The Family Gathering of Nightmares
“So, you’re actually going to the next family gathering?”
Even though I’d gotten home late, my younger sister wasn’t asleep; she was waiting for me. Looking at her outfit, it seemed she’d just returned as well. “How did you know? I only talked about it today.”
“Mom called me. She said we should go together.”
Come to think of it, she told me to attend the family gathering but didn’t even tell me where it was. Now that it’s come to this, I’m trapped—there’s no way out, and I’m actually going to have to participate. She’s definitely the type to drag me there by force if she has to.
“*Sigh*, I don’t want to go… I don’t want to go to work, ugh…”
“Why are you whining about work the moment you get home? You haven’t eaten dinner yet, right? Come over and eat this.”
It looked like she was just about to eat, as there was fried chicken and some sides set up on the dining table. Seeing two plates, it seemed she intended to share with me. It was so out of character for her that I was actually suspicious.
“…Two whole chickens?”
“Yeah. You always eat one whole chicken and a cup of ramen by yourself like a pig.”
“That goes for you too…”
Normally, I wouldn’t fall for such suspicious kindness. But today, I was just too exhausted. From the discovery of the Magic Mine to the sudden visit from the Headquarters Director, the business with my mother, and the site cleanup—I’d been running around without a single break.
“…Thanks for the food.”
I was drawn to the smell of the chicken like a magnet and sat at the table. I washed my hands quickly.
“*Hnnng*… This is the life…!”
I immediately dipped a drumstick into the sauce and took a huge bite. Savory oil burst from the crispy batter, and my teeth sank into the tender meat. It was still so hot it made my teeth ache. I blew on it, huffing, and stuffed my mouth with the spicy-tinged chicken, chewing away greedily.
“I heard you discovered a Magic Mine today? And a massive one at that?” asked my sister, who was picking at her own chicken across from me.
“How did you hear about that?”
“Mom told me. I can’t believe you actually found it… well, I guess that’s kind of impressive.”
“It’s nothing like that.”
Hearing this made my head ache again thinking about the work I’d have to deal with. But if I just mess this job up properly, I’ll definitely be able to quit. *Hehehe.* I’ll make sure to run this business into the ground, regardless of the mine’s record-breaking scale.
“What are you planning to do? I heard you said you wouldn’t let a guild handle the dungeon management?”
My sister brought it up with a subtle look in her eyes. I see. So that was it. I was wondering why she was acting so out of character, and it was because of this.
The hunters participating in the dungeon management this time were to be paid in Mana Stones. My sister must be desperate to get her hands on them. Mana Stones are a precious resource you can’t even buy with money. If she could get them first, she’d be able to gear up with incredible equipment in no time. I set down the empty chicken bone with a clatter and said,
“No.”
“…What?”
“I said no. I was wondering why you suddenly bought chicken, and it was for this scheme?”
It’s laughable. She’s the one who used to soccer-kick me, and now she’s sucking up to me to get Mana Stones? Managing the mine was a hassle, but this isn’t bad. My cheeky sister, one day, submissively asking me for Mana Stones? Sorry, but you’re out. I’ve suffered enough at your hands to not give you any special treatment.
“What are you talking about? And that look on your face is disgusting.”
“You’re trying to sneak your way into the dungeon management, aren’t you? Sorry, but I’m going to select people fairly.”
“I-I’m not! Of course, it would be nice if I could get in, but… n-no. What kind of suspicion is that to throw at someone who bought you chicken because they were worried about you!”
“Worried?”
“Yeah! You came home late today, you’ve been singing about how you don’t want to go to work lately, and you’re suddenly acting rebellious… you’re acting like a totally different person…”
Look at this girl pretending to be worried. Now that her scheme is exposed, she’s immediately switching tactics. Regardless, I’m not falling for it.
“F-forget it! You’re really annoying…”
“*Oof!*”
After kicking my shin under the table, my sister stomped into her room. That really hurt like hell. Why did she have to hit my shin of all places?
“Nice. I get to eat it all.”
But seeing the chicken my sister left behind, I felt better immediately. She’d barely touched it, as if she’d only tasted the batter. “…Come to think of it, she can’t eat chicken.”
Only then did I remember that my sister couldn’t eat chicken. I’d been wondering why I was so happy about the chicken, but it was because it had been years since I’d eaten it at home.
“…Why did you buy two whole chickens if you can’t even eat them?”
Was it when our parents first remarried? Back then, my sister was also a non-awakened. The family had something they called training or early education. There’s research suggesting that the environment in childhood affects awakening abilities as one grows. And at the time, there was talk that the family didn’t have any hunters specialized in killing. Based on that, the children who were non-awakened at the time were forced to undergo training that involved killing animals.
The first thing my sister had to kill back then was a chicken. I can still see how terrified she was, how much she suffered from the loud squawking of the chickens.
“What cruel people they are. I wonder what they’re doing these days. Ah, I’ll be seeing them all soon.”
They didn’t just kill them; they forced them to kill the animals in truly brutal ways. Having to wring a chicken’s neck and hack it to pieces with a knife before the age of ten couldn’t have been a pleasant experience. It probably remains a trauma to this day.
The only fortunate thing was that my sister awakened shortly after at a young age. So, she only had to go through that killing training once.
“*Nom.*”
I felt burdened about having to go to the family estate after all this time, but… “I’m quitting anyway.”
Family or whatever. I’m going to quit and leave this country anyway. I finished off the remaining two chickens all by myself.
“What is wrong with him, seriously.”
