Holy B-Class Life

#019

“Hah…”

Yoon Pa-ran, who had finally calmed down, rubbed between his eyebrows.

Nothing was certain yet. To begin with, there was no reason for Dan Joo-hyuk to go this far for that contract.

He had never been confident in tasks that required thinking. Trying to use his unused brain felt like it was about to split. He wished he had studied harder when the director told him to.

He was determined to make sure Ju-hee, who was smart, would study hard. So she wouldn’t be taken advantage of in situations like this.

In addition to the gate entry restrictions, Yoon Pa-ran’s worries about the orphanage grew heavier. As he trudged down to the lower floor of the orphanage, he let out a series of faint sighs.

Suddenly, he heard small footsteps behind him.

“Oppa.”

“Hm?”

A small face suddenly blocked Yoon Pa-ran’s path. He had been focusing on the approaching presence and willingly stopped.

As he looked down, he saw Ju-hee with a stern expression.

“Let’s talk for a bit.”

Ju-hee then folded her arms and spoke firmly.

Yoon Pa-ran felt cold sweat running down his back at the serious charisma of Yoon Ju-hee (age 9).

“Uh, okay…”

When Ju-hee requested a conversation like this, it usually meant something serious was about to happen. More precisely, it often meant Yoon Pa-ran would find himself in a difficult situation, unable to handle Ju-hee’s words.

Feeling the familiar chill, Yoon Pa-ran followed Ju-hee nervously.

Ju-hee walked ahead confidently. Her hair, which the director had surely neatly tied this morning, was now disheveled with the hair tie barely hanging on.

Ju-hee entered the children’s playroom and plopped down on the Korean alphabet mat in the corner.

“Oppa.”

Then, tapping the space in front of her, she said,

“Sigh… Sit here.”

“O-okay.”

Yoon Pa-ran gently knelt down and sat, frantically wracking his brain.

Maybe he got the wrong character on the pencil case he bought last time? He was sure she said she wanted the yellow character.

The cartoon that Ju-hee and her friends watched had countless characters. By the time he became familiar with them, new characters would appear, which seemed like a truly wicked marketing strategy.

However, Ju-hee’s serious topic for today wasn’t about that.

“Oppa, do you have any worries lately?”

Her tone was quite adult-like. With Min-woong about to start elementary school soon, Ju-hee had been trying to act more grown-up.

Even so, she was just cute.

Yoon Pa-ran scratched his cheek, trying to hide his emerging smile. If he laughed when Ju-hee was pretending to be an adult like this, he’d be in big trouble.

Ju-hee and Min-woong were adopted by Director Yoon Seul, just like Yoon Pa-ran. The two children had returned after being un-adopted, each carrying their own pain.

They were children that had caught his eye even before they were sent for adoption. Seeing the children return with darkened expressions, Yoon Pa-ran was furious. So when he noticed Yoon Seul’s concern, he actively persuaded her.

He thought he could raise two younger siblings well enough by himself.

In fact, for a single adult to adopt a child, the paperwork conditions were quite strict. Nevertheless, Yoon Seul had silently become a mother to Yoon Pa-ran since adopting him.

“I don’t have any worries. Why?”

There were mountains of worries, but he couldn’t tell these young ones.

He answered seriously, but Ju-hee kept her eyes narrowed.

“Well, I do. I wish you could live more comfortably. You’re working too hard to make money, right?”

“Ahem. Well…”

Her tone was exactly like the director’s. She must have overheard something and became quite worried in her own way.

“What does it matter if your bag is a bit old? You shouldn’t judge people by their appearance.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

And she shared the truth of life she had learned in her 9 years of existence.

Since everything she said was correct, Yoon Pa-ran actively nodded along with his young sister’s words.

However, he also knew that Ju-hee treated the new bag he had recently bought her as if it were an S-class item.

If she liked it so much, she could have switched to it right away, but she was still carrying her old, worn-out bag to save the new one.

“Okay. Now sit comfortably.”

“Oh, okay.”

When Yoon Pa-ran seriously agreed with her words, Ju-hee finally relaxed her expression. With permission to sit comfortably, she crossed her legs.

Then Ju-hee lightly walked over and plopped down on his lap.

“I ate tteokbokki with Sae-rom earlier? But then Sae-rom…”

Yoon Pa-ran silently listened to Ju-hee as she chattered about her day.

Since entering elementary school, Ju-hee had stopped seeking comfort from Yoon Pa-ran, saying she wasn’t a child anymore. But recently, she started acting spoiled again like this.

