Chapter 19

Hunter Seong Chan-yang (3)

"According to the Healer who was at the scene, Hunter Seong Chan-yang essentially died for a moment and came back to life. They said it was a miracle."

"Hoho, a miracle...."

"That's a word we haven't heard in a long time, isn't it? Back when the first Rifts opened and monsters began pouring out, people called it a miracle when the first Hunter appeared too. Back then, it really was...."

"You must be getting old too. You're reminiscing about the old days now."

On the highest floor of Dawn Management's headquarters, inside an office overlooking the bustling citizens far below, sat two men.

"Isn't there another miracle?"

"You mean that gentleman."

"What about the items?"

At the question from the elderly man seated in the chair, Shin Yeo-myeong, chairman of the Dawn Group, Chief Secretary Lee Su-cheol answered.

"They've all been confirmed to be top-grade. There are more than twenty engravings on them, and they even have powerful restoration engravings, so apparently they don't need repairs even if they're damaged."

"..."

"Kekeke. So the chief appraiser's report saying they looked like treasures made by actual dwarves wasn't an exaggeration after all. I've never seen anything like these even in the United States."

Chairman Shin Yeo-myeong smiled in satisfaction.

"As you've probably heard, the gentleman who brought these items seems to want to become a partner of ours. There's certainly nothing bad about that for us, but...."

"Go on."

"...Frankly, I'm not sure he's someone Dawn can handle. If he'd taken these items and contacted China or the United States, I can't even imagine what they would've offered him. He could have gotten far more. I don't understand why he came to us. If it were me...."

Shin Yeo-myeong replied to Chief Secretary Lee Su-cheol.

"We shouldn't try to understand him through the lens of our own common sense."

"...."

"We should simply be grateful that he chose us. My instincts are telling me that this will become an enormous opportunity for Dawn."

Chairman Shin Yeo-myeong slowly rose from his seat.

"The person he asked us to look after was Trainee Choi Bom, correct? Prepare the best treatment we can possibly offer her. Spare neither money nor manpower."

"Understood."

"And although he didn't specifically ask for it, naturally, we need to take care of him as well. Have someone on standby twenty-four hours a day. If he wants a car, give him a car. If he wants a house, give him a house. We need to serve him as though we were serving a god himself. Understand?"

"Yes, sir."

Chairman Shin Yeo-myeong was convinced that this was their chance to turn around Dawn's situation.

With Hunter Seong Chan-yang's recent slump, Dawn had fallen behind the other members of South Korea's Big Three.

They couldn't afford to let an opportunity sent from heaven slip through their fingers.

"Still, it's truly fortunate that Hunter Seong Chan-yang survived. And you said that unlike before, she isn't showing any signs of illness this time and is in excellent condition? Almost as if she's completely recovered."

"That's correct. As I said earlier, they're calling it a miracle."

"Even so, she practically came back from the dead. There's no way there won't be any complications. I'll make some calls and bring in more Healers, so for now, tell her to get as much rest as—"

Chairman Shin Yeo-myeong stopped just as he picked up his phone.

Chief Secretary Lee Su-cheol wondered what was wrong, but soon realized what Shin Yeo-myeong was staring at.

Without even realizing it, Shin Yeo-myeong muttered,

"...Why is Chan-yang so excited?"

The girl who should have been lying in bed was running around making a huge fuss.

With an incredibly bright expression on her face.

Didn't she just come back from the dead...?

"...."

***

Seong Chan-yang was in such good condition that Kim Dong-seok almost felt embarrassed for having worried about her to the point of tears.

Still, seeing her so cheerful made him happy.

Thank goodness.

Recently, Seong Chan-yang had always looked pale and gloomy.

It became even worse whenever she inexplicably lost consciousness.

But now, her face was radiant, as though everything that had been wrong with her had vanished completely.

"Mister, I'll take God home."

"Chan-yang, you're a patient too."

"I'm completely better. Really! It's all thanks to God here."

Kim Dong-seok flinched at Seong Chan-yang's words.

Lee Shin had cured the condition that even world-renowned Healers had been unable to diagnose?

Come to think of it....

He hadn't noticed at the time because he'd been too busy crying and panicking, but he vaguely remembered Lee Shin approaching just before Seong Chan-yang woke up.

When Kim Dong-seok finally came to his senses, Lee Shin, who had originally been standing some distance away, was suddenly right in front of him and Seong Chan-yang.

But is that even possible? To possess both the ability to bring back piles of treasures from another world and the ability to cure an illness that even world-renowned Healers couldn't do anything about...?

