Chapter 96
Chapter 96
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: The Suspicious Job Offer
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"Huu..."
In a convenience store in a residential area of Seoul under a bright full moon, a woman in comfortable training clothes let out a sigh without realizing it after finishing her payment.
It wasn't because the store didn't have the snacks she wanted, or because she was unhappy with the part-timer's service.
It was simply that, while casually buying some snacks and paying, her own situation suddenly crossed her mind again.
*When am I going to get a job?*
Her name was Choi Min-ji.
A 27-year-old university graduate, currently unemployed.
Some might say she was still young and shouldn't worry so much, but after three years since graduation without landing a decent job, all she felt was frustration.
Ever since the world had nonsensical things like hunters and gates, the job market had changed dramatically.
In a situation where hunters, far superior to ordinary people in ability, had become commonplace.
Of course, many of them made big money hunting in gates, but not everyone pursued a life risking their neck like that.
There were plenty who simply registered as hunters, used it as a spec on their resume, and lived stable lives in ordinary offices.
From the companies' perspective, if conditions were equal—no, honestly, even if slightly inferior—they preferred hunters.
It was reassuring to have a hunter in case of a gate break in the city, and they excelled in physical requirements and abilities.
But Choi Min-ji was just an ordinary person who hadn't awakened.
She had all the specs and certifications essential for job hunting, but apparently, they weren't enough for the jobs she wanted, as she kept getting rejected in interviews.
*Damn... If they've awakened, they should just go hunt. Why jump into the job market?*
Min-ji left the convenience store, popped open a can of coffee, took a sip, and vented her petty frustration by kicking a pebble on the asphalt roadside.
Major corporations even explicitly listed hunter preference in their conditions or set up separate tracks for retired hunters, which only added to her injustice.
But there were reasons why things had turned out this way.
Social admiration for hunters had risen, and there was a societal consensus that those who risked their lives fighting deserved rewards.
Min-ji understood that much.
It was just that she'd become an unintended victim, so she grumbled inwardly.
Even if she vented to her family, the response was always the same.
"These days, how easy is it for a regular person to get into a big company? Start at a small or medium one and move up as experienced hire."
They said everyone lived like that, so she should curb her greed.
But after all the effort she'd poured into getting into and through university, deciding to join a small company wasn't easy.
Besides, the gentle advice only lasted a year after graduation. Now, it was all nagging like, "Don't waste food and get a job already."
*People from my parents' generation got jobs easily when there was no distinction between ordinary people and hunters!*
To Min-ji now, that sounded like a dream.
A society where you got rewarded purely for your efforts, without hunters overshadowing everything.
Sure, the older generation claimed their times were hellish compared to before, but that was just full-bellied whining.
Anyway, going home now would just mean facing her parents' pitiful stares.
Min-ji decided to take a detour and cool her head in the nearby park.
"Let me check if any new job postings popped up..."
With a sliver of hope, she opened the job app again.
Sometimes, older bosses explicitly posted for ordinary people only, saying they didn't want mutants like hunters in their company.
These days they were treated like outdated relics, but what could she do if they were hiring?
*Those places are nine times out of ten a bust, but...*
Min-ji knew her grand ambition of a big corporation was now pointless pride.
So she checked small company postings with faint hope—something she wouldn't have glanced at a year ago.
But the app had no ordinary-person-only postings, not even new ones.
"Ha..."
Frustrated, Min-ji swiped her finger roughly across the phone screen.
By chance, she scrolled to the "Interested Companies" list.
There, unlike the big corps, was a truly shabby posting.
- HJH Gate Office
Min-ji stared at the title with a sour expression, then clicked it.
A gate office referred to hunter groups too small to become guilds.
Like proto-guilds that could succeed anytime or vanish like they never existed.
Annual revenue of 10 billion won, 50 affiliated hunters, 100 gates cleared annually.
Meet those thresholds, and you could apply for guild status with various benefits—or stay a gate office if not.
Fancy name, but really,
*'Hunter sole proprietorship, hunter sole proprietorship.'*
Back when guilds weren't established, promising gate offices got attention, but now they were just subcontractors for big guilds' scraps.
