Growth (2)
Let's see... After taxes and the guild's cut, that's 13.97 million won! I'll wire it straight to your settlement account right away.
"Whoa... Damn. It really does sell fast."
The settlement money from clearing the Silver Wolf's Swamp had just hit Park Jihun's account. Originally it should have come to around 18 million won, but after taxes and the guild's 20% share, it settled at roughly 14 million. Of course, hunters enjoyed tax benefits so only 3.3% had been withheld at source, and the guild distribution rate was weaker than what the big guilds demanded. Above all, since Park Jihun had practically solo-cleared the gate, the amount was hard to believe for an F-rank hunter.
The money earned from a single gate clear was what an average F-rank hunter would need two or three months to make. That said everything.
1.4 million won, huh...
Park Jihun checked the deposit and broke into a wide grin. Of course his account still held the 1.5 billion won from before, untouched, but 1.4 million won was no small sum. More importantly, this wasn't contract money or ad revenue. This was the first cash he had earned by clearing a gate with his own two hands. The thought filled him with genuine joy.
Hmm, but this money... I should use it quickly to find a place.
Now that he thought about it, he needed to move for the sake of his familiars. There was no way they could keep cramming themselves into that tiny studio. It was already packed tight with just him and Briana. Adding Kar would make it completely unlivable. On top of that, they'd need furniture for the new place, a car for transportation... The list of things to do was endless.
"Huu, when the hell am I supposed to move?"
"Ah, now that you mention it... We really can't keep living in that cramped place anymore."
When Park Jihun let out a deep, lamenting sigh, Shin Jiyeon nodded in understanding.
"We have the money, so finding a house won't take long, but buying everything we need and preparing for the move will still take a few more days."
As Park Jihun spoke, he glanced at Kar and Briana.
"Kiik."
"Kyareung."
Jihun had spent last night at a motel with Shin Jiyeon, so the two girls had probably slept pressed together on the narrow bed. It was a shame he'd missed the sight of two gorgeous otherworldly women rubbing their bodies against each other in such a tight space, but that was beside the point. What really bothered him was how haggard both of them looked. The cramped sleeping arrangement must have been incredibly uncomfortable.
"I need to buy a car soon too. I can't keep asking for rides from you like today, Jiyeon."
Once again, it had been Shin Jiyeon's car that brought Kar and Briana from his one-room studio to the office. He couldn't keep imposing on her forever, so Jihun wanted to sign a contract as soon as possible. The problem was that signing didn't mean immediate delivery. It would take time before the car was ready, so he was considering renting something in the meantime.
They have rental cars that ban pets, but they probably don't have a "no familiars" policy, right...?
While he was lost in thought, Shin Jiyeon asked him with complete nonchalance.
"Then, would you like to come stay at my house for the time being?"
"...Huh??"
She had asked so casually that Park Jihun thought he must have misheard.
But Shin Jiyeon's answer was exactly the same.
"My house. It's a little too big for one person, so three of us would fit comfortably... And since I drive to work anyway, we could all ride together. It wouldn't be much of a burden, right?"
"......"
Her suggestion was undeniably reasonable. As a B-rank hunter who earned good money, she already owned a large house under her own name.
From what I heard before, it's around 32 pyeong total with 24 pyeong of actual living space...
He had wondered why someone living alone would choose such a big place, but apparently she had divided it efficiently into a hobby room, bedroom, and guest room.
Anyway, if they stayed at her house while they handled the new lease, set the moving date, and prepared everything, the housing problem would be solved. The transportation issue would be taken care of too. It was practical and convenient.
But one thing made Park Jihun hesitate.
No matter how you slice it, it's my girlfriend's house... Bringing two other women to live there with me feels like straight-up trash behavior, doesn't it?
His girlfriend's house. He had never even dated before, so going to his girlfriend's place was a first. And this first visit would be to basically move in for a while. But to show up with two stacked monster girls and live there like some freeloading bastard? No matter how he looked at it, that was...
"If Sunbae comes, then Kar and Briana will come too, right? Their messy bedhead in the morning! Pajama look! Accidentally running into each other in the bathroom... Hehehehe."
"......"
Luckily for him, she seemed to think hell yes.
"...Alright. Then can we just pack some luggage and come today? Three people trying to sleep in that studio is..."
Since Shin Jiyeon genuinely seemed happy about it, Park Jihun threw away his shame and asked to start immediately. After all, trying to sleep three people in that one-room would mean two squeezed together on the narrow bed while the third lost at rock-paper-scissors and slept on the floor.
"The sooner the better for me. After we finish today's schedule, let's head straight to my house!"
The way Shin Jiyeon beamed at him made her look like an angel descending to save him. That's what Park Jihun thought.
"...S-Sunbae and I under the same roof... Hehet."
And unlike when she had been fantasizing about Briana and Kar earlier, the moment she imagined living together with Park Jihun, she turned into a shy maiden. She looked like a truly lovable goddess.
I'm hard.
Getting turned on even in a situation like this was just so Park Jihun.
Time rewound slightly, to the moment when Yongmun Guild's core raid party had finished clearing the Gray Orc Gate.
A person from China stepped foot inside Incheon Airport.
"Hmm. So this is Korea."
The woman, already wearing a sour expression, frowned even harder as she muttered to herself in Chinese. Her black hair was neatly tied back, her suit crisp and professional. Sharp, angular glasses completed the look of a very strict, no-nonsense woman in her mid-twenties.
