Chapter 7: The High School Girl Hunter
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 7: The High School Girl Hunter
“Everyone, this is Kang Ha-chan, who will be joining us starting today.”
“My name is Kang Ha-chan.”
Having joined Rodri, I was welcomed more warmly than I’d expected.
It seemed everyone had already been told I was coming, and they all greeted me kindly.
Including me, there are twelve people. It’s a new company, so the departments are still small.
Then again, with a team this size, the workload for each person must be heavy. It was only natural they’d welcome an extra pair of hands.
I heard the team leader here was an acquaintance of the professor who had spoken highly of me.
It turned out to be true, as he even mentioned the time I’d discussed a paper on dimensional shifts with my professor back in my second year.
“Ha-chan, your desk is over here. First, here’s the data on the hunters we’re currently training. Usually, one manager is in charge of a team of three, but since it’s your first day, shall we start you off with just one? We happen to have a new hunter who just joined.”
“Are you sure? I don’t have any real experience, and I didn’t even finish college. You’re assigning me to someone right away, without a mentor?”
“Normally, we would assign a mentor, but the company is so new that we’re a bit short-staffed. You’ll understand why when you see the files.”
I nodded without complaint.
I could clearly feel that they were being very considerate of my situation.
Even though I had attended the top university in Korea for hunter training, I hadn’t even graduated.
My studies were all theoretical and a far cry from practical application; to active hunters, I was surely lacking.
Assigning me a rookie must be their way of being considerate, too.
In other words, they wanted us to grow together.
In that case, my first hunter probably won’t be very high-ranked.
It was a strong possibility.
They’d pair me with a suitable hunter, let us grow together, and then put us to work for the company.
It was the most plausible scenario.
“I’ll pull up the file for you here.”
The team leader immediately displayed the new hunter’s file on my screen.
Her name was Yoon Ji-eun.
She was nineteen this year, a kid who hadn’t received her official hunter license yet.
“She’s young.”
“Yes, but her potential is A-rank. She’s currently B-rank, though.”
Even if she was still a minor, wasn’t this a bit much to assign to a new employee?
I was expecting a C-rank at best.
No, wait. Since she’s a minor, shouldn’t they assign someone more experienced and capable?
I wore a conflicted expression, but I soon decided to just go with it.
As the team leader had said, the main reason was likely that they were short on staff.
And even if she was talented, as a minor without an official license, she wouldn't be involved in any gate-related work.
They probably just wanted me to get to know her ahead of time since she was a new, underage hunter.
I concluded that they were just using me as a stopgap, with the intention of assigning her an official mentor or replacing me once she became an adult.
“Shall we go meet her right now? She’s here today since it’s her school’s anniversary.”
“Yes, let’s do that.”
I was here to work, so I readily agreed.
The hunter training facility occupied the entire third basement level.
Seeing how meticulously it was equipped with soundproofing, high-strength walls to prevent training accidents, and more, I had to question whether this was truly a new company.
No matter how I looked at it, this company seemed to have some powerful backing.
When the basement door creaked open, I could see hunters training or taking a break.
“Ji-eun is over there.”
As my eyes scanned the room, I spotted a girl sitting in a far corner.
Dressed in casual clothes with bright yellow hair, she had AirPods in her pierced ears and was looking at her phone.
Wow, a high school girl.
And she looks like a delinquent.
At twenty-six years old, I found it difficult to approach a delinquent-looking high school girl.
“Ji-eun. Ms. Ji-eun.”
As I hesitated, unable to speak, the team leader called out to her first.
The high school girl called Ji-eun glanced our way, took out her AirPods, and beamed.
“Hello, Team Leader!”
“Hello, Ji-eun. It’s impressive that you came in right away, even on your school’s anniversary.”
“I just want to become a hunter as soon as possible.”
The mole near her eye was noticeable. It seemed she was wearing light makeup for training today, but she was still remarkably beautiful.
If I hadn’t seen Ahyu or Ms. Baek Seol-hyang recently, she would’ve been the prettiest girl I’d seen in years.
While I was thinking that, the team leader introduced me to her.
“Let me introduce you. This is Kang Ha-chan. Starting today, he’ll be your dedicated manager.”
“My name is Kang Ha-chan. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
I bowed my head first, and she followed my lead, bowing back.
She was more polite than she looked.
Then again, she was here because she wanted to be, so maybe it was to be expected.
“Well then, I’ll let you two get acquainted. Ji-eun, you have a training session scheduled soon, right? Mr. Kang will be in charge of that from now on, so please keep that in mind.”
“Yes, Team Leader.”
