WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Oblivious
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving as a B-Rank Hunter ◈
Chapter 30
──────
* * *
Park Kangseok was the head of Samgyeong Esnus Special Protection Team 3.
Before that, he had been a hunter. Before that, a master sergeant in a special forces brigade. Go back further, and there were his school days playing at being a thug, though almost no one knew him from then.
What mattered was that he was an A-rank hunter, that he no longer entered dungeons, and that he now worked on the security team protecting Samgyeong's chairman's family.
What was more, he was even a team leader, however lowly the post. By ordinary modern Korean standards, he was a successful man.
He had endured the chaotic era of the Odin Shock as a soldier, survived the humiliations of hunter life, finally transformed into an A-rank hunter, and become an employee at a prestigious Samgyeong-affiliated security company.
Considering how far he had risen from being a neighborhood thug in a fishing village on the southern coast, it would not be wrong to say he had made something of himself.
Park Kangseok surveyed his surroundings with the composure befitting his position.
At a Samgyeong-affiliated hotel, the person under his protection was dining with the presidents of other subsidiaries. Despite eating a meal worth several million won, everyone seated there was focused on their conversation.
They occasionally laughed, then turned serious. He could not tell whether they were discussing something important or merely exchanging idle chatter.
Park Kangseok had no interest in it to begin with. He was not supposed to. What mattered was the protected person's wishes and daily routine.
Then a faint vibration came from his pocket. A message.
Normally, he did not keep his phone on while working. Not receiving messages was the rule. But he had something important to deal with.
“Hyeonuk.”
At his call, a team member standing several steps away approached.
“Yes, Team Leader.”
“I’m going to make a round. Keep watch.”
“Yes, sir. Go ahead.”
Park Kangseok slowly left his post, as though he truly intended to check the security situation.
No, he really did move while checking on the other team members. The protected person would not be leaving the table anytime soon, so it was a natural task for a team leader to perform.
Once he had slipped into a quiet area, Park Kangseok took out his smartphone. There was a message and a photograph.
[Target confirmed.]
It showed a scooter traveling down the road, photographed from some distance behind. A woman was riding it.
Park Kangseok raised his thick fingers to reply.
Then a call came in.
He answered before it could ring.
“What are you doing? Who told you to call?”
[Ah, Boss. Sorry. You weren’t replying, and we need a definite answer before we can handle this job...]
“Shut up. I already told you what to do. Get it done.”
In contrast to Park Kangseok’s carefully subdued voice, the caller continued in a slightly oily tone.
[That’s why I’m saying you need to give us a definite answer. This isn’t some cheap little job, is it?]
“Wasn’t the payment supposed to cover you not asking that kind of thing? Do your job properly.”
[Sure. We’ll do it properly. So we sweet-talk her and send her back to Vietnam, right?]
Park Kangseok’s brows instantly bent into an inverted V.
“Sweet-talk her? What’s there to sweet-talk? Kill her. That’s what I paid you for.”
[Ah. You really did give us a definite answer.]
Damn it. Park Kangseok squeezed his eyes shut without realizing it. This happened sometimes. A habit he had developed during his hunter days, when he had prowled through dungeons. A habit of not watching his words around worthless bastards. Anger accumulated from wandering those horrific places.
But it was fine. These days, there were plenty of voice-changing programs. A voice alone was no longer very credible evidence. He had misspoken, but as he had just thought, these bastards were worthless. This much was...
Then the voice on the other end continued.
[We were originally going to do exactly what you ordered, you know? But something felt strange.
Why would the head of a special protection team for mighty Samgyeong hire thugs like us to kill some Vietnamese mutt bitch over a personal grudge?
At first, we thought she might be a lover you’d hidden away. But after looking into her a little, we got our answer.]
“...”
[Ah, looks like the boss is angry. Still, is it right to try and kill your own daughter like that? A pretty girl who even flew here to find her father.]
“...What are you trying to say?”
At Park Kangseok’s low question, the man on the other end gave a snickering laugh.
[Nothing much. I’m not asking for anything huge. Who was it you were protecting again? Some fourth-generation chaebol heir from Samgyeong?
