Chapter 13

<>Second S-Rank (2) >

-Chiiiik[1]

Against the super fancy[2] marbling, the chuck flap tail[3] made a delicious sound as it was lowered onto the grill . Next to it, Korean beef tripe was puffed up and sizzling with fat .

The world was definitely worth living in .

It would be great to have a bottle of soju or beer but it wasn’t right for this situation .

“You can drink alcohol . ”

“…Hm?”

“Your face looks like you really want to drink . I’ve seen drunk people everyday so you don’t have to worry . ”

……Was my face too obvious or could she read minds?

“I can’t get drunk when we have to talk about the contract . And the person in front of me is a formidable opponent . I’m afraid I’ll get robbed if I get drunk, so I can’t . ”

“Rather than me being formidable, isn’t it that ahjussi[4] is too soft?”

Bak Yerim smiled delightedly . It seemed like her grumbling mood had loosened .

To make it easy to talk, we deliberately went into a room so there weren’t other customers nearby . In the first place, the time was a little awkward so there weren’t a lot of customers at all .

Kim Sunghan refused the proposal to each together, and after carefully looking around the inside of the restaurant, he went outside, saying he would wait there . I should just give up on making that person an S-Rank . We weren’t getting close at all .

“Anyways, did you really know my parents?”

Bak Yerim asked, picking up a piece of meat .

“If we didn’t know each other, how would I have been able find you right away . We didn’t know each other well, but I was once indebted to them when I was young . ”

“When you were young?”

“Yeah . I lost my parents early too . Trying to survive while taking care of my young dongsaeng was difficult . ”

I was running myself ragged trying to sell the story . But this was something emotionally moving for Koreans – tragic circumstances of losing parents early in life and having no one to turn to, etcetera . Even with just sympathy votes from losing your parents, you could become the president .

“Back then, your parents gave us a little help . That was already around 10 years ago so you probably don’t remember . ”

Of course, I didn’t remember either . Pouring a cup of cider, instead of alcohol, I continued speaking .

“Before Awakening, I was busy with just surviving so I didn’t have time to think about looking . I had an S-Rank Awakened Person as a dongsaeng but until recently our relationship wasn’t good . ”

“Really? Now that I think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever heard about Haeyeon Guild Leader’s family . ”

“We made up a few days ago . I Awakened, and got a useful skill, and made up with my dongsaeng . With things settling down, I remembered past things . It’s a little selfish, right?”

“What do you mean selfish . Just look at my uncle! There are a lot of people who repay good with evil, so remembering even a while later is better at least . ”

Bak Yerim said, puffing out her cheeks . The inside of those cheeks was full with well-stuffed meat-ssam[5] . She eats well .

“Hey, that’s chili . ”

“I like spicy things . ”

Saying that, she even dipped raw garlic[6] in ssamjang[7] and ate it . Just how many pieces of garlic did she put in her ssam . If it wasn’t cooked, I would get heartburn, so I couldn’t eat it .

“So I asked around and found you . At first, I was just going to ask if you needed help with anything, but your Awakening aptitude was really outstanding . ”

“Euaeeuuh . ”

“Speak after you swallow . ”

Did that bastard uncle starve his niece or something .

“Then all I have to do now is sign the contract with ahjussi?”

“Yeah . Awakening can be right away or might take a few days according to the situation . It won’t take long . ”

“It’d be good if it’s right away . When I get home, it’ll be a huge fuss . ”

“About half is luck but I’ll try . ”

How do I say the keyword . Should I speak more about parents?

First, I took out a contract from my inventory . Bak Yerim’s eyes became round at seeing parchment appearing out of the air .

“That’s the inventory, right? This is actually my first time seeing it . ”

“You’ll also get one soon . You can only put in dungeon-related things, but it’s convenient . ”

You couldn’t put in normal things . You could only put things from a dungeon or things only made up of byproducts from dungeons into the inventory .

“There are 3 conditions for the contract . Don’t talk about my skill to others . Taking on being my guard for a year from now on . Contracting with Haeyeon Guild . ”

“Ahjussi’s guard?”

