I Stole the Number One Ranker’s Soul - Chapter 5

Kim Bongpal and Seo Hayeon (1)

No way, this person was…

“Who are you? You little…still wet behind the ears….”

“S-Stop!”

Kang Sungwook reached out to stop his subordinate, who looked curiously back at him. The manager of the Aegis division was able to be a bit arrogant as it took quite some time to reach that position. Enough that he’d be forty-two this year.

“Little what? What were you going to say next? Bastard? Hey, aren’t you going to educate your subordinates?”

“…Manager?”

So, being forty-two, it should be hard for him to face such verbal abuse from a man who appeared to be in his twenties. However, Kang Sungwook’s reaction was different.

“You go away. Hey. You know who I am, right?”

“Yes…? Yes! I do!”

This was the 16th year since Kang Sungwook joined Aegis. During those years he spent in Aegis, many Hunters passed through under his watch. S-class Hunters like Seo Kang Jun and those who gave up eventually turned to crime. However, the hunter who evoked the most intense fear from Kang Sungwook was neither an S-class hunter nor a wanted criminal.

[Kim Bongpal / Class A Hunter / Nickname: Butcher

Monster Fighting power: S- / Large Monster Fighting Power: A- / Fighting People: S+ /… / Risk: SSS+]

Back then, it was the first thing newcomers to Aegis learned. Never talk about his youthful appearance in front of the Butcher.

Slap-

“Ouch! M-Manager?”

“Shut up and bow your head! I’m sorry! This guy is still new…!”

And the second thing they learned was if you violated the first rule, ask for his mercy immediately.

“…Huh?”

Kim Bongpal looked Kang Sungwook and his subordinate up and down, his eyes sparkling with curiosity.

Flinch.

And that moment, the subordinate realized why Kang Sungwook was forcing him to bow his head. He didn’t receive information about Kim Bongpal as Kang Sungwook did when he was a newcomer. But he wasn’t oblivious, and though he never awakened, his job was to deal with hunters.

The man in front of him was radiating a menacing aura that was telling him-

“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t realize!”

This man was dangerous.

“Fuck. Have I been killing people around here? Why do these Aegis bastards make a fuss every time? Hey, forget it. You.”

“Yes!”

“Let’s talk.”

At Kim Bongpal’s prompting, Kang Sungwook grabbed his subordinate and sent him away. Meanwhile, the manager’s head was working quickly. Why had the Butcher reappeared ten years later? And also at Seo Kang Jun’s house…

The answer came quickly. Seo Kang Jun died in battle a few days ago. It wasn’t difficult to recall that he was once in Kim Bongpal’s battle team.

“Kang Jun. I heard that bastard became an S-class hunter.”

“Yes! You’re right!”

“Then what was all that?”

“…Yes?”

“The S-class bastards I knew were living in some fucking mansion, so why was that bastard’s house so small?”

Kim Bongpal envied the S-class Hunters the most, so he knew better than anyone how great the benefits they received were. Excluding all the little things, all their taxes were exempted, and their monthly maintenance fee was paid. So the S-class Hunters had no choice but to live as rich humans. Although it was a little special for an A-class, Kim Bongpal, to own a few buildings.

That’s why Seo Kang Jun’s house was a little strange. It wasn’t an old or small house, but it was difficult to see it as wealthy. It was ordinary. To be honest, it was spacious for only two people to live in.

But anyway, Kim Bongpal questioned it.

“Is that dung fly bastard still your boss?”

“Yes?”

Hwang Dongpal. There were several ways to refer to him. First-generation Awakener, A-class hunter a few decades ago, and now the founder of Aegis, one of the largest hunter companies in Korea. But to Kim Bongpal, he was a dung fly because he only picked up the hunter’s shitty leftovers.

But Kang Sungwook didn’t have the luxury of being surprised to hear such slander against his boss.

“You know the scar under his eyebrow? That was from the time I caught him stealing my settlement money. Damn it, I didn’t cut his hand off back then, so could be that why he didn’t fix those habits?”

It was especially surprising to discover the secret of the scar his boss always said was a wound from a fight with a 6-star monster. Still, Kang Sungwook focused on what he knew he needed to do first. That was to calm Kim Bongpal, who was now growling. He had to tell him that Aegis had treated Seo Kang Jun the best they could.

