Field Practice (1)
I'd come back prepared.
For this second life, I had set myself a single goal: to make my little sister happy.
After I became a Hunter, the distance between us had stretched on without end. I'd traced the cause back to that, and settled on a short-term objective.
I would succeed — not as a Hunter, but with the shop my father had left me.
"This ought to count as success, right?"
I sat at the counter, staring blankly at the numbers.
What was the exact definition of success, anyway?
It wasn't like I was a philosopher. I didn't have a detailed answer. But one thing was certain: money. In the twenty-first century, that was the only real measure of success. At least for a commoner like me.
So then — how much money did you have to make before you could say you'd succeeded?
Everyone had their own standard. I, however, had a precise target amount in mind.
Three million won a day. That's ninety million a month. Net profit of over forty million, roughly…
I started running the numbers in my head. And I arrived at a single conclusion.
Doable. Fucking doable.
More than enough to feed and support my sister. Forty million won a month would cover Chaewon's tuition and dungeon fees with plenty left over. Weapons and artifacts? My Inventory from my previous life was packed to the gills with them, so those weren't even a factor.
Holy hell.
I couldn't keep the grin from climbing up my face. It had been about a week since I'd regressed. Honestly, I'd given myself roughly a year to hit this target.
And I'd already made it.
Joy beyond anything I could put into words. Before I knew it, both my arms were thrust toward the ceiling.
"Boss, I finished the dish—"
"……"
"Ah. A-ah, sorry. Come to think of it, there are still dishes le—"
I strode right up to Saerom.
"Saerom."
"I-I didn't see anything!"
"Thank you. You too, Yujin."
I bowed my head to Yujin as well, who'd appeared at some point. Saerom looked faintly flustered. Yujin bowed back.
I should give them something.
I wasn't the kind of cheapskate boss who left it at a verbal thanks. I yanked open the shop drawer, pulled out a Post-it and a ballpoint pen, scribbled something down in a hurry, and held it out to them.
"Here."
"What's this?"
"Ah, it's nothing special."
"A w-wish ticket?"
She looked more than a little thrown. I grinned.
"As long as it's not about money, I'll help you out. No questions asked. Once."
"Th-then, in that case—!"
"Are you kidding me?"
"Huh?"
"That's not happening."
"…I haven't even said anything yet?"
Saerom's face went blank. I didn't need to hear it. She'd seen her chance and was about to try dragging me into government service.
I grinned.
"It's worth more than you think. Believe me or don't — that's up to you."
The fact that I never knew them in my previous life means they never made it, in the end.
I'd had every high-ranking official memorized. I had been the government's only S-rank Hunter.
I might not have known Saerom — but there was no way I wouldn't have known Yujin, who was team-leader level. And something I'd recalled recently: the team leader of the Emergency Response Committee had been a man, not a woman.
Two possibilities. She'd been demoted for some reason, or she'd been fired.
That was why I'd given them the tickets. Whatever happened, I figured I could help them out at least once. Whatever their motives, one thing was certain: they'd been a tremendous help to me.
"You've both worked hard today. Head on home."
I said it as I neatly folded my apron, set it aside, and picked up my phone.
I'll take Chaewon out to eat.
Work had been so busy I hadn't been able to look after my sister. But I'd made a killing today — she'd let it slide, right?
That was what I was thinking as I opened KakaoTalk, and then—
A cold bead of sweat rolled down my face.
Chaewon's furiously angry emoticons blurred my vision.
"I hate you, Oppa."
Chaewon stepped out of the house with a sulky look on her face.
Today was the day of the Academy practical. It was an undead dungeon, so they were reporting at seven in the evening — a common enough arrangement for an academy that trained Hunters.
What Chaewon was actually upset about, though, was this:
How could he? What kind of Oppa didn't even know it was his little sister's practical day?
Not a single message since morning. That cold-hearted Oppa, Seonghun.
Normally he would've been bored out of his mind with no customers and spammed her with texts all day. Of course, she knew from the YouTube video that had gone around that the shop was busy — but Chaewon was still too much of a child to take that into account. She'd grown up leaning on Seonghun since she was little, so in front of him she became a hopelessly spoiled little sister.
Anyway, bursting with complaints, a thought suddenly occurred to her.
Should I have gone to the shop?
Come to think of it, it had never even crossed her mind to go to him first. But today's practical counted toward their grades, so she'd been training hard since morning. She'd been so nervous she hadn't even been able to eat properly. Going to the shop in that state would've been too much.
"Han Chaewon!"
Sia appeared in her field of view. Chaewon forgot her gloom at once, broke into a bright smile, and trotted over.
For reasons she'd never quite understood, Chaewon had been quietly ostracized since middle school. Sia — the first friend she'd made after starting high school — was precious to her.
"Did you get ready okay?"
Sia asked with her hands folded behind her back. Chaewon's face fell at the question. She'd tried to prepare properly, but her Oppa not answering had been gnawing at her the whole time, and she hadn't been able to concentrate.
"I'm doomed…"
"Why? Did something happen?"
Sia blinked. Chaewon could never — not even if she died — admit that she hadn't prepared properly because she'd been thinking about her Oppa.
"Ah, n-nothing happened. What about you, Sia?"
"Me? Well…"
Sia closed one eye in a little wink.
"Perfect, of course."
"That's our Sia. You're amazing!"
Clap, clap, clap. Chaewon applauded with a purely genuine look on her face.
In any number of ways, Sia was someone people envied and resented. The only daughter of Korea's number-one corporation, and outstandingly talented in her own right. But Chaewon didn't feel so much as a flicker of jealousy. She always cheered her on. She was always happy for her. That, more than likely, was why the two of them had been able to become close.
"A-ahem. Anyway, we should hurry. We're going to be late."
