episode_0237

“Hello, Hunter Do Jong-ha. I am So Wol-ha from the Hunter Association [Hunter Power Unit].”

“Oh my, you’ve worked hard. I’ll take care of it.”

An old one-room apartment located in the outskirts of the city.

Do Jong-ha, who had parted ways with Eun-ha and entered a studio apartment, greeted an association employee who had come up to him briskly.

In a studio apartment that has not been maintained for a long time, a characteristic musty smell spreads on the floor like carbon dioxide and lingers as Dojongha walks by with his shoes on.

It seems like the building owner lives somewhere else.

The paint, which had been applied in layers, was peeling off in many places due to numerous claw marks. It was used as a canvas by stray cats that came into the building to avoid the rain.

If you tear down that wall and put it up for auction, it might sell for a surprisingly high price, saying it’s modern art.

Do Jong-ha, who had just finished exchanging statements with the association staff, seriously thought about that.

“A survey of the residents of one-room apartments revealed that they were all office workers who could not afford to buy a house in the city.”

“Huh. It would take more than 2 hours one way to commute from here to Seoul.”

I climb the stairs while listening to the association staff’s report.

Upon entering the second floor, he saw ‘Room 202’ sealed with yellow access control tape, and the association staff guarding the entrance recognized Do Jong-ha and bowed their heads.

She proudly touches the detective hat on her head and goes into ‘Room 202’, the scene of the crime, guided by the staff.

“Since the detective said he would come, we left the scene intact. The lower half of the missing person’s body will be transported to a nearby association after the detective’s observation of the scene is finished.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Didn’t you always ask me to do that, detective?”

“Hmm?…… Oh, yes. Let’s say so.”

Do Jong-ha, who had vaguely answered the association staff’s questions, looked around the scene of the incident.

The small one-room apartment was covered in blood.

Socks and underwear hanging on the clothesline are stained with blood spattered everywhere, and the only window is blocked with yellow access control tape like the entrance.

Lying on the short bed is someone’s lower body.

It appears that no action was taken, as it has not decayed or been damaged even after about two days since the incident.

It was a good decision to leave the galaxy behind.

Because she was such an innocent and beautiful woman who couldn’t even catch a single ant. Although she came along because she wanted to experience being a detective… it would only be harmful to show her such a horrible sight, since she was still a D-rank hunter.

Do Jong-ha, who was thinking of Eun-ha wearing the same trench coat as him, suddenly touches his cheek that has become hot and focuses on the scene.

“We see this as an extension of the ‘Hunter Organ Trading Case’ that was first discovered in [Mirinae Crack Field].”

“How many times has this happened… What on earth could he be using all these organs for? It could really be that he’s grinding the organs of the ‘Recovery Hunter’ and turning them into potions, just like the urban legend says.”

A person with the ‘recovery skill’ who disappeared leaving only the lower body behind.

It’s not a murder case yet, because we can’t rule out the possibility that he’s alive.

The criminal would also want to transport the precious organs in a fresh condition if possible.

Of course, since it’s already been two days, the victim would have already passed away…

Nothing can be determined until the missing upper body is found.

“Most of the victims are villains whose Hunter IDs have been revoked, and the marginalized who live outside the city.”

“It looks like he’s trying his best not to get caught… Thank you for the information. I’ll take care of the rest, so please step outside for a bit.”

After a while, Do Jong-ha, who had briefly visited the scene of the incident, asked the association staff to come out of the one-room apartment.

I’m going to use ‘skill’.

It would be difficult to do it with a normal investigation, so she was brought in as a detective under the pretext of a request.

They probably wouldn’t have been able to identify a suspect, let alone the culprit.

As soon as Do Jong-ha finished speaking, all the employees who had remained in the studio went out and closed the front door.

Rattling.

A one-room apartment covered in blood, with only the lower half of someone’s body left behind.

So, while caressing the stylish trench coat,

I started preparing to use the ‘skill’ that I was using.

… … .

Knock knock. Knock knock.

​

I locked the window that was wide open for ventilation.

Then, he takes out a box of white clay from his coat pocket and fills every visible gap, including the gap between window frames, door frames, and cracks in walls.

Lock the door to prevent anyone from entering while using the skill.

I tapped the lower half of my body lying on the bed,

Turn a small studio into a completely ‘secret room’.

“Oh my, it’s hard to even use a single skill.”

Dojong walked slowly to the middle of the room.

I need to finish quickly and go see the galaxy.

I still vividly remember her struggling to close the front of her coat, which was wide open because of her large chest.

She said she wanted to experience being a detective, so I lent her my detective hat and coat…

I never thought you’d come out wearing only underwear and a coat because the weather is so hot.

‘She’s a really strange woman. She seems innocent, but sometimes she can feel scary.’

Do Jong-ha was rubbing his flushed cheeks and grumbling today.

She quickly closed her eyes and activated the ‘mana’ within her body.

Activate ‘Skill’.

Kiiingㅡ.

At that moment, blue waves spread out from Do Jong-ha’s body and began to echo throughout the sealed one-room apartment.

Kiiingㅡ. Kiiingㅡ.

Grains of mana spreading in all directions.

The air rubs against each other, making a strange hissing sound,

Blue ‘dust’ crashes in all directions, filling the enclosed space.

Woof……

In a world that has become completely blue.

In the one-room apartment filled with dust, I could feel ‘something’ moving slowly.

Woof… Woof…

It was a red mannequin in the shape of a human being.

Before he knew it, it appeared before Do Jong-ha’s eyes.

​

“It looks like the sealing is done properly. The ‘skill’ is working cleanly.”

A red mannequin contrasting with the blue world.

The mannequin has the exact same face as Do Jong-ha.

A ‘red mannequin’ that is exactly like Do Jong-ha in every way, including height, shoulder width, clothes and shoe size, etc.

Even the sight of him wearing a thick trench coat in summer weather and sweating profusely was the same.

Then the mannequin started to move as if a switch had been turned on.

He started to follow all the actions that Do Jong-ha had done until just now, one by one, in reverse order.

​

Mana consumed every moment.

Do Jong-ha frowned and stared at the red mannequin.

​

The mannequin moves back into the narrow studio, locks the front door,

Apply clay to the window frame,

Practice your detective-like pose by sitting cross-legged on a chair.

Soon after, mannequins modeled after the association staff who had just left the studio appeared backwards.

After a while, the ‘Do Jong-ha Mannequin’ stopped walking and conversed with other mannequins in a closed room where blue dust was floating.

– I would like you all to step outside for a moment.

– Thank you for the information. I’ll take care of the rest.

– It looks like he’s trying his best to avoid getting caught…

– And the marginalized class living outside the city.”

– Most of the victims are villains whose hunter IDs have been canceled…

As time goes back,

Like rewinding a video tape.

The red mannequins repeated one by one the words and actions they had performed in the past.

“Let’s rewind to 2 days ago, the day of the incident.”

Blue world. Red mannequin.

Dojong quietly watched the virtual world quickly return to its original state.

… … .

​

​

Skills possessed by A-class hunter Do Jong-ha.

She calls her ability [Secret Reminiscence].

To put it simply, the ability is the skill to see the ‘secret past’.

You can recreate events that happened in the past with a mannequin made of ‘Mana’.

​

Although it has the limitation that it can only be used in somewhat confined spaces, I am confident that there are few abilities more useful in investigating cases than this.

It is a valuable skill that led Do Jong-ha to the path of becoming a detective.

It doesn’t matter how well the criminal hides his traces.

This way, you can even catch a glimpse of the guy hiding his tracks.

The criminals in detective novels create locked room tricks to commit the perfect crime,

To Do Jong-ha, the secret room was like a video file where he could rewind and watch the entire process.

​

“I don’t have much time, so I’ll just get through it quickly.”

​

As Do Jong-ha muttered, the mannequin’s actions accelerated.

Mannequins dressed in scientific investigator uniforms were walking around the studio, taking pictures or making phone calls somewhere, and images of them working hard flashed by in quick succession.

Then, when I rewind about 30 hours, the mannequins of the association staff disappeared.

Only the lower half of the victim’s body was left in the one-room apartment.

​

“… … found it.”

And after a while.

About 47 hours later.

A red mannequin could be seen cutting the victim’s waist with a knife while he was lying on a bed.

​

… … .

​

​~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kiiingㅡ.

Do Jong-ha, who had stopped rewinding, trudged towards the mannequin.

A villain wearing a billowy robe and a clown mask on his face.

The guy is cutting a 30-year-old man in two while he is lying on the bed.

Do Jong-ha raised the corners of his mouth as he looked at the criminal’s appearance recreated as a red mannequin.

“A clown mask… If I can hide it with something like this, I’ll be a detective.”

