Chapter 35
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: A New Encounter (2)
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It’s not like I did anything wrong.
Leaving Song Eun-young to her work, I spoke to an approaching staff member.
“Do you have a table?”
“Yes, I’ll show you to your seat.”
The employee led me to a relatively open area, where I took a seat by myself.
‘I was in a rush last time, so I just left.’
This time, I planned to have a proper conversation with Song Eun-young.
Choi Soo-hyun didn't seem to oppose it either.
He had even given me his card and told me to have a good talk with her.
Though I did get an earful for using it for personal reasons.
I got some food on a plate and started eating.
Song Eun-young was in charge of the central hall where I was seated.
I raised my hand several times to ask for water, but Song Eun-young pretended not to see me.
‘What’s with her?’
In the end, another staff member came over and poured me some water.
I rested my arm on the table and watched Song Eun-young.
Avoiding my gaze, Song Eun-young glanced around.
Just then, another customer nearby raised their hand, looking for a server.
The moment Song Eun-young was about to head toward the customer, a small child suddenly darted out.
The child and Song Eun-young collided.
The plate in the child's hand fell.
Crash.
With the sound of shattering porcelain, the food on the plate spilled onto a coat hanging on a chair.
For a brief moment, a silence fell over the buffet.
“Waaaaah!”
“Oh, my goodness! Min-jun!”
The owner of the coat, who seemed to be the child's mother, quickly stood up to soothe him.
‘Looks like he did that on purpose.’
Unlike Song Eun-young, who had a blind spot, I was standing near the entrance and could see the child's every move.
Song Eun-young may be an unaffiliated D-rank Hunter, but she's still an Awakened One.
At the very least, her reflexes and stamina are superior to an ordinary person's.
Judging from how she handled the orc, her physical abilities were likely better than other Hunters of her rank, certainly not worse.
The child was holding the plate and deliberately waiting for a staff member to pass by.
In fact, Song Eun-young had dodged the child and even caught the plate.
The flustered child then belatedly shoved the plate forward and fell on his own.
Even she probably wouldn't have expected a child to pull a stunt like that.
Honestly, I was a bit surprised myself.
‘They say kids these days are scary.’
A kid who didn't even look old enough for elementary school had already learned all the wrong things.
Then again, with parents like that, what else would he learn? Sure enough, the parent holding the crying child began to scold Song Eun-young.
“Are you blind? Where are you looking?”
“I'm sorry.”
“Is 'sorry' supposed to fix everything? What if my child had gotten hurt?”
“Waaaaaaah!!”
“Don't cry, Min-jun. My goodness, do you have any idea how much this coat costs? Are you crazy? Get your manager!”
“I apologize. I should have been more careful, but the child suddenly darted out…”
“What? Are you blaming my child now? You disrespectful… How dare a hotel employee accuse a guest? How does this hotel even train its staff! Enough, just get the manager out here!”
The situation was escalating.
Song Eun-young frowned, as if she'd run into the wrong kind of trouble, and said something into her radio.
“Ugh, my goodness. What are you going to do about this coat? You couldn't afford this even if you worked your whole life. You know that?”
“I'm sorry. We'll take responsibility for having it cleaned.”
“Oh, look at this. Just look. It's completely stained. You think cleaning is going to fix this? How do you even make a mess like this?”
I quietly got up from my seat and walked over, standing between the woman and Song Eun-young.
“You're right. I don't think cleaning will do any good for this.”
The white coat was thoroughly stained with sauce.
“And who are you?”
“I'm a customer who lost his appetite because of your screeching. You haven't paid any attention to your kid since you got here, too busy chatting with each other. No wonder the kid's already pulling insurance scams.”
“Wait…”
I gently pushed away Song Eun-young's approaching hand.
Just then, the manager and other superiors arrived, and Song Eun-young took a few steps back to explain the situation to them.
“What did you just say to my wife? Have you lost your mind, you little punk?”
The man, who had been sitting quietly, stood up.
The smell of his cologne was so strong it made me frown.
“Do you know who I am?”
“And who are you that I should know?”
Who is this guy?
I'm not kidding, I really have no idea.
But he didn't exactly have a face that made me want to find out.
After finishing her conversation with her superior, Song Eun-young came over to try and stop me again, and I whispered to her.
“Noona, who's that guy?”
“Since when do you get to call me noona?”
“I obviously look younger than you.”
Though if we're getting technical, I'm actually older.
At least, according to Kang Han-gyeol's ID, he was in his early twenties.
“Are you saying I look old? Hah. He's the section chief of the Domestic Guild Department at the main Hunter Association.”
The Domestic Guild Department? What's that? They really have a department for everything.
From Song Eun-young's reaction, I could tell it was a pretty high-ranking department.
Song Eun-young tried to gently placate me.
“I don't know what you're planning, but you're just getting in the way.”
Song Eun-young looked genuinely annoyed.
The atmosphere was certainly different from what I had imagined.
I wanted to make a grand entrance, do the whole 'Is this coat that expensive? How much do you want!' routine like some third-generation chaebol, but this was hardly the right mood for it.
“Ugh, do you kids even know who you have to thank for living so safely? And you dare lecture me about my child's upbringing? Get on your knees and apologize, now!”
“Sir, please, this person is also a guest… We'll take good care of your wife's coat, sir.”
“Is the coat what's important right now? That disrespectful little brat! Tsk, what kind of upbringing did you have? What does your fath—…”
This guy's got some lungs on him, too.
The moment I heard Song Eun-young mention the Hunter Association, I had quietly taken out my phone and dialed a number.
It connected on the third try.
I then held the phone out to the man.
“Are you kidding me right now?”
“My friend works at the Association, too.”
“And who's your friend?”
