Chapter 97

“Oh my, welcome!”

An ajumma¹ who looked to be in her forties greeted me in a nasal singsong.

Maybe it was because the real-estate office was so close to home, but she looked vaguely familiar, like someone I’d passed once or twice on my way home.

“A young man! What would you like to drink? Coffee? Yulmu tea?² Cola?”

“Coffee, please.”

“Black, creamer, or…”

“Black.”

“Well, look at you. A young bachelor who knows how to drink his coffee.”

I let her rapid-fire chatter go in one ear and out the other as I took a seat. There was something else I needed to pay more attention to than the talkative real-estate ajumma.¹

This is…

The familiar energy flowing through the real-estate office.

Mana.

Eavesdropping magic?

There was almost no chance it was security magic installed by the owner. Who would put an expensive magic product in a real-estate office instead of their home?

The people watching me had clearly made preparations in advance.

Well, I expected as much.

They were using Familiars, after all. Eavesdropping magic was nothing by comparison.

The question was how many of them there were and where they were hiding…

“Here you go. One coffee.”

I accepted the cup with a polite smile.

“Ah, thank you.”

I meant it sincerely.

After all, she was about to tell me where their base was.

“So, what brings our handsome boss here?”

“I’m looking for a place.”

The eavesdropping magic transmitted their voices with perfect clarity. Kim Junsu, who had briefly deactivated his Familiar magic, exchanged looks with another team member and the Security Team Leader.

“Didn’t that bastard go to a real-estate office recently, too?”

“Yes. He went to one in Goyang. That was before we were assigned to him, so the Team 1 Leader got the information from Hong Woojin and passed it on to us.”

“Junsu’s right. We went to the real-estate office afterward and dug around a little. Apparently, he even put down a deposit.”

“How much does he have in his account right now?”

The Security Team already knew Jin Taekyung’s account balance inside and out.

At the Security Team Leader’s question, a team member quickly pulled out a tablet and brought up the report.

“About 3.7 billion won.³ Three billion won⁴ of that will go toward buying the new house.”

“Are you sure he’s going to buy it?”

“We even heard that he’s planning to set a date with the owner and sign the contract soon, so he definitely intends to purchase it. We looked into it, and apparently it’s the neighborhood where the target lived as a child. It seems to have some special meaning to him.”

“I see…”

The Security Team Leader frowned.

The man was about to pour most of his fortune into a new house. So why was he looking into another house in this neighborhood now?

His Guild is in Bucheon, too.

Whatever he was thinking, the whole thing left him feeling uneasy.

“Hey, turn up the volume a little.”

“Yes, sir.”

The conversation continued to flow into the three men’s ears.

“What kind of conditions are you looking for?”

“Either monthly rent or a jeonse lease.⁵”

“I do have a few, but… as you know, this neighborhood straddles a safety zone, so it’s a little expensive.”

“That’s fine. I’m a Hunter.”

“Oh my, you’re a Hunter? No wonder you’re so fit. What rank are you? Ah, am I being nosy asking something like that?”

“Nothing special. It’s not very high. C-rank.”

“Oh my, oh my. You must make good money. Can I feel your arm? Oh-ho-ho!”

“Ha-ha. Show me some good listings and I’ll think about it. Actually, show me everything you’ve got. Jeonse,⁵ places for sale, all of it. If I find something I like, I’ll just buy it.”

The three men listening were dumbfounded.

“That bastard’s having the time of his life.”

“Can you blame him? He lived as an F-rank Hunter, then after his reawakening, big chunks of money started rolling in. Of course his ego’s through the roof.”

“Hmm, true. That’s the age for it.”

They all knew from experience. The feeling of stepping into a new world.

Luxury goods that had once been too expensive even to look at suddenly seemed laughable, and people began looking at you differently.

“That bastard’s right in the middle of it.”

“‘If I find something I like, I’ll buy it,’ my ass. Once you pay the balance on the house you already contracted for, your account will barely cover a jeonse deposit,⁵ you idiot.”

“Still, I’m jealous. What does he eat to have hair that thick?”

