Chapter 19: Little Si-ho
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 19: Little Si-ho
Even Ji-eun, though currently B-rank, was a hunter with A-rank potential.
But this time, it was a hunter who was already A-rank.
Naturally, this was an extremely rare case.
Even a C-rank hunter could easily look down on the salary of an average corporate employee, and from B-rank onwards, they were considered to be living in a different world from ordinary people.
That was why Ji-eun, despite her lack of experience, was an incredible talent in terms of ability.
And from A-rank, the level was in a completely different dimension.
Not only could they stop most dimensional gate phenomena single-handedly, but they also gained the right to challenge the Tower of Revelation.
The Tower of Revelation.
The existence of the tower, which could be called a disaster for humanity, was the biggest headache, causing dimensional shifts and gate phenomena.
Ordinary people could only see that the Tower of Revelation existed; they couldn't approach it no matter what they did.
However, from A-rank hunters upwards, the moment they looked at the Tower of Revelation and thought they wanted to go, they could enter it.
This, of course, included returnees.
‘If I remember correctly, the highest floor cleared is the 21st.’
For hundreds of years, hunters and returnees from all over the world had been thrown at it, and they had only managed to clear 21 floors.
Considering it was presumed to have 100 floors, they had only cleared a fifth of it.
The problem was that even those who challenged it had no idea what they would receive for clearing the final floor.
They could only vaguely speculate that if they climbed the entire Tower of Revelation, the dimensional shifts and gate phenomena that appeared with it would disappear.
To everyone, the Tower of Revelation was an unknown entity.
And the standard for becoming an A-rank hunter was earning the right to challenge that very tower.
They were a level of military power that the nation managed one by one, enough to earn the title of guardians who could save the Earth.
That was what it meant to be A-rank.
‘How many are there in our country again?’
I hadn't seen the latest hunter metrics, so I couldn't be sure, but I remembered there being about forty.
As for S-ranks, you could count them on one hand.
“Are you sure it’s okay to entrust a child like this to me?”
I wondered how they had even scouted an A-rank talent in the first place, but I decided to let that slide for now.
The chairperson of this company was none other than Ms. Baek Seol-hyang, who I presumed held a high position in the World Returnee Association.
With her power and connections, arranging for an A-rank hunter probably wasn't difficult.
But the problem was that I couldn't understand why they were entrusting such high-level personnel to me.
“Right? Even I think it’s a bit rash to entrust this to you, Ha-chan, since you’re a new employee.”
My team leader showed a degree of agreement.
“The problem is that this kid is still only nineteen. And you’re currently in charge of a hunter of a similar age and level.”
“Hmm.”
So the reason this kid was assigned to me was the same as I’d first thought.
An A-rank hunter was such high-level personnel that others would surely feel a sense of distance.
On top of that, her young age of nineteen would be a barrier to mingling with other hunters.
And in that situation, I was already managing Ji-eun, who, despite being B-rank, had A-rank potential.
‘They didn’t want to connect her with me, but with Ji-eun.’
Regardless of who the manager was, the higher-ups had decided that the two of them needed to be put together.
“Ji-eun rates you very highly, you know. Hunters have manager evaluation forms, too. You got a perfect score from her.”
“I don’t think I did anything to deserve such a high rating.”
“In any case, it’s a fact that Ji-eun likes you, right? And what’s most important between a manager and a hunter is, in the end, trust.”
They must have judged that since Ji-eun trusted me so much, changing her manager might cause a backlash.
So, in the end, an A-rank hunter of the same age as Ji-eun ended up on my team.
“Isn’t my team’s workload getting a little too big?”
“I’m counting on you. The higher-ups said they’ll give you their full support. I heard there’s a bonus, too.”
“I will gladly become your company’s corporate slave.”
I resolved today to bury my bones in the Rodri Company.
In any case, I was assigned a new hunter.
Her name was Ha Si-ho.
As I mentioned, she was a nineteen-year-old, A-rank spatial hunter.
She was at home today, so I decided to visit her house to introduce myself.
I had already spoken with her parents beforehand. They were very worried about their daughter’s work as a hunter, so we had agreed I should greet them in advance.
‘Come to think of it, Ji-eun’s parents must be the type to let her be.’
Nineteen was an age for studying hard.
Considering the dangers of being a hunter, any normal parent would wish their child would just focus on their studies.
The fact that Ji-eun’s parents didn’t even comment on her dyeing her hair yellow while attending school, and simply ended the call with, “That’s just how Ji-eun is, teacher!” made them the unusual ones.
