Episode 17
Wake up, Se, Joe! Mr. Ji-oh!
G, oh-
ji-
……
“Geoya.”
“……”
“Stay still, our princess. You have to get up.”
“You’re not a princess.”
[This station is the final destination of our train, Jukjeon, Dankook University Station.]
[When getting off, please check again to make sure you haven’t left any items behind.]
The mechanical sound of a door opening.
The busy footsteps of people moving at once.
Jianji opened his eyes.
He muttered in a voice full of sleep.
“I am the king. How many times does Snow White have to say that she is wise?”
“Haha. Wasn’t the prettiest girl in class the princess? In Dad’s eyes, my daughter is the prettiest.”
“Dad, listen up. Stop saying such caveman-like things. Seol-gi is also worth watching. She’s not as good as Na-yoon, who plays the queen, but her visuals are just like Snow White’s.”
“There’s a queen too? But why is our daughter the queen?”
“When I said I wanted to do it, the kids voted for me.”
Kyeon Tae-seong held back his laughter and quickly picked up his daughter from the front of the stairs.
I couldn’t believe that this pretentious little kid was already in the third grade.
“Why did the king want to do that?”
“He has the least work to do, but he’s the strongest. People will take care of everything.”
“……Daughter. Isn’t that too materialistic?”
Geo’s eyes opened wide as he slowly began to wake up.
He looks at me with a pitiful expression and sighs deeply.
“It’s efficient. Mom said that Dad is a foolish bear, so we have to figure out how to live our lives smartly.”
“……Sunyoya……”
I vaguely recalled the image of my wife at home, looking after our nine-year-old son and six-year-old daughter.
Before leaving the station, Kyeon Tae-seong took out a child mask.
It’s still chilly in March.
Geo, who had been very sick a few days ago, still had a slight cold lingering on.
“Do I really have to use it? I don’t like it because it’s so frustrating.”
“No. This was a condition for coming together. If Geo catches a cold, Mom and Dad will scold him. They won’t let him go to Yongin’s house again.”
The two women walked slowly along the Tancheon River.
A couple of jogging ladies pass by, laughing, seeing a kid buried in a fur hood with teddy ears.
“I helped Dad.”
“huh?”
“I helped you not to hate me so much. If you take me with you, Grandma will be a little more well-behaved. We had originally planned to watch Bambi and Toy Story at home.”
“Is that so? Oh my. Our daughter is all grown up. She thinks of her father too.”
“Why do you keep doing things that Mom hates? Even if you go to Grandma’s house, you won’t be able to see anything good.”
Geo grumbled and kicked the floor for no reason.
My mother cut ties with my maternal family before Geo was born.
It was because the family thought it was natural for a daughter to sacrifice herself for her son.
He says that he couldn’t go to college and worked at a factory to earn money, but as soon as he earned money, it was taken away, and one day he suddenly realized that he couldn’t live like that.
But until then, we somehow managed to keep in touch.
After finding out that she had been secretly extorting money from her husband, who had treated her like an orphan, she completely gave up.
At that time, my grandmother had a son-in-law who was a hunter, and she asked if I was not getting paid this much.
This was a story that Geo heard directly from his grandmother.
The stubborn old man beat his chest in sorrow, asking if he had done something so wrong.
I couldn’t help but give all the household finances to my son who was running a business, so I even gave my daughter’s bank account to him…
In the end, all that was left for the grandmother was a small apartment in Yongin that no one visited.
That was also prepared by Geo’s father, Kyeon Tae-seong.
“Grandma is lonely too, that’s why she’s like that. How lonely must she be when she’s all alone? Doesn’t Geo hate going to see Grandma?”
“Because Mom hates it, Geo hates it too.”
“Of course Mom won’t like it. But if Dad does this, Mom will feel a little better. Even if Mom is hateful and horrible to her daughters, she is still Mom.”
“What is that?”
“There is something like that. Actually, even Dad didn’t understand it completely. It was something your Mom said.”
“Mom?”
“It was a drunken joke. Your mother can’t drink alcohol. This is a secret that only Geo and Dad know.”
Neighbors became friendly with Gyeon Tae-seong, who visits every weekend.
Seeing the way Geo greeted his grandmother with the words, “Are you back again?”, he thought that he should try to be nicer to his grandmother this time.
But still, it wasn’t an easy task.
“Geo Abby, come here for a minute.”
“What is this?”
“A few days ago, a new and large oriental medicine clinic opened nearby. The head of the clinic is a famous doctor from Seoul. If you sign up for a membership to commemorate the opening, they’ll give you acupuncture, cupping therapy, and even foot baths whenever you want. What do you think, Mr. Kyeon? Doesn’t it sound good?”
“……Yes, mother-in-law. It’s okay. But Geum-hee is going to kindergarten this year…… Things at home aren’t that easy these days. Unless it’s absolutely necessary……”
“No, then! Are you saying that you need to say something, not something that you don’t need to say? Seriously! All the old people in the neighborhood are going, so you’re saying that I should stay home alone right now? I don’t even want to go on a yacht like someone’s mother-in-law! Oh, my, stop it, stop it! Let’s just pretend this never happened!”
The grandmother, clearly showing her hurt feelings, snatched the flyer and folded it.
