The White Light Construction
It has been three weeks since my sparring session with Min Serin. Nahyun seems to have settled into her routine at the Association, and she’s been coming home on weekends. Even then, she doesn't head straight home; as soon as her shift ends on Friday, I get a text: -Motel OO, Room OOO. When I receive that message, I pack a bag and head out. Yuna and I have already coordinated our schedules, so she doesn't even ask where I'm going.
When I arrive at the motel on Friday, I find Nahyun waiting for me, looking a bit worn out from the grueling work week. The first week, we went out for dinner before checking in, but from the second week on, we just ordered delivery to the room. After we eat and spend the night in a frenzy of sex, I wake up the next morning to find her skin, which had been dull the night before, glowing and radiant. She gets dressed, leaves me with a "Come home in a few hours~," and disappears.
I’ve decided to take pride in my role. "You could say I’m faithfully performing the duties of a stud and a sex therapist." Other than that, my life is no different than usual. I spend my days lying in bed, scrolling through my phone, and wondering what kind of car I should buy. "I’ve got plenty of money, should I just flex and get a foreign car... or should I not be a show-off and just get a domestic one..." Even as I browse domestic models, I eventually drop the phone onto my chest, close my eyes, and mutter to myself, "Who am I? A man with 1.1 billion won in cash."
Living at home, I get regular meals and have my own room; no matter how I think about it, I have nowhere to spend my money. The only real expenses I’ve had were installing air conditioners in my room. Naturally, I didn't just get one for myself—I had them installed in Yuna, Nahyun, and Jihyun’s rooms as well, and I tossed out the rattling old unit in the living room for a brand-new one. Yuna tried to refuse, but I insisted. I didn't expect to hear myself say, "Huh? It’s just a few million won for an air conditioner..."
Yoon Jihyun seems to look up to me a bit more now, too. Her attitude has definitely softened since the hospital incident. I tried to give Yuna 50 million won for household expenses, but she refused so adamantly that I couldn't give it to her. To think I’m handing out 50 million won for groceries... "I really am rich now." Ever since I started as a Hunter, my dream has been to buy a large mansion on the outskirts of the city. "That’s why I saved money when I lived alone... Now, I think it would be great for the whole family to live in a big house... and if it’s a large detached home, I wouldn't have to worry about neighbors or floor noise..." Since I’ll be able to take on high-paying jobs from now on, it’s not just a dream anymore. There’s no reason to hoard money by grinding through E and D-rank requests like I used to.
"Should I try running B-rank gates with a small elite team... I shouldn't fail at my current level. Even if I did, I’m confident I could get the team out with all our limbs intact... If I just had... about 5 billion won, I could live peacefully in a two-story house..."
I thought the Association would work me to the bone right after the sparring match with Min Serin, but surprisingly, I haven't heard a word in three weeks.
Vrrr- Vrrr-
The phone resting on my chest vibrated.
"...?"
Thinking it was another investment solicitation call from the bank, I checked the screen. A familiar name popped up.
-Kang Hyena
"Ah." "Man... she really can't stay quiet for long."
"Hello. What?"
"What are you doing?"
"Housework... Are you stalking me or something?"
"Why would I stalk you... You know, I’ve felt this for a while, but do you realize you’re incredibly self-conscious?"
"Whatever... Why did you call?"
"Why do you think... I called to give you some work."
"Haa... Is it gate exploration?"
As expected, whenever things get a little peaceful, the Association always ruins my daily life.
"No..." Hyena replied with a hesitant tone.
"Then?"
"Taking down a criminal organization..."
"Huh?"
"It’s a top-secret mission, so you’ll get the details during the briefing at headquarters... It’s a criminal organization made up of Awakened. Most of the low-level members are equivalent to C-rank Hunters, the mid-level are B-rank, and the executives are A-rank. If we don't catch them now, they’ll scatter back into a cell structure. Now that we’ve found their base, we have to arrest them all at once."
"No... wait a second, why me... You have plenty of people trained for anti-personnel combat, don't you? What is the Investigation Bureau doing?"
"This is a joint operation with the Investigation Bureau. They’re swamped, so they don't have enough personnel to deploy immediately. And when it comes to anti-personnel combat, there’s no Hunter like you... especially in a situation like this..."
"Haa..."
The first request I’ve received since that day is an anti-personnel mission. It’s true that during my trainee days, my anti-personnel combat scores were the highest in every subject. "But that was back when I was a trainee..." Even back when I was running E and D-rank gates, if E or D-rank Hunters ignored my orders or acted threateningly, I had experience neutralizing them by beating them to a pulp or breaking their limbs.
"Still, to ask me to capture Awakened equivalent to A and B-ranks alive..."
A sigh escaped me. Arresting criminal Awakened is indeed one of the Association’s main duties. The biggest problem is that putting me in a team tasked with arresting criminals full of A and B-rank level threats implies they are already treating me as an A-rank Hunter. "Well... I thought they’d already figured it out, but they aren't even trying to hide it from me anymore. They’re openly treating me like an A-rank."
