Chapter 8
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 008
Chapter Title: Hunters
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Meeting a crazed lunatic underground wasn't exactly ideal.
But looking back, it wasn't all bad.
"Uncle Kim."
"……."
"This is definitely the way, right?"
"Yes, I mean... yeah."
"Good enough. But why have you been dragging your feet since earlier? Anyone would think you're stalling on purpose."
"That's because you... no, because of you hitting my leg..."
"Oh, so it's my fault?"
"......No, not that."
Whether it was due to my thorough education or not, Kim Hyun-su (42 years old) had somehow transformed from a deranged, creepy pervert cackling like a maniac into an ordinary guy I could actually hold a conversation with.
Turning one feral human back into a functioning modern citizen? That alone made venturing underground worthwhile.
Of course, that wasn't all.
Uncle Kim seemed to have spent quite a long time down here.
His ramblings mixed his own delusions with bits of the real story I knew, but the key point was that he knew this place well.
I casually asked if he'd seen any valuables down here after things settled, and he confirmed he had.
Thanks to that, I was now following his guidance toward the target item from my commission.
Sure enough, not long after arriving, there it was—a pile like a mountain of clothes, gear, and even some accessories, just as he'd described.
Apparently, he'd gathered them himself.
"What are you, a crow? Hoarding anything that glitters."
"......They're useless to me, but every single one is an item or relic. Collecting them doesn't seem so strange."
"Ah, sure."
To my eyes, though, they all looked pretty shabby.
Especially since most felt like used goods abandoned by someone.
The item I was after was no exception.
I rummaged through the junk pile and picked up a yellow belt.
Comparing it to the photo included with the request...
It was a bit more faded than the picture, but the shape and size matched perfectly.
"The color's a little worn, but it should be fine, right?"
At least it wasn't completely unusable.
No way they'd nickel-and-dime me over something like this and cut the reward.
With the mission complete, I glanced at the remaining junk pile.
'But... is it really the real deal?'
This belt—which looked like it might fetch 2,000 won each at Dongdaemun Market—was supposedly a holy relic too.
So, were all these things here genuinely valuable, like Uncle Kim said?
Treasures from constellations I didn't know about, or specialties only available from the tower?
'Maybe I could pocket a few of these...?'
......No.
I shook my head, dismissing the foolish temptation.
Unlike this feral shopping mall, the human world had laws against embezzlement of found property.
You couldn't just claim everything you picked up off the floor as yours, nor should you.
Besides, in this day and age, listing stolen goods on an online auction would get you stabbed by the original owners, and no one would bat an eye.
I've decided that in my life, the only time I'd ever get stabbed was if I got caught cheating on my main wife after marrying twelve concubines.
So, no needless greed.
"Alright, let's go."
I was about to head out of the parking lot when Uncle Kim behind me freaked out.
"Wait, where are you going? That's not the way."
"Huh?"
What was he talking about?
There was a perfectly clear path leading up right here.
"That passage is already blocked. Can't you see? It's crawling with locust eggs."
Wondering if there was something I couldn't see, I peered ahead. Naturally, nothing.
If there were tiny eggs or whatever, I'd think there was something only I couldn't spot, but there was absolutely zilch.
Damn it, seriously.
Back to his weird delusions.
Instead of arguing, I grabbed Uncle Kim by the scruff of his neck.
By the way, I'd already dressed him.
Not in any artifacts or whatever—just a discarded Burberry coat from the floor.
A scrawny middle-aged guy in nothing but a Burberry coat looked straight-up criminal, but it beat him being naked.
"What are you doing?! To escape this place, one of us has to die first! Thousand Cuts! Don't you know that's the path to new ascension?!"
"Ah, sure."
"Gaaah! No! Let me go! I can't end up as bug food like this!"
At least now he could serve as a handle to drag along.
I hauled the once-again-ranting Uncle Kim toward the surface.
Of course, every so often from behind:
'A Gigantic Hopper!'
'A Blood Hopper just passed by?!'
'Chaos Hopper! We're done for now!'
'Locust Queen! You're still alive?!'
Such shouts rang out, but I ignored them.
When I was a kid, I'd play games where stepping outside the white line meant death, and I never died.
Honestly, more than that, I wondered why all his delusions revolved around hoppers and locusts.
'I know over a hundred species of grasshoppers.'
Were you some kind of spy sent by the Ministry of National Defense or what?
Anyway, we finally reached the outside, and I called out to Uncle Kim, who had squeezed his eyes shut at some point.
