I was Mistaken for a Noble Hunter Chapter 118

Family (2)

 

Kang Ian’s family home was in Cheongju.

Thanks to the driver, he arrived comfortably and headed to an old apartment.

The place where his parents lived, and where he himself had lived until he turned twenty.

‘I’ve been so busy lately… I really haven’t taken care of my parents enough.’

Even though he had tens of billions in loans, he himself was living in a luxurious apartment in Seoul while his parents stayed in a place like this.

A wave of guilt suddenly washed over him.

Volunteer work and all that… before taking care of others, he should have taken care of his own family first.

When he first made a large sum of money, he had sent a few tens of millions of won, but that wasn’t enough.

Kang Ian had grown so quickly and had only recently started taking on requests worth hundreds of millions, so he hadn’t had time to visit his parents in between… but still, this was clearly his mistake.

‘I’ll do better from now on.’

They say regret always comes too late, no matter how early… but it wasn’t too late now.

Both of his parents were still healthy!

With that thought, Kang Ian entered the apartment.

Beep beep beep

It had been quite a while since he last entered the passcode to his childhood home and stepped inside…

“Oh my. Ian? What brings you here?”

His mother came out of the kitchen.

The same as always.

Just looking at her brought peace to his heart.

“Just… I thought of you, so I came. Where’s Dad?”

“He’s in the room.”

“He didn’t go to work today?”

“No, it’s his day off. Good timing. I was just about to make some pancakes with your dad as a snack. Perfect timing, go wash your hands and sit down.”

“Oh! Okay!”

It felt as if he had just stepped out for a short trip and come back.

A place that always felt comfortable, no matter when he came.

Kang Ian naturally sat down at the table.

It had been a while since he sat here, too.

After that, he ate his mom’s homemade pancakes.

They were really delicious after so long.

He had eaten them for decades, so his taste was already accustomed to them… There was no way they wouldn’t be good.

After eating for a while, Kang Ian, who had been watching their reactions, put down his chopsticks.

“Mom. Dad.”

“What is it? Why are you speaking so seriously?”

“I became a Hunter. I’m even pretty famous. I’m already a B-rank Hunter.”

For things like this, it’s better to say them quickly.

He kept a calm expression, but he knew he had just dropped a bomb.

Now, what kind of reaction would come?

“We know.”

“…You know?”

“Of course. Your name shows up in the news from time to time.”

“N-no… you two don’t usually even watch the news.”

They always said the news was full of headaches and only checked the truly important parts, ignoring the rest.

Even if Kang Ian had been trending recently, there were several such sensational news stories every day.

People forgot them quickly after just a few days.

“And Sol told us. She said not to tell you.”

“!”

That brat…!

Kang Ian clenched his fist tightly, feeling betrayed.

He had even given her pocket money last time to keep her mouth shut… yet she had run straight to their parents and told them?

‘No more pocket money for her from now on.’

Kang Ian made a firm resolution.

He should have trusted the right person. Even after getting burned so many times in life, he had made the same mistake again.

“…Then you already knew I was living as a Hunter… weren’t you worried?”

“You’re a grown adult. We can’t keep telling you what to do forever. We figured you’d handle things yourself. But let me ask… is it dangerous?”

“It’s not. Maybe for others, but at least for me, I’ll be fine.”

“In that case, that’s enough.”

Only then did both of his parents smile, looking relieved.

They already knew that, unlike most Hunters, their son did volunteer work and often did good deeds.

Since he was a son they were proud of, hearing that he wasn’t in danger was enough for them.

Seeing their attitude, Kang Ian once again resolved to be more filial.

“Do you want to move?”

“No need. Save your money and use it when you get married later.”

“Come on. Do you know how much Hunters make? I already have more than enough.”

“It’s fine. We’ve lived here for a long time, and we’ve grown attached to it. There’s no need to move. Moving all the stuff and everything is just work. Work.”

His mother said that, while his father quietly kept nibbling at his pancake.

“Dad, you seem like you want to move?”

“Well… ahem. If it’s a good place, moving now wouldn’t be bad.”

He glanced at his wife cautiously before saying that.

Kang Ian smiled.

“Alright. I’ll look into it. Do you need a car?”

“A car? The one we have runs perfectly fine, so why…”

“Ahem. I’ve been driving this one for about 10 years now. It might be time to get a new one!”

This time, his father’s voice was a bit louder.

Kang Ian nodded.

“Request accepted. I’ll get you a good one.”

“Ahem. Seems I raised my son well.”

His father said that with a satisfied smile, and it gave Kang Ian great strength.

Afterward, despite their protests, Kang Ian gave them a generous amount of pocket money and left the house in a happy mood.

 

***

 

As Kang Ian stepped outside to head back to Seoul, he encountered two Russian SVR agents.

They bowed deeply upon seeing him.

“Nice to meet you, Hunter Kang Ian. I’m SVR codename Alpha.”

“Beta.”

Introductions that anyone could tell were aliases.

Kang Ian looked at them cautiously.

“What brings you here?”

Everyone knew that Russia was aggressive.

People who wouldn’t hesitate to use force if necessary.

Russia wanted something from Kang Ian.

Seeing them here, he couldn’t help but suspect they might try to threaten him using his parents as hostages.

‘If that’s the case, I’ll wipe them all out.’

Agent or not… if something happened, he had no intention of staying still.

He would show them why Hunters were called superhumans.

