Hunter World Chaebol Household

 

With all her excitement subdued thanks to Jeong-Hoon’s mediation, Jung Yi-Young did not offer Han Si-Eun the position of a vassal.

Jeong-Hoon thought it was fortunate she hadn’t done so since Han Si-Eun belonged to the well-known FC Guild, which meant she wouldn’t easily take on the offer anyway. 

 

“But is it really okay?”

 

“Sorry? What do you mean?”

Jeong-Hoon, who was looking at the ripening pork belly in front of his eyes, turned to Si-Eun at her sudden words.

Jeong-Hoon had brought Si-Eun to a meat restaurant where he used to come often with his parents.

He recalled the fact that the restaurant existed on the way to take Si-Eun home from Myeongil Hospital, and brought her along to relieve his old memories.

“I had said I would learn all three magic, martial arts, and supernatural powers. Are you sure that’s okay?”

 

“As Butler Joo explained, it doesn’t matter. Rather, it will help the world if you learn everything and become strong.”

 

Jeong-Hoon, who answered with a shrug, thought that if there was a problem, Butler Joo would have stopped her on his own. Si-Eun is a friend that Jeong-Hoon acknowledged. In other words, to the household servants such as Butler Joo, she is a friend of their lord. 

Considering the loyalty of the vassals, there will be no harm done to Si-Eun.

 

“But is the chairman okay?”

 

“Sorry? What do you mean?”

 

“So, uh, the barrier.”

 

Jeong-Hoon smiled bitterly when he saw Si-Eun speaking quietly while sneaking glances around the inside of the meat restaurant.

It seemed like she was speaking carefully since it was a great secret, but unfortunately, all of the people in this meat restaurant were his vassals. Even the person who appeared to be an employee grilling the meat was a vassal.

The take-over was already over the moment Jeong-Hoon said he wanted to go to this meat restaurant. The restaurant was bought. It was inevitable for a bitter smile to come out since the entire restaurant was plastered with the people of the family.

 

“Oh, is this kind of question rude?”

 

“Not at all. You’ve already seen it, so it can’t be helped for you to worry about it.”

When Si-Eun mistook his bitter smile for a different sense, Jeong-Hoon shook his head and denied her thoughts when her expression turned dark.

 

“There’s nothing to worry about, but I want you to know that there’s a reason why Lumen supports people like Hunter Han Si-Eun.”

 

Along with Si-Eun’s fierce nod, Jeong-Hoon raised his chopsticks when the employee, who was grilling the meat said, “You can eat them now.”

 

“Huh? There are no empty seats?”

However, the door of the meat restaurant suddenly opened and Jeong-Hoon stopped moving because of the people coming in.

The meat restaurant was bought and filled with his vassals, but there was no notice outside that the building was being entirely ‘borrowed.’

This was due to the fact that it was only a secret service, so the restaurant was filled with vassals disguised as customers. Therefore, it was possible for other customers to come in.

 

However, Jeong-Hoon turned his gaze because the newly entering customer’s voice sounded familiar.

“Huh?”

 

“Oh- huh?!”

And when he and the customer made eye contact, Jeong-Hoon and the customer uttered the same sound at the same time. Familiar faces. They had no choice but to exclaim at each other.

 

“Wait, so. Jeong-Hoon, you’re Lee Jeong-Hoon, right?”

 

“Yeah, it’s me. And you’re Young-Min, right?”

 

“Yeah. You- long time no see!”

Jeong-Hoon smiled softly when he recognized Choi Young-Min, his middle school friend. After entering high school, his parents passed away and he couldn’t see him because he had moved from orphanage to orphanage. 

They had often exchanged phone calls and messages, but this was the first time they had met like this since middle school graduation.

 

“What are you doing here?”

 

“Oh, well… I suppose you can say it’s because of work?”

Before he almost casually said he was here to eat meat since he was at a meat restaurant, Jeong-Hoon changed his words appropriately when he remembered he was sitting together with Si-Eun.

Young-Min was likely to recognize Si-Eun, so it was wise to just say he was here for work.

