Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: One Finger
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“Uh….”
“Gyu-hyuk oppa. Why are you suddenly getting all serious?”
The atmosphere grew heavy all of a sudden.
As silence fell over the table, the other women quickly tried to lighten the mood.
‘Hey. Is this guy the reason you’re in a bind?’
Son Eun-seo quickly nodded at the whisper in her ear.
‘I see.’
Kim Min-jun stared back at Kim Gyu-hyuk, who was still glaring at him with displeasure.
Swoosh.
Then, as if to show off, he draped his arm around Son Eun-seo’s shoulders.
“Hey, hey! What are you doing all of a sudden?”
Son Eun-seo’s eyes widened at the unexpected move.
Kim Min-jun ignored her and smirked at Kim Gyu-hyuk.
“We’re meeting for the first time, but your mouth sure is rough. I just decided to be friends with Eun-seo. Do you always act like this?”
“Even so, it makes others uncomfortable. You should show some restraint.”
“Why do I need to care about your feelings? As long as Eun-seo’s okay with it.”
“…….”
The tension kept rising.
Kim Gyu-hyuk said he needed some air and stormed off from the table.
From the look of his back, he seemed pretty pissed.
“Um, we’ll go check on Gyu-hyuk oppa for a bit.”
“That oppa has a bit of a hot-tempered side… Sorry about that.”
Soon, only the two of them were left at the table.
Kim Min-jun grabbed a handful of snacks and nodded at Son Eun-seo.
It was a gesture telling her to explain what was going on.
“Sigh. That guy’s exhausting me to death.”
She let out a sigh and began explaining.
The guy named Kim Gyu-hyuk was a non-commissioned officer from the Hunter Army, and they’d known each other for a few years.
“He’s not the type I want to get close to, so I’ve been keeping my distance. But lately, he’s been coming on strong.”
Normally, her father—the division commander—wouldn’t let it slide, but Kim Gyu-hyuk’s dad and her dad were best friends.
On top of that, her father seemed to quietly approve of Kim Gyu-hyuk.
“If it weren’t for that, I would’ve cussed him out ages ago.”
“So, you want to shake him off, but it’s tricky, right?”
“Yeah. He’s such a pain. I’ve been straight-up ignoring his KakaoTalk messages, but he doesn’t get the hint.”
“Want me to handle it?”
“What?”
Son Eun-seo looked uneasy at Kim Min-jun’s confident words.
“Hey. What are you planning to do now?”
The guy had risen from private to officer in record time with monstrous strength and skill, but his personality was just as wild.
He acted like he had nothing to lose.
It didn’t feel off-putting, though.
“I know how to deal with guys like him.”
Kim Min-jun told her to leave it to him and quietly waited for Kim Gyu-hyuk to return.
“Ah. Sorry. I didn’t call you here for this.”
A little later.
The women who had gone out and Kim Gyu-hyuk came back to the table.
He was still angry, downing water without a word.
“Kim Gyu-hyuk, right? Hunter Army Sergeant.”
Kim Min-jun looked at him and placed his arm on the table.
Then he extended his index finger.
“What are you doing right now?”
“Oh. While you were out, Eun-seo and I talked. She said weak guys aren’t her type. And some Hunter Army sergeant’s been hitting on her lately, making her uncomfortable.”
“Yes….”
“Hey, hey! When did I ever….”
Son Eun-seo frantically waved her arms.
Kim Min-jun ignored her and continued.
“How about an arm-wrestling match? I’ll use just one finger. If you win, I’ll apologize sincerely for my earlier behavior and keep my distance from Eun-seo. If you lose, stay away from her.”
On the surface, it looked like he was helping Son Eun-seo, but that wasn’t the whole story.
Half of it was curiosity about how strong a Hunter Army sergeant really was.
The other half? It just seemed fun.
“Are you making fun of me? Cut the jokes.”
“I’m dead serious. Or do you lack confidence even against one finger?”
Kim Min-jun openly provoked him, wagging his finger.
During his time in that other world, he’d met all sorts of people.
For this type, straight-up taunting like this worked surprisingly well.
“I won’t be responsible if that finger breaks.”
Kim Gyu-hyuk, snapping in the moment, took off his army jacket upper and placed his arm on the table.
Thick muscles rippled across his sturdy arm.
“Whoa… awesome. Eun-seo-ya, two Hunter Army sergeants fighting over you. This is straight out of a drama.”
“That girl’s secretly popular. Is this the same one who whines about not having a boyfriend?”
“Ah! Enough! Be quiet! How did this even happen?! Kim Gyu-hyuk-ssi. Don’t humor that guy; he’s always like this.”
Regardless of Son Eun-seo’s protests, the women chatted excitedly, looking entertained.
“I’ll use just one finger. Feel free to use both arms if you need to.”
“That won’t be necessary.”
Kim Gyu-hyuk growled and gripped Kim Min-jun’s finger hard.
How dare he still look down on me.
In his anger, he decided not just to push it over but to snap the finger.
“What, what is this?”
But.
The index finger in front of him didn’t budge an inch.
Even after putting all his strength into it.
