The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 147

147. Removing the Beehive (4)

“You must be Han Yoojin. You look much better in person than on TV.”

I smiled and thanked her for the compliment. Just like when I went to buy a cell phone and glasses, most of the people I encountered recognized me. I had been on TV incessantly for a while, though the dungeon break had pushed me back in the news cycle, so it was a natural result.

‘Still, it’s a bit… much, with all the attention.’

The large supermarket was crowded as dinner time approached. So many people were staring at me and whispering. Now, unlike before my regression, the reactions were mostly favorable. But even knowing that, memories of the past kept resurfacing.

Thud.

In an instant, my hand lost its grip, and the package of pasta noodles fell to the floor. Yoohyun, in Kim Minyi’s form, picked up the pasta for me, and someone nearby spoke with concern.

“Are you alright? You don’t look well.”

“Ah… well, I still get a little nervous in crowded places. Especially when there are a lot of eyes on me, it gets a bit… scary.”

They offered sympathetic glances, understanding that it was quite an experience. Being kidnapped alone was traumatic enough, but then there was the auction house.

“Are you sure you should be out like this?”

“I need to try to get used to it. That’s why I deliberately came out to buy dinner myself. Thank you for your concern.”

An effort to overcome a traumatic experience. It was a good story. Someone even told others not to stare so much, creating some space around me. Watching that, I felt a little unsettled.

“Are you acting? Or are you really not feeling well?”

Once people had moved away, Yoohyun asked quietly.

“Nothing to feel bad about. I actually had a good rest, you know.”

I lazed around with excellent service. Kidnapping wasn’t so bad. I could play around without any guilt. If it was like last time, I wouldn’t mind being kidnapped once a quarter. The side income was nice too.

I went to the meat corner and put the best beef in my basket. Then, for seafood, I chose only the most expensive and best quality items.

“It’s been a while since we shopped together.”

It felt like a decade to me.

“Is there anything you want to eat? Anything at all.”

“Anything. Whatever you choose, hyung [older brother or close male friend].”

“You’re still saying the same thing as when you were a kid. There’s no budget limit now.”

And I won’t have to pay. The card I took out at the checkout was Sung Hyunjae’s, from Hong Kong. I should use it diligently before he asks for it back. The biggest problem is that there aren’t many opportunities to use it.

After buying the groceries, we drove to one of Haeyeon’s villas. Of course, the ownership was under someone else’s name. I unpacked the groceries in the luxurious mansion’s spacious kitchen, and soon after, Noah arrived. When he released his stealth, his golden hair faintly shimmered in the moonlight. Without stealth skills, it would be difficult to move around unnoticed, day or night.

“Thank you for your hard work, Noah.”

Noah smiled brightly as he saw me greeting him at the door. He’s only a year younger than Yoohyun, but for some reason, he feels younger. Maybe it’s because of his dragon form. He’s cute.

“Thank you for readily helping. If there’s anything you want, anything at all, let me know anytime.”

I felt too bad to just use him for free. Even when I want to do something for him, he just says it’s okay.

“Not now, but…”

Noah hesitated a little before speaking. ‘Not now’ meant.

“There is something?”

Finally. His gray eyes glanced toward the house as he continued.

“When my sister comes out soon, she’ll probably stay in Korea for a while… Could she stay at Yoojin’s house then?”

“Of course.”

Why not? Come to think of it, Riette’s dungeon raid was taking longer than expected. Was it because she went with the Association hunters? She might have cleared it faster if she had gone alone, since it could be specialized.

“I’ll do my best to keep Riette from breaking into the house.”

“Ah, you mustn’t get hurt because of me.”

“Don’t worry. As long as there are monsters to sic on her, even Riette can’t touch me.”

Even after raising all the kids, well, Riette hasn’t really threatened me. She tried to pounce on me, though. I just need to avoid being alone with her.

Yoohyun and Noah prepared dinner. Even though I said I would do it myself since I was the one who started it, I was forcibly seated in a chair. These kids are too nice.

“My sister can’t cook.”

Noah said, arranging the pasta noodles like blooming flowers. He didn’t seem like he lacked dexterity, so it was unexpected. At least she can use a knife well, right?

“She tries to be overly creative… and puts in all sorts of weird things.”

“Ah…”

That sounds like her. She’d probably sprinkle ashes on a perfectly good meal.

Watching Yoohyun and Noah preparing dinner in the kitchen made me feel full even without eating. The kids have grown up so well. I didn’t raise Noah, but he really grew up well under that kind of sister. I’m proud.

“Our kids are really outstanding, no matter where you put them, aren’t they?”

