Chapter 11
Chapter 11
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: All That Preparation...
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Even though I prepared so much...
"Heehee! Shin-woo! Look at me! I'm a hunter now too!"
The year I turned twelve.
I was hailed as one of Korea's all-time greatest prodigies and became the world's youngest hunter.
It was all over the news, but I still wanted to brag, so I rushed to tell my one and only friend.
"Yeah. Congrats, Sophia."
"...!"
Of course, he was happy for me.
That night, our home felt especially warm and harmonious.
I'd achieved my dream, gotten praise from Dad, and above all, taken my first step toward becoming as strong as the mom I admired.
I felt like I could float away.
But the fantasies of that innocent child were shattered miserably in no time at all.
"S-Sophia! Where are you going?!"
"Don't follow me! Get lost!"
Fear of monsters?
Injuries on the battlefield?
Those were things anyone born with the qualities of a hunter had to endure.
But something I just couldn't bear.
Something that made me think I'd rather have my limbs torn off by a monster.
It was the reality of having to hunt monsters in contact with other people.
Being surrounded by humans every chance I got during deployments was pure agony.
It felt like walking naked through a filthy, stinking sewer.
"Uweeeek—!"
So.
I thought I'd get used to it eventually.
The year I turned fourteen.
I couldn't hold back my instincts any longer and ended up vomiting my guts out mid-hunt, collapsing right there.
Even without taming monsters, I'd skyrocketed to D-rank hunter in just two years—a genius among geniuses.
This was the moment that genius star fell.
If that monster's threat level had been even a bit higher, there might have been casualties.
"Sob... Hic...!"
That night, I didn't leave my room.
Tears just kept flowing.
Dad, who was a Beast Hunter like me, acted fine even in front of normal people. He lived in that filthy sewer without changing expression once.
'Why can't I do that...?'
There was one thing I'd realized witnessing the [Busan Smiling Monster Incident] four years ago firsthand.
You can't protect what's precious without getting stronger.
In truly dire situations, you can only safeguard your own with your own power.
Seeing Dad's side profile that day, when he nearly lost Mom, made me terrified it could become me on the verge of losing Shin-woo.
To shake off that fear, I'd worked so hard to become strong like the mom I idolized.
"Someone... please help me..."
But in the end, this was a problem I had to solve alone.
The thought of this routine repeating forever terrified me—like having to live in that sewer-like reality again.
"Ugh?!"
Just as nausea surged up again.
"It's because it's so tough, right?"
Unlike me, a normal human.
Shin-woo, still living an ordinary middle school life.
The moment I saw him slip into my room, I felt such overwhelming joy and longing that I hugged him tight.
And strangely, beside him, I could pour out all the pent-up feelings I couldn't even tell my parents.
"...Being around people is just so hard."
"I see."
"W-What should I do? I want to keep being a hunter. I want to get as strong as Mom and Dad! Someday, I want to become a national-power-level hunter like Mom..."
Feeling wronged, furious, and exhausted, I leaned on his shoulder and cried again without thinking.
Shin-woo didn't push away my heavy head—instead, he stroked it, comforting me.
My face felt strangely hot.
For Shin-woo's sake, I absolutely had to become at least national-power-level strong.
But could I really do it?
"Then let's do this."
Just as my resolve started to waver.
"I was planning to aim for hunter myself someday."
Was my prayer answered?
"Once we're both hunters, we can team up as a duo. You only have to stick with me, Sophia. Right?"
"R-Really...?"
"Yeah. Really."
When I first heard those words, I thought my heart would stop.
My breath quickened, and my perpetually filthy body felt cleansed in an instant.
There must be a saying like 'even rolling in shit, this life's worth it' for moments like this.
So I didn't want to let this chance slip away.
"Th-Then promise me..."
Craving certainty, I tentatively offered my pinky.
"Yeah. Sure."
Without hesitation, Shin-woo hooked his pinky around mine and sealed the promise tight.