Unlike Kim Dong-seok, who was stunned by Seong Chan-yang's words, Lee Shin wore the same calm expression as before.

His gaze almost seemed to ask how Kim Dong-seok could possibly have failed to realize something so obvious.

Good heavens....

If Seong Chan-yang was telling the truth, then Lee Shin had effectively saved her life.

Without even realizing it, Dawn had incurred an enormous debt to this man.

I didn't even notice. He solved it so naturally, as if it were nothing...!

Kim Dong-seok's estimation of Lee Shin skyrocketed yet again.

Now he finally understood why Seong Chan-yang, who was notorious for her prickly personality, was treating Lee Shin with such extraordinary reverence.

"Thank you very much!!"

Right in the middle of the street, Kim Dong-seok bent deeply at the waist and expressed his gratitude.

People passing by gave him strange looks, but Seong Chan-yang seemed to consider his behavior perfectly natural.

"I'll speak with the company and make sure you're properly compensated—"

"I've already received more than enough compensation. If you really want to repay me, I'd appreciate it if you could take a little better care of my friend. That's enough."

Hearing Lee Shin's words, Kim Dong-seok felt his heart pound while looking at another man for the first time in his life.

As his determination flared, Seong Chan-yang spoke.

"Mister, I'm the only Hunter you manage anyway. I'm going to be resting for a while, so focus on God's request. He's the one who saved my life, after all."

Kim Dong-seok nodded.

That was what Kim Dong-seok did best.

Lee Shin didn't need an excessive amount of money, but remembering Choi Bom's advice that he should at least get more than two million, he settled on a price of 2.01 million dollars for each item.

Thus, the total amount Lee Shin received came to 20.1 million dollars.

Rounded off in Korean won, it was roughly thirty billion won.

He said they put it all on this card.

Manager Kim Dong-seok had given him a black card supposedly used by Hunters.

Kim Dong-seok had also confidently assured him that if he ever had any issues with taxes—or even the slightest problem in the future—he should feel free to contact him at any time.

"I'm serious. When I was little, I once got cranky at four in the morning and said I wanted wild raspberries, and Mister actually went out and found some for me. It was the middle of winter too...."

"That was mean."

"I was immature. Anyway, my Mister is the best, so you can trust him. He was like that even back when I was a complete rookie, before I became as famous as I am now."

"So you're famous."

At Lee Shin's response, Seong Chan-yang blinked before bursting into laughter.

"Ah, yes. I'm a little famous."

Anyone else who heard that would probably be dumbfounded, but Seong Chan-yang accepted it naturally. If it weren't for the item wrapped around her body to avoid attention, the Veil of Falsehood, passersby would probably have swarmed around her until she couldn't even move.

"By the way, where are you going?"
"To buy beef."

Lee Shin remembered something his parents had once jokingly told him: if he ever made a lot of money, he should bring home some beef.

Now that he no longer had to worry about money, he planned to buy plenty.

"I have a question. How much does a building cost?"
"I bought a building in Seoul for thirty-two billion won."
"Thirty-two billion...."

Maybe I should've taken a little more money.

Renovations would cost extra, and he'd need money to fill the place with computers and comic books too.

Now that he had money, Lee Shin remembered the conversation he'd had with Choi Bom before.

They had talked about making a fun little hideout where the two of them could laze around and play together.

"If you need one, should I give you my building?"
"No. It'll mean more if I buy it with my own money. Same reason the beef only means something if I buy it myself, so put your card away."
"Ah, you caught me."

There would be plenty of opportunities to earn money in the future.

Lee Shin had never cared much about wealth, but the kind of ordinary life Choi Bom had talked about sounded rather appealing.

Whether in the past or now, money had always been something Lee Shin could earn if he wanted to.

As much as he wanted.

After buying beef and various other ingredients, Lee Shin trudged along the street, while Seong Chan-yang remained glued to his side with no apparent intention of leaving.

Lee Shin spoke casually.

"You won't get sick anymore."
"I know."
"When things get hard, make sure you stop and rest sometimes."
"I know that now too."

On the dark street, beneath a night sky where faint stars glimmered between flickering streetlights, Seong Chan-yang and Lee Shin walked side by side.

She murmured,

"But... I'm not confident."

"About what?"

"The news always talks only about what I did. 'If Seong Chan-yang comes, everyone will survive.' 'Now that Seong Chan-yang is here, everything will be solved.' But that's not true. People don't understand. A Rift is a disaster that can't be solved just because one person shows up."

She continued.

