Chapter Text
He flipped the sign over to open the small, two-story building where he worked and lived in. After checking that the sign was actually on the right side, he headed further into the area and made sure that everything was in its place. Han Yoojin not only worked at but owned the small daycare-like center. It was honestly just a place for newly or young Awakened people to come to. Yoojin did a lot of research when dungeons initially popped up, and did even more after Yoohyun Awakened, so he knew more than most did about what the process was like.
He started Promising Sprouts online originally as a way to cope without Yoohyun at home. Young Yoojin was 22-years-old at the time and in desperate need to use his newfound knowledge for good. Yoohyun went off to start a guild while his big brother ran an out-of-date website that helped people adjust to being Awakened, primarily focusing on those in their teens.
Eventually, Yoojin opened the shop after enough comments and haggling. He was surprised that people actually showed up at the grand opening of Promising Sprouts. He half-expected for the feedback from people on the website to be fake, as they were generally nice and supportive of Yoojin’s words. It was something he was unused to.
Promising Sprouts could be compared to a community center or a mini-training camp. Awakened people could come in and be told how the Status Window worked, how to register safely, when to update their registries, and so on. Most of those that were older but newly Awakened only stayed to learn how to control their newfound physical abilities and stats. Yoojin couldn’t help much with it, other than saying to treat everything gently. He still remembered when Yoohyun abolished their fridge by accident when he woke in the middle of the night to get a glass of water.
Yoojin named the small place after his skill [Promising Sprout] which allowed him to see the rank of all things— monsters and humans alike. It also mentioned that he could potentially help those already Awakened to utilize their powers or go up in their class at times. Yoojin didn’t reveal his skill to the Hunter’s Association, and instead lied about his title. He was still a caregiver on paper, but not the [Perfect Caregiver] title that he held. Though it didn’t matter, since Yoohyun didn’t speak to him regularly and Yoojin couldn’t help with his dongsaeng’s stats.
He organized a small tub of writing utensils as he mulled over his life. It was weird to be in a room that appeared as a child-friendly play area. In truth, everything was made from stronger material aside from everyday products like pens, notepads, and the provided snacks and drinks. The seats were donated by the Association, therefore they were more stable, and other things around the first floor had been given anonymously or provided when Promising Sprouts started to get more popular.
Yoojin wasn’t quite sure why people came into the center so much. He didn’t provide much. He had created pamphlets, sure, and had multiple slideshows about how the Awakened and Hunter world worked, but most things like that were provided by a guild as initial training. However, Yoojin wasn’t going to argue that he had a horrible business plan to the people that stopped by. He needed this place to continue living under the radar.
As he checked that the fridge had enough water bottles in it, he heard a ring of the bell. Yoojin exited the room to be met with the first person of the day. The door held a small bell over it to alert Yoojin of anyone coming inside.
He waved over at them, greeting, “Myungwoo-ssi, I thought you were looking into signing with a guild. Why are you back?”
Yoo Myungwoo would one day be a great catch. His SS-rank skill as a blacksmith would be treasured. Yoojin had set the man up with a list of guilds that had the best blacksmith resources. He expected Myungwoo to choose a guild and settle down quickly, as the man had mentioned off-hand that he was in a lot of debt.
“Good morning, Yoojin-ssi,” greeted Myungwoo, smiling nervously.
“What’s wrong?”
Myungwoo scratched his head. “Is it that obvious?” He chuckled to himself for a moment, then explained, “I would like some help with looking over the offers I got. I really don’t know… I don’t know what to do with all of it.”
Myungwoo then pulled out a small briefcase from Inventory to reveal a large stack of potential contracts inside. Yoojin smiled, then gestured to a nearby table. They sat down easily, and Yoojin was thankful that Myungwoo was an F-ranker like him. They could interact fairly normally without Yoojin seeing the pop-up [Activating Fear Resistance].
Yoojin got a strange title by accident at the same time his leg was punctured. He still went in for physical therapy from the dungeon incident that made the Association check the energy levels of all dungeons when a group without an A-class Hunter went inside. All dungeon gates were already measured and had a 300-meter barrier around it, but now they were more heavily monitored while Hunters entered the gate. The Haeyeon Guild probably had something to do with it as well, as they were one of the big three guilds in South Korea, and therefore got a lot of say in what progressed for society.