There’s no point in hiding it anymore, and it’s probably better to come clean first. Of course, with a few lies mixed in...
"Hyena."
"Yeah?"
"That day... the day I entered the S-rank gate..."
"Yeah."
"Honestly, it’s a bit hazy for me too... but when I came to, my whole body was wrecked. Both my arms were completely shattered, one side of my face was caved in, and my internal organ damage was so severe that I was vomiting blood just by lying still."
"Yeah... keep going."
Hyena sounded full of curiosity, as if she’d been waiting for me to talk about that day.
"I barely managed to regain consciousness and looked around. The boss was dead, and the other Hunters were either unconscious or dead... I thought I was going to die soon too, so I was looking for a place to die, but there was something where the boss had fallen."
"What was it?"
"There was a black bottle... Just a black bottle, I didn't even know what was inside... My consciousness was fading, so I just drank it. I held the bottle with my feet, opened the cap with my mouth, and just downed the whole thing."
"Hmm... And then your body healed?"
"Looking at the results, yes. I passed out after drinking it, but when I woke up, my body was fully recovered and the bottle had vanished without a trace. I tried to grab you and head for the escape gate, but my consciousness faded again and I blacked out. After that, I became stronger. That’s all."
"Hmm. I see. So that’s what happened..."
Hyena muttered for a while, as if she finally understood.
"Sunghyun."
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for telling me."
"No, well... you guys seemed to know anyway."
"The Association President?"
"Yeah... he seemed to have some idea..."
"Yeah. Actually, the President thinks you ate or drank something in there... He said if we assume you consumed something of immense value, it explains why the loot from an S-rank gate was so pathetic... But don't worry, you know how it is. Since you consumed it in an emergency situation, you aren't at fault legally or morally."
"Yeah. I know."
That’s the best possible answer in this situation. For now, I can keep the existence of the bracelet completely hidden. "Ah, damn it, I shouldn't have worn that wrist guard that day..." From now on, I’ll have to look for opportunities to either expose the bracelet casually as if it’s just a fashion accessory, or choose to cover my wrists whenever I go to the Association.
"Well, that’s how that day went... But about the request..."
"Yeah?"
"It’s okay to refuse, right?"
I’m actually debating whether to refuse or not, but I need to establish some boundaries with the Association early on. If I do this once, there’s no telling how much they’ll try to work me in the future.
"Yeah... If you refuse, it can't be helped. We were the ones who asked on short notice, and above all, you aren't a Hunter specialized in anti-personnel combat... But we only got this intel recently, so it’s a hastily assembled team, but we’ve gathered a lot of strong Hunters. Aside from you, everyone else is an A-rank. I really can't say more than this because it’s classified... So, you’re refusing, right?"
"..."
I thought about it again, but refusing really does seem like the right move. I don't think the A-rank Hunters from the Investigation Bureau, who are trained for anti-personnel combat, or the other A-rank Hunters including Hyena, would lose to a bunch of criminal scrubs. The biggest problem is the nature of the mission.
"They call it an arrest..."
Once we’re on the scene, it’s obvious there will be casualties. Even if we manage to capture the executives who have important information about the organization’s crimes alive, the low-level grunts are likely to be killed on the spot if they resist violently. At least, that’s how the Hunters from the Investigation Bureau I know operate.
"I really don't want to kill anyone if I can help it..."
I might swing a weapon to subdue someone and end up killing them by accident. Obviously, these kinds of missions have immunity clauses, so I wouldn't be punished, but... "If you’re a normal human being, it’s common sense to avoid anything involving murder if you can..."
Just as I was about to refuse, Hyena spoke.
"Oh, right. The pay is 480 million won... but since you’re going to refuse anyway."
Hearing the number 480 million made my heart waver. Maybe if I just grit my teeth and handle a few jobs like this... the mansion I dreamed of might become a reality, not just a dream.
"Wait."
"Huh? No, don't feel pressured. There’s no penalty for refusing."
"Director Kang?"
"Huh? What, suddenly?"
"I’ll do it. What the hell."
"Really? You aren't doing this just for the money, are you?"
"Of course not. But, by any chance, is there an incentive?"
"No..."
"Tsk."
"What was that?"
I clicked my tongue at the Association’s stinginess. I decided to change my mind. "Well... I’m doing a good deed. Looking at it, they seem like the type to distribute drugs made from materials found in gates or kidnap Awakened for human trafficking..."
"Never mind. Then... when should I go to headquarters?"
"Tomorrow."
"What?"
"We’ll gather tomorrow for the briefing, train together for four days to practice the operation, and then deploy the next day."
"Why the training camp?"
"How could we let a Hunter who’s heard classified intel just walk out? So, you’re saying you’ll do it?"
"Yeah. I’ll be there tomorrow."
"Alright, I’m hanging up."
Hyena sounded strangely happy when I said I’d do it.
"Haa..."
"There goes a whole week. I’ll tell Yuna tonight, and tonight... I’ll have to get it three times..."