Chapter : 17
[It has been 348 days since Hunter Ari temporarily suspended her activities.]
[As the suspension of the Rank 5 Hunter continues, the safety of the Republic of Korea is gradually being threatened.]
[Some citizens have criticized the Hunter Headquarters, saying they may have been intoxicated with turning a single hunter into a hero.]
[In addition, as Kim Seok-cheol, the team leader of the Hunter Headquarters, expressed his intention to resign a month ago, taking full responsibility, the Hunter Headquarters has appointed the next person in charge today.]
[The next person in charge is Jo—.]
Bzzt—!
Sparks flew, and the television power went out.
The pitch-dark room was littered with piles of trash, leaving no place to step.
One piece of trash that had been sitting on the sofa slipped weakly onto the floor. A girl was curled up on that sofa.
It was hard to tell whether the figure lying there was alive or dead. Only after noticing her chest faintly rising and falling could one tell that she was alive.
Empty black eyes blinked slowly in the darkness.
There was no sorrow, no depression, no anger reflected in Ari’s eyes—nothing at all.
Her black eyes closed again and disappeared into the darkness.
The sounds that had filled the room faded, leaving only silence and stillness.
Beep-beep.
The sound of the front door lock opening echoed through the room. A woman who looked to be in her late thirties or early forties walked inside.
Her hair was roughly tied up and clipped back with a claw clip, her footsteps bold and confident. Even through her sharply tailored suit, her tall, lean, muscular build was obvious.
“Good grief, look at this mess. Is this a room or a sewer?!”
She yanked the curtains open as she shouted. Bright light poured into the dark room.
Ari frowned at the sudden brightness.
“What the hell…?”
“What do you mean, what?”
The woman kicked trash out of the way as she came to a stop right in front of the sofa.
Only then, with the light filling the room, could Ari clearly see her face. What stood out first was her bold, refreshing smile.
“Sorry I came so late.”
That was Ari’s first meeting with Madam Jo.
“Call me Madam Jo.”
…What is this? What the hell is going on?
Ari stared at Madam Jo as she moved around busily.
‘She doesn’t seem like some nobody.’
She behaved casually, almost like an ordinary civilian, but she couldn’t completely fool Ari’s eyes.
No matter how generously she underestimated her, she was at least an S-rank Hunter.
‘But I’ve never seen her anywhere.’
For nearly six years, Ari had run herself ragged without a single day of rest. If a hunter of this caliber existed, there was no way she wouldn’t have heard of her.
But even more important than that was something else entirely.
Madam Jo was stuffing Ari’s belongings into her inventory without the slightest hesitation.
“Wow, did the Hunter Headquarters provide this fridge as an option?”
At this rate, it looked like she might even shove the refrigerator in as well.
“…That belongs here.”
“Oh, what a shame. It’d be perfect to take. …I wonder if the fridge at my place even works. If not, well, we can leave it for now and rip one out of Headquarters later.”
Muttering seriously to herself, Madam Jo quickly dropped the regret and resumed packing.
Watching her, Ari had no choice but to speak up.
“What exactly are you doing right now?”
Madam Jo replied as if Ari were asking something obvious.
“We’re moving.”
“…What?”
“You got kicked out.”
“….”
“You didn’t really think the country would keep providing housing to a hunter who doesn’t work, did you? For free? For over a year? Honestly, with how naive you are, I worry about how you’ll survive in this harsh world.”
“That’s none of your business.”
“Oh my, how scary. Stop spouting nonsense and hurry up and pack.”
Smack!
Madam Jo’s hand came down sharply on Ari’s back.
Ari could only gape in disbelief, but Madam Jo paid her no attention and continued bustling around.
“Where are your textbooks?”
“I don’t go to school.”
“…Wow, look at this punk. You don’t go to school?”
“Is there a reason I should?”
“Listen to that mouth. In a Confucian society, talking back to an adult like that.”
“……”
“Hm. Judging by your silence, do you still have at least a shred of conscience left?”
Muttering to herself, Madam Jo continued putting things into her inventory.
Some time later, when Ari finally came to her senses, she found herself being dragged outside by Madam Jo.
They arrived at a small house in an old residential neighborhood. It looked as though time had stopped there thirty years ago.
The rusted front gate creaked open.
“I did a quick cleanup, but it’s been a while since I’ve been here. No idea if everything still works properly.”
When they opened the front door and stepped inside, the scene was… something else.
“Did we just time travel or something?”
Wooden doors, wooden floors, wooden walls, yellow linoleum, cherry-colored molding, a strangely tacky chandelier, electronic appliances that looked straight out of another era, and to top it all off, flashy patterned wallpaper.
It looked just like those rich houses from the 1990s you’d see briefly on TV.
