Chapter 88

“Son?”

Her eyes widened when she saw me.

My mother was wearing an apron with the restaurant’s name printed on it and a pair of rubber gloves smeared with grease.

My mother.

Her surprised expression soon turned to bewilderment.

“Ta-Taekyung, what are you doing here?”

I gave my flustered mother a broad grin. That was when a shrill voice pierced my ear.

“So you’re the son of Kim ajumma¹?”

A middle-aged woman was looking me over warily.

There was no need to ask who she was or what she did. I already knew.

“Hello. My name is Jin Taekyung.”

“Huh? Ahem. Yes.”

The owner gave an unnecessary cough after seeing me bow politely from the waist.

“But what brings you here all of a sudden?”

I answered with a pleasant smile.

“Does a son need a reason to visit his mother?”

“A reason?”

The owner narrowed her eyes.

“Maybe it’s because you’re young, but you’re awfully thoughtless. If someone showed up out of the blue like this, how would you feel if you were the owner?”

“Hmm. I suppose I’d be upset.”

“Exactly!”

“It’s lunchtime, the restaurant is packed, and everyone in the kitchen and dining area is so busy they can barely see straight.”

“…That’s right.”

“And then an employee’s son suddenly shows up without saying a word? From your perspective, Boss, I can understand why you’d be upset. Completely.”

“Y-you do understand.”

What the hell is this kid?

That was probably exactly what the owner was thinking.

Ignoring her confused reaction, I grabbed my mother by the arm.

“In that case, we’ll be going now. Mom, go change so we can leave.”

“What?”

“S-son?”

The two of them stared at me in bewilderment.

I asked with an innocent expression,

“Why?”

“What do you mean, why? Why?!”

“Is there some kind of problem?”

“You little punk, are you making fun of an adult? Did you already forget everything you just said?”

“Oh, you mean when I said you might be upset if someone came by while you were busy?”

“Yes! You said yourself that I might be upset, and now you’ve forgotten already? Are you making fun of me right now?!”

“Oh, come on. I’m not making fun of you.”

“Then what is this?”

“What I said before was sincere. From your perspective, Boss, you had every right to feel that way. But…”

I continued with a bright smile.

“My mother isn’t your employee anymore.”

“What?”

“Is that hard to understand? She’s quitting. Starting right now.”

A heavy silence settled over the restaurant.

My mother stared at me blankly, while the owner’s face turned dark red before she shrieked,

“Who said you could do that?!”

“We did.”

“You think I’ll just let you take her away?”

“What happens if you don’t?”

“Y-you!”

“T-three, three! F-four, four!”

That was as far as the owner’s patience went.

“Hey, you fucking son of a bitch!”

The hand she raised along with her vicious curse never reached its target.

Grab!

Someone caught the owner’s wrist in a single motion and glared at her.

My mother spat the words out with an aura fierce enough to make even a First Rate master flinch.

“Whose son do you think you’re laying a hand on, you fucking bitch?”

Good Lord.

I had heard her swear once earlier in the dining area, but this was the first time in my life I had seen my mother curse like this. She never even spoke ill of other people in front of her children, and yet…

“And who are you calling a son of a bitch? Your son is the son of a bitch, you pig!”

“You’ve been getting on my nerves from the start! Hey!”

The owner charged at my mother, but I stepped in front of her.

I was big enough to stand out wherever I went. Simply standing between the two middle-aged women was more than enough.

“Now, now. Calm down. Please calm down.”

“Move! Are you going to move or not? Do you think you’ll get away with this?”

“Yes. I think we’ll live quite comfortably.”

“Gaaaah!”

The owner’s eyes rolled back as she began wildly swinging her arms with a scream.

Of course, none of her attacks posed the slightest threat to me.

Calling that an attack is embarrassing.

Compared to the enemies I had faced in Gates and the Murim, her attacks were no more dangerous than the fluttering of a fly’s wings. With my bones, muscles, tendons, and ability to take a hit all dramatically enhanced, even a punch from an ordinary adult man would only tickle.

“Please stop. You look like you’re having a really hard time.”

As expected, the owner’s struggle ended quickly.

She was now in her fifties and morbidly obese; her body clearly had its limits.

“Huff, huff! You Hunter bastard, are you bullying a civilian?”

That she could come out with a line like that—I had to marvel at how the owner’s brain worked.