‘She must have inherited that personality.’
Thinking about Ji-eun’s personality, I got off the bus.
A common apartment complex, the kind you see everywhere in Korea, came into view. I passed the security office at the entrance and went inside.
“Let’s see. Building 203, unit 1302.”
I checked the address I was given, found the apartment building, and pressed the call button at the entrance to Building 203.
[Ah, you’re here! I’ll open the door for you.]
Just then, a voice that seemed to belong to the mother came from inside, and I was able to enter the building.
“Why am I so nervous?”
Is this what it feels like for a teacher to meet a student’s parents?
Since I would be responsible for someone else’s child for the time being, I took a long breath and straightened my tie.
Ding-dong~
When I rang the doorbell, I heard footsteps from inside.
With the sound of the door lock disengaging, the front door opened, and Si-ho’s mother was standing there.
It seemed she had dressed up, likely because the person who would be looking after her daughter was visiting. She was wearing designer clothes.
“Hello. I’m Kang Ha-chan, an employee from the Rodri Company who will be in charge of Ms. Ha Si-ho.”
As soon as I saw her, I bowed politely and handed her my business card, which I had received some time ago, with both hands.
She took the card and offered a faint smile.
“Welcome. I’m Si-ho’s mother. I was waiting for you. Please, come in.”
After her greeting, I took off my shoes and stepped inside.
A typical family home came into view.
Perhaps because I’d lived alone ever since my parents passed away, the sight of a family home felt strangely nostalgic.
Clack-
Just then, a door not far from the entrance opened.
A man who looked to be in his twenties stood there. He shot me a sharp glance before turning his head toward the mother.
Oh, he’s handsome.
His sharp eyes were a bit of a flaw, but even that gave him a bad-boy charm.
“Mother, who is this?”
“Ah, this is the manager from the Rodri Company who will be looking after Si-ho. Seo-ho, you should say hello too.”
“Si-ho’s manager?”
Upon hearing that, his face looked vaguely uncomfortable.
It seemed he was Si-ho’s older brother.
Then, the name Seo-ho made me tilt my head.
His full name must be Ha Seo-ho. Haven’t I heard that name somewhere before?
“Your name is?”
“It’s Kang Ha-chan.”
While I was spacing out, he asked for my name, and I quickly answered.
He then smoothed down his messy hair, as if he’d just woken up, and said quietly,
“Si-ho’s personality is a bit… much.”
“What’s wrong with my personality?”
As soon as he spoke, the voice of a young woman who had walked out of another room was heard.
I shifted my gaze and saw a girl who was shorter than average.
Her black hair was tied up in a ponytail.
Just as her brother was handsome, she also had a very pretty face.
Her expression was just as sharp as her brother’s, and if it weren’t for her short stature, she might have given off a rather intimidating aura.
She was dressed in a white t-shirt and dolphin shorts, likely because she was at home and wearing comfortable clothes.
“Ha Seo-ho, you’re trying to make Si-ho mad.”
“Stop talking about yourself in the third person. How old are you?”
“I said you’re trying to make me mad!”
“Both of you, what are you doing in front of our guest!”
Just as Seo-ho was about to say something more in response to Si-ho, their mother scolded them both at once.
Seo-ho let out a sigh at her scolding and approached me.
“Excuse me, could I have your number? If Si-ho causes any trouble, you can just contact me.”
“Ah, yes.”
That wasn’t a difficult request, so as I exchanged numbers with the phone he held out, Si-ho was about to say something to him but was dragged away by her mother.
“You! I told you the manager was coming, and what are you wearing!”
“Ah, Mom, my nose is bleeding again.”
In the middle of being scolded by her mother, Si-ho suddenly got a nosebleed, covered her nose, and went to her room.
She’s a hunter, so could she be physically weak normally?
Combined with her small frame, that sight made her seem even more fragile.
“I’m sorry. My daughter is a bit immature.”
“It’s quite all right.”
The mother sighed, looking embarrassed.
A short while later, I was sitting at a table across from Si-ho, who had changed into a school uniform, and her mother.
Si-ho was staring at me with a somewhat sullen expression, looking quite awkward.
‘Right, this is the normal reaction for a nineteen-year-old high school girl.’
It was a completely different reaction from Ji-eun, who seemed to have only learned how to tease people. For some reason, I felt a sense of relief.
“I’ve shown you an unsightly scene. My Si-ho doesn’t get along with Seo-ho.”
