Chapter 67
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: The Boy Dreams (1)
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"This is a notification from HN. Hunter Song Eun-young, please be at the entrance of Lotte World Adventure in Songpa-gu, Jamsil, Seoul by 9:00 AM on the 23rd (Wed). Please do not be late."
"Hmm."
Fresh from a shower, Eun-young sat on the sofa and checked the message on her phone.
This was about a week before Han-gyeol entered the dungeon.
The guild had warned her that if she didn't submit her overdue reports, she'd be barred from entering dungeons for a while. Left with no choice, she was working in the cafeteria.
"What am I doing here on such a beautiful day!"
A hotelier's job wasn't just about service.
Eun-young hadn't started in F&B.
Her first department was the front desk.
Even the HR team couldn't understand why Eun-young, who was the top candidate for a promotion, wanted to transfer departments.
She had little interest in promotions and was inherently unsuited for office work, so she transferred despite everyone's attempts to dissuade her.
Eun-young was so skilled with office software that she could use it with her eyes closed.
It was all thanks to a supervisor who had belittled her as a front desk rookie, asking if she couldn't even handle that.
Furious, Eun-young had gritted her teeth and mastered not only the Opera program the company used but every other software she could get her hands on.
As is often the case in the working world, her damn supervisor simply didn't like her, regardless of how well she did her job.
Her long years of office work had honed Eun-young's memory, which was quite good.
But being good at something and liking it were two different things.
After finally becoming a Hunter, who would have imagined she'd be stuck in a cafe, tapping away at a laptop?
"You should have done them ahead of time."
"That's why I'm doing it now, can't you see—"
Writing her report on the laptop, Eun-young looked up.
'He's handso— wait, Park Si-woo?'
Flustered, Eun-young blinked.
A few guild members in the cafeteria were stealing glances at Park Si-woo, but no one approached him directly.
Holding a coffee, Park Si-woo glanced at the empty seat across from Eun-young.
"Are you with anyone?"
"No."
Park Si-woo set down his coffee and sat in front of her.
She'd said she was alone, not that he could join her.
Seeing Eun-young hesitate, unsure of what to say, Park Si-woo pointed to a paper taped to a nearby wall.
On the laminated A4 paper,
"PLEASE!! Do not work on reports alone at a four-person table!! We beg you!"
was written in a formal font.
"Ah, hahahaha."
Eun-young took a sip from her empty coffee cup and laughed awkwardly.
Park Si-woo.
A name that invariably came up when listing the most famous Hunters in Korea.
His public recognition and image were also quite favorable.
His position as a Guild Master, his status as an S-rank Hunter, his experience that defied his age, and his handsome looks all played a part.
Han-gyeol was close with Park Si-woo, and Choi Soo-hyun was also his friend (though only a temporary member), so it wasn't as if Eun-young had no connection to him at all.
She had seen his face in passing a few times while coming and going from the guild, but this was the first time they had sat face-to-face and talked.
Park Si-woo pointed at the coffee cup Eun-young had to her lips.
He had known for a while that it was empty.
"If you're done, I'll buy you another."
"No..."
Before she could say it was fine, Park Si-woo raised his hand.
A secretary appeared out of nowhere and approached.
Park Si-woo looked at Eun-young.
Finding the atmosphere difficult to refuse, Eun-young sighed.
"A hot peppermint tea, please."
If she had another cup of coffee in this situation, she felt like she'd develop gastritis on the spot.
Song Eun-young didn't know the man named Park Si-woo.
She had seen him countless times in the media and on the news, but that didn't mean she knew him.
While the secretary went to place the order, Park Si-woo spoke to Eun-young.
"You've been clearing dungeons quite diligently."
"Ah, that's... well, I got a late start."
Eun-young drank the tea the secretary brought her.
She was aware that since she started later than others, she had to work at least twice as hard.
"Still, not submitting a single report by the deadline seems a bit much."
"*Cough*, hahaha. I'm, uh, working on it now, you know?"
"An excuse worthy of a college student who's procrastinated on their assignments."
"What do you know about college and assignments!"
"Believe it or not, I'm currently in a master's program."
"What? Really? What's your major?"
"Physics."
Eun-young frowned.
A Guild Master majoring in physics, of all things. How bizarre.
"You have the face of someone who'd major in economics or business."
"What's a business major face? Not that it matters, I haven't been able to graduate because I can't write my thesis. But that's not important... If you're going to speak informally, then do it. If not, don't."
"Then I'll speak comfortably."
His way of speaking was a bit stiff, but from seeing him on the phone with Han-gyeol, he didn't seem like someone who cared much for formalities.
This was much more comfortable for Eun-young than being awkward.
If he was the same age as Choi Soo-hyun, then there wasn't much of an age gap between him and Eun-young either.
Closing her laptop slightly, Eun-young glanced at Park Si-woo.
"Hey..."
"No."
"Hey, I haven't even said anything yet!"
"Speaking informally and your reports are two entirely different matters. I have no reason to do you any favors."
At Park Si-woo's sharp refusal, Eun-young pouted.
Just as she was about to open her laptop again, Eun-young suddenly put it in her bag.
"Does that mean you might help me if you had a reason to?"
Instead of answering, Si-woo fiddled with his phone.
A moment later, Eun-young's phone vibrated.
Park Si-woo stared at Eun-young's jewel-encrusted phone.
Eun-young looked back and forth between her phone and Park Si-woo.
"What's this?"
"It's a program HN is promoting."
Hunter trainees were required to clear a D-rank dungeon under the Association's supervision.
