Chapter 128: A Pouting Si-ho
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 128: A Pouting Si-ho
Chapter 14 – Yoon Ji-eun's Origin
1
[Ah, Bureau Director Do Cheol-su, that's just how he is. I heard the other agents have a hard time telling him not to act like that in the media.]
“So that's what he's like.”
After somehow ending up in an arm-wrestling match with the Bureau Director, I was on the phone with Seo-ho, heading back to the company.
It seemed Do Cheol-su had no other intentions beyond arm-wrestling me and trying to set me up with his daughter, because that's where our conversation ended.
He was the kind of person who lived so much by his own whims that it was hard to keep up.
[Still, the fact that he offered to introduce you to his daughter means there won't be any problems with your work. He only does that for people he takes a liking to.]
“But Seo-ho, didn't the Hunter Management Bureau Director not have a daughter?”
I had a rough idea of the family relations of Korea's top hunter, after all.
I was sure Do Cheol-su didn't have any family, which was strange.
[It's a photo of his deceased daughter. She probably died in a gate accident before we were even born.]
Hearing that, I fell silent for a moment.
So that was the story.
[You don't have to worry too much about it. He doesn't say much else after showing the photo.]
“I guess I understand why he's been with the Korean Hunter Bureau for so long.”
It must be because he hopes what happened to his daughter never happens again.
[Are you heading into the company now?]
“Ah, yeah. I think Si-ho will come by after she's done with school.”
[She's probably already there. She said she'd finish early today because of a school event.]
“Really? I didn't get a text. Alright.”
[Yes. Take care, Ha-chan.]
After finishing the call with Seo-ho, I opened the company door and went inside.
Thinking Si-ho might be in the training facility, I headed down there.
Slap!
Suddenly, a sound like someone being slapped echoed through the room.
“How rude! How dare a trainee bitch who's never even been out in the field!”
Startled, I quickly looked toward the door. There stood Si-ho and a group of women, one of whom had just swung her hand.
Reacting instinctively, I kicked the door open and rushed to stand in front of Si-ho.
“And who the hell are you?”
A sharp voice came from behind, but I ignored it and cupped Si-ho's cheek, checking her face first.
The sound I'd heard was a slap.
“Manager?”
At my appearance and actions, Si-ho stared at me with wide eyes.
There was no mark on her cheek.
“Ah, I didn't get slapped.”
Si-ho looked at me and casually raised her small hand.
“I caught it.”
Si-ho grinned as if she were proud.
Come to think of it, Si-ho was an S-rank hunter.
Even if they were all hunters, her abilities were far superior. There was no reason for her to just stand there and take a slap.
“Did you jump in right away because you were worried about me?”
“Yeah. I'm glad you're not hurt.”
As Si-ho asked with sparkling eyes, I stroked her hair and stood up.
“Hey, I asked who you are.”
Just then, the voice spoke up again from behind me.
When I turned my head, I didn't recognize her or anyone in her group.
Now that I thought about it, I'd heard that Rodri had scouted a lot of hunters from JMC after it went under.
That meant she was likely one of the people scouted from JMC. Judging by their earlier conversation, they seemed to be active hunters already.
“I'm her manager.”
“Manager? A mere manager is blocking my way? Hah, unbelievable.”
She twitched an eyebrow, looking utterly dumbfounded.
“Looks like this pair has a death wish.”
It seemed she had a habit of hitting people, as she raised her hand once more.
Striking a civilian could be a problem under hunter law, so the fact that she was doing this suggested it wasn't her first time.
But there was one thing she hadn't considered.
The fact that the 'civilian' she was about to hit was far from ordinary.
“Kyaak!”
And the fact that my body, its hand-to-hand combat skills having been pushed to the extreme through training with Ahyu, had reached a point where it would react instinctively to an incoming attack.
In an instant, I had grabbed and twisted her arm, making her scream.
“You crazy bastard, what do you think you're doing?!”
“Let her go, now!”
Immediately, the other women in the group started rushing toward me angrily.
I wasn't confident I could subdue them gently.
As I was wondering how I should strike them, I realized someone had jumped in front of me.
At the same time, a fist swung out and struck them squarely in the stomach, and all of them collapsed to the floor, spitting and writhing.
“Ugh, keuk.”
“Geheuk.”
“Oh my, Ha-chan. What's going on here?”
The one who had subdued them was none other than Yu U-jeong.
As she looked down disdainfully at the hunters she'd taken down, I glanced at the female hunter whose wrist I was still holding.
She was on the verge of tears from the pain.
“What the hell. Who are you people?”
When I let her go, she clutched her wrist and staggered back.
When I shot her a sharp glare, she flinched and her shoulders trembled.
She was terrified, not only because she had been subdued, but because Yu U-jeong had taken down all her companions at once. As a hunter herself, she must have immediately sensed the difference in their levels.
“What do you think you're doing? It looks like you're the new hunters who just joined.”
“W-well, that trainee bitch was being disrespectful, so we were just teaching her a lesson.”
“Bitch?”
As I scowled and took a step forward, she flinched, trembled, and avoided my gaze.
“N-no, I mean, that girl was just being rude. That's all.”
“Si-ho, is that true?”
When I looked back at Si-ho, she shook her head.
“Si-ho was just here first to train. Those people came and told me to get out so they could train, and I just said no.”
“I see. From what Si-ho says, it sounds like you were the ones being rude.”
I glared at her with a displeased expression.
“...What are your names?”
“W-why should I have to tell you!”
She shouted at me and then bolted out of the training facility.
The others who had been on the floor followed her out, and Yu U-jeong looked back at me.
Her expression seemed to ask if I wanted her to catch them, but I shook my head.
“Si-ho, has this happened before?”
Hearing my question, Si-ho blinked for a moment, then looked away, seeming slightly troubled.
