Chapter 188: The Creator (1)
By the time I woke up, it was well past noon. Considering I had come back in the middle of the night completely exhausted and collapsed into bed, sleeping in was only natural. As I raised my upper body, my entire body ached.
“Ugh… I feel like I’m dying.”
— Chirp.
At some point, Chirp had rolled onto my blanket. Then, the door opened, and Peace came in. Without making a sound, he quickly walked over and leapt onto the bed. He rubbed his head and nape against my leg before flipping onto his back.
— Kyang!
“Yeah, Peace. Did you sleep well too?”
After petting Peace, I got up from bed. The house was quiet, which probably meant Yuhyun and Yerim had already gone out. There must have been a lot to clean up from yesterday’s incident. Yuhyun hadn’t done much, but Yerim… she might end up with a fine or something.
‘The one who caused the biggest trouble was still Seong Hyunjae, though.’
Even thinking about it again, I couldn’t help but feel frustrated.
I washed up, fed the kids, and had a simple meal myself. Turning on the TV to a Hunter-related channel, they were already talking about last night’s incident. While the ship had sunk, there was no mention that it was Seong Hyunjae’s doing.
“…Why is Yerim over there?”
The screen showed Yerim floating on the sea, helping with the cleanup efforts. With her abilities, it made sense for her to handle the wreckage or oil spills. Was this community service instead of disciplinary action? It could help with her image, so it wasn’t a bad move. The Association had handled it well.
On my new phone, there were messages from Yuhyun and Yerim saying they had gone out first. After replying that I’d just woken up and reminding them to eat lunch, I browsed my contact list. Thanks to my experience, I always backed up my phone’s data, so the contact list was the same as before.
‘Should I change this now?’
After some thought, I exited the list for the time being.
“I don’t know if I can do this well, Peace.”
— Purr.
Peace leaned his body against my knee as I stroked him. While I had no regrets, there was still a heavy sense of responsibility. How much could I really accomplish?
“There’s a lot I lack.”
Until now, I had confidently charged into all sorts of situations. But in truth, it wasn’t myself I trusted—it was the skills I relied on.
I wore Fear Resistance like armor and wielded various useful skills as weapons. And I frequently treated myself like a tool. An item, a product, bait. Something that could be discarded if it became useless. At the same time, this approach let me distance myself from what was happening.
It was more comfortable that way. Even with Fear Resistance, I instinctively wanted to keep my distance.
After all, I was truly worthless, nothing but a burden, and it would have been better if I didn’t exist—a piece of trash.
Whether that was actually true or not, I wasn’t sure anymore. Looking back, at least, I didn’t seem to have gone out of my way to excessively harm others. I wasn’t blameless—there were things I could be criticized for, like telling lies—but I wasn’t such an irredeemable piece of trash that I deserved to be utterly destroyed.
But my opinion didn’t matter. Even with just three people, rumors could conjure up a tiger that didn’t exist. Everywhere I turned, people said I was terrible. What could I do?
So I just went along with it. I got used to it, accepted it as normal. Five years was more than enough time for that.
“…It won’t change easily, though.”
Taking a deep breath, I deactivated the Fear Resistance skill. With it off—and even when it was on—I tried not to let my thoughts wander too far. There were too many things better left forgotten. Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, I had become adept at burying memories.
But now, I decided to dig them up.
I reopened the phone’s contact list and looked at the names. Damned Skill. Just seeing that name made a chill run down my spine. Without Fear Resistance, recalling yesterday’s events filled me with dread. ‘What was I thinking? Someone like me, trying to do something like that?’
— Growl.
— Chirp.
Noticing that something was off with me, Peace looked up at me with concern. Chirp also let out a small cry.
“…It’s okay. I’m not okay, but it’s okay.”
It’s fine to be scared. It’s fine to feel fear. Isn’t that normal? If anything, this much is pretty manageable. Considering who I was dealing with, it was only natural. Even as I tried to reassure myself, my fingers wouldn’t stop trembling.
Maybe it would be better to back out now. Saying I’d stand equal to the Sesung Guild Leader—anyone hearing that would think I’d lost my mind. A former F-rank scraping the bottom versus an S-rank standing at the pinnacle of the world. Ridiculous. Absurd.
Even though I was different now than I had been before the regression, memories of that time gripped me, making it hard to breathe. I could vividly picture how people would criticize and tear me down. The sheer clarity of those thoughts made me laugh bitterly.
As I gasped for air, my phone rang. Startled, I nearly dropped it. On the screen, it showed my brother’s name. With my still-shaking hand, I answered the call.
[Just saw your text. I was testing an item MKC lent me, so I left my phone outside. Did you eat?]
“Yeah, I did.”
My throat was slightly hoarse, so I cleared it awkwardly. Immediately, his concerned voice came through.
[Are you sick? Should I bring medicine?]
“No, I’m fine. There’s medicine at home. Did you have lunch?”
[I did. Maybe I should’ve eaten at home instead. Oh, by the way, Hunter Park Yerim will be hard to reach. She’s probably on the water right now.]
“I saw her on TV. Did the Association not say much to you?”