The team leader gave us a friendly smile and left us alone.
Left alone with her, Ji-eun simply stared at me.
Her gaze was incredibly unnerving.
What am I supposed to talk about with a high school girl?
No, I’m here for work. First, I need to get the ‘high school girl’ thought out of my head.
I felt the need to break the ice with her.
“You said earlier you wanted to become a hunter quickly. May I ask why?”
I’d heard that being a hunter had become something of a celebrity profession recently, appearing on TV and YouTube, making it one of the dream jobs for kids.
But that was just a dream.
Reality was different.
Being a hunter was a dangerous job.
The reason the government provided so much support and money was that they had to risk their lives fighting dimensional entities.
The mortality rate for hunters was slowly decreasing, but it was still the highest among all professions.
If someone wanted to work in a hunter-related field, it was more realistic and wiser to take a support role like mine rather than becoming a hunter.
There have been reports that awakening an ability causes the brain to significantly mitigate the fear of combat itself.
If not for that, almost no one among the awakened would have chosen to become a hunter.
“Are you going to lecture me for being young and not taking this seriously?”
“What? No. On the contrary, I think it’s admirable.”
Hearing my answer, Ji-eun’s large eyes widened.
A hunter is someone who dives into danger, fully aware of what it entails.
If she had set her sights on becoming a hunter at such a young age, she deserved praise.
“I dreamed of being a hunter when I was young, too, but my awakening rate was too low.”
Looking at Ji-eun’s expression, I could guess what she’d been hearing from those around her.
They must have told her that awakening at a young age had given her foolish ideas about being a hunter.
In fact, it was common for younger individuals with no real-world experience to quit because of how grueling the job was.
“People around you probably say it’s a waste of time, right? That if you don’t succeed, you’ll just ruin your body and suffer in your old age. That you’re too young to know how the world works.”
For some reason, adults tend to belittle and tear down the dreams of children.
Was it because they were dreams they themselves had failed to achieve?
They always brought up reality, trying to drag kids back down to earth.
They were especially harsh with kids who looked like delinquents.
“But they’re the ones who don’t know how the world really works.”
I calmly explained to her the other reality that adults knew.
“Being a hunter is a high-risk job, but it’s also the top priority for maintaining world stability, so the government provides numerous support programs. The compensation system for accidents is the most well-developed in all of Korean law, and there are countless programs to support hunter growth. If you look carefully, you can live comfortably by just dealing with gates four or five times a year.”
As high-risk as it was, the benefits were countless.
The laws concerning hunters were improving every year, and they were treated like national heroes.
“And our job, as hunter support staff, is to make sure you receive all those benefits and support programs. So that you, Ji-eun, can focus entirely on your work as a hunter. So you don’t need to pay much attention to what they say. If you want to become a hunter, we’ll make it happen.”
“……”
Ji-eun fell silent for a moment after hearing my words.
I wasn’t sure if she fully understood, but I hoped I had at least eased her burden a little.
“You’re… the first person who’s ever talked to me like this.”
“It’s nothing. So, what’s your reason for wanting to become a hunter now?”
Ji-eun furtively avoided my gaze.
“…Well, it’s because I want to make a lot of money. And I want to try being a hunter on YouTube.”
Huh, so it was a simpler reason than I thought.
Under my gaze, Ji-eun’s cheeks flushed slightly as she gave an awkward laugh.
Maybe I didn’t need to be so serious.
“I’ve seriously dreamed of having a hunter YouTube channel! It’s a bit weird to say it myself, but I’m pretty good-looking, right? You think so too, right, Ha-chan-oppa?”
When did we get on an ‘oppa’ basis?
I gave a troubled smile as Ji-eun casually closed the distance between us.
I don’t want to make a mistake and get arrested.
“That’s fine. I came here to work because I couldn’t pay my rent. Money is important.”
In this world, money is the most important thing.
At my realistic mention of rent, Ji-eun’s eyes somehow sparkled even brighter.
I had no idea why.
“Ji-eun, it’s your time. Come on.”
“Ah, it’s time for my training, I have to go! See you later!”
Just as she heard my reply, her training time was called. She bowed her head and went over to the instructor.
Watching her train, I could tell that despite her bubbly personality, she was serious about her work as a hunter.
But still.
Money, huh.
It wasn’t hard to make money as a hunter, but she was still a minor.
The company was probably giving her some sort of advance to keep her here.
There’s probably a reason she wants to earn money, too.
I felt like I needed to talk to her more about this, but talking to a high school girl was surprisingly draining.
That unique cheerfulness of a teenager can be overwhelming for an adult who’s tasted the bitterness of life.
