Vermiculation.
According to a visitor from the Central Region, it was a procedure performed by a family known as the Myeong-ga. It was said to cleanse impurities from the child’s veins and obtain a flawless body.
Anyway, the procedure that Jong-sik was performing on Jong-pal at the moment was similar in context.
Jong-sik placed his hand on Jong-pal’s back and released condensed energy.
The condensed energy consumed the toxic energy concentrated in Jong-pal’s arm but still seemed insufficient as it stirred his body.
“Let’s stop here for now. If we proceed further, Jong-pal’s body won’t be able to handle it.”
A moment later, Jong-pal spat out dark red blood.
“Cough.”
Only then did Jong-sik withdraw his hand from Jong-pal’s back. At the same time, Yeona, who was clinging anxiously to her father’s side, spoke up with concern.
“Dad! Are you okay?”
However, she couldn’t help but chuckle when she saw Jong-pal’s arm returning to its normal color, the swelling and toxicity subsiding.
“Huh? The color of your arm is returning!”
“…I don’t feel any pain.”
“I told you I could do it.”
Jong-pal turned around to face his stoic but warm brother.
He still couldn’t believe it.
But his brother was right in front of him.
And not just that. In fact, didn’t his brother fix his own arm, which he had almost given up on?
He needed to hear it. Jong-pal asked in a bewildered tone.
“How did you do it? No, what exactly happened? Now that the treatment is over, you can tell me.”
There must be many questions he wanted to ask. Jong-pal understood his younger brother’s feelings perfectly. After all, he was also curious about how his brother had lived all this time.
“You tell me how you’ve been living all this time. And why was the guy who bragged about becoming a chef in such a state? No, let’s start with this. You have a daughter too, right?”
“How did I live? I searched for you, my brother, for so long. As for being a chef…”
They had enough time to share their past with each other, including what happened today.
“Oh, Dad! You were going to tell us about catching Choo Tae-sik!”
“Choo Tae-sik? Did my brother catch that guy?”
“Oh, that?”
***
The next day.
Jong-sik’s nose twitched as he looked at his phone. It was because he could smell the tangy scent of vinegar along with the refreshing aroma of cucumbers.
“Looks like it’s cucumber soup for breakfast today.”
After all, cucumber soup was the best for hangovers. Jong-sik quickly got up from his seat and headed to the kitchen. Suddenly, he heard a scream.
“Ahh!”
Jong-pal, who was in the bathroom, also heard the sound and rushed out.
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
“Th-there’s something like this in the freezer!”
On the kitchen floor, there was a black bag, and inside the open bag, several red snakes were frozen solid, tangled together.
“Red Salamanders…?”
Jong-pal said with a horrified voice as he saw it. The snakes that could be seen at a glance were Red Salamanders, classified as Grade 3 monsters.
“Here we go again. I put this in there.”
Jong-sik chuckled and picked up the fallen plastic from the floor, putting it back in the freezer.
“Why, Dad? Why did you put it back in?”
“Why? The freezer has plenty of space. I need to freeze it until I cook it.”
Both Jong-pal and Yeona opened their mouths simultaneously as if they were knitting.
“What?”
“Oh no! Brother, that’s not an ordinary snake, it’s a monster. You can’t eat it.”
Jong-sik shrugged in response.
“I should have known that. I mentioned yesterday that I caught monsters day and night on the continent.”
“Oh… So you knew it was a monster?”
Nodding.
“But it’s probably too toxic to eat.”
“Just remove the venom sacs and boil it with a few herbs, and it’ll be fine. Don’t worry, just eat.”
“What?”
“What’s surprising? I told you yesterday. I’ll make sure to prepare it with some herbs.”
“No way…”
“Even though it looks like that, it’s quite nutritious. I wanted to make it right away, but I was short on ingredients, so I put it in the freezer.”
Upon hearing this, Jong-pal and Yeona sealed their lips shut.
While Jong-sik didn’t hesitate to handle monster innards and Yeona, who was unfamiliar with picky eating, somehow couldn’t bring herself to eat that snake.
“Why is everyone suddenly silent?”
“Dad, I’m still young, and your health isn’t good either…”
“No! I’m an Awakened and you’re a normal person, so of course you should eat it.”
However, oblivious to that, Jong-sik interpreted their concession in a different way.
‘Will I have to live with the disappointment of not having a daughter?’
Feeling the corners of his mouth subtly rise, Jong-sik said, “There’s enough for both of you, so don’t worry about it.”
“But still…”
“But still what? I’ve prepared everything, so let’s eat.”
With that, Jong-sik casually took a seat. Soon after, a bowl of cucumber soup with ice floating on top was served on the table.
“Slurp.”
“Ah, my stomach feels better.”
“Cucumber soup is the best for hangovers, right?”
“Our niece knows everything.”
“Are you okay, Dad?”
“Why bother asking? Of course, it’s delicious. Slurp.”
Heartwarming conversations flowed among the family at the dining table.
Then, Jong-pal, who had just downed the cold soup in one shot, suddenly spoke as if he had made up his mind.
“But Yeona, starting from tomorrow, I’ll be in charge of breakfast.”
“Huh? Why all of a sudden! Don’t you like the food I make?”
“It’s not about that. I haven’t been able to take care of things while working all this time. Now that I’m quitting, I’ll have more time, so I should do it. Slurp.”
The day before, Jong-pal had confessed that he was considering quitting being a Hunter.
“I was scared when I thought I might die. I was worried about leaving Yeona alone, and it felt unfair to leave without seeing you, hyung. So I made a promise back then. If I survive, I’ll never do Hunter stuff again.”