​

Do Jong-ha burst into laughter and took off the red mannequin’s ‘clown mask’ and robe.

Then the face of the guy hidden behind the mask was clearly revealed.

​

‘A male, about 175 cm tall. There are no defects in his body……’

Click.

Do Jong-ha took out his cell phone from his coat and took pictures of the red mannequin’s face and body.

She wiped away the cold sweat that was running down her face from using her ‘skill’.

The mannequin was in good condition because it was only two days ago.

Now, if we just take a photo of the mannequin and hand it over to the person in charge, they will automatically find the culprit.

– Euaaaah!!

The victim’s spine-chilling screams are shown in reverse as her waist is cut off by the ‘red mannequin’.

– There are no internal organs at the bottom, right? Where and for how much did you say you could buy it at [the facility]… It’s too heavy to just carry, so I’ll cut it up and take it with me.

Wow, you little shit.

I’ll catch that guy no matter what.

If you fold your back in half and crawl on the ground with your front legs like a goby, you will realize, ‘Oh, I am a social animal.’

Do Jong-ha, who had kicked the criminal’s mannequin, looked around.

The idea is to see if there are any other traces, if there are any other accomplices.

‘Oh. There’s another one outside the window.’

Outside the tightly closed window.

I discovered ‘something’ peeking out and looking inside the studio apartment.

So there was an accomplice?

I went to the window to check the appearance of the red ‘thing’ that looked like a walking mannequin.

Step, step.

A slow moving pace.

A red thing stuck to the window, looking down at Do Jong-ha.

At the same time, a small sense of discomfort grips her ankles.

‘Wait…outside the window?’

Her skills.

Skill to see the past in a secret room.

however.

Not inside the room, but outside the window?

“… … .”

『… … .』

Thump. Thump. Thump.

My heart started racing. Suddenly.

I wipe away the cold sweat that is running down my face like I’ve just woken up from a nightmare.

Rattling. Rattling.

‘That thing’ outside the window shook the window frame to open the tightly closed window.

‘Is that Mugo?’

He bowed his head urgently.

Don’t look out the window.

What is certain is that the red thing outside the window is not a mannequin she created with her ‘skill’.

Then is it a person?

I don’t know.

『… … .』

Knowledge is power.

But there are many things in the world that you shouldn’t know about.

Do Jong-ha, who is more curious than others, needed to have an eye for what is ‘appropriate’ in order to survive as a detective.

Do Jong-ha held his pounding heart and hid under the window.

“Haa… Haa…”

The red one.

Something bright red.

“……under…”

Soon, the sound of laughter and the noise outside the window disappear.

Do Jong-ha, who was hiding under the window, raises his head startled, confirms that there is nothing outside the window, and then collapses to the floor weakly.

“Hoo… Hoo hoo. Hoo… Oh, what is that.”

Strong curiosity.

But then he immediately slaps his own cheek to arouse curiosity.

It’s breathtaking, like when I think of [Euncheon Park].

I guess you’re saying you shouldn’t touch it.

Let’s just live without knowing.

“… … Ah. My pants. ”

Do Jong-ha, who escaped from a sudden crisis, cried.

… … .

Kiiing…

After a while.

[Secret Room Review] Do Jong-ha, who had stopped using his skills, opened the window.

The ‘Mana’ dust that filled the small one-room apartment was blown away by the blowing summer wind.

She nervously kicked the ‘red mannequin’ that was collapsing like a sand castle and called the association staff outside.

People from the [Hunter Force Squad] who came inside.

They find Jong-ha’s bare legs exposed under his trench coat and look puzzled.

Do Jong-ha, whose face was red, just smiled.

“Thank you for your cooperation! The team leader said he would send the remaining commission fee right away.”

“It’s nothing… But, do you not need to find out where the culprit went?”

“Haha, you only asked me to identify the criminal’s appearance… You said so, detective. If you ask me to do something unrelated to the request, you won’t take our request again…”

“… … Did I say that?”

From then on, things were smooth sailing.

One of the most important things to catch a criminal is an accurate description.

As soon as the criminal’s appearance, revealed by Do Jong-ha’s ‘skill’, came into their hands, the enthusiasm of the [Hunter Investigation Unit] members who had been at a standstill was rekindled.

It is also a matter of moments to identify the criminal based on his/her first impression.

“I’m out! I’m a B-class hunter who was active in [Daemari Crack Field] and disappeared. However, I don’t know how he ‘kidnapped’ the victim without a trace. ”

The culprit is identified with one click of the ‘Skill’ button.