“H-Hold on! It’s not that!”

“What?”

Seo Kang Jun was an S-class Hunter who made a lot of money. But he also spent a lot of money. More than the money he made, actually.

Seo Kang Jun fought the most battles among the B-class or higher-level hunters. While your average S-class hunter just put his name on the strategy documents, fired a few special abilities, and collected money, Seo Kang Jun was fighting at the forefront.

Seo Kang Jun’s goal was to eradicate all monsters, and the driving force for this goal was an endless desire for revenge. Seo Kang Jun grabbed a sword, unlike other hunters who fell back when their special abilities were exhausted. Just as he learned from Kim Bongpal.

However, Seo Kang Jun had less talent than Kim Bongpal in using a sword. So while they were far superior to those of ordinary A-class Hunters, he was blunt. Even then, Seo Kang Jun wanted to be like Kim Bongpal. He continued to follow his ideals.

Fortunately, Seo Kang Jun was a talented Hunter. While he couldn’t be exactly the same, Seo Kang Jun was able to show some resemblance to his ideal. He cut well, chopped well, killed well. However, it required a lot of money. Hunter equipment to aid his movement, consumables used like drinking water to sustain himself in battle, doping drugs that boasted few side effects but came with a great price tag.

Seo Kang Jun earned millions of dollars in battle and spent it just to prepare for the next.

“Fuck. So, what do you mean…?”

Seo Kang Jun wasn’t rich. Rather.

“…That motherfucker owes you, what? 20 billion?”

He was a debtor who owed a sickening amount to Aegis.

“Fucking shit!”

Kim Bongpal exclaimed.

“That bastard!”

He wanted to kill someone who had already died.

“Why did I tell you to call me hyung? Fuck!”

* * *

A month had passed.

Seo Hayeon reminiscence about the past. Faint childhood memories sifted through her mind. When Seo Hayeon was a little kid playing with her doll’s house, she remembered her father asking her a question.

‘Huh? Hayeon. Who bought this?’

‘Uncle Fuck!’

‘…What? What uncle?’

‘Uncle Fuck!’

The subtle expression on Seo Kang Jun’s face flashed through Seo Hayeon’s head.  She still remembered the days when Seo Kang Jun would pass by this house once a day. Now those memories were tinged with a gentle nostalgia.

Seo Hayeon’s world, which broke with Seo Kang Jun’s death, recovered to some extent during the past month. It was largely thanks to one person’s warmth.

“Fuck.”

Just then, that warm person slammed open the door and entered the house.

“You dung fly bastard. You got all clingy for no reason when you wouldn’t listen to me anyway.”

Although he was an uncle who couldn’t stop shouting and cursing, Seo Hayeon didn’t hate Kim Bongpal’s speaking style. Her father didn’t talk much when he was around, and he wasn’t around often.

Seo Hayeon’s mother’s death anniversary returned yearly, and Seo Kang Jun’s time on the battlefield with the monsters grew longer each time it did. And the longer he was gone, the less Seo Kang Jun would speak. Eventually, their usual greetings were the only conversation between them.

Whenever she met Seo Kang Jun, she bowed her head, saying, ‘you’re home,’ and Seo Kang Jun would smile bitterly.

“Kid. Uncle’s back. Aren’t you going to say hello?”

She looked at Kim Bongpal, who grunted at her.

“Hurt.”

“What? Fuck. How did that happen? Where?”

“Not me, you. Here.”

Seo Hayeon pointed to Kim Bongpal’s left forearm. There were small flecks of blood beading against a tiny cut.

“Wow. I got too weak. Did the dung fly hurt me? Fuck, have I been playing around too much lately?”

Kim Bongpal blinked a few times as he examined the wound. Seo Hayeon smiled a little.

“Can I get you a bandage?”

“Forget it. Hunters usually get better with a bit of saliva. And fuck, how much does this wound cost? Just 20 billion, 20 billion.”

Over the past month, Seo Hayeon had also realized something new.

“Hey! Did you order fried chicken? And ate all the legs too? Wow. There is no point in trying to raise a child.”

“…When did you raise me?”

“Wow. How many times did I change your diaper…? Yet you say that to me.”

“Uncle! I told you to stop talking about that!”