The title [Dragon Slayer] was something Yoojin got when he landed the final blow to Rauchitas after his brother was injured critically. Yoohyun wouldn’t have made it that day if he didn’t recently purchase a high-class healing potion. It made it so that they could hobble out of the gate together, though it was covered up quickly by the Association, as the entire party of Hunters other than the brothers were dead. Yoojin would have been dead too if Yoohyun didn’t show up.
“You got a lot of offers,” he commented, already looking over the shortest contracts first.
“I sent out my information to every guild. I honestly didn’t think that anyone would be interested in me. I mean, I’m an F-stat. I can’t do much…”
Yoojin nodded his head slowly. He agreed that it was odd that so many guilds were trying to recruit Yoo Myungwoo, not that the man wasn’t lovely, but his SS-rank skill was unknown until he started as a blacksmith and fulfilled the quota of 10,000 sharpened blades.
“We’ll figure it out.” Yoojin sorted the guilds by hierarchy, placing them across the table in small stacks. “You have offers from two out of the top five guilds. That’s a good sign.”
He frowned at the abundant stacks of offers with bizarre clauses and conditions. Specifically, Yoojin glared at the suspicious wording of them. He then pulled apart some of the contracts and noted that most of them wanted information pertaining to Promising Sprouts, which was incredibly odd to Yoojin, as their information was online and available to walk-ins.
“Do you know why they’re asking for information about the center?”
Myungwoo’s expression faltered. “Yoojin-ssi is very… He’s seen as an anomaly.”
Yoojin blinked in surprise. “What?”
The other man let out a small laugh. “Well, you see, from what I can tell, a lot of guilds are interested in what you do here. Have you not watched the news at all, Yoojin-ssi?”
“I have… not.”
Yoojin didn’t like the news, not after it constantly told him stories about Yoohyun. It was weird to know that random strangers knew and saw Yoohyun more than Yoojin did. He hated that they didn’t interact. Even after the Rauchitas incident, Yoohyun continued to pull away, though now he did take the occasional call. Yoojin would smile for days afterward when he heard Yoohyun laugh over something Yoojin would say.
“I thought so.” Myungwoo showed a steady, albeit nervous, smile. “See, Yoojin-ssi, a lot of people are interested in this center. The Association even mentioned it in a live conference before. Some suspect that governments will try to replicate what you’ve done.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
Myungwoo’s expression flickered into confusion. “You do great things, Yoojin-ssi! Do you know how many Hunters that leave this place and grow quickly once they’re signed on with a guild? There’s been a study about it. Almost every single person that interacts with Promising Sprouts ends up doing well, even if their rank is low.”
“That’s…” Yoojin was at a loss. “I don’t know why.”
Myungwoo smiled thinly. “You’re a good person, Yoojin-ssi. Just take the compliment, yes?”
Yoojin nodded dubiously, unable to respond properly.
They continued to look over the contracts. Many of them wanted to dupe Myungwoo into working without getting paid well, so Yoojin set them in the trash as Myungwoo worriedly looked at it. Yoojin then explained what the contracts wanted and his reasons as to why they were a no-good option. Myungwoo listened closely, even taking out a notebook to mention what he did or didn’t like about each contract offer. After they narrowed it down to five, Myungwoo glanced around nervously.
“Did I do something wrong, Myungwoo-ssi?” asked Yoojin. Concern grew in his gut.
Myungwoo quickly shook his head and assured, “Of course not! I just… One of the remaining guilds is Haeyeon. I thought you— I didn’t think you’d want me to be part of them, I guess.”
Yoojin’s heart thumped rapidly. “I may have a complicated relationship with my brother, but I don’t hate him, and I won’t let my emotions get in the way of you having a proper set-up to get training or a secure job.”
“I did look over that contract before I came over.” Myungwoo tapped along the paper. “It doesn’t mention me becoming part of the guild, but rather being able to use their resources for a trial period, then potentially signing on later.”
“Oh?” Yoojin looked over the contract to see that it was true. “Huh. I wonder why Yoohyun-ie would do that.”
Myungwoo showed a wavering smile. “You still love him, don’t you?”
“My dongsaeng… He’s stubborn, but I know that he loves me too, even if he won’t say it.”