“Choi Soo-hyun.”
At my answer, the man's eyes narrowed.
Just then, Choi Soo-hyun's voice came through the speakerphone.
─ Hey! Kang Han-gyeol, you crazy bastard! Did I tell you I was in a meeting or not? If this isn't important, I swear I'll drag you to the Han River, shove your head in, and pickle you! Do I look like I have time for this? If you're going to call, then speak!
Jeez. What a temper.
I practically forced the phone into the man's hands.
The hesitant man took the call.
─ Hello?
─ 'Hello' my ass. Who is this?
─ Excuse me, is this really Section Chief Choi?
─ I asked who you are.
─ This is Oh Tae-seung, department head of the Domestic Guild Bureau. Oh my, I didn't realize I was speaking to a friend of Section Chief Choi's…
He quickly turned his back, bowing his head as he spoke on the phone.
Their ranks were the same, but he was clearly treating him like a superior.
He was practically bent in half, like a flip phone.
It wasn't entirely unexpected.
Considering he'd covered up my double dungeon incident and talked to the higher-ups to amend the report, it was clear Choi Soo-hyun held a unique position within the Association.
‘Then again, what would an S-rank Hunter have to gain from a government job?’
Even if he was unaffiliated, Choi Soo-hyun was an S-rank Hunter.
Being part of the Association meant that, at least formally, he was working for the country.
A moment later, the man finished his call and returned.
“He says you should take the phone. And, ahem, I am truly sorry about this incident.”
“Honey, what's wrong?”
“Quiet! How did you raise our child for him to be bumping into employees like that?”
“What? Honey, have you ever once helped me while I was raising him all by myself? Is this my fault?”
“I know, I know. Let's just go. Hurry up and calm the kid down.”
The man gathered his wife and quickly left.
A staff member offered compensation, but he vehemently refused.
I quietly brought the phone to my ear.
I could hear Choi Soo-hyun sigh on the other end.
─ What the hell are you getting into now? And who was that guy?
─ It's nothing.
─ Don't ever call me for something like this again. Hanging up.
I put the disconnected phone in my pocket and shrugged.
“Noona, you know you owe me one, right?”
“…”
“When do you get off work?”
“Wait an hour.”
“Alright. I saw a cafe in the lobby. I'll be there.”
Song Eun-young nodded in agreement.
* * *
I left the buffet restaurant.
After ordering a coffee, I leaned back on the plush sofa.
[Dimension Management]
Name: Tower of Trials
Dimension Conquest Rate: 3%
Log (+View More)
2nd Floor: Thankfully, he seems to have survived somehow. Looks like he entered the 2nd floor alone. No matter how I look at it, this doesn't seem like a difficulty that can be soloed. After accepting him as a believer, I gifted him a weapon and taught him the basics of combat. But... is this really okay?
3rd Floor: When I asked how he cleared the 2nd floor, he said he bought time by setting the forest on fire… He seems to be quite cunning. The 3rd floor isn't that difficult compared to the 2nd, but the fact that he has to kill people is unsettling.
“Is this a diary?”
It seems to be written every time I clear a floor of the Tower, but I'm definitely not the one writing it intentionally.
The fact that it describes my psychology so perfectly is a little creepy.
I closed the status window and ate my coffee and green tea tiramisu.
I sat there blankly, occupying the long sofa by myself as I passed the time.
A little less than an hour later, Song Eun-young approached, now in her casual clothes.
She was wearing a white shirt with a dark beige suit.
The well-tailored pants, simple patent leather shoes, hair let down to flow past her shoulders, and her small face were all quite striking.
When she was working at the buffet, she seemed like a perfectly ordinary hotel employee, but seeing her like this, she gave off a completely different vibe.
Come to think of it, she was wearing a suit last time, too, and this outfit was also close to a suit.
“You seem to like suits.”
“Huh? Oh, well, they're comfortable, you know?”
“Those heels don't look very comfortable for fighting.”
“I told you, I don't get into fights.”
“Come on, I saw you plant a knee kick right in that orc's face. That wasn't the work of a beginner… Mmph…”
Leaning forward, Song Eun-young clamped her hand over my mouth.
She's got more of a temper than she lets on.
“Should we talk outside?”
“I can'th anthwer if you don'th let go…”
“We're going outside, right?”
Fine, we'll go outside! We'll go!
I was led out of the hotel by Song Eun-young.
It was the afternoon, so Gangnam Station was quite crowded.
Then again, when is Gangnam Station ever not crowded?
“Where do you want to go?”
“Anywhere is fine.”
My goal is to recruit Eun-young noona, after all.
As long as we could talk, it didn't matter where we went. Eun-young noona took out her phone.
It had a flashy case, covered in dangling imitation jewels.
“Really? Then I'll choose.”
Song Eun-young pointed down a side street.
It was a brunch cafe in an alley a little way from the station.
It had high ceilings, a natural wood design, and was decorated here and there with fresh and artificial flowers.
Song Eun-young led me to a table in the farthest corner.
“You drink coffee, right?”
“Yes.”
Song Eun-young raised her hand and called a waiter.
She ordered an avocado salmon salad, an ice cream waffle, an americano, and a caffè latte.
“The brunch and coffee here are pretty good.”
“I can see that.”
I wasn't sure about the avocado salmon salad, but the ice cream waffle was definitely delicious.
The contrast between the cold ice cream and the warmth of the freshly baked waffle, its soft texture… it was fantastic—wait, no!
How did this suddenly turn into something that looks like a date!
I took a sip of my americano and got to the point.
“Noona, have you thought about being a Hunter? Or rather, why aren't you active?”
Caught off guard by the blunt question, Song Eun-young's jaw dropped.
“Is there no middle ground with you?”