Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Family Destroyer
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That was when it happened.
Woojin returned and casually tossed a shopping bag to Ayoung.
"Oh, right. Put this on and come out. Wear these shoes too."
"Huh? What's this?"
"Work clothes."
Woojin left those words behind and headed out the front door first.
'Work clothes?'
Ayoung opened the shopping bag with a face full of curiosity.
"Whoa..."
It was a high-end tracksuit set with a brand logo and functional running shoes.
The design wasn't tacky at all—it was exactly her style.
"What... the boss has good taste."
Jo Ayoung's lips curved up to her ears.
As expected, the charm of the boss was in how he pretended to be indifferent while taking care of everything.
She hummed a little tune as she pulled out a small box from the bottom of the shopping bag.
"What's this? Socks?"
The moment she opened the box...
"...!?"
Jo Ayoung's face turned red like a blazing furnace.
Inside was a neatly folded set of women's underwear with a cute bear pattern.
"Kyaaah!!"
She nearly dropped the box in shock.
"C-crazy! Why would you buy underwear! And what's with this bear pattern! Do I look like a kid!? No, more than that...!"
She checked the size label with trembling hands.
It was exact. So perfectly exact it gave her chills.
"H-how do you know my size?! Guessing by eye!?"
N-no way, did he secretly touch me while I was asleep!?
Pervert! You pervert!
As her mind descended into chaos, a giggling laugh came from the living room couch.
It was her little sister, Gayoung.
"...Jo Gayoung. It was you..."
Gayoung scratched her head and stuck out her tongue.
"Ehehe, Uncle bought me chicken and asked, how could I not tell him~? I didn't say you had bear panties though!!"
She did.
"Hey!! Jo Gayoung!!! You!!"
Jo Ayoung's scream filled apartment 1204.
Her little sister had sold out her privacy for one chicken.
'I'd been playing it cool all this time with all those lies! Now it's all busted! I don't know anything! Waaah!!'
A short while later.
Having changed into the new clothes, Jo Ayoung timidly stepped outside.
Woojin, who had been leaning against the wall waiting, gave her a once-over.
"Oh, perfect fit. Wait just a bit, I called a taxi. It'll be here soon. I really need to buy a car or something."
"......"
"You changed into the underwear too, right?"
Jo Ayoung exploded.
"Should I show you the bears too!!!?? You pervert!"
"I-it's on if you're wearing it, why get mad..."
Woojin flinched and stepped back.
Why did she have to fall for this oblivious guy...
Still, a gift was a gift, so Jo Ayoung subtly asked.
"B-but... why'd you buy me clothes...?"
But Woojin's answer shattered her pink-tinted expectations.
"Oh, just in case there are bugs or trackers."
"......Pardon?"
"I warned Chief Jung, but you can't really trust government guys. They might've stuck chips in the shoe soles or collars. So I replaced everything from head to toe with new stuff."
Woojin plainly stated the 'security reason.'
Jo Ayoung's shoulders slumped.
"Ah... I see... security..."
"What's wrong? Don't like it?"
"No! No! It's great! Haha..."
Jo Ayoung smiled bitterly.
Romance was only in dramas, after all.
Woojin looked at her and thought to himself.
'I got a firm promise from Chief Jung that he absolutely wouldn't do that... but you never know with people.'
Especially since the place they were heading was a C-rank gate.
To keep secrets safe, he had to eliminate any variables.
Before long, the taxi arrived and pulled up in front of them.
"Get in. We're off."
Mapo-gu, Sangam-dong, Peace Park underground parking lot D-3 section.
This place, usually packed with cars out for a drive, was eerily empty now.
Because burly men in black suits had sealed off the parking lot entrance airtight.
It was the direct security team of DH Group Chairman, the second-largest conglomerate in Korea.
"You've arrived, President Kim Woojin. We have orders from the Chairman."
The security team leader bowed 90 degrees.
Woojin nodded lightly in greeting.
"You've had a hard time. Make sure no one comes in until we get out."
"Yes, sir. Not even an ant will get near."
Tight security, secretive rendezvous spot.
It was like a scene from a spy movie, but Jo Ayoung, stuck in the middle, looked miserable.
'W-what...? These people...'
Just an hour ago, she'd been applying tint in front of the mirror, her heart fluttering with 'what if' hopes. Now it had plummeted to the floor.
They arrived at the gate.
A blue shimmer boasted overwhelming presence.
'Wow... so this is a gate...'
It was Jo Ayoung's first time seeing a gate this close.
But something was off.
The people who should be there weren't.
Confused, Jo Ayoung asked Woojin.
"B-boss? Where are Eileen and Yoo Jihyun?"
Woojin indifferently replied as he set down the bag he was carrying.
"They're busy. The Asia subjugation op is coming up soon."
"......"
Jo Ayoung's brain froze for a moment.
If the world's top hunters were busy and couldn't come, wouldn't common sense dictate delaying the gate raid?
Heading into this dangerous C-rank gate with just three non-combatants made no sense!
"Then why are we raiding the gate alone? It's dangerous! No combatants either!"
"Why no combatants? You've got one right here."
"Whaaat!!!?? Me?"
Jo Ayoung's voice echoed through the underground parking lot.
"No, I can't! I'm level 1! I've never even fought a monster!! I'm just a regular person with a bit of strength!"
"I know. There's a reason for everything, so quit yapping and follow. Hey, Sangjin. You wear this now too."
Woojin tossed one of the two heavy bags he had to Sangjin.
Sangjin staggered as he caught it.
"What's this?"
Sangjin opened the bag and his eyes went wide.