Yoohyun nearly died trying to protect Yoojin. A person wouldn’t do that just because they were related or to save face. Yoohyun still loved him, of that, Yoojin was sure. Their relationship was rocky and had been for nearly 3 years now. Yoojin hadn’t even been able to say happy birthday to Yoohyun last December. Another year passed once more without Yoojin being able to give a present or bake a cake or—
“Why don’t you tell me which contracts you’re most interested in,” suggested Yoojin.
Myungwoo read over the remaining five contracts. Yoojin was going to offer to get them both something to eat when the bell of the door rang again. Yoojin stood up, dismissing the slight cramp in his leg, then waved at the new person. The first hour of the day was abnormally slow-going, but it was a Monday, so he supposed that was fairly normal.
“How can I help you?” asked Yoojin.
The unfamiliar person tilted their head, grinned, then said, “Are you Han Yoojin?” Their hair was short and dark, their clothes were all dark shades as well, and their aura was a bit concerning. Perhaps they were newly Awakened as a C-rank or higher.
“Uhm… yes.” Yoojin stepped forward. “Can I help you with something?”
The next moment, Yoojin felt a pressure weighing down the room. He swallowed thickly until [Fear Resistance] kicked in. As the pop-up appeared, Yoojin saw that Myungwoo was huddled on the ground, face ill-looking, and trembling non-stop.
Yoojin looked up at the stranger in front of him, lips twirled into an amused smile. He wasn’t sure when she got there. She was quick, maybe even faster than Yoohyun.
“Oh?” It was an amused sound, like a predator cornering its prey.
She came closer. In a blur, Yoojin was pushed against the wall. Blood dampened the concrete wall from the force. Yoojin’s ears rang and his head throbbed with pain. His eyes cringed from the shock of being slammed against the wall. Usually, he was happy to have such strong walls, but now he was rethinking it.
“Who are you to resist me?” was what she demanded, though it sounded more excited than sinister.
Yoojin tried to pry at the hand around him but there was no budging. She simply placed her palm against his chest and it made him unable to move. He activated [Promising Sprout] to see that the person before them was Liette Rugir, an S-class Hunter with admirable skills. Before he could read her stats, his head thumped against the concrete again. Her free hand lifted to wag a finger in front of his eyes.
“What are you reading?” she demanded.
Yoojin didn’t answer as his head spun. His eyes landed on Liette, who simply licked her lips. The finger was still in the air but it moved so that they could face one another. Her intimidation factor was at least an 8/10 but with his skills it did nothing worthwhile.
“You smell different from the others… Why is that?” Liette leaned her head forward and sniffed against his neck. Every motion caused him to twitch back in response, which only made him thunk his head against the wall. “You smell like…” She licked her lips, eyes lighting up. “Are you a dragon too?”
Yoojin widened his eyes. He garbled out, “I’m not.”
“You smell like one,” accused Liette. Her grip lessened but it still easily held him in place. “You’ll be perfect.”
“... Excuse me?”
Liette grinned, all teeth. “You can watch over my brother. He has issues, you see. I heard that you’re the perfect person around to help him through them. Hunters take a special hand— I’ve done my part, but it seems that he’s not ready to do what’s needed. You’ll help, won’t you?”
“I don’t even know what issues your brother has.”
“Hmm.” Liette licked her finger which had some of Yoojin’s blood on it from the wall. “That’s a good point. I’ll explain it to you: my brother needs to be stronger, less faible. I decided to drop him off here. I’ll return in a week… no, a month. Once I return, I expect him to be in tip-top shape.”
With her free hand, Liette pulled out a contract. It buzzed with power, lighting up the room. Yoojin then felt the hold on his chest lessen, only for his hand to be tugged. Liette forced his thumbprint to the page, which was one of the ways most contracts worked.
Once the contract was in effect, Liette whistled. Yoojin glared at the woman while she turned away with a suave aura.
On cue, a young man entered the shop with a small ring. He shuffled in slowly, his eyes innocent and almost naive-looking. Yoojin wondered if it was all a ploy or if the brother had trouble dealing with his sister.
