Chapter 26

Sinsa-dong, Seoul.

Hyuk-Soo had gotten off at exit number eight of Sinsa Station. He checked the map on his smartphone one more time. Walking down Garosu Street, he spotted a four-story building that was quite lavishly decorated.

After confirming the upscale sign that read Shilla, Hyuk-Soo swallowed nervously and said, “This is the place, Do-Jun.”

“It’s more extravagant than I thought. Is Chief really not coming?” Do-Jun asked as he looked up at the sign.

The Shilla in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, was a nightclub frequented by celebrities, Hunters, and the wealthy—basically, people who had “done well for themselves.” Cheol-Soo had said that an old guy like him would only ruin the mood in such a place and had sent only Do-Jun and Hyuk-Soo to the meeting.

“I’m sure he wanted to come. When would civil servants like us ever get to visit a place like this? And it’s not like we’re accepting bribes; it’s just a friend treating us with pure intentions,” Hyuk-Soo explained.

“Pure intentions, huh...” Do-Jun murmured with an ambiguous expression.

The moment Hyuk-Soo stepped on the red carpet at the building entrance, the automatic doors opened to reveal a well-decorated interior with marble walls and floors, potted plants, and paintings scattered throughout.

“There’s no one here,” Do-Jun said.

“Oh, it looks like we have to go downstairs.”

After walking a bit further, they saw a staircase leading down to a long corridor illuminated with warm, pink lights, with dozens of rooms on either side.

Men who appeared to be waiters were busily moving around, carrying food and drinks.

“Hello, gentlemen. Is there someone you are looking for?” A beautiful woman in her mid-thirties wearing a red dress with a deep neckline approached them. Her seductive appearance was enough to catch Hyuk-Soo’s attention.

The woman glanced at the cheap suits and shoes Do-Jun and Hyuk-Soo were wearing and the rather worn-out briefcase.

“Excuse me... is Choi Young-Hoon here, by any chance?” Hyuk-Soo asked cautiously.

“Ah! You’re with Hunter Choi Young-Hoon. Please follow me. I’ll guide you to him.”

As they followed the woman down the long corridor, they saw a waiter carrying a

hwachae

and various liquors into a room. [1]

The scene inside the room glimpsed over the waiter’s shoulder was quite shocking. Seven people were slumped over the table with their heads down while a man yelled at them.

Hyuk-Soo was left speechless by what looked like a scene straight out of a drama. As he watched the people with his mouth agape, he made eye contact with the yelling man and quickly turned his head.

After walking a bit longer, they rounded a corner and stopped in front of the first room they saw.

The woman guiding Do-Jun and Hyuk-Soo smiled and opened the door.

“I hope you have a pleasant evening.” She bowed her head and left.

Do-Jun and Hyuk-Soo entered the room and found four men and women with expensive-looking liquor bottles on the table and several ashtrays already overflowing with cigarette butts.

“

Cough, cough

.” Hyuk-Soo coughed and waved his hand at the thick cigarette smoke.

“Oh, Hyuk-Soo! Why are you so late?”

A young man in his early thirties waved enthusiastically.

Next to him, a half-naked woman in a nearly sheer blouse, looking to be in her early twenties, clung to him, acting coquettishly.

“Hey, Young-Hoon. Sorry, we probably should have taken a taxi,

haha

,” Hyuk-Soo apologized nervously.

“Ah, and the gentleman next to you must be your junior,” Choi Young-Hoon said as he looked at Do-Jun.

“Yeah. This is Supervisor Lee Do-Jun. We’ve worked together for a little over a year.”

Choi Young-Hoon chuckled and gestured to Hyuk-Soo and Do-Jun. “Come sit next to me. Hey, you guys, move over a bit. Make room for our honorable civil servants.”

“

Haha

.” Hyuk-Soo laughed awkwardly.

At Choi Young-Hoon’s command, the men making room snickered and scooted to the sides. They were clearly mocking Do-Jun and Hyuk-Soo.