“Me? Bullying you?”

“Can’t you see that I’m hurt? My fingernail broke and it’s bleeding!”

“You hurt yourself hitting me. I’ve just been standing here, so why are you shaking all by yourself?”

“Whatever!”

This was a bumper crop of bullshit.

I glanced around. The kitchen employees, along with the customers in the dining area, were watching the owner’s stand-up routine with exhausted expressions.

“If you can’t accept what happened, call the police. There must be about fifty witnesses here, so that should work out nicely.”

“…”

“Not going to call? Since you were injured and bled because of a Hunter, you should go to the police station, give a statement, file a complaint, and hire a lawyer. You’ll be busy starting tomorrow.”

I had intended to tease her a little longer, but the more we talked, the more I felt my time slipping away. I clicked my tongue.

“What are you, the mayor? You’re only the owner. Don’t make everyone around you miserable, and try to have a better attitude. We’re leaving.”

I was about to turn around when the owner, her face twisted with resentment, crooked her lips.

“You live in Bucheon, don’t you?”

“So?”

“Which Guild in Bucheon are you with?”

“Would it mean anything if I told you?”

“My son would know. Our Minsu is a Hunter in Bucheon, too.”

“Oh, really?”

“I hear Hunters all know one another after only a degree or two. I wonder how long you’ll last if you get a bad reputation in that line of work.”

“I have a reputation for being hardworking and skilled, so I’ll be around for a long time. Happy?”

“Do you know Kim Minsu? My son must be famous in Bucheon.”

Kim Minsu?

Of course I knew him. Over the past seven years, I had probably crossed paths with more than thirty people named Minsu.

I answered indifferently,

“Do you know Seong Jinho? He’s the most famous person in our goshiwon.²”

“Pfft, a goshiwon? I suppose that’s the level you’d expect from an F-rank Hunter. Is business really that bad?”

“It’s kind of you to worry, but I make a decent living. I made four billion won just yesterday.”

“How much?”

“Four billion won.”

I hadn’t wanted to boast about money like a child, but she just had to tug on a sleeping lion’s nose hairs.

There was one thing I had forgotten, though.

People always made their judgments based on the common sense they possessed.

“Four billion won? An F-rank Hunter made that much?”

“Obviously, he’s bluffing. A Hunter I know said an F-rank Hunter has to work like hell to make even a hundred million won. And did you hear him? He said he made four billion won in a single day, not in a year. It’s not like he won the lottery. Does that make any sense?”

“Geez, I almost thought he was telling the truth.”

The customers in the dining area, along with the kitchen employees who had quietly seemed to be rooting for me, began looking at me doubtfully.

Well, even I had to admit it sounded absurd.

“Son, is that true?”

My mother’s eyes went round.

The owner snorted.

“As if it’s true. Even my Minsu can’t make that much.”

“I’ve been wondering. What rank is this famous Minsu of yours? A-rank?”

“He’s a D-rank Hunter.”

“…”

“What? Is that too high for you to believe?”

“No, well… I’ll admit I’m a little surprised.”

She had sounded so confident that I had thought her son was at least Monkey D. Minsu.

Where is there a famous D-rank Hunter in Bucheon?

Perhaps she mistook my momentary silence for shock. The owner let out a series of derisive chuckles.

“A D-rank Hunter like my son is the kind of person who gets respect wherever he goes. An F-rank Hunter must be too embarrassed to even admit what he does for a living.”

“I wasn’t that embarrassed. I spoke just fine.”

“You still get looked down on. Among Hunters, rank is everything.”

“Ah, yes. Rank is everything.”

“If I make one phone call, Minsu will…”

“Yes, yes.”

As I answered halfheartedly and rummaged through my pocket, the owner raised her eyebrows.

“An adult is talking to you. Do you want my Minsu to teach you a lesson?”

“I’m just looking for something. Ah, here it is.”

“What is that?”

“If you’re curious, take a look.”

I had so many point cards and discount coupons in my wallet that finding anything was a chore. When the owner examined the thin silver card I handed her, her mouth fell open.

“…C-rank Hunter?”

“Personally, I think rank is everything for Hunters. What do you think, Boss?”

“N-no way. I heard you were F-rank…”

“I was F-rank. I’m C-rank now. You’re pretty slow when it comes to getting updated information.”

