Chapter 18

“I never thought I’d run into you in a place like this.”

Kang Min-hyuk looked slightly surprised.

This is a Great Rift where B-class monsters riddle the place.

So why on earth is Cha Yeji here?

‘I can’t believe you’re already catching up to me in just a short amount of time…’

Just a month ago, she was just an F-class Hunter.

‘Her Mana is only 10. And in addition, she hasn’t undergone body strengthening ever since her first Hunter Rating Assessment.’

Even considering all realistic possibilities, it should be impossible for her to subdue a Troll.

‘Or is it because of that guy she’s following around?’

However,

Beside her lay the dead body of a Champion Monster Troll.

The wounds inflicted seem to indicate that it came from a sword cut.

Seeing that Cha Yeji is the only sword-user among the Hunters here, there’s no denying that fact now.

“You’ve grown, Hunter Cha Yeji.”

“…Thank you.”

Cha Yeji muttered.

Kang Min-hyuk saw that Cha Yeji was holding onto the hem of Do-jun’s shirt.

This act could only mean one thing.

Dependence.

‘Why the hell…?’

He was just a civil servant.

Nothing more, nothing less.

From a Hunter’s perspective, he was just an ordinary person.

In contrast, Cha Yeji is a full-fledged Hunter. A Hunter that could already catch B-class monsters, so why would she depend on him.

“She’s doing well, thanks to the suit you gave her, Hunter Kang Min-hyuk.”

Do-jun smiled as he looked at Kang Min-hyuk.

“…Well, I did lose the bet.”

Afterwards, silence came.

Suddenly, the atmosphere became tense.

Choi Ho-jun began to look at them in a back-and-forth fashion as the two found themselves staring at each other fiercely.

‘Why are they doing this all of a sudden? Are those two not on good terms or something?’

Both were smiling at each other.

But it didn’t seem like they were close.

The rest of them felt a sense of suffocating silence as they continued observing the two.

“Sigh… come on, stop it.”

Han Min-ji sighed and nudged at Kang Min-hyuk.

Then, Kang Min-hyuk stopped smiling.

“Tsk.”

Boom!

He then instantly flung himself further inside the Rift.

After a while, Trolls could be heard screeching from pain from a distance.

“My senior’s a bit overbearing sometimes. I hope you’d extend more of your patience to him.” 

Han Min-ji smiled and approached Do-jun.

She then handed out a business card with the contact information of the Icarus Guild.

“By the way, if ever you change your mind, feel free to contact us.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know? Handing Ms. Cha Yeji over to our guild.”

“…What did you just say, Hunter Han Min-ji?”

Squeeze.

Cha Yeji, who was still holding the hem of Do-jun’s shirt, strengthened her grip.

“I…”

Before Cha Yeji could even begin to speak,

Do-jun took the business card from Han Min-ji.

At that moment, Cha Yeji’s eyes widened as she looked up anxiously at Do-jun.

“Gasp!”

“W-what the heck are you doing?”

Choi Ho-jun and Park Seung-min were shocked.

Because…

Riiip!

Do-jun tore up the business card right in front of her face.

“…What are you doing, sir?”

“Most of the time, I don’t care about other people.”

Do-jun was undeniably smiling.

The corners of his mouth were slightly raised.

However, his eyes were as cold as ice.

Goosebumps!

‘W-what is going on?’

Han Min-ji took a step backward unconsciously.

And instantly, she felt a cold sweat on her body.

A feeling of overwhelming and dominating aura came into her.

“But if that person is someone I am professionally and personally affiliated with, then that’s an entirely different story.”

Do-jun opened his palm.

Then torn pieces of the business card were scattered on the ground as the wind blew.

“This is my last warning, don’t cross the line. It’s pretty vexing.”

＊ ＊ ＊

Sizzle. Sizzle.

The pork was roasting tenderly over the grill filled to the brim with charcoal and smoke.

At a samgyupsal restaurant located in the food alley in Bukchang-dong, near the City Hall, the Rift Management Department employees were having a small get-together.