But that wasn’t the case.

“We came to tell you two things, Hunter Kang Ian.”

“What is it?”

“First, the construction of the residence we mentioned before has begun. Since even Awakened individuals are being mobilized, it should be completed quickly.”

At Alpha’s signal, Beta pulled out blueprints and plans from his coat and handed them over.

Seeing the magnificent mansion on the first page, Kang Ian flinched.

‘They’re really just giving me something like this?’

And judging by the address, it was in Samseong-dong.

That wasn’t something that cost just a little money…

“And the reason we came here is not only to meet you, but also to offer to build another house for your family. We prepared a lot of construction materials this time, and there’s quite a bit left. Enough to build one more house.”

In truth, Agent Alpha, who had come here, was an ambitious man.

Though he was an SVR agent, he had no intention of ending his career there.

He wanted to use this as a stepping stone to climb higher.

To do that, he needed to catch Medvedev’s eye and join his aide group… and fortunately, an opportunity had arisen.

‘One of the aides made a mistake recently. That guy won’t last long before getting kicked out.’

He had been in charge of Kang Ian’s residence construction, but the design lacked an elevator and had a small pool.

He claimed it was to comply with Korean housing laws, but Medvedev had only lightly reprimanded him.

Even so, Alpha knew well.

 

Medvedev was not someone who tolerated subordinates’ mistakes. That man had already fallen out of favor.

Soon, a position among the aides would open up… and Alpha wanted it.

So what should he do?

‘This man is the one His Excellency is most concerned about. If I can make him accept His Excellency’s request, I can join the aides!’

That was why he had come here.

Medvedev’s style was to crush those he deemed enemies… but endlessly reward those he considered allies.

Kang Ian was clearly the top priority among those to recruit.

This was not a relationship that would involve bloodshed; it was a rope to success.

Thus, Agent Alpha continued to bow and flatter Kang Ian.

“What do you think?”

“…Not bad.”

At first, Kang Ian had been suspicious of their intentions, but nothing seemed particularly strange, so he nodded.

“My parents seemed like they wanted to move to a better house anyway. In that case, may I entrust it to you?”

“Leave it to us. We will dedicate our utmost effort to present you with the finest residence!”

Agent Alpha spoke with determination, as if asking for his trust.

 

***

 

Kang Isol was living each day in a whirlwind.

A medical student at Korea’s top university.

It seemed like a life anyone would envy… but in reality, it wasn’t easy.

The workload was immense, and among the nation’s brightest minds gathered there, maintaining her grades required even cutting down on sleep.

On top of that, Kang Isol also did tutoring because she didn’t want to burden her parents.

Thanks to her academic background, it wasn’t hard for her to find high-paying tutoring jobs.

“Ha… but it’s exam period this month, so I barely tutored. I’m seriously low on money…”

Looking at her nearly empty bank account, she sighed.

‘Should I contact my brother?’

She knew her brother was a successful Hunter.

Hadn’t she even visited his luxurious home?

Still, contacting him like this felt a bit awkward, so she hadn’t done it until now… but this month was truly critical.

‘Alright. Let’s do it!’

Before contacting him, she decided to call her parents first since she had thought of it.

Parents came before her brother.

She called her mother frequently whenever she had time, so it hadn’t been long.

And then she heard shocking news.

“O-oppa gave you money?”

—That’s right. And he’s going to change the house and the car, too. We said it was fine, but your dad insisted so much…

Kang Isol’s eyes widened.

We’re all family… why did he give money only to Mom and Dad and not me?!

With that thought, she hung up and called her brother.

Ring ring

After a long wait…

—Beep. The person you are calling is unavailable…

He didn’t pick up.

Thinking he might be busy, she left a text.

[Oppa, it’s me. I heard you gave Mom and Dad an allowance? I think you forgot to give some to your pretty and kind little sister ^^]

“Ugh…”

Sending such a line she wasn’t used to made her cringe, but for the sake of money, she had to endure!

As soon as she sent it, it showed that he had read it immediately.

“Huh? What? He’s not busy?”

Then why didn’t he answer the call?

She was baffled when a reply came.

—Allowance, my ass.

From that single sentence, Kang Isol sensed that her brother was in a bad mood.

As a famous Hunter, he wasn’t someone who would struggle to give a bit of money, so the fact that he said that meant…

‘What is it? Did he find out I talked behind his back before? Or did Dad tell him I was the one who secretly ate his ice cream back then?’

There were too many possibilities… she couldn’t even tell what the problem was.

So she probed again.

[Huhhh? What do you mean by saying that to your lovely little sister ㅠ.ㅠ]

—You’re not getting any allowance from now on. I told you to keep it a secret from Mom and Dad until I said so, and you stabbed me in the back?

“Ah… so that’s it. Mom told him everything…”

Only then did she realize why he was acting like this.

It was her fault, so she had nothing to say.

She had let it slip unconsciously while chatting with her mom and ended up confessing everything.

She had even told her mom to keep it a secret… but in truth, it was her own fault for leaking it in the first place.

After biting her lips for a moment, Kang Isol quickly called him again.

Texting wouldn’t solve this.

She had to resolve it through conversation.

Ring ring

Ring ring

If he didn’t answer, she’d keep calling until he did.

She would show the persistence of a medical student!

Click

“…?”

And then, as if her number had been blocked, the call didn’t even go through anymore.