Déjà Vu (4)
“Us coming all the way from Yuseong-gu to Jung-gu means we’re serious about this scout. First time?”
Lee Gwangmu kept up the easy banter.
On the surface it sounded like he was building Lee Seongjun up, but the sharp jab of his pointing finger felt more like pressure. As if to say: we came all this way, so if the result isn’t good, it won’t be pretty.
Choi Yeon scoffed inwardly. Crossing into another district was hardly some grand expedition, yet the man was acting like he’d crossed a whole province.
Anyone listening would think he’d crossed a provincial border.
“Senior. I don’t know if you’re aware, but our Seongjun here is just an ordinary college student.”
“Huh?”
“Even if he signs a contract, he doesn’t have the skill to start running dungeons right away.”
“Ahh, it’s fine, it’s fine. That sort of thing sorts itself out after a few F-class dungeons.”
Sorts itself out, my ass.
Choi Yeon was speechless. Even if the man had come to spout nonsense, he could at least put a little effort into it. If that were how it worked, why bother with hunter license exams or the district office’s hunter trainee programs?
He could already guess the plan: they’d send the kid on endless dungeon loops “for growth,” break his spirit, and skim kickbacks along the way. And if an accident happened? No big deal—just find a new recruit and swap out the part.
“Isn’t that what talent is?”
Lee Gwangmu said it with a wink. Even faced with that half-hearted garbage, Choi Yeon let a smile curve his lips.
“…Huh?”
Seeing that smile, Lee Gwangmu tilted his head, wearing the look of someone digging through a long-buried past he couldn’t quite place. He probed carefully.
“Howon. Have we met before?”
“No. First time.”
“Right? But weirdly, I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere…”
“……?”
Is he going senile?
Listening to Lee Gwangmu’s half-muttered reply, Choi Yeon thought it to himself. Their activity areas had been different, so they definitely hadn’t crossed paths. If the man still thought he’d seen him… maybe he’d glimpsed Choi Yeon while looking up Dongdae hunters to avoid.
Digging up buried memories would only be a hassle, so Choi Yeon decided to hurry things along.
“Continuing from earlier—Seongjun plans to finish college first.”
“…Huh? Why keep going? He’s about to get his license and become a hunter.”
“It’s his parents’ wish.”
“Ah. That so…?”
Lee Gwangmu frowned.
He didn’t like it, but when someone invoked their parents’ wishes, what more could he say—
“Following your parents’ words too well isn’t always the best thing either.”
…The man was even ruder than expected.
Then again, of course he was. That was exactly the type who lived by sucking the blood of young hunters.
“It’s your life, Seongjun. You need to think for yourself and move forward.”
“I-is that so?”
“Of course! In the end, if you can’t stand on your own, your parents will be sad too. So right here, like a man—”
“I’m graduating college first. I’ll train at the same time.”
“…….”
Lee Gwangmu glared at Choi Yeon.
The sudden interruption had already been annoying enough; cutting him off like that was even worse. And the way this guy kept speaking for Lee Seongjun as if he were somebody important had been grating from the start.
“I’d like to talk with Seongjun, but Howon keeps butting in.”
“Is that so?”
“Worried Seongjun might actually do well?”
“What?”
“Come on. You’re just an E-class hunter who couldn’t even get into a guild, while Seongjun got scouted by a D-class guild… Must sting a little, right?”
Lee Gwangmu gave a little shrug of his shoulders as he sneered, looking thoroughly pleased with himself for landing a supposed bullseye.
The sight was so funny that Choi Yeon couldn’t hold back the laugh that slipped out. No—he deliberately exaggerated it, just enough to thoroughly sour Lee Gwangmu’s mood.
“Pfft! Living long enough to hear this kind of bullshit?”
“What? What did you just say? Bullshit?”
“What’s so great about a measly D-class guild that you’re strutting around like that?”
“Measly? Like that?”
“Am I wrong? Red Fang? Who even knows them once you leave Yuseong-gu? I only heard of them for the first time today.”
“You little E-class bastard…”
Lee Gwangmu clenched his fist tight. His knuckles went white while his face flushed red and purple by turns.
Choi Yeon, on the other hand, just kept grinning. It was far more irritating than Lee Gwangmu’s earlier mockery had been.
Is he about to punch me in the face?
Lee Seongjun, watching, grew worried enough that he held both palms out in a placating gesture.
“Wait, wait! You two are getting way too heated. Maybe cool down a bit…!”
“…Yeah, Seongjun’s right.”
Lee Gwangmu agreed first, putting on a show of maturity.
Choi Yeon just shrugged, needling him to the end.
In a flustered, trembling voice, Lee Seongjun spoke.
“I appreciate you thinking of me, but I want to finish college first.”
“No. You can become a hunter right now—why?”
“I feel like I’m still lacking a lot to become a hunter immediately…”
“Aigoo, so frustrating. Frustrating! There’s a flower path laid out in front of you—why take the long way around…!”
“…Ahaha.”
Lee Seongjun gave a short laugh.
It was to hold back the urge to snap, It’s not a flower path, it’s a path of thorns, you con man!
“…Alright, I get it for now. Today’s not the day. Let’s meet again next time and talk.”
“Next time?”
“Yeah. Next time. We need to have a serious talk about our Seongjun’s future. Right? Hmm?”
“…….”
Get lost, you con man! Who the hell are you to talk about my future!
Lee Seongjun wanted to shout it at the top of his lungs at that detestable attitude. He felt like he might not be able to hold the impulse back—fortunately, Lee Gwangmu stood up first.
“That’s right. Take a look at the contract. That’ll change your mind real quick.”
