Latent Awakener Choi Yunmi (1)
“There’s one more reason why now’s the perfect time.”
“One more reason?”
I echoed back to Choi Yunmi.
“Yes~ You’ve heard the news, right? An SS-rank dungeon is about to appear in Korea soon.”
“Yeah.”
“If a real SS-rank dungeon shows up, everyone in the industry will come running. All sorts of unprecedented materials will flood the market.”
“Ah……”
I could fully grasp what Choi Yunmi was getting at. Just as she said, the timing was impeccable.
Two people with unprecedented talent had emerged in South Korea, and now an SS-rank dungeon was forming to pique their curiosity.
“Sounds fun.”
I thought so purely and simply. Having been born in Korea, I had a natural level of patriotism. Beyond that, if I—and the women around me—could craft our own gear and weapons……
I’d never really considered it before, but it felt like it could be an intriguing venture in itself.
Besides, my abilities couldn’t be pinned down to just one thing. All sorts of mana had accumulated within me, manifesting independently or through interactions.
Even I couldn’t gauge what gear or weapons would suit me best.
That’s why, when I first visited Choi Yunmi’s shop, I’d rented every type of weapon just to test them out.
“Ah……”
Choi Yunmi took my hand. Partly due to the alcohol, but she seemed genuinely moved.
She quickly realized her mistake and pulled away.
“Sorry!”
I smiled. I could easily guess why she’d been startled.
If it had been any other S-rank hunter, they might’ve taken offense and made a huge fuss—or worse—depending on their mood.
I didn’t know why, but among the S-rank hunters I’d met, there were way too many psychopaths.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Okay……”
Choi Yunmi’s face flushed even deeper.
Then I sensed an unexpected reaction from her.
A faint mana was seeping out. It had a very unique shape.
But it was trapped, unable to break free.
The old me probably wouldn’t have detected it.
But I’d grown so much without realizing it that I could now pick up on even these subtle mana qualities.
“Yunmi, have you ever……”
She flinched under my steady gaze. She even let out a little “Eep!”
She’d seemed utterly ruthless and cold toward Kang Mancheol, but right now, she was just an adorably cute woman.
And she really was quite the beauty. As a businesswoman, she always wore suits and carried herself with polished manners, but if she changed into something else and wanted to, she could easily seduce any man with her sex appeal.
Anyway, her reaction just now seemed like she’d misunderstood my intentions.
Logically, S-rank hunters couldn’t be with regular women, and she knew that. But knowing it in your head was one thing—resisting an S-rank hunter’s raw allure was another.
It had nothing to do with whether they’d use force or not. You’d get helplessly drawn in, even knowing full well what might happen.
Thinking back to my first meeting with Kim Seol-bi made me shudder. Same with Kim Eun-bi, whom I’d glimpsed from afar when she came to the dungeon before that.
Setting that aside, though, Choi Yunmi was leaving a unique impression on me.
I asked her the question burning in my mind.
“Have you ever awakened?”
“Pardon?”
Choi Yunmi’s face went blank, like her heart had stopped.
After about three seconds, she let out a strange sigh. “Hoo……”
She looked a bit disappointed, like she’d been hoping for something else from me.
“Not exactly an awakening, but……”
She seemed to have fully let go of any expectations now, her shoulders slumping as she spoke.
“There was this incident a while back. Something that happened in Japan……”
She furrowed her brow, as if dredging up painful memories. She downed her champagne in one go and continued.
“Being in this industry, all sorts of rumors reach my ears. Stories about items that can turn regular people into hunters have always floated around. But they’re the kind that deceive people the most, so they’re usually fakes. Countless folks have gotten burned by them.”
Hearing her pained expression as she spoke, I could guess the gist of it.
“Did you……”
“Yes…… I thought I’d never fall for a scam, but it sounded so convincing. I figured, worst case, no loss……”
Her face turned bright red, but this time it was pure embarrassment.
She’d climbed the ranks in this industry, yet she’d fallen for something like that. It clearly mortified her.
“How did you even notice……? I’d almost forgotten about it myself……”
She probably never brought it up on her own. I’d asked directly, and the warm atmosphere had loosened her tongue.
My curiosity deepened.
“Did it fail?”
“Yes…… She was a Korean hunter who’d stirred up all sorts of weird rumors. They called her an alchemist, but since hunters with that kind of ability are so rare, most people were skeptical. The reason I trusted her, though, was that she’d demonstrated her power right in front of me once. She disassembled a few C-rank items and made new materials from them. Those materials even got a B-rank rating. She said she didn’t fully understand her own ability yet and was still researching it. If it had been stable, of course I’d have kept in touch and done business with her. But it wasn’t mature enough, so I thought it best to leave her to grow on her own. A few months passed like that. I’d pretty much forgotten about her. Then she contacted me from Japan, saying she’d made something amazing.”
“Was that……”
“Yes. An item that could awaken regular people into hunters……”
Choi Yunmi hung her head. Revisiting the story clearly embarrassed her anew.
“I’d never heard of an awakening item actually working. If anyone else had told me, I would’ve doubted it—or ignored it outright. But I’d seen her work a miracle before. I thought a true alchemist—one of the rarest in the world—had emerged from Korea. I figured she’d been diligently developing her ability, but I never imagined it’d be an awakening item……”
She sighed and went on.
“After that, it unfolded just as you’d expect. I went to Japan to meet her. She looked thrilled. She’d already tested the item on a few people and seen results. After seeing her expression and hearing her talk, I couldn’t doubt her anymore. Then the natural desire—the one every regular person dreams of—took hold of me too. To become a hunter.”
“Mm……”
I completely understood what she meant.
When I got my awakening verdict ten years ago, I truly believed my life was about to change forever.
I never dreamed the agonizing wait would drag on so long.
That’s how intense the desire was. To awaken and become a hunter.
“At first, I thought it worked. This indescribable feeling filled my chest, like my body was floating. I’d never taken drugs like that, but it felt like a hallucination. And it lingered even after I returned to Korea. She said she had some things to wrap up in Japan and we’d meet in Korea later. But I didn’t know then. That the feeling would fade so quickly. I paid five billion won for that item. Of course, I was convinced it worked—the sensation was that intense. But it turned out to be a scam. I heard later she got chased out of Japan by hunters. Turns out the ‘successes’ like mine eventually proved fake. I thought I was good at reading people, but I had no clue. She must’ve tricked me with some illusion or hallucination to pull off the con. Afterward, I was terrified something might go wrong with my body. I tried tracking her down but got no leads. I assume Japanese hunters killed her.”
After spilling the long tale, Choi Yunmi let out another deep sigh. “Haaa……”
Hearing it all cleared up my questions.
And as I focused on her, that ambiguous sensation from earlier grew stronger.
This time, I took her hand.
“What if it did?”
“Huh?”
“What if that alchemist’s item really awakened you?”