The F-Rank Hunter Defies Fate Chapter 3.3

Absently taking it, Harang wondered just when this young man had become interested in shamanistic beliefs.

“That’s pretty tasty. I told my brother I didn’t like bitter things, so he bought that for me separately!”

As Harang just stared at it, Hyemin eagerly added an explanation. Harang didn’t really have any preferences. Still, tasty was better than bitter, so he nodded to show he understood.

“I’ll… enjoy it.”

He had never made a habit of taking nutritional supplements. Still, it wouldn’t be polite to throw away something given with such care. Rolling the warm bottle in his hands, Harang drank it down to the very last drop.

The hunters’ daily lives, seen up close, were surprisingly unremarkable. He had thought they fought monsters every day and lived movie-like lives, but he was told there was no danger except when climbing a new floor.

All Harang saw in Yoogeom’s office was Baek Hyemin whining for something to do because he was antsy, and Yoo Jaei, who clearly hated moving, following along to build up his record.

The other team members were also busy in their own ways. When the youngest members caused trouble in the field, they had to be dispatched to resolve it, and it was Jeonghye and Yonghoon’s job to write all sorts of reports and organize the spoils.

“It’s peaceful.”

That was right. After observing for a few days, Harang concluded that there was only one person in Raid Team 1 who was at leisure: Baek Yoogeom. The man who occupied the largest team leader’s office never took action himself. Harang’s situation, having become his dedicated fortune-telling assistant, was similar.

“Are you bored?”

Baek Yoogeom, who had been lounging in his chair, asked with his eyes raised. Like a predator that had spotted its prey.

“No.”

Not wanting to get into any trouble, Harang continued speaking after a slight pause.

“I was just thinking about how long it’s been since I’ve had such an ordinary day.”

Harang’s every day had been a struggle. He was pushed out into society in his teens, and after awakening as a hunter, he was busy hiding his abilities.

“Want me to give you some work?”

They had only been together for a few days, but it was enough time for Harang to grasp Yoogeom’s personality. Noticing the consideration hidden beneath the indifferent tone, Harang smiled gently.

“Are you going to get another reading?”

As their gazes, full of goodwill, met, Yoogeom nodded. With Harang reading Yoogeom’s fortune every day and the team members each doing their own work, time rushed forward.

Five minutes before six in the afternoon, Harang surreptitiously glanced at the clock on the wall. The second hand of the analog clock was moving at a precise interval.

The peaceful days were good, and having a place to belong was good too. But the time Harang looked forward to the most was right now.

He hadn’t known because he’d never worked at a company before, but Saenara, befitting a large corporation, guaranteed that everyone could leave work on time. On his first day, he had unintentionally fallen asleep, so Harang had been on high alert since the second day.

He had planned to be the last to leave after everyone else, just as he had read on the internet. However, even though it wasn’t six o’clock yet, Yoogeom was asking with his eyes why he wasn’t leaving. Having nothing particular to say in response, he stayed quiet, and Hyemin from outside opened the door and poked his head in.

“Master, we have flexible work hours. You can go home when you’re done with your work.”

As soon as he heard those words, emotion welled up in Harang’s eyes. In his sparkling eyes, a life with evenings, a life with a guaranteed work-life balance, was unfolding. The old saying that it was better to be a servant in a great house was indeed true.

“Mr. Harang, is there any food you can’t eat?”

Just as he was about to tidy up his desk for the day, a question was suddenly thrown at him. The stiff tone belonged to Mu Jeonghye. He wondered why she was suddenly talking about food, but remembering that the team leader here was a food-obsessed psycho, a compliant answer flowed out.

“I eat everything well except for seafood. I’m also good with spicy food.”

“I see.”

Having gotten the answer she wanted, Mu Jeonghye’s gaze wandered into the air. Based on his experience so far, it seemed she was using the guild chat window. Come to think of it, couldn’t he use it too? The question arose, but he decided to keep it to himself, figuring they would tell him eventually.

