Seongwoon Group
It was lunchtime on the day I received my third tutorial quest: earning Affection Points.
"There, there..."
"Our Yeonwoo, your hair got all messy, didn't it?"
"At this rate, we're going to wear him out from all the petting."
Sitting on the sofa that had somehow become my personal cozy nest, I ate my sweet cereal and quietly offered my head to the female hunters who had slithered over to sit next to me.
"Hehehe..."
And so began the warm hands reaching in from all directions.
"I mean, he seems to enjoy it, so I guess it's fine, but..."
"..."
"Why is he suddenly allowing people to touch him so easily...?"
As I let out a giddy smile, I heard Seong-a noona, who had me sitting on her lap, muttering to herself.
Affection Points increased by 1!
Affection Points increased by 1!
Affection Points increased by 1!
In truth, the answer to her question kept flashing right in front of my eyes, but I decided to keep my mouth shut for now.
...This is actually nicer than I thought.
It was such an unfamiliar feeling that it was hard to judge, but the ticklish sensation in my chest wasn't bad at all.
"Hey, you guys."
"Ah."
"...Move."
Just then, a cold voice drifted over from behind.
"..."
Chaerin noona, who had silently appeared behind the sofa, shooed away the female hunters gathered around me and stared down at me.
"Ouch?"
The next moment, she quietly reached out, and I felt a slight pinch on my cheek.
Puuull...
Having pinched my cheek, Chaerin noona was gently stretching it out.
"Uwaaaah..."
At first, I panicked, thinking she was picking on me, but looking at Chaerin noona's expression, that didn't seem to be the case.
"Don't let just anyone touch you, kiddo."
"...Huh?"
"Just because they're hunters doesn't mean they're all good people."
A quiet piece of advice slipped from her lips as she continued to stretch my cheek.
I'd felt this since last time, but Chaerin noona really gave me a lot of practical advice.
I had no idea why she felt the need to stretch my cheek while doing it today, but since it was invaluable advice, I was just grateful.
"Are you talking about yourself?"
"...What?"
"You're hurting Yeonwoo."
As I tilted my head in thought, Seong-a noona, radiating a frosty aura, suddenly grabbed Chaerin noona's hand.
"I told you not to lay your hands on me."
"And why should I listen to you?"
"...Are my words a joke to you?"
Instantly, the atmosphere in the lounge grew incredibly tense.
"Oh boy, are they fighting again?"
"Last time they fought, the lounge was half-destroyed."
"Looking at their faces, it might get completely demolished this time..."
I didn't know what was going on, but hearing the whispers around us, I couldn't just let the two of them keep going.
"...I'm sorry."
"...?"
"It's my fault, please don't fight..."
I intentionally trembled and mumbled in a subdued voice. Fortunately, the two noonas stopped their confrontation and turned their gaze toward me.
"W-What's wrong, Yeonwoo?"
"Kiddo, what's wrong?"
They looked far more flustered than I had anticipated, so I replied with a sheepish expression.
"Whenever Mommy and Daddy fought, doing this always worked."
A chilling silence descended upon the lounge.
"Mommy and... Daddy."
"...Hmm."
The two noonas stared at each other awkwardly in the silence before looking back down at me to ask a question.
"Yeonwoo, do you remember your parents?"
"What kind of people were they?"
Come to think of it, I hadn't properly shared my past with anyone at the Hunter Association yet.
"If they're out there somewhere..."
"They're both dead."
"...Oh."
I might as well lay it out clearly now.
"Because I didn't stop their fighting, they both ran away from home, got caught in a Gate incident, and died."
It happened so long ago that I felt nothing about it anymore. If sharing this could prevent these two from fighting, I was more than happy to use it.
"So please don't fight, noonas!"
"..."
"And don't run away from home either..."
I didn't want the mood to get too depressing, so I finished on a cheerful note. The two noonas, who had been staring at me blankly, quietly sat down on either side of me.
"...I'm sorry I'm such an inadequate guardian."
"...Me too."
They began stroking my head simultaneously, murmuring in voices thick with guilt.
"Y-Yeonwoo. Shall we watch TV with noonas?"
"...Yes!"
"T-Then... what kind of show..."
Fortunately, the awkward atmosphere was broken by Seong-a noona's colleagues, who crept back into the room.
Beep!
Suddenly, Chaerin noona grabbed the remote control sitting on the edge of the sofa, flipped the channel, and spoke.
"...Kids like cartoons."
"I-Is that so?"
Seong-a noona reacted in surprise, realizing a moment too late that Chaerin was addressing her, not me.
"My younger sibling was like that too."
"..."
"They were around this kid's age, so he'll probably like it."
Just as Chaerin noona said, the cartoon that started playing on the TV was incredibly interesting and fun.
"...Whoa!"
Honestly, I had always liked this kind of stuff, but now that my mental age had dropped due to my ability, it was so entertaining that I couldn't take my eyes off the screen.
Stroke, stroke...
Pet, pet...
I was so absorbed that I didn't even notice the two noonas, who had been anxiously watching me, gently starting to pet my head from both sides.
Affection Points have increased significantly!
Even the status window message floating before my eyes couldn't pull my attention away.
"By the way, kiddo."
"Yes?"
