“Son?”
Her eyes widened when she saw me.
She wore an apron printed with the restaurant’s name and rubber gloves smeared with grease.
My mother.
Her surprise quickly turned to bewilderment.
“Ta-Taekyung, what are you doing here?”
I flashed my flustered mother a broad grin. Just then, a shrill voice pierced my ear.
“So you’re Kim ajumma’s1 son?”
A middle-aged woman looked me over warily.
There was no need to ask who she was or what she did. I already knew.
“Hello. My name is Jin Taekyung.”
“Huh? Ahem. Yes.”
The owner gave an unnecessary cough after seeing me bow politely from the waist.
“But what brings you here all of a sudden?”
I answered with a pleasant smile.
“Does a son need a reason to visit his mother?”
“A reason?”
The owner narrowed her eyes.
“Maybe it’s because you’re young, but you’re awfully thoughtless. If someone showed up out of the blue like this, how do you think I’d feel as the owner?”
“Hmm. I suppose you’d be upset.”
“Exactly!”
“It’s lunchtime, the restaurant is packed, and everyone in the kitchen and dining area is so busy they can barely see straight.”
“…That’s right.”
“And then an employee’s son suddenly shows up without saying a word? From your perspective, Boss, I can understand why you’d be upset. Completely.”
“Y-you do understand.”
What the hell is with this kid?
That was probably exactly what the owner was thinking.
Ignoring her confused reaction, I pulled my mother by the arm.
“In that case, we’ll be going now. Mom, go change so we can leave.”
“What?”
“S-son?”
The two of them stared at me in bewilderment.
I asked with an innocent expression,
“Why?”
“What do you mean, why? Why?!”
“Is there some kind of problem?”
“You little punk, are you making fun of an adult? Did you already forget everything you just said?”
“Oh, you mean when I said you might be upset if someone came by while you were busy?”
“Yes! You said yourself that I might be upset, and now you’ve forgotten already? Are you making fun of me right now?!”
“Oh, come on. I’m not making fun of you.”
“Then what is this?”
“I meant every word. From your perspective, Boss, you have every right to feel that way. But…”
I continued with a bright smile.
“My mother isn’t your employee anymore.”
“What?”
“Is that hard to understand? She’s quitting. Starting right now.”
A heavy silence descended.
My mother stared blankly at me, while the owner’s face turned dark red before she shrieked.
“Who said you could do that?!”
“We did.”
“You think I’ll just let you take her away?”
“What happens if you don’t?”
“Y-you!”
“Th-three, three! F-four, four!”
That was as far as the owner’s patience went.
“Hey, you fucking son of a bitch!”
The hand she raised along with her vicious curse never reached its target.
Grab!
Someone caught the owner’s wrist in a single motion and glared at her.
My mother spat the words out, radiating an aura fierce enough to make even a First Rate master flinch.
“Whose son do you think you’re laying a hand on, you fucking bitch?”
Good Lord.
I had heard her swear once earlier in the dining area, but this was the first time in my life I had seen my mother curse like this. She never even spoke ill of other people in front of her children, and yet…
“And who are you calling a son of a bitch? Your son is the son of a bitch, you pig!”
“You’ve been getting on my nerves from the start! Hey!”
The owner charged at my mother, but I stepped between them.
I was big enough to stand out wherever I went. Simply standing between the two middle-aged women was more than enough.
“Now, now. Calm down. Please calm down.”
“Move! Are you going to move or not? Do you think you’ll get away with this?”
“Yes. I think we’ll live quite comfortably.”
“Gaaaah!”
The owner’s eyes rolled back as she began wildly swinging her arms with a scream.
Of course, none of her attacks posed the slightest threat to me.
It’s embarrassing to even call that an attack.
Compared to the enemies I had faced inside Gates and in the Murim, it was no more dangerous than a fly beating its wings. Now that my bones and muscles, Sinews and Meridians, and Toughness had all improved dramatically, even a punch from an ordinary adult man would only tickle.
“Please stop. You look like you’re having a really hard time.”
As expected, the owner’s struggle ended quickly.
She was in her fifties and morbidly obese. Her body clearly had its limits.
“Huff, huff! You Hunter bastard, are you bullying a civilian?”
That she could come out with a line like that—I had to marvel at how the owner’s brain worked.
“Me? Bullying you?”
“Can’t you see I’m hurt? My fingernail broke, and it’s bleeding!”
“You hurt yourself hitting me. I’ve just been standing here, so why are you trembling all by yourself?”
“Whatever!”
