s were rare enough to count on your fingers.
Honor, power, wealth rank 7 hunters could obtain anything they desired, but MinSeo wanted something different
Will I be able to meet that child soon? Her clear voice echoed throughout the room.
"Yes. I heard he's waiting on the 2nd floor." KangYoon answered in his usual, mechanical tone.
MinSeo stroked her chin with her pearl-white finger and smiled.
Such an expression was rare for her, so KangYoon couldnt help but express his curiosity. "You look happy How strange."
In response, MinSeo slowly got up from her seat and approached him as he looked out the window.
Tap, tap
The room was so silent that her footsteps echoed like thunder.
"Darling" she softly said as she gave him a slow embrace and intertwined her arms around him. With her body pressed against him and her arms around his thigh and waist, she asked, "Do you know why I married you?"
KangYoon didnt reply. His goal was to become the Hunter Associations president, which was why hed merged the ShinOh and YuSu families, but her goals were different.
"How mean she pouted. Youre going to remain silent at a time like this? Do you really want to hear it from me? Her true goal wasn't power, honor, or wealth. "I told you already, didn't I? she asked. At some point I realized my limit."
Many believed shed eventually reach rank 8, but she knew it was forever out of reach. There was a paper-thin gap between herself and the talent rank 8 hunters held, but she knew she'd never be able to overcome it.
"Darling" KangYoon tried to break free from her embrace.
MinSeo just tightened her grip. "Have you forgotten already? You must answer me." Her arms were like vices holding him in place, and her deep, lake-like eyes stared into empty space.
"That's why I chose you and had kids with you~" Her goal was to make her child the strongest hunter in the world, not just a rank 8 hunter. "In that sense, HaYoon was truly a masterpiece."
From a hunters perspective, MinSeo thought HaYoon looked like someone who mustve sold her soul to the devilshe was a monster who, if taught one thing, would realize a hundred different things. MinSeo, a rank 7 hunter, realized her daughters talent was far above hers.
"I never doubted that HaYoon, my child, would become the strongest in the world one day." Itd been a shock to her when YuSung, the child of two rank 7 parents with S-rank Traits, had been born with an F-rank Trait. Thats why shed abandoned himshe wanted a puppet to fulfill her dreams with, not a child to raise.
"Somehow, I was wrong" The top hunter in the world, the Fist King, had recognized YuSungs talent and taken him under his wing, waking up his inner potential and turning the boy into someone to rival HaYoon.
"I was wrong. It makes sense, in a way. Hes our child, after all She thought it was truly a regrettable situation. She wanted YuSung and his potential back. Dreams like having a happy family were for ordinary people.
"Should I admit my mistake and ask for forgiveness? I really want to reclaim him~" There was a tinge of madness in her voice. I dont want to lose him to that old man. Im his mother, in the end. Only I can make him even stronger!
KangYoon silently listened to her and just smiled in response. He and MinSeo were certainly alikeneither used the word love, and what they wanted from each other was clear as day: he wanted the YuSu familys wealth and power, while she wanted him for his genetics.
"I agree with you on that, KangYoon said. We need YuSung back; there are all sorts of ways in which he could be useful.
"Fufu Really? I'm glad~ Id like to quickly reclaim whats mine. MinSeo said as a smile tugged at her lips. "What a pity, though" She bit her lips. If we knew things would turn out like this, maybe we should have had more children.
To her, children were nothing more than a means to an end for her own satisfactionthey were simply tools.
* * *
* * *
Sumire washed her hands and looked at herself in the mirror, trying to regain her composure. Theres no need to be nervous, she thought to herself. YuSung has always been there for me, so I need to be here for him.
Shed done her best to care for YuSungs emotions since their arrival at the ShinOh mansion. Of course, she was so gentle-natured that adapting to the survival-of-the-fittest atmosphere of the ShinOh family was difficult.
'I have to keep my wits about me for YuSungs sake. She turned off the water and was about to return to YuSung when someone approached her.
"Hi." It was none other than HaYoon.
"Ah, Student Council President?" Sumire asked.
