<Episode 31>
The setting was an official interview with the Alpha Team, who had just cleared a recent B-rank gate. Yet one reporter suddenly shot his hand into the air and threw out a completely unrelated question.
“Hah, and he’s suddenly asking that?”
Watching the video, I clicked my tongue in disbelief. I didn’t know how they had found out that I had entered the gates, but it was obvious they were targeting me with that question.
There was no hard evidence, but the reporter had definitely been bribed by the investors’ side. Since they hadn’t gotten the result they wanted, they were now trying to drag other controversial matters into the spotlight.
‘I never imagined they’d ask something like that.’
I had expected them to manipulate public opinion by buying reporters. That was why I’d already warned regular customers that questions about our shop might start appearing.
But I never expected them to use that information to question Hunter Park Jaemin.
‘Of course not. We’ve only talked exactly once.’
I’d even shredded the business card he gave me into tiny pieces. Thinking about what his answer would be, I swallowed nervously.
—Hmm… An F-rank entering a gate. That’s quite a dangerous thing to say. You do know that’s illegal, right?
The moment he said “illegal,” flashes exploded from every direction. I anxiously bit my lip.
—But did you know this?
After glancing around briefly, he continued with a neat smile.
—If you have a permit issued by the Management Bureau, you can enter gates regardless of rank. Perhaps that F-rank hunter falls under that category?
—But for an F-rank hunter to enter gates is still extremely dangerous…!
—I wonder. But where exactly did you hear that rumor? I haven’t received any reports about it.
Tilting his head slightly with an innocent expression, he continued.
—Besides, there’s only one famous F-rank that I know. If our Haneul sees this, she’ll probably be flustered.
“Our Haneul? Is he out of his mind?!”
I stared at the screen with my mouth hanging open. Beside me, Hanyang peeked his head up from where he’d been lying down.
“What’s going on, nya?”
“Hunter Park Jaemin is saying weird things during the interview!”
Even through the screen, I could feel the crowd stir at the casual way he addressed me. Another reporter quickly raised a hand and asked a question.
—That’s quite an affectionate way of addressing them. What exactly is your relationship with this awakened individual?
The atmosphere among the team members instantly froze at the unexpectedly personal question. Looking over the reporters whose eyes were gleaming with excitement, Park Jaemin curved the corners of his eyes.
—Well. Shall I just say we’re slowly getting to know each other?
***
You could say the reporter’s attempt to use Park Jaemin’s mouth to drag down our shop had failed. But…
“Boss! Are you really in that kind of relationship with Hunter Park Jaemin–”
“No!!!”
The customer who had asked the question jumped in shock and clutched his chest when I suddenly shouted.
“H-Hngh! You startled me.”
“Sorry. I’ve just heard that question way too many times today…”
Starting with Ari, every single customer asked about my relationship with Park Jaemin. At first, I answered with a smile and denied it, but after hearing the same question dozens of times, it felt like my ears were going to scab over.
“Then why did Hunter Park Jaemin say something like that?”
“That’s exactly what I’d like to know.”
Even if I wanted to contact him and demand an explanation, I didn’t have his number. And going to find him myself would only fuel the rumors further. In the end, I decided to pretend I knew nothing.
‘I don’t know why he’s doing this, but if I don’t react, that’s the end of it.’
But just like the saying that words without feet can travel a thousand li, the baseless rumors showed no sign of dying down. And around the time I was developing a full-blown neurosis over them, someone unexpected came to my house.
Hunter Lee Hyunwoo.
“When I came back from clearing a gate, I heard some strange rumors. Have you heard them?”
“…If you mean the rumors related to Hunter Park Jaemin.”
This was already the second time he had come to my house. The feeling of my cramped home being filled by his presence was still unfamiliar, but now wasn’t the time to worry about trivial things like that.
“…Haa.”
He let out a deep, low sigh. This latest gate had been so difficult that even the legendary Team 1 took an entire week to close it. And the moment he came out, he came straight to see me.
“Are the rumors I heard really true?”
“There’s no way! We’ve only exchanged a few words. And it wasn’t even a pleasant conversation.”
Feeling oddly guilty, I hurriedly explained the day I first met Park Jaemin. Thankfully, when I mentioned that I had ripped up his business card, the displeased look on Hyunwoo’s face softened slightly.
“Then what exactly is going on?”