As a hunter, he clicks his tongue, saying that even petty things have their limits.
It’s been almost ten years since the Tower of Babel appeared.
However, the number of awakened people was still insufficient, and propaganda was being broadcast on TV every day to shake off people’s fears.
How much wealth and fame can you gain by becoming a hunter?
What kind of luxurious life can you enjoy?
It may be natural for an old person with nothing to do to do but watch television at home, so they would misunderstand.
But that’s only true for the top few.
Kyeon Tae-seong was only an E-class auxiliary hunter.
He goes into dungeons while keeping an eye on things, and on days when there is no lowest rank, he even acts as a porter.
“Oh, no, mother-in-law. I was just saying. If you’re offended, then let it go. Then, yes… Shall we go register together tomorrow? If it’s a correction, it’s really close and nice.”
‘Foolish bear.’
There is nothing wrong with what my mother said.
Geo continued to pretend to sleep.
Until Dad returned to the room, sighed softly, and patted Geo’s head.
* * *
The Oriental medicine clinic was four stories tall.
Because it was Sunday and there were shortened hours, there were noticeably fewer people compared to the size of the hospital.
Thanks to this, the TV sound is also loud.
[ Today, everyone acknowledges the current trend in Korea! They say that these days, whenever women gather, they only talk about him! The famous university student Hunter who has become every older sister’s dream!
We have invited the nation’s youngest son, Gil Ga-on. Are you feeling popular these days, Gil Ga-on?
[ It’s hard not to know . ]
[ Haha. His good looks and academic background are amazing, but more than anything, Gil Ga-on’s abilities are a hot topic.
Learning other people’s abilities and acting! That’s amazing. It goes well with the nickname ‘Alpha’, but on various forums, people call Gil Ga-on’s nickname ‘actor’. Actor Jeong. ]
[You told me so many good things. To the point of being embarrassing.
Of course, as many people say, it is not an invincible ability or anything like that. I can’t explain it in detail, though. ]
[ Oh, of course! The Hunter’s ability is important information. We know that much. But it’s definitely an amazing ability.
Current rankings too, look at this!
I thought I only saw graphs like this on music charts. You’ve already entered the top 10 in Korea. That’s really amazing. You’ll go up even more, right?
[ Well, I don’t think this is my place yet. I have to go up to where I can go. My face is sculpted to look good on screen. ]
“Where is Mom?”
Geo looked back.
It was a young woman sitting next to me. She was wearing a waist guard.
“I’m home.”
“……Huh? So you came alone?”
“No. My dad and grandma. They went inside to check.”
“I was surprised, kid. I thought you sent the baby out alone.”
“She’s not a baby. She’s in the third grade of elementary school.”
“What? So she’s the same age as my daughter! But why is she so small? Are you a picky eater?”
“……The idea that short people are picky eaters is a pathetic prejudice.”
“Oh my, look at what he’s saying. Who said that?”
“Me.”
The woman laughed out loud and even clapped her hands.
While talking about this and that, he even took out some yogurt and gave it to me. It was something they gave me at the desk when I checked in.
Geo, who had already received three for his father and grandmother, accepted it as if it was his first time receiving it.
“Then Geo’s house is in Seoul?”
“huh.”
“I thought you were a bit of a tightwad, but you’re a Seoul tightwad, aren’t you?”
“Ma’am, is that a curse word?”
“You seem like a quick-witted kid.”
“Oh, it’s Dad.”
“Is that Geo’s father? Wow, as expected from a hunter, he looks very familiar.”
At that moment, Geo was just retorting that our family was a bit wealthy.
– -, – – -!
It started with a huge seismic wave.
“Hey, it’s an earthquake!”
“Bow down!”
The woman quickly threw herself on the floor and threw herself on the ground.
At the same time, objects inside the room start to fall and various crashing sounds are heard.
“Geoya!”
Gyeon Tae-seong, who came running in a hurry, took over Geo. And.
“……”
“……”
blackout.
The vibrations that had been shaking the building had suddenly ceased and the building was now silent.
Phew, whoosh. A tense, heavy breathing sound was heard.
Geo lifted his head from Kyeon Tae-seong’s arms. The faces of the bewildered people in the darkness began to appear one by one.
“……”
In the midst of the silence, the first thing that arose was the tenacity.
Fortunately, it is 4 p.m. There is still light in the window.
An eerily quiet moment.
No one ran out of the building.
Maybe everyone instinctively felt this.
Gyeon Tae-seong standing blankly in front of the window.
He looked outside, swallowed dry saliva, and looked back at the people waiting.
“……It’s not an earthquake.”
“It’s a fungus, a fever… gate.”
Paat-! Woof-
The machine sound came again. The lights began to blink and come back on……
Geo tightened his grip on his father’s neck.
People were staring blankly at one side. At the television that happened to be turned on.
[ Breaking news of a crack. The large-scale sudden crack that has now formed in the Yongin area is estimated to be at least level 2, and the government… ]
“I, I, I… Isn’t that Jukjeon…?”
Someone spoke in a distraught voice, pointing with trembling fingers.
But everyone knew even without that.
The scenery on the returned screen was too familiar to deny.
And so, in the midst of people’s thoughts.
Waaaaa …
The siren started to sound.
Very close.
A guide to proper living for rankers.