“Here, have a drink first.” Choi Young-Hoon poured some liquor for Hyuk-Soo and offered a drink to Do-Jun. “You, too, sir, have a drink.”

“Thank... you.”

After handing out the drinks, Choi Young-Hoon raised his glass.

“Cheers.”

The three glasses clinked together.

After downing his drink in one shot, Hyuk-Soo clicked his tongue. He wasn’t used to liquor that was much stronger than the soju he usually drank.

“Man, how long has it been? Eleven years, right? We lost touch after you moved to Seoul. How have you been? How’s work treating you?” Choi Young-Hoon asked Hyuk-Soo as he put a cigarette in his mouth, which the woman beside him lit with a Dupont lighter.

He then took a drag on the filter as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“

Whoo.

”

Hyuk-Soo answered him, “Something like that... My colleagues are all good people, and the work is fulfilling. What about you, Young-Hoon? I heard you’re a B-rank Hunter. Man, you’ve really made it. Look at you coming to places like this.”

“Well, this is pretty standard. Oh, I guess not really for you since you’re a salaried worker and whatnot.”

“

Haha

. Come on, what civil servant can afford to come to a place like this?”

“You’re right. Why do I even bother saying that to someone who took public transit to save on cab fare,” Choi Young-Hoon said with a scoff. “Oh, by the way, I haven’t introduced you to everyone. This is Kim Kwang-Soo, Park Min-Jun, and Han Min-Jae. They’re all B-rank Hunters from our guild. They’re big shots, you know? It wasn’t easy to get them here.”

“Hello, I’m Kwon Hyuk-Soo, an officer at the Seoul City Hall Fissure Management Division. It’s an honor to meet you all. I look forward to working with you,” Hyuk-Soo said, slightly bowing his head in greeting.

“Come on, man. The honor is all ours! You’re working for the government, after all,” Choi Young-Hoon said with a sly smile as he brushed off Hyuk-Soo’s jacket.

“Th-thanks. Ah, um... about the contract. When were you thinking of coming to Seoul City Hall? Our chief would like to meet you. It would be a good opportunity to get to know each other and introduce ourselves...”

The Hunters who had been watching turned their heads, trying to stifle their laughter.

Do-Jun glanced at them one by one, touching his lips.

Look at these guys.

As soon as they stepped foot inside the room a few minutes ago, Do-Jun knew right off the bat that Choi Young-Hoon and his fellow Hunters had never intended to sign the contract in the first place.

While an annual salary of 300 million won wasn’t a small amount, considering the average annual income of a B-rank Hunter was 4.7 billion won, there was no reason for them to join the civil service field as contracted Hunters, not to mention for someone who lived so extravagantly.

In fact, Hyuk-Soo slowly started to realize it, too.

It seemed Choi Young-Hoon had called him here just to toy with him and to use him as entertainment.

Though it was as clear as day, Hyuk-Soo desperately tried to deny it as admitting it would be too humiliating.

“Hyuk-Soo,” Choi Young-Hoon called.

“Huh?”

“Let’s sign that contract. I’ll come to City Hall first thing tomorrow.”

At Choi Young-Hoon’s words, Hyuk-Soo’s forced smile genuinely brightened.

“A-are you being serious?”

“I am, but there’s one condition...”

Choi Young-Hoon poured whiskey into Hyuk-Soo’s glass. Then, after taking a deep drag on his cigarette, he dropped the cigarette butt into Hyuk-Soo’s glass.

“Drink this.”

“Huh...?”

With a sly smile, Choi Young-Hoon took out a new cigarette and put it between his lips. The Hunters watching couldn’t hold back their laughter any longer.

“Hahaha! Young-Hoon, isn’t that too much?”

“People really don’t change, huh? I heard you were close with Mr. Civil Servant in high school. Take it easy on him.”

“Supervisor Kwon looks like he’s about to cry,

hehe

.”

Do-Jun saw that Hyuk-Soo’s hands were clenching his knees tightly and trembling.