"There, we're out."
"Wha...... outside?"
The uncle looked around like a hikikomori seeing sunlight for the first time in a decade.
And soon screamed.
"I-I'm out! I'm out! I escaped! Finally out of that damned tower! Sob! Ascension... I finally ascended! I thought the conditions were impossible!"
He was still delirious and babbling nonsense, but he'd come around with time.
I grabbed Uncle Kim and headed to where the Sonata waited.
While I'd been dealing with hell underground, the lucky bastard had slept like a log, so I called out to him.
"Hey, Beanpole!"
Spotting me, Beanpole's mouth fell open.
Was he embarrassed about getting caught slacking off alone?
That damn kid.
After that, nothing special happened.
I handed over the belt and gear to Beanpole—Park Ho-cheol—who finally gave me his name, and incidentally passed Uncle Kim off to him too.
'You sure about this, hyung?'
'About what.'
'This guy's the one you caught.'
Of course, Park Ho-cheol, with his brain wired differently from mine, treated Uncle Kim like some war trophy of mine, which naturally horrified me.
I'm no ancient Roman—what, capture someone in a fight and enslave them as a POW?
'Just handle it yourself.'
'For real?'
'Yeah.'
'......I'll serve you as hyung for life.'
For some reason, from that moment, Park Ho-cheol's attitude grew even more deferential, but that was none of my business.
We probably wouldn't meet again after this job anyway.
'Whatever, he'll hand him off to the cops properly.'
Honestly, it felt a bit like dumping a hassle on him, so I was slightly sorry.
Not much, though—just about as much truffle as in truffle potato chips.
Anyway, soon after, we returned to Seoul.
"Get some rest, hyung."
"Thanks for the hard work, Ho-cheol."
It was so late that it was already past 2 a.m. just from that.
I crossed the empty alley toward my one-room.
Zzt.
It happened at some point.
The sparse streetlights flickered.
The neighborhood was never great to begin with, so I shrugged it off, but the real issue came next.
"Meow."
I looked up at the familiar cry.
Under the streetlight across from me, a familiar black cat stared right at me.
'Meow?'
I approached it.
Meow rubbed its face against my leg as usual.
"Hey, what are you doing here?"
"Meow."
I stroked it while hurriedly scooping Meow up.
"You okay?"
"Meow."
"No, I mean other people. You didn't knock anyone out on your way here, did you?"
A guy who should be at Happiness Apartment didn't make sense being here.
Strictly speaking, Meow was a stray...... no, a stray constellation, so it could go wherever it wanted.
But a constellation that could knock people out just by being seen wandering the night streets? That alone warranted an emergency alert.
"Can't have that. Come here."
I quickly tucked Meow into my arms and covered it with my hoodie.
"Meow!"
A dissatisfied muffled voice came from inside, but I ignored the minor protest.
"Hang on a sec. I'll let you out at home."
I had to head to work in the morning anyway, so keep it inside for one day and send it back to the apartment after.
The real worry was whether it'd harmed anyone on the way here.
Fortunately, no one lay passed out on the streets until I got home.
'Dodged a bullet.'
Masses of people fainting in the dead of night would've been international news.
I sighed in relief as I entered my one-room.
Only after fully entering my room did I release Meow.
"Meow!"
Meow bolted from my arms and started prowling every corner of the room.
"Please don't scratch the walls."
My deposit was already running low; if you wrecked that too, I'd be in deep trouble.
Hunters had promised compensation, but it would take about two weeks to receive it.
After giving Meow a brief warning, I tidied my minimal stuff and showered.
Exhausted from the day, I had no energy left for anything else.
I hit the bed and passed out instantly.
And then.
......
......
......
Bang!
"Pollution Investigation Bureau! Hands up, everyone!"
"There might be a wicked constellation inside! Stay sharp!"
"What's that? A person? Is it a person?!"
I jolted awake to thunderous crashes and the agents' shouts.
Click!
As I opened my eyes and turned, a black gun barrel stared me down.
"Hands up! Don't move!"
"......"
Was that stay still or raise hands?!
The brief confusion got no answer—just a question.
"Did you cause all the pollution around here?"
"......Pardon?"
"Answer! Non-cooperation means we fire!"
"Uh......"
"Don't think you'll walk away unscathed even if shot. Bureau bullets aren't ordinary!"
Of course they'd say that!
Who survives a gunshot unscathed?!
I had a million retorts.
But the atmosphere made speaking impossible.