"I'm not as amazing as you, Sophia. So I'll take the regular route—take the hunter exam at the end of high school and become one for sure."
"Yeah! And by then, I'll be super strong! I'll be Shin-woo's perfect partner!"
And to make that happen, I needed a lot of preparation.
"Hasn't Sophia changed lately?"
"Yeah, she has. Now she even smiles and answers when you talk to her."
"She used to eat with us before."
To not be a lacking partner for Shin-woo.
"Everyone, please take care of me today as well."
In front of people, I'd always plaster on an likable smile until my face muscles cramped.
"Uweeeek—!"
On those days, I'd sneak to the bathroom at night, clutching the toilet and heaving in secret—but even so, I was happy.
"J-Just... hold on... a bit longer!"
This hellish routine would end in a few years.
All I needed until then was overwhelming skill to handle a duo all by myself.
Shin-woo just had to stay by my side.
Even standing quietly on site would be more than enough.
Three years later.
"Then I'm off!"
To gain even greater power, I requested deployment to the Hunter Association HQ in America.
"Uweeeeeek!!"
In that distant land where even my family couldn't see me, my sanctuary gone, my hatred for humans peaked—leading to depression treatment and self-harm habits.
"The Hunter Association US Headquarters hereby recognizes the skills of Korean hunter Sophia and awards her a B-rank hunter license."
Clap clap clap clap.
A B-rank hunter license—not forced pairing by higher-ups, but one allowing me to choose and hire my own partner.
Of course, being on that crowded stage made me puke up everything in my stomach that day too.
But.
"Finally... I got it!"
All my preparations were complete.
The fruit of those two hellish years in America had ripened sweetly.
Without relying on recommendations from those high-and-mighty types—I'd thrown them all in the trash.
That very night, I boarded a red-eye flight back to Korea.
Too excited to sleep, my body heated up imagining the happy future ahead.
'Finally... I can see you again.'
Han Shin-woo.
Two years apart made it crystal clear.
I was a woman who couldn't do anything without Shin-woo.
Shin-woo alone was the light guiding me until the moment I died.
'You just stay by my side. No need to fight or take risks—just look at me, and that'll be enough...'
I was certain he'd make me stronger than any Commander Hunter buff.
After racing down that hellish thorny path, I'd reached the end.
Incheon International Airport entrance.
Sophia, brimming with smiles, now learned the hard way: the higher you climb, the harder you fall—from hope to despair.
"You... failed the hunter exam...?"
"......Yeah."
My mind went blank.
Mom and Dad were saying something around me, but their voices didn't register.
My wrists itched inside.
No. Bad habit.
I wanted to scratch until blood poured, tearing at the ligaments with my nails.
It was inevitable, really.
I knew becoming a hunter wasn't easy.
That promise might've just been Shin-woo comforting me.
Yet here, because of me, he'd taken and failed the exam—and now I had to encourage him.
That was the right thing.
But apparently, I was too selfish for that.
The years I'd lived managing my image unlike a true Beast Hunter—all for that promise—felt wasted.
"...Liar."
My mouth moved before my head.
Too angry, wronged, furious, sad—emotions crumbling without direction.
"You said you'd always stay by my side. So why are you so weak?"
Sobbing and yelling, harsh words spilled out.
"I hate guys like you."
Even though I loved him to death.
"Get lost, you liar."
For your sake, Shin-woo, I'd endure people forever—puking in disgust behind their backs.
I could play the sweet neighbor, the lovable partner anywhere.
But emotions overwhelmed me; I yelled too loud before snapping back to reality.
Shin-woo, facing me head-on...
"I'm sorry, Sophia."
Despite my cruel words, he looked sheepish, blaming himself.
But no matter how I looked, I was the bad one.
"...! S-Sorry!"
"Sophia!"
I bolted past my family, fleeing the airport.
And that night, too ashamed to go home, I crashed at the Shilla Hotel.