[ The Second S-Class (2) ]
-Sizzle
The richly marbled sirloin steak made a mouthwatering sound as it landed on the grill. Beside it, the hanwoo gopchang (beef intestines) sizzled, its fat bubbling up deliciously.
The world is definitely worth living in.
A drink of soju or beer would have been perfect with this, but that didn’t seem appropriate for the situation.
“You can have a drink if you want.”
“…Huh?”
“You look like you really want one. I’m used to seeing drunk people all the time, so don’t worry about it.”
…Is my expression that obvious, or is she reading my mind?
“I can’t get drunk when we’re dealing with contracts. Besides, the person sitting in front of me isn’t exactly someone I can take lightly. I’m afraid if I get drunk, you’ll take me for everything I’ve got.”
“Maybe it’s not that I’m tough, but that you’re too easy.”
Park Yerim laughed, her previous bad mood completely gone.
We had chosen a private room for easier conversation, so there were no other customers nearby. Not that there were many customers at this odd hour anyway.
Kim Seonghan had declined the invitation to join us for dinner, instead inspecting the restaurant before heading outside to wait. I’m seriously considering giving up on turning him into an S-class. We’re just not getting any closer.
“So, are you really acquainted with my parents?”
Park Yerim asked as she picked up a piece of meat.
“If I wasn’t, how else could I have found you so easily? I wasn’t very close to them, but they did help me out when I was younger.”
“When you were younger?”
“Yeah. I lost my parents early too. I struggled a lot to take care of my younger brother.”
I’m really laying it on thick with my sob story. But that’s what works best in Korea: the tragic tale of someone who lost their parents and had no one to rely on. Sympathy for the orphaned can take you far, even to the presidency.
“Your parents gave me a bit of help back then. It was about ten years ago, so you wouldn’t remember.”
Of course, I don’t remember either. I poured soda into my glass and continued talking.
“Before I awakened, I was too busy just trying to survive to think about reaching out. Even though I had an S-class brother, we weren’t on good terms until recently.”
“Really? Now that you mention it, I’ve never heard much about the Haeyeon Guild Leader’s family.”
“We just reconciled a few days ago. I awakened, got some useful skills, and made up with my brother. Now that my life’s a bit more stable, old memories started coming back. It’s a bit selfish, isn’t it?”
“How is that selfish? Look at my uncle! There are people who repay kindness with cruelty. Just the fact that you remembered at all is something.”
Park Yerim said as she puffed up her cheeks, which were soon filled with a hearty bite of meat wrapped in a lettuce leaf. She eats well.
“Hey, that’s a chili pepper.”
“I’m good with spicy food.”
She said this while dunking raw garlic into the ssamjang sauce and adding it to her wrap. How many cloves of garlic can one person eat? I can’t handle it unless it’s roasted.
“So, I started looking for you. At first, I just wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help, but then I realized you had incredible potential as an awakened.”
“Fngkh fnnnnghh.”
“Swallow first.”
Was her uncle starving her or something?
“So, I just need to sign a contract with you now?”
“Yeah. Awakening can happen immediately or take a few days, depending on the situation. It shouldn’t take too long.”
“I hope it happens right away. It’ll be chaos if I go back home.”
“Half of it is luck, but I’ll do my best.”
How should I bring up the keyword? Maybe I should talk more about her parents.
I took out a contract from my inventory. Park Yerim’s eyes widened as the parchment appeared out of thin air.
“That’s an inventory, right? It’s the first time I’ve seen one in person.”
“You’ll have one soon too. You can only store items related to dungeons, but it’s convenient.”
You can’t store ordinary items. Only those that come from dungeons or are made entirely from dungeon materials can be stored in an inventory.
“There are three conditions for the contract: You must not disclose my skill to anyone. You’ll be responsible for my protection for the next year. And you’ll sign a contract with Haeyeon Guild.”
“Your protection?”
“Yeah. I’m only F-class, so I need someone to protect me. That’s why I was looking for someone suitable with my skill, and you caught my eye.”
“Still, isn’t it kind of embarrassing to rely on a fifteen-year-old for protection?”
“Not at all. Even a ten-year-old with high enough stats would be stronger than me, so it’s not embarrassing.”
At this point, what’s there to be embarrassed about? I replied nonchalantly as I pulled out a pen. Even the pen and ink are made from dungeon materials. I opened the contract and started writing down the terms when Park Yerim leaned in to take a closer look.
“20% decrease in all stats for a year if the contract is broken? That’s it? Doesn’t seem like much of a penalty.”
“A 20% decrease means the highest level of dungeon you can clear drops by one rank. That’s a huge difference in income.”
“But you could just take a break for a year.”
“That’s true. But this is a contract guaranteed by the Hunter Association. Breaking it would tank your credibility. Depending on the severity, it could even get your hunter license suspended.”
That’s why, unless there’s something shady going on, contracts backed by the Hunter Association are far more reliable than illegal contracts with severe penalties.