“It’s official,” announced Liette. She dropped Yoojin to the ground. He clutched his head as the woman walked over to the blond. “I’ll come back for you, Faible,” she promised. Her brother stood there as she tapped him on the shoulder. They exchanged a look before she disappeared with a whoosh.
She was gone like a whirlwind, leaving her brother to stand in the middle of the room. The threat was gone, and now Yoojin could continue on with his day.
Yoojin sucked in a long breath as he walked over to Myungwoo, who was slowly making his way back up to the table. Yoojin patted Myungwoo’s back before turning to the unknown. With Myungwoo stable in his seat, Yoojin provided a bottle of water. Myungwoo took it in thanks but he appeared to want Yoojin to sit down too.
He didn’t have time to waste. Yoojin activated his skill again to find that Liette’s brother was also an S-class Hunter, though he wasn’t supposed to be. Noah Rugir was supposed to only be capable of going up to an A-class level. What the fuck did she put him through?
Noah stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. Yoojin clicked his tongue, dismissing both Noah and Myungwoo. He looked at the stain of red against the wall. That wasn’t appealing for a palace that catered to people looking for help.
“Who was that?” he grumbled. Yoojin trotted into the bathroom and filled a tub with soapy warm water before grabbing a rag. He came back out and started to wash his blood from the wall. “She just, like, stomped in here without a care. Rude. Did she not learn any manners as a child?”
As Yoojin muttered under his breath as he cleaned the wall, Noah slowly approached. Yoojin looked up, unsure of what he was supposed to do. He wanted to treat Noah kindly but he didn’t do well with kids. Yoojin put the rag into the bucket of water, then set the bucket down by his feet.
“Yes…?”
Noah bit his lip, then said, “I’m sorry for my sister. She is…”
Yoojin patted the poor kid on the shoulder. “You’re okay, Noah-ssi. You should chill here while you can. If Liette isn’t going to come back for a month, then you should enjoy your free time. In fact, you should see it as a vacation. I would suggest going over to this one diner a few blocks away— great tripe. Well, I guess you wouldn’t like it. A lot of people don’t. But they have other great food as well.”
“Uh… Sorry?” Noah looked confused, his eyes so, so round and trusting.
Yoojin squinted his eyes at the S-class who was only supposed to be an A-ranker. He explained, “I’m not going to follow the contract, Noah-ssi. Please just relax here while you can. I won’t force you to run drills or whatever weird things she listed on the contract.”
His eyes started to fill with small tears. “You’re— you’re going to go blind if you remain this nice!” Ah, the contract must have that sort of effect if it was broken. That wasn’t even a bad one. Other contracts could take a limb or possibly a person’s life.
Yoojin tilted his head, then said confidently, “I won’t.”
Noah’s lips trembled. “You won’t?” he echoed, voice trembling.
“I won’t, so go enjoy your youth.”
Yoojin finished up the wall. He headed back into the bathroom where he emptied and rinsed the bucket and rag, then started to check his head. His fingers touched over his wound, startling a hiss to escape his mouth. He picked up a new washcloth and started to dampen it with water. He needed to clean the area of his wound, then he could worry about putting ointment on it.
However, when he looked into the mirror, he saw Noah in the doorway of the bathroom. Yoojin was going to ask if the kid was alright, but then before he knew it, Yoojin didn’t feel any pain.
“Wait… are you a healer?” asked Yoojin.
Noah bobbed his head slowly. “Yes,” he admitted after a pause.
“That’s amazing!” Yoojin rushed at the blond, eyes sparkling. Noah looked startled by his enthusiasm, so he said in a more gentle tone to explain himself, “Healers of your class are so rare. Do most of your skills concern healing or—”
“Yoojin-ssi?” a voice asked, suddenly very close.
Yoojin looked over to Yoo Myungwoo, who was standing a meter away with a concerned expression. The man looked exhausted, like he had run a marathon or lost a battle against the birds at the park.
“Myungwoo-ssi…?”
“Are you going to ignore what just happened?”
Yoojin confirmed, “She’s an S-class, buddy. We won’t be able to do anything about her. We’re not only both F-stats, but she seems to know a thing or two about contracts.”
To prove it, he took out the contract from Inventory. It lit up in the area between him, Myungwoo, and Noah, which caused their eyes to have rings of orange around them. The contract glowed, illuminating the room in an unnaturally bright light. Noah looked ashamed of it while Myungwoo paled at the sight. Yoojin just shrugged as he reached for it using his sleeves to cover his hands.