“Honestly, I don’t know either. Investment offers, weird rumors… things just keep happening lately.”
“Investment offers?”
Ah, right. He still didn’t know what kind of proposal our shop had received. I shared the story while leaving out the parts that might become a problem.
But after hearing me out, his expression changed strangely.
“Was the investment company perhaps NP Investment Partners?”
“Huh? How did you know? I deliberately didn’t mention the company name.”
After sinking into thought for a moment, he slowly spoke.
“Do you know who’s behind NP Investment Partners?”
“No, not really…”
“Vice Director Park Seongcheol. And Park Jaemin is his son.”
According to Lee Hyunwoo, the fact that NP Investment Partners had approached me in the first place was likely both Vice Director Park Seongcheol’s will and Park Jaemin’s as well.
When the proposal was rejected, they had started trying various other methods, and there was probably a reason they specifically chose to throw that question at Park Jaemin.
“But there’s still something I don’t understand. If they’re connected, why did Hunter Park Jaemin take my side?”
If he had spoken badly about me, public opinion would have spiraled completely out of control. But instead, he defended me in the end.
If they truly wanted to invest in our shop, there was no reason for him to take a stance that contradicted the investment company.
“He resents living as his father’s puppet. Perhaps he’s trying to recruit Hunter Haneul in his own way.”
To think such a powerful figure as the vice director had been hiding behind that casually dismissed investment offer. And even his son, Hunter Park Jaemin.
I shook my head vigorously. No matter what happened, I didn’t want to get involved with those people.
“By the way, did you come all the way here at this hour just to tell me this?”
The current time was 9:24 PM. It definitely wasn’t an appropriate hour to suddenly show up at someone else’s house. Perhaps embarrassed, he awkwardly avoided my gaze.
“…It seems I neglected to check the time. That was my mistake.”
Which meant he had rushed straight to my house without even thinking about it. He really was overly sensitive whenever hunter-related matters were involved.
“Still, I didn’t expect you to care about rumors, Hunter. I thought you completely ignored this kind of thing.”
After a brief hesitation, he shook his head.
“Normally, I wouldn’t care at all about rumors like this. But strangely enough, this one bothered me.”
“Ahaha! What kind of–”
Wait. Wasn’t the nuance of that a little strange?
It sounded almost like he meant he didn’t care about anyone else, but did care about me. Realizing the awkward implication of his own words, he suddenly started clearing his throat.
“Ahem, I mean Hunter Park Jaemin. Because you’re involved with him.”
“Ahh. For a second there, I thought you meant something else…”
I’d momentarily thought he considered me someone special. Ignoring the sudden pounding of my heart, I fixed my hair.
“It’s gotten too late, so I should leave now.”
“Ah, r-right! Please get home safely.”
Perhaps realizing it was inappropriate to stay too long in another person’s home, he quickly rose from his seat.
Before leaving through the front door, he turned back to me and added a cautious warning.
“They’re people who will do anything to get what they want. If anything happens, don’t hesitate to contact me.”
After he left, I hugged Hanyang and collapsed onto the bed. It already felt like too much just focusing on the shop, yet strange incidents kept happening one after another.
“…Our shop will be okay like this, right?”
“As long as you do well, it’ll be fine, nya.”
“I am doing well, you know?”
Hanyang let out a strange little “myaang” sound and wriggled into a comfortable position in my arms. Stroking his warm, soft belly made the chaos in my head gradually settle down.
“At least I’ve already prepared most of the documents we might need, so surprise inspections aren’t a problem anymore. The issue is the rumors involving Hunter Park Jaemin…”
Honestly, the rumors themselves weren’t that important. If I kept ignoring them, they would naturally die down eventually. The real problem was that they annoyed me.
“No matter how I think about it, he’s seriously irritating.”
Last time too, he had shown up at the shop saying nonsense about love at first sight.
“I don’t think aggressively stepping forward to explain things is a good idea either. What should I do…?”
“Rumors are originally covered up by even bigger rumors, nya.”
As I groaned in frustration, Hanyang casually offered his advice from my arms.
“Bigger rumors?”
Come to think of it, Hanyang was right. When an even bigger incident explodes, old stories naturally get buried.
But who could be a bigger name than Hunter Park Jaemin? Preferably someone people would be extremely curious about.
“…Wait.”
While thinking, I suddenly bolted upright.
A perfectly suitable person immediately came to mind.
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