Chapter 52

Six in the morning.

Taxi driver Mr. Kim picked up his first fare of the day.

Ten minutes later, he regretted it.

I’ve been jinxed.

The young man looked perfectly normal at first glance. Sturdy, muscular build, clean-cut face—even being generous, he only looked mid-to-late twenties.

But then…

“Sniff, sniff.”

Something was off. 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 in the world is he doing?

A chill crept up the back of Mr. Kim’s neck. He’d been driving a taxi for more than ten years, but he’d never had this kind of problem customer before.

He kept stealing glances at the young man in the passenger seat, and in that moment—

“Mister.”

“Yes, yes?!”

He nearly had a heart attack.

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? The 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. In the end, he 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 kept smelling it whenever he got the chance.

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.

A thoroughly jinxed day.

Vrooom.

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.

I still had yesterday’s drink box hugged carefully to my chest.

Three hundred million won.

About as much as I’d saved over three full years as an F-rank Hunter. Of course, I didn’t have a single won of that 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 at it 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 plunge if the System disappeared…

No. I was coming home for the first time in months. I should drop thoughts like that.

Which building and unit was it again?

I only came here once every couple of months, so it was always like this.

I glared at the apartment buildings packed in tight, then pulled out my phone and called. It rang for a long time before the call finally connected.

Click.

“Hello?”

I’d figured Hayeon would still be asleep this early, but her voice was clear.

“You were already up?”

“I have to be. Do you know what time it is?”

“It’s not even seven.”

“I study better when I get up early.”

My little sister never failed to impress me. Jinho hyung, who treated getting up in the morning like 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 else. Wait there.”

I stood there holding the dead phone. After a few minutes, a girl appeared at the entrance of one of the buildings, dragging her slippers.

Even from a distance, she radiated total bum energy. That face said the whole world was too much trouble, and I couldn’t help smiling.

“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 every time I come to my own house?”

“You come so rarely. The president of the apartment women’s association probably visits more than you do.”

“That bad?”

“That bad.”

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

And there—

“Son!”

Someone stood there beaming.

Wrinkled hands. A perm half fallen out. She looked as delighted as a little kid 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 making breakfast in the kitchen. A good smell hung in the air.

“Mrs. Kim sure is excited to have her son home after so long.”

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’re not that kind of siblings.”

“……Listen to that attitude.”

We’d been bickering like this forever, but I still felt a little hurt.

I mean, I’d barely made it back after brushing past death!

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

Her radar was scary.

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

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

My fist trembled.

I wanted to smack the back of that 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! Oppa’s sexually harassing me!”

“Hey, hey!”

“He said ‘b—’ to me—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, by pure coincidence, the foot she flung out slammed into the drink box I’d set so carefully in the corner of the sofa.

Thump.

Flutter.

The box flew 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 pressed pause. Only the quiet sound of stew simmering filled the space.

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 was going to 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 how it happened.”

Their reactions split in two.

“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?”

“Check it.”

Hayeon eyed me suspiciously, then started digging through the wallet. There was barely anything in it, so it didn’t take her long to find it.

“Whoa.”

A single card in her hand.

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 that money? Did that Team Leader Choi or whoever 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.

The C-rank Hunter license gleaming silver. Neatly stacked bundles of three hundred million won.

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. You live long enough, you see it all.”

“You’re not even twenty yet.”

“It’s just an expression. But, Mom.”

“Y-Yes?”

“I smell something burning.”

“Oh, right! The stew!”

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

Mom followed me in, stamping 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.”

On any other day, Mom would’ve launched into a lengthy speech about the absurd price of restaurant food, while Hayeon would’ve asked us to order fried chicken. This time, both of them stayed quiet.

“Little sister.”

“Yes, dear brother.”

“Grab the money.”

“Yessir.”

Hayeon swept up the bundles like she’d been waiting for the order.

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

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

“A dress code?”

“Yes. As you can see, the other guests are the same.”

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

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

What was this, eighteenth-century France?

For someone like me, who’d only ever gone to gukbap¹ places, it was a massive culture shock.

“Let’s just go somewhere else.”

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

The family looked even more embarrassed than I did, so I just 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, scrimping on my own food and clothes to do it.

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

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

“Pork belly sounds good. Mom knows what’s what. A friend 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. It wasn’t like they didn’t know that. They could splurge without worrying.

That’s why I work.

Someone once said you can’t buy happiness with money. That happiness doesn’t have a price tag.

Personally, I had one thing to say to people who talked like that.

Fuck off.

Money’s what you can’t spend because you don’t have it.

And after thinking all night about how to use this money, I’d finally made up my mind.

At least for today, I would spare no expense on my family.

Now that decision swelled even bigger.

“Let’s eat a little later.”

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

“Where can I take you?”

“Mirae Department Store.”

It was supposed to be the biggest and most expensive department store in the area. In the rearview mirror, Mom’s eyes went round.

“The department store?”

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

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

Sharp as ever. I only had to say the word and she got it.

I snorted.

“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 for the last time, Hayeon tore through the department store like a colt off its reins. She had a viciously sharp eye for clothes, and she 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, even she started shopping in earnest.

“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 passed, and I felt a change in my body.

I’m dying.

Crushing shortness of breath and agonizing pain in my legs, for no reason I could name.

Helplessness wrapped around my whole body at about the same level as when I’d faced Jopil in Murim.

“Oppa, how do I look?”

“Ugly. Get lost.”

“Son, try this on.”

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

I don’t know how many clothes we bought that day, or how much we spent.

All I know is, by the time we finished shopping and headed out, someone high up at the department store had come to see us off.

“Welcome.”

The manager of the restaurant that had been so strict about its 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 this pretty?”

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

We’d spent dozens of times the price of the several-hundred-thousand-won course meal just to eat it, but it was a day when not a single won felt wasted.

“But I want rice. This is too rich.”

“Why are the portions so small?”

……I pretended it wasn’t a waste.