Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: The Basics of Social Life is Apologizing
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‘Fuck, we’re screwed.’
That was the first thought that crossed Im Hye-ryeong’s mind as she accepted her current situation.
Someone might ask why she used ‘jot’ instead of something else in this era where gender roles have flipped.
‘Seriously, we’re totally fucked.’
But this wasn’t some other world—it was the future of the world where Yoo Jun-hyuk had lived. Naturally, there had been a time when ‘fuck’ was used as a curse, and it stuck around because it rolled off the tongue so easily, passed down to this day.
No one thought it was weird. Curses were just curses, after all. For example, the origins of ‘sseubal’ come from ‘sseuphal,’ meaning sex, but no one says, “Honey, wanna sseubal tonight?” The origins of ‘deungsin’ are from ceremonial dolls, but no one says, “Dear! Our baby’s such a deungsin!”
A curse is just a curse, and ‘fuck’ still held its place as a top-tier swear.
Of course, for Yoo Jun-hyuk—who’d never heard proper curses because people didn’t dare swear in front of him, and who hadn’t hung out much on communities while training to become a Hunter—he’d held the prejudice that in this gender-flipped era, people used ‘bwa’ instead of ‘fuck.’
Now that he had free time and frequented communities more, he’d learned the proper common sense(?).
Anyway, that ‘fuck’ was dominating Im Hye-ryeong’s brain.
“Seriously, what the actual fuck...”
Her mind painted a future where her organization was atomized by the Millennium Guild. And the one in charge of this job—herself—being torn to shreds by Choi Yu-ra’s hands, turning into a puddle of blood, replaying like a highlight from a slasher movie. How could she not say they were fucked?
“Ha...”
Here, someone else might raise a question. Hunters aren’t monster slayers? Villain hunting is for Heroes, and they’d report to Heroes anyway. Why fear the Millennium Guild instead of Heroes?
“Seriously, my life is fucked...”
The reason was that both Hunters and Heroes were Awakeners, so they had some autonomy over each other’s domains.
Would a Hero ignore a Gate Break right in front of them just because it wasn’t their job?
Even without training to hunt monsters, a skilled Hero could handle a Gate Break just fine. To avoid legal issues, all Heroes were permitted to respond to Gate Breaks or enter Gates in emergencies, and if their reasons were justified, they were exempt from liability for any resulting problems.
In other words, Hunters could also step into Heroes’ territory to some extent. That was exactly why Im Hye-ryeong was afraid.
‘What do I do...’
They didn’t openly hunt villains, but if villains touched them or their families, they had legal rights to punish them in self-defense.
The problem arose there.
‘No way out in sight.’
Heroes aimed to reform and rehabilitate villains, so capturing them alive was priority. They specialized in PvP and had skills optimized for neutralizing villains, but Hunters didn’t.
‘The whole organization getting bombed?’
Showing mercy to monsters? That’s begging to die. Hunters’ skills were mostly destructive and aggressive, and their mindset favored killing over capturing, so “unavoidable kills” during villain encounters were inevitable.
‘No, even if the organization survives, I’m definitely dead.’
Sure, even with autonomy, killing villains recklessly would bring some discipline despite immunity, but would the Millennium Guild care about that?
Especially for Choi Yu-ra, she had a free pass to rip villains apart. Who in the world could discipline an EX-Rank Hunter for killing a villain? Especially with the perfect excuse that her boyfriend had nearly been kidnapped!
[Hey, what’s up? You dead? No reply.]
Im Hye-ryeong resented her friend today, who was unknowingly poking at her wounds.
[I’m alive. For now.]
[Choi Yu-ra’s boyfriend reported to the guild, right? Not confirmed yet?]
[Dunno. Why else would they be coming to the guild?]
[If he really reported, you’d be fine right now? I think he didn’t.]
[How do you know?]
[Lee Seo-yeon.]
Information was power. For villains, it was more crucial than for Hunters or Heroes. Im Hye-ryeong’s friend, in the massive villain organization Trillion, was well-informed.
[Been hearing her name a lot lately, so I looked into it. Her skill’s optimized for hacking. If she wanted, she could hack CCTVs or car black boxes and track your missing intern’s every move. Your organization would’ve been found ages ago.]
[But she didn’t move?]
[Exactly. And think about it. Who’s the Millennium Guild Master?]
Im Hye-ryeong’s expression brightened slightly.
[Iron Blood.]
[Yeah. Would she investigate quietly on her own? With her personality?]
[She’d act the second she got the report. She looks after guild members and their families.]
[Right. So Choi Yu-ra’s boyfriend didn’t tell the truth.]
[Why?]
[Who knows? Men are like that sometimes. Even after sexual harassment, they bury it fearing retaliation or exposure?]
Hope flickered in her brightened expression.
[So what now?]
[Go grovel naked or something. Grand jeté’s not bad either.]
Her friend meant it as a joke.
[Thanks! Heading there now!]
Im Hye-ryeong sent the message and bolted from the cafe.
[What? Hey, you crazy bitch!]
＊＊＊
‘Huh? What’s that?’
After closing the cafe and staying at the Millennium Guild until midnight, I got home to a suspicious item waiting.
‘A bag?’
A 007-style bag from the movies sat in front of my door. I looked around—no one. Cautiously, I picked it up; it was heavy, stuffed full.
‘Could it be...’
In this situation, only the villain group behind the kidnapping would pull this. Bomb inside? I debated opening it, but a letter was taped to the outside, so I read that first.
[To Yoo Jun-hyuk, we offer our deepest apologies. Our organization never intended to harm you. This was all due to unavoidable circumstances from falling into the vile scheme of our client, who provided us with false information...]