Watching Jin Taekyung’s childish, cocky behavior was pathetic, but a quiet laugh escaped them anyway.

Before they knew it, the three men had relaxed. Their ears were still open, but they felt as if they were listening to a radio broadcast.

“How about this place? Around five hundred million won⁶ for a jeonse lease?⁵ Considering it’s in a safety zone, it’s listed well below market price.”

“Not bad. Are there any others?”

“Of course there are. There’s another listing two buildings over from the one I just showed you… Oh, this one was taken recently. It was monthly rent, but the terms were exceptionally good.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah. If you’d come a few days earlier, young man, you could’ve snagged it. The place wasn’t well maintained, but the rent was cheap. Of course, if you have money, remodeling can solve that problem.”

“That’s a shame.”

“I’m disappointed too. Some scary-looking man came by and spoke to me in this commanding tone. Did he think he’d left a house in my care or something? I’d much rather hand it over to a young, handsome bachelor, you know. Right?”

“Ugh, sounds like a total boomer.”

“I thought he might be a gangster, so I couldn’t so much as squeak. The smell of an old bachelor was practically pouring off him. I thought I was going to die. Ho-ho-ho.”

Grrrind.

Teeth ground beside them. Kim Junsu and the other team member fought back the laughter threatening to burst out.

It’s the Team Leader.

Definitely the Team Leader.

A gangster-like impression and the smell of an old bachelor. Just hearing that much was enough to identify the Security Team Leader.

His expression was so frightening that there was even a rumor that when he first joined Sangdong Guild, the interviewer had been too scared to look any further and hired him on the spot.

“Has that ajumma¹ lost her mind…?”

The Team Leader ground his teeth and whipped around. The other two men, red-faced from holding back their laughter, hurriedly lowered their heads.

“You two look like you’re having a hard time holding it in.”

“Oh, no, sir.”

“Nothing of the sort, sir.”

They tried desperately to deny it, but the Team Leader was already thoroughly offended. He rose from his seat.

For a single man in his mid-forties, the words old bachelor touched on a subject that absolutely should not be touched.

“I’m going to the sauna to wash off this old-bachelor smell, so have the transcript ready for me to read as soon as I get back.”

“What?”

Kim Junsu and the other team member were dumbfounded.

A C-rank Hunter showing off at a real-estate office and a scatterbrained ajumma.¹ Why would anyone write up a transcript of their completely unremarkable conversation?

“Team Leader, it’s all being saved automatically…”

“Prepare a full-page A4 statement of your individual opinions, too. He’s an important target, so we should gather the team’s input.”

“…”

“…”

Since when had he ever asked for their opinions? And how could it make sense for the Team Leader to go to a sauna while they were dealing with such an important target?

Their expressions twisted at the narrow-minded superior’s petty retaliation.

“Didn’t you hear me? Repeat the order back. Execute!”

“…Yes.”

“…Execute.”

“You bastards have gotten way too lax. You treat your Team Leader like dog shit.”

The Security Team Leader glared at his subordinates, snorted angrily, and stormed out of the room.

Bang!

The apartment’s front door slammed shut. The two men left behind immediately spat out everything they had been holding in.

“Man, fuck this.”

“Isn’t this taking things way too far?”

“Why is he taking it out on us because he has an ugly face and can’t get married?”

“Is his face the only problem? That ajumma¹ said he spoke in a commanding tone. His personality’s rotten, too.”

“I’m so damn sick of this. I can’t keep doing this.”

“Ah, I really can’t afford to get stressed out. It’ll make even more of my hair fall out.”

Kim Junsu muttered in a voice thick with tears and felt the top of his head. He couldn’t be sure, but it seemed like at least ten hairs had fallen out in the last few moments.

“What do we do about the transcript and the statements?”

“What do you think? If you don’t want to watch the Team Leader throw a fit, you have to write them. Want to go to the hospital and get a medical statement?”

“…”

“Just slap something together. I’ll cover for you and say you couldn’t write yours because you were using Familiar magic.”

