My Life Is Ruined... Wait, Where Do You Think You're Going?
"Your contract is terminated."
It was a day in late autumn, when the wind was turning steadily colder. I became a beggar.
Nothing complicated about it. No house, no car, no assets — a beggar in the most literal sense of the word.
A ruined man.
With that one statement, even the faintest sliver of a comeback had vanished.
A debtor? Me?
Unable to stomach the reality of it, I asked — the first time I'd ever pushed back.
"Why... why?"
"People say your work isn't what it used to be, sir."
No way. Gates had appeared, and income had dried up. I'd worked myself to the bone just to keep from being left behind. And now you're telling me my work has gotten worse?
"Specifically, what's lacking? The deadlines? Or the designs?"
"Excuse me? Ah, that... the designs."
My manager was flustered. His eyes, darting around for somewhere to land, wavered with the unmistakable stench of a lie.
...Of course. He never expected me to press him like this.
I began to consider what to do. No — precisely speaking, I pretended to consider. If I backed down too easily now, he'd write me off as completely finished.
After watching him squirm for a while, I reluctantly opened my mouth.
"Ha... fine. Then the cancellation penalty..."
"I'm sorry? Penalty?"
He had the audacity to lift his eyebrows in shock. Behold this performance — pretending he never saw it coming, despite knowing full well I'd bring it up.
Truly, a man who never once exceeded my expectations.
He spoke to me in a low voice.
"...A penalty? Don't tell me you're planning to take money from us?"
"Of course. Jihyeon Furniture is the one terminating the contract. It's only fair."
His brow began to furrow.
...And there it is. This is where it falls apart.
Four whole years together. There was a time we kept in touch outside of business, too. I felt a flicker of something like regret.
But it couldn't be helped. Business was business. I needed money urgently, and he had the company's interests to consider — surely he was only being difficult because of the circumstances...
"No."
"Excuse me?"
"I said no. You know damn well what state this company is in, and you're negotiating a penalty? You're not getting a single won. Got it?"
"...?"
...What did he just say?
A completely unexpected announcement. I'd assumed he was simply bluffing to haggle the amount down.
He stared at me with an expression of boundless arrogance.
Which meant he meant every word of it.
...Kim Young-jin. Warm-hearted in personal matters, ruthless in business. The manager, Kim Young-jin.
Shaken by this attitude I'd never seen from him before, I asked,
"Wh-what's gotten into you all of a sudden?"
"All of a sudden?"
"I mean, this isn't like you. You know I'm about to starve to death. Why this sudden... did the company put you up to this?"
"...The company? Kahaha! Come on, Mr. Na Jihun. Ha. Honestly, where do I even start."
He began rummaging through his briefcase.
Picking something out of a stack of binders, he pulled it free and tossed it down in front of me with a slap.
Several sheets of A4 paper slid up to my feet.
"...What is this?"
"Read it yourself. Don't expect me to explain every line."
"…."
What a smart mouth.
Swallowing my anger, I examined the documents.
Na Jihun — Quarterly... Results. Manager: Kim Young-jin.
Year before last: 230 million won.
Last year: 23 million won.
First half of this year... 743,000 won.
"……"
"See that? Babysitting you this month didn't even cover a convenience store part-time wage. I can't afford formula for my kid, you son of a bitch. You get that?"
A convenience store wage.
I crumpled the papers with a slow crunch.
Then I asked him quietly,
"Then what about before?"
"What?"
"Before. When you were kissing my ass with the money I made you, you were all smiles. And now you pull this?"
"What? No — holy hell, you're unbelievable. ...Hey. You trash. How long ago did the Gates open and send you down the gutter, and you're still on that? Christ, it's always the deadbeats with nothing left going 'back in my day~' Shut the hell up, you idiot."
With that, he flung the whole stack of papers at my face. White pages fluttered and swirled, blotting out my vision.
And through that dizzying flurry, I caught sight of the watch on his wrist.
A five-million-won luxury watch — the wedding gift I'd bought him around three years ago.
Time-measuring artifacts were rare, making it one of the few items that had held its value even after the Gates opened.
He felt my gaze and hid his arm behind his back.
"...Take it off."
"What?"
"Give it here. The watch. I bought it for you."
"What the hell are you talking about, you crazy bastard? Got proof? Ha... no, you know what, forget it. I'm leaving. Don't ever come looking for me again. One more word about penalties and I'll kill you."
He shoved back his chair and jumped to his feet. A retreat — because he knew exactly how badly this looked for him.
Right... I never thought you'd give it back anyway.
I grabbed his shoulder.
"What now?"
"...You son of a—"
"What?"
"You son of a bitch! Give me my money back!!!"
CRACK!
I swung a full-force slap across his face. I worried a little about the consequences — but for the first time in ages, I felt relieved.
Except...
...Thud!