“Sure.”
Choi Yeon took the contract Lee Gwangmu held out to Lee Seongjun instead.
Lee Gwangmu glared once more at Choi Yeon for butting in again, but that was all. He kept up the mature act as he left.
Watching his retreating back, Lee Seongjun let out a sigh of relief.
“Well, that’s settled for now.”
At Choi Yeon’s calm voice, Lee Seongjun looked at him.
Choi Yeon was sipping his iced americano with complete indifference, looking nothing like the man who’d been grinning so smugly moments before.
“…Hunter-nim, was that all an act?”
“Yes.”
“…….”
“I told you beforehand. That I’d gently get on Lee Gwangmu’s nerves.”
“Th-that’s right…”
“Why? Did I look like I was really getting angry?”
“Yes…”
“Good. If even Seongjun thought so, then Lee Gwangmu must’ve fallen for it completely.”
Exactly as Choi Yeon said.
Thoroughly fooled, Lee Gwangmu cursed Choi Yeon under his breath as he headed into the alley behind the café.
Between the café and the public parking lot, guild members were waiting for him.
A middle-aged woman in black sunglasses immediately asked the question.
“How’d it go?”
“It didn’t!”
“What? Don’t tell me that clueless-looking kid turned us down?”
“Not Lee Seongjun. Some bastard named Kim Howon came with him, and this squinty-eyed little shit interfered with every single thing!”
“Squinty-eyed…?”
“Yeah. Some worthless E-class hunter punk.”
“What? A guy like that—just get rid of him and be done with it.”
“I was already thinking the same.”
“You heard that, kids?”
The middle-aged woman whipped her head around.
The young hunters reflected in her round sunglass lenses flinched. It was as if those opaque eyes had stabbed them.
“Kids, why no answers? Hmm?”
“…We’ll go take care of it.”
“That’s more like it.”
“…….”
Two young hunters left the alley with no energy. Watching their hunched backs, the three middle-aged men and women shook their heads.
“Ugh, why are those kids so spineless at that flower-like age?”
“Tell me about it. When we were their age, we chewed rocks.”
“Just rocks? We chewed iron scraps too.”
“True!”
Their cackling laughter didn’t spread far—it just pooled in the alley like stagnant water. Thanks to that, the two young hunters could leave with the mockery at their backs.
“How is it that nothing ever goes outside my expectations…”
Choi Yeon muttered as he stepped out of the café. A young man and woman approaching from the opposite direction entered his view.
In their drooping eyes, one person was fixed: Lee Seongjun. Their gazes locked on him as if to say, You’re our target, and didn’t shift.
They stopped right in front of them.
“…Please run.”
“And, uh, hit us once each.”
—they said, completely without enthusiasm.
Beside the startled Lee Seongjun—whose surprise came from Choi Yeon’s prediction missing for once—Choi Yeon let out a short snort of laughter.
Yeah, just because you hang around trash doesn’t mean a person automatically turns black.
“Just now… you said to run?”
“Yes, we did. Red Fang… isn’t the family-like guild you see on SNS.”
“More precisely, only the executives are like family.”
“Lee Gwangmu… he was nice when he was scouting you, right?”
“Don’t fall for it. Once you join, there’s none of that crap.”
“Did he give you a contract? Then make sure you read it carefully.”
“There’ll have been clauses that can be interpreted two ways.”
“Oh.”
Choi Yeon and Lee Seongjun both nodded.
They’d already looked over the contract handed over at the end and found the poison clauses.
Articles 5, 8, and 11—roughly five hundred characters in total. Summarized briefly: a hunter must faithfully follow the rules and not disrupt internal order, share achievements jointly with the guild, and protect the guild’s honor for a set period.
“…Looks like you two already found them.”
“Thank goodness. That’s good. You should have a sense of the situation now.”
“So please run. Hit us hard.”
“Then we can say we let you get away…”
“…But won’t something bad happen to you two if we do that?”
Choi Yeon had no intention of actually doing it, but he asked casually.
The young man and woman gave faint smiles as they answered.
“It’s fine, so don’t worry. A few hits and it’ll be over.”
“That’s better than dragging someone else into hell with us…”
“…….”
The young man and woman’s shoulders weren’t slumped from lack of strength or ability.
It was only the greed of worn-out people—greed they never needed to carry—pressing them down.
Even in that situation, the two of them were trying to pull someone who’d nearly fallen into hell back out.
Foolishly.
“…What are your names?”
“Huh? Why suddenly ask for names?”
“What are you going to do knowing our names… No, this isn’t the time—”
“I’m Choi Yeon.”
“…What? Not Kim Howon?”
“No. Choi Yeon.”
“……?”
The man and woman looked at each other. Lee Gwangmu had called him Kim Howon—why was this person introducing himself as Choi Yeon?
While they shared that confusion, the man in front added,
“Hunter from Seonhwa Dongdae.”
“Dongdae hunter…?”
“Yes.”
Wariness bloomed in the man and woman’s eyes.
Dongdae hunters are all on our side too! So no matter what you do, it’s useless!
—that was the kind of thing the Red Fang executives drilled into them every single day like brainwashing.
“Even if that’s true, this is Jung-gu.”
Reading their thoughts, Choi Yeon spoke in a gentle voice.
If they thought carefully, they would have realized the executives’ words were nonsense. It was just that mental pressure had left them unable to make even logical judgments…
Choi Yeon didn’t bother pointing out that truth. What good would it do? It wouldn’t be for their sake.
“I’ll help you.”
And so Choi Yeon said it.
Probably the words the two of them had most wanted to hear.