The kid the press keeps fawning over, saying they’re Samgyeong’s heir two generations down the line or whatever?]
“...Are you crazy? You want me to go after the owner’s family...”
[You’re getting ahead of yourself. What I mean is, what would that fourth-generation kid think if they learned their security chief had a daughter he abandoned in Vietnam, and that instead of sending her away, he tried to kill and bury her? I saw it on the news. That kid is a real clean freak, right?]
“...”
It went beyond being a clean freak. The reason Park Kangseok had even tried to kill a daughter he had not known existed was because he knew that if his protected person learned he had abandoned a Lai Daihan child in Vietnam, they would fire him immediately.
His protected person, plagued by moral purity, would not care how Park Kangseok had risen this far or how faithfully he had served the chairman’s family.
The single fact that he had impregnated a young woman in Southeast Asia and refused to take responsibility would be enough for them to disregard all his achievements and contributions, then throw him out.
Park Kangseok did not want to lose his position as head of Samgyeong Esnus Special Protection Team 3 for such a trivial reason.
Because he truly believed it was trivial.
So what if a child happened? If she did not want one, she should have used birth control properly. And why come looking for him now, nearly twenty years later?
Whose life was she trying to ruin? Did she think he would welcome her and raise her just because she showed up and stuck her head in?
He gritted his teeth and suppressed his anger, but the man on the phone opened his mouth again without knowing his place.
[Well, anyway, we’ll keep her with us for a while. We’ll make sure all four limbs stay nice and intact.]
“...What do you want?”
[Hehe. No need to get so vicious. First... bring us about one billion won in cash by tonight. We can discuss the rest afterward. Sounds good?]
“...”
[We’ll take that as a yes. Bye now.]
Click.
The call ended.
Crack.
The smartphone in Park Kangseok’s grip shattered.
* * *
“Holy shit! Did that actually work?”
“What do you think, boss? You think he’ll really bring the money?”
“I think he will. This bastard’s loyalty to his job is something else. If we play this right, we can keep draining him for a long, long time.”
“Woohoo. Does that mean we’ve got ties to a major corporation now?”
“Ties? This bastard is just the opening act. We use him to dig deeper into that world! Maybe we’ll even end up handling Samgyeong’s dirty work!”
The thin-looking man in the passenger seat wildly waved both arms, his face brimming with excitement. The buzz-cut man at the wheel grinned and played along.
“Damn, boss. You really are smart.”
“Just trust me and follow along, punk. I’ll put Samgyeong name tags on every one of our guys.”
“So what do we do with that bitch now?”
The buzz-cut driver asked while jutting his chin toward the scooter some distance ahead. The thin man snickered.
“What do you mean, what do we do? We take her.”
“Um... once we take her...”
“What, punk?”
The buzz-cut man smiled strangely. Seeing it, the thin man smiled again.
“You horny bastard. No, punk.”
“No?”
“We need to show her in one piece at first, don’t we? She’s still that bastard’s daughter. Later, once we have a few photos of her looking fine, we can keep reusing those. Then do whatever you want.”
“Thank you, heh heh.”
The thin man grinned as he watched the scooter and its rider ahead.
Originally, he had intended to kill and bury her as Park Kangseok ordered. But after noticing that she had spent the last few days at a hospital, he looked into the hospital records and discovered something astonishing.
Just as he had said on the phone, she was Park Kangseok’s blood relative.
The thin man felt grateful to the thugs who had smashed that woman’s head. Thanks to them, there were hospital records, and thanks to those records, he had caught on to the relationship between Park Kangseok and her.
Had those guys been torn to death by some lunatic wearing animal skins?
“Good, fuck... Anyway, now we’re finally moving into the big leagues...”
The thin man stopped speaking. The scooter had suddenly slowed and pulled over to the side of the road.
“Shit. Pull over too.”
“Yes, boss.”
The woman who stopped the scooter took out her smartphone and tilted her head. It seemed someone was calling her.
“What? She stopped just to answer a call? Damn, she’s serious about road safety.”
“Seems that way. Should we just do it now?”
“Maybe we should.”
