In the middle of the Association’s first-floor lobby, Park Minhyuk, momentarily stunned by the sudden violin performance, finally snapped out of it.
No matter how beautiful the music sounded, he couldn’t just stand by and let a suspicious man perform in the center of the Association building.
Where the hell are the security guards?
They should’ve stopped anyone without proper identification from getting in.
Regardless, he couldn’t just leave it as it was.
Just as he was about to take a step forward to handle the situation himself in place of the guards—
“......!”
He sharply inhaled and twisted his upper body to the side in a hurry.
Whoosh—an eerie sensation grazed dangerously close to his neck. A formless attack.
A sense of dread washed over him.
As he lifted his head, he immediately locked eyes with the man playing the violin.
“Everyone, stay on gu—urk...!”
CHAAANG!
At the same time as the warning, all the surrounding glass windows shattered.
With an ear-piercing screech, shards of glass fell everywhere.
“Aaack!”
“Wh-what the hell?!”
Employees who had been watching the performance in curiosity collapsed in panic.
Windows high above shattered, scattering palm-sized shards of glass.
Park Minhyuk, with no other choice, activated his skill not to subdue, but to protect.
CRACK, CRRRAACK!
The Association’s tiled floor split apart as thick tree vines surged upward at high speed.
Several thick, snake-like tree trunks twisted upward, forming a ceiling-like barrier to shield from above.
“Haaah, hah...”
“What the hell is going on...?”
The terrified employees finally began to catch their breath.
“Use this chance to escape.”
Despite all the chaos, not a single guard or hunter came to assist.
Something was definitely wrong. Park Minhyuk warned them again to flee as he pulled out his phone.
He figured he’d at least call in some hunters from the strategy team.
“Ah, so that’s the famous plant manipulation skill? Pretty handy.”
A light, almost cheerful voice rang out, completely out of place in the situation.
The man grinned as he pointed with his violin bow toward something.
“There’s actually something I’ve always wondered about.”
Instinctively, Park Minhyuk’s gaze followed where the bow was pointing—to a window where the shattered glass revealed the open sky.
“What happens when a plant skill meets a water skill—who wins?”
“What?”
Park Minhyuk furrowed his brow at the nonsensical question.
BOOOOM!
The entire building suddenly shook violently.
Then, from outside the window, a strange sound echoed in.
A sloshing noise, like waves crashing at a beach.
“Wh-what is that?!”
An employee who had just spoken to Park Minhyuk turned pale as he stared out the window.
Where the sky had once been visible, now there was a massive wall of blue water. It shimmered in the sunlight, undulating—and then began ❖ Nоvеlight ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеlight) pouring through the broken windows.
“A—a wave!”
“Uwaaaaah!”
Water surged in through every shattered window and broken door, flooding the space from all directions.
The amount was so overwhelming that the room filled faster than it drained. In seconds, the legs of fleeing employees were submerged.
Screams echoed. Some were swept away, others flailed helplessly in the rising flood. The place became total chaos.
Amid the flood, Park Minhyuk did his best to use plant vines to hold onto people and prevent them from being dragged away.
He no longer had the bandwidth to care about the whereabouts of the suspicious violinist.
While the waves tore through the hall, Kwon Seoyul, humming a tune, casually slipped out through the back door and looked up.
“Are you gonna kill him?”
Standing atop the towering wave that seemed to reach the sky was Kang Haeil.
With both hands in his coat pockets, he gazed calmly down at the chaos within the Association building.
“You planning to ignore the order?”
“...”
“If you’re not gonna kill him, then wrap it up and let’s go. I wanna get back already and see hyung!”
Kwon Seoyul, whose patience was shorter than an ant’s antennae, started whining restlessly.
With a sigh, Kang Haeil lowered the height of the wave and descended to the ground.
He left the massive flood still engulfing the Association building and turned his back.
“Let’s go.”
Though Kang Haeil walked away with his usual smile, the air around him was noticeably sharp.
Clicking his tongue as he followed behind, Kwon Seoyul thought,
Seohu-hyung's really in for it, huh?
He couldn’t help but wonder just how much Cha Seohu had provoked Kang Haeil before getting dragged back to the Association like this.
