Chapter 7. Everything is new.
Chapter 7. Everything is new.
"Disposable Instant Healing. Disposable Instant Healing. Disposable Instant Healing..."
"Is that word so long that it requires that much previewing and reviewing?"
"Can you just be quiet? I'm being serious here."
Morning. Heading to the Association with Choi Yeon-ju in the car, dragging my body that felt like it was about to shatter. I had to snap back at her for her nasty remarks, otherwise, I wouldn't be able to calm my heart. I was nervous because I knew what I was about to do was a lie, and even more nervous because the target of my lie was a public institution. The Association is run by the country.
I'm trying to scam the country.
"It'll work out fine on its own without you worrying so much."
"What do you know? You don't know how I feel, having to do it myself."
You don't know shit about how I feel.
I wasn't grateful for her saying it was no big deal; I just found her annoying. She could just play dumb from the sidelines, but I couldn't. Seeing me shaking my legs from anxiety, Choi Yeon-ju smirked and drove that jaw-dropping sports car.
The sports car was fast, other cars moved out of the way, and because of that, we arrived at the Association damn quickly.
"Why is it so fast?"
"This is what you call the dignity of a multi-million won sports car. People move out of the way on their own, so there are fewer accidents."
"That's not what I'm curious about right now..."
Was it because I was too nervous? Or was I stressed without realizing it? I wasn't sure, but my stomach felt like it was hurting. I think it actually hurt. Should I say I'm sick and go back home?
I was seriously considering that.
"First, you just need to register. You worked as a cleaner here, so you know where to register, right? Just handle it and come out."
"And you?"
"I'll be clocking in too. I have some business, so I'll be a little late."
"Uh... You want me to go alone?"
"Don't you know it would be even weirder if we went together?"
It's unfair. If it was going to be like this, she shouldn't have given me a ride. On the first day, she made me take a taxi saying it would cause weird rumors if we went together, but today she brings me in her own car and tells me to go alone from here?
No matter how I look at it, it feels like she's doing this just to fuck with me.
But I didn't have the luxury to argue about that. I just stupidly nodded a few times at Choi Yeon-ju's words, then left the parking lot and headed toward the main entrance of the Association.
The people at the information desk would recognize me.
What should I do?
I had that thought for a moment, but I immediately realized it was a stupid concern.
What do you mean, what should I do? If a cleaner says they awakened and want to become a hunter, what can the people at the information desk do? Once I register as a hunter, it doesn't matter whether I make good money or not; the general office staff at the Association won't even look my way. They wouldn't mock me for being a former cleaner; they'd probably be envious, thinking I hit the lottery.
Thinking this way, I felt a little relieved.
I felt like I was gaining a little courage.
In a situation where I had been constantly nervous, a shred of courage was a truly precious emotion. Trying not to lose that courage, I opened the main door of the Association and went inside. As soon as I entered, the information desk I had been keeping in mind was right in front of me.
It was just past start-of-work time. I saw the female staff member standing at the information desk widen her eyes when she saw me. Soon, she pointed at me in surprise.
"Huh?"
"Long time no see."
"What is it? I haven't seen you lately?"
When I greeted her, the female staff member suddenly asked how I was, as if trying to act friendly. Since I wasn't particularly close with her, I blatantly ignored her question and simply stated my business.
"I came to register as a hunter."
"What did you say?"
"Hunter registration. Hunter."
"Oh my god. Did you awaken?"
"Would I come in like this if I hadn't?"
"Ah. That's true. Could you wait a moment? While filling this out first."
The female staff member nodded as if my words were correct and handed me a document with various things written on it. It was a hunter application form. It was a document with fingerprints densely packed on it, and it looked like it would take longer to fill out than I thought.
"You know where the place to fill it out is, right?"
"Yes."
I was a cleaner, how could I not know that?
I greeted her roughly and headed to the table for filling out documents and started filling in the blanks. Writing it like this makes it feel more real. That I am currently lying to the country!
If I get caught, I'm the only one who's fucked, right? Choi Yeon-ju would continue her work as a doctor without any damage. Since the hypnotized Choi Yeon-ju wouldn't have aimed for that, it means this is a necessary task. No matter how I think about it, the size of the risk we each shoulder is different, so it was incredibly unfair.
The document, which I thought would take a long time at first, was finished sooner than I thought. Trying to memorize things in the car earlier seemed to help quite a bit. Because there wasn't a single part where I got stuck.
I quickly filled out the document and handed it back to the female staff member I had spoken to at the information desk.
"I'm done."
"Ah. Is that so? Then there will be a simple Q&A and an examination, so please wait. When your name is called, please come out then."
"Understood."
The female staff member accepted me more casually than I had worried. Is it really like that? Whether I awakened or not, there's no gain or loss in that staff member's life, so she's probably just looking at me like a cow looks at a chicken. It's shameful that I was trembling with fear all by myself when I hadn't even experienced it yet.
It's a part where I understand why Choi Yeon-ju was smirking next to me the whole way here.
After leaving the information desk, I sat on one of the benches placed here and there, and I felt like I was regaining a little bit of composure. Perhaps the female staff member's reaction helped quite a bit. Only then could I see my surroundings a little more clearly. Because I came early in the morning, there wasn't a single person waiting inside the Association. That means the time I have to wait won't be that long either.
As if my prediction was right, the female staff member at the desk soon called my name. Perhaps because I was the only one in the lobby, she even made eye contact and waved her hand.
"Byeong-jin-nim!"
"Yes."
When I approached, the female staff member handed me something.
