Hunting Season
"Khup, let's just skip over my name for now," Cheok-jeong said with an air of nonchalance. Mina smiled awkwardly, feeling guilty. Just as she was thinking she ought to be more careful with her words, a voice cut in.
"Skip over it? Who doesn't know your name is trash?"
A woman appeared in the doorway he had entered through. Her navy-blue hair was tied back, and she wore a one-piece tracksuit. At first glance she looked like she had come to exercise, but the leather belt around her waist, the spiked leather gloves, and the armor-like leather pads on her knees and elbows made it clear she was a hunter.
"Kek, Gorilla. You came too?" Cheok-jeong recoiled as if he had seen something he shouldn't when he spotted her chewing gum with her arms crossed.
"Who are you calling a gorilla!? You should be grateful I even show up every time something like this happens, since I don't want to see your face either!"
"Look who's talking! My side still aches from the last time you hit me!"
"You got hit because you deserved it! Who told you to stand near me while I was swinging my hammer?"
"Hammer?" Mina tilted her head at their exchange and glanced over. Sure enough, a long hammer with a coated handle dangled from the back of the woman's leather belt.
"Huh? Who's this? Never seen you before."
"Ah, hello." The woman must have heard Mina's quiet murmur. Her navy-blue eyes, matching her hair, turned toward her, and Mina tensed. There was something intimidating about her expression, but it was also because Mina didn't have many good memories with other women.
The woman looked Mina up and down before turning to Cheok-jeong. "What, a newbie?"
"Seems like it. She was already sitting with Seok-jun when I got here."
"With Seok-jun?" She looked at Seok-jun after hearing Cheok-jeong's words.
"There were some circumstances," he replied vaguely.
"Haah, same as always? Who knows what you're up to." She sighed as if she had no choice. Was she acquainted with Seok-jun? Mina listened closely, curious, until the woman finally looked at her properly.
"Whatever. Why are you here? You don't look like you have anything to do with this kind of work."
"I heard there was a dungeon break, so I came to help." Mina couldn't understand why she was being asked that. If you were a hunter in the area, it was only natural to be called in. Why would she say Mina had no connection to it?
The woman pressed a hand to her forehead as if she had a headache and let out a sigh. "Haah, looking at that clueless face, you're definitely a fresh newbie."
'W-wait, clueless?!' Mina was inwardly hurt when the woman continued.
"You've only been awakened for a short while, haven't you? Probably quit your job after awakening or something?"
"What exactly are you talking about?" Mina didn't know what to say. She had only come as a hunter to hunt monsters. Was that really a problem?
"I've seen plenty of people like you. If you're smart, just go back. This job is nothing like the fantasy novels you lot read every day."
Her words were sharp and threatening, yet somehow filled with concern. Mina couldn't bring herself to get angry and only blinked. Cheok-jeong, catching her eye, gave a bitter smile and stopped the woman who had been talking at length.
"Alright, alright, Min-jeong. Don't be like that. People will think you're weird if you keep going. Seeing is believing, right?"
"Who asked you?! If she just goes back nicely, no one has to feel uncomfortable!" Min-jeong shook off Cheok-jeong's hand on her shoulder but looked at Mina again. "I've said what I needed to. It's your responsibility if you regret it, so do as you like."
With a huff, she pulled out a nearby chair and sat down. Mina rolled her eyes, unable to make sense of it, when Seok-jun patted her head lightly.
"That one's just worried in her own way. Don't mind her."
"I-is that so?" His hand had only brushed her hair, yet her heart pounded. 'The scent of wood.' She realized it suddenly—his hand carried a sweet, aged wooden fragrance, like the veranda of a traditional house.
As she silently felt his touch, Cheok-jeong let out a whistle. "Whew~ Nice view. Sis, are you and Seok-jun dating or—ack?! Why'd you hit me, man!"
"Shut up! What's so good about whistling?!"
"Agh! This muscle-brained gorilla!"
