Chapter 6

Yun Sol, and the Mask

The attention of the hunters and officials who had been concentrating on the employee's briefing was now entirely focused on me.

“Why are you here...!”

Yun Sol paid no attention to the reactions around her and made no effort to lower her voice.

Murmur, murmur.

-What? The person who just came in... Baek Dohyeon!? Don't tell me he's here to observe this raid?

-But who's that hunter?

-You know, that incident where Baek Dohyeon challenged someone to a real-life fight.

-Aaah! Don't tell me that's her?

People were now openly whispering among themselves.

“Uh, um, what's going on...”

The director who had brought me here could only look around in bewilderment.

“Excuse me!”

At that moment, the female association employee conducting the briefing shouted loudly.

“Hunter Yun Sol! What do you think you're doing in the middle of a briefing!”

“Ah... I-I'm sorry.”

“And everyone, please pay attention! We're still in the middle of the briefing.”

The female employee stepped in to settle the situation, and the briefing resumed after Yun Sol hurriedly sat back down.

However, everyone's attitude had changed noticeably.

Almost everyone was now stealing glances at me.

Needless to say, their reactions weren't particularly favorable.

Ever since the establishment of Revenant Guild had been announced to the media, the public's reaction had been consistent.

-Oh, so Baekmyeong is finally entering the hunter industry? They were the only chaebol that didn't operate a hunter guild.

└But the guild master is Baek Dohyeon.

└Lmao how is the guild master lol that long one lol

└What's that long one?

└It's Baek Dohyeon's nickname. DrunkenDisturbanceTaserEmployeeAbuseDMHarassment

└Hahahaha, that's impressive. And that's after leaving out all the minor incidents?

Of course, their reactions were understandable.

Until just two months ago, I'd been nothing but a pathetic troublemaker, and now I'd suddenly appeared with Baekmyeong Group backing me, declaring that I was going to establish a hunter guild.

The hunter industry hadn't welcomed me either.

In fact, because people in the industry understood its circumstances better, they were even more openly hostile toward me.

[Title: Seriously, why the fuck is that bastard Baek Dohyeon suddenly acting up?]

Does he think the hunter industry is a fucking joke? Seems like he thinks running a hunter guild is some kind of game;

And when I saw him saying at the press conference that he'd become number one in the industry, I could only laugh in disbelief. Seriously, does he think Baekmyeong is the only chaebol in Korea?

[Comments]

-Leave him alone. He's just a spoiled troublemaker who doesn't know how the world works. After running it for about a year, he'll realize this industry isn't easy and quietly shut down his business.

-Hunters' market values have already been rising lately. If Baek Dohyeon starts flooding the market with Baekmyeong money, inflation is gonna be fucking insane. Damn.

This post on an online community exclusively for working professionals neatly illustrated how people in the industry viewed me.

In other words, nobody in Korea welcomed my entry into the hunter industry.

Of course, as always, I lived with a 'So what?' attitude.

It wasn't as though getting criticized was anything new to me.

Even in my previous life, I hadn't finally come to my senses until I was past thirty, when people around me started dying and Korea began collapsing.

I couldn't even complain to anyone about how unfair it was.

Why? Because it was true that I'd lived like a spoiled troublemaker.

Even from my own perspective, I had been a piece of trash in my first life.

But regardless of what people around me said, I didn't particularly care.

And that hadn't changed now.

Other people's opinions weren't important.

Because there was only one person here who interested me.

Cha Yunha casually turned her head, and our eyes met.

“...”

She narrowed her eyes and glared at me slightly before sharply turning her head away.

Damn. I hadn't intended to attract attention right from the start.

I'd only planned to use this observation visit to make Cha Yunha aware of my presence.

And if I could learn something more about her or her manager along the way, so much the better.

But thanks to Yun Sol, I'd practically announced, 'Behold, I have arrived!' and drawn everyone's attention.

Well, it couldn't be helped. What was done was done.