Come to think of it.
Speaking of high school girls, one person came to mind.
I knew one, didn’t I?
Someone who, until just a few months ago, was an active high school girl.
*
[So, is that why you called me?]
“Well, I don’t really have anyone else to ask.”
The person I had called was none other than Ahyu.
Until last year, she had been a high school girl.
I figured I could get some good advice on topics that high school girls are interested in.
[Oppa, you remember I’m a returnee, right? Technically, I’m second-hand goods.]
Although she had attended high school based on the age on her ID, perhaps because of her experiences in the Murim world, Ahyu didn’t claim to be a pure high school girl.
“Still, you went to school last year, right? The kids around you were high school girls.”
[I won’t deny that, but… um, I was kind of a loner at school.]
“I’m sorry.”
[No, you don’t have to be sorry.]
“I’m sorry. I apologize.”
[I said you don’t have to be sorry! I told you before that I ended up being a loner because I caused some trouble at school.]
“I’m really sorry.”
[Hey, where are you.]
If I teased her any more, she’d come find me.
I decided to stop there and continued.
“So, the conclusion is that you can’t really help?”
[That’s not it. YouTube, huh. Who was it that the kids watched a lot?]
It wasn’t that I didn’t watch hunter YouTubers, but I couldn’t assume that my tastes would overlap with a teenage girl’s.
If she wanted to do YouTube, all I had to do was support her in that direction.
After a quick search, I found that the Rodri Company had quite a few support programs for turning hunters into celebrities, so it seemed entirely possible.
From the company’s perspective, hunters are also advertising products.
One way or another, if a hunter was popular, it was an unconditional profit for the company.
They would especially welcome it in Ji-eun’s case, since she was still a minor and couldn’t be sent out on hunter work.
“Blackstar Yua?”
[Yua is the supreme, universally popular one, but her YouTube is just a hobby. In the first place, Yua’s fame came first, and the YouTube channel followed. It won’t be a good reference.]
A hobby YouTube channel with over 10 million subscribers.
Global idols were terrifying.
“So maybe starting as an idol is an option.”
[Don’t underestimate idols. This world is incredibly harsh. New kids rise and fall every single day here.]
The dedication of an idol stan was quite fearsome.
[More importantly, since you’re talking about idols, she must be really pretty, huh?]
“Yeah, though she’s a little less pretty than you.”
When I answered honestly, Ahyu suddenly went silent as if she’d frozen.
[Ha, heh, heh-heh, well, of course she’d be less pretty than me. Still, if her face is pretty, it’s easier to succeed in this field.]
She let out a breathy laugh, her voice sounding pleased.
It seemed my lip service had worked well.
[Ah, right, a lot of kids watch this person. How about using her as a reference, since she’s also a girl?]
Just then, Ahyu sent me a link on KakaoTalk.
The YouTube name was Skull Girl.
It seemed she was a Necromancer-class hunter.
Her main content was quite novel: she used her abilities to create a haunted house and do hidden camera pranks.
Her channel was approaching one million subscribers, and her videos always surpassed one million views, so it looked like she would continue to grow.
[No one watches hunter YouTube channels for professional content, right? That stuff is on the news every day. I don’t know what her class is, but it would be best to create content that utilizes her class, like this.]
“Oh, thanks.”
I felt grateful to Ahyu for actively giving her opinion.
A little help from a friend is always great.
[So, oppa, are you having fun flirting with a pretty high school girl at your first job?]
For some reason, her voice sent a chill down my spine.
Having fun? Well…
“It’s exhausting.”
She closes the distance way too easily.
[Why? Guys are crazy about high school girls, aren’t they?]
“No, who’s crazy about a kid? It’s actually uncomfortable to talk to her.”
[They’re always going on about ‘High school girl-chan, uwu~’ or whatever. Like that ‘military veteran high school girl’ meme.]
I have no idea where she picks this stuff up.
“That’s just on the internet.”
[Hmph, so you’re not really interested?]
“Why does the conversation keep going in that direction?”
[Because you’re fun to tease, oppa.]
“I’m not going to duo queue with you tonight.”
[I can’t anyway, since I’m officially registering as a hunter today. Besides, the World Returnee Association called me, probably because of what happened yesterday.]
My threat didn’t work.
[Anyway, call me again if you need anything. Among all your acquaintances, I’m the most helpful, right? Right? Your Ahyu is the best, isn’t she?]
Ahyu was well aware of my limited social circle.
[You can call when you’re bored, too.]
With those words and the sound of a soft giggle, the call ended.
What a silly girl. We’d just end up talking in the game chat again anyway.