"They say there were countless wars even before Rifts started opening. But textbooks only record a handful of heroes, and when people remember history, they think those heroes appeared and ended the wars. People have always wanted heroes. Back then and now."

Under the dim light of a streetlamp, Seong Chan-yang stopped and stared blankly ahead.

"I've had ugly thoughts too. Like... if I stopped being judged, then the people who cursed me would finally regret it. They'd finally understand how grateful they should've been that I was there. Someone carrying everyone's expectations shouldn't think things like that...."

"Anyone would, if they were human."

"Every time I went out on a mission, I thought, It wouldn't be so bad if I died here."

Flicker.

The streetlight went out.

In the darkness, the sound of quiet sobbing could be heard.

"But then I started thinking... why should I? I'm still at the age when I'm supposed to be in the prime of my youth. I've never even dated. I've never gotten to enjoy the kind of university campus life you see in dramas. I love eating tteokbokki late at night. And when I don't have work, I love lying in bed and rewatching movies."

"...."

"While I'm wiping pus and blood off myself and getting metal pins put into my body, people say things like, 'Seong Chan-yang's so lucky she succeeded without any effort at such a young age,' or, 'She makes me feel so deprived compared to her that I wish she'd just die.' I'll probably keep hearing things like that, won't I? There'll still be lots of people who never understand me."

In the pitch-black darkness, Seong Chan-yang continued.

"Someday... there might come a time when no one in the world understands how hard I'm trying or what kind of heart I have when I do this."

"'As long as that person is there, everything will work out. Now that she's stepped in, everything will be solved.' I don't think people who believe that are bad. But... can I really become that kind of hero? Even this time in China, the truth is...."

Seong Chan-yang hesitated.

Lee Shin spoke.

"It's okay to be lacking. It's okay if you can't save everyone. The people you saved will remember what you did for them, and the people you couldn't save won't resent you. A child who dies will be glad their parents survived, and a parent who dies will be glad their child survived."

"But the world isn't like that. It only sees my mistakes. Online, people don't talk about the ten people I saved. They talk about the one person I couldn't save. And I can't even bring myself to say it's unfair, because I know that if I'd just been a little stronger, a little better, maybe I could have saved them too...."

"Honestly, when I collapsed today, I felt relieved. I thought, I'm going to keep breaking down little by little anyway, so maybe it's better if it just ends here. You know? A living hero has to keep proving themselves forever, but a dead hero becomes a legend."

Her voice trembled.

"I'm terrified that one day I'll die, everyone will be sad for a little while... and then eventually no one will remember me anymore."

Lee Shin turned his head toward the sound of her voice.

"If it's too hard, you can put it down."

"...."

"But it's not only hard, is it?"

"...No."

"As difficult as it is, it's rewarding too. Even while worrying about all these things, you care about this work enough to risk your life for it. You can't stand by and watch people die. You can't turn away while the world you love is being destroyed."

"...."

"Then do it. If you want to, you can. And stop being afraid of things that haven't happened yet. Don't listen to the voices of people you don't even know."

Flicker.

The broken streetlamp came back on.

"I'll recognize what you've done."

Under the faint orange light, Seong Chan-yang's face was a mess of tears.

As she bit her lip, Lee Shin spoke in the same calm tone as always.

"Even if no one else in the world knows, and no one else remembers, I will know. I will remember."

Seong Chan-yang knew what the world called a being capable of what Lee Shin had just promised.

The most omniscient and omnipotent existence, one who watched over everyone in the world.

God.

"...I believe."

The paladin who had served no one had finally found her light.

***

—Two million dollars? Seriously? N-no, you wouldn't lie about something like that. Yeah, right. Wait, then I've been rolling around in the dirt wearing armor worth billions of won this whole time? That's insane....

"Next time, I'll buy you something delicious."

—I'm seriously going to eat without holding back! Wow, this feels like a dream. How does something like this even happen? I was worried that if I lived with you, I'd have to make lots of money—

"No, no! Pretend you didn't hear that!"

"By the way, have you heard of Hunter Seong Chan-yang?"

—Hunter Seong Chan-yang? Of course I have. The history of Hunters in South Korea is practically divided into before and after Seong Chan-yang. She's the symbol of triumph over adversity and South Korea's first female S-rank Hunter—

"I became friends with her this time."

For a moment, there was complete silence from the other end of the phone.

Lee Shin wondered if Choi Bom had accidentally pressed mute.

Then, after a brief pause, her suspicious voice came through.

—Have you been drinking?

"...."

Ding!

「An unbeliever has appeared!」