HaYoon just smiled. She wasnt there to use the sink or talk with Sumire, rather
"Ah, you seem to have a close relationship with YuSung. You can call me HaYoon in private, its okay. She smiled and approached Sumire. "I never imagined we'd meet somewhere like this"
The other girl was smiling, but Sumire couldnt help but feel chills. It was like she was a frog standing in front of a snake.
"Ugh" Naturally, HaYoon was trying to assert dominance over hershe didnt like Sumire being there because she instinctively knew that the girls presence calmed YuSung.
"Ah I'm not saying that in a good way, of course," HaYoon said. She wanted to separate Sumire from YuSungs side so the ShinOh family could have more favorable negotiations with him. That just means youre dumb enough to not realize you shouldnt have come here. She glared down at Sumire through narrowed eyes.
Though Sumire stepped back in retreat, she refused to be cowed. I'm sure YuSung wants me by his side."
HaYoon believed Sumire to be nothing more than a rabbit standing up to a lion. No matter how strong the girl tried to appear, her nature was fundamentally different.
"Is that so? HaYoon asked. That's interesting." Subjugation through words and completely breaking people down were some of HaYoons specialties. She took a few more steps forward and brought her imposing aura to bear.
Sumire retreated a few more steps until her back touched the wall, and HaYoon leaned in closer and softly whispered, "Do you know why YuSung's so stiff here?"
Sumire remained firmly silent, but HaYoon couldnt help but find the attitude amusing and said, Thats because~ he was abandoned. Isnt that pitiful? Although he looks so strong. HaYoon sighed as if she felt sorry.
Suddenly, Sumire felt all the puzzle pieces falling into place. "YuSung" Why had he spent 12 years in the mountains, and why had he looked so depressed upon returning to the ShinOh family mansion? She finally understood the backstory behind it all.
Rather than feeling more relaxed since her questions had been answered, she felt pain in her heart as if she were being stabbed by a needle.
[C-come to think of it I guess you havent seen your family in a long time.] She understood why hed made such a gloomy expression after she mentioned family.
[Eating with family Is wonderful.] She understood why hed made such a happy smile after he went to her house and had dinner with her family.
[Sumire, what does family mean to you?] Finally, she understood why hed asked such a question after they arrived at the ShinOh familys residence.
She understood all of it. To her, he was strong and admirable; shed never imagined him to be in such pain.
"That" she mumbled.
"Pf. Are you seriously about to cry due to someone else's problems? I don't understand you" HaYoon mocked her and patted her head as if she were a puppy. "Don't be too sad~ Everything is going according to plan now, after all. YuSung returned to the family" HaYoon gave a triumphant smile and said, And we just cant wait to reclaim him.
"Why?" Sumire asked.
HaYoon felt a tinge of annoyance. "That's obviously because hes strong. Really strong. We need YuSung now." HaYoon was wrong about one thingSumires spirit wasnt broken.
Sumire shook the other girls hand off of her and said, "That isn't family."
"What?" HaYoon asked, her eyes trembling in anger. Had she heard wrong?
Sumire regained her composure and glared right back into the girls eyes. You people arent his family.
"What do you know?" HaYoon clenched her fists in anger, but Sumire didn't back down.
"I know" She didnt care how scary her opponent wasshe was YuSungs unconditional ally. "Because Im his family" She was much closer to him than HaYoon or anyone else in the ShinOh family.
"YuSung isnt as weak as you think," Sumire said. He didnt come here to rejoin you or seek your approval.
"You should shut up and stop talking about things you know nothing about" HaYoon lifted a finger to threaten Sumire, but it didnt dissuade her.
Theres no way Sumire didnt know the truthshe and YuSung were there for a similar reason. Youre wrong. I understand him because Im the same way. He came here to face his past because he knows avoiding it wont change anything.
Maybe, at that point, Sumire was talking more to herself than to HaYoon. Just as YuSung had stood by her side in the past, it was her turn to protect him.
She lifted her chin and said, "YuSung is far more brave and important than any of you will ever be.
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