Since I'd already attracted attention, perhaps I should just go ahead and speak to Cha Yunha directly?

“...That concludes the briefing.”

“As I explained earlier, the atmosphere inside this Gate has a different composition from Earth's, so oxygen masks are essential for breathing! Please proceed to Tent B immediately to receive your equipment.”

At that moment, the briefing ended, and the hunters rose from their seats.

As though they'd planned it in advance, every hunter heading toward the exit at the back gave me one final sideways glance before leaving.

Cha Yunha also stopped in front of me, her lips twitching as though she wanted to say something...

“Yunha! Let's go. The guild brought your personal equipment separately.”

But her manager ushered her out of the tent.

As an added bonus, her manager openly glared at me.

With that, all the hunters left, and the others began following them out.

Everyone except one person.

“...Hey.”

She stood there with her arms crossed, glaring at me.

...Damn, she's seriously gorgeous. If Cha Yunha was the cool beauty type, Yun Sol was the athletic type.

“It's been a while, Ms. Yun Sol.”

“Hey, don't tell me you knew I was participating in this Gate raid and deliberately came looking for me?”

“...? What are you talking about? Logically speaking, why would I deliberately seek out someone I'd had a bad encounter with?”

“...Uh. Now that I think about it, that's true... N-no! Anyway. You're saying it's a coincidence?”

“Yes. The participant list is confidential in the first place.”

“Something seems strange... But fine, I'll believe you for now. Anyway, you'd better be careful.”

“Are you threatening me again? Didn't I personally apologize to you over the phone for what happened last time?”

Of course, that was only because my father had threatened to demote me to Baekmyeong Electronics' Siberian branch if I didn't apologize personally.

“Yeah. You apologized, so I'm not going to bring up what happened back then again. That's not what I'm talking about. Something else.”

“Something else?”

Yun Sol glanced around before lowering her voice.

“...You know you have a bad reputation, right? Especially among hunters and people working in the hunter industry. They all look at you unfavorably.”

“Yes, I'm very well aware. I searched my name on BlahBlah.”

“What? Why would you do that? Do you enjoy getting insulted?...No. Ah! You keep throwing me off! Anyway! What I'm trying to say is...”

“Yes?”

“...Be careful not to give people more reasons to criticize you.”

“!”

“Don't go doing anything weird like you usually do. Just quietly observe the raid and leave. It's a large-scale raid with even S-rank Cha Yunha participating, so I'm sure you'll learn something if you watch carefully.”

“...That's unexpected.”

“What is?”

“Are you perhaps interested in me?”

“What!?”

“Otherwise, why would you go out of your way to give such kind advice to someone you once fought in person?”

“W-what nonsense are you talking about! I'm just giving you special guidance as your senior in the industry. And judging by your usual behavior, I'm worried you'll cause some kind of trouble.”

Finally, Yun Sol thrust her index finger toward my face.

“Don't get any weird ideas! You're not my type.”

With that, she marched out of the tent with vigorous strides.

“...Haha.”

Watching her leave, I couldn't help but laugh.

Twenty-year-old Yun Sol wasn't much different from the Yun Sol I knew in the future.

-Hey, silver spoon! Let's have a one-on-one match in Underwatch. I won't go easy on you this time!

For a moment, memories of the time I'd spent with Yun Sol in the resistance came flooding back.

S-rank No. 9, Yun Sol.

When I first joined the resistance, she'd been the one to extend her hand with a hearty smile, saying she'd forgotten all about what had happened between us.

The Yun Sol of the present was just like her—honest, easygoing, and surprisingly considerate of the people around her.

-Hey. Sorry. Guess we won't be able to play Underwatch together anymore...

Suddenly, the image of Yun Sol dying in my arms resurfaced in my mind.

“...Just wait.”

After Cha Yunha, you're next.

I also left the tent and headed toward the Gate with Director Kim.

The hunters had already gathered in front of the Gate and were making their individual preparations.

In addition to their usual equipment, they were all holding transparent masks.

“Those devices are...”

“Ah, those are oxygen masks supplied by the association. As explained during the briefing, the atmosphere inside this Gate apparently contains different components from the air on Earth.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Even inhaling a small amount causes immediate symptoms such as dizziness, and remaining exposed for a few more minutes can directly damage the lungs, they say. Therefore, a separate oxygen supply is necessary for breathing. That's what these oxygen masks are for.”

The director continued rambling about unnecessary details, including how the masks were domestically manufactured.

I already knew what kind of equipment they were.

Special oxygen masks designed specifically for hunters.

A small runestone embedded inside each mask supplied oxygen, so there was no need to carry an oxygen tank. All you had to do was wear the mask.

After all, I'd handled this equipment more times than I could count in my previous life.

The resistance had worn these masks when fighting those things that released poison, and I'd been responsible for managing the resistance's supplies.

When our engineer was busy, I'd even performed simple repairs myself.

What an unexpected place to encounter something filled with memories.

Of course, the models I'd worked with had been the latest versions from fifteen years in the future.

“...Hm?”

As I looked over the masks the hunters were holding, I noticed that Cha Yunha was the only one carrying a different model.

While all the other hunters had transparent masks, Cha Yunha alone held a mask coated in matte black, giving it a somewhat luxurious appearance.

“Ah, it looks like Hunter Cha Yunha intends to use her personal equipment instead of the standard-issue supplies. Well, I suppose Black Sword would have equipped her with the finest gear available.”

“I see.”

I gave the director an appropriate response while watching Cha Yunha prepare to put on her mask.

Like the other hunters, she placed the mask over her mouth, wrapped the strap attached to one side around the back of her head, and attempted to fasten it to the opposite side—

But she couldn't.

Apparently, the rectangular component attached to the end of the strap, which connected it to the mask, wasn't functioning properly.

Yunha repeatedly tried pressing the end against the mask, but it kept coming loose.

After tilting her head in confusion several times, Yunha called over her manager, who was standing nearby talking on the phone.

Her manager took the mask and similarly tried fastening the strap, but he also seemed to be having trouble.

“...”

I watched them carefully.

The manager struggled for about two minutes to attach the strap to the mask before finally seeming to succeed.

He grinned and handed the mask back to Cha Yunha.

She put it on and began talking with her manager.

“...Hiss.”

“Is something wrong?”

“No. It's nothing.”

It was nothing more than a hunch.

Just a suspicion based on what I'd observed from a distance.

But... I simply couldn't ignore the warning my instincts were sending me.

Something felt wrong about Cha Yunha's mask.

“By the way, Director, have you heard the news?”

I continued chatting with the director about a suitable topic while changing our walking direction toward Cha Yunha.

I was doing this to create the excuse that we'd happened to pass by while talking.

Without attracting their attention, I slowed my pace as I passed as close to Cha Yunha as possible.

Outwardly, I continued conversing with the director.

But my gaze remained fixed on Cha Yunha's mask, and both my ears were focused on the sounds coming from her direction rather than the director's reply.

Hissss—

I heard a very faint sound of escaping air.

It was so faint that I wouldn't have noticed it unless I'd already been expecting the sound and listening closely.

My ominous premonition had been correct.

Then what should I do?

Pretending not to notice was one option.

Even if I didn't intervene, Cha Yunha would probably be fine.

After all, there had been nothing wrong with her body when I'd met her in the future.

If this mask had caused her a serious disability, she would have told me about the incident in the future.

Furthermore, as Yun Sol had warned me earlier, I'd already attracted plenty of unwanted attention. There was no need to draw even more by doing something unnecessary—

“Excuse me, Ms. Cha Yunha.”

“?”

But before my rational mind had even finished reaching a decision, I was already speaking to her.

What nonsense. Equipment was a hunter's lifeline. How could I simply pretend not to notice when something was wrong with it?

“That mask of yours seems to have a problem. I think you'd be better off using a different one.”