Promotion Celebration Party (5)
“Maybe it could change a little depending on what you do, Taekyung.”
Right after I'd asked Kang Eunyoung about the possibility of switching affiliations, her response was neither a clear yes nor a no—it was something intriguingly ambiguous. It felt packed with unspoken implications, too layered to grasp at once, so I pressed her on what she'd meant.
“Depending on what I do?”
“Well, for starters, the company basically never recognizes any records from working under the Association. No matter how much you claim it's your history, there's no real way to verify it.”
“Pardon?”
“It's obvious, isn't it? Why would a company accept career history built in a disorganized outfit like the Association that doesn't even manage identities properly? What if something goes wrong later after they just take anyone's word for it?”
Kang Eunyoung stated it as if it were the most natural thing in the world, then calmly knocked back the shot glass of soju sitting in front of her.
“But there are steady cases of people transferring from the Association to companies, right? With a recommendation letter, most can even keep their rank.”
“That's what I thought too.”
“Yeah, exactly. That's why you all misunderstood—thinking a recommendation letter alone lets you transfer while preserving your career from the Association to a company. The reality's a bit different.”
“A bit different?”
She silently drained another glass before mentioning Seo Okhee, the guild master of Silver and Jade Co.
“Do you know what color inner energy the current company president, Seo Okhee, possesses? Or what kind of powers she wields?”
“Green, right? As for her abilities, she uses telekinesis, electricity manipulation...”
“Domain expansion that severs internal and external interference, Akashic Records that store info on every monster she's slain, and immortality... right?”
It was a question any hunter could answer without hesitation, and Hyeun and I replied without missing a beat. Kang Eunyoung wore an expression like she'd expected exactly that.
“Right. She's so famous everyone knows.”
She was the only hunter in Korea who could wield five different awakening abilities. Before Seo Okhee, abilities that weren't pure melee or magic—those awkward in-betweens—were often dismissed as traps, too tricky for direct combat. Seo Okhee had burst onto the scene like a supernova, refuting that head-on. Even now, if she wanted, she could return to active duty—a living legend beyond reproach.
If Kang Eunyoung's career hadn't been cut short, she'd probably be held in similar esteem.
“By the way, beyond the well-known ones, Okhee has a few more abilities up her sleeve. That's her privacy, so I can't say, but...”
“Already five known ones, and more on top?”
“...We definitely can't piss off the president ever.”
“Still, you two need some explanation, so I'll let slip just one: Okhee also has an insight ability that pierces a hunter's growth potential.”
“Insight?”
“Yeah, insight.”
With that, Kang Eunyoung emptied another glass and explained how Seo Okhee used her insight.
“Of course, she has it, but she doesn't use it when hiring company hunters. For recruiting from D-rank up, they just batch-hire anyone who passes the standard criteria.”
“Now that you mention it, that's surprising. Why doesn't she use insight for hiring if she has it? Hiding her abilities?”
“Less that, more that it'd hinder growing the company's scale. If she screened hunters with insight, who’d train aiming for the company?”
“Yeah, Taekyung's got it right.”
For small guilds minimizing hires, maybe—but for a major one, using insight to cherry-pick would just shrink the organization. Better to hire anyone meeting regs—no backlash, no confusion for aspiring hunters over unpredictable rules.
“So Okhee rarely uses insight for hiring affiliated hunters, but there's one case where she does.”
“When scouting transfers from other orgs to the company, right?”
“Exactly. Transfer reviews aren't standard hiring, so criteria can be flexible.”
She finished speaking, drained her glass again, and refilled it. Makes sense—using it only for transfers, which don't leak much, maximizes efficiency as guild master.
Wait, then what's the point of recommendation letters?
“...So, does that mean recommendation letters from company hunters are worthless for transfers?”
I asked cautiously, worried the one Han Mina had worked hard on might end up trashed. Thankfully, Kang Eunyoung shook her head.
“Why would they be useless? That's the most essential element for you to transfer while keeping your rank.”
“Huh?”
“Okhee won't even meet transfers without one. She just rehires them as D-rank consistently. But with a rec, you get a face-to-face with her—where her insight can validate your skills.”
“...I see.”
“Even then, don't expect a higher rank than before. Especially from Association to company—be grateful just maintaining your B-rank, Taekyung.”
“That's fine. I'm fully aware.”
Maintaining B-rank on transfer was the goal; I wasn't dumb enough to complain.
“The issue is your Association activities were all under an alias...”
“......”
“......”
“I'll handle that somehow, so just count on it.”
“You mean...”
“That I'll vouch that Hunter Sung Taekyung, applying to transfer to the company, is the B-rank Association hunter Kim Sungcheol.”
Vouching from S-rank Kang Eunyoung. Fresh off her return, sure—but her word still carried weight. Plus her close personal ties to president Seo Okhee made her endorsement far more credible than any other S-rank's.
Grasping it instantly, I bowed in thanks.
“Thank you, noona!”
“...It's not set in stone yet, so don't get ahead of yourself. Even if I vouch you're Kim Sungcheol, if Okhee refuses to meet, it's meaningless.”
“Just you offering to vouch for my identity is thanks enough.”
“...It's not like I'm doing it 'cause you're cute or anything. Your skills and grit from training the other day impressed me—got me curious how far you'll grow.”
“But you're believing my Association record without verifying it yourself?”
“That's plenty, what more do you want.”
“...Fine, think what you want.”
Maybe embarrassed by my words, she averted her gaze and emptied her glass.
...Come to think of it, how many has she downed solo already? Snapping to, I saw she'd finished one bottle alone and cracked open the next. At this rate, she'd be wasted soon.
“Hold on, Mom! Sneaking all those shots by yourself?!”
“...So what~? Can't waste good stuff.”
“You've been hogging it! Hyeun and I barely had one, and you're on bottle two?!”
“...Talking a lot after ages dried my throat—can't help it.”
“Drink water then! Gimme that glass!”
“No way~! It's been forever, a little's fine~!”
Hyeun fretted over her mom's alcoholism, while Eunyoung clung to her rare drinking chance. Watching the lookalike duo bicker over tolerance, a sudden question popped into my head.
“...By the way, Eunyoung noona.”
“Wait, Hyeun! Taekyung has a question!”
“......”
Hyeun glanced at me and paused the glass tug-of-war. Seizing the calm, I shot my sudden query at Eunyoung.
“You said at first it might differ 'depending on what I do.'”
“Yeah, I did.”
“But hearing it out, seems like I don't have much to do?”
Association B-rank achieved. Mina's rec gets the interview with Seo Okhee; Eunyoung vouches for my alias. Nothing left for me—or so I thought. But her reply said otherwise.
“What're you saying? I explained you'd have a face-to-face with Okhee during transfer, right?”
“Yes.”
“You don't think she'll just chat idly, even with insight, do you?”
“......”
Seeing me ponder, she smiled faintly and summed up the transfer interview.
“Prep hard, son.”
“......”
“Okhee's especially ruthless with promising talents showing growth~.”
It'd been just a day since reaching B-rank after half a year. Mountains beyond mountains, indeed—that night.