“Fwah! Then~ Manager suddenly said!”

Cha Yeji, who was already drunk, put down her glass and shouted.

“‘My person,’ I will protect you!”

Rift Management Department Chief Kang Chul-soo smiled at those words and turned his head to Do-jun.

“Do-jun, did you really say that? KWAHAHAHA!”

“That’s what I’m saying! Hehe… that’s what you said, right, Manager~?”

“…I said no such thing.”

Do-jun then gulped down a glass of water.

After that incident, Kang Min-hyuk and Han Min-ji handled the rest of the monsters inside the Rift, including the Boss Monster, which led to the closing of the Rift.

‘I should have just stayed still.’

In all honesty,

He was a little annoyed by it.

That’s why he drew the line this time for this incident to not happen again in the future.

‘At least, the Icarus Guild will not think of us as pushovers anymore. They really thought we would just hand over Cha Yeji to them easily.’

To be precise, he was referring to the two S-class hunters, Kang Min-hyuk and Han Min-ji.

Do-jun sighed, thinking that something troublesome might happen in the future.

“…I think that it was a bit too much tearing up that business card.”

Kwon Hyuk-soo told Do-jun with a worried look.

Icarus Guild is one of the top guilds in Korea.

And Do-jun may be unaware that they exert a strong influence in the Hunter industry.

“I’m sorry…”

“But it was quite a spectacle to behold!”

“Huh?”

Kwon Hyuk-soo smiled.

“Mr. Do-jun. What I mean is that there are times when we need to bow our heads and times when we should get angry and stand for ourselves. I know that the Icarus Guild is a huge group, but that doesn’t mean we have to lose to them every time, right? Who the hell do they think they are, telling you to hand over Cha Yeji? I say you made the right choice. It’s a different story if Cha Yeji wanted to leave herself, but I think it was wrong of them to say it like that as if she’s just some object to be passed on.”

“Yeah, dude! Screw those S-class hunters! HAHAHAHA!”

Kang Chul-soo said as he buried his face on the table.

Eventually, he started snoring.

It seems that they have already reached a point of drunken stupor.

“After the Rift Management Department was established, we went through a lot of ups and downs, twists and turns. ‘How dare a civil servant step on the Hunter industry?’ It was a sensible question, half wrong, half right. As ordinary people, our skills pale in comparison to that of a Hunter, so why would we dabble in their business?”

“……”

“But we’re doing well on our own, right?”

Glug glug.

Kwon Hyuk-soo filled Do-jun’s empty glass with soju and raised his glass.

“Do-jun.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Am I also in your category of ‘My Person’?”

Smirk.

Do-jun nodded.

At that moment, Cha Yeji slammed her glass on the table.

“Hehe. M-manager.”

“The chief is completely wasted, and Ms. Yeji is also very drunk. Let’s just have a last drink and get up. HAHAHA!”

This was a scene Kwon Hyuk-soo had never seen before.

With this, he showed a big smile.

Clink!

Three shot glasses of soju collided coolly in the air.

‘I’m not even drunk from the soju,’ Do-jun thought.

Along the way, Do-jun was determined to keep their lives normal.

‘Let’s make sure that my people’s peaceful lives aren’t disrupted.’

＊ ＊ ＊

Do-jun didn’t arrive home until 10 PM.

He opened the door and went towards the living room.

As always, Seol Yoon-hee approached to welcome him.

“Welcome home. How have you been?”

“I’m good. Did you already eat?”

“Yes. You look tired… Oh? Did you buy new clothes?

She immediately noticed that he changed his clothes.

Even though he chose the ones that were quite similar.

Do-jun remained calmed and nodded. He then changed the topic.

“I should go get changed. I’ll go wash up right away.”

“Ah…”

Seol Yoon-hee hesitated.

Do-jun realized she had something to say.

So he sat at the table, hung his coat on the chair, and said,

“Can you get me a cup of tea?”

“Oh, sure!” 