"Huh?"
Kim Young-jin lay sprawled on the floor, unmoving.
I hurried over and shook him, but all that came out of his mouth was a steady stream of blood.
Shattered molars. A fractured cheekbone.
That was the day I learned the truth.
Oh... I'm an Awakener!
The moment he was carried off to the hospital, I made my way to the Awakener Management Bureau.
...Might as well. I was going to starve to death anyway — so even if it was dangerous, I'd become a hunter.
Beep — E-Rank confirmed.
"Yes — Mr. Na Jihun, we've confirmed your E-Rank. Please check the screen for your detailed data."
Son of a bitch.
"..."
For the record, I'm not the kind of person who swears.
But this time, I simply couldn't help it.
Mana measurement: 66. Magic-type affinity, with the attribute of Life.
I can't even cast a single Firebolt, can I?
Most E-Ranks either got stuffed into the back of D-Rank parties or gave up on hunter work altogether.
The reason was simple. The pay was abysmal.
Barely any money, and your body gets worked to death for it.
Besides, I was mid-to-lower tier even among E-Ranks. What could a dud who couldn't cast a single offensive spell possibly contribute in a dungeon?
Truly, a frustration I had never once felt in my entire life washed over me.
But...
No.
I had to try anyway.
In this state, starving to death was a certainty, and paying Kim Young-jin's hospital bills was an even more impossible dream.
Better to at least make an attempt, and despair only if that failed.
Who knows? Maybe my ability was actually something incredible.
Aiming for a comeback one more time, I headed to the hunter training academy.
...
However.
If everything worked out just because you decided it should, that wouldn't be life, would it.
"Enrollment? ...The thing is, since you're a legal adult, you don't qualify for the subsidy. As it stands, we can't admit you. Do you have any other preferential qualifications, perhaps? A hunter in your family, for instance?"
"No."
"...Then I'm afraid enrollment will have to wait. Prepare some tuition and come back, and we can consult again. Our apologies."
Nothing works out. Oh well.
As a last resort, I went looking for my family. Naturally, they turned me away at the door — and instead of help, all I got was mockery.
The adopted son who can't even earn money.
That was my new title.
Unable to bear the debt or the law, I ran, and I survived by drifting between the mountains and abandoned buildings.
Before long, I was caught.
The detective in charge of my case — B-Rank hunter Kang Il-hwan — looked at me with pity and spoke.
"...E-Rank, huh. Nowhere near enough to pay off a debt like that. What's your ability?"
"Plant growth."
"Tsk."
Kang Il-hwan clicked his tongue.
Then his expression slowly began to shift, and he started blinking.
"Hold on... plant growth? Don't move. Wait right there."
Bang!
The police car door slammed shut.
As I stared blankly at it, Kang Il-hwan returned a little while later, wearing a bright expression. He'd apparently made a call somewhere.
"Wow — you are one lucky bastard, you know that?"
"Sir?"
"If things go well, you might get to serve your sentence on the outside. You don't want to go to prison, do you?"
"...?"
What's he talking about?
Seeing my confusion, Kang Il-hwan began explaining with obvious pride.
"To sum it up simply..."
I could be assigned to a greening mission.
The reason was straightforward. In sparsely populated rural areas, response to newly opened Gates was slow. Dungeon Breaks happened constantly, and harvests were ruined year after year.
Once a Dungeon Break occurred, recovery took ages — returning the land to farming demanded enormous time.
In other words, farmland kept shrinking. In reality, the prices of rice, wheat, corn, and other crops had been climbing without end, year after year.
And so the plan that emerged: desert greening.
"People with abilities like yours — plant growth — get gathered together to tend the fields. The whole area's nothing but desert, so..."
"Then we could just relocate to other land. Even if a Dungeon Break happens."
"Exactly that. Well, well — the kid's actually got a head on his shoulders."
Saying that, Kang Il-hwan ruffled my hair roughly.
Warmth, for the first time in so long.
I quietly lowered my head.
"Well — anyway, seems like the position's yours to take. Give it your best. Keep your nose clean and put up good results, and you might even get hired officially."
"...Thank you for looking out for me. But which desert would I be sent to?"
"Probably the Sahara, last I heard? That's the one in Egypt, right?"
...Egypt.
It was far away and quiet. That suited me just fine, I thought.
After that, the moment the court handed down a guilty verdict, I volunteered for the desert greening mission — and everyone was astonished that I already knew about the alternative service program, which had barely just been created.
It turned out Kang Il-hwan had passed it along to me before it had even been made public. Without his help, I would have ended up behind bars without question.
I gave him a short, but utterly sincere word of thanks, then boarded the plane.
Just watch me. Someday I'll come back — and repay every kindness with kindness, and every grudge with a grudge!
Etching that vow into my bones.
...But when I returned to Korea, the one who came back was not me.