Truly small-business vibes, not even worth calling SME.
So why was this pathetic "HJH Gate Office" in Min-ji's interested companies list, when she aimed for big corps?
*'They pay really well.'*
Obviously, the money.
The company overview: new office, 1 employee, no performance, no revenue.
Yet the salary matched big corp levels.
Plus full four insurances, vacation guarantees, etc.
So HJH Gate Office once buzzed among job seekers.
Requirements weren't strict, salary high—natural.
But the problem: too suspicious.
Searching "HJH Gate Office" yielded nothing.
And only hiring one person? Perfect scam bait.
Min-ji swallowed as she stared at the posting.
*Should I... apply?*
Her reason for big corps was high pay and benefits, right?
Her vanity to impress friends or parents' acquaintances was long gone.
Big corp or this tiny outfit—little difference.
Apply, and if anything fishy, ghost them.
Under the bright full moon in the quiet park, one job seeker half-bewitched herself into applying.
- Rrr
"Huh?"
The reply came much faster than Min-ji expected.
Only after receiving it did worry hit.
It's a gate office, so probably hunter-related. What if it's crime-linked?
- Thank you for applying. I'd love to meet ASAP. Can you interview at the place I'm sending tomorrow?
Tone and format: not auto-generated.
Location: famous franchise cafe near the Association.
*Hmm...*
Still suspicious, but okay?
What crime in central Seoul, next to the Association?
Better than some shady back-alley office.
And too much money to ditch over suspicion.
*Yeah, just meet once!*
Choi Min-ji, compromising with reality and risk.
The next day.
"Hey, where you off to suddenly? Out playing again?"
"Can't you tell from the clothes? Interview, interview!"
Bang-
Min-ji couldn't tell her family which company, so she bolted like a commando to the interview spot.
***
"Whew, interviews are tough."
Meanwhile, Jeong-hyeon sat in a cafe near the Association, sighing.
After talking with Choi Nam-sik from the Association operations, a business idea flashed in his mind.
*This is gonna be huge?*
Like a romance newbie planning kids' kindergarten on a first date,
Always employee or freelancer, Jeong-hyeon was convinced he'd make bank starting a business.
So he'd registered "HJH Gate Office" using his initials, posted for staff to help prep—and a month passed.
Conditions matched big corps, even slightly better, yet no applicants.
*Why won't they apply even for good pay?*
He didn't realize the suspiciously good terms scared them off.
A few applied, half-jokingly, with crap specs—forcing rejections.
Later, realizing how shady it looked, he tried uploading his personal hunt logs as office performance, but they only counted for 5+ hunter offices.
So, stuck with no performance.
*All companies start with one employee, no performance. What's the big deal?*
Like applicants seeing "prefer experienced" in new grad postings.
Life's hard for employers and employees alike.
Anyway, he hoped this interviewee was solid.
*Still far from level 5, but prep early is best.*
He planned to seriously start the business at trait shop level 5.
Post-Nam-sik meeting, he posted the ad and grinded level 4-5 gates nonstop.
He toned down to avoid Association scrutiny—no more Hunter Net buzz.
Progress was steady, if slow, but business prep stalled, making him antsy.
- Rrr
Then, his phone alarm.
Applicant? Yes, same message.
- I-I'm at the cafe! Where to?
- Gray hoodie zip-up by the window.
At first, Jeong-hyeon dressed in suit for show, but after wasted interviews, nah.
Now casual.
Sent text, scanned—eye contact with one woman.
Neatly suited up.
Joy: this one's good. Then dismay.
*Shoot, shoulda worn the suit.*
Why'd she dress proper when he didn't?
If she knew his past interviewees, she'd get it—but no.
To her, shady company prez in un-prez clothes? Super suspect.
Sure enough, she looked awkward at his outfit.
*Eh, clothes don't matter for the interview.*
Face stung briefly, but he shrugged it off.
Not some corporate gig— he'd be fine if she came in sweats.
If the person was good.
"Ah, hello. I'm Choi Min-ji, the applicant."
*Is this really okay?*
"Nice to meet you. I'm President Han Jeong-hyeon."
*Just interview quick and hire if good.*
Thus began their comically bungled first meeting.