“What are you doing, Hyuk-Soo? Drink up and I’ll show up at Seoul City Hall tomorrow and sign the contract!”

More laughter erupted.

“You men are too much. He might actually cry!” the woman who had lit Young-Hoon’s cigarette said with a chuckle.

Unable to withstand the humiliation any further, Hyuk-Soo quietly stood up.

“Do-Jun, let’s go...” he said, biting his lips, his shoulders slumped and head hung low.

Do-Jun hated seeing Hyuk-Soo like this. The always confident and reliable shoulders now seemed so small.

“This guy and I were inseparable in high school.”

“When he saw the job posting and found out I was here, he agreed to join without hesitation.”

Do-Jun recalled the excited look on Hyuk-Soo’s face.

He knew that following Hyuk-Soo out of the room right now wouldn’t affect his life much, but what about Hyuk-Soo?

If we leave like this... he’ll break.

All the self-esteem he had built up would disappear like a mirage in an instant.

Do-Jun pulled out his smartphone and sent a message to someone, and it didn’t take ten seconds for that person to reply.

“Senior, I don’t think we need to sign these trash of humans,” Do-Jun said.

His words shocked everyone in the room. A mere civil servant called B-rank Hunters trash?

“What... did you say?” Choi Young-Hoon’s face twisted into an ugly scowl.

Even Hyuk-Soo looked at Do-Jun as if he were crazy.

“The Hunter you mentioned before, Han Min-Ji, said she wants to sign with us,” Do-Jun said nonchalantly.

“Sorry...?” Hyuk-Soo looked at Do-Jun, looking completely clueless.

“Apparently, she’s already in the area, so she would like to draft the contract right now. She’s on her way here as we speak.”

The Hunters burst out in laughter at Do-Jun’s words.

“Listen to this bullshit, what an idiot.”

“An S-rank Hunter is going to sign with you guys?”

Do-Jun nodded with a smile, and said, “Yes. That’s what she said.”

“D-Do-Jun, what are you...?”

“You said we might be able to sign Han Min-Ji, didn’t you, Senior?”

As soon as Do-Jun finished his sentence, someone burst through the door and said, “I’m sorry I’m late. Did I keep you waiting?”

A stunned silence filled the room when a woman in her early twenties stepped inside.

“H-han Min-Ji...” The cigarette Choi Young-Hoon was holding fell from his mouth.

Han Min-Ji frowned as she looked around the room.

Do-Jun said, “Senior Hyuk-Soo, how did you manage to connect with Hunter Han Min-Ji and even get her to sign a contract with us? You have my utmost respect. Wow.”

After hearing Do-Jun’s words, Min-Ji stood blankly for a moment then smirked. “What’s this, Supervisor Kwon? Were you trying to sign these people over me? Honestly, I’m disappointed.”

“Huh...? N-no, that’s...” Hyuk-Soo stammered as he looked at Do-Jun.

Do-Jun smiled, took a thick envelope from his briefcase, handed it to Hyuk-Soo, and gently pushed him forward.

“Let’s hurry up and finalize the contract with Hunter Min-Ji before she changes her mind. Oh, could you please order an Americano for me? I’ll follow right behind in a bit.”

Hyuk-Soo looked back and forth between Do-Jun and Min-Ji, utterly confused.

“Let’s go, Supervisor Kwon. Don’t you check your messages? I had to talk to Supervisor Lee because you weren’t replying. There’s a nice cafe nearby. Let’s go there,” Min-Ji said as she led Hyuk-Soo out of the room.

After the door closed behind them, Do-Jun sighed and sat down on the sofa.

He then picked up Hyuk-Soo’s glass, filled with cigarette butts, from the table and poured it into the ashtray.

“Young-Hoon.”

At Do-Jun’s call, Choi Young-Hoon turned his head.

“Drink this and I’ll let this go.”

1. Hwachae is a Korean fruit punch made with various fruits and cider! ☜