Park Do-kyeong
Choi Yeon led Lee Chae-young away.
The moment they stood in front of the studio, Lee Chae-young started making a huge fuss, sneaking glance after glance at Park Do-kyeong standing by the car.
“Whoa, no way. That’s Park Do-kyeong, right?”
“You recognize him?”
“How could I not? It’s Park Do-kyeong. Hunter ranking number six.”
“Then I suppose you know why he’s here.”
“He said he came to see me, so he must be here for a tattoo.”
As if.
Instead of saying that out loud, Choi Yeon just smiled.
The forced nature of it was so obvious that even Lee Chae-young, who had only just met him, caught on immediately.
She corrected her earlier joke.
“He’s here to scout me, isn’t he?”
“Yes.”
“No way—Park Do-kyeong? In person? For me? Wow…”
“What are you going to do?”
“What should I do?”
His question came right back at him as another question.
Since it already contained the answer, Choi Yeon offered advice without missing a beat.
This sort of thing was part of a Dongdae Hunter’s job too.
“Hear out the offer first. He’ll propose a fair contract that works for both sides.”
“Ah. Yeah, he does seem clean about that kind of thing.”
“……”
Choi Yeon didn’t add anything to her words.
He simply smiled again.
She recognized the same forced smile from before.
So he’s not actually that clean of a guy, huh?
The suspicion lodged itself firmly in her mind.
“…This might be a little late, but you want to scout me too, right?”
“That’s the Dongdae’s position, yes. City Hall’s probably isn’t much different.”
“Then shouldn’t I be stopping myself from talking to Park Do-kyeong?”
“You would have. If any other hunter had been here.”
“Why aren’t you?”
“As far as I’m concerned, it wouldn’t be all that bad if you accepted Hunter Park Do-kyeong’s offer.”
“Why? Wouldn’t that leave you looking like a dog that chased a chicken only to end up staring at the roof?”
“Even if I end up the dog, at least I can still go home on time, right?”
Was that really the issue here?
Lee Chae-young was so dumbfounded she just blurted out her doubt.
“What if you get fired for that…?”
“I won’t.”
“You’re that sure?”
“Guilds poaching talent isn’t exactly a new thing. If people got fired over this, there wouldn’t be a single Dongdae Hunter left in the country.”
“Ah… I see…”
Lee Chae-young’s eyes cooled.
This is the hunter of our Seonhwa-dong…?
Choi Yeon coughed awkwardly to dodge the look that seemed to say exactly that. Then, just like before, he tried to change the subject with a question.
“Ahem. So, are you going to accept Hunter Park Do-kyeong’s offer?”
“No. I have no intention of joining Pakator. I’m… tired of disappointing people too…”
“…That’s a shame.”
Choi Yeon shrugged, looking not the least bit disappointed.
Whether he was serious or joking…
“…Then I’ll go refuse him.”
“Hold on a second.”
“Why? Something else you want to say?”
“Just checking—you’re not planning to go over there and tell him to leave because you’re not joining, right?”
“That’s exactly what I was going to do?”
Choi Yeon squeezed his eyes shut.
Lee Chae-young watched his twitching eyebrows and thought that was what he was doing. With those squinty eyes of his, she couldn’t be completely sure.
“Is that not allowed?”
“It’s not. Not unless you plan on stomping all over Park Do-kyeong’s pride.”
“How is that stomping on anyone’s pride? I’m just saying I’m not joining so he can go home.”
“That’s your perspective. Sending him away without even hearing the offer? In this world, that’s a door slam.”
“What? This is?”
“What do you think happens if the truth gets around that Park Do-kyeong got rejected by Lee Chae-young without even getting to make his pitch?”
“…That Lee Chae-young door-slammed Park Do-kyeong?”
She answered by repeating what she had just heard.
Choi Yeon nodded as if that was the correct answer.
“If that happens, Pakator is going to feel extremely… regretful about it.”
“……”
“Do something like that in Chungcheong Province and life gets rough. Unless you’re planning to move to another province entirely, it’s better not to.”
“…I’m not even a hunter.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
Choi Yeon shut that down firmly.
His finger pointed at Park Do-kyeong.
“The guild master of Pakator came in person to scout you.”
Poke.
Then it pointed at himself.
“I came for the same reason as a Dongdae Hunter. Hunter or not, interested or not—you’ve already got one foot in this world, Lee Chae-young.”
“……”
“Until you belong somewhere, people from this side won’t leave you alone. They’ll show up day after day to bother you.”
“Ugh…”
A sigh-like groan slipped from Lee Chae-young’s lips.
She couldn’t even blame anyone else for the frustration. She was the one who had created this situation. If she was going to hide something, she should have hidden it perfectly.
“…So I can’t even refuse? What if they mess with me for rejecting them?”
“No. That won’t happen, so you don’t need to worry.”
“Don’t need to worry? Isn’t that stomping on their pride?”
“Accepting or rejecting the offer is entirely up to you. If they retaliate just because you said no, Pakator would be spitting in their own faces.”
