The Scout (1)
I gazed at my smartphone with a satisfied smile.
Thanks? I'm the one who should be thanking her.
Yoo Sia had been the only one to step forward when no one else would lift a finger during Chaewon's misfortune. The gratitude I felt toward her ran deeper than anyone could imagine.
There's a reason she becomes the second-strongest Hunter in the future, right after me.
Of course, she could never surpass me. Not with a cheat skill like Instant Death sitting in my pocket. But this life would be different.
If I want to protect Chaewon, I'll need someone overwhelmingly powerful in her corner.
There were plenty of monsters yet to appear. Among them were beings so powerful that humanity wouldn't dare stand against them. The first that came to mind was Achilles — a Disaster-class monster with a track record of erasing the nation of Mexico from the face of the earth in three days.
As strong as it was, in my previous life it had departed this world with a single word from me. When you had a cheat like Instant Death, Disaster-class or universe-ending-class didn't make a damn bit of difference.
I won't be stepping in this time, though.
They'd probably have a hell of a time with it. I'd killed the thing in one shot, so I didn't even have a sense of how strong it actually was. Not that I planned on getting involved. I intended to put a thorough wall between myself and the Hunter world. I'd sworn to spend this life running a noodle shop and living for my little sister.
Ding-dong!
Just then, a customer walked in. I greeted them with a smile.
"Welcome."
Near Seonghun's noodle shop, two women sat in a brand-new Sonata, watching the storefront with tense eyes.
"This is the place, right? The noodle shop run by a Hunter?"
"No mistake. This is the noodle shop Han Seonghun operates."
The woman who answered was Im Yujin — Team Leader of the National Disaster Response Committee, and the investigator assigned to this mission.
"Why would someone capable of handling an A-rank monster bother running a noodle shop?"
"That… I don't know either. What I do know is that we have to bring him into the government, no matter what."
The Hunter Association that oversaw Hunters was a private organization, and its influence was enormous. But it wasn't a government body. In the beginning, when Gates and Hunters first appeared, the government had been the first to claim them. They folded Hunters into the military, treated them reasonably well, and granted them considerable authority. But politicians being politicians, they were only ever interested in protecting their own rice bowls. Hunter salaries steadily shrank — and that was when the Hunter Association appeared.
The Association had been founded by civilians. It was a business, essentially. They guaranteed Hunter compensation and recruited aggressively. With salaries that ran as much as a hundred times higher, Hunters abandoned the government in droves. The government scrambled to improve treatment after the fact, but passing legislation typically took half a year or more. Naturally, they were too late. And just like that, the government lost its power — and its control over Hunters.
They couldn't even force the issue through law. Their counterparts were Hunters. If those people rose up, there was nothing to be done.
"Is he really going to join the government? Every guild out there must have already reached out to him. Our department's budget is stretched thin as it is. The other guilds probably offered him over ten billion won."
"…This information is Level-1 classified. No guild knows about it yet."
The government was still the government, after all. The fact that they'd uncovered information on a Hunter that no one else had found was proof enough.
"Given what His Excellency put on the table as terms for recruiting an S-rank Hunter, I think this is a deal worth making."
"Terms?"
"Power."
"Power?"
"That's right."
Yujin spoke with a serious face.
"Upper management has ordered us to promise him treatment on par with a National Assembly member. Tax exemption, plus a Ministry of Defense helicopter for travel."
"Wow. That's… full VIP treatment."
"He's worth that much."
Yujin slowly rolled her shoulders. The reason she'd attained the position of Team Leader at the National Disaster Response Committee at such a young age revealed itself here. Her original identity was that of a killer — an exceptional talent released on the condition of unconditional cooperation with the government.
Her greatest ability was the capacity to shift her personality to match any situation. In other words, she was an outstanding actress. Before long, the blunt, indifferent-looking woman in her twenties was nowhere to be found. In her place sat nothing but a bright, bubbly blonde beauty.
"He's an S-rank Hunter, after all. Shall we go?"
She's incredible, as always.
Every time Jieun saw her direct superior, Yujin, she was struck by the woman's remarkable ability. The bright smile already on Yujin's face made it look as though she'd already gotten a handle on this mission. Watching her, Jieun thought she ought to learn from that herself.
She opened the car door. The mission was officially underway.
Opening prep finished, I unlocked the shop.
Here's hoping business is good today.
Hunter equipment didn't come cheap. This time around, I planned to let my sister do whatever she wanted — and backing her up would take serious capital. I had no intention of being a Hunter again, which meant I had to make money the old-fashioned way. Unfortunately, our three-generation family noodle shop had never exactly been a crowd magnet.
I need to find a way.
Methods, honestly, I had plenty of. A second life came with no shortage of knowledge. The problem was that I had so many options I couldn't pick one.
Ding.
Huh. A customer already?