“Mmm. Nice, very nice. Smells like Korea. It’s been a while. Back in the day, this was considered a pretty wealthy house, you know? Don’t underestimate it.”
“Well, at least there’s a microwave… Geumseong? Where even is Geumseong?”
“It exists. Somewhere.”
Pretending not to hear, Madam Jo tugged Ari by the hand.
“This is your room.”
“…….”
It’s awful. Really awful.
There’s no bed, no sofa, no TV. The window framed with cherry-colored molding had some weird glass decals stuck to it.
“…It’s awful.”
“Listen to you, whining with a golden spoon in your mouth.”
Madam Jo said this as she pulled Ari’s belongings out of her inventory.
“Roughly unpack and come out to eat.”
“I don’t want to. I’m not eating.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Your stomach growled more than five times on the way here.”
“…….”
“Come out while I’m still being nice.”
Somehow, she felt like she was losing every argument.
In the end, Ari roughly unpacked and came outside. Madam Jo had already finished preparing everything and had even set food on the table.
The kitchen was filled with the smell of soybean paste stew.
“…This isn’t going to make me work as a hunter again.”
Ari muttered as she sat in front of the food.
Madam Jo was definitely someone sent by the Hunter Headquarters.
Ever since Ari stopped working, the Hunter Headquarters had been in chaos. Team Leader Kim had coaxed her, pleaded with her, begged her, even gotten angry—but Ari hadn’t budged.
She didn’t want to do anything, and she couldn’t.
“So don’t try to fix things with stuff like this.”
“What are you even saying?”
At some point, Madam Jo had torn bright red kimchi into strips and piled it onto Ari’s rice. Steam rose from the freshly cooked white rice.
“Who told you to save the world? That’s something adults do. Kids should just eat well.”
“Then why did you—”
Why did you come to me?
Madam Jo caught the unspoken question easily and answered.
“Why else? I told you—you got kicked out.”
“…….”
“So listen to what I say from now on. You’ve got to listen to the people with real power if you want to survive.”
“Alright, let’s eat!” Madam Jo said energetically as she picked up her chopsticks.
“Then… I don’t have to be a hunter anymore?”
“That’s right. Don’t make me repeat myself. The food’s getting cold.”
Ari found it ridiculous—and oddly amusing—how casually Madam Jo said something so monumental.
Her heart felt lighter.
When night fell, Ari showered and lay down. The bathroom looked old, but hot water flowed abundantly.
Maybe because the floor was well-heated, warmth filled the blanket as she lay down.
She stayed like that, eyes closed, for thirty minutes.
Sleep didn’t come.
As Ari tossed and turned, the bedroom door creaked open.
The orange light from the living room softly spilled into the dark room.
“Why aren’t you sleeping? Can’t fall asleep?”
Madam Jo stared straight at her. Ari looked away and replied,
“No. It’s not that.”
“Oh please, it totally is. Want me to sing you a lullaby?”
“No thanks.”
Despite Ari’s firm tone, Madam Jo cleared her throat and started singing anyway.
“Outside the east gate orchard, shot—acacia flowers in full bloom, two-shot.”
“…What kind of song is that?”
“A lullaby for adults.”
Apparently, it works great when you’ve had a lot to drink.
After muttering to herself, Madam Jo grinned and continued.
“Just kidding. Then let’s change the song—Mom is an is—!”
“Please stop.”
She couldn’t even sing well. Ari glanced at her once, then turned her back in genuine irritation.
Madam Jo stared at Ari’s back for a moment, then left the door open and went back into the living room. The sound of drawers being rummaged through echoed clearly.
“It should be around here somewhere.”
Shelves opened and closed several times, accompanied by her muttering.
When the noise finally stopped, Madam Jo returned holding something.
“What’s that?”
“A music box I got as a gift when I was very little.”
With a serious expression, Madam Jo wound the key, and music began to play.
“…What song is it?”
“Grandfather’s Old Clock.”
“Fits this house perfectly.”
An old house, an old music box, and even the song was an old clock.
After a while, the melody stopped, and silence settled over the house.
“Want me to wind it once more?”
“…….”
Ari didn’t answer.
Madam Jo smiled softly, sat down beside her, and wound the key again.
“…Why are you sitting next to me?”
“You’ll need someone to keep winding it until you fall asleep, won’t you?”
“…….”
“Should I leave?”
“…Do whatever you want.”
“Not very honest, are you.”
Maybe because someone was beside her, the room felt warmer. Ari slightly lowered the blanket she’d pulled up to her chin.
And so, Madam Jo stayed by her side, winding the music box over and over until Ari fell asleep.
“Good night.”
Everything there was old and worn.
But in that place, where the floor was incredibly warm, Ari finally fell asleep.