“So… refusing without even talking is rude, but listening and then refusing is fine?”
“Yes.”
“What kind of logic is that?”
“This industry.”
“……”
Lee Chae-young was left speechless.
This industry…
The words alone kept circling inside and outside her mouth. She couldn’t get her bearings; everything felt chaotic.
What should she do? No—what was going to happen now?
As she fretted over her worries,
“…You can take your time deciding.”
Choi Yeon’s voice settled over her, calm and measured.
“We’ll help you. Seonhwa Dongdae will.”
“Ah…”
“You can’t go back to yesterday, but our Dongdae chief will look carefully at your situation and propose the best option.”
Choi Yeon’s voice steadied her.
It swept away the worries cluttering her head and helped her focus on what she needed to do right now.
“…Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
“But I have one more question.”
“What is it?”
“If the Dongdae chief is the one looking into it, what do you do?”
“Ah, that… well…”
Choi Yeon shrugged.
An innocent smile hung on his lips.
Watching the Dongdae Hunter so naturally dump the work on his chief, Lee Chae-young let out a short laugh.
Why was that?
The hunter in front of her kept showing unreliable sides of himself, yet somehow that made him feel more trustworthy.
That was the moment.
Park Do-kyeong, who had been leaning against the car the whole time, pushed off. His slow but confident stride carried him right up to Choi Yeon and Lee Chae-young.
It wasn’t that his patience had run out. He simply knew Lee Chae-young was ready.
Seeing him approach, Choi Yeon stepped aside.
Thud.
Lee Chae-young took one step forward and stood before Park Do-kyeong.
“…Hello. I’m Lee Chae-young, the tattooist.”
Tattooist.
She put weight into the word.
Her voice trembled ever so slightly—not only from worry, but from a tiny spark of excitement as well.
What was going to happen from here?
Even though the question was barely different from a moment ago, Lee Chae-young felt a little thrill.
Lee Chae-young and Park Do-kyeong went up to the tattoo studio.
It was thanks to her accepting Choi Yeon’s advice that door-slamming him would be a disaster.
If she had taken Park Do-kyeong up on his offer to talk outside instead of going up, the secretary standing by the car would have lit up with murderous intent.
“Hey, Squinty.”
An unpleasant voice drifted into Choi Yeon’s ear. It was Yang Dae-geun.
He pointed toward a dark back alley that was hard to make out.
“Let’s talk over there for a second.”
“Just a moment, Hunter Yang Dae-geun.”
Before Choi Yeon could even answer, the secretary cut in. Yang Dae-geun scowled, already knowing what was coming.
“I said talk. Talk. Who said I was gonna beat the squinty bastard to death?”
“……”
The secretary looked at Yang Dae-geun with clear disapproval.
From the weary expression on the man’s face, Choi Yeon could tell the secretary had already cleaned up after Yang Dae-geun’s messes more than a few times.
What a hard worker. Completely pointless, though.
While Choi Yeon grumbled inwardly, the secretary and Yang Dae-geun coordinated.
“Do it here.”
“What?”
“Have that conversation where I can see it. There’s no need to go into an alley for it, is there?”
“Damn it. You’re worse than a mom…”
Yang Dae-geun muttered complaints under his breath.
Even so, he didn’t head for the alley, following the secretary’s words.
Ah. So that’s how it is?
“You don’t get it.”
“Get what?”
Even though he understood perfectly, Choi Yeon played dumb.
Yang Dae-geun clenched his fist. He looked like he wanted to drive it into Choi Yeon’s jaw. He probably would have if the secretary hadn’t been there.
“Your phone number.”
“Ah. That?”
“You little…!”
Yang Dae-geun ground his teeth.
Choi Yeon’s casual, almost dismissive reply grated on his nerves.
“You keep acting like that—think you can handle the consequences?”
“Handle… Yeah. I think I can.”
“What?”
“What exactly can you do? You’re too busy watching the secretary’s face.”
“…You think I’m watching that guy’s face right now?”
Yang Dae-geun took a step closer to Choi Yeon.
He meant to crowd him and create pressure, but Choi Yeon remained completely unfazed.
“Yes.”
“You bastard! I’m not watching him—!”
“Not him?”
“……”
Yang Dae-geun couldn’t finish the sentence after Choi Yeon’s question.
He couldn’t say the rest: that he was watching Park Do-kyeong’s face instead.
Whoever it was, it still meant he was watching someone else’s face, didn’t it?
Saying it out loud would just make him look like an idiot.
“Haha.”
Choi Yeon laughed openly, for all to see.
He hadn’t said a word—just laughed—
yet it sounded exactly like, And what are you going to do about it in that position?
Choi Yeon’s laugh was more than enough to light the fuse.
The anger Yang Dae-geun had been holding back finally exploded. Or rather, it almost did.
Whip.
If Choi Yeon hadn’t turned his head and spoken, it definitely would have.
“Is the conversation over?”
“…Thanks to you.”