This was a bumper crop of bullshit.
I glanced around. The kitchen staff and the customers in the dining area were all watching the owner’s stand-up routine with disgusted expressions.
“If you can’t accept what happened, call the police. There must be about fifty witnesses here, so that works out nicely.”
“…”
“Not going to call? Since you were injured and bled because of a Hunter, you should go to the police station, give a statement, file a complaint, and hire a lawyer. You’ll be busy starting tomorrow.”
I had intended to tease her a little longer, but the more we talked, the more I felt I was wasting my time. I clicked my tongue.
“What are you, the mayor? You’re only the owner. Don’t make everyone around you miserable, and try to have a better attitude. We’re leaving.”
I was about to turn away when the corners of the owner’s mouth twisted with resentment.
“You live in Bucheon, don’t you?”
“So?”
“Which Guild in Bucheon are you with?”
“Would you know it if I told you?”
“My son would. Our Minsu is a Hunter in Bucheon, too.”
“Oh, really?”
“I hear Hunters all know one another after only a degree or two. I wonder how long you’ll last if you get a bad reputation in that line of work.”
“I have a reputation for being hardworking and skilled, so I’ll be around for a long time. Happy?”
“Do you know Kim Minsu? My son must be famous in Bucheon.”
Kim Minsu?
Sure. Over the past seven years, I had probably crossed paths with more than thirty people named Minsu.
I answered indifferently.
“Do you know Seong Jinho? He’s the most famous person in our goshiwon.2”
“Pfft, a goshiwon? I suppose that’s the level you’d expect from an F-rank Hunter. Is your income really that bad?”
“It’s kind of you to worry, but I make a decent living. I made four billion won3 just yesterday.”
“How much?”
“Four billion won.3”
I hadn’t wanted to boast about money like a child, but she just had to tug on a sleeping lion’s nose hairs.
There was one thing I had forgotten, though.
People always judged everything according to their own common sense.
“Four billion won?3 An F-rank Hunter made that much?”
“Obviously, he’s bluffing. A Hunter I know said an F-rank Hunter has to work like hell to make even a hundred million won.4 And didn’t you hear him? He said he made four billion won3 in a single day, not in a year. It’s not like he won the lottery. Does that make any sense?”
“Geez, I almost thought he was telling the truth.”
The customers in the dining area and even the kitchen staff, who had quietly seemed to be rooting for me, began looking at me doubtfully.
Well, even I had to admit it sounded absurd.
“Son, is that true?”
My mother’s eyes went round.
The owner snorted.
“As if it’s true. Even my Minsu can’t make that much.”
“I’ve been wondering. What rank is this famous Minsu of yours? A-rank?”
“He’s a D-rank Hunter.”
“…”
“What? Are you stunned because it’s so high?”
“No, well… I’ll admit I’m a little surprised.”
She had sounded so confident that I thought her son was at least Monkey D. Minsu.5
Where is there a famous D-rank Hunter in Bucheon?
Perhaps she mistook my momentary silence for shock. The owner let out a series of derisive chuckles.
“You have to be a D-rank Hunter like my son to get respect wherever you go. An F-rank Hunter must be too embarrassed to even admit what he does for a living.”
“I wasn’t that embarrassed. I spoke just fine.”
“You still get looked down on. Among Hunters, rank is everything.”
“Ah, yes. Rank is everything.”
“If I make one phone call, Minsu will…”
“Yes, yes.”
As I answered halfheartedly and rummaged through my pocket, the owner raised her eyebrows.
“An adult is talking to you. Do you want my Minsu to teach you a lesson?”
“I’m just looking for something. Ah, here it is.”
“What is that?”
“If you’re curious, take a look.”
I had so many point cards and discount coupons in my wallet that finding anything was a chore. When the owner examined the thin silver card I handed her, her mouth fell open.
“…C-rank Hunter?”
“Personally, I think rank is everything for Hunters. What do you think, Boss?”
“N-no way. I heard you were F-rank…”
“I was F-rank. I’m C-rank now. You’re pretty slow about updating your information.”
“I-isn’t this fake? The color is completely different from my Minsu’s license!”
“His license is brass-colored, right?”
“…”
“I used one of those myself in the past. Lower-rank Hunters have brass-colored licenses, while mid-rank Hunters have silver ones. You didn’t know that?”
Suppressed laughter erupted from all around us.
The atmosphere had flipped in an instant.
My mother slipped her arm through mine with a proud smile, while the owner’s face turned bright red and she began making excuses.
