Episode 2
“Isn’t Deputy Choe Chiseon kind of cool? He’s got an aura about him.”
Black Agency Co., Ltd.
It was a company that managed its affiliated Hunters, and it was fairly well-known in the industry.
But perhaps because reputation and reality were two different things, the employees who actually worked there would often mockingly call it a black company, drawing from the name.
Today, too, the employees had gathered in the break room to indulge in such complaints.
When the name of a certain man was mentioned by the lips of a young, pretty new hire, everyone’s expressions stiffened in an instant.
“Huh? ……Are you talking about Deputy Choe Chiseon?”
When a female employee asked back, the new hire blushed slightly and nodded.
But the reaction was different from what she had expected.
“Oh my~ Sujin. You haven’t been here long, so you didn’t know? Deputy Choe Chiseon is twenty-eight years old.”
“Oh, really? ……He looked much younger. Well, does age matter?”
“If only that were the end of it. He’s a Hunter, but he’s still F-rank at that age.”
Perhaps because the second piece of information was a bit of a shock, Sujin’s pupils trembled.
“What? He was a Hunter? But he works at a Hunter management company?”
Hunters of E-rank or lower were practically unable to perform Hunter duties.
It was impossible for them to respond to sudden Cracks, and participating in Raids by entering Gates was only possible for Hunters of a certain level or higher.
Let alone if he was F-rank, the lowest rank…….
She recalled a bitter documentary she had glimpsed about F-rank Hunter breadwinners running side hustles in delivery or designated driving just to make ends meet.
At that point, her interest cooled chillingly.
Still, it was a bit of a waste since he was good-looking.
“Uh…… um. W-well, if you think of him as an ordinary person from the start…….”
As if she had expected the reaction up to this point, another female employee let out a scoff as if she had been waiting and launched a third attack.
“Most importantly, he’s a widower with a child.”
“……What?!”
This was a major turn-off.
“Uh…… did his spouse pass away? Or is he divorced……?”
“Who knows. I don’t know the exact circumstances, but since he’s F-rank, isn’t it obvious? He probably split because he couldn’t afford to take care of the child.”
A male employee who had been listening quietly added with a meaningful smile.
“Or maybe she ran away.”
“Ah, Deputy Bak Suncheol. W-what do you mean by that?”
Being a year senior to Choe Chiseon, he had been displeased every time the new female employees showed interest in Choe Chiseon.
Moreover, Seo Sujin was an employee Bak Suncheol had set his eyes on from day one.
“You know how they’re always on the news? E-rank and F-ranks cause a lot of social problems. Heck, you don’t even need to look far—just look at the D-rank Hunters affiliated with our company. Their performance is terrible, yet they’re so prideful they run their mouths off.”
It was a frequent occurrence for low-rank Hunters to take out their inferiority complexes on innocent employees.
“Even if he’s F-rank, he’d still be stronger than an ordinary person. Taking out the contempt he faces on a daily basis on his family through violence…… it’s not exactly unheard of, is it?”
“Deputy Choe Chiseon doesn’t look like the type to do that…….”
“You’re naive. You can’t know what’s inside a person. Would he be raising a child alone at that age without some kind of story?”
“…….”
It wasn’t necessarily wrong.
It might be prejudice, but regardless, a conviction settled within her that he was not dating material.
“So don’t fall for his face and go for someone with an inner beauty like mine…….”
“Ahem. Ahem. Let’s talk about something else. Something else.”
Seo Sujin cleared her throat and changed the subject.
***
The lounge in the room right next to the break room.
“……I can hear everything. If you’re going to gossip, at least whisper.”
Choe Chiseon let out a sigh and muttered to himself.
The break room and the lounge were spaces made by dividing one room with thin panels.
If they didn’t regulate their volume, everything could be heard starkly from the next room.
He had every right to be upset, but Choe Chiseon stopped at lamenting alone.
He had experienced more than enough instances where a woman who had felt interest in him would grimace and change her attitude upon learning his background.
Of course, he himself hadn’t felt anything, so it was a bit unfair how they would like him on their own, then get disappointed and turn cold.
“Well, I can’t say I don’t understand if I try…….”
He knew all too well how an F-rank Hunter was treated in modern society, and furthermore, what kind of gaze fell upon a man raising a child alone.
To attribute the bitter taste to the coffee, he brought a paper cup to his lips, but even that was interrupted.
“Deputy Choe Chiseon! You were here? Team Leader Go Myeongguk is looking for you. Hurry up and go. It’s chaos!”
In contrast to his flustered superior, Choe Chiseon was calm.
Because it was common for the team leader to call him just to vent his anger over trivial matters.
He dumped the coffee he hadn’t been able to drink into the sink and exited the lounge.
He could sense the employees in the break room flinching and holding their breath, but he paid them no mind.
“……What do you think?”
A few minutes later, Team Leader Go Myeongguk, who had called for Choe Chiseon, stood him before him and asked a question.
Choe Chiseon fell into thought for a moment to choose his words carefully so as not to rub the other the wrong way.
But unable to find a suitable gambit, he decided to answer curtly.
“It’s not good.”
“Right. It’s not good. Very bad.”
He said, tossing the documents onto his desk with a flick.
It was the profile of a certain C-rank Hunter.
“I pulled some strings to get him on a variety show as a panel because his face is decent, but he ran his mouth with an arrogant attitude and now articles are out and it’s a mess.”
“I had requested editing beforehand, but it seems they aired it as-is.”
