Chapter 52

Six in the morning.

Taxi driver Mr. Kim picked up his first fare of the day—and regretted it ten minutes later.

What rotten luck.

At first glance, the young man looked perfectly normal. He had a sturdy, muscular build and a clean-cut face. At most, he looked to be in his mid-to-late twenties.

But then…

“Sniff, sniff.”

Something was off about him. Very off.

“Huuugh.”

He was hugging a drink box like treasure, cracking it open every thirty seconds to smell it, then shuddering as if possessed.

What the hell is he doing?

A chill ran down the back of Mr. Kim’s neck. He had been driving a taxi for more than ten years, but he had never encountered this particular breed of problem customer before.

Just as he stole another glance at the young man in the passenger seat—

“Mister.”

“Y-Yes?!”

His heart nearly stopped.

The young man’s eyes, hollow only a moment ago, now gleamed like a wild beast’s.

“There’s a truck behind us.”

“A-a truck? A blue one?”

“Yes. Doesn’t it look like it’s been following us since that intersection?”

“Huh? Well, I suppose it does.”

“It might be tailing us.”

What fresh bullshit was this?

Mr. Kim’s eyes darted around before he finally gave the answer the young man seemed to want.

“I-I’ll peel off to the side.”

The young man hugged the drink box tight until the blue truck disappeared from view, as if someone might snatch it away.

“Sniff. Sniff.”

Of course, he didn’t forget to smell it every chance he got.

This guy’s completely insane.

The AC was blasting inside the car, but Mr. Kim’s back was soaked with cold sweat. And this was his first fare of the day.

What a thoroughly cursed day.

Vroom.

The moment I handed over the fare and shut the door, the taxi shot off like a bullet.

Anyone watching would’ve thought a monster was chasing it. What if he got in an accident?

I clicked my tongue and headed into the apartment complex, still cradling yesterday’s drink box against my chest.

Three hundred million won¹.

That was about as much as I’d saved over three full years as an F-rank Hunter. Of course, I didn’t have a single won² of it left now.

I spent it all paying off debts.

There had been a time when I was drowning in debt, but I’d gritted my teeth and kept going until things gradually got better. I’d even moved my family into a safe-zone apartment near Ilsan.

Lately, though, my life had been like a roller coaster.

A roller coaster that would plummet if the System disappeared…

No. I was home for the first time in months. I needed to stop thinking about that.

Which building and unit was it again?

I only came by once every couple of months, so this always happened.

I glared at the tightly packed apartment buildings, then pulled out my phone and called. It rang for quite a while before the line finally connected.

Click.

“Hello?”

I’d expected Hayeon to still be asleep this early, but her voice was perfectly clear.

“You were already up?”

“Of course I’m up. Do you know what time it is?”

“It’s not even seven.”

“I study better when I wake up early.”

My little sister never failed to impress me. Jinho hyung³, who considered waking up in the morning one of the seven deadly sins, should’ve heard that.

“Why’d you call?”

“I’m out front.”

“Huh? Out front?”

“Yeah. But I forgot which one is ours.”

“……Again? You really are something. Wait there.”

I stood there holding the dead phone. A few minutes later, a girl emerged from the entrance of one of the buildings, dragging her slippers along.

Even from a distance, she radiated the aura of a total bum. The look on her face said that everything in the world was too much trouble, and I couldn’t help laughing.

“Jin Hayeon!”

“Don’t yell. You’ll wake people up.”

……Yeah. That was my little sister.

“What brings you here? You didn’t even tell us you were coming.”

“Do I have to announce it before coming to my own house?”

“You show up so rarely. The women’s association president probably visits more often than you do.”

“That bad?”

“That bad.”

The elevator stopped. Hayeon punched in the code at the front door and turned the handle.

And there—

“Son!”

Someone stood beaming at me.

Wrinkled hands. A perm half fallen out. She looked as delighted as a child receiving a surprise gift.

My throat tightened. I scratched my chin, then burst out laughing.

“I’m home, Mom.”

I had finally come back.

To the place where my family was waiting.

Home.

Sizzle, sizzle.

Mom was busy with breakfast in the kitchen. A good smell hung in the air.

