29

“Lee Hwan, would you like to have a job?”

“A job?”

“Yes, a job.”

“What kind of job are you talking about?”

It was quite sudden for him to say that, but I could understand his purpose. It shamed me to admit that I’m an unemployed person now. I did not want to be a burden to Ho.

“You’re 30, right?”

“I’m 29.7.”

I knew that Lee Ho was smiling through the call.

“I know you well.”

With that, I laughed as well.

“You seem quite certain now. Didn’t you doubt me for a while?”

Lee Ho ignored those words.

“To tell you the truth, I own a lot of properties. But as far as I know, you’re not the type of person that would just take handouts. Am I correct?”

I paused for a bit. This was rather sudden, but I knew what Ho’s intentions were. He was definitely correct. What he had was his own success. I was not able to help him achieve his successes in any way. Even if Ho insisted that I was his role model, this is just a different story.

And using his money freely, just because of the fact that he was my brother?

Even if my character had changed a lot, I couldn’t do that. I must respect what Lee Ho had achieved.

“There’s a suitable job for you.”

“What is it?”

“Supervisor for ROKHA.”

At Lee Ho’s words, I couldn’t say anything for a while. I didn’t expect to hear that.

“Did you say supervisor?”

“Yes.”

“Do you really mean it?”

“Yes. In fact, before you arrived here, I was the strongest Hunter in this country. You just broke my record, so you can definitely do this job.”

Even if Lee Ho had placed me in that position, I was sure I would still be able to get that job based on my abilities. I smiled awkwardly. Maybe I should have hidden my powers for a bit longer.

“As you saw from Park Jeong-Nam’s case, the world is different now.”

“Like how?”

“If Hunters murder an ordinary person, that’s considered a serious crime. But if Hunters kill other Hunters, then it becomes a different case. It is easier to claim that it was done for self-defense. I know you heard that from Jeong Gi-Hoon already.”

“So the laws for Hunters and ordinary people are different?”

“It’s easier to think that they are totally separate from each other, like a region for Hunters. In fact, you are the strongest.”

I thought that my brother was very good at flattery. But, nevertheless, it was nice to hear that from him.

“While you do your duties as a supervisor, take a look around the world. Earn some money and travel around. The pay for this job is quite high, you know.”

“How much is it?”

“If you accept the offer, you’ll have to work for a year. You can earn 25,000 dollars for it, but if you do well, then you can earn more. You can reject the offer, but let me remind you that rent is 8000 dollars.”

I was speechless.

“I don’t really need that money from you, but it’s just how it is. Oh, Mr. Hong just told me that rent has been raised to 9000 dollars.”

I laughed out loud. I could clearly see that Ho certainly is the leader of one of the largest corporations in the world. However…

“You do know that my formal education ended in middle school. Can I still take that job?”

“Stuff like that doesn’t matter anymore.”

Ho definitely was not the person I knew before. He was now wiser and stronger.

With that, I sighed and nodded.

“Sure. When do I start?”

“Tomorrow.”

And that was how I became the supervisor for ROKHA.

***

“I see that I’ve met all of you before.”

Lee Hwan smiled and stepped forward. He turned to the team leader, Yoon Jeong-Soo, and reached out his hand for a handshake.

“I suppose we will become companions for a while. Hope we can form a good relationship.”

Yoon Jeong-Soo stayed still. He then sighed and asked a question. “Usually, when a person becomes an awakener, he registers his name and gets the rank of his power.”

“Really.”

“Yes. In this country alone, about fifty-three thousand people are registered as Hunters, but I don’t see your name anywhere on the list.”

Lee Hwan’s hand was still outstretched, but Jeong-Soo just stared at it.

“Who exactly are you?”

Hwan chuckled. “Well, if I tell you, would you finally shake my hand?”

“………”

“Let me make this clear. I’m not appointed by the people above.”

Everyone looked at Lee Hwan. “If I look like that kind of person, then you don’t have to shake my hand and I’m not going to say anything about it. But…”

He looked around at the team, who were all giving him their full attention.

“When I become supervisor, expect me to be a professional. If you can’t draw a line between public life and private life, then don’t shake my hand.”

Lee Hwan was about to take his hand back, but Jeong-Soo suddenly grabbed it.

“I didn’t want to hurt your feelings, but…”

“But?”

“…I was curious since you were like a person that appeared out of nowhere.”

That was an understandable response, so Lee Hwan did not take that as an offense. In fact, he encouraged Jeong-Soo. He was an S-rated Hunter, and he deserved some respect. He was capable of doing this job excellently.

“As your adviser, let me give you some advice.”

“I’ll keep it in mind.”

“You should work out more. Last time I checked, you need some more exercise.”

Jeong-Soo was left speechless. Meanwhile, Hwan went down the line and shook hands with the other team members, giving each of them a piece of advice as well.

