Chapter 29

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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: My Kid
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No matter how urgent the situation, he couldn't just take Seol-i to a police station.

Leaving Seol-i in Iriel’s care, the entire family, minus one, abandoned their meal and rushed out of the house, heading straight for the nearby police substation.

“Where is he…”

As Kang-jun spoke, his brow deeply furrowed, Lee Su-bin’s eyes widened as she cried out.

“K-Kang-jun! O-Over there-!”

At that moment, Crabslie, who was in the middle of giving a statement to a police officer, spotted Kang-jun’s group as well.

“Lord! Your Highness! Young Master Bong-gu!”

He shot up from his seat, his face etched with misery as he stared intently at the three of them.

Kang-jun strode right up to Crabslie and growled into his ear.

“I told you not to cause any trouble, didn’t I?”

“M-My Lord. It is not that I have caused trouble…”

“Hyung-nim, maybe we should hear the Elder’s side of the story first…”

Just then, the officer in charge approached Kang-jun and asked cautiously.

“Are you perhaps the guardian of ‘Elder Choi Dol-soe’?”

“Yes…”

“The Elder must have been quite shaken.”

The officer let out a sigh. “Ahem…” Then, in an awkward but quiet tone, he began to explain the situation in detail.

“As his guardian, you must know that Elder Choi Dol-soe works at the convenience store, correct?”

“Yes, but…”

“It seems that during his shift, he was verbally and physically assaulted by a young man.”

At those words, Kang-jun’s eyes flared as he asked again.

“Who was the bastard….”

The officer jutted his chin toward a young man sitting in handcuffs in the distance.

“He’s a high school student attending a Hunter Academy. It seems he was trying to buy alcohol and cigarettes, and Elder Choi Dol-soe asked to see his ID.”

“And?”

“He immediately started speaking rudely, yelling things like, ‘Don’t you know the customer is king?’ He caused a scene, spewed profanities, and when he couldn’t control his anger, he resorted to violence…”

Kang-jun let the officer’s words go in one ear and out the other, glancing over at Crabslie.

Crabslie flinched involuntarily at the stare and fidgeted with his fingers, despite having done nothing wrong.

“My Lord, I am deeply sorry…”

Looking at the man, one was always reminded of a big, simple-hearted Jindo dog, the kind often raised in the countryside.

One that would always wag its tail for its master, flop over, and expose its belly…

But a reliable Jindo that wouldn’t hesitate for a second to bare its fangs if its master was in danger.

The assault was likely just a few hits from a high schooler, so it probably didn’t hurt much.

‘But it must have felt like shit…’

The man was born a prince of the vampire clan and, upon coming of age, ascended to the position of ‘Lord,’ ruling over his entire race.

After coming under Kang-jun’s command, he was granted the title of Grand Duke, second only to the Emperor himself, and had achieved more accomplishments than could be easily listed.

He was certainly not someone who should be beaten to a pulp by a high school student, especially for a reason as trivial as refusing to sell alcohol and cigarettes at a convenience store.

The more he looked, the more he saw a complete fool.

A fool who would accomplish any task given, no matter the means; who would grit his teeth and endure if commanded to; who would take his own life without a second thought if ordered to die.

There were times Kang-jun felt like tormenting him or found him annoying, but he had always believed that was a privilege reserved for him alone.

“So you’re saying that’s the bastard who hit my kid?”

“Excuse me…?”

“First, I need to get a good look at that handsome face of his.”

With that, Kang-jun strode forward, closing the distance to the high school student, the perpetrator.

“Kang-jun!”

“Hyung-niiim!”

Startled, Lee Su-bin and Bong-gu scrambled to follow Kang-jun, but it seemed they were already too late.

*Grip—!*

Kang-jun had the perpetrator, ‘Nam Hyeon-u,’ by the hair while the boy was still in handcuffs, giving his statement.

“Ah, aaack! W-Who are you-?”

Urgent shouts erupted from all around.

“K-Kang-jun!”

