Chapter 18
Hunter Association Returnee Management Headquarters.
As always, Kim Dongjun was sitting quietly playing online Go-Stop when he suddenly saw a work messenger pop up. His face immediately contorted.
'What?'
In truth, the content itself wasn't difficult to understand.
It was simply an order from Vice President Go Taehyun to fully support Team Leader Jo Ganghyun without question.
'Does "don't question it" mean I should just go along with it even if I think it's wrong?'
Why would such an order come down?
Thinking about the reason, the answer was simple.
'It must be because that Lee Seongjun returnee showed promise in the bet between me and that Jo Ganghyun! Damn, this is like cooking porridge just to feed someone else!'
Initially, rather than wanting to help Lee Seongjun, Kim Dongjun had caused problems out of a desire to interfere with Jo Ganghyun. But now such thoughts were completely absent from his mind.
'If I hadn't suggested hunting the boss monster, the Lee Seongjun returnee wouldn't have had a chance to perform! This was my achievement to begin with. So why? Why did an order come down to fully support Jo Ganghyun?'
As anger boiled up in Kim Dongjun's selfish and petty mind, Jo Ganghyun returned to the headquarters with quick steps, lightly packed his things, and approached Kim Dongjun with a bow.
"Director, I'll be going out on field work."
Kim Dongjun asked with reddened eyes:
"Field work? You were just out, and now you're going somewhere again?"
"It's by the Vice President's orders."
"..."
The Vice President's request for full support.
Recalling the message on the work messenger again, Kim Dongjun clenched his fist and asked:
"Where are you going?"
"I can't disclose that."
"...What?"
"I'll let you know after the objective is accomplished. I'm sorry."
It was obvious.
He was going to recruit the Lee Seongjun returnee.
Kim Dongjun spoke with certainty:
"I'll go with you. If it's important work, you may need my authority as director."
"I'm sorry. Accompaniment is also not possible."
"It's the Vice President's orders."
Kim Dongjun's eyes grew fierce as he had naturally tried to sit next to Jo Ganghyun to share in the achievement.
"Grrk...!"
Faced with the repeated excuse of the Vice President's orders, an angry Kim Dongjun momentarily let out a resentful sound, but in the end could only turn his head and wave his hand dismissively.
"Get out."
"I'll be back."
Jo Ganghyun maintained a gentlemanly attitude to the end as he left the headquarters.
Watching his retreating figure, dissatisfaction and anger naturally welled up in Kim Dongjun's heart, but he didn't have the confidence to directly confront Vice President Go Taehyun, an SS-rank hunter.
But what if he told his father, Chairman Kim Seokhun of Honor Group, who could be considered his backing?
'He'd just scold me for whining like a child.'
Even angrily informing the Returnee Union or guilds about Lee Seongjun's existence would have the same result.
'I might die.'
Chairman Kim Seokhun was even scarier than Vice President Go Taehyun.
Kim Dongjun's body shuddered momentarily, and his anger naturally began to turn towards Jo Ganghyun, who was showing a rebellious attitude, and Lee Seongjun, who had caused this situation.
'Come to think of it, it's suspicious. How could someone who received an F-rank upon returning catch a Super Gorilla alone after just a few days?'
Maybe Lee Seongjun had cheated!
It was clear that he couldn't have done it alone, so Jo Ganghyun must have helped.
A chilling light began to gleam in Kim Dongjun's eyes as he let his imagination run wild.
'Right, it doesn't make sense otherwise. Why didn't I think of this from the start, like an idiot! I just need to find out what those two are hiding. Then I can get back at Jo Ganghyun and also catch that fraud Lee Seongjun. I should have them followed.'
Kim Dongjun hurriedly picked up his phone and began sending messages somewhere.
A wicked smile had already formed on his lips.
* * *
After finishing his test hunt, Lee Seongjun first stopped by the Hunter Association headquarters.
Unlike the previous F-rank gate, this E-rank gate was in a place that could be considered practically uninhabited, so there was no Association-run exchange at the entrance.
'This will take longer than expected.'
Just now, the number displayed at the counter was 162, while the waiting ticket in Lee Seongjun's hand was number 189.
With 27 people waiting ahead of him, even though there were quite a few counters, it would take at least 30 minutes to an hour, given that each person had taken about 10 minutes on average so far.
'Considering the time to get back, dinner with the family might be difficult today.'
It was already 5:30 PM, and the time for the once-daily family dinner was approaching.
Not being able to attend what could be considered the most precious time of the day was quite bitter from Lee Seongjun's perspective.
'Next time I go hunting, should I try to go somewhere with an exchange at the entrance...'
He couldn't easily confirm the thought that came to mind.
A place with more people meant fewer monsters for him to hunt.
This meant that not only his income from hunting, but also his leveling speed would fall somewhat behind.
'Or should I decide on a place to belong as soon as possible?'
Guilds and unions mainly did two things: support affiliated hunters and provide convenience.