“Arrrgh!”
“If it’s tough, use both arms like I said.”
Kim Gyu-hyuk started yelling, even letting out a battle cry.
Kim Min-jun just calmly lifted the corner of his mouth.
“Huff… huff….”
After straining for 10 full minutes, Kim Gyu-hyuk gave up and let go.
‘What the hell kind of guy is this?!’
He’d heard the rumors about Sergeant Kim Min-jun before.
Promoted from private to sergeant in record time, then straight to officer—a hunter.
Honestly, when he first heard, he figured it had to be connections.
No way with just one or two stars; probably at least three generals pulling strings.
That’s the only explanation.
After all, Sergeant Kim Min-jun’s feats in that short time were impossible even for the most skilled hunters.
‘Does that mean… all those rumors are true?’
Like killing a training orc with a shoulder bash, or soloing an irregular monster.
Ridiculous stories that now felt plausible.
“…Sorry. Since Son Eun-seo feels uncomfortable, I won’t contact her again.”
The difference in strength was overwhelming.
Kim Gyu-hyuk quickly bowed his head to Kim Min-jun and left the bar.
Any more talk would just be spitting in his own face.
“Whoa…. Amazing!”
“Gyu-hyuk oppa’s super strong, and you beat him with one finger?”
“Kim Min-jun-ssi, you’re so tough.”
The women, who had been holding their breath, burst into exclamations.
One even clapped like a seal.
“Hey, Son Eun-seo. All good now? I’m out.”
“Huh? Uh….”
Kim Min-jun, interest lost, stood up.
“Stay and chat with us a bit more.”
“Yeah, it’s rare to meet someone like you. Tell us some army stories.”
“Girls love military tales these days too.”
The women tried to keep Kim Min-jun seated longer.
They were intrigued by his straightforward personality.
“I’ve got a game to play. Busy.”
“Huh?”
“Game?”
Instead of answering, Kim Min-jun lightly tapped Son Eun-seo’s shoulder and left the bar.
“…….”
The table was suddenly full of just women again.
Son Eun-seo watched his back and tossed out a line.
“See? I told you he’s weird.”
**
“Hmm. Yi Bong-gu’s out diligently hunting for dungeons, and Kim Seo-hyun’s studying hard too.”
The 2-night, 3-day leave was over.
Before returning to base, Kim Min-jun stopped by his subordinates.
Kim Seo-hyun said at this rate, she’d be ready for the Hunter NCO exam soon.
Yi Bong-gu promised to find a dungeon in no time.
“No new signs yet.”
He asked Kim Seo-hyun about the previous premonition, but nothing had appeared since.
The Isgard stuff could wait.
“More importantly, we’ve got dungeon raids starting tomorrow, so focus on that.”
Soldiers and officers had different roles.
As a soldier, you just followed the platoon leader’s orders diligently.
But now he was a sergeant.
Killing monsters mattered, but leading the troops below him did too.
“Gotta study tomorrow’s dungeon.”
That day.
For a perfect clear, Kim Min-jun thoroughly reviewed the dungeon intel.
**
“Attention, all!”
“Attention!”
The next morning.
2nd Company, 2nd Platoon assembled in front of the training field for the dungeon raid.
Their target was a closed dungeon where irregular monsters had appeared.
“Hey. Clearing that with just one platoon?”
“Isn’t that too much? Irregular spots need at least two platoons.”
“They said we’re wearing flame protection suits too. Ugh.”
At the word “irregular,” the hunters’ faces darkened.
Even relatively easy monsters turning irregular made things tricky for hunters.
Irregulars often broke patterns, so you always had to stay on edge.
“Alright. You all look tense, but the irregulars this time are two Red Anglers.”
“Two Red Anglers?”
“That’s manageable.”
Relief spread at Lieutenant Kim Cheol-min’s words.
Red Anglers were among the easier irregulars to handle.
“Prepare to move out once ready. Like always, don’t relax until we’re out of the dungeon. Understood!”
“Yes!”
“Understood!”
After a brief briefing, the hunters formed up and headed to the dungeon.
‘Closed dungeon with two Red Anglers. No need for me to step in.’
The entrance sealed right after they entered.
Kim Min-jun glanced at the soldiers gearing up with weapons and suits.
‘Flame suits and one platoon should handle it fine.’
The soldiers were now in orange flame protection suits.
With those heat-resistant suits, they could easily counter the Red Anglers’ tricky fire attacks.
“Let’s hang back and see if they can pull it off.”
“Sergeant Kim Min-jun. Roger.”
At Lieutenant Kim Cheol-min’s words, Kim Min-jun took position at the rear.
‘Two? No big deal. Won’t need me.’
Sensing presences inside, he thought.
‘Hold on.’
Why so many?
It was supposed to be just two Red Anglers in a closed dungeon.
Kim Min-jun scanned again.
‘Damn. These guys have the worst luck.’
There were more than two monsters in the closed dungeon.
“Platoon leader. A word.”
“Hm? What is it.”
He reported the situation to Lieutenant Kim Cheol-min.
“…What? Say that again.”
The platoon leader’s face hardened the moment he heard.