Return Home Guild
Such was Lee Shin-yul, the guild master of Gu-guk Guild. S-rank hunters stood at the absolute pinnacle of the hunter world. For him to command and keep all those elites under his banner couldn't just be because he held the No. 1 spot in the S-rank standings. It went beyond mere brute strength—true charisma. Without it, impossible.
A guild of that caliber was bound to have plenty of hidden secrets. Maybe even someone who could wield spirit arts.
"Hmm."
They had quite the reputation. Specializing in dungeon raids, no less.
Most of the dungeons I'd hit so far had been B-rank or lower. The Hunter Association managed those, and the government slapped taxes on them for profit. A hostile symbiosis. That was the vibe.
But things changed from A-rank dungeons and up. That's when they started to grow. Literally. The dungeon's territory expanded, swallowing up the surrounding area like it owned the place.
Luckily, it hadn't become a huge issue yet. No major incidents in the past twenty years. They just kept growing.
I have no idea what comes after that, though.
"Soo-hyeok, show me too."
Yelena poked her head over from the side.
"Looks like you're planning to start a guild under category 3 here."
"Oh! A guild! So we'll be raiding dungeons and stuff?"
"You actually reading the PPT? It says otherworld crop specialist."
"Oh... right."
Yelena smacked her lips in disappointment.
Dungeon raids were a kind of romance for hunters. But from the industry's perspective, they weren't exactly welcomed. Kill the dungeon master—the boss—and poof, the whole dungeon vanishes.
Which makes Gu-guk Guild a bunch of crazy bastards.
They'd cleared most of Korea's A-rank-plus dungeons. Cash cows up in smoke. In that sense, this Lee Shin-yul guy was impressive.
"Anyway, they added category 3 this year to check some government policy box. Guilds that grow or smuggle in otherworld crops and supply the market get benefits."
"Ah."
"So what happens if we do this?!"
"...Dunno?"
Sujin's PPT had some notes, but the legal jargon was over my head.
"Our taxes get slashed to a quarter! Minus 75%!"
"A quarter?"
"Yep! But our company has a no-side-business clause, so we can't make a guild ourselves. I was just watching from afar. But after harvesting those pioneer peaches, I crunched the numbers—quitting looks better!"
Sujin's eyes sparkled again. If she was this hyped, the profits must check out.
"Perfect then."
"Right? Perfect! Hehe!"
A hunter guild. Things were getting serious.
I'd done a bare-minimum business registration under my name already.
"What should we name the guild?"
"Hmm... Well..."
I figured we'd just pick something decent. But when it came time, words failed me.
"Soo... Soo-hyeok-Sujin Guild?"
"Eww! What is that? So lame!"
"Hmm..."
Sujin's brutal rejection turned my face red. What do kids these days like anyway?
Back in my day, we named game characters stuff like 'zlGodGuildlz'!)
"H-how about this? We take the first letters of our names… the Su-Su Guild. Or we could mash them together—Ss-yu Guild? Kids do that now, right? Abbreviations vibe..."
"...Oppa. For real?"
"Urk."
"Soo-hyeok. Your naming sense is tragic."
Even Yelena, with mayo smeared on her mouth, piled on.
"...Fine, you two name it!"
"U-Bitstra. How's that? In my homeland tongue, it means 'those who slay foes.'"
"Ha! What? That's super childish."
"Better than Su-su Guild, Soo-hyeok."
"..."
A few more ideas came up after that, but none clicked with a bang.
"...How about this one."
"What?"
"Return Home."
I didn't put much thought into it. This whole thing started because I returned home from that hellish otherworld. Just tossed it out there. Expected a lukewarm reaction.
"...Oh! That's good."
"Really?"
"Not bad, Soo-hyeok. Return Home. Sounds ghostly, tough."
"Well, not that kind of ghost..."
But with both hyping it, I felt pretty good. Tough-sounding? Yeah, kinda.
"Guild name: Return Home?"
"Okay."
With the new guild's name set, Sujin headed out. Straight to the Hunter Association first thing in the morning to register. Skipping work? Eh, she was quitting anyway.
Gangnam. Yeoksam-dong, packed with prime corporate towers.
Today, Yelena and I came here. Return Home Guild's new hunter guild registration was all done. Sujin handled the paperwork, so I just twiddled my thumbs.
But neither Yelena nor I had proper awakener certifications. New guilds draw busybodies. To fend them off, you need heavy hitters on roster. Sujin's A-rank wasn't quite enough.
So we came to the Hunter Association Korea Branch in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, for official awakener rank assessments.
"Soo-hyeok! These buildings are huge!"
"Heh. Yeah? Not for nothing they call us a developed country."
"Oh. You come here often?"
"All the time!"
No matter my bumpkin roots in Cha-sun-myeon, Gangwon-do, I'd done my time as a Seoul salaryman. Not some rube who'd never set foot in Gangnam.
Technically just once, but still.
