How to Win Over an S-Rank Hunter with Bungeoppang – Chapter 48

Author: Cireng

The Gate that had been classified as D-rank had suddenly jumped two entire ranks to B-rank.

Which meant one thing:

There was a high probability that the monsters inside the Gate were far stronger than the Hunters originally deployed to clear it.

The teams sent in this time were Field Team 5 and Field Team 6… the team Juhee belonged to.

Field Team 5 did have one B-rank Hunter, but it would be difficult for that person alone to handle all the monsters inside a B-rank Gate.

“Unni! Let’s go too! Please?”

“We should.”

Most of the reservations had already been completed.

After hurriedly apologizing to the remaining customers and closing the shop, we headed straight to the scene.

The area around the Gate was already packed with people.

“My child is still inside that Gate! What’s happening?”

“When will the support team arrive?”

“Is there no way to know what’s happening inside?”

Families of the Hunters who had entered the Gate, reporters, and frightened civilians all crowded the area.

Management Bureau agents formed a cordon and held people back.

“It’s dangerous if you come any closer!”

“The Gate’s fluctuations are extremely unstable right now! Please move back!”

Soon, a black sedan carrying the support team arrived.

Among the hastily assembled group of medical personnel and high-ranking Hunters were some familiar faces.

Hunter Lee Hyunwoo and Hunter Ria.

Avoiding a barrage of camera flashes, the support team quickly entered the Gate.

The moment they disappeared inside, prayers and sobbing began to spread throughout the crowd.

“That’s that human from before, nya.”

Following Hanyang’s gaze, I turned my head and spotted Mr. Gong Juwon.

Apparently, he had arrived before us and was urgently questioning one of his bodyguards.

“Mr. Juwon, are you okay?”

“…Shop owner, you came.”

His expression softened slightly when he saw me.

“Of course I came. This is about Juhee. How are things inside the Gate?”

“They said all of the Hunters’ body cams have gone offline. The support team has entered, so… all we can do is hope they hold out until then.”

His hand trembled ever so slightly.

His fingertips, pressed against his forehead, had gone pale white.

“I haven’t even had a proper conversation with Juhee yet. If something happens to her, then I’ll really…”

Unable to find any words, I simply patted his trembling shoulder.

‘Please let Juhee be safe.’

‘Please let all the Hunters who entered come back alive.’

How long had we waited in anxious silence?

The portal rippled.

Then someone emerged from within.

“It’s Hunter Ria!”

The first person to appear was Hunter Ria.

She was supporting another Hunter who was clutching their side.

More team members soon followed.

Some limped out.

Some were carried out on stretchers.

They were all covered in injuries, but thankfully, none appeared to be life-threatening.

Finally, Hunter Lee Hyunwoo emerged from the Gate.

“Field Team 5 and Field Team 6 personnel all accounted for!”

As soon as it was confirmed that everyone who had originally entered had safely returned, a massive cheer erupted from the crowd.

“Unni, that’s Juhee unni over there!”

Juhee was sitting on the ground.

She looked pale, but thankfully, she didn’t seem seriously injured.

When she saw us, our eyes met briefly.

Then she bit her lip and sharply turned her head away.

“Ah… thank goodness…”

Relief washed over Mr. Juwon, and his legs nearly gave out beneath him.

Then…

SKREEEEECH!

The Gate portal suddenly convulsed again.

Through a gap that had not completely closed, a giant bat burst out.

And it charged straight toward Juhee, who was resting on the ground.

“Juhee!!!”

Before anyone could fully grasp the situation, Mr. Juwon threw himself toward her.

The sight of him wrapping his arms around her and turning his body to shield her seemed to unfold in slow motion.

“N-No!!!!”

There was no way an F-rank Hunter like him could withstand a monster’s attack.

Unable to bear the sight, I turned my head away.

But instead of screams, I heard cheers.

“W-WAAAAAAAH!!”

When I opened my eyes, Hunter Lee Hyunwoo was standing there with a massive sword in his hands.

At his feet lay the giant bat, split cleanly in half, its wings twitching intermittently.

“Is everyone alright?”

Lee Hyunwoo quickly surveyed the area, saying it appeared to be a side effect of the Gate not having been cleared under normal conditions.

Having finally processed what had happened, Juhee grabbed Juwon by the collar and shook him violently.

