Chapter 36
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: A New Encounter (3)
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Song Eun-young let out a sigh, her chin resting on her arm as she stared at me with a sullen expression.
I already knew her story from Choi Soo-hyun.
She was a victim of the Great Cataclysm seven years ago and had become an Awakened One not long after.
After a long pause, Song Eun-young spoke.
“As you know, I don’t have…”
“A patron god to serve?”
“Right.”
In this line of work, whether you served a god or not was a crucial factor.
Without one, you couldn’t even earn the Contribution Points you get from killing monsters and clearing dungeons.
You couldn’t use any decent skills, either.
No matter how strong an Awakened One was individually, there was a clear gap between those who served a god and those who didn’t.
Which was all the more reason I needed Song Eun-young.
“If you had a patron god, would you consider continuing as a Hunter?”
“I think you’re misunderstanding something. It’s been almost six years since I awakened. There’s no way any god would choose me now when I haven’t been chosen for six years.”
“That’s why I’m here. The god I serve is looking for someone just like you.”
Song Eun-young’s eyes narrowed slightly.
She called over a waiter and ordered another coffee.
“Is that all?”
“Sorry?”
“Is that flimsy reason why you’ve been showing up every single morning for a week? Are you a stalker?”
“I just wanted a chance to talk to you.”
A stalker? That’s a bit harsh.
Even I’m hurt by that.
“I don’t know who your god is, but find someone else… some other Hunter.”
This was not going at all how I’d expected.
Song Eun-young downed her new coffee in one go and set the cup down.
She swept her hair back and uncrossed her legs.
“I don’t know who your god is, but if you chose me just because I’m an unaffiliated Hunter, you’ve got the wrong person.”
“I didn’t choose you just because you’re unaffiliated. That’s part of it, yes. But you’re also someone who can’t give up on the dream of being a Hunter, drifting from place to place, vastly underrated for your skills, and with a bit of a chip on your shoulder about society.”
“I don’t have a chip on my shoulder about society.”
“You’re not denying the rest, so I guess I was right about that?”
“You’re annoying.”
Song Eun-young fell silent and turned her head toward the window.
A group of Hunters was gathering, preparing to enter a dungeon that had appeared on the main street near Gangnam Station.
Judging by their attire, they were from the Raon Guild.
As Song Eun-young looked down at them, her eyes wavered.
Those were not the eyes of someone who had given up.
She might be able to fool others, but she couldn’t fool me.
“What’s the problem?”
“You know what? A Hunter’s job isn’t just clearing dungeons. There are far more non-Hunters in the world than Hunters. Protecting those people from the threat of monsters… that’s the reason Hunters are given powers that ordinary people don’t have. That’s what my parents always used to say.”
From what Choi Soo-hyun had told me, Song Eun-young’s parents had a strong sense of duty.
Song Eun-young bit her lip.
“But what good did it do? They spent their whole lives protecting others but couldn’t even protect their own child. What kind of Hunter is that?”
I knew she had knocked on the doors of various guilds.
Her words and her actions didn’t match.
The seven years I didn’t know of her life might have been filled with more frustration and forced compromises than hope.
“I hate Hunters.”
“For someone who says that, you sure jumped in more desperately than anyone when you saw that orc. The truth is, you love your parents more than anyone, and you wanted to be a Hunter, didn’t you?”
“The orc was just in my way to work. And I’m not qualified to be a Hunter.”
“Who gives you that qualification? The moment you awakened, you were already qualified. No one has the right to tell someone else whether they’re qualified or not.”
That was true even if that someone was a god.
Song Eun-young’s eyes widened in disbelief.
She hesitated, as if she had something to say, then ran a hand through her hair.
She looked incredibly conflicted.
After finishing the rest of the salmon salad, Song Eun-young began to tell her story.
“At first, I did try to become a Hunter. I thought if I became one, I might be able to understand, even just a little, why my parents made the choices they did. All I got in return was the label of being unaffiliated, chosen by no god. But now, none of that matters anymore.”
“But you’re an Awakened One.”
“But I wasn’t chosen by anyone. There must have been some kind of mistake. And I’m sick and tired of waiting.”
“But I want you. You can trust me just this once, can’t you?”
“Where does all that confidence come from?”
Song Eun-young frowned, unable to comprehend.
I relaxed my shoulders and smiled faintly.
“I wonder.”
Thinking about it, I realized that besides asking her to join me, there was nothing else I could offer her at the moment.
“You’re a weird one.”
“In any case, it’s a good opportunity for you, too.”
“Do you even know me? What do you know about me to say something like that?”
I was speechless in the face of her cold stare.
I didn’t know anything about her.
Everything I knew was secondhand. But the same could be said for her, couldn’t it?
“We can get to know each other starting now.”
I quickly grabbed Song Eun-young’s hand as she started to stand up.
I feel like I’ve been cast as the clingy ex-boyfriend here.
Sure enough, people at a few other tables were glancing our way.
It’s not like that!
Song Eun-young slapped my hand away.
“By the way, you seem close with Choi Soo-hyun.”