“I’ll just get rid of it now—”
As he ripped the contract apart, multiple things happened. Myungwoo called out Yoojin’s name, Noah started another healing spell, and Yoojin was sent multiple notifications about [Curse Resistance] so he was good to go.
Once the contract was ruined and Yoojin stood unblemished, Myungwoo and Noah looked at Yoojin with wide eyes.
“There,” he said nonchalantly, pretending like he also wasn’t worried about the effects of his skills. “Now we can move on.”
Noah blubbered in worry, “My sister—”
“Don’t worry about Liette, Noah-ssi. You’re safe here.” Yoojin showed a thumbs-up. “Since you’re new in town, you can stay with me on the second floor. I don’t have a second bed, so will a couch do? Or should I get a cot? Would that be more comfortable?”
It was silent in Promising Sprouts for a while. Yoojin waited expectantly for a reply as Myungwoo seemed to risk fainting at his nonchalance.
Noah mumbled eventually, “A couch will be fine. Thank you, Yoojin-nim.”
Yoojin patted Noah on the shoulder. “Don’t be so formal, Noah-ssi. You’re an S-class.” Noah widened his eyes but kept silent. “How about we all take a break? I’ll grab us some cookies and we can all relax.”
Yoojin left Noah and Myungwoo to blink warily at each other. When he returned, they were still standing in the same spot next to the drying wall. Yoojin called them over to the table where the contracts were. They ate the cookies, though Yoojin knew that Myungwoo’s would have been better. Last week, when Yoojin was busy telling a newly Awakened D-class about stats and levels, Myungwoo baked. The cookies were glorious.
“So, we’ll do some introductions,” said Yoojin, cutting through the awkwardness with more awkwardness. “I’m Han Yoojin, the owner of this building. I run this center for new and young Awakened people to learn about the system and an assortment of other odds and ends.”
Myungwoo hesitantly said, “I’m Yoo Myungwoo. I’m an F-ranker that has come by the center for the past few weeks. I’ve been thinking of signing on with a guild.”
With nervousness, the blond said, “I am Noah Rugir. I used to be a guild leader. I, uh, I am an S-class Hunter that specializes in healing and dragon transformation.”
“Did you just say dragon?” questioned Yoojin. The pieces clinked together in his head of Liette and her words. “Your sister— can she do the same thing?”
Noah confirmed, “We can both transform into dragons. We’re actually twin dragons, I believe it’s called. She’s the strongest out of us, so she thinks I need to…” Faible, was what she called him. In French, faible meant weak.
Yoojin patted Noah’s shoulder in what he hoped was in a comforting way. Noah seemed to appear better by the action, so Yoojin took away his hand to focus back on the contracts on the table. Only five remained and they were all good in their own ways. It would come down to what Myungwoo wanted.
“Currently, Noah-ssi, we’re looking over Yoo Myungwoo’s contracts. You’re welcome to observe how to read contracts or you can look around the center. There are different rooms for different things.”
Noah bid them goodbye with a small wave. He looked around slowly, observing every little thing with a cute and innocent curious look. Yoojin forced himself to not stare, turning away. Noah was a great kid, it seemed like, so why was Liette so cruel to him!?
“Yoojin-ssi?”
Yoojin turned to Myungwoo. “Have you decided on which guilds you like the most?” He then apologized, “Sorry for being so out of it this morning, Myungwoo-ssi. I’ll try to make it up to you later, though this may be your last visit.”
Myungwoo’s eyes widened. “I’m not going to stop showing up.”
“... You’re not? Did I not explain things properly?”
“Yoojin-ssi, I like it here. I know that other people tend to drop by even if they don’t need your help, so I was hoping to do the same. I probably won’t come in every day, but I do enjoy your company, and…”
Yoojin felt himself smile. “Friends, then?” Myungwoo nodded hastily. As his stomach flipped over in happiness, Yoojin quickly said, “So… which guild?”
“Honestly, Yoojin-ssi, I think the Haeyeon Guild is my best option.” Myungwoo looked away but Yoojin continued to smile gently. Myungwoo explained, “I’m not sure if I want to work in a dungeon or belong to a guild, so I think a trial period is the best thing for me. It also allows me to have my options open.”