“Look at Lady Kim, all excited because her son’s finally home.”

Hayeon scratched her stomach and plopped down beside me.

The old sofa sagged beneath her.

What a pig.

“Is she making a lot?”

“Yeah. A whole feast. Looks like we’re eating well today.”

She answered without taking her eyes off her phone.

“You haven’t seen your brother in ages. Aren’t you happy to see me?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, you could at least massage my shoulders after everything I’ve been through.”

Hayeon let out a long sigh.

“What’s gotten into you, Mr. Taekyung? We don’t have that kind of relationship.”

“……Listen to that attitude.”

It wasn’t like we’d only started bickering yesterday, but I still felt a pang.

I mean, I’d barely made it home after nearly dying!

“That got to you just now, didn’t it?”

Her radar was scary.

“Go get ready for school, you little cafeteria parasite.”

“Mm. Today’s the school founding anniversary.”

My fist trembled.

I wanted to smack the back of her irritating head right then and there, but if I did, I’d really lose.

“You want to hit me, don’t you? Your fist is shaking.”

“You’re lucky you’re a girl. If you had balls, I would’ve—”

“Mom! Oppa⁴’s sexually harassing me!”

“Hey, hey!”

“He said b—mmph!”

I clamped a hand over Hayeon’s mouth. She thrashed, hitting and pinching me, but she was still just a nineteen-year-old girl. It didn’t hurt.

Then one of her flailing feet accidentally slammed into the drink box I’d carefully set in the corner of the sofa.

Thump.

Flutter.

The box sprang wide open.

Yellow bundles of bills spilled across the living-room floor.

Hayeon froze.

“Come on, stop fighting and eat your breakf—”

Mom had come out of the kitchen too.

Everything in the living room stopped as if someone had hit pause. Only the quiet simmering of the stew filled the silence.

Sizzle, sizzle.

I smiled awkwardly and opened my mouth.

“Can’t we talk about this after breakfast?”

“……Son?”

“Mmph, mmph, mmph.”

It looked like breakfast would be delayed for quite a while.

I told my family a suitably edited version of everything that had happened so far.

My reawakening as a C-rank Hunter, and where the money had come from.

“So that’s what happened.”

Their reactions fell into two categories.

“I see.”

Mom nodded blankly.

And then—

“Proof.”

“……”

Yeah. I hadn’t expected anything else from you.

I sighed and tossed Hayeon my wallet.

“What’s this?”

“Take a look.”

She eyed me suspiciously, then started rummaging through it. There was barely anything inside, so it didn’t take her long to find it.

“Whoa.”

A single card in her hand.

It was the C-rank Hunter license the Association had issued me two days ago.

“This isn’t fake, is it?”

“Want to get hit?”

“Guess it’s real.”

“Forging one is a serious crime, you idiot.”

“What about the money? Did that Team Leader Choi or whatever his name is really give it to you, like you said?”

“How many times do I have to tell you before you believe me?”

“About three hundred and fifty?”

Despite what she said, she seemed to believe me now.

A silver C-rank Hunter license. Three hundred million won¹ in neatly stacked bundles.

Every bit of it looked completely out of place in this old, cramped living room.

Mom sat there staring blankly and muttered, almost a groan.

“What on earth is all this……?”

Hayeon let out a hollow laugh like an old woman who had seen everything life had to offer.

“I know. Live long enough and you see everything.”

“You’re not even twenty.”

“It’s just an expression. But, Mom.”

“Y-Yes?”

“I smell something burning.”

“Oh, right! The stew!”

Mom’s half-lidded eyes flew open. I hurried to my feet, but the kitchen was already a disaster zone.

Mom followed me in, stomping her feet.

“Oh no! What do we do?”

The broth had boiled down to almost nothing, and the fish had turned into lumps of charcoal. I’d been looking forward to a home-cooked meal after so long, but…

Well, this wasn’t such a bad turn of events either.

“Let’s go out to eat. It’s been a while.”

Normally, Mom would’ve launched into a long speech about the absurd price of restaurant food, while Hayeon would’ve asked us to order fried chicken instead. This time, they both stayed quiet.

“Little sister.”

“Yes, dear brother.”

“Grab the money.”