“H-Hyung-niiim!”

“Lord-!”

“Sir, the guardian-!”

Kang-jun shook the head he held in his tight grip, his voice thick with rage as he pressed on.

“Hey, you said the customer is king?”

“Ugh, let go of me!”

“Is that why you hit my kid? Because you’re a king?”

“Y-You crazy bastard…!”

Just as Nam Hyeon-u let out a pained scream, “Aaaaaack-!”, Kang-jun roared, the veins on his neck bulging.

“I am the Emperor-!”

The thunderous cry shook the entire building, and everyone present was crushed by an immense pressure.

Fine dust rained down from the ceiling, and a clock on the wall fell with a crash, shattering into pieces.

The police officers, who had been watching the scene with dazed expressions, finally snapped out of it and rushed to restrain Kang-jun.

“S-Sir, you can’t do this in here!”

“Please, calm down!”

“S-Sir! Please, let him go and…”

Even if he was the victim’s guardian, assaulting the perpetrator like this was a clear violation of the law.

Moreover, the father of Nam Hyeon-u, who was notorious in the area as a troublemaker, was a famous A-rank Hunter. That made the situation even more precarious.

If things continued like this, a matter that could have been settled quietly with a reasonable settlement would blow up into something uncontrollable.

“S-Sir, if you keep this up, something terrible will happen!”

“What could be more terrible than my Dol-soe getting hit?”

“Please, just calm down and let’s be rational…”

“Anyone who lays a hand on me to try and stop me will die!”

As everyone stood frozen in shock, wringing their hands anxiously, a thought crossed one mind.

“My Lord…”

Crabslie, unable to contain his overwhelming emotions, pulled a handkerchief from the inner pocket of his convenience store vest and wiped his tears.

Just then.

The door to the substation burst open, and a burly man in a sharp suit stormed in, huffing like a bison.

“Who do you think you are, laying a hand on my son-?”

From his thick eyebrows, strong nose, and full lips to his protruding cheekbones and the long scar running down his left cheek…

His face alone conjured up menacing words like ‘bandit’ or ‘pirate.’

To top it off, his shoulders were as broad as a field, and his neck, forearms, and thighs were as thick as logs, creating an intimidating presence for all who saw him.

“The, The Beast…”

Spotting the man, Bong-gu couldn’t help but stammer the words under his breath.

Ranked 10th among A-rank Hunters. Nam Hyeon-cheol, “The Beast.”

He stomped forward, clearly enraged, and stopped right in front of Kang-jun.

“I asked who you are!”

His already bulging eyes widened further, so much that only the whites were visible.

However.

Kang-jun still hadn’t let go of the handful of hair.

“Are you the father of this ill-mannered brat? I was wondering who he took after, and it seems he’s the spitting image of his old man.”

“Do you know who I am, you insolent bastard…”

“Regrettably, I have no interest in who you are. Your precious son hit my precious kid, so I was just giving him a little lesson.”

At those words, Nam Hyeon-cheol repeated, “My kid?” and Kang-jun jutted his chin toward Crabslie in his convenience store vest.

“You said ‘my kid’?”

“That’s right.”

“How old is he?”

“Twelve hundred years old.”

A thick vein bulged on Nam Hyeon-cheol’s forehead.

“You crazy son of a bitch!”

Only the police officers, who had been listening to the conversation with bated breath, struggled to suppress their laughter.

They were worried about what might happen to Kang-jun, but at the same time, they felt a sense of catharsis, as if they’d chugged a can of soda in one go.

The troublemaker Nam Hyeon-u, who practically punched a clock at the station daily, and his father, Nam Hyeon-cheol, who was always quick to defend him, constantly disrupted their public duties.

But because they were conscious of the famous Hunter Nam Hyeon-cheol’s status, they couldn’t voice any complaints and had to keep quiet.

“Get your hand off him!”

Nam Hyeon-cheol roared, swatting away Kang-jun’s hand that was still gripping his son’s hair, then immediately asked with concern.