“Yeah . I’m only an F-Rank so I need someone to protect me . So while I was looking for a suitable person, I saw you . ”

“Hey[8], but still, to get protection from a 15-year-old . Aren’t you embarrassed?”

“Even a 10-year-old is stronger than me if their stats rank is higher, so I’m not embarrassed . ”

Getting all the way here, how would I suddenly be embarrassed . Simply replying, I took out a pen . This pen and the ink inside were all made from dungeon byproducts . I had spread out the contract and was writing down the conditions when Bak Yerim stretched out her neck and peeked at it .

“If you violate the contract, for 1 year all stats 20% drop? The penalty is just this? Even if you break it, it doesn’t seem like a big problem . ”

“20% drop means that the dungeon you can clear is one rank lower . The difference in the amount of money you make is huge . ”

“But you can still rest for one year . ”

“That’s true . But this is a Hunter Association certified contract . If you break a contract, your credit rating will drop to the ground . Depending on the degree, your Hunter license can be suspended too . ”

That was why if it wasn’t a backdoor deal, a Hunter Association certified contract was a lot better than an illegal contract with a strong penalty .

“I thought Awakened Person contracts had horrible penalties . ”

“Those exist too . They’re illegal though . ”

“Only Awakened People have stats so does the effect still work even if we contract now?”

“It doesn’t matter . This has a curse skill applied to it and Unawakened people also get skill effects so your physical ability will probably drop 20%?”

“A curse, you say, that’s scary . ”

I wrote down all my conditions and signed it . Bak Yerim, who was watching me, quickly held out her hand for the pen .

“I just have to write down my name, right?”

When she took the pen and contract and was about to sign her name at once,

“Huh?”

I quickly took the contract back . Bak Yerim stared at me as if asking why I did that .

“Kids are definitely kids . ”

“Huh, why?”

Sulking, she asked in a sharp voice . I shook the contract in front of her eyes .

“You should properly check it over before you sign . ”

“But there’s no problem with it . ”

‘No problem’, she says .

“You left out your conditions . ”

“……Huh, you’re right . ”

Bak Yerim mumbled blankly . Right now, the contract one-sidedly contained only my demands . Maybe because she was embarrassed, her face became a little red .

“It’s possible to forget sometimes!”

“Of course, it’s possible to forget . But being vague and using that kind of excuse doesn’t affect the contract . That’s what it means to become an Awakened Person, a Hunter . You can get rights like an adult’s, but you also have to bear responsibility like an adult . ”

I took back the pen and added conditions related to Bak Yerim’s Awakening and support .

“And, usually these contracts are adjusted . I already found out you’re going to become an Awakened Person with a high rank . A prediction of an Awakening rank B or higher . This is extremely advantageous information for you . Wherever you go, you’ll get good treatment and if you happen to be A or higher, it’s a free pass to the 3 big guilds . ”

I spoke, pointing to the ‘contracting with Haeyeon Guild’ condition with the tip of the pen .

“But instead of negotiating the contract conditions, and signing it saying that you’ll go into the guild, isn’t that a stupid thing to do? Being taken by my saying I’ll Awaken you right away and accepting – this condition is too disadvantageous to you . ”

I drew a line through the ‘contract with Haeyeon Guild’ condition, and revised it to ‘preferentially contract according to conditions – contract conditions are more than Hunter industry average’ .

“There . This should be a fair contract, more or less . ”

Bak Yerim must have been sulky or surprised; she stared at me with a confused expression . After a speechless moment, she opened her mouth .

“So what do you want me to do . ”

Was she angry?

“It might have sounded like nagging to you, but what I mean is you’re still at an age where you need an adult’s help . After you Awaken, there’ll be a lot of people trying to approach you . Even as a B-Rank, a dungeon lower by 2 levels is D-Rank, and if you clear them 10 times unharmed, you can even go into a B-Rank dungeon . ”

An orphaned middle schooler with a yearly income of several billions of won . How easy would it be to take advantage . Not to mention, Bak Yerim was S-Rank . If it became known, not to mention within the country, it’d cause a stir in foreign countries as well .