More precisely, it was since he had been carried out of the gate unconscious.

Realizing how much his family must have been shocked because of him, he felt a bit bitter.

“And then yesterday, the teacher told me…”

He properly embraced Ju-hee, who was playfully swinging her feet. He also gently stroked her small head.

“Want me to tie your hair again?”

“Yes.”

Focusing on his fingertips, Yoon Pa-ran carefully retied Ju-hee’s hair. He didn’t have the delicate skill of the director, so it ended up just being tightly tied.

“We’re going on a fall field trip soon, and I’m going to stick with Sae-rom there too. But…”

As he listened to her chatter, Yoon Pa-ran’s face gradually hardened.

Fortunately, Ju-hee had made many good friends in elementary school. They were kind children who got along well with Ju-hee without prejudice.

If the orphanage moves, Ju-hee would have to transfer schools too.

“…”

In the corner of his vision, he could see Ju-hee’s carelessly placed bag. Looking at the worn-out strap of that bag, Yoon Pa-ran calmly pondered.

If there was any way to earn money for now. If there was at least a way to solve this situation, shouldn’t he try it?

His flowing thoughts continued even after he sent Ju-hee up for dinner.

“Sigh…”

Would he have felt more at ease if money was abundant? As a hunter, he wouldn’t earn little in the future, but there wasn’t enough time to rely on that.

He couldn’t increase the number of times he entered the gate either. What should he do?

Answer?

Just then, his phone rang. Though he hadn’t saved the number, he knew it was Dan Joo-hyuk’s.

Yoon Pa-ran’s eyes hardened as he saw it.

“…”

In the current situation, there’s not enough information either.

Yoon Pa-ran, who had been glaring at the message with narrowed eyes, sighed once before sending a reply.

Let’s meet.

He needed to check first. Whether all of this was really Dan Joo-hyuk’s scheme or not.

What that guy was ultimately after.

❖ ❖ ❖

The place where Yoon Pa-ran called Dan Joo-hyuk to was the same riverside where they had talked before.

Dan Joo-hyuk found it a bit strange that Yoon Pa-ran had specifically chosen this place. Whether he knew or not that this place was known as a hotspot for car sex on online communities. Either way, it was clear that there had been some change in Yoon Pa-ran’s mindset.

Although he had been to the gate several times since then, Dan Joo-hyuk’s interest in Yoon Pa-ran had not yet diminished. Rather, he kept thinking about him throughout his time in the gate.

He couldn’t forget the feeling of that power that had sliced through an S-class evolved boss in one go, the sensation when it had been imbued in his sword.

When the time came, light footsteps were heard.

“You’re here?” Dan Joo-hyuk’s low voice resonated in the chilly air.

“…”

Yoon Pa-ran, his face hardened, deliberately didn’t respond to the greeting.

Then Dan Joo-hyuk, who had been staring at the river, belatedly turned his head towards him. In fact, he had probably sensed Yoon Pa-ran’s presence long ago, making it quite a cunning reaction.

Suddenly irritated by that composed attitude, Yoon Pa-ran glared at Dan Joo-hyuk with disgust.

“My equipment first.”

Towards Yoon Pa-ran, who demanded his equipment as soon as he arrived, Dan Joo-hyuk let out a snicker. Judging by his eyes alone, it looked like he was ready for a life-or-death situation.

Dan Joo-hyuk, who wouldn’t mind much even if Yoon Pa-ran started a knife fight right here, simply gestured with his chin towards the back seat of the car.

“…”

Seeing that gesture, Yoon Pa-ran slowly opened the back seat of the car. His equipment was neatly arranged there.

He wished he had known earlier that he could use A-grade cursed equipment without issues.

He thought there was nothing as unsightly as dying first when he was doing hunter work to live well with his family. So he had invested considerably in equipment that served as spare lives in the beginning, but now he regretted it.

It was funny to dwell on past events. He pushed away the thoughts forcefully. Yoon Pa-ran, who had already put on other spare equipment, picked up the sword and scabbard and fastened them to his waist.

Then he let out a big sigh.

“Hah…”

Even though his intention of grabbing the sword first must have been obvious, Dan Joo-hyuk just watched with interest.

Even though the guy was standing still, a fierce aura pierced Yoon Pa-ran’s skin. Trying hard to endure it, Yoon Pa-ran asked him through gritted teeth.

“You, are you interfering with my gate entry?”