It was a damn long letter. 5,700 characters felt like 57,000.
‘Oh? Spilling the client’s info too?’
The letter revealed the client who tricked them was Shin Jeong-hwa.
[Our organization vows never to touch Yoo Jun-hyuk again, and we’ve prepared modest compensation for this incident. Please accept it. Finally, we wish you eternal health and glory.]
The bag was compensation money. My visits to the Millennium Guild had worked; the villains were properly spooked.
“For now... let’s take it inside.”
I carried the bag in and sat in the living room.
“No bomb, probably. They know what’d happen if they assassinated me now.”
So, what was the compensation? Trying to buy me off with money? I had no intention of negotiating with villains!
“Oh...”
Too much money to say that. The bag overflowed with cash bundles. Dazed, I counted: 2 billion won.
“I feel the sincerity.”
Of course, that was a joke. I never planned to do anything to them anyway. If I had, I’d have run to the Guild Master tattling.
‘My info shouldn’t spread too much.’
I can’t take on an organization alone. Hypnosis isn’t invincible. So I need to show I’m harmless and not worth noticing.
‘My line in the sand is being Yu-ra noona’s boyfriend?’
Just that far. If I wiped them out via the Millennium Guild over the attempted kidnapping, they’d be deeply wary of me, maybe even monitor me fearing accidental brushes.
‘To avoid landmines, you gotta know where they are.’
Then, inevitably, my hypnosis might get exposed since I can’t live without using it forever. If that spreads in the underworld?
They’d kidnap me ignoring the Millennium Guild backing to exploit me.
‘Hypnosis is that tempting, right?’
So this level is perfect. Remember Choi Yu-ra the Hunter’s boyfriend’s face and name. Don’t touch carelessly or risk your org’s destruction. Destroying one org would max their wariness and surveillance, but accepting an apology avoids that.
‘Honestly, better if even the boyfriend thing stayed hidden...’
But clearly, it’s out. If they’d bow just for guild ties, no week-long delay. They learned I’m Yu-ra noona’s boyfriend in that week, hence the overkill apology.
“Villains aren’t half bad. Info’s spot on.”
And they make bank. Villain org issue resolved—time for the remaining problem.
“How do I crush that bitch Shin Jeong-hwa?”
Easy: Summon her, hypnotize, done. A mere B-Rank Hunter can’t resist, and unlike last time, I’ll finish it properly.
‘Eye contact for stage 1 hypnosis—over.’
What I pondered was what hypnosis to use for punishment.
“Let’s think a bit more.”
＊＊＊
“Phew, thank goodness.”
Im Hye-ryeong, who’d tailed and watched Yoo Jun-hyuk all day, sighed in relief. Until yesterday, he’d headed straight to the Millennium Guild after jobs. Today, home.
Why the change? Obvious.
“He accepted the apology.”
Maybe not, but it soothed her mind to think so.
“Tch, money’s a waste, but not more than my life.”
Reporting up would’ve made her the tail, severed and delivered to the guild—so risky. The gift to Yoo Jun-hyuk was all her personal funds.
“Money’s earnable again. Especially since the client takes blame for this.”
The info she’d questioned repeatedly. Shin Jeong-hwa had promised to take responsibility. Chats saved as PDFs.
[Hey, snagged a raw gem. Wanna buy?]
[For real? First in ages. What gem?]
[B-Rank Hunter, skill’s mana manifestation. Makes sword aura but can’t shoot it. Control issues?]
[She consented?]
Im Hye-ryeong sent the PDF to her Trillion bestie.
[Not photoshopped?]
[You know I wouldn’t lie about your org? Never that stupid.]
[Still, need a face-to-face. Let’s meet soon.]
[OK]
She closed messenger, opened another chat.
“Hope it cashes out well.”
＊＊＊
‘Why no contact yet!’
Shin Jeong-hwa bit her nails. All ten fingers gnawed to nothing, but anxiety lingered.
[Why no reply!]
Thousands of messages to the org—unread count unchanged.
‘Time to explain’s running out!’
This won’t do. Go myself? No, that’d turn “birth elitist” to kidnapper. Amid agonies, the awaited message arrived. Startled, she checked—disappointment.
[Customer, you lied? Info’s wrong.]
[What do you mean?]
Typos galore in panic, but they ignored.
[Don’t need to know. You said you’d take responsibility if info’s wrong? Sending someone soon.]
[What do you mean!!!]
No reply.
Wrong info? What? And sending someone?
“What the... what’s going on!”
Just wanted to toy with a toy named Lee Seo-yeon. Why humiliation from her, my downfall, and now villains targeting me?
“Huff, huff...”
Rage wouldn’t subside. Another message.
[Jeong-hwa, wanna meet tomorrow? Around 2 PM at the park?]
The guy from the cafe last time—contact swapped. The man she’d tried kidnapping. Yoo Jun-hyuk.
[Yes. Sure.]
Calming max, proper reply. Wanted to ask everything, but no energy after suppressing anger. Yoo Jun-hyuk sent no more, as if done.
“Haha...”
In the empty room, Shin Jeong-hwa laughed. Villain threats? Image collapse? Not scary.
“Chance.”
Kidnap Yoo Jun-hyuk directly, get truth from Lee Seo-yeon? Still kidnapping crime—career over, arrested. Lost everything—what to fear?
Nothing left to do, but that’s just image recovery impossible.
“Revenge chance.”
Igniting fury at Lee Seo-yeon, she etched a new goal. Cockroach who got her dream guild job and man. Culprit crumbling her empire. Grudge and suspicion pinned her—no escape. Even if not, hated her happiness.
“I lost something precious too.”
Mana rippled in vengeful eyes.
“You lose yours too—for fairness?”