<Episode 38>
“…All of them are dead?”
“They say they were fleeing the police and collided with an oncoming vehicle. It’s far too convenient to call it a coincidence.”
They were criminals with prior convictions… one with three offenses, the other with five. Neither of them was awakened, and both apparently carried heavy gambling debts.
“The driver also died at the scene, so conducting further investigation won’t be easy.”
Standing beside me and reading the documents together, Hunter Lee Hyunwoo clicked his tongue quietly. The Director shook her head as well.
“They deliberately cut off the tail. I don’t like this feeling.”
The criminals who suddenly came to my house. Then, once the police began pursuing them, both were hit by a car and died.
It was too clean, which only made it more suspicious.
“If they were merely criminals after money, then that would actually be fortunate. But looking at the circumstances, I doubt that’s the case.”
At that moment, the face of Manager Shin from NP Investment Partners flashed through my mind.
“You’ll regret this.”
Could he have orchestrated this incident?
I shared with the Director and Hunter Lee Hyunwoo the investment proposal I had received, as well as the threats he had made toward me.
After hearing my story, the Director nodded.
“That company has already been notorious for aggressive investments. There are some suspicious points, so we’ll investigate internally. In the meantime, please stay cautious just in case.”
The Director said she would share anything else they uncovered with me.
After thanking her, I moved together with Hunter Lee Hyunwoo to officially arrange my dormitory assignment.
“I inspected the dormitories beforehand and selected the best available one. What do you think?”
Just as Hunter Lee Hyunwoo said, the new room had large windows and even a small veranda. Apparently, it had recently finished remodeling, making it the cleanest one available.
Honestly, I hadn’t expected much, but I liked it a lot.
More than anything, the fact that it faced south was wonderful.
‘I won’t have to worry about mold anymore.’
Without needing to think further, I nodded immediately.
“Ohh. This place is pretty nice, nya!”
Hanyang also seemed to like the dormitory. She leapt onto the windowsill and purred while looking outside.
“Hanyang, don’t climb onto the railing like that. It’s dangerous.”
“There is no place dangerous to me, nya.”
Snorting at my warning, Hanyang stayed where she was while I began unpacking.
Since I had thrown away most of the things from my old house before coming here, organizing my belongings didn’t take long.
‘I should buy some new necessities too.’
The unexpected expense stung a little, but I didn’t feel bad about it.
After all, the dormitory was three times larger than my previous place.
Goodbye, rattling windows shaking in the wind! Goodbye, cigarette smell drifting up from downstairs!
Bzzz.
While I was dancing around, emotionally overwhelmed by myself, my phone vibrated in my pocket.
It was a message from Hunter Kang Min.
[Noona! I heard you moved into the Management Bureau dorms? Let’s have a housewarming party! (Rabbit throwing flower petals emoji)]
Looks like news about me moving into the dorms had already spread that far.
Did Hunter Lee Hyunwoo tell them?
Smiling, I sent a reply.
[Sounds good! When should we do it?]
And less than a minute later, a response arrived.
[We’ll come over right now!]
***
“Noona! We’re here!”
“So you really moved into the dormitories.”
“…Hello.”
Not long after I replied that they could come over, the entire Team 1 showed up in a group.
“Wow! Are you living here? Unni, that’s so cool.”
What surprised me most was that Ari had come too.
Apparently, Hunter Kang Min had contacted her asking if she had time since they were going to a housewarming party.
‘Seriously, I can’t keep up with extroverts.’
The dormitory filled with people in an instant.
At the same time, tissues, wet wipes, detergent, bedding sets…
The gifts they brought were stacked neatly in one corner.
Apparently, they had searched online for “essential items for living alone” and bought everything they could find.
“Thank you. You really didn’t have to bring gifts.”
“Come on! Gifts are mandatory for housewarming parties. But this dorm room is especially nice compared to the others, huh?”
“Hunter Lee Hyunwoo recommended it. He said it was recently remodeled.”
The moment I mentioned it was a room Hunter Lee Hyunwoo had introduced, the atmosphere became subtly strange.
Hunter Ria looked him over with an odd expression.
“Our leader was never the type to care where other people lived… The more I learn about him, the more surprising he gets.”
“Oh! Come to think of it, Ria noona was in Australia when we went to the Hunter Market, right? Even then, Leader was helping pick out items and stuff.”
“…Honestly, that shocked me too.”
Even Hunter Suhyeon clicked his tongue in disbelief.
Seriously, just what kind of image did Hunter Lee Hyunwoo usually have for everyone to react this dramatically just because he chose a room for someone?
