He changed into the clothing provided. They fit perfectly.
He flushed.
Wait, when did they get the measurements...and who did?!
These clothes were fashioned similar to the ones he had worn during the interviews, sweatpants and a hoodie. He exhaled, his face relaxed, his clothing really didn't matter. Another sign Entre were on another level.
He got dressed and left the hospital room. He headed for the counter, but they told him everything was taken care of, in fact, he didn't need to check out. How unusual. He did what he was told.
Stepping out of the building he realized, Entre's building was just one block over. The hospital wasn't a regular one, but one specialized in the care for hunters, particularly from all the agencies belonging to the park complex. Maybe that was why his body recuperated so promptly.
From the lobby, Seungho was escorted to the meeting room by the same staff who had escorted him to the second test. "Oh, it's you again" Seungho dared to approach her. She smiled brightly but didn't say a word.
There was something different about her from the previous day, as if she knew they no longer belonged to the same category. Now Seungho's world had split into hunters and humans.
The doors were closed. Seungho politely waited for the staff to knock at the door. A voice invited him in. The staff opened the door for him and left.
In the room, almost a dozen people from Entre, all hunters and a couple of representatives, were sitting at a long table in the shape of a "U". Four people on each side.
At the other end, on a separate table, was Sanghyun sitting down quietly. He didn't turn to greet Seungho. It was an official meeting.
Sanghyun is wearing my same outfit, so maybe this is a sort of Entre's training outfit?
If I passed, Sanghyun surely did too.
Someone indicated to Seungho to sit down.
From his seat he could clearly see all the faces, some from the Duke's team. He recognized most faces from the "display" in the lobby before. At the head of the table, in the middle, the Duke sat in one of the central seats alongside the boss that had interviewed Seungho and offered a contract. More important people sat to the side.
Hmm, possibly the seating is an indicator of the power scale at Entre. I should pay attention to the layout.
He was now very curious about what the Duke would say.
Seungho felt everyone's eyes on him, like staring, as if he were a curious case.
I am still not sure what they want from me...
The only one not looking at him was Sanghyun, who had his gaze fixed down on the table in front of him. He had taken the hoodie off and rolled up the sleeves of his T-shirt, his hair carefully gelled back.
Always showing off….I am starting to like it.
But something was off.
No, he is actually, well, acting modest.
Sanghyun barely acknowledged his presence.
Is he mad because I put his life at risk? He said he wasn't but I bet he is.
Seungho felt embarrassed.
Here too there were no introductions. The boss lifted his sunglasses up and placed them on top of his head and started talking. A few details explaining the case.
The Duke looked like a statue. Immobile and yet commanding. Her helmet on the table, she wore a head piece with a long ruby falling right in the middle of her forehead, and two pearls one of each side of her head, making them look like earrings. No doubt she came straight from a performance.
Will I ever be able to recover that fast?
Then the real questioning began. Sanghyun gave a short and plain account of the events, without remarks and without derailing into lengthy descriptions of his attacks. All of which surprised Seungho.
Sanghyun admitted to having lost consciousness. He highlighted that he took no part in finishing off the beast. From his point of view, he simply hadn't participated, adding that he didn't think he would have been able to beat the Apelox.
Seungho was impressed by Sanghyun' sincerity. It showed character and awareness of the situation he found himself in. Seungho was sure that with some training, Sanghyun would quickly be able to gain the necessary expertise to beat such a beast.
Mine was just luck.
"The beast you are referring to is the Apelox, is that correct, Park Sanghyun-ssi?"
"Yes, Busajangnim. Without doubt."
The air in the room shifted. Seungho didn't move, too afraid of the realization of what was happening.
"Are you sure?" asked the boss with a soft voice, cautious.
"I am sure."
"It's been years since anyone triggered the Apelox."
The Duke's face tightened up. Bae Ara looked at her with suffering eyes, as if feeling her disappointment.
The Duke clearly didn't like the news. She pushed her chair with making noise and got up.
Rude.
But the boss didn't complain.
Bae Ara got up to stand by the Duke's side, near the window.
The Mask sitting the closest to Seungho told the official next to him "The pattern matches the incident from three years ago, Yoon-daepyonim."
The Mask turned and glanced at Seungho, assessing the situation.
I better remember all of this.
The boss continued talking.
"It sounds like your attacks were ineffective, and you worked alone...again."
Sanghyun looked down at the floor.
Seungho kept a straight face, but the words landed like an accusation. He didn't like that.
Everyone seemed to want to have a go at Sanghyun. Perhaps some past incident Seungho didn't know about, or an old grudge?
Seungho thought the comment was unfair, and felt the urge to defend Sanghyun, after all Seungho himself had been ineffective up to that point in the battle.
Sanghyun had fought alone because of Seungho's own inability to activate his powers.
You are basically Entre, Seungho, remember that.
Then Sanghyun lifted his head, with pride, accepting the verbal whipping, because that was what it was.
In the end, they were hunters.
The Duke touched her face with her fingers, delicately yet in a pose that strengthened the light of her mana. Seungho observed her, sometimes she looked more manly but right at that moment her delicate features bloomed.
Suddenly she shot her ice blue eyes, not her usual color green-gray, at Seungho with a defiant expression.
Caught, Seungho averted his gaze. His ears flushed. He resisted touching them. Everyone must have already noticed it.
There was plenty of room for misinterpretation, especially of him fanboying over the Duke.
He would hate that.
The Duke then hinted a mischievous smile, and looked at Bae Ara. The Duke mouthed something to her, who mouthed something back. She giggled with a cute smile showing off her dimples.
After that, the Duke completely ignored Seungho.
That thought sat in between a sense of relief and annoyance.
"Yang Seungho-ssi, could you tell us what happened after?" Asked the boss.
Everyone's eyes sharpened waiting for Seungho to answer.
Seungho moved in his chair looking for a more comfortable spot.
"How did you defeat the beast?" asked the Mask, precisely. His voice resonated powerfully in the silence of the room.
He wore a different mask, one with a glass-eye and his lips molded into a permanent vicious smile.
That vicious smile...
Seungho pondered how to answer, but ultimately chose to follow Sanghyun' lead and said the plain truth.
An urge deep down screamed at him inside his head not to mention the screen, as if to save his life. He was shocked how strong the feeling strangled him. Just for one moment. Enough for him to treasure the warning.
I better hold on about the screen for a later time. Besides, it if they know about it they would bring it up or ask about it. I mean they know about the 295. They know something. Yes, they would simply ask.
"well..."
At heart he felt embarrassed, because his current problem were his lack of skills. An explosion was an explosion, he didn't possess Sanghyun' skills and agility.
His explosive power was a cheat, he didn't need to learn to do anything to do that, and he had very little control over it.
He resolved to exude confidence like Sanghyun did, who even in his lowest moment never lost his pride. Only like that he could persuade them he was right for the job, even though he had no idea what made a hunter.
"What happened after Park Sanghyun-ssi's lost consciousness?" The Mask asked.
Sanghyun clenched his hands under table, his jaw tightened.
Sanghyun-ssi...
Seungho talked about the torch, the foot stuck on the ground. His feeling desperate.
"And?" the Mask insisted.
Silence.
"I... exploded," said Seungho frankly, calmly. Accepting it was what it was, no point in covering it up.
"What do you mean exploded?" Asked the boss reclaiming his role in the play.
Is exploding not a common power then?