“Yessir.”

As if she’d been waiting for the order, Hayeon swept up the bundles of cash.

“I’m sorry, but our restaurant has a dress code…”

The manager of the upscale restaurant—where a course meal cost several hundred thousand won⁵ per person—gave us an awkward smile.

“A dress code?”

“Yes. As you can see, all our other guests are dressed accordingly.”

He was right. Men and women alike wore suits and dresses. Some were even in evening gowns.

Shit. Anyone watching would think they’d come to dance at a ball.

What was this, eighteenth-century France?

For someone like me, who’d only ever gone to gukbap⁶ places, it was a massive culture shock.

“Let’s just go somewhere else.”

“Yeah. Hayeon knows a lot of good restaurants around here.”

My family seemed even more embarrassed than I was, so I simply walked out.

The three of us were reflected in the restaurant glass. We’d clearly dressed up for our first meal out in a long time, but every piece we owned was cheap market-brand stuff that already looked well-worn.

Had they been that short on money?

I’d sent most of what I earned home while cutting back on my own food and clothes.

Even when I was an F-rank Hunter, I’d worked twice as hard as everyone else. It couldn’t have been a small amount.

“Son, should we go get pork belly? Maybe something greasy is a bit much this early in the morning.”

“Pork belly sounds good. Mom knows what’s what. A friend of mine went to the barbecue place at the intersection up ahead and said it was amazing.”

Just pork belly.

I had a C-rank Hunter license in my wallet and a bag stuffed with cash. They knew that. They could afford to splurge without worrying.

That’s why I work.

Someone once said money couldn’t buy happiness. That happiness didn’t come with a price tag.

Personally, I had one thing to say to people who spouted that crap.

Fuck off.

You can’t spend money when you don’t have any.

After spending all night wondering what to do with it, I’d finally made up my mind.

For today, at least, I would spare no expense on my family.

And now, that resolve swelled even stronger.

“Let’s eat a little later.”

Without waiting for an answer, I flagged down a passing taxi.

“Where to?”

“Mirae Department Store.”

It was supposedly the biggest and most expensive department store in the area. In the rearview mirror, Mom’s eyes widened.

“The department store?”

Meanwhile, the corners of Hayeon’s mouth curled up slyly.

“Nice. My rich oppa⁴ can buy me clothes too.”

Sharp as ever. She caught on immediately.

I gave a short laugh.

“Buy whatever you want.”

“Really?”

“Pick out Mom’s things first.”

“Okay.”

“You’ve got yourself a devoted son, ma’am. Ha ha.”

Only then did Mom smile at the driver’s banter.

“You’re really buying everything?”

“Everything.”

Once I confirmed it one last time, Hayeon tore through the department store like a colt off its reins. She scanned the clothes with a terrifyingly keen eye and moved so fast I started to wonder if she was an Awakened.

At first, Mom looked at the price tags more than the clothes. Before long, though, she started joining in enthusiastically.

“Mom, what do you think of this?”

“Isn’t it too short?”

“This one!”

“That’s nice.”

“This too!”

“That’s pretty. Excuse me, miss—do you have this in one size larger?”

Two hours later, I began to feel a change in my body.

I’m dying.

For reasons I couldn’t explain, I was suffering from extreme shortness of breath and agonizing pain in my legs.

A sense of helplessness comparable to what I’d felt facing Jopil in Murim engulfed my entire body.

“Oppa⁴, how do I look?”

“Ugly. Get lost.”

“Son, try this on.”

“I don’t think I need to. I’ll take it.”

I have no idea how many clothes we bought that day or how much we spent.

All I know is that by the time we finished shopping, one of the department store’s top executives came to see us off.

“Welcome.”

The manager of the restaurant with the strict dress code didn’t even recognize us.

“Wow, I’ve never eaten anything like this before.”

“I know. How do they make the food look so pretty?”

Mom and Hayeon whispered to each other, their cheeks flushed.

We’d spent dozens of times more than the several-hundred-thousand-won⁵ course meal just so we could eat it, but not a single won² felt wasted that day.

“But I want rice. This is too rich.”

“Why are the portions so small?”

……I pretended not a single won² felt wasted.