Hunter Lee Hyunwoo simply looked around the room indifferently, as if nothing was unusual.
“I haven’t finished cleaning everything yet, but please sit down first.”
We all gathered together in the living room.
It was definitely larger than my old home, but still too small to comfortably fit several adults, so we ended up sitting tightly packed together.
Ari giggled mischievously, saying this setup felt like being on a school trip.
“Oh, come to think of it, Ari and Suhyeon still don’t really know each other, huh?”
I had met Hunter Lee Hyunwoo inside a gate, and Hunter Ria had even visited when I was sick.
Hunter Kang Min was so naturally friendly that there was never any problem.
But although Ari and Hunter Suhyeon recognized each other’s faces, they had never properly introduced themselves.
They were even both seventeen years old.
At my comment, Hunter Kang Min brightened.
“Oh! You’re right. It’d be nice if the two of them became friends. They’re the same age too.”
While I admired Hunter Kang Min’s effortless ability to naturally push people toward introductions, Ari cheerfully greeted first.
“Um, hi? I’m Shin Ari. I work at Unni Haneul’s shop. Nice to meet you.”
“…Hi.”
Hunter Suhyeon greeted quietly.
We watched them with warm smiles, like parents observing children.
Encouraged by Hunter Suhyeon’s positive response, Ari’s eyes sparkled.
She moved beside Hunter Suhyeon and began talking in earnest.
Ever since dropping out of school, Ari seemed especially happy to meet someone her own age again.
It almost looked like an invisible tail was wagging wildly behind her.
“So you’re A-rank? That’s amazing! I wanted to awaken with a high rank too.”
“…Mm. I see.”
Ari enthusiastically continued the conversation while Hunter Suhyeon quietly nodded along.
After watching them for a moment, I stood up.
“Isn’t everyone hungry? A housewarming party isn’t complete without food!”
“Food! I love it! Noona, you’re the best!”
Hunter Kang Min, who had been playing with Hanyang, nodded so hard it looked like his neck might snap.
Judging by the violent reaction, it felt like he’d been waiting for me to bring up food this entire time.
‘Did he actually have another motive for coming to the housewarming?’
I narrowed my eyes with reasonable suspicion.
Meanwhile, Hunter Kang Min diligently began placing orders.
“Can you make other foods too? Like cheese ramen or fried chicken! Or kimchi fried rice!”
Hmm. I could make them, but I wasn’t sure if they would carry the same flavor effect as the existing items.
I sent an SOS glance toward Hanyang, but she shook her head with an annoyed expression.
“The blessing only descends upon foods unlocked by the system, nya.”
Couldn’t be helped.
Leaving behind the disappointed hunters, I entered the kitchen and started making bungeoppang and fish cake soup.
Instead of skewering the fish cakes, I tossed them directly into the broth, and before long, a convincing fish cake stew was complete.
I nodded proudly at the perfectly seasoned soup.
Then…
“I told you not to touch it!”
A sharp voice rang out from the living room.
When I rushed over, Hunter Suhyeon was clutching his phone protectively against his chest with a flushed face.
Ari awkwardly mumbled.
“No, I was just curious, so I looked at it.”
“I told you to just look with your eyes! Why do you keep touching it? It almost broke!”
Hunter Suhyeon breathed heavily while carefully inspecting the rabbit-shaped keyring attached to his phone.
‘Ah, that thing. It’s one of those trendy keyrings.’
Those tiny rabbit dolls had become so popular that people were even reselling them at ridiculous prices.
“…My friends and I got these as matching friendship items. Don’t touch other people’s things carelessly when you don’t even know anything.”
At Hunter Suhyeon’s words, Ari also seemed to flare up emotionally and raised her voice.
“Hey! Is it really gonna break just because I touched it a little?”
“It could break! If you’re curious, just look at your own! Why mess with someone else’s stuff?”
Ari visibly flinched at those words and hurriedly hid her phone behind her back.
A similar-looking keyring was already attached to Ari’s phone.
But even at a glance, the quality looked different.
Ari’s appeared to be an imitation version made to resemble the original.
“It’s not even that pretty in real life anyway. You’re making such a big deal out of it…”
Avoiding eye contact, Ari muttered under her breath.
It wasn’t that she genuinely thought Hunter Suhyeon’s keyring was ugly… she had simply spoken more harshly out of wounded pride.
“Making a big deal out of it? Did you seriously just say that?”
“Yeah, I did! So what?!”
Hunter Suhyeon shot to his feet with wide eyes.
Ari also sprang up from her seat.
It was a complete disaster.
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