In truth, this final requirement had always been controversial.
Even if it was D-rank, a dungeon was still a dungeon, and fatal accidents occurred on rare occasions.
While dungeons were inherently dangerous, a high accident rate was clearly a loss for the Association as well.
Talk of needing better security measures had always circulated internally.
"The deciding factor was the fake dungeon incident that happened last time."
Of the five trainees, Kang Han-gyeol was the only one who made it back alive.
Just because it wasn't disclosed to the media and was quietly swept under the rug didn't mean it wasn't a problem.
The gist of the program was simple.
When trainees entered a D-rank dungeon, an active Hunter would go in with them to provide an evaluation.
It was called an evaluation, but it was essentially a role for surveillance and accident prevention.
"There's a lot to do, like requesting cooperation from the guilds and establishing the evaluation criteria... But we've decided to start with high-risk teams first."
"So you're asking me to be one of the supervisors?"
"I'll give you a number. From now on, for C-rank dungeons and below, you just have to give a brief report to him. I'll also lift the dungeon restrictions placed on you. It's not a bad deal..."
"I-I'll do it!"
Eun-young would do anything if it meant she didn't have to write reports.
Seeing her delight, Park Si-woo calmed her down.
* * *
Eun-young came out of the dressing room and got ready to leave.
Lotte World, Jamsil, Seoul.
Despite the early hour, a long line of people had already formed.
By showing her HN ID, Eun-young was able to enter the amusement park before it opened.
She couldn't even remember the last time she'd been to an amusement park, and perhaps because it wasn't open yet, the atmosphere felt strange.
Eun-young arrived near the Adventure section.
Seeing her, Choi Soo-hyun waved.
"You're here?"
"Wh-what? Why are you here?"
Eun-young strode toward Choi Soo-hyun.
"A Hunter, smoking of all things."
Soo-hyun rolled a lollipop around in his mouth and clicked his tongue.
"Don't act so high and mighty, Ms. Round-Eyebrows!"
"Eyebrows like that can't possibly exist! It's candy, candy!"
"Hmph. It'll all look the same once it's blurred out."
"What...? Forget it."
After crunching down the lollipop, Soo-hyun threw the stick into a nearby trash can.
"So what are you doing here?"
"I'm with the Hunter Training Division, you know?"
"Oh, is that so? You must have more than a few trainees to look after. You don't seriously think it makes sense for you to show up at this specific location, do you? Or did you use some shadow clone jutsu and leave your doubles elsewhere?"
"Agh! You're annoyingly persistent! Can't you tell just by looking?"
Faced with Eun-young's persistence, Soo-hyun took a second lollipop from his pocket and stuck it in his mouth.
"I'm slacking off."
"Ugh, it's because of salary thieves like you that the people actually doing the work are dying out in the field. Go die in a dungeon."
"What did you say?"
"Oh, nothing. So, when did you say your funeral was?"
Soo-hyun shook his head at Eun-young's refusal to back down an inch.
The animosity lasted only a moment. As if it had never happened, the two sat on a nearby bench and chatted casually.
"Heh heh, I heard you told Park Si-woo to his face that he looked like a business major?"
"I didn't say he looked like a business major. I said that a business or economics major would suit him. More importantly, how do you know about that?"
"That guy's surprisingly petty, pfft... hahaha. He seriously asked me if he should change his major now. I told him to shut up and just write his thesis. When the hell is a guy who's finished his master's coursework supposed to change majors?"
Soo-hyun wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes.
She knew the two were close, but hearing this story confirmed they had a special bond.
Their personalities were complete opposites, so much so that it was a wonder how they ever became friends.
After he stopped laughing, Soo-hyun held out his hand toward Eun-young.
"What?"
"Your phone. Give it."
Soo-hyun touched Eun-young's phone to his own and fiddled with something.
When she got her phone back, Eun-young saw that some files had been transferred.
"Can't send it by email because of security. It'll disappear ten minutes after you open it, so unless your brain is made of rock, you should be able to memorize this much."
"Who do you take me for?"
Eun-young opened the file.
After she used her fingerprint on her phone to agree to a simple non-disclosure agreement, the file appeared along with a timer showing the remaining time.
"Basic personal information on the Hunters entering today. After the dungeon is cleared, you have one week to submit an evaluation report. Well, it's just a trial for now, so the report won't have any real impact."
"Another report? Ugh."
Eun-young groaned and dropped her head.
She had agreed to participate because she was told she wouldn't have to write reports, but now she had to write one after it was over.
"I feel like I've been tricked."
"You have over ten overdue dungeon reports and you're currently banned from entering dungeons, right? They're asking you to write one good report in exchange for clearing all that, and you're still complaining? You're so spoiled."
"I was born to fight in dungeons, not to tap on a keyboard!"
"Anyone hearing you would think you've been a Hunter for ten years."
"Yeah, yeah. What would a great elite like you know? The only one who understands me is my dear Han-gyeol."
"How old are you again?"
"Shut up. Halfway to sixty."
"You should apologize to every 30-year-old in the world! Thirty is still young!"
Ignoring Soo-hyun, Eun-young scrolled through the Hunter profiles on her phone.
Just a few months ago, she had been unaffiliated and treated like a nobody. It felt surreal that she was now supervising other trainee Hunters.
"Huh? This guy..."
"Ah, him? He's unaffiliated."
"So this team was selected for the program because of him?"
Soo-hyun nodded in confirmation.
Eun-young looked down at her phone.
Jeong Hyun-sung. Unaffiliated.