“You know the commercial he shot recently? The company involved isn’t going to stay still.”
“Which is why I submitted an opinion stating that appearing on variety shows without any achievements to draw public popularity was a significant risk, however…….”
“Hey, are you in Sales?”
“……I’m in Human Resources.”
He answered calmly to the irritated voice.
It had been the team leader’s decision to ignore his opinion and unilaterally recommend that Hunter.
Of course, there was nothing to gain by saying such things, so Choe Chiseon didn’t argue.
“What is the job of Human Resources?”
“To ensure there are no issues with the Hunters affiliated with the head office.”
“Then if a problem arises?”
He meant for him to clean up the mess.
Choe Chiseon nodded obediently.
“Understood. I will initiate the management procedure.”
“Write up an NCR and a corrective action report by Monday too.”
“What? That’s supposed to be done by Sales…….”
“They’re swamped dealing with the broadcasting station. And you’re a Hunter, so explaining the situation should be a bit easier, no?”
Pure sophistry.
But based on his experience so far, it was obvious that resisting would be futile.
So he changed direction to at least buy some time.
“It is Friday afternoon right now, however…… Monday would be impossible.”
“Does the company electricity get cut on weekends or something?”
He lost the strength to answer such an absurd question.
As Choe Chiseon stood there speechless, the team leader, who had only wielded the whip, put on a stingy smile as if offering a carrot.
“Your salary has been frozen for quite a while, hasn’t it? You rascal, if you handle this well, I’ll put in a word with the director.”
It was a lie.
Although his title was deputy, the fact that his salary was at a new hire level was all because the team leader had blocked his salary negotiations.
“Where do you think an F-rank Hunter could get a deputy position at a company like this? You’re a Hunter, but you’re completely useless. Rather, being F-rank hurts the company image, so they wouldn’t even hire you. The only reason you’re sticking around is because I’ve been looking out for you.”
Go Myeongguk laughed heartily, slapped Choe Chiseon on the back, and finished with these words.
“So just trust me completely and do as you’re told.”
It wasn’t entirely wrong.
At the very least, it was an undeniable fact that an F-rank had no place to stand.
A human who possessed crude strength yet was no help in subjugating monsters was bound to be ostracized.
Recalling the weekend promise he would no longer be able to keep, Choe Chiseon made a bitter expression before soon wearing a business smile and replying lightly.
“……Yes. Understood.”
The coffee he hadn’t been able to drink earlier came to mind, but he moved his steps toward his desk.
Because he had to leave work on time today, at least.
***
“Whew. That was close.”
He turned his gaze, which had quickly swept over his wristwatch, forward again.
At the kindergarten entrance adorned with cute dolls and animal decorations, Choe Chiseon caught his breath and straightened his back.
On the arched gate hung a colorfully decorated kindergarten sign. And from inside, an angelic child who had spotted him came running.
“Daddy~~~!”
Choe Chiseon spread his arms wide toward his daughter, who ran over with her hands stretched out.
He lightly scooped up his daughter as she jumped into his arms, spun around once, and a clear, ringing laugh spread out.
When he gently set her down, the child’s hair sprung up high before settling down softly.
Her beautiful silver hair, just like her mother’s, rippled like waves, as though scattering moonlight in the sunset.
“Sorry I’m late, Yuna. Did you wait long?”
“Nope~ I played animal games with the teacher, so I wasn’t bored.”
Choe Chiseon smiled and knelt down to meet Yuna’s eyes.
His face was already overflowing with vitality.
The serious expression he had shown at work had vanished like a lie.
“I’m back from work. Pat me, pat me.”
“Pat pat, Daddy~.”
When he opened his arms and spoke, Yuna burrowed into his chest and stretched her short arms with effort, patting his back.
Without even being asked, she even gave him a bonus kiss on the cheek before hopping back.
“Ah! Yuna’s father is here.”
The teacher, who had been playing with the children, noticed Choe Chiseon and approached, dusting off her skirt.
“Hello, Teacher. Thank you again today.”
“Not at all. After-school care is a common occurrence. Besides, Yuna is so well-spoken and kind that it’s a joy to be with her?”
“Haha. ……Really?”
“Of course~! Do you know what she said during the flower presentation today?”
The teacher clapped her hands together brightly as if she had been waiting for this.
“She explained the flower names, flower languages, and how to grow them without making a single mistake, didn’t she? So when I asked how she remembered everything, she said she made a small room in her head and trapped the memories there so they couldn’t escape. And the way she talked was just remarkable.”
“Wow~ really? Yuna, you did so well!”
Feeling proud, he knelt down again to meet Yuna’s eyes.
But perhaps shy, she only blinked her eyes before her face turned beet red and she turned her head away sharply.
At the cute reaction, Choe Chiseon and the teacher chuckled together.
“Ah, you said there was a consultation today?”
When Choe Chiseon asked, recalling the matter, the teacher’s expression stiffened slightly.
“……Ah, yes. We plan to explain it to the parents together, but for now, I’ve written the details in a notice.”
She handed him an envelope containing the notice.
“Yuna. I’m going to talk with Daddy for a moment, so will you play at the playground? It’ll be quick.”
“Yes!”
Yuna nodded energetically and then quickened her steps toward the playground.
Choe Chiseon sensed that it was an unusual matter, waited a moment, then slowly opened the envelope.
Unfolding the notice he had taken out, it was written as follows:
‘Notice regarding the recent infant kidnapping incidents. Changes to the kindergarten curriculum following the Hunter Association’s request for cooperation.’