"This is your reception slip. You can go into the examination room on the 3rd floor. You know where the examination room is too, right?"
"I know."
"Wow. It's nice and convenient since you're someone who worked here."
"I feel the same."
Actually, it's a bit unfair. Doesn't that mean if someone who didn't know anything came, they would guide them better than this? Why am I not enjoying any of the benefits I should be enjoying just because I worked here?
It was just regrettable that I couldn't openly whine about being unfair over something like this.
I took a deep breath while going up the stairs. The document is probably for storage, so I'm not particularly worried, but from now on is probably the real deal. They'll probably try to examine me by asking in-depth questions about whether it's a lie or not, and if not, what ability I awakened? If I get caught here, I'll be wearing silver bracelets.
Byeong-jin. Calm down.
You can do it!
The examination room on the 3rd floor didn't take long to find either. I arrived in front of the room with a sign hanging that said "Examination Room," and before opening the door, I tried to compose myself once again. I trust there isn't something like a lie detector. If there is, my heart would be pounding, and I'd be caught immediately. Even though I hypnotized Choi Yeon-ju and know that what I'm about to do is heinous, I was originally just a common citizen.
Let's calm down. Calm down.
I repeated that to myself, opened the door, and greeted them loudly.
"I'm Seong Byeong-jin, here for the examination!"
"I know. Please close the door and come in."
A familiar voice was heard from inside.
Huh?
What the.
"Why are you here?"
"Because I'm the one examining. I'm the smartest person in this Association right now, and I'm the one who handles the examination equipment the best, so isn't it natural that I do it myself unless I'm busy?"
"........"
Choi Yeon-ju explained calmly. Looking at Choi Yeon-ju standing there nonchalantly, the things that happened from last night to this morning started to come to mind one by one.
[It would be best to say you used it when your nose bone broke, since it's Disposable Instant Healing.]
[Why a nose bone out of nowhere?]
[Because your face looks like your nose bone is sunken in.]
[It'll work out fine on its own without you worrying so much.]
[What do you know? You don't know how I feel, having to do it myself.]
That bitch knew everything, that's why she wasn't worried...!
"You godda..."
It was right when I was about to explode.
"Sit down first. Looking at the document, it was a mess, so I fixed it a little."
"...Huh?"
"I'm going to explain it from now on, so just sit there and listen quietly. Do you understand?"
"Uh... yeah..."
I couldn't bring myself to get angry, so I sat down obediently. And as I sat in the chair Choi Yeon-ju had prepared, this shrewd woman hypocritically apologized first to steal the timing for me to get angry.
I couldn't help but fall for it even though I knew. It was because I was slow to notice. If I had known it would be like this, I should have just started with swearing no matter what she said...!
"To be honest, Disposable Instant Healing was a joke. It was an excessive joke. I apologize."
"...It's okay."
Since she apologized cleanly, I couldn't say anything more.
"I will arbitrarily write down your ability. But you also need to know, of course. Because when you encounter someone, or when a difficult situation unfolds due to your ability, you need to have something to say back."
"Yeah..."
"From now on, your ability is a weak detection ability. Do you understand? It's so weak that we'll say it's not actually of much use."
"Why a weak detection ability?"
"Because if the experiment on Lim Seo-yoon succeeds, we can take Lim Seo-yoon with us and use her."
"Aha."
You did have a plan after all, huh?
When I let out an exclamation of admiration, Choi Yeon-ju held up one finger.
"But it's still urgent, as expected. Since the ability is written down for now, we must absolutely capture Lim Seo-yoon, that woman. I think you know why without me having to explain."
"Yeah. We definitely have to capture her."
"Then what should we do?"
"...Go into the gate like this and get three Chaos Flowers...?"
"Excellent. As expected, no matter how stupid you are, if I keep talking about it, you do remember."
Choi Yeon-ju even clapped as if she was genuinely impressed, looking amazed. That reaction is even more infuriating and annoying. Doesn't it sound like she didn't have any expectations in the first place?
Choi Yeon-ju asked.
"Are you still wearing the equipment I gave you this morning?"
"Huh? Yeah. You gave it to me on the way to work, so of course."
"Then you can head to the gate right now. Do you have any remaining questions?"
"Where is the gate...?"
"......."
Choi Yeon-ju lost her words. I felt embarrassed by that, but at the same time, I felt good. It was because of my incompetence, but I made that woman shut her mouth, so in some respects, couldn't it be called an achievement? I feel strangely good because it feels like I achieved my first accomplishment against Choi Yeon-ju.
"I'll send you the location by text, so you can leave now. After reporting that you're done on the 1st floor, if you wait, your license will come out. Once you receive it, you are a hunter from then on."
"Does this have a rank too?"
"Where would there be a rank? Do you think it's a driver's license? Like 1st class, 2nd class?"
"No... that's not it, like A-rank, B-rank..."
"The Association does not separately assign ranks to hunters. Because it's obvious that it would act as a form of inequality. Only the license itself is proof that acknowledges you as a hunter."
"That's good."
"Besides, there's mostly just a difference in hunting methods; no one has a uniquely strong ability. Look at you, isn't that the case? Your hypnosis was an absolute hypnosis, but it was one-time use."
"That's true too."
"If there is something to gain, there is also something to lose."
I thought this was a statement that could lead to some deep thinking. I nodded and asked Choi Yeon-ju one last thing.
"What about the taxi fare to the gate?"
"......."
Choi Yeon-ju looked at me with a fed-up expression.
My heart was hurt.