Chapter 8: The High School Girl Hunter (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 8: The High School Girl Hunter (2)
4
“So, I was thinking you could try making YouTube videos along these lines.”
“...Really?”
The next day.
After school, Ji-eun came to the company, and we talked at the company cafe.
Remembering she’d said she wanted to do YouTube, I had spent the day doing research and had even looked into content ideas that would suit her profession.
“Here’s the data.”
“This scroll goes on forever.”
When I handed her the company-issued laptop, she scrolled through it, her eyes wide with surprise.
“I didn't think you'd put this much thought into it.”
“It's my job. If it's what you want, Ji-eun, it's our job to make it happen.”
I also made sure to ask my team leader beforehand about Ji-eun's YouTube venture.
I got his permission.
As I expected, he judged that since she wasn't a hunter who could be deployed immediately, it was better to build up her public profile in advance rather than just have her train endlessly.
She scrolled all the way down, then let out a small laugh.
She had come straight from school and was still in her uniform, looking every bit the high school girl as she rested her chin on her hands.
“Ha-chan-oppa, you're totally the serious, model-student type, aren't you?”
I couldn't deny it.
The reflection in the mirror, of me with my glasses, certainly leaned that way.
The only saving grace was that I'd inherited good genes for height, standing at 180 centimeters. The rest of me wasn't anything to write home about.
“Oppa, you know you have that nerdy charm, right? That's totally the vibe. If you were in college, I bet some of the younger girls would have had a secret crush on you.”
Her giggling and smiling eyes made it obvious she was teasing me.
Unfortunately, nothing like that would have ever happened to me.
On the contrary, some fucking bitch had framed me for sexual harassment.
I couldn't tell her that, so I just forced a bitter smile.
“I've already gotten permission from the team leader to start the YouTube channel. I was planning to tailor it to your specialty, so is there anything here you like?”
“Hmm, my ability is empathy, right?”
Ji-eun's power wasn't combat-oriented.
As she said, it was an empathy ability.
From providing briefings based on the situation to possessing the strong mental fortitude unique to psychic ability users, simply connecting with her was a great help in maintaining one's mental state.
Of course, that didn't mean she was completely incapable of fighting.
From the moment they awaken, hunters possess far superior physical abilities, making them excellent at dealing with dimensional entities even without their unique powers.
On top of that, with her A-rank potential and current B-rank status, her physical specs were more than enough to achieve results if she were deployed against dimensional entities right now.
That must have been why the team leader assigned her to my team in the first place.
With her empathy ability, Ji-eun was perfectly suited for the role of a team's spiritual anchor and leader.
“This empathy thing works with animals, too. I bet a lot of pet owners are curious about what their pets are thinking. So how about content that tells them just that? Maybe I could even help out the famous dog trainer, Kim Hyung-wook, someday!”
This was something I hadn't considered.
As expected, her own opinion, something she'd been thinking about for a while, was more important than the research I'd thrown together overnight.
“That's great. You've really given this some serious thought. Let's go with that.”
If she was this motivated, all I had to do was support her.
I readily accepted her proposal and decided to prepare things along those lines.
With a concept this solid, we could probably get funding from the company.
“Then let's talk it over some more. We might come up with something even better. Anything else come to mind?”
“Oh, in that case, yes!”
After that, Ji-eun and I talked for a long time.
Thanks to that, the content we developed through our conversation seemed like it would be much more successful than what I would have come up with fumbling around on my own.
We talked for so long that it got a bit late, but it was fine since we'd accomplished so much.
This is pretty rewarding.
It was the first real work I'd done in years, so I was actually enjoying it.
I paid for our drinks at the cafe with the company card and stepped outside to a dark sky.
Being in the city, there wasn't a single star in sight, but it was still a decent view.
“Ugh, Ha-chan-oppa, thank you so much. I feel like I can really make it on YouTube thanks to you!”
“It's nothing. I'm just here to help. You're the one who'll be doing all the work, Ji-eun.”
“Hehe, that's why I'm so grateful!”
Ji-eun suddenly grabbed my arm and held it tight.
Startled, I tried to pull my arm away, but she just pulled it closer, unfazed.
Because of that, the sweet scent unique to young women tickled my nose.
“Hey, Ji-eun, could you please not do this?”
“Why, why not? I don't do this with just anyone. I'm just doing it because I'm grateful to you, oppa.”
Even though she was still quite young, she knew how to use her looks as a weapon.
What a scary high school girl.
“No. I'll get arrested. You're a minor.”
“Does that mean it's okay in a year?”
“Please don't do it then, either.”
“Whoa, this is the first time anyone's ever drawn a line like this with me. Ha-chan-oppa, do you not like me?”
I could see right through her teasing.
This was the type of person who enjoyed it more when you got flustered, but I, having no immunity to this sort of thing, had acted foolishly.
The bigger problem here was that Ji-eun was a hunter.
She was much stronger than a normal person like me, and because she was holding on with some force, I couldn't break free no matter how hard I tried.
“Hey, isn't that Ji-eun?”
Just then, I heard voices whispering.
I looked up and saw a few girls and boys in the same school uniform as Ji-eun.
“Wow, she skips evening study saying she's doing hunter stuff, and she's out meeting a guy?”
“But he looks like an old man. Don't tell me it's that kind of thing?”
“Ugh, so gross.”
Hey, why am I an old man?
More importantly, this was bad.
They were thinking the worst and might pull out their phones at any moment.