[No, there wasn’t. The main culprit is the Sesung Guild Leader, after all. Even he just got a fine and a three-day suspension.]
“A three-day suspension? That’s pretty light, regardless of how much the fine is.”
[No point in leaving an S-rank Hunter idle for long. He’s a tricky person to try to exploit anyway, so it’s better to just squeeze a big fine out of him.]
“True. If anyone messes with the Sesung Guild Leader, Chief Song Taewon would just end up having a hard time. It’s a relief the Association didn’t get greedy. I wonder how big the fine was. Hopefully, it was massive.”
The tightness in my chest eased up, and a faint smile spread across my lips. Honestly, who wouldn’t be proud of such a great little brother? Even his voice was soothing to hear.
“…Hey, Yuhyun.”
[Yeah?]
What if I made the wrong choice? What if I ended up hurting you again?
I opened my mouth, but then shut it again. There was no need to ask. Even if I made mistakes or failed, my brother would still be by my side. Until the very end.
“Thank you.”
[For what?]
“For everything.”
Everything. I steadied the phone in my now still hands.
“For being here. Thank you, Yuhyun.”
There was a brief silence before Yuhyun spoke again.
[…No, thank you, Hyung. For staying by my side.]
Even though it was something I had said first, hearing it from my little brother made me feel awkward. After exchanging a few more words, I hung up, and a sudden thought crossed my mind.
“That was just the right vibe to exchange watches.”
Muttering to myself, I chuckled. For some reason, it amused me so much that I laughed out loud. Then, I tapped at my phone screen. Without hesitation, I began typing.
[Partner]
Now then.
‘Time to clean up the breeding facility.’
Both the building and the facility were technically mine, but I had practically abandoned them. Apart from a few tenants, all the security and management had been handed over to other guilds. In reality, I was little more than a tenant myself, holding the deed in name only.
But now, I needed to reclaim authority. I couldn’t transform everything overnight, but I could start, piece by piece.
“…People I can trust.”
Those who hadn’t betrayed me, but who had left nonetheless. I recalled the single phone call I had made to one of them. My lips pressed together tightly, and a knot twisted in my stomach, prompting me to reactivate Fear Resistance.
I wasn’t uninterested in how those people were doing now. In truth, I wanted to see them. But I had buried all of it. I wasn’t strong enough to endure that pain twice.
They had all been people as low-ranked as I was. Unlike Yuhyun, Yerim, Myungwoo, or Noah—strong individuals with rare skills—they were the kind of people who could easily be lost again. That’s why I pretended not to care, acted like I had forgotten.
‘For now, I’ll just meet them.’
Even if I didn’t involve them in my plans, I could at least see them. Still nursing the faint sting in my chest, I smiled at Peace and Chirp, who were both staring at me intently.
“Someday, I’ll be okay even without Fear Resistance.”
It wouldn’t happen all at once. And telling myself that it was “just a matter of willpower” was laughable. If that were the case, I wouldn’t have regressed. But at least I could start by making up my mind.
Since this was before the Awakening Center had been established, none of them would have awakened yet. I hadn’t heard anything about them meeting with an Awakening Broker…
“Oh.”
Park Hayul. Of course, he was around. I’d meant to look into him later but had completely forgotten after lumping him in with things I didn’t want to remember. I felt a twinge of guilt, but since I had saved his life, he was probably doing fine with his career.
As for SNS… there were too many messages piled up. When I checked Park Hayul’s account, it hadn’t been updated in a while. Did something happen? Surely he wasn’t doomed to die no matter what. Worried, I searched for Park Hayul on a portal site. A string of old articles popped up.
[New Actor Park Hayul Arrested for Sneaking into Sesung General Hospital’s Special Wing]
[Park Hayul Causes Disturbance in Front of Monster Breeding Facility Building]
[Actor Obsessed with Hunters? What’s Park Hayul’s True Intent?]
…This was probably my fault. Since no one knew about my connection with Park Hayul, people must have thought he was just some Hunter-obsessed kid causing trouble. Incidents like this weren’t uncommon at the breeding facility, Haeyeon, or even Sesung, so it wasn’t something I would’ve heard about.
I debated whether to contact him immediately, but then a relatively recent article caught my eye.
[Park Hayul Signs Contract with China’s KBay Contents]
Huh? China? The article suggested he wasn’t even in the country anymore. Since the dungeons appeared, China had taken an almost isolationist approach, and their exchanges with Korea—especially in the entertainment sector—had significantly decreased. I didn’t know all the details, but I had seen news about their market occasionally.
“Yun Yun also disappeared in China, and now Park Hayul…”
Well, in Park Hayul’s case, he had just switched agencies. Still, I had a bad feeling. I left a simple greeting on Park Hayul’s SNS. Since he was in China, where SNS was likely monitored, I kept it vague, just saying that I’d remembered him and hoped he was doing well.
‘What should I do about Yun Yun?’
Unbidden, Seong Hyunjae’s face came to mind. But I couldn’t just rely on him like I used to. For now, it was difficult to get involved in China, even with Haeyeon’s help. Perhaps I should wait a little longer. Goblin King wasn’t likely to come to harm. If I got in touch with Park Hayul, I might be able to learn something through him.
