The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 10

009

“So, Junwoo.”

It hadn’t even been 10 minutes since we entered the dungeon.

While the corridor cleaning was in full swing, Team Leader Park cautiously opened his mouth.

“What is it?”

“It’s not my place to pry into what your relationship is with that Hunter, but…”

“But?”

“Why on earth is she here?”

“…….”

My head and Team Leader Park’s head turned back simultaneously.

There was Kim Minjoo, holding a rag and wrestling with the blood smeared on the passage.

“I brought her.”

“W-well, yeah, I guess so! I didn’t bring her!”

“Well, Hee-jang might not be back for a while. Still, isn’t it better to have one more person?”

“Normally, you’d think so, normally. But she’s…”

Team Leader Park once again glanced at Kim Minjoo.

Then, he lowered his voice significantly.

“She’s a Hunter…”

I could understand what he wanted to say right away.

No matter what anyone says, the cleaning team is the lowest rank in the Association. And the operations team… that is, the Hunters, are the most important personnel in the Association.

If you want to put it bluntly, the cleaning team is like the untouchables or slaves.

And the Hunters are the nobles.

Team Leader Park’s words ultimately meant, why is such a precious person cleaning in such a shabby place?

But well… it’s not like I brought that girl here because I wanted to.

‘Seriously, her stubbornness is something else…’

A rough snort escaped me without my knowing.

The day I couldn’t resist her stubbornness and gave her advice.

Kim Minjoo suddenly spouted nonsense about wanting to learn swordsmanship from me.

Well, of course, I refused outright…

But after that day, Kim Minjoo came to see me every day. Really, every single day.

Whether the control team found out our schedule, she was always waiting in front of the dungeon when the cleaning of the last dungeon was over.

For a whole week!

Unable to bear it any longer, last night I casually said to Kim Minjoo that I would think about it if she helped us with our work.

If I went this far, I thought she would naturally give up and go back, saying, ‘Ah, cleaning is a bit…’

Because, what Hunter would want to do such chores?

No, even without going that far, who would want to do cleaning work when they even took a vacation?

…Or so I thought, but that was an underestimation of her.

She really came to work as part of the cleaning team.

And she’s doing the cleaning work without saying a word.

A current B-rank Hunter is doing dungeon cleaning in the cleaning team.

Honestly, I pretended to be calm on the outside, but…

‘What, what am I supposed to do if she really comes? No, why is a B-rank Hunter doing cleaning? Isn’t she embarrassed? No, more than that, what if she really comes to work every day? What should I do then? Damn it, I feel uncomfortable seeing her. How did it come to this…’

Inside, I’m more agitated than anyone else.

“Teacher. This isn’t coming off.”

“Huh… huh?”

Then, Kim Minjoo’s voice flew in.

The title of teacher was something she arbitrarily attached.

She’s obviously trying to embarrass me to death.

“You have to spray chemicals. Why are you stupidly trying to wipe it off with force?”

“Ah…”

I approached and snatched the rag she was holding.

“Look. This is human blood, and this is monster blood. If these two are mixed together, you shouldn’t try to erase them together. Wipe one with a rag and melt the other with fire. Got it?”

“Yes. I understand.”

“This hardened stuff is monster flesh, and if you try to remove it with chemicals, you’ll use too much, so scrape it off gently with a dagger. Collect the removed byproducts in one place. Oh, if you use a dagger, wipe it off every time. It can corrode because of monster blood.”

“……Yes.”

“What. Why the expression? Don’t want to do it? Well, it’s a bit much for a Hunter to do this kind of work, right? So, why don’t you just stop here and go back…”

“No. It’s just… I thought cleaning was quite profound.”

“…….”

Kim Minjoo stroked her chin and made a serious expression.

Team Leader Park, who was watching the scene, burst into laughter as if satisfied.

“Junwoo has become a cleaner now! Hahaha!”

“Well, thank…”

I was startled and covered my mouth.

Oh my god.

What was I about to say just now?

Surely, I was about to say thank you?

Thank you for becoming a full-fledged cleaner…?

Kim Junwoo, the world’s first SSS-rank Hunter?

‘Damn it, I want to cry…’

My shoulders drooped at the sudden surge of self-loathing.

I trudged back to my seat.

But as if there was no time to sort out my thoughts, a sharp gaze flew at me right away.

When I turned my head, Moon Soyeon was staring at me with a very displeased expression.

“…I-is there a problem?”

“Nothing.”

Moon Soyeon quickly avoided my gaze.

“Teacher, this is done. What should I do now…”

“Ah! Then go over there with me. Is that okay, Team Leader?”

Moon Soyeon snatched her away as soon as Kim Minjoo opened her mouth.

Bewilderment was evident on Kim Minjoo’s face.

“Huh? Uh… But there will be a lot of corpses over there. Won’t it be difficult for just the two of you?”

“When else would I ever get to work with a Hunter? You’re okay with that too, right, Hunter?”

“…Well, yes.”

Kim Minjoo replied dryly.

With that, Moon Soyeon took Kim Minjoo and walked along the passage.

“Hey, hey.”

Han Sanghyuk, who was watching the two of them walking away, poked me.

“I bet the Hunter wins. What about you?”

“…….”

Me too.

***

An awkward silence flows through the passage.

Moon Soyeon is regretting her impulsive behavior.

She brought Kim Minjoo here, but she doesn’t really have anything to say.

It’s only natural that the atmosphere becomes awkward.

‘Why did you do something you never do? You idiot…’

Just as Moon Soyeon was blaming herself and sighing.

“You look tired. Are you okay?”

Kim Minjoo spoke first.

“Yes? Yes, of course. I’m perfectly fine.”

“Doesn’t seem like it.”

“……Haha.”