“Are you insane?! You’ve never even fought a monster before! How could you throw yourself in front of me like that?! Were you trying to die?!”

Her voice trembled more and more as she shouted at him.

Juwon merely smiled weakly.

“…Princess, I wasn’t too late this time, was I?”

“What?”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left you alone like that. You must’ve been really scared.”

He wasn’t talking only about today.

He was apologizing for that day in high school… the day the Gate appeared during her school trip.

Juhee seemed to realize it too.

A look of sorrow spread across her face.

She tried desperately not to cry, but eventually a single tear rolled down her cheek.

“Idiot… why did you only come now? Do you know how long I waited…?”

As if she had been transported back to her first year of high school, Juhee finally let all of her accumulated hurt spill out.

Juwon gently patted her shaking back and repeated only one thing:

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“There’s an injured person over here! Medical team, please assist immediately!”

“Make sure the perimeter doesn’t collapse!”

The scene around them remained chaotic.

Yet amidst all that commotion, the two of them stood quietly in each other’s arms, finally sharing the pain and regret they had been unable to share for so many years.

***

After that day, the relationship between Mr. Juwon and Juhee changed completely.

No…

Could it even be called a change?

“Ugh! I told you I hate spicy food!”

“Princess, you shouldn’t be a picky eater. Besides, they say this is the best item.”

“Hah! The true classic is red bean fish-shaped bread! You don’t know anything.”

“Fine then. Just eat whatever you reserved.”

Listening to the two of them bicker loudly enough to shake the shop, I forced an awkward smile.

‘They definitely got closer…’

‘But is this really what you’d call getting closer?’

‘Aren’t they just fighting?’

Still, it was much better than the icy atmosphere they used to have.

“So that stalker was actually Juhee unni’s real brother. That’s shocking.”

“Right? Still, I’m glad things worked out.”

Later, I heard that the two of them had spent the entire night talking after the Gate incident.

Apparently, they had resolved many of the misunderstandings and hurts that had built up over the years.

As a result, Mr. Juwon’s request, which I had nearly forgotten about, was finally completed.

It turned out it hadn’t actually failed yet.

I was shocked when I woke up one morning and found it marked as completed.

‘It kind of feels like I cheesed my way through it…’

Still, a good result was a good result.

Humming to myself, I stirred the tteokbokki.

“Jung Haneul. I need to talk to you for a minute.”

At that moment, Juhee, who had been arguing with Juwon moments earlier, approached me and called me out in her usual blunt tone.

Leaving the tteokbokki to Ari, I followed Juhee behind the shop.

“What is it? Why did you suddenly call me out here?”

“Well…”

She awkwardly tapped the ground with the tip of her boot.

Whatever she wanted to say, she seemed unable to get it out.

After moving her lips several times, she finally mumbled:

“…Thanks.”

“What? That was too quiet. What did you say?”

“Damn it, I SAID THANK YOU!!!”

Her face turned bright red after shouting it.

Suppressing the urge to tease her, I shook my head.

“It’s fine. It’s not like I did much.”

“…I know you worked hard in the middle of all this. And… well, thanks for listening to my story that day.”

Trailing off, Juhee suddenly held something out toward me.

It was a silver firearm, slightly larger than my palm.

Its surface gleamed faintly like titanium alloy, and the grip was wrapped in black rubber.

“Huh? What’s this?”

“I heard you’ve been practicing with weapons lately. I still don’t know why an F-rank needs that, but… I put some effort into finding it.”

The gun felt satisfyingly heavy in my hand.

Reading the item description, I nearly gasped.

It had an Auto-Aim function.

‘Auto-aim? This thing is incredible!’

Delighted by the unexpected gift, I nodded enthusiastically.

“Thank you. My trainer actually said it might be time for me to graduate from my current gun. I guess I’ll start practicing with this one from now on.”

“Hmph. Do whatever you want…”

Juhee mumbled with a pout before turning around and leaving.

She really could never be honest.

‘Still, that’s part of Juhee’s charm.’

That evening, lying on my bed with Hanyang, I opened the Request Board.

As expected, the reward notification was blinking.

—

[Request List]

Request: ‘URGENT’ I want to repair my relationship with my younger sister.

(Reward: 700P + ???)

<Claim Reward>

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