Chapter 27

At Do-jun’s words,

Choi Young-hoon swept his hair and laughed.

 

Lots of cigarette butts were in the ashtray and on Hyuk-soo’s glass.

“Ha…”

Choi Young-hoon took out a new cigarette and put it in his mouth

Crackle.

With Yeom (Thought), he used a skill to replace his mana with another attribute.

He then used the E-class skill <Ignite> to light the cigarette and inhaled the smoke.

Exhale.

He exhaled the smoke on Do-jun’s face.

“What if I don’t drink it? What are you gonna do?”

Choi Young-hoon’s eyebrows twitched.

He was a B-class Hunter.

Part of the Top 10% in the Hunter World.

So it was ridiculous for him that a mere civil servant was ordering him around.

“Huh? What are you gonna do, huh?”

At that moment,

Blue energy gathered at Do-jun’s fingers and stabbed Choi Young-hoon in the chest which paralyzed him.

“Young-hoon.”

Do-jun took the cigarette that was in between Choi Young-hoon’s fingers.

Choi Young-hoon, on the other hand, had no choice but to watch the scene before his eyes as his body wasn’t listening to him.

Grab.

Do-jun grabbed Choi Young-hoon’s chin.

His mouth opened and his tongue stuck out.

‘W-What the hell?! Dammit, my body is…’

Do-jun slowly brought the lit cigarette closer to Choi Young-hoon’s tongue.

“You should’ve just drunk it.”

Frizzle.

“Urgghhh…”

Tears poured out from Choi Young-hoon’s eyes as he felt an extreme burning pain on his tongue.

“I wonder why a B-class Hunter like you would do such a thing.”

Do-jun smirked.

He stretched out his fist, charging towards Choi Young-hoon’s abdomen.

And his fist stopped right before it touched his abdomen.

“UGH!”

A strange cracking sound came from within Choi Young-hoon’s abdomen.

His mouth started foaming and his eyes turned upside down.

The Dantian within his body where Mana is stored was smashed to smithereens, causing a tremendous amount of pain which almost killed him.

‘KWAAAAAAH!’

Although he felt such agonizing pain, he couldn’t even properly scream.

He felt like all his five viscera and six entrails were twisting abnormally.

And then all the Mana stored in his body scattered.

“You shouldn’t have messed with him, Young-hoon.”

Do-jun grabbed Choi Young-hoon by his hair.

And slammed him on the table.

Crash!

The table broke and Choi Young-hoon’s body fell forward.

The others who witnessed the scene were so aghast that their bodies froze in place.

“……”

Do-jun then got up from his seat as he tidied up his clothes.

The people around him stepped back in fear, and no one dared to come after him.

Click.

Choi Young-hoon, who has now become a cripple,

Swallowed his saliva,

And watched as Do-jun left the room.

＊ ＊ ＊

The atmosphere was awkward.

In a cafe about 5 minutes away from ‘Silla’.

Cold sweat trickled down on Hyuk-soo’s back.

‘Why did Hunter Han Min-ji come here?’

The Icarus guild was reigned as the best guild in Korea and is included in the top 3.

And Han Min-ji is an S-class Hunter who belonged to that guild.

‘I’m sure Do-jun thought of this to help me…’

An old friend who he thought he was close to turned out to be an arrogant Hunter now.

So Do-jun made up a situation to get him out of that crisis.

And as a result, Han Min-ji came to help.

‘But, it still doesn’t make sense.’

From what he heard last time during the company dinner.

Do-jun said he tore the business card Han Min-ji handed out to him in front of her.

Which begs the question, why would Han Min-ji then take the time to help him out?

Bzzzzt.

The coaster pager on the table suddenly vibrated.

Kwon Hyuk-soo and Han Min-ji jumped up at the sound at the same time.

“I-I’ll bring it.”

“N-No, I’ll bring it. Please sit down, I insist.”

After several arguments, Kwon Hyuk-soo finally sat down.

Han Min-ji walked to the counter to get what they ordered.

Whish.