Seol Yoon-hee ran to the kitchen and boiled some water.

She took two tea bags out of the drawer and put them in a cup.

And silence followed.

“……”

She wanted to ask.

 

At this very moment, right here, right now.

About the Hunter ID Card and the Mana Stones that she found inside his drawer.

She tried to ignore it as much as possible, but there were still doubts lingering from the corner of her heart.

She wondered if Do-jun was really a Hunter.

‘Come to think of it, Ms. Yeji was also a Hunter.’

Do-jun said that Cha Yeji, his “co-worker,” was secretly a Hunter.

When she thought about it, it didn’t make sense because, in the first place, civil servants already knew that side jobs were banned.

Of course, there may be some people who don’t report their taxes secretly as they’re struggling financially.

However, if one was Hunter, his or her information should be registered on the database, and obviously, this would be accessed by other civil servants.

The premise that she wasn’t caught up until now made no sense at all.

‘I’ll ask him right now.’

“Yoon-hee, I think the water’s boiling.”

‘But if Father is actually a Hunter, then…’

“Yoon-hee.”

‘Can I ask him to quit being a Hunter?’

‘He was able to pay my tuition because he was actually a Hunter…’

At that moment, Seol Yoon-hee was surprised to see Do-jun had approached her side.

“Kyaa!”

“What are you thinking about? You seem to be distracted.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I’m sorry. I’ll get you that tea now.”

Seol Yoon-hee briskly reached out to get the pot.

However, the moment she tilted it to pour the water into the cup…

Slip.

‘Ah!’

The pot slid from her hands.

She thought that it would burn her feet without a doubt and prepared herself mentally, but…

Tak.

“You should be careful.”

Do-jun swiftly grabbed the pot at its base.

“I-I’m sorry. Father… Y-your hand…!”

“Huh?”

Seol Yoon-hee immediately grabbed the handle of the pot and put it on the counter.

She then looked at Do-jun’s palm.

He must’ve burned his band while holding the pot.

Or so she thought.

“…Eh?”

“Why?”

“Uh, are you alright?”

It looked like nothing happened to his hand.

Seol Yoon-hee knew that the pot was so hot since it was just removed from the flame.

Touching it with your bare hands would naturally cause it to get burned in an instant.

“I’m fine. Be careful next time, okay?”

“What are you talking about?! Hurry up and soak your hands in lukewarm water.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Wasn’t it hot? You just held it with your bare hands!”

At that moment,

Do-jun realized that something was wrong, so…

Chwaaak!

He quickly put his hand in the sink with running water and acted as if he was in extreme pain.

“Ouch, ouch! I have a burn. Can you get me some ointment?”

Seol Yoon-hee quickly ran to the living room and took out the first-aid kit.

Do-jun breathed a sigh of relief at that sight.

‘I almost got in trouble. If I remained calm, it would’ve been way too suspicious.’

His skill, <Adamant Body>, made his body not feel the slightest pain inflicted on him.

That’s why he wasn’t able to react quickly earlier.

“You should wash it under running water for about 20 minutes.”

He nodded his head.

In a little while, after 20 minutes,

Seol Yoon-hee tilted her head as she looked at his palm.

‘Why does it look fine?’

Seol Yoon-hee wondered while applying an ointment and bandage on top of it.

“Thanks.”

“No, it’s because of my carelessness… I’m really sorry.”

“But it seemed like you have something you wanted to tell me.”

At those words, Seol Yoon-hee shook her head.

She wasn’t now in the mood to ask.

“Oh, right.”

Seol Yoon-hee got up from her seat, took a piece of paper out from her bag, and showed it to Do-jun.

“This is…”

It was an announcement for the entrance ceremony.

“I just wanted to let you know… Well, just keep that in mind. I’m not asking you to come. I know you’re busy with your work… moreover, it’s a weekday, so…”

Seol Yoon-hee hesitated and looked at Do-jun’s eyes.

Do-jun looked at the paper again and confirmed the date.

It seems that the entrance ceremony will be held next Monday.