<Episode 34>
A chilling sensation brushed against the back of my neck.
From the feel of it, it was a small knife about the size of a utility blade, but even that was more than enough to threaten someone’s life.
“If you scream, I’ll stab you right away. I’m not joking! Nod if you understand!”
The man threatened me with clumsy pronunciation. Judging by his speech and voice, he sounded to be around his forties. Maybe even older.
“I said, do you understand?!”
My neck had stiffened in fear, but I barely managed to move it and slowly nodded. Seeing my response, he loosened the hand covering my mouth just a little. In the alley, faintly illuminated by moonlight, a masked man slowly revealed himself.
“You brought her faster than expected. But is this really her? She looks young.”
“Don’t worry. I checked everything!”
He circled me, examining me from head to toe. I couldn’t even breathe properly and simply watched for an opening. The blade was still pressed against the back of my neck.
“So what does she sell? Bungeoppang?”
“Not ordinary bungeoppang. Golden bungeoppang. It’s an item, so hunters go crazy over it. The amount she makes in a day is probably no joke.”
The man let out a vulgar whistle. From their conversation, it seemed they had approached me for my money.
‘…Do they not know I’m awakened?’
Or maybe they did know and simply didn’t care. F-ranks basically lived no differently from ordinary people.
But I was slightly different from normal.
Even if I didn’t fight directly, I still had to enter gates myself, which meant I carried quite a variety of items. Their carelessness was actually my opportunity.
Carefully gauging the situation, I twitched my fingers. A system window appeared before my eyes, and a list of items in my inventory scrolled down.
‘A self-defense item… ah, found it.’
I summoned the stun gun item near the top of the list that caused an electric shock. Beneath my damp palm, I felt the small oval shape. Thankfully, the darkness concealed the item in my hand.
‘Hoo… stay calm.’
I would only get one chance. Cold sweat formed on my palms. Just then, after finishing his conversation, the man whispered roughly into my ear.
“Miss, from what I hear, you’ve saved up quite a lot of money. How about sharing some with us?”
“…Why would I?”
“What?”
“There’s not a single penny I’m giving to people like you.”
The man froze for a moment at my answer.
“This bitch got guts all of a sudden!”
The masked man frowned, sensing the sudden change in my attitude, and started approaching me. At that moment, I used all my strength to slam my elbow into the stomach of the man restraining me.
Apparently, it landed properly, because the man doubled over with a gagging sound.
‘Don’t underestimate the arm strength forged by working in the food service industry!’
As he coughed violently, I twisted my body. In the blink of an eye, I slipped free from the arm holding me.
“Hey!!! Get back here!!!”
Too late. I rapidly pressed the item button toward them. Crackle! Visible electricity shot straight at them.
“What the– AAAAAAGH!!!!”
“G- GAAAAAAH!!”
Their bodies trembled violently before collapsing onto the ground like puppets with cut strings. Watching them twitch and convulse occasionally, I staggered backward.
“Haa…”
Something clattered against my foot. Before I could even recognize what it was, I turned around and started running. It felt like the men would regain consciousness any second, chase after me, and grab the back of my neck.
“Huff… haah…!”
Thankfully, I saw bright lights in the distance. The moment I reached the main street crowded with people, I turned on my phone with trembling hands.
“The… emergency number… 112…”
I fumbled my way through the keypad and called 112. They told me officers would arrive shortly and asked me to wait nearby. I anxiously looked around while biting my nails.
Even standing beneath the dazzling lights, I couldn’t calm down. If they hadn’t let their guard down, I really could have gotten seriously hurt.
My eyes darted around nervously when two female students walking by let out small screams. Following their gazes, I touched my neck.
“Ah… I’m bleeding….”
Bright red liquid smeared across my hand. I must have been cut by the knife while struggling free from the man’s grip earlier. Only after seeing the blood did the sharp pain finally register.
Biting my lip, I pressed my hand against the wound on my neck. Passersby glanced at me before quickly hurrying away.
I stood there blankly, struggling to steady my breathing. Behind my tightly shut eyes, countless lights flickered chaotically.
***
Not long after, the police arrived and took me to the hospital after seeing my condition. Fortunately, the injury wasn’t serious, so after stopping the bleeding and receiving simple treatment, I was able to continue the investigation.
“Do you have any idea who the perpetrators might be?”
“No. Judging from their voices and everything else, they were strangers.”
“Hm… You said they talked about your shop’s sales, correct?”
“They briefly talked about how my shop was doing well and how I must have a lot of money.”
The police officer typed my statement into a laptop and nodded. He said it was highly likely to be a robbery motivated by money, but they would share more details after further investigation.
I nodded repeatedly, thanking him and asking for his help.
“The perpetrators may still be nearby, so we recommend staying somewhere else for the time being.”
“Yes, I’ll do that. Thank you.”
Unfortunately, by the time the police reached the alley, the men I had knocked unconscious with my item had already disappeared.
It wasn’t a high-grade item, but the shock should still have been pretty severe. I hadn’t expected them to recover and flee so quickly.
“Is there anyone you can call as a guardian?”
“A guardian?”
“Yes. You seem like you may need someone to help you calm down.”
Only then did I realize my hands were still trembling slightly. Clutching my shaking hands, I bit my lip.
Someone I could call right now…
Bzzz.
“…Hunter Lee Hyunwoo?”
“Yes? Who?”
“Ah, no. One moment, please. I need to take this call.”
The name on my phone screen was Hunter Lee Hyunwoo. I asked for a moment of understanding before stepping outside to answer.
“…Hello.”
– Hunter Haneul. This is Lee Hyunwoo. Actually, I was calling to ask for the favor I mentioned before.
Ah. Right. I had promised to grant him one favor if he agreed to do the interview.
I stared silently at my breath fogging into the cold air. After steadying my voice and tightening my grip on the phone, I slowly nodded.
“…I’m a bit busy right now. Could I hear it another time?”
Even trying to sound normal, my voice came out terrible. He must have sensed something strange even through the phone, because he carefully asked:
–Do you need my help?
I hesitated for a moment and tightened my grip on the phone. Suddenly, I desperately longed for someone’s warmth.
“Actually… um… right now I…”
But the words refused to come out easily. I remembered that he was an S-rank hunter whom the entire world watched.
What if hearing my story put him in an awkward position? What if he felt burdened by getting deeply involved?
In the end, after opening and closing my mouth several times, I shook my head. No matter how much I needed someone, calling him didn’t seem right.
But his reaction was different from what I expected.
–I’ll come right away.
“…What?”
–If I leave now, I should arrive in about fifteen minutes. Please wait just a little longer.
Wait, how did he even know where I was and decide to come?
My mind suddenly snapped awake. I hurriedly waved my hands and tried to tell him it was fine, but he hung up faster than I could stop him. I blinked blankly at the disconnected call.
“He’s suddenly insisting on coming no matter what. What the heck….”
But strangely, I didn’t feel bad about it. No, actually, just thinking that he was coming made my previously sunken mood feel much lighter.
I returned to the police station, said my thanks, and caught a taxi. My destination was my home.
When I arrived at the dim alley, I saw his familiar figure standing beneath the streetlight.
“Hunter Lee Hyunwoo!”
After spotting me, he smiled faintly.
Then, in an instant, the expression vanished from his face. He strode toward me and asked in a low voice:
“Who did this to you?”
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