He’d heard a briefing earlier, but it had clearly left out the more colorful details.
Well... not like anything can be done about it now.
Cha Seohu had run away from the district on his own in the first place.
Mook Jeongho, who prioritized Father's orders above all else, and Lee Seowon, whose thoughts were a complete mystery, probably wouldn’t care either way—but Kang Haeil and Hyun Dowoon had surely been waiting for this day.
Of course, so had he.
If Kang Haeil bullies Seohu-hyung...
He’d be totally crushed.
Then I’ll be the one to comfort him.
Grinning slyly, Kwon Seoyul licked his lips. His footsteps grew even lighter.
Consciousness slowly rose to the surface.
The first thing that came to mind was the sleek black dress shoe he’d seen before passing out.
It was just a shoe—but he instantly remembered who it belonged to.
Still keeping his eyes closed and pretending to be unconscious, he recalled the last thing he remembered.
Let’s see... after getting cooperation from Park Minhyuk, he’d gone into the room alone—and the moment he opened the door, he was ambushed.
The one who slammed me to the ground was probably Mook Jeongho.
Mook Jeongho was that man’s right-hand, and he never strayed far from his side.
There was no way he’d be left behind for a kidnapping inside the Hunter Association’s headquarters.
No, more importantly...
Why the hell did his arms feel so restricted?
He tried to calmly review the situation, but his body was too stiff to focus.
Groaning and shifting around, he eventually opened his eyes.
The dark room and closed window revealed a view of the night sky. As his eyes adjusted, the interior came into view.
A nightstand, a sofa, a wall-mounted TV, a bookshelf, and a wardrobe entered his field of vision—along with the bed he lay on.
The place was extremely familiar. And of course it was.
This is my room.
More precisely, it was the room he’d stayed in during his time in the district.
He had lived there for over ten years, so it was only natural it felt familiar. Aside from being cleaner and free of clutter, nothing much had changed.
Well, being tossed back into his own room by that man wasn’t exactly shocking.
But why are my arms tied?
That explained the discomfort—both arms were bound tightly behind his back, not in front. It was ridiculously uncomfortable.
Thankfully, his legs were free, so he could stand.
The moment he sat up with effort, a chilling voice echoed from somewhere.
“You awake?”
“Ahh!”
Shit, that scared me.
Felt like my heart was gonna drop.
He spun around—and there sat Hyun Dowoon, legs crossed.
Maybe it was the darkness, but the guy looked even more pale than usual.
Staring at Hyun Dowoon’s sickly face, he tried to speak.
“Ah...?”
Something was off.
He tried moving his tongue again.
“Ah, uh?”
He inhaled and tried again, but nothing changed.
“...!”
His tongue—his tongue was stiff, completely frozen as if paralyzed.
You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me!
What the hell had they done to him?!
He glared at Hyun Dowoon, who almost certainly knew—and the bastard looked away.
“I’ll just say this now... We didn’t plan on going this far.”
“...”
“It’s true. At least up until we took you from the Association.”
Letting out a long sigh, Hyun Dowoon rubbed his forehead.
“Fath— I mean, he suddenly pulled out an item...”
“Ah?”
You son of a bitch.
He tried to say “Item?”, but the words wouldn’t form with his frozen tongue.
He felt like a helpless infant.
“The sensation's probably dulled, but if you focus, you’ll feel something lodged in the center of your tongue.”
Hyun Dowoon made a conflicted face.
“You’re already experiencing the effects, so I guess I don’t need to explain further.”
Fucking hell.
Cursing internally, he got off the bed and walked over to the mirror. As he moved, Hyun Dowoon continued speaking.
“He personally embedded the item himself.”
Opening his mouth wide and forcing his stiff tongue out, he finally saw it—a small, round metal piece embedded in the center.
It hadn’t pierced through—it was more like it had been pressed in. There was no wound or pain.
Did he do it while I was asleep?
There was no trace of blood, so the bastard must’ve healed it immediately after.
And for that man, anesthesia would’ve been nothing. He’d probably slept like a baby while they shoved that thing into his tongue.
Fucking lunatic.

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