“I plan to open a small restaurant with my severance pay. My dream was to become a chef, as you said, hyung. I want to live the rest of my life as a chef. Is that okay with everyone?”
It was a sudden decision, but both Jong-sik and Yeona respected his choice. No, it would be more accurate to say they wholeheartedly supported it.
Anyway, in response to Jong-pal’s words, Yeona nodded vigorously and replied.
“No need for that. Who do you think I am?”
“You’re still just 17. And there’s not much of the summer vacation left. Don’t just stay home every day, go out and have some fun.”
Yeona scooped some cold soup into Jong-pal’s bowl as she spoke.
“Then just until the start of the new semester! I’ll take care of it until then. Okay?”
“Ugh, fine. Let’s do that.”
Jong-pal nodded in response to Yeona’s persistence. Then, he called out to his brother, Jong-sik, who was aggressively eating his meal.
“Oh, right. Hyung!”
“What?”
“After we eat, let’s go to the bank. Hyung, you need to open a bank account.”
“Ah… But I have plans today.”
Unexpected rejection from Jong-sik.
‘He probably doesn’t have anyone to meet. What kind of plans could he have?’
Jong-pal’s curiosity prompted him to ask straight away. However, the response he received only added to his confusion.
“Huh? What plans? Where are you going?”
“Yeah. You have to come too, so get ready to go after we finish eating.”
“I have to go too? Where are we going?”
“You’ll find out when we get there.”
There’s an old saying, “A word without feet travels a thousand miles.” And now, Yoon Song-ah, the Deputy Head of the Daehan Guild, was experiencing the truth of that saying to the core.
Incheon Branch of the Korean Hunter Association, 2nd Floor, Awakening Registration Office.
“Ah, darn it…”
Upon arriving at the location, Yoon Song-ah muttered a curse under her breath.
“I didn’t expect to meet the Deputy Head here. Hello.”
“Hello.”
“Haha. This is quite something, isn’t it? It seems Dok Jong-sik has quite the influence.”
Indeed, realizing that the information they thought was kept secret had already leaked out to various guilds such as the Galaxy Guild, Daesung Guild, and Samik Guild, was quite a shock.
“Oh my, what’s everyone doing here?”
Yoon Song-ah couldn’t help but frown in confusion.
“Haha. Isn’t it our job to find and cultivate talent?”
“Talent? Who?”
Yoon Song-ah asked with widened eyes.
“Who else? Dok Jong-sik. Deputy Head, we’ve all seen Dok Jong-sik’s awakening questionnaire.”
“Everyone’s just blowing things out of proportion like amateurs. You know they exaggerate when filling out their awakening questionnaires. But, well, Dok Jong-sik’s case was severe. Still, surely you didn’t come here believing that?”
“Well, you’ll know once you see it for yourself.”
However, the spilled water couldn’t be gathered up again. Moreover, the fact that the Deputy Head of the Daehan Guild had personally come to meet Dok Jong-sik itself instilled confidence in them.
As if to prove their intentions, their hands holding the phones moved faster.
That was the moment.
“Everyone has arrived.”
The person who gathered them, Dok Jong-sik.
He announced his presence.
“Hello. I’m La Hong-su, the personnel manager of the Galaxy Guild.”
“This is Daesung Guild. Oh, is the person next to you a family member? You look quite alike. Haha.”
“Hello. I’m Yoon Song-ah, the Deputy Head of the Daehan Guild. We had something important to discuss. Hmm, it seems there are many visitors here for Dok Jong-sik.”
Without anyone prompting, the others approached at Dok Jong-sik’s arrival.
“Yes. Hello, everyone. I’m Dok Jong-sik. Oh, you already know about me, perhaps? Anyway, nice to meet you.”
After exchanging brief greetings with them, Dok Jong-sik straightforwardly revealed the main topic.
“Mr. La Hong-su, Ms. Yoon Song-ah, Mr. Kim Gildong, and… Ah, Mr. Oh Cheol-su! You all received calls from me this morning, right?”
“Yes. We contacted you because we wanted to offer assistance regarding the awakening test fee. We heard you couldn’t take the test because you didn’t have the fee.”
A thin man next to Dok Jong-sik replied quickly. Upon hearing his response, the expressions of the three people standing next to him froze for a moment.
‘Ah, you too?’
That’s because,
“Yes. But other people also said the same thing, suggesting we should meet. We all thought it was a scam.”
All of them said the same thing to Dok Jong-sik.
“And everyone mentioned receiving unconditional sponsorship. Who would give 30 million won without any conditions? Let’s be honest. We all want to confirm whether the awakening questionnaire I filled out is real or not.”
“Hmm.”
At Dok Jong-sik’s penetrating words, the guild representatives rolled their eyes and swallowed nervously. Except for Yoon Song-ah, the Deputy Head of the Daehan Guild.
“We, the Daehan Guild, don’t doubt you. Even if Dok Jong-sik decides not to take the test, we’re willing to offer the best treatment and propose guild membership.”
“Umm, Daesung Guild is also the same!”
Yoon Song-ah said firmly. Belatedly, the accommodating representative followed up with a shout.
“That’s my loss. Everyone brought their money bags, so there’s no reason to refuse. So, whoever it is, just give me the 30 million won test fee. I’ll show you properly once I have that money. Oh, by the way, I found out how much the contract deposit for an A-rank Hunter is. Let’s negotiate properly after taking the test, okay?”
In other words, it was a suggestion to take the test first and then negotiate properly.
‘Why don’t you bring the contract deposit?’