After heaving deep sighs, the two men began cursing the Team Leader in earnest.

All the while, the conversation continued through the transmitter.

“It’s nice. It faces south, so it gets plenty of sunlight. What about the building next to it? Don’t tell me that one’s gone, too?”

“Huh? No, it’s still available. Business has been slow lately, so the places that went recently were… Wait, young man.”

“Yes?”

“Your arm is really firm. Goodness, just look at those muscles and veins.”

“…”

“Young man, come again! Come twice!”

I left the real-estate office with the ajumma’s¹ regretful farewell behind me.

Goose bumps had risen all over the arm her hand had just brushed.

Whether it’s an ajumma¹ or an ajusshi,⁷ people who grow old without growing up are all alike when it comes to hitting on younger people.

I left as if fleeing her sticky gaze, but I had already accomplished what I’d gone there to do, so I had no regrets about leaving.

Confirm the listings that were recently sold or leased.

Today was exactly five days after the raid with Im Changsoo.

In other words, the surveillance team couldn’t have been assigned to me more than five days ago.

I tried to act and ask about it indirectly without making it obvious, but…

Knowing that eavesdropping magic was in place, every word and action had been deliberate. I wanted to come across as an unremarkable C-rank Hunter packed full of arrogance and extravagance.

Whether they fell for it or not was another matter.

My conversation with the real-estate ajumma¹ had given me an important clue. I silently muttered the addresses I had memorized in advance.

Building 5, Unit 901. Building 4, Unit 302. Building 3, Unit 202.

These were the three listings that had changed hands in the past five days.

I had used our house as the center point and set the range at a maximum of five hundred meters⁸—the distance Familiar magic could reach.

The watchers were definitely somewhere within that range.

The problem is how to find them.

My goal wasn’t to drive them away. I wanted to catch them, beat the hell out of them, and find out who was behind them.

If I went after the wrong place too soon, they might catch on and run.

They could be hiding in a car, so I should check the parking lot too.

Searching the nearby homes would tip them off, but I could search the parking lot without looking suspicious.

All I had to do was pretend to take a walk while sweeping the area with Qi Sense.

Game over.

System

Lv. 42 Kim Gwondong

“Oh, we meet again.”

Just like this guy.

I greeted Kim Gwondong when he called out to me.

“Indeed. We meet again.”

“You said you were going to the real-estate office. Finished already?”

“I just asked a few questions. But when I actually went there and looked into it, the house prices weren’t exactly cheap. I ran right back out.”

“That’s this neighborhood for you. Still, you’re doing well for yourself, young man. At your age, all I did was sit at home and eat my parents’ food.”

“Doing well? Ha-ha.”

If he knew what real ability looked like, he’d faint.

Kim Gwondong laughed along, unaware of my thoughts, then spoke.

“Well, I should get going. I need to walk to the park over there and back.”

“You must like taking walks.”

“Huh? It’s not that I do it because I like it. I do it because I need to. You’ll have a hard time too once you reach my age.”

He conspicuously waved his thin arms and legs.

To all appearances, he was just a scrawny, potbellied middle-aged man.

He certainly looks like a civilian.

Anyone else would have fallen for it completely.

But there was no such thing as a Level 42 civilian.

Probably a C-rank Hunter. Judging by his build, he likely specializes in stealth and pursuit.

Once you knew someone was a Hunter, there was plenty you could infer.

I said goodbye to Kim Gwondong.

“Then I’ll see you next time.”

“Maybe you will, maybe you won’t. Ha-ha.”

Well, I definitely wanted to see him.

Of course, when that happened, I wouldn’t be parting from him with a smile and a laugh like I was now. I wanted to knock him flat right then and there, but it wasn’t time yet.

I gave him a slight bow and turned to leave when his voice came from behind me.

“Oh, right. That cat seemed awfully smart. I saw it on my way over, and it was still there.”

He had even given me a friendly reminder not to forget to pick up my Familiar.

And just as he said, the cat was waiting for me in the same spot as before.

“Meow.”

Right. Hyung’s⁹ here, you punk.