“Let’s go.”

Mu Jeonghye’s eyes refocused. As aloof as her name suggested, she pulled Harang along without a subject or an object. Where to? Harang, who hadn’t grasped the situation, asked dumbly.

“We have a full company dinner today! We cleared the 79th floor recently, you know.”

“A company… dinner?”

As Harang just blinked his eyes, Hyemin, who had been fidgeting outside the team leader’s office, came inside.

“Didn’t you see the company notice?”

He hadn’t seen or heard of any company notice. When Harang acted as if he had no idea what was going on, Hyemin snatched the mouse away. The smoothly moving cursor went to the messenger window at the bottom of the taskbar.

It was a function Harang had hidden, thinking it had nothing to do with him. When he clicked it, hundreds of conversations scrolled up in a rush. It was too fast to see properly, but a few words came through clearly.

Full company dinner after work, mandatory attendance.

To think there was a place that forced company dinners in this day and age. And on a Friday, no less. He wanted to retract the praise he had just given the company. Saenara was a villainous enterprise wearing the mask of a large corporation.

“Am I going too? I’ve only been here for ten days…”

Putting his personal feelings aside, Harang wondered if a newcomer should be joining such an important event. Moreover, Harang was just a one-month contract worker. It was also unclear whether the ‘full company dinner’ meant only Raid Team 1 or encompassed the entire company.

“It’s fine. There are many teams that have a company dinner to celebrate when someone new joins. It’s easy to get to know people, isn’t it great?”

That was only true for extroverted people like Hyemin. The biggest reason Harang had lived in hiding for years was to conceal the fact that he was a hunter, but as he lived, he found that a solitary life suited him well. There was no need to maintain unnecessary human relationships or get caught up in gossip. It was so much better.

“Do contract workers go too?”

When he brought up his last resort, Hyemin’s eyes widened as if to ask how he could say such a thing. Harang, who had suddenly become an adult who had said something terrible, stammered out an excuse.

“No, I was just wondering if there’s anything left for the company if they take care of contract workers too. I’m really fine, so how about you go without me…”

“What a disappointing thing to say! The thing the Guild Leader hates the most is playing around with food. Whether you’re a contract worker or an intern, you still have to eat.”

Just like Yoogeom, Hyemin also seemed to have a great desire for food. Seeing that it was impossible to reason with him, Harang looked at the highest-ranking person in the room. When he made his eyes well up as if asking for help, Yoogeom, who had been watching the two until then, clicked his tongue.

“You don’t like meat?”

It seemed that telepathy with Yoogeom was never going to work. He wondered if he would explode from frustration before that.

“How late will it go?”

Realizing he couldn’t get out of it no matter what reason he gave, Harang asked, hoping it would at least end early.

“I’m not sure about the other teams. Hunters don’t get drunk easily. Last time, Jeonghye noona beat everyone, right?”

It was nothing to be proud of, but Hyemin said it boastfully. Even the indifferent Mu Jeonghye was blushing and nodding.

“That’s… quite something.”

It was supposedly a company dinner to celebrate climbing the 79th floor, and the meat restaurant Harang was dragged to, crying and kicking, was huge. An entire six-story building was a single meat restaurant. The employees were packed in starting from the first floor, but when he entered with Raid Team 1, the boisterous noise died down as if it were a lie.

“We’ll eat well!”

“We enjoyed watching the fastest clear time. As expected of the pride of Worlds!”

People with flushed faces, perhaps having already had a drink, spoke to Raid Team 1 in a friendly manner as they passed by. The more they did, the more Harang hid behind Hyemin. It had been worth it to find a mask before leaving the company.

“But who is that person?”

“You don’t know? Team Leader Baek brought him in himself. He must be an amazing hunter.”

“Ah, the one from the rumors?”

He thought he could pass by quietly, but there were also people who paid attention to Harang. They thought they were whispering, but there was no way people who had already had a drink could control the volume of their voices.