Aaargh, at this rate, I'm going to get sued and socially executed!
Just as I thought I had to quickly pull Ji-eun off me, I noticed a slight tremor running through my arm.
Without looking down, Ji-eun, who was still gripping my arm tightly, seemed to have lost all of her earlier brightness.
“...Ji-eun, let's go back to the company.”
Realizing at a glance that they were the cause, I put a hand on Ji-eun's shoulder and quickly led her away.
I didn't know the circumstances, but her face had gone deathly pale. She let me lead her away and didn't release my arm until we were back inside the company building.
My suit sleeve is all wrinkled.
Seeing the ruined sleeve from how tightly she'd gripped it, I gave a bitter smile before turning to look at Ji-eun.
Unlike her usual self, she had lost all her brightness and looked haggard.
“Ji-eun, is something going on at school?”
At my question, her shoulders flinched.
My first impression of her was that she seemed like a delinquent, but I suddenly started to see that as a front she put up so she wouldn't look weak.
Like a small animal struggling not to be devoured by other predators.
“Oh, how embarrassing. I've shown you something unsightly, oppa.”
She suddenly started fanning her face with her hand, pretending to be nonchalant.
“Because I'm kind of pretty, I'd hear things from the other girls, like that I was always hitting on guys. I have a bit of a difficult personality, so one time, in a fit of anger, I accepted a confession from a guy that a girl who was badmouthing me liked. After that, she started bullying me openly. Of course, I broke up with him the very next day.”
Ji-eun certainly didn't have an ordinary personality.
“So I started acting tough. To keep the pathetic ones from messing with me. After I awakened as a hunter, no one could really touch me, but…”
Ji-eun slowly lowered her head.
“...One time, I got angry during a fight and couldn't hold back, so I pushed a girl. The laws against hunter violence are incredibly strict. I shouldn't have done it. My parents had to get on their knees and beg in front of her parents, who were threatening to sue. They begged them for leniency, just this once.”
She stared out the window with bitter eyes.
As if recalling that moment, she squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to remember the horrible memory.
Even for her, with her strong mental fortitude from her psychic abilities, that truth seemed hard to bear.
“Still, because of everything they'd done up to that point, it ended with a settlement. I don't know if that's why, but I think I'm just tired. Even a hedgehog doesn't keep its spines up all the time, right? It's hard for me to always have my guard up.”
A small, self-mocking smile touched her lips as she wrapped her arms around herself.
“I guess I'm just... just a little tired. To be honest, part of the reason I wanted to do YouTube and make a lot of money was to show them. To rub my success in their faces, no matter what they said.”
She couldn't lift her head until the very end.
She was pretending to be casual as she spoke, but I could feel how rotten she felt inside.
“I'm... pathetic, aren't I?”
Hearing her self-deprecating words, I immediately voiced the thought that was on my mind.
“Ji-eun, if you don't want to go to school, then don't.”
At that moment, she looked up at me.
It was an extreme suggestion, but I continued nonchalantly.
“If you need a high school diploma, you can just take the GED. And you don't need to go to college, Ji-eun. You just need to become a hunter. Besides, third-year high school students in the academic track don't do anything but study for the college entrance exams anyway, right?”
Studying for the college entrance exams was just a means to get into university.
There was no reason for Ji-eun, who already had a bright future as a hunter, to do that kind of studying.
If she didn't have talent as a hunter, I wouldn't have said this so readily.
But there was no need for someone with talent to suffer through something so worthless.
“From what I've seen today, I don't know the full extent of the damage you've suffered, whether it's bullying or being an outcast.”
I could say this with certainty.
“If it fucking sucks, quitting is an option.”
It was a bit harsh, but it was a fact.
If you hate the temple, the monk should be the one to leave.
Of course, I'm not Ji-eun's parent. I'm just a business partner.
But that means I can say things her parents can't.
“Don't worry about people saying you'll regret it later. You're the one who has to live with the regret, not them. And like you said, all you have to do is become so successful it drives them crazy with jealousy, right?”
After saying that, I bowed my head slightly.
“I'm sorry for saying it so simply. Just know that it's one way of looking at things.”
After hearing my words, Ji-eun slowly began to laugh.
Relieved to hear her laughter, I looked at her. Her eyes were slightly wet as she spoke.
“Ha-chan-oppa, do you think I can succeed as a hunter?”
“Yes, absolutely. And I'll do everything in my power to help you.”
If I help Ji-eun succeed as a hunter, I get a bonus.
Ah, I can't pass up a bonus.
“Haa, that feels so much better. It's something I couldn't even tell my team leader or the training director.”
“Sometimes it's easier to talk about these things with someone new than with people you've known for a long time.”
“Thank you. When I make it big, I'll treat you first, Ha-chan-oppa!”
Seeing that she had finally regained her smile, I gave her a nod.
Since it was getting late, I saw her off and then stretched my arms out wide.
Time for me to head home and play some games.
Vroooom!
It happened in that instant.
Just as I left the company building and was about to head for the crosswalk, a car pulled up and blocked my path.
I know nothing about cars, but one look was enough to tell me this one cost a fortune. I froze.
The aura of money it gave off was on another level.
Just then, the passenger-side window slid down.
There sat a woman in sunglasses, a face I recognized.
“Ha-chan-ssi, on your way home?”
It was none other than Baek Seol-hyang.
As I stood there, stunned by her sudden appearance, the car door swung open.
“Get in.”