“It’s better than the MKC Guild at the very least,” agreed Yoojin.
Even though the large, powerful guild offered benefits, they wanted Myungwoo to sign a contract that would last a lifetime with a note at the bottom that negotiating the contract was not possible. Plus, Yoojin was sure that the MKC Guild would one day split due to their differing factions.
“Thank you for helping me with this.”
“Wait!” Yoojin held out his hand as Myungwoo started to pack his things. “You haven’t discussed what terms you would want.”
Myungwoo sat down with embarrassed pink cheeks. “My conditions, right…”
“You should be able to negotiate with every contract. Unless they’re illegal, most contracts are a two-way negotiation. It doesn’t have to be something big, in case you already are happy with the current contract, but you should still at least ask if you can add something to it. It’ll show your potential employer that you know how contracts work.”
“You’re really knowledgeable on this, Yoojin-ssi. You should put together some resources about contracts and how to tell if they’re scams or bad or good.”
Yoojin hummed thoughtfully. “I have a page of it up on the website.”
Myungwoo’s face fell. “You still use the website?”
“Yeah.”
“But it’s… it’s so out-of-date. Most people think it’s decades old because of the layout.”
“Oh.” Yoojin’s gut churned. “It’s fine. I’ll make a slideshow of it or something.”
Myungwoo showed a smile as Yoojin tried to not wonder why he chose this as his career. He could have done anything else and yet he decided to open an Awakening center that was apparently drawing more attention to himself than he wanted. Ugh. What happened to the days that he wished to grow up and be a rich bum?
After Myungwoo left, Yoojin picked up the center and checked up on Noah. He found the young man curled up on a beanbag in the room that usually was reserved for kids, though they didn’t drop by until the afternoon. He smiled then exited the room quietly. Today was a slow day. He wondered why but he needed some silence. He looked at the drying wall and swallowed down the bile in his throat. Everything was fine.
Yoojin went into his office, unlocking the door with his key. It was a small, dreary thing that was covered in filing cabinets. He logged onto the outdated desktop and looked into what Myungwoo had said. Liette also came into Promising Sprouts for a reason, so there had to be something that he was missing.
Yoojin was surprised to find that his little building was a hot topic for conversation. Many people were interested in the idea of a center for Awakened people to converse without the government overseeing them. Some people thought that it was bizarre for one person, an F-ranker at that, to run the center. A few comments on a video of Song Taewon mentioning Promising Sprouts at a conference judged Han Yoojin for opening the place when it was clear that he did not have a good relationship with his S-class brother.
He also found out that many guilds were apparently interested in the center publicly. He assumed that since the guilds were trying to find out information through contracts, they weren’t announcing their interest in Promising Sprouts. That was incorrect— not only were many guilds rumored to be interested in Yoojin’s business, but a couple of guild leaders had mentioned on camera that they wanted to see the center in-person.
Yoojin gulped. He didn’t want to draw that kind of attention. Promising Sprouts was just something he did as a hobby online to help people understand their powers and the new world they were walking into. He never expected guilds to take notice of him publicly.
He even pulled up a video of Moon Hyuna from the Breaker Guild talking about the center. As it began to load, he then heard a ring. Yoojin closed out of the tab and left his office to see who had come in.
He was presented with a girl with bright blue eyes. She looked around with her arms crossed into her thin jacket, her shoes scuffling across the floor as her gaze pinpointed for threats. She reminded Yoojin of many people that came into the center— those who were either afraid of their powers, knew that they’d get taken advantage of by someone in their lives, or wanted a place to stay for an hour even if they weren’t Awakened.
Yoojin asked in a soft, gentle tone, “Do you need something?”
She looked up and said, “This is the place where Awakened people come out of as really strong, right?” She didn’t wait for an answer as she walked toward Yoojin. “I need to Awaken.”
“... I’m sorry?”
“I need to Awaken,” she repeated. She pushed her hair back nervously, her foot tapping against the floor. “I saw online that anyone that is 14-years-old or older is able to become emancipated. So I want…. I need to Awaken.”
