<Episode 45>
I hurriedly opened the main system window.
‘It’s really there.’
At the bottom of the interface, beneath “Go to My Shop,” a menu I had never seen before had appeared.
Carefully, I reached out and selected “Request Board.”
The window looked exactly like a quest board from a game, with several missions listed on it.
‘I can choose them myself? The missions?’
My eyes widened in surprise.
Until now, the system had always assigned missions unilaterally.
Now, I could choose them myself.
As if entranced, I read through the list posted on the board.
—
[Request List]
Request: Please find my lost cat “Nabi”!
Reward: 250P
Request: Please deliver some important documents.
Reward: 400P
Request: Urgent, I want to repair my relationship with my younger sister.
Reward: 700P + ???
—
The last request on the board, wanting to reconcile with a younger sister, was obviously the one submitted by Mr. Gong Juwon.
‘It’s even marked as urgent.’
I carefully asked him,
“Mr. Gong Juwon, you didn’t happen to post a request on some kind of board, did you?”
“Huh? W-what board?”
Mm. As expected, no.
Apparently, requests I was capable of solving were automatically uploaded to the list.
Resting a hand on my chin, I thought for a moment.
‘So completing requests gives points. Among the current list, the last one offers the highest reward.’
The generous reward and the timing both suggested one thing.
The system clearly wanted me to solve Mr. Gong Juwon’s problem.
After a moment, I sighed and said to him,
“So all I have to do is pass a message on to Juhee?”
“O-of course!”
“Alright. If Juhee comes by next time, I’ll talk to her.”
His face immediately brightened with hope.
He thanked me repeatedly and nodded.
After pocketing his business card, I watched him walk away.
“Looks like things ended well.”
Ah.
Hunter Park Jaemin was still here.
When I frowned ever so slightly, he drooped his eyebrows as though hurt.
“That’s harsh. I just saved you from a dangerous person.”
“…Yeah, well. I am grateful for that.”
“Are you still angry about last time?”
By “last time,” he meant when he’d pretended to be close to me at that public event.
Honestly, so many things had happened afterward that I’d practically forgotten about it.
‘What bothers me more is that Park Jaemin is Deputy Director Park Seongcheol’s son. There’s definitely something he’s hiding.’
I couldn’t trust him based solely on appearances.
He acted carefree and clueless, but underneath, I could glimpse something cold.
“…It’s not that. I just feel uncomfortable. It’s late, so can I go now?”
My avoidance was obvious.
Jaemin responded with a bitter smile.
“I want to become friends with you, Haneul, but I guess you don’t feel the same way. That’s disappointing.”
Still, he shrugged as if he couldn’t help it.
“Well, we can get closer slowly. That’s it for today?”
The moment I finished saying goodbye, I quickened my pace and headed into the dormitory building.
Hanyang followed behind me, grumbling.
“I don’t like that human, nya. He smells fishy, nya.”
“I don’t like him either. Ugh. I’d rather avoid running into him whenever possible.”
The moment I returned to my cozy dorm room, I felt much more at ease.
After taking a quick shower, I sat down and began examining the Request Board properly.
‘If I click on a request, detailed information appears.’
—
Urgent: I Want to Repair My Relationship With My Younger Sister
Requester: Gong Juwon
Completion Conditions:
Deliver the requester’s message to Gong Juhee.
Have Gong Juhee and Gong Juwon engage in a sincere conversation lasting at least 10 minutes.
Reward: 700P + ???
—
Narrowing my eyes, I rested my chin on my hand.
There was another condition besides simply delivering the message.
‘A sincere conversation lasting over ten minutes…’
And it wasn’t me who needed to talk.
The two siblings had to talk to each other.
‘Looks like I’ll have to arrange a meeting somehow.’
The situation with Ari and Hunter Suhyeon came to mind.
Still, this felt more difficult than that.
I remembered the gloomy expression on Mr. Gong Juwon’s face when he’d said Juhee seemed to be avoiding him.