“S-Son, are you okay?”

It was because a considerable clump of his son’s hair had been pulled out.

“D-Daaaad…”

Hearing his son’s tearful, sniffling cry, Nam Hyeon-cheol whipped his head around and glared at Kang-jun as if he could kill him with his eyes.

“Kids make mistakes when they’re growing up. How dare you do this to another man’s precious child-?”

“A mistake?”

“They can be curious about alcohol and cigarettes. They might throw a tantrum if things don’t go their way. A grown man like you should know better…”

Rendered speechless by those words, Kang-jun fell into a deep thought for a moment. After a good while, he finally spoke again.

“Sir, I apologize.”

Nam Hyeon-cheol muttered, “Oh, look at you? Calling me ‘sir’ now…” He took off his suit jacket and threw it to the floor.

Then, he unbuttoned the cuffs of his dress shirt and began to roll up his sleeves, continuing in a menacing tone.

“Looks like you’ve finally come to your senses. But do you really think a pathetic apology like that will be enough to smooth this over?”

Nam Hyeon-u, his eyes welling with tears as he sniffled, chimed in.

“That’s right, you’re dead!”

Kang-jun, on the other hand, maintained his deferential posture.

“You seem quite upset. How about we step outside for a moment, just the two of us, and talk it over in the cool air?”

At his words, Lee Su-bin cried out, “Kang-jun!” then turned to the police officers and pleaded.

“Please, try to stop him!”

Bong-gu leaned in and whispered in her ear.

“Shouldn’t we be stopping Hyung-nim?”

“What?”

“I mean, what I’m trying to say is…”

After a moment of fumbling, Bong-gu corrected himself.

“I’ll follow them right out, so don’t worry.”

Just then, Nam Hyeon-cheol smirked and replied.

“Yeah, you said it. We should go outside and have a nice, quiet chat, just the two of us.”

With that, he grabbed Kang-jun by the collar and started dragging him toward the door. Unable to watch any longer, Crabslie intervened.

“In my view, you are making a grave mistake.”

“What?”

“The moment you cross that threshold, you will not escape death.”

Crabslie then blocked the doorway and added.

“Tragedy, the kind that changes one’s life entirely, often arrives without any warning…”

“Old man, if you don’t want to get hurt, move it.”

“This old man simply hopes that you possess the wisdom and insight to avoid that tragedy…”

“Are you moving or not?!” Nam Hyeon-cheol bellowed, grabbing Crabslie by the shoulder and shoving him aside with all his might.

*Riiiiiiip—!*

Crabslie, who had been standing firm in the doorway, didn’t budge an inch, but the shirt he was wearing was torn to shreds.

At the same time, gasps of “Huuup…” echoed from all around, a collection of long and short sharp intakes of breath.

“Hohohoho…”

The first reason everyone in the station was so shocked was that the torso revealed by the shredded clothes…

Looked so strong and solid that it was hard to believe it belonged to an old man.

Every single fine line of his muscles was visible, and thick veins snaked across his body like angry earthworms.

From a purely aesthetic point of view, it was a flawlessly sculpted physique!

“Woah…”

And the ‘second reason’ they were even more shocked after seeing Crabslie’s torso was…

His powerful upper body was covered in hundreds of stab wounds and stitches, densely embroidered across his skin.

*Step, step….*

Crabslie no longer tried to stop Nam Hyeon-cheol. He took a few steps to the side and spoke to Kang-jun with the utmost respect.

“My Lord, I hope you have a fruitful conversation…”

In that moment, Nam Hyeon-cheol couldn’t shake the feeling that things were heading in the wrong direction.

‘What is this? Why do I feel so uneasy?’

But he couldn’t just let this arrogant bastard go, not after he had laid a hand on his son and then proceeded to get on his nerves.

“F-Follow me!”

And so, Nam Hyeon-cheol dragged Kang-jun out of the police station, and they quickly disappeared around a corner.