Kim Minjoo quickly scanned her up and down.

It was an obvious lie.

“Actually, I haven’t been able to sleep properly for a few days.”

“Looks like something happened.”

“No. It’s not really anything…”

Moon Soyeon didn’t seem to want to talk about it.

It wasn’t a story that I wanted to hear by pressing her, so Kim Minjoo didn’t ask any further.

“Tell me about the Hunter instead of my story. Actually, it’s my first time talking to a Hunter like this.”

“There’s not really anything to say… Just that I became a Hunter following my father…”

“Wow. Your father was a Hunter too? So, you’re working together as a father and daughter?”

“No. He got fired. Due to a shoulder injury.”

Kim Minjoo spat out the story that she almost experienced in the future.

“When I told my superior, he told me not to fake illness and just work… The same team members gave me the side-eye for even thinking about resting. I didn’t want to cause trouble, so I endured it, and that made the illness worse.”

“What?! Th-that’s ridiculous! You’re working together as colleagues! How could they…”

“No.”

A firm voice.

Kim Minjoo’s eyes sharpened.

“There are no colleagues in the Association. There are only lower and higher ranks than yourself. My father… couldn’t rise above B-rank. Until the moment he was fired.”

“Th-that’s…”

“Honestly, that’s how it is. Who would care about a Hunter who’s been B-rank for life? It’s a relief if they even see you as a person. Well, in the end, my father was just a tool to be used and thrown away…”

A sound of teeth grinding.

Moon Soyeon was worried that something might have broken.

“Anyway, that’s how the Association is. Hierarchy is everything. Infinitely strong against the weak, and infinitely weak against the strong. Even the Hunters who work together are like that…”

How much worse would it be for the cleaning team, Kim Minjoo couldn’t bring herself to say.

It wasn’t to belittle them, but at least it wasn’t something to say to the person involved.

But whether Moon Soyeon knew it or not, she waited for Kim Minjoo to continue speaking with a serious look.

Cough cough, Kim Minjoo eventually cleared her throat and brought up another topic.

“Soyeon, you’re interested in Teacher, right?”

“…Does it show?”

“Well, anyone can see it.”

Kim Minjoo smiled then.

Whether she was pure or just easily caught, she was quite cute.

“Well… he’s just very responsible. Ah, on the first day, he didn’t do anything, and on the second day, he was even late? For an hour! So, I thought he would quit soon… but now he’s working harder than anyone else.”

“I see.”

Moon Soyeon began to rattle off things she wasn’t even asked about.

But Kim Minjoo listened without showing any dislike.

“And he’s very knowledgeable about dungeons and monsters. He really knows everything? More accurate than the data given by the control team… He even knows information that’s not even in the data. Isn’t that amazing?”

“As expected…”

“Expected?”

“…It’s nothing.”

My eyes weren’t wrong.

That man is not just a cleaner.

That’s what Kim Minjoo thought.

No matter how good your eyesight is, it’s almost impossible to grasp a person’s condition in detail with just a few knife marks on a corpse.

Unless you’re a Hunter with tremendous skill and experience.

Besides, if he’s even more knowledgeable about dungeons and monsters than the control team…

‘I can’t miss him even more.’

Kim Minjoo bit her lip.

“Anyway, don’t worry. I’m not particularly interested in Teacher.”

“R-really? Then why did you come to see Junwoo so often?”

“…Didn’t I say it earlier? Everyone here is infinitely strong against the weak and infinitely weak against the strong.”

“Yes… you did.”

“Soyeon, I can’t stand that. It’s really like a dog.”

Kim Minjoo still maintained her smile.

But Moon Soyeon didn’t see it as a smile at all.

“So, I have to become strong. To do that, I definitely need Teacher’s help. Well… that’s all.”

The moment she finished speaking, Kim Minjoo realized it.

To say this to someone I met less than an hour ago. They wouldn’t even be interested in what I was thinking.

I felt sorry for making the atmosphere heavy for no reason.

“Uh… so what the Hunter is saying is…”

“…?”

“Anyway, she’s not his ex-girlfriend?”

There was no need to do that.

***

After finishing cleaning each area, we were slowly joining up to go to the boss room.

“Why are there always those kinds of bosses? Those guys who try to flirt with you no matter what.”

“Really! I used to…”

Moon Soyeon and Kim Minjoo were seen approaching from afar, chatting.

Contrary to expectations, they felt much closer.

What happened in just 30 minutes?

“Okay, everyone, as I explained earlier, the boss here is a poisonous monster. I know you’ll all do well, but still be extra careful today. Still, as long as it doesn’t touch your skin, it’s okay, so don’t be too scared.”

Soon, when all the team members gathered, Team Leader Park gave the final precautions.

“Yes.”

“…Ah, yes!”

A beat late in answering than us.

The culprit was Moon Soyeon.

“What’s wrong, Soyeon? Is there a problem?”

“Ah, no. The protective suit is a bit uncomfortable today.”

“Oh no, is it because it’s old? Where is it uncomfortable?”

“My arm doesn’t go up well… but I don’t think it will interfere with my work.”

Moon Soyeon said, twirling her arm.

Han Sanghyuk, who was watching the scene, sighed deeply.

“Speaking of which, isn’t it time to replace the protective suits with new ones? We even tore one last time, so there are no spares left. Go to the association and ask for a budget increase. What if there’s an accident like this?”

“Do you think I haven’t tried? They say there’s no money, so what can I do?”

“Anyway… they make us work to death but they’re so stingy with saving money.”

I agreed with his words very unusually.

Even though the protective suit I was wearing was the newest, there were noticeable contaminated parts here and there.

“Let’s try to endure with what we have for now. Okay, let’s go in when you’re ready.”

Team Leader Park said that and stepped into the boss room first.