Looking around, there was the massive Yukang Group building with their logo plastered on—Sujin's workplace.
Wasn't that big back when I visited.
My old company was a third-tier vendor for Yukang. Twenty years later, it was probably dust—one of those "gone-gone" firms.
I'd tagged along with my section chief once for a proposal pitch. Got rejected, never came back.
"Soo-hyeok! Weird statue over there."
"Whoa... That's the Gangnam statue from TV... Uh, why you messing with that?"
"Truly Korea. So many cool buildings."
"Didn't you live in Russia? It's pretty well-off too, right?"
"Eh. I was in the sticks there too. Gorno-Altaysk. Heard of it?"
"Nope."
I shook my head at the unfamiliar name, and Yelena pouted.
"You'd never heard of Cha-sun-myeon either."
"True."
"There ya go. Let's grab food."
We'd left early and skipped breakfast. Grabbed some fish cake skewers from a street cart to tide us over.
[Fish Cake Skewer - 1 for 700 won, 2 for 1,000 won.]
Fish cake prices never budge.
Before the otherworld, they were around 500 won each. 300? 500? Tteokbokki prices had risen a bit, though.
"Fritters, sundae, and tteokbokki too, please."
"Sure! One tteok-twi-sun set?"
"Tteok-twi-sun? Oh. Yeah."
Wondered what that meant. Everyone abbreviates everything these days.
"Boss, got any mayo?"
"Huh? Uh, no mayo here."
"Just eat it plain. Why you so obsessed with mayo?"
"Urk."
At my scolding, Yelena quietly munched her tteok-twi-sun.
Timeless taste. Sweet, spicy, salty. Loaded with MSG for that umami punch.
"Mmm. Tasty here."
"Heh heh. Twenty years slinging this stuff."
"Haha. Long time."
More than twenty years since my one visit, so hard to verify.
As we chowed down at the cart, a guy sat one seat over.
"One tteokbokki to go."
I glanced at him. Ordinary looks, but an extraordinary aura wafted off him. Faint muscles under his black tank top. Deep, piercing eyes.
Awakener.
Thick lingering mana scent. Awakeners weren't common, but here in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu? Dime a dozen. Probably Association staff or corp hunter.
"Oh! Boss! Long time no see!"
"...Yeah."
Boss?
Looked young for a boss. The awakener youthfulness?
"Ow! So spicy!"
"Why the drama? It's just tteokbokki."
"Urk!"
Yelena's fussing drew my focus to the guy.
"Oops. Sorry~ Have some water."
"Ugh. Thanks."
The spaced-out guy glanced at Yelena. Our eyes met briefly.
"......"
His brow twitched. He smoothed his expression, but it irked me.
What the hell?
What's his deal? Didn't wanna start shit over tteokbokki, but frowning at my face? Rude.
"Boss! Your to-go. Threw in extra fritters."
"...Yeah."
He grabbed his bagged tteokbokki and left. Shady dude.
"Um... you know that guy?"
"Huh? You from abroad? Don't know Lee Shin-yul?"
"Lee Shin-yul...? Wait, the No. 1 ranker?!"
"Yep! Kinda aloof, but he cleans up when drunk awakeners cause trouble. Drops by the cart sometimes. Just for takeout, like now."
"Hmm."
No. 1 ranker grabbing tteokbokki to-go. Kinda novel, but hey, he's human. Everyone likes sweet and salty.
Still pissed, though.
Frowning at a stranger's face on first sight.
Almost said something, but he was gone.
Tsk.
"All done."
"Thanks~ Come again~"
Belly full of street food, I returned the plastic-wrapped plate and we left.
[Hunter Association - Seoul Branch]
The Hunter Association building loomed right behind the cart. Easily over fifty stories, towering sharply above the big surrounding structures.
First floor buzzed with people. We followed signs to the rank exam area.
"Reservation?"
The uniformed guide smiled brightly.
"Yes. Park Soo-hyeok and Kim Ye-na."
"Hmm... Ah! Park Soo-hyeok, 10 a.m. Confirmed. And Kim Ye-na..."
She tilted her head at Yelena's face. Super Korean name, super Western looks. Bound to confuse.
Sujin said claim mixed heritage.
Should work.
"Actually, she's..."
"Problem?"
Yelena scowled and growled before I could fib. The guide stammered, startled.
"P-Pardon? N-No, it's just..."
"Fingerprints and ID submitted. What's the issue?"
"Ahh..."
Fingerprints? Forged clean, no problem.
"You a freaking racist? This misunderstanding is offensive."
"S-Sorry!"
Our Kim Ye-na came out swinging, turning the guide beet red.
"Haha. She's mixed, gets this a lot."
"Sorry, no offense meant..."
"Yeah, yeah. We get it. Can we speed this up?"
"Yes! Right away!"
Thanks to Yelena's aggression, check-in flew by.
"Heh."
Her smug strut was annoying yet kinda cute.