"Between the two of us, who is Mommy and who is Daddy?"
I finally snapped out of it when Chaerin noona, who had been watching me closely, tentatively asked the question.
"I'm not the dad, am I?"
Chaerin noona quickly added, her eyes somehow drifting toward Seong-a noona's chest.
"...Right?"
She looked down to check her own chest, asking again in a slightly less confident voice. Just as I was wondering how to answer her—
"Excuse me... Yeonwoo-nim!"
"Yes?"
"Um, could you come over here for a moment..."
Fortunately, an external staff member called out to me from outside the lounge, allowing me to escape the situation without hurting Chaerin noona's feelings.
"Someone from the Seongwoon Guild is here to see you, Yeonwoo-nim."
However, the news I received was shocking enough to make me want to crawl right back onto the sofa.
"...And they're with the President of Seongwoon Group."
Anyone in my shoes would have felt the same upon hearing that the head of the nation's top conglomerate had personally come to visit on behalf of one of South Korea's top three guilds.
Meanwhile, in the main lobby of the Hunter Association.
"Right, so..."
"..."
"What brings the head of Seongwoon Group, who should be busy working, all the way here?"
Having rushed down after hearing the urgent news, Kwon Seongmuk, the President of the Hunter Association, spoke with a cold smile as he identified the visitor.
"Just getting some fresh air, I suppose."
The person who replied with a playful smile, completely unfazed by the President's imposing aura, was none other than the third-generation President of Seongwoon Group, Han Serin.
"If that were true, you wouldn't have brought two S-class hunters with you."
"Fufu, is that so?"
Letting out a soft laugh, her striking face contrasting with her simple knit dress, she looked around and asked a question.
"By the way, where is the new S-class hunter?"
"I issued an information gag order, but it seems it has already leaked."
"Actually, the security was quite tight this time. We don't know much either, other than their rank."
The Association President glared at her warily before speaking in a low voice.
"Serin. Is this how your father raised you?"
"I don't think that's something a man holding a triple crown of charges—operating a private execution squad, government policy interference, and inhumane torture resulting in death—should say."
However, Han Serin was no pushover.
She was the very person who had seized control of a global conglomerate with massive influence in South Korea and across the world at a young age, winning a brutal succession war known as the "Princess's Rebellion."
"There was a time when I had to abandon my humanity to hunt down monsters that weren't human."
"I can relate to that."
"Of course, I'm still half-abandoned even now."
The war of nerves between the two powerful figures, whose influence far transcended state authority, dragged on.
"Well, it doesn't look like you're going to introduce us yourself."
"..."
"But you won't stop us from going inside, right?"
It was President Han Serin who made the first move to break the stalemate.
"Since a new S-class hunter has appeared, I need to make an impression."
"..."
"And while we're at it, have my boys teach them a quick lesson."
At the same time, the two hunters standing behind her made a chilling remark.
"Five million won per bruise. Ten million won per cut. An extra hundred million won if we win. Right?"
"...We'll stop just short of killing them, President."
Whenever a new S-class hunter emerged, the first to challenge them to a ranking match was almost always the Seongwoon Guild's hound unit.
Beating them down to lower their perceived value before recruiting them to groom as corporate assets was Seongwoon Group's go-to strategy—underhanded, yet highly effective.
In today's hunter society, ranking matches between S-class hunters were tacitly permitted. Since the rank consisted entirely of individuals who defied normal human standards, the Association had no way to stop them anyway.
In fact, the media and internet forums openly treated S-class rankings as gossip, which said it all.
"Once you beat them half to death, they tend to become quite compliant."
"Haha."
"And if all else fails, we can just settle it with money."
President Han Serin, openly discussing this without even trying to hide it from the Association President, asked in an annoyed, impatient voice.
"So, where is this seventh S-class?"
"..."
"Look, I'm a very busy person."
A brief silence followed.
"...I'll bring him out myself."
"My, what has gotten into our Association President?"
The silence was broken by the Association President, who surprisingly complied with Han Serin's request without a fuss.
"Haha, my dear. You will truly regret it this time."
"Yes, yes, I'm sure I will."
Dismissing his ominous warning with an arrogant smile, she watched the Association President turn and walk into the lounge before speaking in a low voice.
"...Is the broadcast setup ready?"
"Yes, President."
"It's a direct feed to the Hunter Channel, so make sure the camera angles are perfect."
The meticulous Han Serin, who never hesitated to get her hands dirty for success, was once again stretching her claws toward the new S-class hunter.
"U-Um, I'm Do Yeonwoo."
However, about ten minutes later.
"...What?"
President Han Serin, looking visibly flustered compared to moments ago, broke into a cold sweat as she bent down to look at a child who barely reached the length of her legs.
"I'm... the seventh S-class."
"..."
"Um, but..."
Immediately after, a tearful voice trembled from the mouth of the terrified child.
"Do I really have to fight those big brothers and sisters...?"
The two hunters from the hound unit, who had sworn they would do any dirty work as long as they were paid, were now staring at Han Serin with resentful eyes that clearly said, 'Isn't this a bit too much?'
"A-Ahaha..."
Nevertheless, with the camera still rolling behind her, she began to force an awkward smile, feeling the greatest crisis of her life looming over her.