Chapter 11
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Hunters
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After finishing my excuse to who-knows-who, I slowly examined Han So-yeon's face.
She'd definitely had that bold, healthy big-sis vibe last time I saw her, but now she reeked of a decadent allure.
Her base looks weren't bad at all, so it wasn't ugly or anything, but now she suited the madame role better than big sis, maybe.
If I had to compare, it felt like she'd taken a sincere ten-year punch from Father Time.
"......Was it just me who was glad to see you?"
"Pardon?"
While I was lost in those thoughts, Han So-yeon spoke up again.
Only then did I realize I'd been staring at her face without saying a word.
I immediately bowed my head.
"Ah, sorry. You look so different from last time."
"There have been some changes."
I was dying to know what kind of changes.
But I couldn't ask.
'Did her boyfriend dump her? Or did she lose her parents?'
I felt a sudden wave of unbearable guilt thinking about how I'd pissed myself and sent a subordinate in my place against a woman like this.
Talking about the commission fee now might get me a 7% discount coupon.
'But max discount capped at ten million won.'
But making my thoughts look foolish, Han So-yeon stood up and bowed to me.
"Thank you. Thanks to you, we got through a major crisis."
"......"
"Without you, Kang Han-sik, we'd still be fighting those ant holes. Without your dedication, we wouldn't even have a day like today, so please enjoy yourself fully."
And she expressed her gratitude with a maturity that made it impossible to imagine her as that fierce girl from before.
I bowed back to her.
I had a ton of questions and things to say, but with her acting like this, I had to play along.
As I thought that, Han So-yeon straightened up and her lips moved again.
"Also, thank you for handing over the False Prophet."
"......Pardon?"
And she tacked on some incomprehensible story.
......False, what?
"Thanks to you, we could at least partially avenge our fallen Hunters brothers and sisters in the tower. The reward for this will be paid separately from the sacred relic you returned, and this is a declaration in the name of Hippolyte, owner of Hunters and queen of the Amazons."
"......"
"If there's anything you want, please tell us. Hunters isn't in great shape, so we can't offer much, but we'll show our utmost sincerity."
She was even saying that much, making it feel like I'd done something hugely important, but I had no idea what!
'Wait a sec!'
I frantically rummaged through my memories.
What exactly had I done at the mall?
I'd screamed about how shitty the map was, then gone underground with a each-to-their-own mindset to find the lost item. That was it.
In the process, I'd gone underground and helped that Kim guy return to society...
'Fuck!'
This was it!
I realized belatedly.
So this woman was talking about that Kim guy right now.
Come to think of it, Park Ho-cheol had seemed a bit excited when he took on the job with Kim too.
But why?
Why bring it up now?
To me, he was just a naked weirdo, but did that uncle really have something going on?
Or no way!
'Stress relief!'
Had these scary gangsters sliced up Uncle Kim for stress relief!?
Once my thoughts reached that point, a chill ran down my spine.
I knew well that law meant nothing to people like this, but to talk so calmly about offing someone! I couldn't believe it!
"Uh, mind if I ask one question?"
"Pardon? Yes, of course. Ask anything."
"That Kim guy. I mean, Kim Hyun-su. What happened to him after?"
"If you're asking about the Prophet, we got what we needed and handed him over to the Pollution Investigation Bureau."
Even my follow-up confirmation got that kind of answer.
No way the names of those Bureau assholes would come up here!
Now I saw it—Hunters and those Bureau scum were in cahoots!
Suddenly, the room spun.
Instead of returning that naked middle-aged guy to society, I'd shoved him straight to ruin...
'......Hmm.'
Thinking it over, it didn't bother me much.
Truth be told, Kim was an utterly heinous criminal who deserved it.
If Hunters had killed him or crippled him, that'd be trouble, but they handed him to a state agency, right?
Self-inflicted consequences.
So I nodded and spoke.
"I see. But no need for separate rewards."
"......Pardon? Why?"
Why? If I asked for more money here and ended up slurping nose soup in the Bureau basement like Kim, what then?
But as always, my mouth spat out something different from my mind.
"The commission I took was to retrieve the belt, right?"
"......"
"So anything that happened along the way was just part of the job. No reason for extra pay."
In short, no double-dipping.
Stagger.
For some reason, Han So-yeon swayed after hearing me.
Park Ho-cheol, who'd been guarding my side, rushed to support her.
He checked her condition and said to me,
"......Sorry. Sis isn't fully recovered yet, so I'll handle the rest of the guidance."
Han So-yeon really didn't look fit to be out and about yet.
Right after I finished talking, her breathing got ragged—continuing like that must be torture.
I nodded and headed to the banquet hall with Park Ho-cheol.
That said, there were no introductions to others or award ceremonies.
More precisely, they offered, but I refused.
"You serious? Lots of people want to meet you, bro..."
"If it's urgent, they'll find me without me going. And what's with the plaque? Am I some high school kid who won a school math contest?"
That was my line, but the real reason was pure instinctive aversion.
Most people here were Hunters members or mid-level managers from similar clans.
Meaning every one of them was the type to play rock-paper-scissors in downtown Seoul or dead serious about offing people. Honestly, I didn't want to mix.
'Not like meeting them gets me money.'
Hunters was unavoidable since we were already tied, but other thugs? Pass.
Maybe because of that, Park Ho-cheol, who'd been chatting me up at first, soon looked flustered.
"Uh, bro. Mind if I step away for a bit?"
"Got work?"
"Yeah. Other clans' reps are here, so I should at least greet them for Sis."
Fair enough. Normally, they'd introduce me, network with other clans, exchange greetings, etc. But I was being like this.
