Holy B-Class Life

#017

“I’m telling you, I’m fine. Why won’t you let me go?”

“Hunter… Of course we want to register your entry, but… Your last gate was such a major anomaly, you know.”

It had been five days since Dan Joo-hyuk told Yoon Pa-ran about some crappy contract. Today, as usual, Yoon Pa-ran was arguing with a civil servant from the Gate Management Office.

Thanks to lying down for about two days, his physical condition was fine. However, because the director was so worried, Yoon Pa-ran rested for two more days.

When he tried to go to a gate again, the Gate Management Office put on the brakes. They were adamant about prohibiting gate entry for the time being, even invoking the Hunter Protection Act.

“I’ve cooperated with all the examinations and investigations, haven’t I?”

“Yes, we know. But still, the cause of the anomaly hasn’t been clearly identified yet. This is all to prevent any potential problems for you, Hunter…”

Yoon Pa-ran understood why that law was created.

Sometimes, hunters who nearly died inside a gate would ignore their trauma symptoms and enter again, messing up the raid.

There were also cases where hunters who suffered severe injuries would go berserk as if under mental attack when returning to a gate immediately. Although the exact cause of this ‘post-injury syndrome’ was still unknown, it was discovered that resting for a long time outside the gate helped.

Especially this time, all the hunters who survived the anomaly gate reportedly had seizures in the hospital. Because of this, Yoon Pa-ran had to be called to the Gate Management Office several times for repeated examinations and investigations.

Of course, he was perfectly fine. It seemed to be thanks to not having any major injuries. Rather, after hearing about the hospitalized hunters, he thought that Dan Joo-hyuk’s head should be examined with a big machine.

As he thought about this, a sudden ominous idea struck him.

The Gate Management Office knew better than anyone that he was fine and had no seizure symptoms. They had been doing tests to the point of annoyance over the past few days.

Then, could it be that Dan Joo-hyuk was blocking his gate entry?

“Then what about Dan Joo-hyuk? Is his gate entry blocked just like mine?”

Considering he offered money, is he pulling strings like this?

At the sharp question, the civil servant was momentarily silent. From that brief reaction, Yoon Pa-ran realized that the Dan Joo-hyuk bastard was freely going around gates and became angry.

However, the civil servant soon vented his frustration as if truly exasperated.

“On that matter, we really, really can’t do anything. You know, right? How much Hunter Dan Joo-hyuk is cra… I mean, how much he likes entering gates.”

Weren’t you about to say he’s crazy about it?

“…”

“This really isn’t because we have any other intentions, Hunter. It’s true that it’s an order from above because the research trend on the anomaly gate doesn’t look good. But Dan Joo-hyuk is an S-rank, so there’s a limit to how much we can stop him. Please, just let me live. Okay?”

“I understand…”

From the civil servant’s tone, it seemed he had been considerably harassed by Dan Joo-hyuk as well.

Yoon Pa-ran wrinkled his nose at the civil servant’s hardships that he unintentionally sensed. After saying this much, he couldn’t press further, could he?

“Hah…”

Having no choice, Yoon Pa-ran asked to be contacted immediately when the entry restriction was lifted and then hung up. It was a call that left him with nothing but worries.

At this rate, this month will be in the red. What should I do?

He was sick and tired of worrying about money. Still, Yoon Pa-ran habitually calculated his financial situation in his head.

Despite his achievements in a special gate, this month had become difficult. Due to that investigation, there were difficulties in setting the gate reward, and the payment was being delayed.

In Korea’s case, although gates were systematically managed to the extent of having a government department, there were occasional side effects like this. When something special happened, it took quite some time for a conclusion to be reached.

The intent itself was to protect hunters, so he couldn’t argue further. Usually, hunters were not sensitive to money issues because it was a high-income profession.

Only hunters like Yoon Pa-ran, who managed a tight monthly budget, would be having such worries.

It would be troublesome if the gate entry restriction continued like this. Even if the gate reward issue was resolved, it would be difficult to receive compensation commensurate with his efforts.

Although it was thanks to Yoon Pa-ran’s skill that the boss was defeated, there was no way to prove it.

Even the mass media was saying that Yoon Pa-ran survived because he was a B-rank and was excluded from combat. Even A-ranks came out looking like they were on the brink of death. That speculation was plausible.

However, some speculated that Dan Joo-hyuk had rescued Yoon Pa-ran, which infuriated him.

‘Let’s kiss a bit from now on.’

“Damn it.”

That crazy bastard.