Park Do-kyeong’s voice reached them.
Yang Dae-geun clenched his teeth hard. The person whose face he’d been watching had arrived, so he had no choice but to hold it in.
Choi Yeon paid him no mind at all and turned to look at Lee Chae-young, as if he had completely erased Yang Dae-geun’s existence.
“A shame. If she had joined our guild, she would have been a tiger with wings.”
Park Do-kyeong seemed equally unconcerned with Yang Dae-geun.
He watched only Lee Chae-young as she walked over to Choi Yeon’s side, then offered a greeting.
“Lee Chae-young. Thank you for making time.”
“The honor was all mine, meeting you, Mr. Park Do-kyeong.”
“Still not enough to join the guild, I take it?”
“Ah, ahaha…”
Lee Chae-young answered Park Do-kyeong’s pointed remark with a laughing face instead of words.
She thought she understood now why Choi Yeon had worn that awkward smile earlier when she called him clean.
“We’ll meet again, Lee Chae-young.”
“Ah, yes. Take care.”
“You too, Choi Yeon. Until next time.”
“Mm, as far as I’m concerned, I’d rather not see you if I can help it.”
“Hm? Why’s that?”
“Me running into Hunter Park Do-kyeong? No matter how you look at it, that’s a bothersome incident, isn’t it?”
“There will be days like today as well.”
“Which is exactly why I can’t go home and I’m stuck working overtime.”
“Ah, I see how it is.”
Park Do-kyeong chuckled and walked toward the car. He rested a hand on the roof and looked back.
“Oh, right. Give Heeseok my regards.”
“I’ll pass them on Monday. Today I’m heading home—”
Mid-sentence, Choi Yeon turned his head. Park Do-kyeong, about to climb into the car through the door the secretary held open, also stopped.
Both men’s eyes fixed on the same place. The quiet street.
“They say one loach muddies the whole pond. Someone’s got a loose mouth.”
“Ha, ha. Well? No guarantee it’s just one.”
“You’re right about that too. Hmm, at this rate my clock-out is going to be late.”
“You’d rather avoid that, I imagine.”
“Exactly.”
Choi Yeon agreed and looked back at Lee Chae-young.
She tilted her head, puzzled, unable to follow their conversation.
“Chae-young. For safety’s sake, I think we should head to City Hall starting now. Is that all right?”
“City Hall? Right now?”
“Yes.”
“…Don’t tell me other guests have shown up besides Mr. Park Do-kyeong?”
“A few have.”
“……”
Lee Chae-young looked around in every direction.
Unlike the two of them, she couldn’t sense a thing. That was only natural. Even Yang Dae-geun, a B-class Hunter, hadn’t picked up on the presence.
But she did notice one thing that was different from usual.
The streets around the studio were dead silent.
It was Friday evening.
Gulp. Lee Chae-young swallowed a thin thread of fear.
Perhaps seeing her reaction as an opportunity, Park Do-kyeong pointed into the car and spoke.
“I can give you a ride if you’d like. Will you get in?”
“…Out of goodwill?”
“Of course out of goodwill. Purely.”
—Yeah, right?
That was how it sounded to both Choi Yeon and Lee Chae-young.
Lee Chae-young didn’t answer Park Do-kyeong’s offer and looked at Choi Yeon instead. She figured the decision was his to make.
“If you take Hunter Park Do-kyeong’s car, you’ll be safe. Who would dare touch you?”
“Really?”
“It’ll just get that much more bothersome.”
“Ah.”
Seeing Lee Chae-young agree with the added remark, Park Do-kyeong shook his head as if he felt wronged.
Choi Yeon and Lee Chae-young pretended not to notice.
“Of course, Seonhwa Dongdae can also escort you safely to City Hall.”
“Please do.”
“No need to ask. I was the one who suggested going to City Hall in the first place.”
With that, Choi Yeon turned his head toward Park Do-kyeong. Before his gaze even fully landed, Park Do-kyeong was already smiling.
“In that case.”
With those short words, Park Do-kyeong climbed into the car.
The secretary closed the door, took the driver’s seat, and Yang Dae-geun climbed into the passenger seat after him. He was slow because he was too busy glaring at Choi Yeon.
Choi Yeon didn’t even glance his way and simply operated his smartphone.
Soon Park Do-kyeong’s car pulled away quietly.
“The Dongdae chief is sending a car, so let’s head out in a bit.”
“Do we have to? I have a car. It’s just a compact, though.”
“Does it have a shield function? C-rank or higher.”
“A C-rank shield? On a car?”
“Yes.”
Was he joking?
That was the thought she had when she looked at him, but Choi Yeon was completely serious. He meant every word.
“…No.”
“Then we wait.”
“Okay.”
As she answered, Lee Chae-young looked out at the street.
The road she walked so often felt different now. As if she had stepped into unknown territory.
Was this how a hunter felt when entering a dungeon?
Only after that thought did she realize it anew.
She had already stepped in.
She just hadn’t fully felt it yet.