Yoojin assessed his options. He looked at the girl in front of him. She had worn-out shoes, long sleeves that didn’t cover the bruises across her shoulders, and a gaze that made Yoojin’s heart crack. Then, he activated his [Promising Sprout] and learned that she was Park Yerim, a potential A-class or S-class Hunter.
“Have you had lunch yet?” he asked.
Yerim cocked her head toward him suspiciously. After a few moments, she replied, “No.”
“Let’s go eat, then.” He guided her to the snack room. He gestured to the fridge where she took out a bottle of water. Yoojin took out some leftovers and heated them up as Yerim sat at the table with the bottle in hand.
As they ate, Yoojin said, “Awakening isn’t something that most people think I can do.”
Yerim picked out a chili piece from the rice and ate it with a small smile before looking up. “I saw it on a message board— the only reason why guilds are interested is because you can craft a person to be a better Hunter.”
“That’s not at all what Promising Sprouts provides.” He tried to explain, “It’s just a place where people can come by if they have questions about the Hunter part of society. It’s tricky because there are a lot of hoops and rules to jump through. Mostly, it’s an answering service. I can’t do everything but I try to put any relevant information out there for people to have access to.”
Yerim narrowed her eyes, then she sighed in defeat. She determined tiredly, “You can’t help me.”
“I never— I never said that.”
“I don’t need to be told how the world works,” said Yerim, bitterness covering her voice. “I need to Awaken so that I can sign onto a big guild and get out of my uncle’s house.”
“Being a Hunter can bring new problems into your life. Not only do you have to go into dungeons if you’re strong, but you’ll interact with the public, have long training hours, and be expected to keep up appearances for whatever guild you join, or be a freelancer and not have protection from the Association.”
Yerim rolled her eyes. “It would be better than what I have.”
Yoojin tilted his head. “May I ask you something?”
She crooned her neck. “... Sure.”
“What would you do if I was able to help you Awaken?”
Yerim pursed her lips. She thought things over before she answered, “I would join a guild.”
Han Yoojin nodded his head. “As most do.” Freelancers were quite common as well but it would be tricky for a teenager to pull it off.
“But?”
“I’ll… I’ll agree to help you, if you stop by and learn more about what your possible future could be. Entering the Hunter world without knowledge is daunting, and can possibly lead to your death. I try to stop that from happening, so that’s the deal. I’ll help you if you learn about what it would mean to not only join a guild, but enter a dungeon, and be part of the Hunter hierarchy.”
Yerim looked at him, analyzing his every twitch, before she agreed, “Fine. I can stop by around noon every day. That’s my lunch break.”
“Lunch break?”
Yerim nodded shortly, turning her head away. “My uncle had me drop out of school to help him with the restaurant.”
Yoojin felt his stomach twist as if it was pulled sugar being stretched out to create taffy. He liked being able to make his own choices— like when he was tired of Yoohyun’s guild calling him so he blocked not only the guild’s number, but Yoohyun’s too. He was so upset at the time since they were trying to give him money as a way to keep quiet. Why didn’t Yoohyun understand that he just wanted to spend time together?
“I dropped out of school too. Although it was my own choice. My dongsaeng had a brighter future ahead because of his grades and… He ended up not needing the small college fund I managed to pull together. That’s how I opened this place.”
“Did he get a scholarship…?”
Yoojin shook his head, surprised that she didn’t already know. “My brother’s a Hunter. He makes plenty of money, I’m sure.”
Yerim faintly nodded before she continued to eat. Yoojin smiled and did the same. The leftovers were mediocre but she was happy with it. Maybe any food that didn’t remind her of her uncle’s restaurant was for the best.
“You can stop by tomorrow and you can choose what you’d like to learn about first. The basics are the Status Window, contracts, and guilds.”
Yerim showed the smallest hint of a smile before she left. He sent her off with a small disposable cup of lemonade, which made her laugh as her eyebrows judged him.
Yoojin stood alone in the room and wondered if this was his calling after all. Yerim had the potential to be an S-class Hunter. If he used his skill on her, then she’d be able to escape her relatives and live a cushy life by fighting monsters for fun. But was that for the best? Yoohyun’s personality changed once he entered that part of society— at least, his emotions toward Yoojin changed.
He didn’t have much downtime. He vaguely forgot that he was supposed to work today.