“Well, Choi Soo-hyun is a potential colleague, too.”
“Is that so? For your information, the person who told me I wasn’t qualified to be a Hunter was Choi Soo-hyun. Isn’t that reason enough to say no?”
Hearing that unexpected name, my mouth hung open.
I never imagined Choi Soo-hyun’s name would come up here. And he said something like that to her?
‘Is he out of his mind?’
And after all that, he recommended her to me? I couldn’t begin to fathom how his brain worked.
“Then let’s at least exchange numbers. Choi Soo-hyun… damn it, forget about that guy for a second. I might be able to help you.”
It took me a week of clocking in at the hotel buffet just to get this meeting.
There was no way in hell I was going to let her slip away again.
I practically forced my phone into her hands.
After a moment’s hesitation, Song Eun-young typed in her number.
Suspecting she might have entered a fake one, I called it on the spot.
Her phone vibrated.
Song Eun-young showed me her screen.
“I’ll be in touch. And I’ll get this.”
I quickly grabbed the bill.
I had the card Choi Soo-hyun gave me, so money was no object.
Song Eun-young didn’t seem to care much about the bill either.
“I gave you my number, so stop showing up at the hotel buffet. If you come one more time, I’ll report you as a stalker for real!”
“Alright.”
Song Eun-young turned and walked out of the cafe, the sound of her heels clicking on the floor.
After she left, I sat alone at the empty table.
I sent a text to Choi Soo-hyun, telling him to call me before he tried to use the ‘I’m busy’ excuse again.
About ten minutes later, my phone rang. It was Choi Soo-hyun.
─ So, did it go well with Song Eun-young?
─ Are you kidding me right now? Are you out of your mind?
─ What? Who’s out of their mind? You?
─ Who else? You!
Clenching my fist on the table, I told Choi Soo-hyun everything Song Eun-young had said.
I didn’t know what had happened between them, but if something like that occurred, he should have at least told me.
After hearing my story, Choi Soo-hyun was silent for a long time.
Well, he probably had nothing to say for himself.
Song Eun-young, on the other hand, had probably carried that wound with her for her entire life.
─ I said that? When?
─ You don’t remember?
─ How am I supposed to remember that?
─ So you’re saying Song Eun-young lied?
She didn’t seem like the type. Besides, her expression was one of genuine hurt.
Hearing the confusion in my voice, Choi Soo-hyun replied.
─ If she said I said it, then I guess I did.
This guy, seriously.
Just as I was about to lose my temper, Choi Soo-hyun’s voice came through.
─ I remember meeting her before I joined the Association. If I said something, it must have been then. Though I don’t remember it.
Choi Soo-hyun admitted to meeting her but vaguely claimed he couldn’t remember saying those words.
─ Don’t bullshit me.
─ Is that any way to talk to your hyung?
─ Maybe a few smacks to the head will jog your memory? I could come over and help with that. So, are you really going to play dumb and say you don’t remember?
Under my persistent questioning, Choi Soo-hyun finally went quiet.
Doesn’t remember?
I didn’t know how he could use that as an excuse when his memory was so good he could probably recall the time his elementary school deskmate borrowed an eraser and forgot to return it.
─ Did you really say that?
─ I did, but… I didn’t think she’d hold onto it.
Knowing Choi Soo-hyun’s personality, it sounded exactly like something he would do and more.
Even his wiki page said that back then, his personality was worse, never better.
He himself often said that he had mellowed out a lot after joining the Association.
─ Apologize to her.
─ Hey, why are you bringing up something from years ago? Back in my day, I heard things way worse than that. Back in my day!
─ Cut the ‘back in my day’ crap and apologize to Song Eun-young right now. Who in their right mind tells a Hunter with no affiliation and rock-bottom self-esteem that they’re not qualified? There’s a limit to being crazy. No wonder you’re still single at your age with a personality like that!
─ I’m very popular with women, thank you very much.
─ I bet you get dumped without even knowing why. ‘You don’t care about me, do you? Is your job more important than me? How could you do this to me!’ something like that. Then you’d grab some poor junior colleague and go drinking, whining, ‘Hey, what did I do that was so wrong?’
My heartfelt performance must have hit the mark, because he didn’t respond.
I could let other things slide, but I couldn’t forgive a rift forming between Song Eun-young and Choi Soo-hyun before we even got started.
─ You’re the one who recommended her. So apologize. Properly.
─ Dammit, fine. I’ll do it.
After ending the call with Choi Soo-hyun, I slumped back in my chair and stared up at the cafe ceiling.
‘Man, this is exhausting.’
Nothing in life ever goes smoothly.
* * *
Song Eun-young left the cafe.
She walked down the main street of Gangnam, weaving through the crowds.
‘I said too much.’
The conversation with that kid kept replaying in her mind.
She had intended to keep it brief and brush him off, but uncharacteristically, she had said a lot.
Her phone vibrated.
Slowing her pace, she checked the screen.
The message was from none other than the young man who had just gotten her number.
「Oh, right.」
「My name is Kang Han-gyeol.」
“What is with this guy?”
Eun-young stared at the message and muttered in disbelief.