WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Arsène

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ How an A-Rank Hunter Lives ◈

Chapter 20: Ice Ability User Baek Dambi - [5]

──────

I smiled as I read the article about my interview.

Thanks to Super-Regeneration, all my injuries had healed by now, but in the photo attached to the article, I was missing three fingers and part of my face.

The caption beneath it read, “Despite suffering severe injuries, he displayed an indomitable fighting spirit and continued the operation.” I was pleased to see that. I'd have been disappointed if no one recognized how hard I'd worked.

Ah, there was an interview with a survivor too. It said Hunter Kim Geuk had kept the situation under control and looked after the survivors even though he was visibly in bad shape... I was satisfied with that too.

The article ended by saying that thanks to my efforts, 457 people from eighty-nine households in that apartment complex had survived.

KoreaIsDoomed: Is that berserker in the photo really the same lunatic who gave that fucking interview?

└: fr lol

Yonsik95: I didn't like it when that bastard proudly bragged about losing his temper and leaving two people disabled. I thought some punk who never considered the consequences had gotten lucky, awakened, and was about to make a fortune, which pissed me off... But seeing him charge straight at Monsters without holding back his anger makes me feel damn reassured.

└ Anonymous: I went to middle school with Kim Geuk. Until he graduated, he was just absurdly big. He always sat in the very back and quietly read history books or something. He doesn't have anger-management issues.

└ Yonsik95: He just sat in class reading books? He wasn't some punk always getting into fights?

└ Anonymous: At least as far as I remember, he wasn't a punk. He always looked gloomy, but he'd never fought anyone, you know? I was shocked to hear he'd caused trouble on his first day of high school, but looking at him now, he's so different from how I remember him that I'm just confused.

Anonymous: Why does that bastard keep doing interviews like that? Is he deliberately trying to be funny? Is he putting on an act?

└ Happy22: I don't know whether he's trying to be funny or whether he's putting on an act, but I like that his actions match his words and he seems so motivated. There are plenty of punks who sign contracts with local governments, then constantly badmouth the region. This is fine.

No matter how far I scrolled, the comments never ended. There were over four hundred of them.

The article had over a hundred thousand views, which was astonishing for an article about an incident in some provincial city. My interview must've been funny, since people had shared it across all kinds of sites again.

Mm, all this attention was thrilling.

It seemed Baek Dambi had read the article too. She suddenly asked me a question out of nowhere.

“Did you think I was saying some fucking weeb shit back then?”

“Yes.”

“That’s so mean...”

I snickered and looked over at the others.

Everyone was staring at Baek Dambi and me. They must've found it pretty surprising that Baek Dambi was making small talk.

As I grinned, the vehicle carrying our team pulled out.

It wasn't an ordinary vehicle, but a bus modified so people could stand on its roof. When I climbed up, everyone's eyes immediately turned toward me.

“Hunter Kim Geuk is up here!”

Councilor Park Mihyeong, who had been giving a speech, raised my hand high. She practically shouted into the microphone.

“Everyone, give him a round of applause!”

Amid the flood of applause and chants of my name... I waved, then waved again.

As the vehicle carrying me passed through Moraenae Market, Korea's true heart, I thought, my heart swelling.

It really paid to keep living. Who would've thought I'd attend a parade as its main attraction?

Beside me, Park Mihyeong continued speaking passionately.

“Thank you all for joining us despite your busy schedules! It was worth it, wasn't it, everyone? You all saw the article about this incident! Hunter Kim Geuk here accomplished something truly admirable..."

In the end, this parade hadn't been held to praise my performance in this incident.

It had originally been planned to advertise the fact that I'd signed a contract with Incheon City. Since my latest accomplishment had become famous, though, more people had come to watch, and there was more praise directed my way.

Thinking about it, it was strange. A local government was holding a parade just because it had signed a contract with one Hunter?

Even if a new police commissioner or fire chief, someone responsible for the area's safety, took office, they wouldn't make this big of a fuss. It was unusual for Hunters to receive this much attention, but they said there was a very important reason for it.

It was vital for restoring nearby property values.

Until recently, I couldn't understand why land prices were supposedly so important. After this incident, though, I understood a little.

“This incident has proven that Incheon City can respond admirably even to unforeseen large-scale incidents like this one... It has proven that we have the ability to protect the citizens of Incheon...”

This was a world where every Korean was desperate to move to Seoul.

It wasn't because Seoul had better infrastructure or more jobs. Everyone wanted to go to Seoul simply to survive.

You could see it from real estate prices alone. Seoul property prices, which had already been expensive before the Gates opened, had risen to at least ten times their former level. Property prices outside Seoul had actually fallen.

Even in Incheon, all kinds of buildings were dirt cheap.

A low-rise apartment near Moraenae Market Station could be bought for only fifteen million won. Considering how much prices had soared these days, it was absurdly cheap.

Incheon wasn't the only place like this. Other provincial areas were all the same, because people feared that living outside Seoul made them easier prey for Monsters. And that was true.

Compared to Seoul, provincial areas had smaller budgets for preparing for Monster attacks. They didn't have money to sign contracts with expensive awakened people or deploy all kinds of equipment. Naturally, they were much worse at defending against Monster attacks than Seoul.

The Monsters inside the Gates weren't idiots either. They tended to go after easy targets first.

They also tended to repeatedly target places where they had successfully attacked before without suffering major losses.

Once a Gate opened, areas that failed to properly eliminate the Monsters pouring out of it often saw Gates open again later.

Places that failed to respond properly to attacks saw their property values plummet.

Then local businesses went under and residents left. Tax revenue decreased, budgets shrank further, and their ability to prepare for Gates was drastically reduced.

