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Chapter 39
Although she said it was the nearest school, in truth, there was only one elementary school in the Hunter District.
“Master said he’d take care of the birth registration, so by next year Sihoo should be able to enroll.”
“……”
“Don’t worry about his father. Only hunters who have passed the Association’s identity checks are allowed to live in the Hunter District. People like him can’t get in.”
“……”
“Even if that man does chase after you, I’m here. What’s there to worry about? But if it makes you uneasy, I’ll run a background check on him myself.”
Kang Suho finally couldn’t hold back. He rubbed his face with both hands and let out a long sigh.
“Why? You don’t like it?”
Saebyeok blinked at him, confused, as she checked the map and the school’s photos again.
“Are you worried about classmates? Don’t worry. The kids here are all non-awakened, just like Sihoo. The awakened children have separate classes.”
She tried harder to convince him.
“There’s no safer school than this one. Many of the parents work at the Association, so security is tight. More than half of the teachers are awakened hunters too.”
No matter how much she explained, Suho only stared at her with a complicated look—somewhere between reproach, pity, and guilt.
“A!”
Saebyeok exclaimed as if realizing something.
“Cars aren’t allowed here! Four-wheelers, two-wheelers—none at all. Not even electric scooters. So there’s no danger on the way to school!”
She thought his expression meant he was worried about the commute.
But the words that came out of his mouth shocked her.
“Why won’t you take rent from me?”
She thought the matter had been settled, but he was still hung up on it.
The main reason she had gotten a three-room house was to give one room to Kang Suho and Sihoo.
“I told you. I want you to focus on building and running the guild instead of wasting time worrying about rent.”
“That was before I knew how much this house cost.”
Suho had known houses in the Hunter District were expensive, but not this expensive. He thought maybe 2–3 billion won, but it was actually 12 billion. On top of that, there was nearly 8 billion won in loans. The monthly interest alone was over 10 million won.
It was an unimaginable number to him—his head was spinning.
“It’s fine.”
She said it so calmly it made him more frustrated.
“Do you know why banks, especially the big safe ones, lend so easily to hunters?”
“……”
“Because they know a few hunts can pay everything back. The banks even complain when you pay it off too early.”
Even after her explanation, Suho still frowned.
“Remember the gate break at Seoul Station where we first met? If you sold just the magic stones from the monsters’ cores there, you’d make 3–4 billion. And that was only a D-rank gate. What do you think a B-rank would fetch?”
She didn’t need a calculator to prove that the 8 billion loan was nothing.
“Just help with the paperwork. The sooner we get gate permits, the sooner we can earn money.”
She pointed at the stack of files on the table, suggesting he work it off that way. Suho reluctantly nodded.
“…Understood.”
He had resolved to trust her, but still, her endless kindness sometimes frightened him. He couldn’t understand it. And another thought gnawed at him…
‘Does she treat everyone like this?’
He couldn’t forget meeting Hwang Taesan in that blue space her key had created.
The way the two of them spoke of things he didn’t understand stuck in his mind.
“Ah, don’t worry about Kang Suho. He already knows everything.”
If she hadn’t said that, if she had asked him to step out instead, his curiosity and insecurity would have devoured him.
Even now, he didn’t dare ask what they had talked about, for fear she might say: “You don’t need to know.”
It was shameful. He should be grateful for her generosity, yet he found himself wanting to keep it all to himself.
“This is why they say not to raise wild beasts—you end up wanting to possess them.”
Still, human nature was always selfish.
“So you’re agreeing to the school? Good. I’ll start preparing!”
Seeing his hesitation, Saebyeok quickly drew the conclusion herself.
Enrollment was next March, nearly a year away, but she looked positively delighted.
She had her reasons.
‘That means they’ll still be living in my house next year.’
Since she had chosen the nearest school, Suho and Sihoo would have to stay. And by then, he’d have awakened, which meant countless ways she could “make use of him.”
“Great~ great~ hmm-hmm~”
Her joy was for reasons no one else knew.
Meanwhile…
“In the name of Kang Suho, age 24. No official occupation—he’s been living on daily wages from construction sites.”
Bae Yeonsu, section chief of the Hunter Association’s Management Division, was briefing Association President Yoon Byung-geun and Park Woojun.
Though the title was “Management Division,” in practice she worked almost like the president’s secretary. She wasn’t awakened, but her prodigious memory and associative skills made her indispensable.
“His original home was owned by his father. Five years ago, the father disappeared, the house was auctioned, and Suho was evicted.”
A photo of his old house appeared on the projector, along with auction documents and maps.
“Since then, he’s drifted between goshiwons and orphanages, never settling in one place.”
“What about the mother?”
“She committed suicide a year before the house was auctioned. According to the autopsy, she hanged herself—three months after giving birth to Kang Sihoo.”
“Tragic. No suspicion of homicide?”
“None, but she had been heavily exposed to her partner’s violence.”
Bae pulled up police and hospital records.
“She had multiple fractures from repeated beatings, and even pelvic dislocation.”
“Domestic abuse, then. She never considered divorce?”
“They were in a common-law relationship. No official marriage record.”
“And the missing father?”
“No sign of him. But his identity is… interesting.”
The next slide appeared: a man resembling Suho.
“Name: Kang Moongang. Age 54. An A-rank psychic hunter. Likely why the mother’s family couldn’t easily separate.”
“A hunter?”
It wasn’t Yoon who reacted, but Park Woojun.
“Yes. And not just that—he was also the elementary school classmate of former Association President Woo Geumgeon.”
“That lunatic?”
Woo Geumgeon had been purged when Yoon Byung-geun had cleaned up the Association. He wasn’t just guilty of embezzlement—he had deliberately endangered civilians, even leading to deaths.
He had resisted judgment and was cut down by Yoon’s blade.
The fact that such a man had once been president was a shameful stain on the Association’s history.
“All this time, Kang Moongang must’ve had a hand in those dirty dealings.”
“Yes. Records suggest he profited handsomely. When the purge came eight years ago, he suffered heavy losses. After burning through his money, he turned to gambling.”
“Truly vile.”
“This part is still under investigation, but…”
She changed the slide to show a gate break.
Park Woojun’s expression darkened.
“The B-rank gate break that devastated Yangyang five years ago.”
“Yes. The very one where Hunter Han Saebyeok lost her parents.”
“What does this have to do with Kang Moongang?”
Park’s voice turned sharp.
“As you know, that break was riddled with questions. Its location and timing made it impossible to go unnoticed—yet the Association claimed ignorance.”
“It’s true. Even I cursed the Association back then for incompetence.”
At the time, Park hadn’t joined yet. Like everyone else, he had condemned them—especially because that disaster had taken Saebyeok’s parents.
“But later we learned…”
“It was the villains’ doing.”
Park clenched his teeth.
