Chapter 2.2
That single gesture of humility was all it took for the Association President to seemingly grasp what kind of person I was and start leveraging his position.
“As you can see, I’m the Association President, and I feel a strong sense of responsibility for this incident. If you’d be willing to cooperate, Ms. Youngha, I believe we can reduce the harm to those who may be caught in future dungeons. Would you help us?”
Is he only using his position?
Now he was throwing in civilians who might be in danger in the future without hesitation.
But I’m no pushover. And I’m not some hero fated to save people no matter what.
“Why should I?”
“…If you don’t help us, Ms. Youngha, we won’t be able to gather dungeon data, which could lead to greater danger…”
“Don’t you already have a ton of data built up? That should be more than enough. Why are you making it sound like people will die if I don’t speak up? Are you threatening me?”
“A threat? That’s a scary thing to say… Someone might hear it and get the wrong idea.”
“Who’s going to hear? Is this room not soundproof?”
“………”
Ah. So that’s not what he meant.
He must’ve meant, ‘Are you saying I’m threatening you?’
I was slow to catch on, and the misunderstanding made things even more awkward.
A silence that wasn’t quite a standoff settled between us.
“…Ms. Youngha, we’re not asking for something difficult. If anything, we’re politely requesting something we technically could force you to do.”
Since threats didn’t work, now he tries intimidation.
The world is really this scary, huh…
Until now, as a student, the scariest things I’d known were group projects and money.
So I honestly had no idea how to deal with something like this.
I couldn’t even get a sense of it, and just sitting there started to make my body ache.
Forget cooperating. Locking someone who just got out of a dungeon in a room like this, not even letting them leave? That didn’t seem normal at all.
I had zero intention of cooperating.
Maybe if they came back later begging, I’d consider it.
Since I stayed quiet, the tone shifted again, this time to persuasion.
“Ms. Youngha, if you help us this time, we’ll make sure you can settle well into the Hunter world.
The Hunter world is more hierarchical than you’d think. Everything is divided by rank and level.
In that kind of environment, it might be difficult for someone like you to adjust right away.
You seem like someone with a gentle and kind heart.”
Me? Gentle and kind?
That’s the kind of compliment I’ve never heard in my life.
“If it’s that hierarchical, wouldn’t that make it easier for me to adjust? I’m ranked 10th.”
“…….”
Pointing out a simple fact finally silenced the Association President.
I was about to say I’d be leaving now when,
Bang!!
“The Association President’s in here.”
“M-Mr. Moon Jiwoo, please, don’t do this…!!”
“I don’t see the problem.”
“We’re sorry, Association President… Moon Jiwoo barged in and wouldn’t stop…”
The President’s mouth twitched like he was trying not to grimace.
“What, this one’s…huh.”
The man’s eyes looking down at me were filled with hostility.
I was about to glare back, thinking what’s your problem, we’ve never even met, when he stepped under the bright lights.
The name I’d heard shouted when he barged in. Now, the face I could see clearly under the lights.
The moment I saw him, all sorts of stories tied to that name rushed in.
Moon Jiwoo assault case, Moon Jiwoo gang rumors…
That’s right. This was that Moon Jiwoo.
The Hunter who proudly held the #1 spot not just in Korea, but on Earth.
It was true he’d closed every major dungeon so far. Impressive, sure. But he was just as infamous for having a garbage personality.
So much so that even civilians and other Hunters avoided getting involved with him.
“You didn’t seriously ignore the fact that I showed up just to talk to some nobody like this, right?”
Nobody?
Of all the words to emphasize, he just had to double down on nobody. I let out a bitter laugh. But Moon Jiwoo didn’t even glance at me. He completely ignored me.
“Hurry up and explain why Void Guild isn’t getting any dungeon bidding rights. How long do you think people are going to keep letting the Association get away with this shady crap?”
“Hunter Moon Jiwoo, let’s talk outside. There’s a civilian present in the room…”
The Association President subtly gestured toward the hallway.
Was that his way of telling me to leave?
What even is this kind of treatment?
Sure, I get that being #1 makes you more important.
But I just became a Hunter. Couldn’t they have at least offered a single word of advice?
I sat back deeper in the chair, like I was saying you could at least acknowledge me, but Moon Jiwoo just walked out, and the Association President chased after him.
“…Seriously, what am I supposed to do?”
The staff member who’d tried to stop Moon Jiwoo lingered just outside, clearly flustered.
He seemed to be waiting for me to come out.
He seemed pretty pitiful. And really, what could an employee even do?
Feeling a little sorry for him, I stepped outside. His face instantly lit up.
“Oh, you’re Ms. Baek Youngha, right?”
“Yes, that’s me.”
“We’re really sorry. As you saw, the Association President had something urgent come up… If it’s alright with you, could you come back another day when you’re free?”
That was already a far better attitude than the President’s.
Isn’t this the bare minimum way to treat someone who just came out of a dungeon?
I said I understood and asked if I could go home now, and they offered to take me all the way back.
Instead of dropping me off on the main street where all the reporters were, the staff member let me off near a back alley, handed me his business card, and left after saying to keep in touch.
Still, they didn’t bother checking whether I made it inside the house.
As soon as I got in, I crept toward the window and drew the curtains to block the view outside.
Standing in the dark, gloomy living room with not a sliver of light, I stepped on the cold floor before switching on the light.
The click of the switch echoed through the empty house, making the silence feel even heavier.
It’s already been a year since I lost my parents, but I still can’t get used to this silence.
Trying to stand on my own financially has been overwhelming too.
The one relief is that now I’m an S-Rank Hunter, so I’ll probably be fine money-wise.
If I can manage to work properly as a Hunter, it means I landed a job even before graduating. I guess you could call that lucky.
Determined to think positively, I dragged my exhausted body into the shower and drenched myself in hot water.
To shut out unnecessary thoughts, I turned off the TV and my phone and spent my first night completely cut off from electronics.
The strange silence made my body shrink in on itself.
***
Unlike the blazing midday sun, the morning air was filled with a quiet chill.
Since I hadn’t turned on the boiler before bed, the whole house was freezing.
I tried to snuggle deeper into the blanket as I reached out for my phone.
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