Buried in the back seat of a luxury sedan worth a fortune, I stared blankly out the window.
Then, I turned and glanced sideways at the middle-aged man in the driver's seat.
I’d been wondering why he looked familiar… and it turned out he was someone I actually knew.
When was the last time I saw him?
“About… five years ago, maybe.”
The neat, middle-aged gentleman's name was Hwang In-guk.
As for his job… he didn’t have a specific title, but ‘aide’ seemed about right.
He looked to be in his fifties, but he was actually an old man past seventy.
The secret to his youth wasn't a baby face, but the fact that he was a Hunter.
Back when I was a rising star, he was a well-known A-rank Hunter at the height of his fame.
What was his title again…?
“The Blood-Soaked Gentleman, was it?”
I think he got the nickname because his whole concept was that of an English gentleman, always in a suit and monocle, but his fists were constantly stained with monster blood.
He was even a little famous abroad as the ‘Bloody Gentleman,’ I believe.
Through the rearview mirror, I could see the old man smiling benevolently.
“Heh heh… I never thought someone from the younger generation would remember my title.”
Looks like my muttering reached him.
Then again, an old pro is still a pro. There was no way an A-rank Hunter would miss a sound inside this small car.
“You were a legend of your time. Of course I remember.”
Actually, I didn’t know much about him.
I only remembered because we were acquaintances.
The conversation didn't last long and ended there.
He probably only gave such a lengthy response because his long-forgotten title came up. He was the type to give only the necessary answer to any other question before falling silent.
The car, shrouded in a heavy silence, came to a stop in Gangnam.
More precisely, we were in front of a uniquely tall building, even among the skyscrapers that the major guilds used as their headquarters.
A peculiar building whose entire exterior was made of glass.
This was the Magic Tower.
A specialized magic institution established with the support of the World Hunter Association and the government.
What do they do here?
From training mages and developing new magic to improving existing spells and researching methods for crafting magic artifacts.
Basically, you could say that anything and everything related to magic passes through this place.
“Well then, let's go inside.”
After handing the car keys to an employee waiting at the entrance, the old man led me inside.
We got on an elevator located in the center of the building and headed up.
Ding!
[66th Floor.]
The 66th floor.
The very top of the Magic Tower.
Unlike the other floors, which were divided into various sections for different people and purposes, this entire floor was a single, open space.
The reason was that this space was permitted for use by only one person.
The one who held the entire 66-story Magic Tower in the palm of her hand: the Master of the Magic Tower.
Stepping inside, I saw a study decorated for just one person.
Bookshelves made entirely of dark brown wood, filled with countless books and scrolls.
Strange plants decorating the area around the floor-to-ceiling windows.
In the center of it all was a massive desk, with numerous stacks of documents piled on top.
And a woman with red hair, reviewing them one by one, rapidly turning the pages.
Everyone in the Republic of Korea knows her.
And I know her better than anyone.
…No, I thought I knew her well.
One of only five S-rank Hunters in South Korea.
Her title: ‘Scarlet Witch’.
With captivating scarlet hair that looked as if it had been meticulously dyed, strand by strand, with droplets of pure blood, and an explosive figure that stirred lustful thoughts in anyone who saw it, she was the idol of every woman of her generation.
And a timeless sex symbol for men.
As I recall, she's still flooded with offers for photoshoots and commercials.
She just turns them all down, even the ones for massive sums, on the grounds that she's too busy and dislikes baring her skin in front of others.
“As you requested, I've brought Kim Do-jin, Miss.”
“Thank you. You may leave for the day.”
“Very well.”
Having been dismissed, the old man turned and walked past me.
Soon, he disappeared with the elevator, leaving just the two of us alone in this place.
She finally lifted her eyes from the pile of documents and stared at me.
“Nice to meet you.”
A dry tone and a cold gaze.
Her expression was so nonchalant it hardly seemed like the right way to greet someone she'd summoned from so far away, but I could see it.
A flicker of curiosity flowing within her dry eyes.
How do I know?
“I'm Han Ju-hee, the Master of the Magic Tower.”
“……”
Because she’s my ex-wife.
No matter how estranged we'd become, I could at least read that much in her.
From the moment I met the old man, Hwang In-guk, to the car ride here.
I had been constantly agonizing.
When I finally faced her for the first time in this body, what should I say? What kind of expression should I show?
Until I entered the building—no, until the moment I saw her—I had a perfect plan.
But the moment I saw her, it was as if my mind had been painted over with black ink.
All sorts of emotions swirled within me.
There was resentment, and also a stupid sense of joy at seeing her.
But even all those emotions combined couldn't overcome the bewilderment I felt now.
I want to ask.
Why things turned out that way.
Why she treated me so coldly, why she wouldn't even spare me a glance.
And I want to confront her.
Ask her if she knows how much I struggled, what kind of thoughts I had.