 

“Because of work? Come to think of it, I haven’t been able to contact you lately. Did you get a job?”

 

“Oh, I got a job at a hotel chain called Lumen. This is Hunter Han Si-Eun. She’s a customer of Lumen.”

Since it was impossible for Young-Min to not know Lumen, he was glad to hear Jeong-Hoon’s words but looked surprised to see Si-Eun.

 

“Really? I’m glad you got a job. So you couldn’t contact me because you were training at Lumen?”

Jeong-Hoon, who nodded at Young-Min’s words, finally saw the customers who followed Young-Min.

All of them were middle school friends who were close to Young-Min and Jeong-Hoon.

It was disappointing that they gathered except for him, but this was Jeong-Hoon’s fault because he hadn’t checked his cell phone ever since he became the head of the household.

 

“Is something up? Everyone is here.”

 

“Huh? Yeah, there was something to celebrate… I’ll tell you the details later because it’s awkward to stand around here when there’s no room.”

When Young-Min, who thought he was being a nuisance to the restaurant because there were no empty seats, tried to leave, Jeong-Hoon made eye contact with Si-Eun.

She nodded right away to Jeong-Hoon’s eyes asking for permission if his friend’s group could join them.

 

“Oh, I think there’s going to be a seat available soon. Wait a minute.”

When Jeong-Hoon said this while grabbing Young-Min who was about to leave, Young-Min looked puzzled. Everyone seemed busy eating, so it didn’t seem like anyone was planning to get up soon.

 

“Check, please!”

 

However, even before Young-Min’s eyes fully looked around the restaurant, people sitting at the table next to Jeong-Hoon got up from their seats.

 

“Huh, they still have more than half of the meat left.”

Young-Min looked suspiciously at the people who were getting up to pay, but Jeong-Hoon recommended the empty seat.

 

“I had a feeling they were going to get up soon since they weren’t eating much.”

In truth, they weren’t able to eat properly since they were on duty, but Jeong-Hoon smiled and turned it into a moderate excuse.

 

***

 

Jeong-Hoon had a serious expression after returning to Lumen from dinner with Si-Eun and his friends.

“Butler Joo, isn’t information on a person’s awakening supposed to be made private unless the person themself says otherwise?”

 

“Yes, that is correct. Was there a problem after meeting with your friends?”

 

“It’s not a big deal, but it’s a small problem.”

 

The reason why Young-Min gathered his friends to celebrate was because he had awakened.

With his awakening level at B-Class, it was possible that he could be an S-Class before he reached his 30s. It was something definitely worth celebrating since it was a class that could bring him the treatment as an elite.

“That is something to celebrate, indeed.”

 

“Yes, well, thanks to him, there was no misunderstanding between Hunter Han Si-Eun and his friends about me.”

 

Jeong-Hoon was glad to meet his friends and had recommended them a seat in the restaurant, but internally, he was nervous to think that they would think of him differently once they knew that he was Jeong-Hoon, the chairman of Lumen, and not Jeong-Hoon, their friend.

However, such a worry was neatly forgotten by the news of Young-Min’s awakening.

“So what is the small problem?”

 

“I heard that he’s been contacted by several guilds after learning about his awakening level. It’s strange, considering he had asked to make his information private since he has no intentions of becoming a hunter.”

Jeong-Hoon let out a long sigh as he touched his cell phone, looking through the message history that Young-Min had sent to him of what he received from many guilds.

 

Registration as an awakened being was mandatory, but there is no law that requires an awakened being to be a hunter unconditionally.

In fact, Lumen, no, all the family members have registered as awakened beings, but no one is a hunter.

They’re all just working in the family business.

And the reason why this law exists is the result of a compromise between the country and the family, called a lawful negotiation.

 

The Hunter Association, established by the family, was handed over to the country, creating a bill for the choice of making one’s awakening private.  It was a ploy to disguise the family businesses, including Lumen. This is because 3,000 A-Classes and 12 S-Classes or higher awakeners were too conspicuous.

 

“This is what I had learned. It’s true it is a small problem, right?”