Having just bragged, Sia flushed slightly and held out her hand. For all her composure, she embarrassed easily.
A night without a single star in the sky.
Chaewon and Sia arrived in front of the Gate.
"You two are Team D?"
A professor in combat gear pushed his glasses up his nose.
"Yes, that's us!"
"You're lucky. I heard the other kids had to go all the way to Busan."
Seoul had any number of Gates scattered across it, but dungeons safe enough for cadets to run a practical in were relatively few. Because of that, Academy students often had to travel to other regions for their field practice.
"I know, right? I think we got really lucky!"
Chaewon answered with a sunny smile.
"That's all fortune, too. The assignments are random."
Come to think of it, that's weird.
Chaewon tilted her head, sinking into thought. Her classmates had all been sent to other regions for a practical at least once. The only ones who hadn't — the only ones who always, somehow, ended up practicing in Seoul — were herself and her best friend Sia.
Are we just that lucky?
Lost in thought, she looked over at Sia beside her without meaning to. Sia caught her eye and smiled, faintly.
No way. Was it Sia?
She shook her head. That was a ridiculous thing to imagine. Why would Sia go out of her way to do something like that?
"Say hello. This is the Hunter who'll be accompanying you."
"Hello."
"Nice to meet you, everyone."
No matter how low the difficulty, a dungeon was still a dungeon. An accompanying Hunter was mandatory, just in case.
The professor smiled.
"Alright, can I see your student IDs? It's a formality, but I still need to check."
"Yes, here!"
"Here you are."
The two of them handed their student IDs to the professor. He gave them a cursory glance and handed them back.
"Everyone ready?"
"Yes, we're ready!"
Chaewon's group called out in a loud voice.
"If something happens, you know what to do, right?"
"Yes, we know. We press the button on the bracelet, right?"
"That's right. Simple, isn't it? Hunter, are you ready as well?"
"Yes. Ready."
"Please look after the kids! And you two be careful, alright?"
The group nodded, and with trembling hearts they stepped through the dungeon entrance.
A brilliant light enveloped them.
They were inside.
When they opened their eyes, the scene that greeted them was a gloomy graveyard.
"Ugh, this place is so creepy."
Chaewon's voice trembled.
"If you're scared, stay close to me."
"No, I'm okay. I need to get stronger too!"
Yoo Sia looked at Chaewon with a proud expression.
"You two are really close."
"Yes, we're best friends. We'll be in your care today, Hunter."
"The pleasure's mine. Shall we introduce ourselves? I'm Lee Kangjun."
Chaewon bowed at a full ninety degrees.
"Hello! I'm Han Chaewon."
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Yoo Sia."
"Nice to meet you. You're both so pretty — I bet you're popular, huh? Since fate brought us together, how about a handshake?"
"Yes! Sounds good!"
And so the two of them finished greeting the man.
"Well, then…"
The man rubbed his palms together.
"…Excuse me?"
The man's expression twisted in an instant.
"I said die. I'm the type who greets people with a death sentence."
"H-Hunter?"
"Chaewon, duck!"
Yoo Sia shouted in a rush, and Chaewon dropped her head as low as it would go.
A heartbeat later, a sharp blade whistled over her hair.
"…!"
Chaewon's eyes flew wide.
"Ha. I didn't have any hard feelings, so I was going to finish you in one stroke. And you dodged it."
"What do you think you're doing!?"
"Blame your luck. You're dying because of that bitch next to you."
"S-Sia?"
A gun had already appeared in Yoo Sia's hands.
"Chaewon, over here!"
She shouted urgently, and Han Chaewon moved fast to Yoo Sia's side.
"Won't make a difference either way."
"We won't know until we try."
Yoo Sia squeezed the trigger at the man. Round after heavy round traced spiral paths through the air.
"A gun, huh? How scary."
The man spoke in a leisurely voice. Then he vanished in an instant, only to reappear directly in front of Yoo Sia.
"…!"
"What a shame. If you'd grown a little more, you might've become an S-rank Hunter."
The man clamped down on Yoo Sia's throat.
"Kh— kkh!"
"I should be thanking you, really. Kill you, and a massive payday comes in."
That was when Chaewon, standing beside them, hurled her shield. The man caught it without any trouble, one-handed.
"You wait your turn. You're next after her. Two academy students. Killed by a boss monster. Heh. Doesn't that paint a nice picture?"
"Dying in a low-rank dungeon like this? Nobody's going to believe that."
"It's a different story when a professional's involved."
Strength flooded into the man's hand. The tighter his grip, the more Yoo Sia choked.
"Let Sia go!"
Chaewon hated herself. Her closest friend was suffering like that, and she couldn't do a thing.
"Kh— Chaewon, run!"
Sia's voice cracked as she forced the words out.
"Someone, please help us!"
There was nothing she could do. All she could manage was to keep mashing the helpless little button on her bracelet.
"Nobody's coming. Just shut up and wait your turn."
"Please! Please! Anyone…!"
That was when it happened.
A voice came from somewhere — a voice that shouldn't have been there.
Chaewon turned toward the sound, but there was no one there.
"No way… Oppa?"
It was a voice she'd heard countless times. There was no mistaking it. It was her Oppa.
"Who's there?! How did you know about this place? How did you get in?"
"I came in through the entrance. What kind of question is that?"
"Stop hiding and come out, you coward!"
"You're the coward. And you there, miss — could you cover your eyes for a second?"
"…My eyes?"
"Hurry up!"
Chaewon covered her eyes, suspicion lingering.
"Whatever you do, don't open them. Got it? This isn't rated for teens."
Not rated for teens?
Chaewon quietly moved her hands away.
Chaewon was the type of girl who simply could not resist anything labeled off-limits for teens.