‘I’ll need to approach this more carefully.’
Then my eyes drifted to the reward section.
“Huh? Looks like there’s another reward besides points.”
“A special reward, nya?”
“Yeah, but… it doesn’t say what it is.”
For some reason, it reminded me of Kangmin Hunter’s hidden mission.
Both involved non-gate-related objectives and offered rewards beyond points.
‘Back then, the hidden mission reward was an Employee Recruitment Ticket.’
That had been incredibly useful.
So what kind of amazing reward would this one be?
Imagining all the things the shop might need, I grinned.
“Alright. First things first… I need to complete the request!”
Hanyang, who had been diligently grooming herself, looked over at me as I clenched my fist dramatically.
“Did you think of a good plan, nya?”
“First, I need to catch Juhee when she comes to the shop. I have a feeling she’ll show up soon.”
And the very next day, as if on cue, I found Juhee’s name at the bottom of the reservation list.
***
“Why have you been gone so long?”
“What’s with that reaction?”
“I’m just happy to see you.”
Juhee explained that she’d been inside a gate.
Now that I thought about it, she usually showed up at least once every three days.
It had felt strange not seeing her for a while.
‘Mr. Gong Juwon would have seen her if he’d waited just one more day.’
Though if that had happened, my Request Board wouldn’t have unlocked.
Either way, it worked out well for me.
Thinking that, I packed some bungeoppangs into a bag.
“Aren’t you getting any tteokbokki?”
“I don’t like spicy food.”
“It’s not that spicy…”
Surprisingly, Juhee had the taste buds of an elementary school kid.
She avoided spicy food entirely.
She’d even rejected the Spicy bungeoppang after trying only a little.
As I handed over the bag, I casually spoke.
“Do you have a minute? There’s something I’d like to talk about.”
“…Right now?”
Question marks practically filled her face, but she followed me obediently behind the shop.
Wearing a white coat lined with fluffy fur, Juhee crossed her arms and looked at me.
“So? What did you want to talk about?”
I didn’t bother beating around the bush.
“Mr. Gong Juwon. He’s your brother, right?”
“Wait. How do you know him?”
The wariness in Juhee’s eyes sharpened instantly.
Apparently, their relationship was even worse than I’d thought.
Carefully, I chose my words.
“…Actually, I met him yesterday. He was waiting for you near the shop.”
“Hah. He came all the way to the shop?”
Juhee let out a disbelieving laugh.
Still, she seemed concerned that he’d shown up while she wasn’t around.
After hesitating, she asked,
“…He didn’t do anything weird, did he?”
“No. Though he did spend a long time hanging around the shop.”
“Haa. Just ignore him. We cut ties a long time ago.”
Something serious had clearly happened between them.
After waiting for the right moment, I cautiously continued.
“Even so, Mr. Juwon seemed really worried about you. He didn’t even know you’d entered a gate. Maybe if you shared–”
“Why should I share anything about my life with him?”
My sentence was cut off immediately.
Juhee’s voice was colder than ice.
“No, but… he’s family.”
“Family? Ha!”
Her eyes instantly turned fierce.
“What exactly do you know about me?”
“…What?”
I stared at her, unable to close my mouth.
“He asked you for a favor? To put in a good word for him with me? Well, too bad. I don’t want to say a single word to that man.”
Juhee glared at me and exhaled sharply.
It almost looked as if invisible flames were flickering in her eyes.
“You solved a few other hunters’ problems, and now you think everything in the world will go your way?”
“…Juhee. That’s not what I–”
Only then did I realize something had gone terribly wrong.
I hurriedly tried to fix the situation.
But…
“Don’t fool yourself into thinking you can solve everyone’s problems. This crosses a line.”
With those words, Juhee brushed past me.
Leaving absolutely no room for discussion.
Watching her walk away, I finally realized how lightly I had taken her problem.
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