There were quite a few rumors about Dan Joo-hyuk, to the extent that even Yoon Pa-ran, who wasn’t particularly interested in his surroundings, occasionally heard a few. Usually, he would just let them go in one ear and out the other, but in this situation, he couldn’t help but recall those rumors.

That every A-rank hunter had slept with him once, that he never turned away anyone who came to him. The envious and jealous guys’ lewd talk was endless.

He didn’t know that even men were included in that range. He wished he could have gone his whole life without knowing such information.

Is he really possessed by a ghost looking for fun?

Surely that bastard didn’t interfere with his gate entry, right?

“Sigh…”

At least it was fortunate that he benefited from the potion that bastard gave. Injuries from gates received support from healer skills and potions, but this was literally limited to basic healing.

For slightly more severe injuries or disabilities, one had to seek specialized treatment on their own. It was a responsibility that arose in exchange for minimizing the fees on gate byproducts.

Having already expressed his gratitude, Yoon Pa-ran firmly decided to consider the debt for the potion settled in exchange for hearing that nonsense this time.

“Director, is there anything that needs fixing? I’m not going out today either.”

After finishing the call, Yoon Pa-ran moved to find the director. Since it had come to this, he planned to help with the orphanage work.

After knocking on the director’s office door as usual, Yoon Pa-ran opened the door abruptly without waiting for an answer. It was his usual behavior. The director herself wasn’t the type to mind such things.

“Ah, Pa-Pa-ran.”

But unusually, the director flinched in surprise upon seeing Yoon Pa-ran.

She tried to hide the paper she had been looking at, trying to appear natural, but she couldn’t deceive the dynamic vision of Yoon Pa-ran the hunter.

“What’s that you’re reacting to?”

“It’s nothing. I was just lost in thought and got a bit startled. Are you feeling alright?”

She evaded the question and approached Yoon Pa-ran after turning the document face down.

Gone was her earlier confusion, replaced by pure worry settling on her wrinkled face.

“Oh, my son. How could you lose so much weight?”

She said casually, reaching out both hands to grasp Yoon Pa-ran’s cheeks. Yoon Pa-ran slightly lowered his body obediently, allowing the director to examine him as much as she wanted.

The director had a much smaller build than him. But to Yoon Pa-ran, she always looked big. She had been someone he always looked up to since he was less than half his current height.

That concern bothered him somehow, so Yoon Pa-ran deliberately spoke more firmly.

“I’m fine. I told you, I had tons of examinations at the Gate Management Office. Everything’s normal.”

“I see. That’s a relief.”

Only then did the director let go of Yoon Pa-ran.

After awkwardly wiping his cheek once with the back of his hand, Yoon Pa-ran opened his eyes sharply again. His gaze fell on the document she had been holding earlier.

“So what’s going on?”

Director Yoon Seul avoided his gaze with an extremely awkward smile.

She thought she had hidden it well, but it seemed she couldn’t deceive the eyes of her son who had grown up so much.

“It’s okay, Pa-ran. Mom can handle it.”

Yoon Pa-ran narrowed his eyes at the director’s attitude as she spoke in a firm voice.

Usually, Yoon Seul doesn’t hide anything about the orphanage except for money matters. Seeing her speak like this, it seemed that something serious had happened, which made him anxious.

“Alright then. At least tell me what’s going on.”

Seeing Yoon Seul’s troubled expression, Yoon Pa-ran plopped down on the sofa in the director’s office. It was a declaration that he absolutely wouldn’t leave until she told him.

And while slightly avoiding her gaze, he spoke even more sulkily.

“What? You can’t even tell your son?”

It had been five years since he was legally adopted under the director, but the word “mom” still didn’t come out easily.

Since Yoon Pa-ran was about to enter middle school, that is, from an age when adoption became less feasible, Yoon Seul often referred to herself as “mom” to him. Yoon Pa-ran sometimes liked it and sometimes strangely disliked it.

It was Yoon Seul who persuaded Yoon Pa-ran when he was nineteen, overwhelmed at the thought of being thrown out into the world alone before his independence. She said that they were family now, so they could continue living while seeing each other’s faces.

Fortunately, Yoon Pa-ran awakened as a hunter not long after being adopted. He was glad that he could do a lot for the orphanage, but the director always only felt sorry for such a Yoon Pa-ran.

“Pa-ran, you really…”

Yoon Pa-ran rarely called her “mom,” saying it was embarrassing. So Yoon Seul realized that him calling himself her son meant he absolutely had to hear what was going on.

The director, who had been looking at Yoon Pa-ran with pity for a moment, soon let out a small sigh. This wasn’t why she had made Pa-ran her son, but she kept feeling sorry.

“The orphanage might have to move.”