“D-does a Hunter’s rank really matter? C-rank and D-rank are only one step apart. They’re practically the same.”
Was that supposed to be an argument or a fart?
All I could do was laugh hollowly at her absurd struggle.
“That’s not something a person who looked down on someone for their Hunter rank should be saying.”
“Is a person’s title all that matters? The company they work for matters more. People respect an Assistant Manager at a major corporation more than a section manager at a small company. Am I wrong?”
“I don’t know about that, but the customers here don’t seem to agree with you.”
I gestured toward the customers filling the dining area.
Dozens of office workers from small and midsize companies were glaring at the owner without bothering to hide their displeasure.
“What’s with that ajumma?1”
“My appetite’s completely gone.”
“The food hasn’t even come out yet. Should we just leave?”
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
“Everyone, let’s eat somewhere else. There’s a decent set-meal place right up ahead. I may not be an Assistant Manager at a major corporation, but I’m a section manager at a small company, so lunch is on me.”
Scrape.
At the middle-aged man’s words, five or six of his subordinates stood and followed him.
Similar scenes began unfolding throughout the dining area.
“Customers, that’s not what I meant. Customers!”
“What do you mean, it’s not? Just watch me never come back here.”
“But your orders have already gone in. If you leave like this…”
“Looking at that kitchen, it’ll take an hour anyway. Forget it. We’re leaving too.”
Despite the dining staff’s attempts to stop them, the customers streamed out like the receding tide.
Barely a minute later, fewer than ten customers remained in the dining area.
Damn. I can already hear the sound of this place going under.
The owner was trembling with anger and bewilderment.
“You… You people…”
“So which Guild did you say your son was with?”
“Our Minsu is a real hotshot Hunter in Sangdong Guild! Someone like you…”
“What? Which Guild?”
“Sangdong Guild! They even gave him a house and a car.”
“Oh, Sangdong Guild. Could you wait just a moment?”
What an incredible coincidence.
Holding back my laughter, I pulled out my smartphone and made a call.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Click.
“Uh, what is it?”
“What do you mean, what is it? Are we only supposed to call each other when we have business?”
“…I sent you the promised four billion won,3 though.”
“Ah, I checked that. It came through fine.”
The conversation continued over speakerphone, loud enough for everyone to hear.
Four billion won.3
The moment it became clear that what I had said earlier was true, everyone’s eyes nearly popped out of their heads. I ignored all the stares and got to the point.
“Do you happen to know a Kim Minsu?”
“Kim Minsu? That’s the first I’ve heard of him.”
“You’re a Team Leader in Sangdong Guild, and you don’t even know him? Apparently, he’s a D-rank Hunter in your Guild.”
“D-rank Hunters are a dime a dozen. How am I supposed to know all of them? Is that why you called?”
“Yeah. Bye.”
Getting Im Changsoo’s business card in case he tried to stiff me had been a stroke of genius.
Click.
As soon as I hung up, the owner asked in a faltering voice.
“W-who was that?”
“Didn’t you hear? He’s a Team Leader in Sangdong Guild. Put simply, he’s Mr. Minsu’s boss.”
“…Team Leader? His boss?”
“Oh, and one more thing. He’s also a future employer Mr. Minsu will want to impress. His father is the Guild Master of Sangdong Guild.”
“…”
Her face went white as a sheet.
There was no longer any reason or need to exchange another word with her. I turned toward my mother.
“Let’s go now.”
“Shall we, son?”
My mother, Kim Jeonghee, flashed a broad smile and shoved her work clothes into the sink.
Of course, she didn’t forget to leave the owner with one final remark.
“If you’re a parent, act like one and live right, you ajumma.1 Where do you get off casually running your mouth about someone else’s precious child?”
The final blow.
The owner lowered her head without answering, and we left the restaurant with light steps.
“Son, have you eaten? There’s cheonggukjang6 and kimchi pancakes at home.”
“Wow. What a feast.”
The weather was beautiful.
Footnotes
-
Ajumma is a familiar Korean term for a married or middle-aged woman. ↩ ↩2 ↩3
-
A goshiwon is a small, inexpensive room for rent, often with shared facilities. ↩
-
Four billion won is about $2.9 million or €2.6 million. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6
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One hundred million won is about $71,000 or €65,000. ↩
-
Monkey D. Luffy is the protagonist of the Japanese manga One Piece. Taekyung substitutes Minsu’s name for Luffy’s. ↩
-
Cheonggukjang is a Korean stew made with fermented soybeans. ↩
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