“Among them, they’ll be a lot of guys who’ll approach you acting like a nice person like me, and try to take advantage of you . Just like how you almost got taken in, you’ll be easily fooled . ”

“……”

Bak Yerim’s gaze couldn’t meet the contract . Her expression was still stiff, but rather than being angry, her face looked as if she was lost in thought .

“……But I hate my uncle . ”

“Alright, I know . I won’t even recommend that kind of person to be your guardian . It’d be a relief if he doesn’t make off with the money . ”

“He’d 100% run off . ”

As soon as insulting her uncle came up, the tense atmosphere slightly loosened .

“If you’re okay with it, I want to assume that role for you . ”

“…Isn’t supporting me the same thing?”

“It’s different . A simple supporter can’t participate as a Hunter in a deal . But if they have a guardian, even if the Hunter minor gets into a disadvantageous contract, invalid claims are possible . Usually, parents often handle it . ”

For Hunters, just because they were your flesh and blood didn’t mean they could become your guardian . Only a relevant Hunter could directly appoint them .

“So… I was thinking to take on the role of your parents instead . ”

I cleared my throat deliberately, pretending to be embarrassed . And truthfully, it was a little awkward too . Even before the regression, I wasn’t at an age to have a 15-year-old daughter .

“P-parent?”

“U-uh… Yeah . Of course there are various ways I’m ill-suited and insufficient, though . ”

“…Why are you trying to do so much for me? Even if you owed my parents, you said it was just a small bit of help . ”

“Because I also had a difficult time . ”

It was a lie, and it was also a truth .

“It might simply be vicarious satisfaction . If only I could’ve had a reliable support back then, something like that . Though, I probably don’t seem that reliable . ”

“Ahjussi seems like he’ll be reliable enough . ”

“Really?”

“…Do you have to ask again?”

It seemed like she didn’t want to pay lip service twice . I was in the wrong for not being satisfied with once .

“Anyways, I understand . ”

Bak Yerim bashfully rubbed her cheek with her palm .

“Um, please take care of me from now on…?

“Okay, same here . So……”

I should have just drunk . The regret came too late but there was no helping it . There was no choice but to say it sober . It also seemed natural to be embarrassed to death .

“I said I would act in place of your parents but of course I’m very lacking . But as much as your parents loved you, or rather not to that extent, um, how should I say it…Yerim, I love you?”

“Ack! What is that! So weird!”

Screeching, Bak Yerim’s face became red and she rubbed her arms as if she had gotten goosebumps . My face was also definitely red . Saying nonsense sober was really hard .

But, if the response was that much .

[Unawakened Person ‘Bak Yerim’ has been influenced by the keyword!]

As expected, it popped up .

[1] a sizzling/frying noise, esp with meat

[2] lit . ‘fancy as if flower bloomed’

[3] this is a type of cut of beef

[4] ok I decided to keep in the 3rd person relationship signifiers (hyung, ahjussi, etc . ) from now on instead of replacing them with “you” . Not gonna go back and change everything before retroactively tho . If someone younger is using “you” toward someone older in the tl from now on, it’s because no signifiers or pronouns are specified .

[5] one way krns eat meat, particularly grilled meat, is wrapped in lettuce or sesame leaves (or other leafy greens) along with condiments, sometimes rice, veggies, etc . This is called ssam . Things don’t come already wrapped – all the ingredients are laid out and each person takes whatever they want and wrap each individually themselves as they eat . Ssam is also sometimes used to refer to other wrapped foods from different cultures, since the word literally comes from the word “to wrap” .

[6] raw garlic (as well as cooked) is also an ingredient you can put in ssam . It’s a bit spicier and tangier but imho it’s really good .

[7] lit . “paste for ssam”, which is basically a mix of fermented soybean paste and chili paste

[8] a sound that implies playful disbelief or disagreement . The sound is actually “ey-ee” but it sounds like “eyy” which has a different connotation in eng .