Kwon Hyuk-soo took out the envelope that Do-jun had given him.

“…Haha, really.”

Inside the envelope was a book regarding the laws in the country.

Maybe he was going to take it home and study it.

At that time, Han Min-ji placed the coffees on the table.

“…Thank you.”

Kwon Hyuk-soo bowed his head slightly.

He glanced at his wristwatch.

And his legs started fidgeting unknowingly.

‘Why isn’t he here yet? Something must’ve happened… Should I call the police?’

Seeing him like that, Han Min-ji spoke.

“Do-jun will be fine. Don’t worry too much.”

“But they’re B-class Hunters… I can’t just sit still. Maybe I should report it to the police. If he’s being assaulted there…”

Han Min-ji smiled at Kwon Hyuk-soo’s words.

“Do-jun against B-class hunters? If anything, it’s them I feel sorry for.”

“Huh? What?”

Kwon Hyuk-soo was flustered at Han Min-ji’s relaxed response.

Although Do-jun had awakened just recently, he has never undergone body strengthening.

To him, Do-jun was more likely to get beaten up by the strong experienced B-class Hunters who had already undergone body strengthening dozens of times for the past several years.

“Ah, perhaps officer does not know yet. Well, I’ll just keep it a secret then.”

Han Min-ji recalled the energy she felt from Do-jun.

Even an S-class Hunter like herself was overwhelmed by him.

That’s why she wondered why nothing was shown on the results at the time when he took the preliminary assessment test. However, she thought that perhaps it must’ve been a machine error.

“Uhm… By the way, you’re not really going to sign a contract with us, right?”

“Yes, it was all simply an act. Looking at the situation, I got the gist of it. You two were having a drink to recruit B-class Hunters, right?”

Han Min-ji showed her phone to Kwon Hyuk-soo.

– Please come right now. XXX-XX, Sinsa-dong. Silla. Room 38.

“……”

“There’s also something I came here to do.”

Han Min-ji sighed deeply.

To be honest, she was really happy when she received a text from Do-jun.

She thought that maybe he’s now interested in becoming a Hunter.

Or maybe Cha Yeji wants to join the Icarus Guild now.

There was a slight sense of anticipation.

At that moment,

Do-jun entered as the doors of the cafe opened.

He then naturally sat next to Kwon Hyuk-soo.

“Are you alright?”

Kwon Hyuk-soo examined Do-jun’s body for any injuries.

Han Min-ji smiled at Do-jun as she watched the scene.

“Officer?”

“Yes, Hunter Han Min-ji?”

“I got some brownie points from you today right?”

Do-jun nodded.

Han Min-ji clenched her fist and quietly rejoiced.

“……”

On the other hand, Kwon Hyuk-soo couldn’t understand what was going on between them.

Han Min-ji should have had a negative impression on Do-jun, or even the entire Rift Management Department since Do-jun tore up the business card she handed out to him, and he even said she was displeased by it.

Regardless of whose fault it was, it was a given that Han Min-ji, the S-class hunter, would act in a resentful manner.

‘But what’s with that look?’

Han Min-ji looked like a child who was given candy while having an innocent smile on her face.

If Han Min-ji had a tail, it would’ve been wagging frantically.

“Anyway… I am really grateful to both of you today.”

Kwon Hyuk-soo bowed his head.

If he came alone today…

And if Han Min-ji didn’t show up…

He would’ve been so miserable.

“Not at all. I am much more grateful to you, sir.”

Do-jun said with a smile.

Kwon Hyuk-soo’s eyes opened wide.

Because Do-jun had no reason to thank him.

“The reason I was able to become a civil servant up to this day is because of your consideration and trust. And you invited me to join you today for my sake so that I can gain experience. Although something happened along the way, you still took care of me anyway.”

Kwon Hyuk-soo lowered his head.

Thinking that if he sees Do-jun’s face right now, he’d start to cry.

“Officer Kwon Hyuk-soo really has a good junior.”

“…It couldn’t have been better than this, really.”

Kwon Hyuk-soo wiped away his tears.