Her name was Chen Mei. She was the closest aide to Lung Xiao, Guildmaster of China's hunter guild Heixiaohui, and an A-rank hunter serving as his personal secretary.
She had come to Korean soil to carry out Lung Xiao's order: "Bring me that hunter from that insignificant little country who dares claim to be the world's first."
One would assume her destination would be Bupyeong in Incheon, where Park Jihun was located... but instead, she headed straight for a hotel near the airport. She pulled out her phone and a small scrap of paper.
"Hunter Chen Mei. Aren't we going to where that man is?"
When the Heixiaohui employee who had come as her attendant asked curiously, she shook her head with a rigid expression.
"Causing unnecessary diplomatic friction with Korea would be annoying and troublesome. In cases like this, it's better to use a Korean organization even if it's a little more work. That way we can cut off the tail cleanly."
It was a deliberate setup so they could deny that Heixiaohui had any involvement in the plot to kidnap Park Jihun.
With those words, she dialed the number written on the scrap of paper. Beside the phone number were the Chinese characters for 'Yongmun, Gu Mansik.'
"The investigation is already complete. They're apparently quite well-known in Korea as a troublesome gangster guild that doesn't listen to anyone. Once we cut them loose, the Korean guilds will handle the cleanup themselves."
The phone she was using was an untraceable burner prepared in China. She had even prepared clean counter-evidence in case the other party tried to record the call, ready to claim any recording was fabricated. Her plan to sever the tail was flawless.
"Kyaha, that was some good fucking."
"As expected, orcs have nice muscles. The texture is so chewy."
"You said it, boss."
Gu Mansik had just finished committing horrific acts against the orcs inside the gate, slaughtering them all before clearing it. The moment he stepped outside, his phone began to ring.
Vrrr— Vrrr—
"Huh? Who the hell?"
It was an unknown number. But as both a hunter and a guild master, he had no choice but to answer even numbers he didn't recognize.
"Who is this?"
When Gu Mansik answered, a young woman's voice came through the line. She introduced herself as an executive of Heixiaohui and delivered her request quickly and precisely.
"...Hmm."
Gu Mansik listened with a deepening frown, sinking into thought. To summarize, they wanted him to bring in a hunter named Park Jihun who had recently become a hot topic thanks to his taming skill.
But Gu Mansik was thinking negatively about the offer.
"Look, no matter how trashy we are, we can't just suddenly snatch up the most famous guy in Korea right now."
Park Jihun was currently the biggest name in the country. Even Gu Mansik of Yongmun—a guild started by former gangsters and labeled as Korea's problem child guild—wouldn't recklessly touch someone who was the nation's top trending topic. There were limits.
Besides, Gu Mansik had never been particularly interested in the so-called "Tamer" Park Jihun in the first place. The guy was F-rank, after all. No matter how good his taming skill was, an F-rank hunter could only tame F-rank monsters. At best he'd be playing with E-rank ones.
They already had an elite raid party that ran A-rank gates. If they felt like it, they could toy with C-rank and B-rank monsters whenever they wanted. Hadn't they just dragged out the pretty ones from that C-rank Gray Orc gate and fucked them silly?
Of course, it was just stress relief limited to inside the gate. Still, no one complained about it. He saw no reason to bring in some F-rank nobody who kept bragging about being the world's one and only.
That's why when the Yongwang Guild had sent him that text, he'd simply ignored it as none of his business. He never imagined he'd hear that name again here, from a Chinese contact.
But there was still more surprising news to come.
"...!"
At the woman's proposal, Gu Mansik's sharp, slit-like eyes widened into perfect circles.
When he had quit his gangster life after awakening, Gu Mansik had thought to himself: Now that he was working legally, he wanted to play on a bigger scale. Instead of staying in small Korea with its small capital flow, he wanted to try his luck in America or China.
But the opportunity had never come. After all, he was just an A-rank hunter from Korea. Places like America and China, with their massive funds and populations, had no reason to recruit foreign hunters unless they were S-rank.
Yet now that opportunity had arrived.
China's Heixiaohui. Although it was a trash guild soaked in extreme Sinocentrism, it was still China's top guild. Its scale was naturally world-class.
...Heixiaohui, huh.
It was more than enough as the big pond he wanted to swim in. That's what Gu Mansik thought.
Of course, he wasn't sure if they would actually keep their promise.
I recorded the call too. And...
"Send the contract in writing. These things need to be done properly."
(Understood.)
He had taken out insurance just in case. Of course, he didn't realize Heixiaohui had prepared even more thoroughly than he had.
Kukuk, yeah... I just need to grab that bastard Park Jihun in Korea and leave the country. Once I'm in China, I'll be the hero who brought the world's only hunter there.
Gu Mansik smiled slyly to himself. On the outside, however, he kept a straight face. He didn't want the hunters following him to notice what he was thinking.
(Then we're done here.)
While he was thinking, the woman on the other end abruptly ended the call.
"Tch, you fucking bitch. Is it because she's Chinese? She just says what she wants and hangs up."
Still, something about her voice sounded sexy. He got the feeling her face would be pretty too.
When I get to China, maybe I'll ask her to let me have a go. Kkukkuk.
With that thought, Gu Mansik headed back to the guild office with his men.