'More importantly!'
What the hell!
Why were they freaking out at me all of a sudden!
My mind swirled with questions and thoughts.
Then, I suddenly remembered a small furball.
I frantically checked beside me.
Meow, who had been guarding my side moments ago, was long gone.
In the dim interrogation room, only a small light gave off faint illumination.
I sat there, head bowed like a criminal, waiting for any news.
I'd awkwardly smiled at the grim-faced agent for a while.
Clunk!
The news I'd awaited arrived.
"Kang Han-sik? Identity confirmed."
"......So?"
"You can go now. Hunters vouched for you."
"Fuck yeah! Finally!"
Only then did I rise from the suffocating interrogation room.
I yelled at the agent who'd been grilling me.
"See? What did I tell you! I'm not involved at all!"
"......Ahem, sorry about this, Mr. Kang."
"Can a national agency treat an innocent citizen like this?! Is this how the Bureau operates? I'm not letting this slide! Complaint! I'm filing a complaint!"
Part of me wanted to demand the Bureau chief's head and make a scene, but I couldn't go that far.
"Now, now, filing complaints against the Bureau won't get you anywhere, so calm down. This way."
The Pollution Investigation Bureau was practically above the law, a super-agency.
I knew that from online info, so I just grumbled a bit before following the new agent.
'What kind of bullshit is this.'
I muttered inwardly.
No helping it.
Never dreamed I'd end up dragged to Namsan underground.
And fuck, all because I brought home one stray cat? No way I saw that coming!
The culprit behind all this was Meow.
Last night.
Worried about accidents, I'd brought the street-found Meow home, but to others, it must've looked like a mad pollution terrorist plotting to wreck central Seoul.
I couldn't comprehend it, but reality was reality.
The landlord sensed Meow via their constellation and reported to the Bureau; the Bureau investigated the pollution source, found me, and detained me.
Investigation proved I couldn't produce pollution, but I had to stay until identity check.
'Does this even make sense?'
No matter how I thought, it didn't.
This unreal crap shouldn't happen anywhere!
As I followed the agent with such thoughts, after a short walk to the front desk, he handed me a small envelope.
"......What's this?"
"Since there was a misunderstanding, consider it the Bureau's apology."
What?
Money?!
Trying to buy me off with cash?!
Gag the mistake with money?!
Of course, I was absolutely the type to be bought with money.
I eagerly peeked inside.
No money—just Bureau-stamped bread.
"It's pretty good. Eat it on your way."
"......"
"As I said, complaints, criminal charges, or any legal action against the Bureau is impossible."
You psychopathic Bureau bastards.
I curse you for life.
Curse you so much I'll haunt you as a ghost!
"Thanks for your time! Goodbye!"
Ignoring my thoughts, the agent calmly ushered me out.
Bzzz-.
My phone vibrated immediately.
[Missed Calls]
Some signal jammer inside? My fine phone now had several missed calls.
Checking, it was Ro Boss, as expected.
'Ah.'
Of course.
I should've been at work in the guard post by now.
Panicking, I called Ro Boss right away.
"Hello? Ro Boss?"
-......Han-sik?
"Did I wake you? Sorry if I did."
Her voice sounded freshly awoken, so I asked.
But her reply was endlessly gentle.
-No, no. It's fine. What happened? You didn't show up or pick up.
Too soft for scolding a no-show part-timer.
"Well......"
Practically tearing up with gratitude inside, I explained everything to Ro Boss.
Even she found my day shocking; her voice trembled as the story went on.
-I-I see. That must've been awful.
"Yeah. Anyway, sorry. I had no idea it'd turn out like this."
-No, it's okay! Not your fault.
Ah, seriously.
If angels existed, they'd have a badass name like Welte Zuroi.
Worlds apart from those psycho Bureau gun-nuts.
I chatted about heading to work soon, skipping today's pay, etc., as I descended Namsan.
Then, out of the blue, Ro Boss asked.
-Oh, right. Do you have a place to stay now?
"Well...... I'll look for one."
Obviously, no returning to the one-room.
The psycho Bureau trashed it beyond living condition.
Even without that, I didn't want to live under a landlord who mistook me for a terrorist.
'And Hunters pay is coming soon.'
Perfect time to upgrade my digs.
Issue was where to crash till then...
I was seriously weighing PC bang versus jjimjilbang when...
-Th-then......
Ro Boss suggested in her signature fragile tone.
-W-would you...... stay at my place for now?
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What did you just say!!!!!!!