Chapter 190: Daily Life (3)

TL: SHW

‘That’s why you can’t impose limits. At the very least, we need to avoid having what the kids learn at school hold them back.’

‘…Oh. When you put it like that, Teacher, you really do sound like a teacher.’

‘Isn’t it just that everyone else isn’t acting like a teacher at all?’

‘Well, when you put it that way, I can’t argue…. I suppose it’s because none of us were exactly people who used to teach others.’

Lee Mi-seon drew in her shoulders. It was nothing like her usual self, always brimming with confidence and ordering Hunters around with a flick of her finger.

As far as Kang Tae-woo knew, Woo Hwijae had come from the same Research Lab as him. That was the only thing they had in common, though, since their roles had been different…. Did that mean Woo Hwijae was such an impressive person that even someone as remarkable as Lee Seung-yeon’s aunt could do nothing but sit there and take his nagging?

As Kang Tae-woo stayed still and held his breath, Woo Hwijae let out a frustrated sigh.

‘I wouldn’t be this concerned either if they were at least adults. But as I’ve told you time and again.’

Lee Mi-seon subtly avoided Woo Hwijae’s gaze.

‘If you’re going to gather children and create an educational institution, don’t settle for playing school like this.’

‘Ugh…. I know what you mean. I didn’t want to make a school with no preparation like this either, but there were circumstances.’

‘What circumstances?’

‘Ask Hunter Hong later. I don’t know whether he’ll tell you, but you said you’re his disciple, right? I’m sure he will.’

Lee Mi-seon turned around.

Kang Tae-woo backed away, worried Lee Mi-seon might see him. The wall hid both of their faces from view. He could still hear their voices without any trouble.

‘Then I’ll start with what we can do right away. We can send the kids on a trip so they can catch their breath, then get them studying so they don’t have time for anything else. As for a teacher, let’s see. I wonder if oppa has Seunghyeon’s private tutor’s contact information.’

Lee Mi-seon’s muttering was so quiet that it was difficult to make out. Yet for some reason, Woo Hwijae’s next words came through clearly. His voice did not seem particularly loud compared to hers.

Kang Tae-woo did not know whether becoming a Hunter let everyone pull tricks like that, or whether it was simply because those were the words he had wanted to hear.

‘They’re still kids, after all. They’re at an age when there are all sorts of things they want to do. If there’s something they want to do, and they can actually do it, that’s best.’

‘And that’s why you’re making them study too? What they want to do might be something they can do without studying.’

‘Well…. Studying isn’t essential, but if they’re good at it, doesn’t that give them more options to choose from? Being Awakened doesn’t mean they have to become Hunters. I heard Hunter Lee graduated from college too. The kids might want to go to college.’

‘I was originally planning to join my father’s company.’

‘I originally wanted to become… ahem. Originally, I wanted to learn a lot more too.’

Woo Hwijae cleared his throat.

‘At that age, they don’t even really know what they want to do yet. Making kids like that live with nothing but dungeons in their sights is a little hard on the conscience as an adult.’

‘Ah, I said I get it! I know too! What, do you think I don’t have a conscience?!’

‘If you do, that’s a relief. I’d be very worried if a member of one of South Korea’s leading chaebol families had no conscience.’

‘…My dad hated the idea of me becoming a Hunter too.’

Woo Hwijae’s voice softened slightly.

‘It’s dangerous work.’

‘…Is there anything else the kids could do?’

When Lee Mi-seon cautiously asked while gauging his reaction, Woo Hwijae had replied with a hint of laughter in his voice.

‘Who knows. For now, just studying will probably be hard enough for them.’

“Ah, I hate studying!!”

…Foresight? Kang Tae-woo looked at Lee Seung-yeon. The only sign that he shared blood with Lee Mi-seon was their resemblance.

“The weather’s so nice too! On a day like this, we should be going out!”

Then again, not many people actually liked studying. Through the window, Kang Tae-woo could see a clear blue sky without a single cloud. With the window open, a pleasantly gentle breeze drifted inside.

As Lee Seung-yeon complained openly, tentative voices of agreement eventually began coming from here and there. Still, some stubbornly kept silent.

Kang Tae-woo studied those people closely. Perhaps, as Woo Hwijae had said, they were not all that interested in Dungeon Raids. Just like him.

He had somehow even Awakened and made it this far, but… Ah. Then what Lee Seung-yeon had said was not wrong either.

‘If it feels like there won’t be a next time, then just try something else too!’

For the first time in his life, he had a next time.

Then maybe trying this and that… wouldn’t be so bad. Kang Tae-woo let himself think that timidly, afraid the opportunity in his grasp might disappear.

It was not as though there was nothing he wanted to try. Not worries about the future, but things he wanted to do right now. Things he had always wanted to try someday. Simple things, from going to a movie theater to watch the newest release to browsing books at a bookstore, watching a sports match….

Normally, new experiences like those required money, but they had Lee Seung-yeon, didn’t they? That guileless cheerfulness Kang Tae-woo could only envy was, by that very fact, a virtue. Unlike Kang Tae-woo, Lee Seung-yeon went around helping others as much as he wanted without weighing every little thing. Even their trip to see the ocean together had been because of Lee Seung-yeon,

‘Why do you look so miserable? Ah, whatever! Hey, you’re coming too!’

‘W-Wait a second!’

‘I told you to call me hyung!!’

who had said things like that.

Even without Lee Seung-yeon, there were Woo Hwijae and Hong Seok-young. Truthfully, the principal was still a little frightening. But Kang Tae-woo knew that no matter how badly Hong Seok-young felt about the Ark, he was not the kind of person to take it out on a victim. If anything, he would help.