Yoohyun still looks like Kim Minyi, but he’s still younger than them. I turned my head and spoke to the men kneeling in a row. They were Hunter Association officials who had shown suspicious movements immediately after the Dongju Rotary Guild raid. There were six of them in total, four holding positions in the Association, and the other two being the vice-chairman’s secretary and an aide to one of the board members.

I had Noah capture and kneel them down, but it didn’t look good. They were all middle-aged men with unpleasant expressions.

“Why aren’t you answering? I didn’t gag you.”

“Even after doing something like this…”

“Of course, I’m fine. You’re worried about others, so relaxed.”

Of course, looking at the situation now, I’m a perfect kidnapper. …Why did I have to kidnap middle-aged men? It’s a little depressing.

“Even if you get released and loudly proclaim that you were kidnapped and threatened by Han Yoojin, who would believe you? Believe it or not, I’m the kidnapping victim that the whole nation pities.”

That’s my current image.

“Having lost my parents early and even dropping out of school to raise my young brother alone, then dungeons appeared, forcing me to be separated from my brother for years for safety, and just when I thought I could live well with a good skill, I was framed and went to jail, then kidnapped by treasonous bastards and even put up for auction. Does anyone here have the confidence to beat that tear-jerking story? By now, there should be a few articles about poor Han Yoojin, suffering from agoraphobia due to trauma but trying to overcome it.”

If anyone brings up the fact that I kidnapped people, they’ll probably just get the reaction that they’re trying to frame an innocent person again. Unless there’s solid evidence. But of course, I wouldn’t leave any evidence other than the testimonies of those involved. And who would listen to their testimonies at this point, given the already bad reputation of the Association?

“…Deceiving the world by pretending to be weak!”

“I am weak. If I were an S-Rank, who would pity me?”

It’s because I’m a weak ordinary person among inhumanly strong hunters that this works so well. Besides, what am I deceiving? 90% of that long story is true.

Just then, Seok Simyeong appeared with a face as if he were humming a tune.

“The guests will be arriving soon.”

“Thank you for your hard work. There shouldn’t be any problems?”

“Of course─”

“Seok Simyeong! I’m friends with your cousin, friends!”

One of the men kneeling down suddenly stood up and shouted. My gaze and Seok Simyeong’s simultaneously turned to him.

“Do you know him?”

“No, not at all.”

“He says he’s a friend of your cousin.”

“Our family’s motto is to be strangers in public.”

“What about Hahyan?”

“Children are the exception.”

Seok Hahyan is older than me. Though she looks young on the outside. The man who had pretended to know Seok Simyeong cautiously looked around before kneeling down again. I don’t feel even a little sorry that he’s a friend of my acquaintance’s cousin. He’s completely unrelated to me.

I began to set the food on the long table. And the guests arrived. I hadn’t intended to match the numbers, but somehow there were exactly six guests.

“Oh, the Dungeon Management Director. I knew you’d cause trouble someday, but deliberately triggering a dungeon break? You really made a killing.”

Choi Youngjoon, the youngest of the guests, even clapped his hands. The face of the director, who was in charge of dungeon management and had not only siphoned off profitable dungeons but also triggered a break, turned bright red. I wonder if he’s ashamed, or just resentful.

“I’ve already heard the details, but a deliberate dungeon break. It’s still hard to believe.”

“There have always been people who would sell out their country for their own gain, in any era.”

Yoo Ohchan, the former Hunter Market manager, and Choi Eunyoung, who was also in charge of dungeon management, sat down and spoke. The other three were all former Hunter Association staff.

These were the people who had to run around on-site when dungeons were appearing and breaking. Of course, these six weren’t all of them. There were many more. The prominent positions had all been replaced, but many were still left in the lower ranks of the Association, struggling.

“You guys can get up and sit down too. Even death row inmates get fed.”

The six current Association members and the six former Association members sat facing each other. The expressions on both sides were polar opposites. The atmosphere is nice.

“But Han Yoojin, are you really not going to get involved with the Hunter Association?”

Choi Eunyoung asked. She had a suspicious expression.

“If I meddle in the Association’s affairs, I’ll die from overwork. As you may already know to some extent, we don’t have enough manpower to move directly like this.”

“Haeyeon’s position will be different, though.”

She glanced at Seok Simyeong.

“As I said, we’re just receiving cooperation due to a lack of manpower. But we should receive a small fee for the cooperation. The fee is just attending this meeting.”

“We don’t ask for much. We just want Haeyeon to take over MKC’s existing shares.”

Seok Simyeong opened his mouth as if he had been waiting for this.

“You know that the Association is trying to protect MKC, whose stock prices have plummeted due to successive failures in balancing the giant guilds. We want to correct that.”

“Are you saying that we should push Haeyeon in exchange for you taking positions in the Association?”

“We’re not that incompetent.”

Seok Simyeong leisurely raised the corner of his lips. His gaze briefly turned to Yoohyun, who was sitting next to me.