Then the woman’s expression brightened at the call. But after saying something, she looked around in apparent confusion. The thin man and the buzz-cut man, who had been about to get out of the car, hesitated.
“What’s this? Did that Park Kangseok bastard call his daughter?”
“The guy who was telling us to kill her until just now? No way.”
“...Fuck it, let’s do it now. Get closer.”
“Yes, boss.”
The two men, who had paused, hurried to move their car again.
Then the buzz-cut man spotted a sedan speeding toward them in the rearview mirror, its headlights glaring. Anyone could see it was driving far over the speed limit.
“Huh? Who the hell is that...”
The car flew past the thin man and the buzz-cut man’s vehicle. Then, Screeech! It skidded, leaving a long black skid mark before stopping beside the scooter and the woman.
The startled woman froze in confusion. Then the passenger door flew open, revealing a man inside.
Seeing him, the thin man spoke quietly.
“Something’s wrong. Get the guns.”
The buzz-cut man answered by pulling a silenced pistol from inside his jacket. The thin man likewise took a silenced pistol from the glove compartment.
Immediately afterward, both men got out of the car and pulled their triggers first at the car carrying the man.
“Aah!”
Even with silencers, gunshots were still gunshots. Seeing the car windows shatter made the woman scream. She ducked down low.
In contrast, the unknown driver ducked beneath the steering wheel and floored the accelerator.
As the car windows shattered, the vehicle spun with its wheels slipping, then flung open the driver’s door.
Like the jaws of some beast, the open driver’s door neatly swallowed the crouching woman whole.
The car completed the rest of its turn and sped away.
Holding his silenced pistol, the thin man stared at the rapidly retreating rear of the vehicle and muttered in disbelief.
“What the fuck? Who’s that bastard?”
“Uh, do we just let them go?”
“Is that even a question, fucker? Chase them!”
The thin man got back into the passenger seat, and the buzz-cut man returned to the driver’s seat. The buzz-cut man immediately stepped on the accelerator and began pursuing the sedan.
Unlike the buzz-cut man gripping the steering wheel, the thin man grabbed his smartphone.
“Yeah, there’s a problem. Get all the guys out here. I’ll send the location. When I say get everyone out, get them out, you bastard!”
* * *
“...”
The gunfire, shattering glass, and flying bullets had left her dazed.
It was a sight she had hoped never to see again after leaving her home country. But as the trembling woman crouched there, she realized she was in Dohyeon’s arms.
Dohyeon, gripping the steering wheel and staring ahead, noticed her gaze and glanced at her.
“Name.”
“...Excuse me?”
“Your name. I need to know what to call you.”
“...Park Tae-eun. My name is Park Tae-eun.”
“That’s a pretty name. Move over now.”
“What? Ah!”
Park Tae-eun was still on top of Dohyeon. Her face blazing red, she crawled over to the passenger seat. Crunch. Broken glass shifted beneath her.
She stared blankly at the streetlights flying past outside, then Gasp! came to her senses.
“What... what is happening? What is this...?”
“I thought you would know.”
“Y-You did?”
“I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but it seems you’re tangled up in something seriously dangerous. I thought it was those thugs from before, so I only brought a long sword. I nearly got killed for it.”
“...!”
Park Tae-eun turned toward Dohyeon and gasped. Blood was streaming down his forearm.
“D-Did you get shot?”
“It grazed me.”
“To the hospital...”
Dohyeon’s eyes turned to the rearview mirror. The Valkyrie, visible only to him, smiled from the back seat before moving aside.
That revealed the black car pursuing them with its high beams flashing. The bastards who had shattered Dohyeon’s assumptions about gun crime in South Korea by immediately spraying him with pistols.
“Doesn’t look like we have time for a hospital.”
Dohyeon shifted gears and pressed the accelerator deep.
The five-year-old used car strained its engine like mad, the entire frame making a horrible noise as if crying out that it was dying. Dohyeon did not care and kept pressing down.
A faint yellow gleam passed through his eyes.
Footnotes:
Lai Daihan is a Korean term for a person of Korean and Vietnamese parentage, often one born to a Korean father and a Vietnamese mother. It is used insultingly in this chapter.
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