Mina blushed, then watched as Min-jeong kicked Cheok-jeong in the shin and they bickered. She turned to Seok-jun. "Are you acquainted with them?"
"The hunter scene is small, so we at least know each other's faces."
"Hmm, I see." It felt like there was more to it, but since he acted like it was nothing, she decided to accept it.
Time passed, and the operations room gradually filled with people in various outfits. "Eek, is that equipment too?" Some of them wore things she could never have imagined—helmets with what looked like barnacles, one-piece work suits, red work gloves, and brown safety boots. They looked more like construction workers than hunters.
"They say it's because equipment is too expensive."
"That's dangerous!" Hunter equipment was indeed expensive, but there was a reason for investing in it. Among various minor benefits, the most important was resistance. Even a B-grade hunter with low mana could gain enough resistance to protect themselves somewhat from monster attacks. Thanks to that, B-grade hunters could form parties and tackle low-grade gates if they tried. Mina herself remembered learning how to clear gates that way back when she was still B-grade.
"You don't need to worry too much. From what I've heard, they're at least wearing some kind of undergarment-type equipment."
While Mina listened to him, the newcomers greeted Cheok-jeong and Min-jeong. "Cheok-jeong and Min-jeong? You got here first?"
"Uncle Woo-seok, it's been a while."
"Min-jeong doing alright?"
"Tsk, don't come near me. Get lost."
"Aigoo, so feisty. A woman should be gentle..."
Unlike Cheok-jeong, Min-jeong warned them off like she had seen a bug, and they backed away with an "eek." Then their eyes met Mina's.
"Haven't seen that miss before."
"Whoa, she's a beauty. A real beauty."
"What? Where, where?"
They craned their necks like they had discovered something fascinating, staring at her with curious eyes. Mina didn't know how to react when Seok-jun spoke from beside her.
"What do you want?"
"Kek, of all people, it had to be him?"
The group recoiled halfway, startled. Come to think of it, aside from Cheok-jeong and Min-jeong, few hunters sat near Seok-jun—more precisely, near them.
"What kind of work do you do that everyone reacts like that?" It was as if they had run into a gangster by mistake.
"They happened to see me working once."
"Ah." It was understandable if they had seen what he did.
"We will now begin the operation briefing."
Some time later, Captain Jeong entered the operations room and displayed a map on the screen. "The outbreak this time occurred in sector 6-3, where farms are located."
The next screen showed a large, red bison. "The confirmed monsters are D-grade Frenzy Bisons."
Looking at the screen, it made sense that low-grade gates in remote areas caused outbreaks more often than expected. The map of the Southern Plains alone covered an area larger than most cities.
"The area is currently blockaded, but it won't hold for long, so you'll need to lure and deal with them before the blockade lifts."
Mina thought hunting these monsters might be harder than she had imagined. Even with the blockade, the area was still vast. The real problem wasn't killing the monsters themselves but finding the scattered ones across the zone one by one.
After listening to Captain Jeong alongside the screen, the briefing ended and the lights came on. "We'll move by vehicle."
When they went outside after the briefing, an infantry truck was waiting.
"We'll just take the motorcycle."
At Seok-jun's words, Mina got on the bike with him. Once again, sharp gazes landed on them from here and there, but she felt she was slowly getting used to it.
"Do you come here often, Seok-jun?"
"I don't plan to come if I can help it, but I drop by occasionally for Captain Jeong's sake."
"Hmm." She held onto his waist as she listened.
"Do B-grade hunters usually hunt monsters like this?" Mina had gone on gate raids or helped with her guild members before, but this kind of operation was new to her. Usually, hunters operated separately from the military or even had the military assist them.
"In cases like dungeon breaks, we tend to follow the military's instructions."
It was a scene completely different from what Mina had known. Even now, seeing Min-jeong looking their way, she could understand why the woman had warned her with concern that it might not be what she thought. If Mina had been a newbie full of fantasies about hunters, she might have been truly shocked.