More people flocked in. They took pamphlets and Yoojin gladly answered any questions. He had to rest his leg and take a seat at one of the tables near the entrance instead of standing up. He considered taking some pain medication but it rarely helped. He quickly looked up his next physical therapy appointment to find that it was two weeks from now, which wasn’t that far off in the big scheme of things. I’m lucky to not have a shattered limb, he reminded himself.
Eventually, the afternoon rush came in. Kids and teens flocked into the center with a few accompanied by an adult that picked up every pamphlet in sight. Yoojin turned on an Awakened Life 101 video that the Association made for kids that were Awakened but not eligible to participate in dungeons. Yoojin had a follow-up flyer that explained some of the terms that might not have been clear, or the Association purposely didn’t explain properly.
He stirred a cup of tea as he sat down at a table once the sun started to set. Promising Sprouts was still technically open but not many stayed or came in once it got late. Yoojin drank his warm tea and thought about ways to make it seem like he didn’t awaken Park Yerim himself. She would have to Awaken elsewhere in order to not cause a problem. If people learned of his skill…
Noah joined him for tea after a few minutes. Yoojin gladly welcomed him. The poor young man had been through a lot, it seemed. Liette was terrifying but there had to be some sort of sibling affection there, right? Right? Yoojin stirred honey into Noah’s cup as the shapeshifter heated up a bowl of soup. Noah had mingled with others once it began to get busy, watching the same videos that the kids watched as they shared snacks and juice. It reminded Yoojin that he’d need to buy some toiletries for the blond if he was going to be here a month.
“What did your sister want me to do?” asked Yoojin. He hadn’t read over the contract but he knew it wasn’t anything good.
Noah looked askance as his grip on the tea mug became a bit strong. “There were rumors that you can help optimize Awakened people.”
Yoojin’s heart sank, ice filling his veins. “Oh?”
Noah nodded slowly. “Too many people were leaving Promising Sprouts with more knowledge and skills than normal. It was an anomaly that started with you. Liette’s source wanted her to look into you. She could kill two birds with one stone, I suppose.”
Noah’s eyes then landed on Yoojin with a newfound light. Noah asked, “Are you sure you want me to stay, Yoojin-ssi? My sister—”
“Don’t worry about me, Noah-ssi,” assured Yoojin, waving off the kid. “I’m fine. You should worry about yourself more. Liette surely knows that I ripped the contract apart. She must be waiting to see what happens.”
“Are you not scared of the consequences?”
Yoojin hummed, thinking over the past few years. Truthfully, he replied, “It can’t be any worse than what I’ve faced before.” He changed the subject promptly, “If you’re still tired, you should rest up. I’ll close up the center and meet you up there soon. Oh, and if you see Peace, just give them a little pat on the head.”
“...Peace?”
Yoojin opened his mouth in surprise. “Right. I didn’t tell you about Peace.”
“You didn’t,” agreed Noah.
“Peace is a, uhm, cat-like creature.”
“... Okay.” Noah stood up but seemed a bit confused. “Good night, Yoojin-ssi. If I see Peace, I will give them a head pat.”
Yoojin shot a thumbs-up. As soon as Noah disappeared upstairs, Yoojin covered his face with his arm and tried not to think about how he was completely and utterly screwed. Liette could kill him easily, people knew about his skills somehow, and he agreed to Awaken a teenager if she learned about Hunter society. What the fuck was wrong with him?
He finished his tea and then walked over to the door. His muscles twitched under his skin, sending shocks of pain. He shouldn’t have stood up so much today.
He took out his keys and flipped the small sign. As he began to reach for the doorknob, he noticed that a shadow was looming in the door. Yoojin looked up with a furrowed brow to see a tall man there. Yoojin opened the door against his better judgment.
“Can I help you?”
The man stepped inside, the light revealing his identity. Yoojin recognized the man instantly. Not only was he constantly in headlines, but it was hard to not feel the presence of a Hunter like the one before him. It was Sung Hyunje, the first S-rank in Korea, and possibly the strongest Hunter in the world. He was the leader of the Sesung Guild, the top guild in South Korea. And, well, Yoojin also knew the man because of other things.
“Yoojin-gun,” greeted Hyunje, smiling perfectly like the beautiful bastard he was.