“Your moves were quick, but your response was slow. Have you hurt your head before? If so, go to the hospital and get that checked out.”

“What was that method of holding the dagger? Were you a chef before? You held your dagger like one. If you quit hunting, I think you would work well as a chef.”

“Were you the teleporter? That was quite impressive, but what’s with that outfit? Wearing skirts when you go out to missions? This is not a fashion show, you know. Even now, you are still wearing one.”

And so on, and so forth. He continued dishing out advice that could hurt their feelings. Unfortunately for the members of ROKHA, Lee Hwan was stronger than all of them and his advice, although hurtful, was all correct.

After a while, he came and stood in front of Yoo Ee-Na; it was her turn. Unlike with the others, Hwan’s face showed a regretful expression. Yoo Ee-Na flinched for a bit, but Hwan didn’t give her a free pass.

“As I said before, you do have a talent, but you use it the wrong way. The armor you are wearing is of no use. You are specialized for using daggers, or for close combat.”

Jeong Gi-Hoon, hearing Hwan’s advice to the ROKHA team, smiled at the back. He knew that Lee Hwan was not like Lee Ho. Hwan seemed to look normal, but he did have such quirks such as this.

Among them, Jeong Gi-Hoon felt that he was an exception. That was until Hwan turned around and faced him.

“For you, Gi-Hoon…”

“Oh… me as well?”

“Yes, you. Remember the first time we met at the apartment?”

He definitely remembered. Hwan had covered his mouth with his steel-like hand. He was powerless and could not resist at all.

It was rather embarrassing, to be honest.

“Think about that moment and you’ll see what the problem is.”

Jeong Gi-Hoon expressed his mixed feelings as Hwan snapped his fingers.

It was just a gesture to express his forgetfulness, but every member of the ROKHA team shivered. Some even fell down as if they had been hit.

“What’s with that response? Don’t you know that we are a team now?”

“……….”

“Yoo Ee-Na?”

“Yes, sir?”

“Let’s go somewhere together.”

“Where do you want to go?”

“What was that place? The place to register as an awakener? Let’s go there.”

Yoo Ee-Na was surprised to hear that from him.

“You mean… You will register as a Hunter?”

Lee Hwan chuckled.

“I guess it would be hard for me to live as an ordinary person. I’ll live as I used to before. Oh, and before we go…”

Lee Hwan paused for a moment, then finished his words. “Let’s go to the hospital for a bit. You don’t have to come with me. Just stay in a cafe and have a drink, on me.”

Ee-Na tilted her head in confusion. This was not like the Hwan she knew. Why is this man suddenly acting sweet? And the hospital? Why does he want to go there?

While Ee-Na was lost in her thoughts, Hwan spoke to her.

“What are you doing?”

“What do you mean?”

“Get your car. I don’t have a car and driver’s license.”

Oh, he just needed a driver. She smiled awkwardly. With that, she took her car, and they headed to the hospital.

***

The hospital was silent. In a dark room, a man was smoking cigarette after cigarette. Littered on the floor around him were numerous cigarette butts, too many to count.

His name was Baek Seong-Woo, and his job was a surgical specialist.

He continued to smoke as if he didn’t have a future. He wasn’t sure how much he had already smoked, but there were at least more than ten cigarette butts on the floor.

That was how people knew he was upset.

‘Dang…’

Yesterday morning, he had gotten a secret call from Park Soo-Ho, the head of the weapons department in the Hunter Authority.

It was a simple order. There was going to be a person sent to him, and he was going to eliminate this person silently. Soo-Ho had offered him a million dollars for this job. Seong-Woo was allured by the price. As Hunters and healing magics appeared, it became more and more difficult for doctors to earn money.

That was why he accepted the offer.

However, the person did not come alone. He was with Jung Gi-Hoon. Everyone in this country knew him. He was an S-rated Hunter and was considered to be the successor of the current chief secretary of Cheon-Myeong.

So he could not make an attempt. Killing someone in front of an S-rated Hunter? Impossible.

That was it.

He did not earn the money. He could not kill the patient as well. In fact, he cured the patient as best as he could. The problem was that he had crossed the line as a doctor.

He tried to justify it by saying that he had a purpose in doing so. That already was a problem for Seong-Woo. He had smoked countless cigarettes from yesterday until now, and that was why he could not take good care of his patients.

He squeezed his eyes shut. His doctor’s license might just be taken away.

‘What am I going to do if that happens? I heard that Park Soo-Ho is dead. Do they know about me? Should I just admit everything to the public?’

‘Or should I just let this pass? But if that happens, can I still be a doctor? Do I still have a right to be a doctor?’

A lot of thoughts swirled in his mind, and that was why he didn’t notice the person watching him for a while.

He sensed someone’s glare, so he raised his head.

The cigarette fell from his hand.