POV of the narrator (flashback)
"Mom!! You're home!" shouted a little girl with joy as she clung to the leg of the woman in her late twenties.
"Sorry I'm late, sweetie," she said while gently stroking her hair.
"What are you holding in your arms??" asked the little girl curiously, looking at the strange object her mother was carrying.
"Hyomin Joo, meet your little brother."
Little Hyomin Joo had never seen a baby before, but the newborn's fascinated gaze at his surroundings managed to capture her innocent heart.
"He's so cute!!!" She tried to touch the baby's cheek, but he grabbed her hand with surprisingly strong force.
A cute gesture from Kim Mijun and her daughter's perspective.
"Careful, Hyomin, you need to take care of your brother. A baby is very fragile."
The little girl nodded vigorously at her mother's words.
"Yes, I'll take care of him..."
....
(End of flashback)
"As if I could take care of anything... hic," mumbled a teenager with a slightly red face, a bottle of alcohol in hand.
Hyomin Joo is now 17. She attends a good high school thanks to her mother's efforts, but...
(Image)
"Uh... Hyomin, it's getting late, isn't it?" While Hyomin Joo was lost in thought, a friend of hers brought her back to reality by pointing out the late hour.
"Stop killing the mood. Anyway, my mom will turn a blind eye to a... hic... slightly late return," she replied while taking a cigarette.
Her friend looked at Hyomin before getting up to leave the karaoke room, pretending to go to the bathroom.
'If you have negligent parents, that's not the case for everyone,' thought the girl with short black hair as she walked away.
(Image)
On her way, she saw a young and familiar silhouette but thought it was the alcohol playing tricks on her.
"I think she split," declared a delinquent boy in a high school uniform, while also taking a drink.
"Told ya she ain't down to party," declared another.
Hyomin made no comment about her 'friends'' words regarding Minjeong Lee's departure.
She just kept daydreaming while enjoying the atmosphere.
*knock knock*
"Did you guys order something?" asked a delinquent with dyed red hair.
"Nah. How 'bout you girls?" asked the teenager who looked like a man in his thirties.
"No, we've got enough snacks and drinks," replied a blonde girl.
While they were all confused, a boy entered the room without permission.
He wore loose clothing, but what drew the most attention wasn't his clothes, but his unusual Western features, rare in Seoul.
"Hyomin Noona, I came to take you home," he said, emphasizing the word 'noona' while wearing a smile on his face.
...
POV of Keyaru
"Here's today's batch," I said, handing him a pizza box containing certain specialties.
"Excellent, but I hope you've still got the good stuff, Mr. K," declared a man in a black suit, sitting in a sports car.
"You know very well my quality is guaranteed. Just avoid using it on minors this time," I replied, referring to the incident with the police.
"Don't worry, your substances aren't 'yet' registered by law enforcement," he said, shrugging.
"Worst case, I'll get away with just a few months in prison thanks to my lawyers. But you'd better keep innovating, kid. You've got a real future in this business, hehe," he added with an evil smile on his lips.
"I get it now. You simply denied everything and stood united in front of the police. And since the victim must've screamed like a bitch during the act, you had witnesses to justify her 'consent,'" I expressed out loud, without thinking too much about my thoughts.
"You catch on quick, Mr. K. But because of that incident, the police have possibly registered the 'V1.0 of Eros' Kiss' in their database of illegal hallucinogens and aphrodisiacs," he said in a slightly embarrassed tone.
"That is indeed problematic, but inevitable in the long run," I replied in a tone devoid of any surprise.
I already knew this would happen eventually, but it's a bit too early for my taste.
Maybe I should find another intermediary in Seoul's underworld.
"I should probably create a new version to satisfy your clients." Despite my assured words, I couldn't help but sigh, slightly frustrated by the work ahead.
The man nodded before providing me with a small quantity of mana stones, then left.
Yes, this guy is a hunter.
He's specifically an E-rank hunter.
Unlike regular hunters who risk their lives in portals, he uses hunter networks for... interesting purposes.
Thanks to him, I've been able to get mana stones to create more powerful potions, with future goals in mind.
I even started saving up to prepare for the hunter life, but I hadn't planned on him using my products, and so recklessly at that.
*Ding ding* While I'm massaging my temple to relieve mental fatigue from my future workload, I receive a message from my mom.
[Where are you!!]
Shit, it is pretty late.
[The extra classes you enrolled me in took longer than expected, but I'm hurrying home] I lied without batting an eye.
I have an excellent relationship with my teacher, but it's a shame this idiot drools over my mom.
Damn, she's like 10 years older than him, and she's my mom!!!
The only reason the police haven't found his body yet with an unknown poison in him is thanks to his computer knowledge and interesting friends.
It's also thanks to him that I've been able to improve my computer skills and connect to the Dark Web to make valuable connections.
[Oh, I understand better.]
[But your sister's gonna hear from me!!]
She ended the conversation with those words.
"This idiot skipped classes again to hang out with her losers."
Looks like I have to intervene this time.
At this rate, she'll never get into a good university.
After opening the tracking app I created to protect 'my family,' I start heading to her location.
Of course, I put my BK-201-like mask back in my backpack.
(Image)
Anonymity is the most precious thing when dealing with criminal networks, and my young age is an important asset.
....
After some time, I finally found the karaoke place where my sister was.
I placed an electric baton in my hoodie and went inside.
Although I'm 14, I look like a late teenager due to my intensive training.
I even have my own nutritional products, and recently, some promote mana circulation in me.
At least, in theory...
I haven't been able to test them on a human, but on my dog, it slowly transformed him into something more.
He kept a dog appearance, but he's surprisingly similar to a hunter.
Too bad he's just way too weak compared to even the lowest-ranked hunter.
Still, it made me surprisingly strong.
Knock knock. I stood in front of the room occupied by my sister before politely making my presence known, but they surprisingly took their time to answer.
So I decided to open the door and burst inside.
"Hyomin Noona, I came to take you home," I said in a gentle voice facing this teenager red with 'rage.'