Eventually, the neighborhood would be branded as completely ruined. So many residents would leave that not only the local government but even the national government would abandon the area.

That was how urban slums had emerged after the Gates opened.

Those kinds of slums keep increasing outside Seoul. They are lands of death, with no businesses left open and nothing but illegally dumped trash piling along the roads. Only elderly people and homeless people too exhausted even to move away remain, waiting for the day Monsters will eat them.

The Incheon Gate incident had claimed thirty lives in total. Most were Hunters, along with a few homeless people illegally living in vacant buildings and elderly or vulnerable people who had been too slow to evacuate.

That counted as stopping the attack with almost no casualties. It was supposedly a result that would be hard to expect even in Seoul's most heavily fortified districts.

The excellent response to this Gate had also produced excellent results. Property prices around that apartment complex had generally risen, and prices in that complex had jumped considerably.

That didn't just mean property speculators would smile.

It meant the residents there wouldn't give up on the land they lived on and leave. It meant the nearby convenience store and McDonald's branch would stay open. It meant the trash residents sorted for recycling wouldn't be left there forever, but would be collected before it started to stink. It meant the local and national governments would continue looking after the citizens there.

My hunter team climbed onto the bus roof too and waved at the people.

Baek Dambi waved especially enthusiastically. Anyone watching would've thought she was a celebrity invited to the event. Seong Munyeong, who kept glancing at her with a stunned expression, was unbelievably funny.

“We're taking a picture! Now, smile...”

I smiled, as did the academy graduates, and even Baek Dambi. Then the parade ended.

When we gathered to have a cup of coffee together, everyone started chatting.

“Jinyeong, why do you keep looking at your feet? Did something fall on the floor?”

“Sorry. My feet itch.”

“Your feet itch? Why?”

“I think I have athlete's foot...”

“Seriously, fuck. Don't you shower? Don't come near me...”

Surprisingly, Baek Dambi was there too, among that messy gathering of men.

I glanced again at Baek Dambi, who still had a smile on her lips.

She'd looked happy all day. Why? Was Baek Dambi, that lunatic who thought she was a celebrity, happy because she was getting attention in front of people like one today?

Until recently, I would've thought so too. Not anymore.

When that damned elemental had appeared, Baek Dambi had volunteered to fight alongside us. She'd already received tens of billions of won as a signing bonus, so I'd thought her ultimate goal was simply to keep working no matter how much people cursed her. I really hadn't understood why she'd stepped forward then.

But after seeing her reaction when we defeated that elemental, I understood.

She wanted to accomplish something too. She had that desire to do her part, that desire to achieve something others couldn't as an awakened person.

She hadn't shown any enthusiasm during her work so far simply because she'd never had a chance to make a real contribution. That was why she'd stepped forward immediately when there was a chance she might be able to do something, and why she'd been so happy after accomplishing something close to it...

“People outside Seoul don't get paid the day after a hunt? When I worked in Seoul, I always got paid the next day.”

“It can't be helped. These days, provincial areas don't pay Hunters with money they have on hand. Apparently, whenever they need to pay, they borrow the money from Seoul...”

As I listened to Jang Byeonggon and Seong Munyeong chat, I asked them, “You guys still haven't been paid?”

“No. They said they'll pay us at the end of the month.”

“I got paid yesterday.”

“Wow, I guess they pay awakened people right away? That's so unfair.”

After grumbling, Seong Munyeong left first.

The others went their separate ways too, while I looked at Jeong Jinyeong, who was still wearing those military boots.

If they hadn't been paid yet, Jinyeong must've been broke too. I called him over.

“Jinyeong? Come with me for a bit.”

He was still afraid of me. He flinched even now, looking anxious because he didn't know why I was calling him aside.

“Huh? Why...”

Without bothering to explain, I grabbed his shoulder and used Spatial Teleportation.

Then, in front of a shoe store, Jeong Jinyeong's eyes darted around as he tried to understand the situation.

“Pick out two pairs of shoes. One for everyday use and one to wear while hunting.”

“You want me to pick shoes? Why all of a sudden...?”

“You said you had athlete's foot. It looks like you've been walking around in military boots full of fungus, so either throw those away or get them cleaned, and start wearing different shoes.”

“How did you know I had athlete's foot?”

“I heard you guys talking earlier, so I kept it in mind.”

Jeong Jinyeong's eyes widened at that.

After watching my reaction for a while, he picked out two pairs of shoes. When I paid for them, his eyes widened again.

After leaving the store, I took him to a pharmacy. I paid for his medicine too, then added, “I was too busy to say it while we were hunting, but you did well this time. Let's keep doing things like this from now on, okay?”

As I said that, I patted his shoulder a few times. Jeong Jinyeong reacted strangely again. He lowered his head, and his shoulders shook. Even I was flustered. I hadn't expected him to react so intensely to a little encouragement.

I waved goodbye, used Spatial Teleportation, and made a stylish exit.

Anyway, it was nice having some money to spare. Even athlete's foot medicine was horribly expensive. You really had to be a Hunter to buy it without worrying.

Back home, I picked up my phone. I'd looked after my current teammates, so now it was time to look after my former colleagues.

“Ah, Mr. Yang Taegyu. It's Kim Geuk, remember me? You remember the guy who was the muscle for Korean Awakened Solidarity, right? That was me... Ah, you do remember? Have you been keeping up with what I've been doing lately? Then that's good. I won't need to explain.

“I got my signing bonus recently, so I've got some money to spare. When we parted last time, you said you needed money but couldn't find anywhere to get a loan, so you were at a loss, right? So I... Ah, yes. Yes. Don't worry about interest. Pay it back slowly when you can afford it. Text me your account number, then...”

* * *

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried