20

Yoo Ee-Na looked at me, her eyes sparkling. “I saw a lot of books on the table earlier. Can you read all of them? You didn’t even study at all in ten years.”

“I didn’t study, but I’m a little smart already.”

I didn’t bother saying it, but I had already memorized all the contents of the books she had seen. I never forgot anything once I had already seen it.

She looked toward the kitchen for a while and sighed when she caught sight of the broken dining table. She then opened her mouth and began to speak in a small voice.

“…I’ll buy you another one.”

“Do you know how much that costs?”

“…How much is it?”

I shrugged my shoulders. I didn’t know either, but I knew someone who would. I picked up my smartphone and pressed the button for one of the few contacts I had in there. There was no hologram because it wasn’t a video call. I heard a familiar beep and not long after, a voice came out of the speakers.

-This is Jeong Gi-Hoon.

His rich voice reached my ears.

“It’s me.”

-Yes. Mr. Lee Hwan. What’s the matter?

“Nothing much. Hunter Jung Gi-Hoon, I heard that it was you who was responsible for remodeling our house and importing our furniture, right?”

-Yes. That’s right. I was in charge.

Actually, I wasn’t entirely sure because I had only heard a rumor about it, but fortunately, I was right. I heard that it was Jeong Gi-Hoon’s job as a secretary to take care of Lee Ho’s things and surroundings. He was something like a general manager.

“Do you recall the table at Lee Ho’s house, the table for four?”

-What’s wrong with the table?

“It was smashed.”

The line became quiet, and silence descended on us. After about ten seconds, Jung Gi-Hoon finally spoke.

-…Why was it smashed?

“I don’t know, it just fell apart after I did some things.”

– How can you do that? I bought that table for fifty million won in Italy.

On the other side of the living room table, Ee-Na covered her mouth in shock. I didn’t say anything, but I was also surprised.

“That cost fifty million won?”

-It is the finest among the finest. But why was it smashed? It shouldn’t break that easily.

I ended up laughing.

“It just happened.”

-…….

“Hello?”

-…….

“Moshi-moshi? Ni hao ma? Did you hang up?”

-I didn’t hang up. I was just a little dumbfounded, so I was speechless for a while. So are you at home now?

“Yes.”

-I’m close by, I’ll be right there.

I tried to tell him that he didn’t need to come over, but the person in charge needed to see the damage.

“Sure.”

After we hung up, I turned my gaze to Ee-Na, who was staring at me, frozen in shock.

“It’s fifty million won?”

“…Right.”

“What are you going to do?”

“…I have to pay it back. You don’t have an account, so I’ll just give it to Hunter Jeong Gi-Hoon when he comes here.”

I tilted my head.

“Aren’t you a public official? You bought your house on loan and you’re also a new employee, right?”

“…I saved some money, about five million won.”

I laughed out loud.

“Because we both broke it, let’s pay half and half. Two million five hundred thousand won each.”

“Can we do that?”

“Nothing is impossible.”

That was how we came to an agreement. Hunter Yoo Ee-Na washed the dishes, and it wasn’t long before Jung Gi-Hoon arrived. He looked at the kitchen and sighed at the sight of the fifty million won dining table smashed into pieces.

When he caught sight of Ee-Na washing the dishes, he opened his eyes wide and looked at me as if asking, ‘What kind of situation is this?’ Then he came to a sudden realization. Just looking at his reaction, it seemed that he was thinking of ‘that.’

I spoke up first.

“That’s not it.”

“Do you even know what I’m thinking?”

“I can tell by the look in your eyes. That’s not it, don’t get me wrong.”

“The two of you were doing something… vigorously, and the table broke because you couldn’t control your strength… Isn’t that right?”

Yeah, I admit it might seem like that just by looking at the situation, but it’s really not. Yoo Ee-Na also tried to explain what happened.

“I picked a fight with him first. We fought, and the table broke.”

However, as her story progressed, Jeong Gi-Hoon’s eyes changed. He raised his hand and cut off Ee-Na’s words.

“So, you two had a fight, and Hunter Yoo Ee-Na attacked first. She was able to strangle you?”

He looked at me with a strange gaze that I didn’t understand. I guess it was understandable for him to be confused because I was able to overpower him, an S-rated Hunter. He couldn’t do anything to defend himself, but how could she grab my neck?

“Did you let her do that on purpose?”

“Something like that.”

“…….”

“She used a pretty interesting skill; I have a good eye for people. Who was that, Chief Secretary Hong Jong-Geun? I think she’s going to be as powerful as him.”

It must have been a bombshell statement. Not only Yoo Ee-Na, who was the subject herself, but also Jeong Gi-Hoon, felt surprised. However, it was true. No matter how much I look at it, her Acceleration skill seems to be a similar kind of skill to that of Lee Ho’s Implementation technique. She denied it, but honestly, when it came to reliability, my eyes were more accurate.

She could slow down time itself and move unhampered in that slowed-down time. The repulsion would be even greater, but Yoo Ee-Na managed to withstand it. No matter how skillful she was, adapting to the skill was definitely a talent. Yes, that in itself was a talent.

It seemed that Jung Gi-Hoon took my words seriously. He was lost in thought, his chin down. When he had gathered his thoughts, he looked up and spoke to Yoo Ee-Na.

“Would you like to join Providence Guild?”

“…What?”

“We’ll give you at least three times the pay you’re getting now. We’ll also give you more incentives than any other guild in the world.”

I was confused, too, but not more than Ee-Na was.

“If you have a position you want in our guild, I will offer it to you right away. Since you said you admire Master, I can put you in the secretary’s office, or I can arrange a seat for you in the White Tiger Team of the Providence Guild.”

There were a total of four Hunter Teams in the Providence Guild called the Four Deities. They were Blue Dragon, Red Phoenix, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise. The four teams that had been together since the establishment of the first Providence Guild were the pillars of Providence themselves.

Although the internal strengths and abilities of the team varied depending on the performance of the Hunters affiliated with them, the White Tiger Team of the Providence Guild was called the best Hunter Team in Korea by name for four years running. And Gi-Hoon had offered to put Yoo Ee-Na in that team.

However…

“…Thank you so much for the offer, but I will have to decline it.”

“Is the pay not enough? Of course, your salary can be adjusted. We can give you four or even five times more than what you are earning now.”

Ee-Na glanced at me before replying. “I will stay in the Quick Reaction Force. I’m really sorry.”

Such a woman.

Jeong Gi-Hoon looked at her and smiled gently this time.

“That table… I said it costs fifty million won, but it’s actually fifty-eight million, eight hundred thousand won.”

“…I will pay it back.”

Gi-Hoon shook his head.

“You don’t have to pay it back.”

“…What?”

Gi-Hoon glanced at me. He looked into my eyes and smiled with the corners of his mouth.

“We want to maintain a good relationship with you, Hunter Yoo Ee-Na. A table was broken. Well, technically, it was an accident, wasn’t it? So don’t worry. Just…”

“Just?”

“In the future, as time passes, I just hope that you remember this good deed of the Providence Guild, Hunter Yoo Ee-Na.”

She smiled awkwardly, and Gi-hoon’s light smile did not disappear from his face. I looked at him and thought that that person would do well in a negotiation. Something like that.

“Then I’ll get going.”

“Okay. Call me when you’re bored.”

“…Okay.”

Hunter Yoo Ee-Na opened the door and went out of the unit. I was left alone with Gi-Hoon. It was a little awkward, so I asked him a question right away.

“Is that really okay? Fifty million won is not a small amount of money.”

“Mr. Lee Hwan, didn’t you say it yourself?”

“What did I say?”

“You said that she could grow to be as powerful as Chief Secretary Hong Jong-Geun.”

I shrugged at that.

“If she has that kind of talent, we have to maintain a good relationship with her. Fifty million won? Fifty million won is a small price to pay to establish a relationship with such a talent.”

This was really new to me, but Lee Ho was certainly successful. The world we lived in was so different now.

“You must be free today, huh? It hasn’t even been five minutes since I called, but you came right away.”

“Well, there was an accident at my brother’s school. I had just arrived there when I got your call.”

I nodded and paused in my tracks. If I remember correctly…

“Your younger brother goes to Ga-On High School, right?”

“Yes. He’s in the second grade.”

I was getting curious for no apparent reason. “What kind of accident happened?”

“Well, do you know what it’s like to be an awakener?”

“Roughly. I heard that you could be awakened randomly when you turn eighteen.”

“Yes. One of the seniors was awakened, and he attacked a teacher.”

“Attacked?”

“Yes. He was the former homeroom teacher of my brother, and he’s in the hospital now, so I came here after visiting him.”

I felt… How should I say this? Should I say I was nervous?

“Fortunately, the report was made quickly and he was immediately taken by the ambulance, but he’s still in a coma. The doctor says he needs thirty-two weeks for a full recovery because of his broken ribs and broken leg bones… By the way, the student is the son of an executive of the Hunter Association of Korea…”

After his retelling, I asked him.

“The teacher that was attacked, what is his name?”

Jeong Gi-Hoon scratched his chin as if he had forgotten before replying.

“It’s Mr. Gu Kyeong-Hoi.”

***

The intensive care unit of Samjeong Hospital near Yongsan-gu, Seoul.

He was lying on a hospital bed. My teacher, who not long ago had laughed and told me to look for him if I needed help with anything, was lying unconscious.

His face and knees were wrapped in a cast, but his cartilage was clearly smashed. Not only that, but he also had deep and long wounds with at least twenty stitches each on his abdomen, and his internal organs were abnormally moving.

Thirty-two weeks for a full recovery? I was not sure about that. It would take more than that in my eyes.

Hunter Jeong Gi-Hoon, who was standing next to me, asked.

“…Will he be okay?”

I didn’t answer. Would he be okay? How could he be okay?

Bad memories rose up in my mind. I had seen a few cases similar to this when I was still in Valhalla. However, I was not talking about his visible wounds, I had seen those kinds of wounds countless times.

What I am talking about was the alien Mana wrapped around the teacher’s heart.