Then, Do-jun’s smartphone rang.

Bzzzzt.

[Seol Yoon-hee]

“Yes, Yoon-hee.”

– Father, where are you?

“Uh…”

Do-jun hesitated.

Come to think of it, he hadn’t told her that he was eating out for dinner tonight.

Checking his watch, it was already 8:10 PM.

“What’s our dinner tonight?

– Why? Is there a specific side dish you’d like me to cook for you?

“…No, it’s not that.”

Do-jun was a bit hesitant.

– It’s beef stew. I’ve just started preparing for it.

“Yoon-hee… two more people will come. Is that okay?”

– …Who are they?

“My senior at work and Hunter Han Min-ji.”

– Hu-Hunter Han Min-ji?

“Yeah. Is that alright? Last time we ate together with her at Hunter Management…”

– I can do it! I’ll get it ready soon!

Beep.

Do-jun looked at Kwon Hyuk-soo and Han Min-ji, and asked.

“Do you guys like beef stew?”

＊ ＊ ＊

After a while,

Do-jun, along with the other two, stopped walking upon reaching the gate of his house.

Then, Do-jun rang the doorbell.

Tak. Tak. Tak.

The sound of running footsteps could be heard from inside.

And the door burst open.

Seol Yoon-hee immediately greeted them.

“Welcome home, Father.”

“I’m back.”

Kwon Hyuk-soo and Han Min-ji bowed slightly as their eyes met Seol Yoon-hee, and they greeted each other.

“Good evening. I’m Kwon Hyuk-soo, Do-jun’s senior at work.”

“Ah, yes! I’m…”

“Do-jun’s daughter, right? Do-jun told me about you previously during the Rift Tour.”

At those words, Seol Yoon-hee looked at Do-jun anxiously.

Did he tell them about their ‘contractual relationship’?

Realizing her thoughts, Do-jun shook his head.

“Nice to meet you. We met last time, right?”

Han Min-ji said while smiling. Seol Yoon-hee then nodded vigorously in response.

For the Hunter Academy freshmen, the S-class Hunter was practically a god.

That’s why it was a great honor that Han Min-ji had come into their house.

Step. Step.

「Has master arrived?」

Yongyong walked to the front door and looked at Do-jun.

Han Min-ji looked alternately between Yongyong and Do-jun and said,

“…What is this, officer?”

“It’s my pet… No, it’s my partner.”

“Partner?”

Do-jun nodded.

Kwon Hyuk-soo, who was next to him, added.

“Do-jun awakened during the Rift Tour. I’m not exactly sure whether it’s a summoning or taming skill though.”

Han Min-ji looked at Do-jun.

<Natural Awakening> was usually related to one’s own specialty or something closely related to their lifestyles.

Summoning skills rarely manifest amongst people who haven’t undergone body strengthening.

While taming skills are often manifest in people who were animal keepers or had pets.

Yet to suddenly have a partner out of the blue, Han Min-ji had difficulty in understand it.

「Grrrrrrrr.」

“……”

Han Min-ji lifted Yongyong, who was growling at her.

And turned him around repeatedly.

「Aaack! Let go! You devil!」

“…Officer. By any chance, is this…?”

A dragon.

Although it was very small.

Without a doubt, it was a dragon,

Additionally,

‘No. 1…’

A number was engraved on its forehead.

Han Min-ji recalled the dragon ‘Masalys’, which was found in the Great Rift that appeared in Busan three years ago. At that time, three S-class hunters were killed during the raid.

And what’s more important was that there was also a number on its forehead.

‘Masalys was No. 10.’

Han Min-ji shrugged as she witnessed Yongyong struggling to get out of her hands.

She dropped him on the floor. As Yongyong was freed, he immediately ran to the living room and landed on the sofa.

‘That can’t be a dragon.’

She recalled how two S-class Hunters were instantly killed from a single shot of Masalys’ breath.

「Burp.」

Yongyong burped.

Han Min-ji laughed in relief.

‘I suddenly got too serious for no reason.’