Kim Eunji grumbled, glancing toward the direction of her stepbrother. Jiwoo had been acting increasingly strange lately. He used to just cower in the house and do whatever he was told, but now, not only was he rebellious, his personality seemed to have completely changed. Furthermore, when he passed the Hunter Association exam, he’d looked happier than I’d ever seen him in my life. But now, he sang songs every day about wanting to quit.
“…Have I been too harsh?”
Seeing him change so much made me, his sister, reflect on myself. No matter how good his stamina was, I, an S-class hunter, had beaten a normal person until he was half-dead. I’d made him do all the housework and run all sorts of errands while he was busy studying and working. On top of that, when Jiwoo still interacted with the family, I’d ignored him along with others, calling him a non-awakened. There were reasons for it at the time, but looking back now, they were all actions that deeply hurt Jiwoo.
But surprisingly, he seemed to be doing well at work. He’d found an Unbound awakened, and now he’d even discovered a Magic Mine that was about to disappear. Because of that, he was called back to the next family gathering. Jiwoo was a non-awakened and no longer a body that could set foot in the family estate. So, for this gathering, I had to guide him.
“…Will he be okay?”
I remembered the last day Jiwoo had attended a family gathering. That memory must be a huge nightmare for him. I thought I’d try to talk to him about it, so I bought chicken on the way home and waited for him.
“I said no. I was wondering why you suddenly bought chicken, and it was for this scheme?”
But Jiwoo had misunderstood something completely. He used to have good intuition, but now it seemed like he’d lost that too. Still, I should be glad he wasn’t cowering like he used to. I was so annoyed I just went into my room. I felt like a fool for struggling to buy that chicken.
“Still… ugh, I don’t know.”
He was in that state, so it would work out somehow. I said that, but I couldn’t help but worry about the family gathering. I tried to find a chance to talk a few more times, but Jiwoo just kept spouting nonsense.
Finally, the day of the family gathering arrived the following week.
“They built a temple in the 21st century. The fuss they make is still the same. *Tsk tsk tsk*…”
Jiwoo, who was participating in the gathering for the first time in years, clicked his tongue as he looked at the venue. He said that with this money, they could clear three or four A-class dungeons, or help victims of dungeon breaks for years. I was worried he might get beaten to death by the family members if he kept that up.
“Hey. Don’t go anywhere and…”
“Whoa, damn. This looks so good. I should just eat my fill and leave.”
“…Hey!”
I was going to tell him to stay in a corner so he wouldn’t get into trouble like before, but in the split second I looked away, Jiwoo was already far away, picking up all sorts of food.
“…Ugh, whatever! He’ll figure it out!”
In the end, I lost my temper and decided to give up. Honestly, if it was the current Jiwoo, I didn’t think he’d take much damage even if his cousins bullied him. It was Kim Yeo-won who’d asked me to take good care of Jiwoo, so I figured she might keep an eye on him in the banquet hall.
For now, I had things to do, so I walked around the banquet hall. Perhaps because there had been many issues in the hunter society recently, there were more attendees than usual.
“Oh, Eunji, it’s been a while. You’ve been doing well lately, right?”
“Uncle Jin-seok.”
The first person to approach me was Shin Jin-seok of the Ilseong Group. As the guild leader of the Ilseong Group, he held an important position within the family. Basically, Shin Jin-seok was a direct descendant of the Shin family. And the Ilseong Group was one of the largest guilds in South Korea. Thirty percent of the family’s wealth came from the Ilseong Group. The money for building this banquet hall probably came from them too.
“And your mother is doing well, too. The Red Consortium is so popular these days.”
In his massive frame, wearing a navy suit that looked like it was about to burst, Shin Jin-seok wore a mocking smile.
“…Well. Thank you.”
I just bowed my head and left it at that. He spoke as if he were being hearty, but Shin Jin-seok didn’t like my family. In fact, most of the family members were the same. Kim Yeo-won, me, and my older sister—none of us were direct descendants, nor did we have the family’s blood in us.
Just then, someone else approached me.
“Eunji. Did you come alone?”
A man stood out among the flashy suits and dresses in his work clothes. He had dark skin and a thick, unshaven beard. “Brother Chi-soo! What brings you here! You’re actually attending the gathering.”
“There’s a lot of fun stuff happening lately, isn’t there?”
Shin Chi-soo. A master craftsman hunter. As an S-class master craftsman hunter, he was the best equipment maker in Korea. Basically, Mana Stones are extremely rare. Since making equipment with them is a huge opportunity cost, work always flocked to skilled craftsmen. Living in Busan, he rarely attended family gatherings. Yet, he was here today for none other than the news of the Magic Mine.
“Right! That, uh, he’s coming today too, right? Didn’t you come together, Eunji?”
By “he,” he clearly meant Jiwoo. I could feel that Shin Chi-soo was also looking for Jiwoo.
“We came together. But I don’t know where he is…”
*CRASH!*
Just then, a loud noise came from somewhere.
“*Ehehehehehe*—so, are you going to kill someone? Go ahead, kill me! Kill me! You know it’s a crime for a hunter to hit a non-awakened, right? Go ahead! Oh, you can’t kill me? You can’t hit me? You’re scared, aren’t you?”
“You little…!”
I looked in the direction of the noise, and it was none other than Jiwoo, shaking his butt at someone. Not only that, he was sticking his tongue out and making ridiculous provocations. Is that really the Shin Jiwoo I used to know? Everyone’s jaws dropped as they watched the only non-awakened person in the room acting out.
“…There he is.”
“Was that kid always like that?”
“Why is he acting like that?”
“…I don’t know either.”
Kim Eunji squeezed her eyes shut.