"Go ahead."
No reason to stop him there, so I let Park Ho-cheol go and wandered the banquet hall alone, focusing on the food.
Suddenly I was a lost duck egg on the Nakdong River, but it wasn't bad.
True to the luxury hotel, the spread was all pricey stuff, and my mouth was in heaven.
Especially these king crabs. Damn good.
Hell, it felt like years since I'd had crab, couldn't stop.
'Crab bastards all croaked.'
Might ask if I can take some later.
Meow and Boss would love a taste.
Lost in such thoughts, I massacred the banquet hall's crabs.
Haa, haa.
Alone in the private room, Han So-yeon breathed raggedly.
It had been a week since returning from the apartment.
That endless terror. She'd thought she'd escaped it a bit, but no.
The moment she saw Kang Han-sik, who'd entered the apartment with her, her heart pounded like mad.
Just a moment's lapse in focus, and that black something from there would appear behind her.
Her reason told her it was delusion, but the instinctive fear was unavoidable.
That she endured without screaming was because her mental fortitude was several times stronger than average.
Of course.
Only up until he mentioned the Prophet.
Han So-yeon recalled the conversation they'd just had.
She hadn't wanted to, but her brain replayed his words on its own.
The start had been fairly amicable.
But the problem was the end.
'The commission I took was to retrieve the belt.'
'So anything that happened along the way was just part of the job. No reason for extra pay.'
What he'd said when she brought up the Prophet.
It came with a kind smile, but Han So-yeon couldn't calm down.
After all, the Prophet—or False Prophet—had been the biggest hurdle in wrapping up this commission.
A member of the tower raiders, an A-rank wanted man.
That monster lived in Linne Mart's basement.
She'd assumed he'd died when the tower collapsed and the raiders were no more.
But the monster had stayed underground, devouring others one by one.
And that was embarrassing for Hunters too.
This expedition had been a commission directly from Hunters.
But when assigning it, neither Hunters nor Han So-yeon had breathed a word about the Prophet.
And that was the issue.
In pollution zones, info discrepancies could mean life or death.
They were obligated to uncover and share everything possible, but she hadn't.
And it wasn't like there were no rumors.
Rumors of screams every night around the hellish mart.
Screams from challengers left underground devouring each other, with the strongest—the Prophet—eating them all.
Hunters surely knew.
"......Fuck, it was just a rumor."
Han So-yeon had dismissed it as idle gossip and kept quiet.
In a way, it was natural.
When a tower falls, those inside are as good as dead.
No sane person would think a monster survived by eating people in the ruins.
Han So-yeon herself hadn't believed the Prophet lived.
She'd seen it as mere nonsense to fool the ignorant.
So rather than stir up needless panic, hike the fee, she'd let it slide quietly.
From a clan manager's view, no reason to boost expenses—smart call.
At the time.
But.
The problem was that slim chance became reality.
Now, having faced and subdued the Prophet, completing the commission.
Her choice had become a thick rope strangling her own neck.
No one knew how the man who'd directly confronted and taken down the Prophet would see it.
When Park Ho-cheol brought the Prophet in the car, she'd felt joy and fear in equal measure.
Half from finally avenging Hunters' brothers and sisters devoured by the monster.
Half from dread over how to handle it if Kang Han-sik protested.
Park Ho-cheol and the other clueless Hunters were just thrilled at the revenge chance, but Han So-yeon couldn't.
She knew this wasn't mere kindness—it was a debt to repay someday.
She hadn't expected him to just let it go without a word.
After all, the Prophet.
The man who'd caught this monster—armed with countless abilities, having swallowed tower challengers—couldn't lack that much common sense.
So from the day after receiving the Prophet, her mind fixated on Kang Han-sik's reaction.
Would he show mercy like that kind face suggested?
Or rage at the deception?
Unknown.
She'd even texted to probe, but got only stiff time confirmations.
One thing was clear.
The moment he took issue or harbored ill intent, something horrific would happen.
Anyone handling that hollow black star from the apartment had the power for it.
Her thoughts hit that, and only one filled her mind.
Confess everything and beg forgiveness.
Meeting the Prophet wasn't intentional, nor was hiding info deliberate.
But she couldn't.
Not just because it'd fool him and herself.
The star she served wouldn't tolerate her warrior bowing to anyone else.
Maybe to that hollow black star, but not to a mere human.
So now.
Having wrapped forgiveness and atonement as "reward" talk.
Even that crumbled when he mentioned the Prophet, showing weakness she couldn't endure.
His final words echoed.
'So anything that happened along the way was just part of the job. No reason for extra pay.'
Just part of the job.
Facing an A-rank wanted man with a 500-million-won bounty, during a 200-million commission. Naturally.
"......Haha."
As if.
He'd known the Prophet was there.
Might've even accepted the suspicious commission from the start knowing.
But why not mention rewards then?
True mercy?
Or.
A leash disguised as mercy?
Han So-yeon's thoughts leaned to the latter.
No way a madman living in a place like Happiness Apartment had pure mercy.
If she hadn't seen it herself, maybe different.
But that place.
Facing that nexus of madness, malice, negation—she knew no one there could be normal.
"Fuck, everything's shit..."
She whispered tiny.
Too small for Kang Han-sik or her star above to hear.
And at that moment.
Kang Han-sik was.
'You keeping count of the crabs you've eaten so far?'
Swallowing his fifth crab, thinking that.
'I remember! Five! The ones before were all fake crabs anyway! Only today's are real crabs!'
A story best kept from Han So-yeon.
The commission fee, originally 200 million won, became 1 billion a week later.