Words that were too meaningful to just let pass were pouring out. What on earth was this rumor? He wanted to run over and ask right away, but Harang suppressed the urge by pulling his mask up right below his eyes. As he bit his lip and desperately pretended not to know, the attention that had been focused on him seemed to fade.

When they finally made it to the very top floor, the situation improved a little. It was because they had reserved a room, so he only had to see the faces of Raid Team 1.

“I’ll do the grilling!”

When Harang, the new employee, tried to grill the meat, Hyemin quickly snatched the tongs away. Harang, who was left grasping at empty air, spoke calmly.

“This is something the new employee should do. Please give them to me. I’m good at grilling meat.”

“Are you sure you’ll be okay? It must be tough…”

Hyemin trailed off. It was just grilling meat, but his voice held a hint of worry and awkwardness. Harang, who didn’t catch the hidden meaning, took advantage of Hyemin’s unguarded moment and snatched the tongs.

Until he placed the meat on the grill, Harang had planned to show off the skills he had accumulated through years of part-time jobs to his heart’s content. But as time went on, he wanted to take back what he had said.

Even though it was beef, as soon as the surface was slightly cooked, chopsticks flew in from all directions. With six people, there were two grills, but as soon as the meat was placed on them, Kim Yonghoon and Baek Hyemin were snatching it up.

Yoo Jaei at least had some sense of propriety and waited before picking up his chopsticks, but he was gathering the small-cut pieces like a squirrel, so Harang had to just keep grilling. They all looked fit without an ounce of fat, but perhaps because their job was physically demanding, they ate way too well.

Naturally, there was no opportunity for Harang to eat. Harang, far from being a big eater, had lived by barely managing to get his meals. But seeing them take the meat as soon as he put it on the grill, he felt like he would develop a greed he didn’t have before.

“Give it here.”

Someone lightly tapped the arm of Harang, who had been silently enduring it all for the sole reason that he was a new employee. When he slid his eyes over, he saw it was Yoogeom. The man who always ate a full bowl of rice was now resting his chin on his hand and watching Harang.

“I’ll do it.”

“Acting tough.”

Yoogeom, who had smirked, slipped his fingers between Harang’s. The moderately warm temperature shook Harang’s composure. He had only been dazed for a moment, but the tongs he had been holding in his hand disappeared.

“My hyung is good at grilling meat. Master, you should have some drinks, too.”

As if on cue, Hyemin tilted a liquor bottle towards him. Harang barely managed to snatch the soju glass that had been sitting in front of him like a decoration. Because he blocked it with both hands, the clear liquid flowed down the back of his hand.

“Oh dear, it splashed. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I can’t drink alcohol.”

Harang quickly explained his situation. Most people, when told he couldn’t drink, would say, “Really?” and then pressure him to try it, but it was better to say it beforehand.

“Really? I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”

Hyemin apologized while tearing open a new wet wipe. It was the first time he had received such a reaction, so Harang just blinked. Then Yoogeom, who was next to him, clicked his tongue and took the wet wipe.

“Is the smell okay?”

He was so surprised by the cool apology that he didn’t even realize Yoogeom was wiping his hand. The rough touch made his chest tickle. It had been so long since someone had taken care of him like this that he felt a lump in his throat.

“I won’t get drunk just by smelling it. And I can drink one glass, too.”

Knowing how foolish it looked to brag about his alcohol tolerance, he still found himself adding the unnecessary words. Hyemin, who heard it from right in front of him, said, “Alright then!” and brought the liquor bottle closer.

“Baek Hyemin. Put that down.”

Though he was immediately stopped by Yoogeom. With a gentle smile, Harang slowly pushed Yoogeom’s hand away. The bright blue eyes turned towards Harang, and Hyemin, who had been sulking after being scolded, also asked with his lips if it was really okay.

“Just one glass.”

If it was from people as considerate as this, even a glass of liquor seemed like it would be okay.