Chapter 15
Chapter 15
The morning after I found out I had become a new S-rank Hunter.
“There is a way to refuse mandatory service.”
With her eyes heavy from lack of sleep, Jung Da-jeong shoved her phone in my face.
“There’s the religious exemption, proving you have a physical disability, or other reasonable personal reasons that prevent service. I got exempted from the military, so what makes you think you can’t get exempted?”
“You were an orphan and had to support family members. I don’t need to support you, though.”
“Oh, so you’re going to quit your job and become unemployed, huh? Then you’re going to have to support me, right?”
“Why would I feed a healthy man in his mid-20s? Get a job. Aren’t you going to work today?”
“Is that really the issue right now?!”
Just two days ago, she was whining about wanting to quit her job, and now she’s talking nonsense.
I sighed deeply.
Since yesterday, Jung Da-jeong had been like this.
“Normal military service and being a Hunter are different. The government would love to have an S-rank Hunter working for free. And with Hunters, the only way you can refuse mandatory service is if the test results are wrong.”
“Yeah, but you could also be a mistake! How are you an S-rank Hunter?!”
Jung Da-jeong screamed, her dark circles deepening.
“You always got an F in the physical education exam!”
“Didn’t you see the video? I wiped out the Ant Monster with one hit...”
“It’s probably a fake! No, even if not, just insist that it’s fake! Ask the boss to help you lie!”
“Ugh, enough already.”
I kicked her in the back as she rambled on, making a loud noise with my foot.
“Stop thinking nonsense and just go to work.”
“You think work is the problem right now?!”
“So, what’s the problem, then?”
“My little sister might be in danger of dying, and you’re worried about work?!”
I blinked.
“Yesterday you said the S-rank Hunter was lucky.”
“Oh, I misspoke. I was crazy. Who would want to push someone into danger just to make some money? Especially their family!”
There are many people like that.
Well, Jung Da-jeong wasn’t one of them.
If she were, my new life would have been a lot easier.
I kicked her harder with my foot, pushing her out of the front door.
“Just go to work.”
“Stay home today, okay? I’ll take a half-day and be back later!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Bang!
The old iron front door barely closed.
I sighed again.
After staying up all night looking for cases of Hunter mandatory service refusals, I was worried if I’d get scolded by my boss at work.
At least, it was lucky that Jung Da-jeong didn’t insist on using her leave. To be honest, I had a lot to do today too.
First off, I got a call from the Hunter Management Bureau yesterday.
Since my potential was rated S-rank in the Awakened Ability Test, I now had a duty to serve as a Hunter, and they asked me to come to the central bureau for proper registration.
They offered to send a car if I didn’t have transportation, but I declined. It wasn’t that hard to take public transport to the Gwanghwamun area where the central bureau was located.
But then, an unexpected person offered to pick me up.
Actually, it wasn’t that surprising.
I only understood why they texted me to meet tomorrow after they contacted me again.
Naturally, they’d think the person behind the wheel was weak and try to intimidate them, but when they found out it was South Korea’s top Hunter, it’d be a different story.
Yoo Han-ul sure had an interesting hobby.
I asked, heart pounding with excitement.
“So what happens next?”
“I either get an apology or handle it legally.”
What I had been expecting deflated quickly. I sighed and sank into the seat.
“How boring.”
As a modern person drenched in dopamine and a former demon, I was hoping for a more exciting situation, but it seemed that wouldn’t happen.
Yoo Han-ul laughed awkwardly.
“Well, at least after people meet me once, they won’t start arguments with compact cars anymore.”
“If they see a different compact car with that license plate, they’ll probably vent their frustration on that car. If people are trying to fix their tempers with something like that, they probably wouldn’t have started in the first place.”
Humans are animals that naturally dominate when they think the other person is weaker than them. Even if they have a remarkable experience, it’s hard to change their nature with a short interaction. If they’ve been intimidated by a stronger person, they might become psychologically smaller in front of others like that, but genuinely inspiring respect is even harder. Humans aren’t machines you can just modify.
“Is that so? Well, I hope you’re right.”
Yoo Han-ul didn’t deny or affirm my words, simply chuckling softly.
I found his reaction quite interesting.
Most people would judge the current “Jung Da-jeong” based on her outward appearance and would probably think I was still in my rebellious phase or try to scold me for talking back to an adult, but Yoo Han-ul was neither of those.
Maybe he was just dismissing the rude, unfamiliar teenager he had met a couple of days ago in a form of respectful disregard, but that too seemed rare.
‘Still... he’s a rare type.’
Honestly, in this society, it’s extremely hard for a man who’s achieved this much success—socially and materially—not to become arrogant. Especially in a society like South Korea.
It’s no wonder that people online call Yoo Han-ul “god-like” and all sorts of things. At 190 cm and with such a big frame, combined with a gentle personality, I never thought such a person could exist.
Of course, saying he was gentle didn’t fit a person who’d slaughtered hundreds of monsters.
“Now that you’ll be registered as a Hunter, you’ll receive training. By the way, Da-on, are you planning to be a wizard?”
“Probably. Look at this arm. Do you think I can hold a sword?”
I raised my soft, flabby arm to show him, and Yoo Han-ul gave a slightly awkward smile.
“That’s because you haven’t trained. Of course, I’ve seen your combat videos, so I know you have a genius talent for magic, but it’s a bit unfortunate.”
“Unfortunate? What do you mean?”
“I thought it would be great if you came over to the physical combat side. Of course, if you’re not into magic, I’d be more surprised, but with your genius talent, it makes sense.”
I squinted and glanced at Yoo Han-ul’s profile.
Of course, today’s Yoo Han-ul must have seen my videos all over the internet.
‘Genius talent...’
Could that video really be enough to describe it as a ‘genius’ level?
Maybe for an ordinary person, but any Hunter who saw that would immediately know that magic of that power isn’t something a ‘genius’ can easily pull off. Even though the monsters were low-level, that kind of destructive magic isn’t common.
Some knowledge isn’t gained through talent, but through experience and time. The magic I created was one of those things.
Of course, Yoo Han-ul, being a swordsman, probably doesn’t know much about wizards... but at least, he should realize that what I did wasn’t something ordinary.
‘He should’ve at least raised suspicions, but he’s not even questioning it.’
I thought Yoo Han-ul was deliberately trying to hide something.
When he saved me, I had looked like a mess and he couldn’t doubt anything, but if he had seen my magic videos, it would have been natural to start questioning me.
In fact, the kindness he was showing me might not be the usual goodwill. After all, we had only met a few days ago.
But... he still hadn’t questioned it.
I couldn’t help but feel that there was something else going on here. Perhaps it was a form of kindness, or maybe he was trying to keep an eye on me. Either way, it wasn’t entirely clear.
Still, it was hard not to feel a certain unease about the situation. Was he truly just being helpful, or was there something more to his sudden interest in me?
I shook my head slightly and decided not to dwell on it for too long.
"Anyway, I should be heading out. Thanks for the ride."
Yoo Han-ul smiled as we reached the compact parking space.
"Yeah, let's go."
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