“I-isn’t this fake? The color is completely different from my Minsu’s license!”

“His license is brass-colored, right?”

“…”

“I used one of those myself in the past. Lower-rank Hunters have brass-colored licenses, while mid-rank Hunters have silver ones. You didn’t know that?”

Suppressed laughter erupted from all around us.

The atmosphere had flipped in an instant.

My mother slipped her arm through mine with a proud smile, while the owner’s face turned bright red and she began making excuses.

“D-does a Hunter’s rank really matter? C-rank and D-rank are only one step apart. They’re practically the same.”

What kind of logic was that supposed to be?

All I could do was give a hollow laugh at her absurd struggle.

“That’s not something a person who looked down on someone for their Hunter rank should be saying.”

“Are titles all that matter? The company you work for matters more. People respect an assistant manager at a major corporation more than a section manager at a small company. Am I wrong?”

“I don’t know about that, but the customers here don’t seem to agree with you.”

I gestured toward the customers filling the dining area.

Dozens of office workers from small and midsize companies were glaring at the owner without bothering to hide their displeasure.

“What’s with that ajumma?”

“My appetite’s completely gone.”

“The food hasn’t even come out yet. Should we just leave?”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

“Everyone, move tables. There’s a decent set-meal place right up ahead. I may not be an assistant manager at a major corporation, but I’m a section manager at a small business, so lunch is on me.”

Scrape.

At the middle-aged man’s words, five or six of his subordinates stood and followed him.

Similar scenes began unfolding throughout the dining area.

“Customers, that’s not what happened. Customers!”

“What do you mean, it’s not? Just watch me never come back here.”

“But your orders have already gone in. If you leave like this…”

“Looking at that kitchen, it’ll take an hour anyway. Enough. We’re leaving.”

Despite the dining staff’s attempts to stop them, the customers streamed out like the tide going out.

After barely a minute had passed, fewer than ten customers remained in the dining area.

Damn. I can already hear the sound of this place going under.

The owner was trembling with anger and bewilderment.

“You… You people…”

“So which Guild did your son say he was with?”

“Our Minsu is one of the top Hunters in Sangdong Guild! Someone like you…”

“What? Which Guild?”

“Sangdong Guild! They even gave him a house and a car.”

“Oh, Sangdong Guild. Could you wait just a moment?”

What an incredible coincidence.

Holding back my laughter, I pulled out my smartphone and made a call.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Click.

“Uh, what is it?”

“Were we only supposed to call each other when we had business?”

“…I sent you the promised four billion won, though.”

“Ah, I checked that. It came through fine.”

The entire conversation continued over speakerphone, loud enough for everyone to hear.

Four billion won.

The moment it became clear that what I had said earlier was true, everyone’s eyes seemed ready to pop out of their heads. I ignored all the attention and got to the point.

“Do you happen to know a Kim Minsu?”

“Kim Minsu? That’s the first I’ve heard of him.”

“You’re a Team Leader in Sangdong Guild and you don’t even know that? They say he’s a D-rank Hunter in your Guild.”

“D-rank Hunters are a dime a dozen. How would I know all of them? Is that why you called?”

“Yeah. Bye.”

Taking Im Changsoo’s business card in case he tried to stiff me had been a stroke of genius.

Click.

As soon as I hung up, the owner asked in a faltering voice,

“W-who was that?”

“Didn’t you hear? He’s the Team Leader of Sangdong Guild. In simple terms, he’s Mr. Minsu’s boss.”

“…Team Leader? His boss?”

“Oh, and one more thing. He’s also a future employer Mr. Minsu will want to impress. His father is the Guild Master of Sangdong Guild.”

“…”

Her face went white as a sheet.

There was no longer any reason or need to exchange another word with her. I turned toward my mother.

“Let’s go now.”

“Should we, son?”

My mother, Kim Jeonghee, flashed a broad smile and shoved her work clothes into the sink.

Of course, she didn’t forget to leave the owner with one final remark.

“Live like a parent should, you ajumma. Where do you get off casually running your mouth about someone else’s precious child?”

That was the final blow.

The owner lowered her head without answering, and we left the restaurant with light steps.

“Son, have you eaten? There’s cheonggukjang and kimchi pancakes at home.”

“Wow. What a feast.”

The weather was beautiful.