 

“My lord, that is not a small problem, it is a big problem. It is a bill that was negotiated by the family. This is the same as ignoring Lumen.”

If Jeong-Hoon wanted, Lumen can practically grab the head of the Hunter Association by the collars.

 

The fact that Lumen’s hard-working security was breached was a problem that could never be left alone as the butler of the family.

“Isn’t it an opportunity to positively promote our strength to the world?”

When he thought that Butler Joo was fired up, Jeong-Hoon carefully tried to stop him, but Butler Joo shook his head and denied,

“It would be a positive thing to do if you wish to conquer the world, but it is a big problem if you just let them be.”

 

“…is the situation to the extent of talking about conquering the world?”

 

“The organization has over 3,000 A-Classes and 12 S-Classes. Will the world sit by and watch?”

Jeong-Hoon’s head quickly turned at those words.

As much as the negotiation was sealed between the government and the family under the name of Lumen, the government knows the existence of the family. Nevertheless, the reason why the family could exist in secret is due to the enormous, secretive power the family holds.

 

However, if private information on an individual’s awakening is spread and known to the outside world, the government will have no choice but to openly check on the family’s businesses, including Lumen, regardless of the watchful eyes.

“In other words, if the family is revealed to the world, the only option would be to conquer the world or disband the family.”

 

“That is correct. So it is definitely not a matter of us sitting around.”

 

“So how do we deal with it? Should I grab the head of the Hunter’s Association by the collar this time?”

Since he didn’t want to conquer the world, Jeong-Hoon immediately asked for countermeasures.

The disbandment of the family was beyond consideration in the first place.

Some people do not want to give up the abundant life they enjoy as the head of the household, but their life span is the same as the rest of mankind. As such, it is Jeong-Hoon who did not want to be exposed to danger.

 

“That would be useless. Would you condone the government for selling private information?”

 

“Meaning, it’ll be those who are of lower position who will be at risk of getting hurt than those in a higher position?”

 

“It is also likely that this is happening customarily.”

 

“It’s only been 10 years since the world changed, wouldn’t it be too soon for it to happen customarily?”

 

“That is what I am saying. The word custom gives indulgence.”

 

Anyway, as Butler Joo said, Jeong-Hoon agreed that it was no use sitting still and cracking down on the situation. If the upper line, or those who knew the real power of Lumen, acted while knowing the consequences, this was like a declaration of war to Lumen. However, since he has never seen anything similar to such a declaration of war in these circumstances, he had no choice but to see for himself.

His friend Young-Min had received too many messages from guilds trying to recruit him.

Seeing how many guilds had been sending him messages, it was hard to believe that it was only one person behind the scenes.

 

“It’s painful to think of the consequences that are to come to some of these guilds for the price of possibly planting spies.”

Close links with guilds were of course essential when the association was founded. Therefore, guilds took it as an opportunity to plant spies within the association. 

Rather, this was used as a liaison between the association and the guild.

But in the end, it came back to hold Jeong-Hoon down.

 

“It’s no use trying to set an example by getting them one by one, right?”

 

“They would consider themselves unlucky and would rather try to move more stealthily the next time. We need to crack down on them all at once.”

 

“So should we link up with the government?”

Jeong-Hoon thought that it was necessary to send the message that Lumen would never sit idly when such a situation happens again, but he shook his head because Lumen’s manpower was limited.

It is necessary to borrow the hand of the government, but the problem happened in the first place because the government failed to keep the guilds properly in check.

“Actually, it’s hard to trust them to gain their help, isn’t it?”

 

“Yes, and it is also possible that they will think they have no fault in this and instead think Lumen would be indebted to them.”

Jeong-Hoon nodded and thought that he needed to gather as many people as possible to pressure the government. The government may misunderstand that Lumen has weakened as soon as Lumen borrows its hand.

“If we are understaffed, why don’t you take on a new assignment?”

 

“…new assignment?”

 

“There just so happens to be a business that can help us gain a lot of people at once.”

And Butler Joo smiled with pride, thinking from Jeong-Hoon’s way of thinking, that he was becoming a proper head of the household.