“Three S-Rank hunters. A deep relationship with the monster breeding facility. The potential for growth has already surpassed MKC. So we’re just asking to be treated fairly.”

He confidently says that’s enough.

“The allocation of managed dungeons and item priority is the same as when there was only one S-Rank hunter. Isn’t that an absurdly unfair measure? The number of S-Rank hunters has increased in Sesung, so it’s time for a major adjustment.”

But the current high-ranking officials of the Association tutted, pretending not to hear. He then explained in detail and in an easy-to-understand manner how much potential Haeyeon had and how much it could help with safe dungeon management.

Seok Simyeong intended to raise Haeyeon to the second-highest position after Sesung with this opportunity.

If you only consider the number of S-Rank hunters, they could take the top spot, but Sesung’s second S-Rank hunter had his team ready as soon as he entered the country. On the other hand, Haeyeon’s S-Ranks, except for Yoohyun, still didn’t have raid teams, so they were practically behind.

Other fields still have quite a difference, but in terms of hunter power alone, they should be rated higher than MKC and Breaker.

“I acknowledge that the part is unfair. But let’s pretend this conversation never happened.”

Choi Eunyoung said firmly. The others also had similar expressions. I’d be grateful if you did.

But it won’t completely disappear. You can’t erase memories. Since they’ve already recognized that there’s an unfair issue, they’ll definitely prioritize it over other matters. At the same time, the idea that Haeyeon’s rapid growth is a natural occurrence will also be reinforced. This is just a simple fact, but they’ll inadvertently become more lenient towards Haeyeon’s dungeon and item share.

“Then shall we move on to the story of cleaning up those guys?”

The six who had barely touched the food I had prepared stiffened at my words. The six on the opposite side glared at them with sharp eyes.

* * *

As soon as day broke, the whole country was turned upside down again.

[Deliberate Dungeon Break!!]

It had only been three years since the Dungeon Shock. The majority of the population still remembers the scars from that time. At the same time, dungeon breaks are still an ongoing disaster.

The fact that it was deliberately caused was more than enough to provoke the public’s outrage.

[Dungeon Management Director Admits to Illegal Dungeon Transactions!]

[Hunter Association Vice-Chairman Knew About the Illegal Trade of A-Rank Dungeon Byproducts, Code-Named Beehive?!]

[Hunter Association Board Members Resign in Droves, Feeling Responsible for the Beehive Incident.]

[Dungeon Management Director Arrested, Who Will Replace the Vacant Position?]

[The Past and Present of the Hunter Association. Why Was the Purge Carried Out?]

[Hunter Association’s Corruption Exposed! Bugs Lured by Sweet Honey.]

The news and newspapers talked about this incident for days on end.

The people who had accepted the deal with me issued apologies acknowledging their responsibility and stepped down smoothly, avoiding too much criticism. But the six, including those who struggled to the end and were caught, and the people involved with them, were arrested one after another.

As it was an unprecedented situation, there were no relevant legal regulations yet, but it was said that they were likely to be punished for a crime equivalent to subverting the state. This time, they were lucky, but if they had been careless, the casualties could have been greater, so even the death penalty wouldn’t be enough.

‘I hope the new people don’t cause any problems.’

I have the contracts from the deal, so it’ll be easy to deal with them in case of an emergency. But I hope that doesn’t happen. I don’t want them to rot, just hold on for about five years.

Now that I’ve done the basic cleanup, I want to fix the strained relationship between the Awakened Management Division and the Association. Do I have to step in for this too? Can’t they figure it out on their own? But it’s too much of a waste to leave Song Taewon as the cleanup guy.

I was even more disappointed because I had experienced his skills even for a short time. Especially if he grows his Plunder skill, it’ll be no joke. If the range just increases a little, he’ll have almost no rivals in one-on-one combat.

If he has the right equipment and is given an environment to properly grow himself.

Of course, Song Taewon wouldn’t like it. Should I try applying a keyword [a method of influencing someone’s behavior or thoughts]?

“Comet! You took my glasses again!”

– Kkiiik!

Comet, who has been waking up more often during the day recently, grabbed my glasses and fluttered up. I quickly reached out, but only touched the air. Where did he fly off to? I can’t see well.

– Ppiyak!

“Ugh, Ppiyaki. Don’t come near my feet! Ack, the table!”

“Be careful, hyung.”

Yoohyun, who had approached unnoticed, retrieved my glasses. Comet, held in my brother’s hand, flapped unhappily. Glasses are surprisingly uncomfortable. Should I wear lenses?

“When will my eyes go back to normal?”

“Soon, if you rest well?”

My brother frowned at my words. Still, I rested yesterday without doing anything special. But I have to go out today. I received a call that Riette had finished the dungeon raid.