But, since I can't do that.
“…Hello. I'm Kim Do-jin.”
I forced a smile and bowed my head to her.
“Let's sit and talk.”
The two of us sat on a wide sofa by the window, facing each other.
“I'm sorry for calling you here so suddenly. I wanted to visit you myself, but… it could have caused a bit of a scene.”
“I understand.”
After all, she was the most famous person after my past self.
“I'll be direct. You must have some idea why I asked to meet you here, right?”
There could only be one reason for her to summon a stranger—a mage, at that—for a private meeting.
Recruitment into the Magic Tower.
It had to be about recruiting a talented, unaffiliated mage.
“I assume it's a scouting offer.”
“Yes, that's right. I've had you on my recruitment list for some time, Mr. Kim. The recent video is what made me finalize my decision.”
“Ah…”
That damn video is causing me trouble in all sorts of ways.
“That spell you used… it was a variation of Ice Shield, correct?”
For the first time, her eyes began to shine.
She was always a woman who was crazy about magic, and it seems that much hasn't changed.
I answered readily.
“Yes, that's correct.”
“Honestly, I was impressed. And I was surprised to find a young student with the talent and creativity to advance a basic spell in such a way.”
“Haha.”
An enthusiastic conversation.
Something I had longed for so much as her husband was now being achieved in this body.
The thought even crossed my mind.
If I had been a mage like her, couldn't we at least have been able to carry on a conversation?
“Watching that video convinced me. That you, Mr. Kim, are an indispensable talent for our Magic Tower.”
She looked at me with an even more intense gaze.
“Come to the Magic Tower, Mr. Kim. I'll give you double… no, triple the amount of any offer you've received so far.”
“…Triple?”
The average signing bonus for a rookie Hunter joining a major guild is about 500 million won.
Among them, this year's top prospect could expect to multiply that by two, or even up to four times.
That calculates to roughly one to two billion won.
The highest scouting offer I'd received this time was exactly two billion won.
But triple that would be six billion won.
It was a ridiculously excessive amount to offer a mere first-year university student aspiring to be a Hunter.
If it were anyone but her, I would have been justified in asking if she'd gone senile.
“You are worth that much, Mr. Kim. If you join the Magic Tower, that talent, which starts in the billions… will blossom into hundreds, even thousands of billions.”
It was a sweet, tempting offer.
Her voice possessed a natural talent for moving people, especially men.
Uh… or was it because of her face and body, not her voice?
“Besides that, I'll give you anything else you want. A personal research lab, funding for research and supplies… everything I can provide.”
I could feel that she was truly putting her all into this.
The more she did, the colder my heart grew.
Seeing her get so worked up over one interesting spell after casting aside the husband she'd lived with for decades made my stomach churn.
“This should be a tempting enough offer… what do you think?”
“It certainly is… tempting.”
Well… I couldn't help but be tempted.
Six billion won wasn't pocket change, and it would be stranger not to be tempted when a mage recognized not just in Korea but around the world was practically begging me.
But what could I do?
“But I have no intention of joining anywhere until I graduate from university.”
I still don't want to join.
For the first time, a crack appeared on her face.
Her triumphant expression faltered, her fine brow furrowing.
Was it bewilderment, or anger?
“…Usually, people who say that are confident. Confident that by the time they graduate, their value will be even higher than it is now.”
I smiled and nodded.
“Yes, I am.”
The only emotion money could give me was temptation; that was its limit.
I've had plenty of it before, and I have a rough idea of how to get more.
Six billion won is tempting… but it's not an amount I can't obtain on my own.
And just as she said, I am confident.
Confident that by the time I graduate, I'll be able to command not six billion, but sixty billion—no, even more.
“Besides, what I need isn't money.”
“Not money… you need something else?”
“Yes.”
Honestly, I'd wanted to ruin this conversation.
I'd planned to respond coldly to everything she said, thinking only of ending this moment as quickly as possible…
But as we sat facing each other, making eye contact and talking, I suddenly felt it would be a waste.
A waste for her to fall into the hands of Fake Si-woo, or any other man.
Her personality might be rotten, but her outer shell was certainly worth having.
In fact, I'd had sex with her my entire life and never once thought of getting tired of it.
So I changed my mind a little.
I no longer wanted to send what was mine into another man's arms, and I also wanted revenge.
A scale in my head tipped mercilessly from one side to the other, back and forth.
A sharp conflict raged over whether I could steal her away in this body.
“So… what is it you want, other than money?”
At the same time, my plan took another step forward.
If I succeeded in stealing her away.
How far could I make her fall?
And.
When she had fallen deep enough, and I revealed that I was her husband, Son Si-woo.
What kind of expression would she make then?
Smiling brightly, I answered the woman who was staring intently at my lips.
“That… is something I'd like you to find out for yourself, Master of the Magic Tower.”
A shiver ran down my spine.