Regardless, Dojong held down the bottom of his trench coat with both hands, hiding his smooth thighs.

Then, I took the materials handed to me by the association person with one hand and read them roughly.

“Hey, let me take a look… A B-class hunter identified as the culprit… No criminal record, and a ton of volunteer work records.”

Volunteer work that has continued for over a decade.

Strangely enough, most of them were related to orphanages, but from one day on, the records of their volunteer work suddenly stopped.

“Hanbit Orphanage? Where is it? Here.”

“Did you just say Hanbit Orphanage?”

“Huh?!”

A voice is heard right behind you.

Do Jong-ha, who was so surprised, grabbed the bottom of his coat and stepped aside.

There have been a lot of surprising things happening lately.

Could it be an arrhythmia?

“Aren’t you surprised!… Hey you! How did you get in here!”

“I was abandoned while trying to eat lunch at a convenience store.”

Banharin, who habitually wiped away her expressionless face, ‘observed’ Dojongha’s bare legs.

“… … Tsk. Eunha is the upper body, and you are the lower body. I recognized you when you wore a coat in the summer. ”

“What, what are you talking about!”

Phagec!

A black blindfold covering the left eye.

Banharin’s right eye, which shoots bright yellow lightning, ‘observes’ Dojongha.

Do Jong-ha, who finished his work and left the studio apartment, is fiddling with the bottom of his trench coat with a bright red face.

“Tsk! That’s it! I won’t talk to you… By the way, do you know where Eunha went?”

Do Jong-ha, who was glaring at Ban Harin with a fresh look, looked around.

There is no galaxy.

You said you’d be back in 30 minutes, but where did you go and I can’t see you?

I lent him a hat and a trench coat because he wanted to try out being a detective, but he recognized me when I told him it was hot and he was only wearing the coat over his underwear.

I don’t think people care as much as I thought.

“… … He will be back in a moment. I will go and look for him alone, so you stay in the car.”

“Huh. I hope you won’t laugh.”

At that time, Banharin, who was thinking deeply about something, spoke while touching the ‘inverted cross hairpin’ on her bangs.

Then, Do Jong-ha confidently shook his head and grabbed the hem of his coat.

The work to be done here has already been completed.

This is where the ‘kidnapping’ incident of the Recovery Hunter occurred.

What’s more, isn’t this pretty girl who came to him saying she wanted to experience being a detective?

Do Jong-ha decides to find the lost galaxy.

“Staying still helps.”

“I know. You know.”

Rattling.

A high-end foreign car that a famous detective would drive in an old detective novel.

Do Jong-ha opened the rear trunk and took something out.

“… … What is it?”

“This is a mobile sealed room. Use this to follow Eunha’s traces.”

It was a delivery box the size of a kimchi refrigerator.

Do Jong-ha made it by hand so that there are no gaps.

But in the end, it’s just a delivery box.

Surely, it’s not what I think it is.

Banharin let out a heavy sigh and took a couple of steps back, pretending not to be part of Dojongha’s group.

… … .

… … .

… … .

“Whew… Where have you been?”

“That woman earlier was so scared.”

“He’s not a scaredy-cat, but rather a gentle person. He’s a good detective, so I want to be friends with him.”

Meanwhile, at that time.

Eunha enters the gloomy one-room apartment with [Red Woman].

She swept her goosebumps off her arms in the cold air and entered room 202, whose front door was wide open.

『… … .』

“Hello. I heard you were kidnapped, but you ended up dying.”

A simple one-room apartment.

As a building owner, I feel bad about the building, with its musty, musty smell creeping out.

Eunha spoke to the upper body of someone lying silently on the bed in ‘202’.

I harbored a dark grudge, but it did not reach the heavens,

Something in between.

“I’m going to try it because it’s something only I can do. If you have anything to say before you leave, tell me. Don’t bother other people by clinging to them for no reason.”

『… … .』

‘That thing’, with only the upper body remaining, looked up at the galaxy with its long intestines hanging on the floor.

It’s dazzling,

Frown and avoid eye contact.

… … .

『… … My back hurts.』

The pungent smell of blood.

A strange smell.

Soon, a long line stretched out on the floor…

Looking down into the long, long, insides of ‘that thing’ that stretches somewhere outside the studio,

Eun-ha started full-fledged detective work with [Red Woman].