Of these, support work literally meant providing human and material resources needed for monster hunting.
This wasn't particularly necessary for Lee Seongjun right now, but the second task, providing convenience, had considerable merit.
Employees of the affiliated guild or union would wait for hunters to finish gate attacks, then check the byproducts they brought out and immediately deposit cash.
This meant he wouldn't need to waste unnecessary time like now.
'But I'd lose a lot in exchange.'
There would inevitably be restrictions on his actions, having to follow the schedule of the place he belonged to.
From Lee Seongjun's perspective, who valued family life and work-life balance, this was quite an unpleasant aspect.
In the end, Lee Seongjun could only shake his head.
'I guess I'll just have to move a bit more diligently for a while until I can get the contract terms I want.'
As Lee Seongjun, having neatly organized his thoughts, was quietly sitting in his seat waiting for his turn, a familiar face appeared - Team Leader Jo Ganghyun from the Returnee Management Headquarters team, whom he had met just yesterday.
"It's nice to see you again, Returnee Lee Seongjun."
"We meet again."
Although it could be considered a sudden encounter, Lee Seongjun's expression showed no sign of surprise.
Rather, a faint but clear smile played on Lee Seongjun's lips.
He had passed the test.
Moreover, he had shown overwhelming results.
The Association would inevitably be interested.
"I'd like to have a conversation with Returnee Lee Seongjun. If it's alright, could you spare some time?"
Unlike before, his attitude had become quite polite, so there would be no problem starting the conversation right away.
But to raise his own value, he couldn't just be led around as the other party wished.
He needed to clearly establish the positions of superior and subordinate, and lead the negotiation.
"For free?"
Jo Ganghyun's eyes moved quickly, then stopped on the waiting ticket in Lee Seongjun's hand.
"If it's about processing byproducts, I'll take care of it right away with my authority."
As he had felt when they first met, Jo Ganghyun seemed to have fairly excellent perception.
Lee Seongjun smiled with satisfaction and spoke again.
"Would it be alright if we talk while going to my house?"
It could be considered a somewhat absurd proposal, but it was an important point for Lee Seongjun.
If he headed home right now, he could have dinner together with his family.
'It doesn't matter even if he refuses.'
More precisely, it was a suggestion made knowing that he wouldn't be able to refuse.
Through today's test, the Association was the one with their feet to the fire, so they would accept any proposal.
Indeed, Jo Ganghyun was nodding his head readily.
"Of course. No, if it's alright with you, I'll drive you home in my car."
"Sounds good."
"Thank you for allowing it."
Lee Seongjun let out a small chuckle before following Jo Ganghyun's lead and boarding the elevator heading to the underground parking lot.
Beep beep!
As Jo Ganghyun pressed the button, lights came on in a parked vehicle and the car doors opened.
"Let's get in. I'll take you to your destination comfortably and safely."
As Lee Seongjun got into the car through the wide open door, Jo Ganghyun spoke again.
"Then, we'll depart."
Jo Ganghyun finished speaking and stepped on the accelerator.
Vroom-
The black sedan glided out onto the road.
"Would you like something to chew on?"
"No thanks. I'd rather have a proper conversation."
At Lee Seongjun's words, Jo Ganghyun stiffened his expression and spoke.
"As you wish, I'll get right to the point. We'd like to scout Returnee Lee Seongjun for our Hunter Association."
As a government agency, the Hunter Association was known to typically take quite a long time to process work.
Yet here was Jo Ganghyun confidently making a scouting offer before even a day had passed.
"Your handling of this is faster than I expected."
"Normally, as you've probably heard, the Association isn't fast. But for matters related to Returnee Lee Seongjun, things have moved quickly, and I can promise it will continue to be so going forward."
At Jo Ganghyun's confident words, Lee Seongjun silently smiled.
It could be considered a quite excellent attitude, but he had no intention of leaving out the most important part.
"I'd like to hear about the detailed conditions."
"First, we're offering a signing bonus of 5 billion won, and an annual salary of 500 million won. I know this amount is far below Returnee Lee Seongjun's value..."
As a government agency, the Hunter Association inevitably had less financial resources compared to guilds or returnee unions classified as private companies.
In fact, due to such financial issues, the Association had lost many talented individuals to guilds and unions.
"So I've thought hard and prepared my own ideas. First, our Hunter Association promises Returnee Lee Seongjun the maximum freedom possible."
After speaking, Jo Ganghyun checked Lee Seongjun's expression through the rearview mirror.
His expression was stiff as could be, showing no particular interest.
But Jo Ganghyun wasn't discouraged.
No, rather, Jo Ganghyun's eyes were shining brighter than ever.
'This is the reaction I expected.'
To be honest, he didn't know much about Lee Seongjun.
All he had was what his subordinates had told him, what he'd seen in reports, and their brief meetings of just a few minutes.
That's why he had thought about and dug into the individual known as Returnee Lee Seongjun even more intensely.