“Not at all. I have an older sister, so they actually seemed quite close to me.”
“Oh, you have a sister?”
My mother would have probably been around the same age as Si-ho’s mother if she were still alive.
In fact, Seo-ho and I didn’t seem to have much of an age gap either.
Perhaps because of that, Si-ho’s mother smiled with slightly softer eyes, as if looking at her own child.
“I see. Still, I’m a little worried. Seo-ho is a hunter, and now they say Si-ho has awakened as one too.”
“Ah?”
At that moment, hearing that Seo-ho was a hunter, something flashed in my mind.
Ha Seo-ho.
How could I have forgotten that name?
It seemed that seeing him in comfortable clothes at home with bedhead, so different from how he always appeared on TV, had caused a moment of cognitive dissonance.
‘The S-rank Snow Mountain Wolf, Ha Seo-ho.’
He was one of the few S-ranks in South Korea, a hunter famous for being cold, who absolutely loathed the nickname “Snow Mountain Wolf” to the point of throwing a fit, but it had stuck because his fans loved it.
He refused all photo and video shoots, and any footage or pictures of him taken from a distance were said to be treated like treasure among his fans.
‘That’s why I didn’t recognize him.’
I had seen a picture of Seo-ho before, but it was just a shot of him fighting to block a dimensional gate from afar.
‘To think she’s the younger sister of that Ha Seo-ho.’
Do hunter abilities run in the family?
An S-rank hunter’s younger sister is an A-rank.
They must have been blessed with good genes.
“So please, I ask you to take good care of Si-ho.”
“Yes, I’ll do my best. I’ll contact you regularly so you won’t have to worry.”
When the mother bowed her head to ask, I quickly replied.
“Then Si-ho, you too.”
“Please take care of me.”
Si-ho bowed with a slightly dissatisfied expression, following her mother’s instruction.
Still, it seemed she was a child who listened well to her parents.
After that, I managed to politely decline the mother’s offer to stay for dinner and left the house.
Meeting the parents of a hunter I was in charge of, especially a minor, was more exhausting than I’d expected.
Trrr- trrr-
Just then, my phone rang, and I picked it up.
For a moment I thought it was a call from the company, but thankfully, it wasn't.
“Hello.”
[Ah, Oppa, hello. I went to my counseling session today.]
The voice on the phone was as clear as a pearl, a pleasure to listen to anytime.
The owner of that voice was none other than Blackstar Yua.
My gaming friend, Kkotbi.
Ever since that day, Kkotbi had been calling me like this after her psychiatry sessions.
It was to ease my worries, and she said that after talking to someone once, reporting in like this made her feel more at ease.
‘She’s probably feeling a bit lighter after finally being able to lean on someone, having never been able to her whole life.’
I’m glad our talk back then was effective.
“You sound brighter these days.”
[The doctor specializes in returnees, so she’s really good. I should have gone sooner.]
Hearing that put my mind at ease.
[It’s all thanks to you, Oppa. Thank you.]
“I didn’t really do anything. Just take care of your mental health. Don’t get too buried in work.”
[Mental health, not physical?]
“You’re physically healthy, aren’t you?”
Like a true returnee, Yua was physically much stronger than me.
That was probably the biggest reason she could handle such a murderous schedule.
[Pfft, okay. I’ll call you right away if anything comes up. You’ll pick up anytime, right?]
“Of course. I’ll even fly overseas for you.”
[Oh no. Maybe I should schedule an overseas trip starting tomorrow.]
“I guess I’ll have to get a passport.”
As we exchanged jokes, it was clear that Kkotbi had become much more comfortable.
[Yua, who are you talking to so cheerfully? I’ve never seen you laugh like that!]
[Is it your boyfriend? Your boyfriend? Yua, are you dating?!]
Just then, I heard a commotion from the other side of the phone.
They were girls’ voices, and they sounded quite familiar, so I realized who they were.
‘I thought I heard the sound of a car door earlier.’
They seemed to be her fellow Blackstar members.
[Uh, uh, ahhh, I-I’m sorry! Oppa, I’ll call you later!]
The flustered Yua hurriedly hung up. I looked at my phone and shrugged.
It was moments like these that I was reminded I was friends with a celebrity.
“I hope she can clear up the misunderstanding.”
For an idol, a dating rumor could be fatal. Maybe it would be better to contact her by text from now on.
With that thought, I got on the bus to head home.
Today, I need to go back and restore my weapon. Hehe.
I had completely forgotten my decision to quit this fucking game.