Woo Hwijae really did press money into his hand once a week as an allowance. Along with an apology for not being able to look after him properly.

“Hey, Kang Tae-woo. Aren’t you sick of studying?”

Kang Tae-woo stared at Lee Seung-yeon, who had suddenly spoken to him. Before Kang Tae-woo could answer, Han Eun-young shouted sharply.

“Lee Seung-yeon! Don’t distract someone who’s studying properly!”

“Try being even half as diligent as him.”

“Ah, why am I the only one getting picked on?!”

“Then stop doing things that deserve it!!”

“No, I just asked if he was sick of studying! Why?!”

He was still awkward around everyone except Lee Seung-yeon. Still, judging by how they talked like this, even if they were not close enough to call friends yet, it seemed he had grown reasonably accustomed to them.

‘No. 3.’

Compared to back then, he felt much more at ease here.

No, it almost felt wrong to compare that place with here.

Without answering Lee Seung-yeon, Kang Tae-woo picked up the pencil he had set down.

What did he want to become?

If someone asked him about his future, Kang Tae-woo had no answer to give.

But if someone… asked whether he was glad he had enrolled at Pilot High School. If they asked whether he was all right with going through the process of becoming a Hunter.

Well. Ever since accidentally eavesdropping on Lee Mi-seon and Woo Hwijae’s conversation, Kang Tae-woo had spent several days thinking about the answer to that question.

Getting stronger was good. In this harsh world, there was no guarantee that sheer bad luck would never drag him into a Dungeon Break.

If he learned how to use his body, how to kill monsters, how to carry out a Dungeon Raid, and things like that, he would not have to worry about making a living either. Wasn’t that the most important thing in modern society anyway? Assuming he did not die, of course.

Then let him change the question.

Do I want to become a Hunter?

‘…….’

Kang Tae-woo found the answer to that question without much difficulty.

He had no desire to become a Hunter.

Unlike the Hunters who sometimes appeared on the news for interviews, he had never once felt a sense of duty to save people the moment he became an Awakened.

Still. Still, if he did become a Hunter…. Well, the first thing that came to mind was his little sister’s face, smiling brightly. And the hand that had clung to him when he was about to enter the Orphanage.

He still did not want to become a Hunter.

But…

…There was no rule saying a Hunter had to hunt monsters.

There were plenty of people who went around catching criminals. They showed up on the news from time to time. He had heard the researchers at the Research Lab talking about them too, and Teacher Woo, who had once been a Cleaner, probably….

There was exactly one thing he wanted badly enough to picture clearly.

Whether he could accomplish it safely was another matter.

What came after accomplishing it was another story too.

After he finished the thing he wanted to do most.

If he could still live like this then….

Kang Tae-woo slowly began working through the problems. There was only a one-year age difference, but when the younger boy among them began studying, the chaotic chatter gradually died down.

Scratch, scratch.

Only the sound of pencils brushing across paper remained.

***

Crash, clatter.

At the loud racket from the hallway, Yoo Hye-eun clutched her head. Suppressed laughter rippled among the children who had been quietly working on their problems.

Beep. Beep-beep.

They heard the front door code being entered. A moment later, the lock clicked open, and a girl with her hair tied back in a ponytail stepped inside.

“I’m home!”

“I told you to come in quietly! What were you doing in the hallway again?”

“Huh? Nothing, I dropped my bag.”

“Why would you drop your… No, forget it. Go wash your hands.”

Looking thoroughly exasperated, Yoo Hye-eun sprang to her feet and began trailing after her younger sister, nagging her.

“How was school? Nothing happened?”

“Nope.”

“Really?”

“I said nothing happened.”

Yoo Ji-eun came into the living room, shaking the water from her damp hands. Yoo Hye-eun, who had retrieved the schoolbag her younger sister had carelessly tossed by the entrance, shook her head.

“Ah, what? Everyone’s studying? This is hilarious.”

“What are you talking about, Yoo Ji-eun? You’ll have to do this next year too.”

“I’ll think about that when next year comes!”

The gloomy mood brightened just because one middle school girl had arrived. That was probably partly because Yoo Ji-eun had an exceptionally cheerful personality.

Even Yoo Hye-eun, who had been about to unleash another barrage of nagging at her sister, eventually gave up.

“Isn’t your uniform uncomfortable? Want to go change? You ate lunch, right? Aren’t you hungry?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine.”

Her younger sister, however, seemed to find all that attention annoying. Yoo Ji-eun let her sister’s words go in one ear and out the other as she headed for the kitchen. The refrigerator, which a Hunter from Daseon had come by to stock that morning, was packed with food.

The apartment had four bedrooms and two bathrooms and had originally been used as a Dormitory. Lee Mi-seon had secured two apartments. The boys used the apartment on this floor, while the girls used the one two floors above. The trip had been fun, but Yoo Ji-eun privately thought it hilarious that the older boys and girls had come back only to spend all their time studying, so she rushed over as soon as school ended every day to watch them.

She would have been sick with envy if they had gone back to school and were training to become Hunters, but just look at them, stuck sitting there unable to budge.

Yoo Ji-eun could hardly stop snickering.

“Then should we have snacks without Ji-eun?”

“Ah, me too!”

“You said you were fine.”

“That’s different!”

Yoo Ji-eun’s arrival was practically the signal that afternoon study was over.

“I’m ordering from a café, so tell me what you want!”

Lee Seung-yeon shouted, holding up his phone.

This time, Kang Tae-woo also set his pencil down for good and closed his workbook.

The peaceful afternoon passed.

Later, if Kang Tae-woo were given another ‘next time’.

Then…….

Well. By then, maybe he could let himself grow a little closer to them without holding himself back so much.

***

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