The thought of finding people here first had barely crossed my mind before Seong Hyunjae popped into it again. If I just asked him, he’d track them down and let me know right away—convenient, of course, but damn annoying. I’d gotten far too used to relying on him. Still, this was something I could handle myself. I already had some personal information, so I could ask Do Hamin for help or hire a decent detective agency.
Get out of my head, Seong Hyunjae. No sooner had I thought that than my phone rang. Partner. Surely, he wasn’t reading my thoughts, right?
“Aren’t you supposed to be under suspension? What’s the matter?”
[I need to set up a meeting with my partner.]
Setting up a meeting sounded oddly formal. It felt strange. Up until now, everything between us had been pretty casual—him showing up unannounced or dragging me out without notice.
When I told him to go ahead and explain, Seong Hyunjae got to the point. It was about a Japanese dungeon.
“You want to adjust the profit shares? Why the sudden change? That’s already been settled.”
[At the time, it was based on my item. If you took 70%, half of that would go to Haeyeon anyway, and combined with the share from my item, 50% was reasonable. But that’s not the case anymore, is it?]
“You already mentioned that Haeyeon could use the slime dungeon as bait. Isn’t it greedy to ask for so much just for a brokerage fee?”
[It’s not just a brokerage fee. We deployed an S-rank Hunter, and we’ll also handle the aftermath. Moreover, unlike before, we now need at least a basic briefing. You should inform us of the purpose, potential benefits, and reasons for cooperation. That much is only fair.]
…He wasn’t wrong, so I couldn’t argue back. We hadn’t even drafted a proper contract. I had trusted and relied on him too much. When I fell silent, a low chuckle came through the phone.
[If you want, I could reset everything back to how it was.]
“No need. It has to wait until your suspension ends anyway, so that’s three days. I’ll wait.”
[I’ll take care of the meeting location. Your usual attire won’t do. As a suggestion, consider hiring professional staff. You can’t rely on Haeyeon forever, and you’re not on your own anymore.]
He was likely referring to Myungwoo, Seok Hayan’s team, and Noah. Since Seok Hayan’s team would be presenting their fieldwork results soon, I’d need to pay attention to them as well.
“I’ll keep your advice in mind.”
[Then, see you soon, Han Yujin.]
The call ended. Han Yujin. It was a name I’d heard many times, but somehow it felt unfamiliar coming from him. More importantly, how much did he plan to take? Was it still 50%? …If so, I could live with that. But knowing him, he’d squeeze out more if he saw an opportunity. Seriously, jumping straight into this without even a practice round? What a petty man. Don’t retroactively apply terms like this.
I headed out, intending to meet Do Hamin. Peace stayed behind because the hamsters had been stressing out too much lately, so I only took Chirp with me. No sooner had I stepped out of the building than Noah swooped down to meet me.
“Was everything okay yesterday?”
I’d been too exhausted last night to check on things. At my question, Noah nodded.
“Yes, everything was fine, but… Myungwoo seemed a bit upset.”
“Myungwoo? Really?”
“When I went into the forge, the atmosphere was… intimidating.”
Intimidating? That was surprising. The atmosphere in Myungwoo’s forge was usually the opposite—a gentle mix of wood and fire scents, filled with sunlight, like a scene straight out of a fairy tale.
“It was in the basement.”
“Basement?”
“He moved to a spacious basement. The location itself was ordinary.”
So there was a basement down there. Noah recalled last night, his shoulders shrinking slightly.
“With so many high-ranking Hunters gathered, it was noisy, of course. Some people were even asking to leave, and others were causing trouble for no reason.”
That was exactly what I had been worried about. Even with Ismuar around, handling that many Hunters would be difficult. Still, since Myungwoo was in charge, I figured he could just expel anyone causing problems, so I didn’t think it would be a big deal.
“Then Myungwoo told everyone to shut up and sit down, in this cold, commanding tone.”
…That was unexpected—beyond unexpected, even. I could hardly imagine it.
“Uh, wasn’t there a lot of backlash?”
Even if Myungwoo was a valuable weapon maker, high-ranking Hunters wouldn’t just take an order like that quietly, especially the S-ranks. A-grades might have, but S-ranks? I voiced my doubt, and Noah nodded.
“Yes. Some even drew their weapons. But then Ismuar appeared. Flames surged, and the ones holding weapons were flung aside in an instant. One of them was an S-rank, and they were tossed around like nothing.”
Noah said Ismuar seemed to be at least SS-rank. When I’d seen it before, I’d guessed it was around A-rank, maybe S-rank at best.
“The flames were truly overwhelming. Seeing Myungwoo controlling something like that so effortlessly was a bit scary, too. A while later, they moved out of the forge, but Myungwoo seemed irritated the entire time.”
Noah suggested that it might be a good idea for me to check on him. He added that Myungwoo hadn’t shown up at the building’s forge today, even though he usually worked there daily, weekends included.
It could just be that rude Hunters had annoyed him, but considering Myungwoo’s usual demeanor, it was strange. I told Noah I understood and quickened my pace.
–TL Notes–
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