Her reaction told me this wasn't the first time, and it wasn't just them.
“It's a chronic problem among hunters.”
Yu U-jeong spoke as if giving me advice.
“Hunters have a strong belligerent streak. There are frequent power struggles with other hunters. To be honest, it's pretty much the same everywhere.”
She said it as if it were no big deal.
Then she took a step closer and whispered in my ear.
“The problem is, it doesn't matter to the two of us.”
Si-ho and Yu U-jeong were S-rank hunters.
In Si-ho's case, though it hadn't been announced, this kind of dominance game was like child's play to her.
“The real problem is that girl, Ji-eun.”
Ji-eun was a B-rank hunter with A-rank potential.
And she was still a trainee, not an official hunter.
The amount of humiliation she must have endured, knowingly or not, couldn't have been small.
The reason she never told me was likely half not wanting to worry me, and half knowing it was a chronic problem in the hunter world.
“And if she keeps staying with the two of us, it's only going to get harder for Ji-eun.”
“...Because Ji-eun won't be able to keep up?”
“She's about to make her hunter debut, right? She'll start getting public attention. Do you really think she'll be able to shine between the two of us? And that's not even counting me and my fake identity.”
She said this, as Si-ho already knew her true identity.
If Ji-eun stayed on our team, she would inevitably be compared to Si-ho, who was the same age.
Though Si-ho was currently registered as A-rank, the moment she was re-evaluated, she would jump straight to S-rank.
Ji-eun was only human.
It was easy to predict that keeping her next to Si-ho wouldn't lead to a good outcome.
“Besides, that girl likes you, Ha-chan.”
As she said that, Yu U-jeong glanced over at Si-ho.
A girl of the same age who was far more capable, and they both liked the same person.
Hearing that, I remembered Ji-eun consulting with Yu U-jeong a while back.
“...Am I being too greedy?”
This was the first team I'd ever managed.
A team I was responsible for.
And now, that team was on the verge of breaking apart because of me.
My eyes met Si-ho's.
I had accepted Ahyu and Seol-hyang.
And besides those two, I was also seriously considering Si-ho's feelings.
Perhaps that was why I'd been so preoccupied with my own heart that I hadn't been able to pay enough attention to Ji-eun.
“...I'll have a proper talk with Ji-eun.”
It seemed the time had come to have the conversation I'd been putting off.
“Are you just going to tell her to leave the team out of the blue?”
Yu U-jeong suddenly interjected.
“No, I wasn't thinking of going that far.”
“But honestly, it doesn't seem like there's any other way, does it? The difference in their levels is obvious.”
I bit my lip.
Even with A-rank potential, Ji-eun was still B-rank.
The difference in level was undeniable.
“If I make a new team...”
“You know that's not a real solution either.”
Just as she said, it would surely be another wound for Ji-eun.
As I struggled to come up with a clear answer, Yu U-jeong gave a faint smile.
“That's why I have an idea.”
“You have an idea?”
When I looked back at her, Yu U-jeong looked slightly embarrassed as she twirled a strand of her hair with her finger.
“Originally, it was something I was going to do to try and win Ji-eun over because of the Alterz business, you know?”
Was this about the advice she was giving Ji-eun the other day?
“But I'm not really involved with Alterz anymore, right? They're busy fighting amongst themselves, and I've decided to stay with you, Ha-chan.”
“So, what's the point?”
“There's a way to make Ji-eun stronger in a manner that's perfectly suited to her ability.”
My eyes met Yu U-jeong's.
It didn't seem like she was bluffing.
“She's an empath, right? She even communed with animals on her YouTube channel.”
“Right.”
“It's related to that. There's a guy in Alterz with a similar ability who got stronger the same way.”
So Yu U-jeong was surprisingly useful.
As I looked at her with surprise, Yu U-jeong pouted slightly.
“You're thinking something very rude right now, aren't you.”
“I was just thinking it was unexpected. That you're more useful than I thought.”
“That's so mean!”
“I'm kidding. So, what's this method?”
When I asked, she brought her feet together slightly, clasped her hands, and started tapping her thumbs together.
“I'll teach you and help you out. In exchange, can you grant me one wish?”
“No.”
The moment she spoke, Si-ho answered instead of me.
Si-ho, who had been listening quietly, stepped firmly in front of me and glared at her.
The girl who hadn't paid Yu U-jeong any mind until recently had, at some point, started to see her as a genuine rival.
Si-ho had noticed that Yu U-jeong was now seriously hitting on me.
“Oh my, Si-ho. Ha-chan should be the one to answer. Why are you answering for him?”
“My manager said no, too.”
When did I say that?
I wasn't sure, but apparently, I had.
Yu U-jeong squinted at Si-ho for a moment, then smiled with her eyes.
“What's your relationship with Ha-chan that gives you the right to interfere, Si-ho?”
“Si-ho is the manager's girlfriend!”
“Oh, so you finally started dating a minor?”
Yu U-jeong flinched and looked at me, and I jumped in surprise.
“No, Si-ho and I are not in that kind of relationship!”
Did I want to get arrested?
Even though she wasn't far from becoming an adult, Si-ho was still a minor.
Just then, Si-ho suddenly looked up at me.
Our eyes met and I flinched as she stared at me with suspicion.
“Si-ho and you?”
Her eyes grew sharper, and one of her cheeks puffed out.
She was the one who said she'd already talked with Ahyu and Seol-hyang.
It felt absurd for her, a minor, to be included in that group, but knowing how much Si-ho liked me, I was at a loss for words.
“Manager?”
“S-so, what do you want in return for helping Ji-eun?”
I said to Yu U-jeong, trying to defuse the situation somehow.
Si-ho's cheek started to puff out even more, but I couldn't help it.