Lunch was still a long way off. It was nine in the morning. Getting a first customer this early was a good omen. I put on a bright smile and greeted them.
"Welcome!"
Two women. Clean office wear — company employees, by the look of it.
Nice.
Office workers were always welcome. Nothing spread word of mouth quite like a workplace. I intended to show them the best service and the best flavor I had.
"Hello, sir!"
The customer greeted me with a bright expression. The dingy interior almost seemed to light up. First customers mattered in this business, and starting with a good feeling like this, today's sales were bound to be solid.
"Yes. Sit wherever you'd like!"
I handed over water and cups and pointed to the menu. Not that there was much of a menu — two items, end of list. Meat noodles and bibim noodles.
The reason it was this simple traced back to a wildly popular variety show called The Simple Kitchen. They'd hammered the "keep the menu simple" philosophy so hard that I'd copied it. The efficiency… hadn't been there. It had backfired, if anything. At the time I'd vaguely blamed the show, but looking back, it was my own fault. If you were going to run a near-single-item menu, the food had to be good enough to draw a crowd. Trying to copy someone successful without having the chops for it — that had been the fatal mistake.
This life would be a little different.
"Just the two items?"
The woman studied the menu with a thoughtful look.
"Yes. I'm confident in the flavor."
I answered with a smile. The two of them glanced at each other, then spoke.
"One meat noodles and one bibim noodles, please."
"Coming right up."
I hoped they'd eat well and spread the word like crazy. With that thought, I was about to head into the kitchen when—
Ding.
Another party walked in.
"Welcome."
Two men, this time. I frowned.
Blood.
A thick, cloying smell of blood hung on them. The irezumi tattoos on their forearms were hard to miss.
Pork-soup tattoo thugs?
Ah. Couldn't think that about customers. Murderer or gangster, anyone who walked through that door was a valued guest. I kept the smile on my face.
"Welcome. There are three of you, yes?"
"You fucking blind?"
"It's three, not four."
"Die…"
Crap. I'd almost ended up disposing of three corpses without even realizing it. The occasional problem customer. These were apparently that type. Even so, my job didn't change. I had a little sister to feed. I wasn't a Hunter anymore, and there was no need to make a scene.
"Please, have a seat."
The three men dragged their chairs across the floor and sat.
"What can I get for you?"
Service was the foundation of the business. I packed my face with as much of a service smile as it would hold. One of the men let out a snort of a grin and opened his mouth.
"You got jajangmyeon here?"
"Excuse me?"
"Noodles, jajangmyeon — they come from the same ancestors, don't they?"
"Ah… sir, this is a noodle shop."
"Hey, who the fuck doesn't know that? What did I just say? Jajangmyeon and noodles come from the same ancestors. You dumbass piece of shit."
Should I kill him?
For a moment it felt like the devil inside me was whispering. I swept a glance around the room. The two women who'd arrived first were blinking at the scene. They didn't look particularly frightened, but…
No. Hold it together, Han Seonghun.
I pulled myself together. No point in tanking the business. I couldn't live like a complete bastard in this life too. I dipped my head and spoke as politely as I could manage.
"I'm sorry, sir. We don't serve jajangmyeon here."
Screeech.
The thug dragged his chair back and shot to his feet.
"Then order delivery or go buy it yourself, you fucking bastard. I said I want jajangmyeon right now."
The man flicked off his gold watch and pushed his bleached hair up.
He actually wants to do this?
Wiping out trash like this wouldn't even be work.
"Hey, hey, cut it out. This guy's about to cry."
"Yes, boss."
Thank god. Three more seconds and I would've killed them.
Better to let it go. I headed straight for the kitchen. Before I started on the noodles, I gripped the edge of the sink.
Hah…
I clenched my teeth. In my previous life, I wouldn't have held back. But right now I was a noodle shop cook. I couldn't forget my place. Still — I was confident in the flavor. Once they tasted the noodles, even that rotten attitude would turn polite.
I was thinking positively, about to drop the noodles in, when an unwelcome little commotion drifted in from the dining room.
"Hey ladies, where you from?"
"…?"
"Nah, I'm not trying anything, it's just…"
"We're just here to eat noodles."
"Who doesn't know that? Fate's like that, right? Meeting when you least expect it — that's destiny."
"Oh, boss. Incredible as always. What a line!"
The thugs' snickering filled the shop.
"Sorry. None of you gentlemen are my type."
"Same here."
"Oh, that right?"
The man seemed surprisingly willing to accept it. However—
"Boys. Lock the door."
The thug's shout rang out. I scratched my head and stepped out of the kitchen. Then I walked, step by unhurried step, toward the man.
"Sir."
"You just keep cooking, you fucking bastard. We're gonna have some fun."
"How about you take a beating first."
BAM!
I seized the thug by the collar and drove him vertically into the wall. Then, eyes bloodshot, I spoke.
Anything else I could take. But I would not stand for anything that tanked my sales.