It was packed with all sorts of medicines, and a bit of emergency rations.
"Opening a pharmacy?"
"All for good use. Oh, and put this on."
Woojin handed Sangjin the +9 Crimson Silkworm Inner Armor.
"Why give it to me?"
"I'm a player, so I can hold out, but you're a regular person. Without it, even a graze would split you in half."
Whoosh–!
Sangjin snatched the armor at light speed and hurriedly put it on.
"...You should've said that sooner."
And Woojin tossed a pair of heavy iron knuckles to Ayoung.
Clank–
"You wear these. Well... if my guess is right, you might not even need them."
"W-what's this?"
"Knuckles."
Jo Ayoung looked ready to cry.
A C-rank gate meant average monster levels 15 to 20.
Even with C-rank body enhancement awakening, a level 1 with zero combat experience going in was likely to end up unidentifiable.
"B-boss, this is a C-rank gate! C-rank! Monsters are scary as hell! We'll all die! And you expect me to fight monsters with fists instead of swords or guns!?"
"Argh, my ears are fine. Stop yelling. I know."
Woojin dug at his ear irritably.
Sangjin, who was equipping his gear nearby, chimed in worriedly.
"Hyung... honestly, this is a bit too much, right? Ayoung's just a civil servant. Strong or not, fighting monsters is different. Hyung, I don't wanna die yet."
"Shut it. You just focus on yourself. Don't step forward no matter what."
Jo Ayoung was utterly confused right now.
She'd assumed Eileen or Yoo Jihyun would come along for a gate raid...
Production-class boss, a regular person, and a level 1 low-rank civil servant.
This wasn't a party—it was a suicide squad.
"This is suicide!! Mmphmmph!!"
Woojin hugged Jo Ayoung and covered her mouth.
"Jeez, you're so damn loud. Sangjin, hold my hand tight. Interlock fingers. Bear with it even if it's creepy."
"Damn... interlocked too?"
"If you wanna die, go in alone."
"Shit..."
No choice.
Sangjin grimaced as he interlocked fingers, and Woojin grinned.
'Reminds me of when Sangjin was a kid. Heh heh.'
"Alright! Let's go!!"
The three figures were sucked into the gate.
Fwaaah–!
Passing through the blinding blue membrane, the air's texture changed immediately.
Damp and heavy humidity.
A fishy sewer stench mixed with moldy rot assaulted their noses.
"Urk... Hyung, the smell here's no joke."
Sangjin pinched his nose and grimaced.
Jo Ayoung backed away, scanning the surroundings.
It was a massive underground waterway.
Unknown slimy droplets fell from the ceiling with plip, plop sounds, and moss-covered walls had faintly glowing moss clinging to them, creating a eerie atmosphere.
At their feet, black sewage sloshed and flowed.
'Water again. And dirty water at that.'
Ayoung's voice trembled.
"I-it's real! We really came in...!"
Woojin indifferently scanned around before pulling an energy drink from his bag and handing it to her.
"Drink. Loosen up."
"Like I could swallow right n—gulp gulp. Haa."
Though she grumbled, she downed the can in seconds and caught her breath.
The liquid warmed her stomach with a strange heat.
"Good. Now then, Jo-Hulk, I need to check something with you."
Woojin stared straight into Ayoung's eyes.
Jo Ayoung swallowed hard.
"W-what...?"
The boss's utterly serious expression felt unfamiliar and stirred a strange tension.
"What does your job say in your status window?"
At Woojin's question, Jo Ayoung's pupils shook violently.
"Th-that..."
She bit her lip hard and hung her head.
It was a word she didn't want to utter even on pain of death.
"I can't say. Sorry."
"Say it. I need to know to make plans."
Jo Ayoung stepped back.
Tears welled up in her big eyes.
"No... if you know... you'll hate me too, boss. You'll be disgusted."
Others would point fingers if they knew.
No, even before that, she despised herself.
Because she believed that horrific text in her status window upon awakening the day her parents died had ruined her life.
Woojin sighed and approached.
"Want me to guess?"
"......"
"You said your parents passed in an accident."
"...!?"
"And you think it was because of your awakening and job."
Jo Ayoung's face went pale as a sheet.
Her expression was like she'd seen a ghost.
Woojin was certain.
Her reaction confirmed it.
"Your job... 'Family Destroyer,' right?"
Thud–
Jo Ayoung collapsed to the ground.
She trembled like an aspen leaf, looking up at Woojin.
"H-how..."
"How'd I know? I had my ways."
Family Destroyer.
Just the word alone sounded like the worst title for a criminal or a family traitor.
He could imagine the terror and guilt a young girl would feel seeing that upon losing her parents.
—I destroyed my family.
—My power devoured my parents.
She must have lived cursing herself like that.
Her desperate studying and caring for her siblings was probably atonement to her parents.
He fully understood why she avoided hunter work.
Woojin squatted down to meet her eye level.
"That's not a criminal brand. Not a curse either."
"Sob... but... it's Destroyer... because I awakened... Mom and Dad..."
"No. Your parents' accident was just that—an accident. Not your fault. Not your job's."
Woojin placed his hand on her head.
Warmth spread through her.
"There was a hero in myths like that. Driven mad by the gods' jealousy, he harmed his own family with his own hands—a tragic hero."
"......Pardon?"
Woojin smiled warmly and continued calmly.
"The world condemned him, and he himself tried to die from guilt. But to wash away that sin, he completed the 12 impossible labors the gods gave him, and in the end, became a god of Olympus."
A smile played on Woojin's lips.
"Know who it is?"
—Heracles—
The incarnation of strength, the very symbol of a hero overcoming trials.