“I thought awakened contracts had all sorts of scary penalties.”
“Some do, but they’re illegal.”
“Stats are something only awakened people have, though. Will this contract even have any effect?”
“It will. This is based on a curse skill, and even non-awakened people can be affected by skills, so your physical abilities would decrease by 20%.”
“A curse, huh? That’s a bit creepy.”
I finished writing down my terms and signed the contract. Park Yerim quickly gestured for the pen, eager to sign.
“I just write my name, right?”
But just as she was about to sign, I yanked the contract away.
“Huh?”
Park Yerim looked at me in confusion.
“You’re still just a kid, after all.”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
She asked, her voice sharp as if she was sulking. I waved the contract in front of her.
“You should read it carefully before signing.”
“There’s nothing wrong with it.”
Nothing wrong, huh?
“You forgot to include your own terms.”
“…Oh, you’re right.”
Park Yerim murmured in a daze. The contract only contained my demands. Her face turned a bit red, embarrassed at her oversight.
“I just forgot, okay?”
“Sure, it’s easy to forget. But that kind of excuse doesn’t fly when it comes to contracts. Becoming an awakened person, a hunter, means taking on adult responsibilities. You get the same rights as an adult, but you also take on the same obligations.”
I took the pen back and added clauses for her awakening and support in the contract.
“Also, contracts are usually negotiated. I’ve already told you that you have the potential to become a high-ranking awakened. At least B-class, which is very advantageous for you. You could get treated well anywhere, and if you end up A-class or higher, you’d have a free pass into one of the top three guilds.”
I pointed to the condition about contracting with Haeyeon Guild.
“But signing this contract without negotiating the terms with the guild would be foolish. You’re agreeing to unfavorable conditions just because I said I’d awaken you.”
I crossed out the existing Haeyeon Guild contract clause and replaced it with a priority contract based on industry standards or higher.
“There. Now it’s a fair contract.”
Park Yerim looked at me with a mixture of sulking and surprise. After a moment of silence, she finally spoke.
“So what do you want me to do?”
Is she angry?
“It might have sounded like nagging, but what I’m saying is that you’re still at an age where you need an adult’s help. Once you awaken, a lot of people will approach you. Even if you’re just B-class, you can enter D-class dungeons, and after ten successful clears, you can enter B-class dungeons too.”
An orphaned middle schooler with an annual income of tens of billions of won. What an easy target. And she’s actually S-class. If that gets out, it’ll cause a stir, not just in Korea but internationally.
“Some of them will try to take advantage of you, pretending to be good people, just like I did. And you’ll be easy to trick, as you’ve just experienced.”
“…”
Park Yerim’s eyes were glued to the contract. Her expression was still stiff, but she looked more contemplative than angry.
“…But I really don’t want to stay with my uncle.”
“Yeah, I get it. He’s not the kind of person you’d want as a guardian. You’d be lucky if he didn’t steal all your money and run off.”
“He’d definitely run off with it.”
The mention of her uncle lightened the tense atmosphere a bit.
“If you’re okay with it, I’d like to take on that role.”
“…Isn’t that what you meant by offering to support me?”
“It’s different. A mere sponsor can’t intervene in a hunter’s business. But if you have a guardian, even if you make an unfavorable contract, they can contest it. Usually, that’s what parents do.”
Just being related by blood doesn’t automatically make someone a hunter’s guardian. The hunter has to designate them.
“So… I’m asking if you’d like me to play the role of your parent.”
I coughed awkwardly on purpose. It was actually kind of embarrassing. Even before my regression, I wasn’t old enough to have a fifteen-year-old daughter.
“P-Parent?”
“Yeah… Um. Of course, I’m not the best fit for the role, and I have a lot of shortcomings.”
“…Why would you go that far for me? You said my parents only gave you a little help.”
“Because I’ve struggled too.”
It was partly a lie, but also partly true.
“Maybe it’s just a form of vicarious satisfaction. Thinking about how things might have been different if I’d had someone strong to rely on back then. Not that I look all that strong.”
“I think you’re strong enough.”
“Really?”
“…Do you need me to say it again?”
She didn’t seem like she wanted to give me a second compliment. I guess it’s my fault for not being satisfied with just one.
“Anyway, I understand.”
Park Yerim blushed and rubbed her cheek with her palm, embarrassed.
“Well, then… I’ll be counting on you?”
“Yeah, me too. So…”
I should’ve just had that drink. I regretted it, but it was too late now. I had no choice but to say it sober. It was natural to feel like I was dying of embarrassment.
“I said I’d be like your parent, but obviously, I’m far from perfect. Still, I’ll try to… um, well, Yerim, I love you?”
“Ew! What’s that? That’s so weird!”
Park Yerim screamed, her face turning red as she rubbed her arms like she had goosebumps. My face must have been just as red. It’s ridiculously hard to say something so stupid when you’re sober.
But with that reaction…
[Non-awakened ‘Park Yerim’ has been moved by the keyword!]
It worked, after all.
–TL Notes–
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