Chapter 43 – Volunteering (4)
Luggage that had been loaded onto the truck had gathered in a warehouse in the corner of the nursery school before I knew it. I leaned against the warehouse and caught my breath, and Choi Soon-hong, the King of the Heavens, was staring at me with a smile on his face without breaking a single drop of sweat. He asked me
“Did you come to get a discount?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“Do you know how to drink?”
“Yes. Have a little drink.”
“Then let’s talk a little bit today. I will set the time.”
An offer that wasn’t particularly welcome came flying. He was smiling and beckoning into the nursery. I was reluctant, but it was ambiguous to refuse, so I nodded and followed him. A backboard as wide as the playground filled the hallway.
“Director!”
The children at the orphanage recognized Soonhong Choi and shouted. Children flocked to him, reaching out their tiny hands to him. He chuckled like Santa Claus and lifted the first child running in front of him. Underneath the child who flew high into the sky, small hands rose like waves and clung to him.
“Ooh, yes. Our Youngmin. Do you think you are much taller?”
When I rocked it up and down like a ride, the child laughed and liked it. An employee of the welfare center came out of the administrative office and took care of the children by herding them like a flock of sheep.
“Come on, boys. Today, the director has something to tell you, so you have to go quickly. Let me come ruler.”
“Yes.”
The children answered with a loud voice and disappeared as the nursery school teacher led them. The hallway, which had been filled with children, suddenly felt empty. Pacheonwang said.
“Then let’s go. It’s a smile! Bring me some bamboo leaves!”
“Yes!”
Bamboo leaves? I thought the quality of the concept was excessive. At most, you take out leaf wine and say, “Jook-yeopcheong,” Right? Miss Smile nodded her head and she ran to the safe. When she guessed the password to the safe, she was able to face the bottle filled with pure white steam. It was filled with a white wine bottle with a picture of bamboo on it.
“No what…”
“Why but?”
“No, no.”
If I tackled it, I was the only one who suffered. It was none of my business whether or not there was alcohol at the nursery school. The Black Dragon Ark nodded when I was vague and then moved to the back room of the nursery school administrative office. There was only a desk and a few chairs in the room I followed.
Behind it, only about one bookshelf remained as an interior element, and the bookshelf was filled with all volumes of [City of Heaven and Demons]. The Black Dragon Ark sat down with a kind smile. The staff put bamboo leaf extract and sweets on the table and said with a smile.
“If you need anything more, let me know.”
“Okay. Go and work.”
“Yes.”
As the door closed, the sound of a glass being poured was heard. Before I knew it, the Black Dragon Ark, which had opened a bottle, was pouring my glass. I was startled and took the glass. He said.
“Do you know that book?”
“You mean [City of Heaven and Earth]?”
He nodded. I answered.
“I know. Isn’t that a famous novel from long ago? I heard that one million copies were sold.”
“Okay. It’s a great novel. It was published when I was in my twenties, and I was very impressed. Do you know what the main character is doing in that novel?”
“I don’t know because I haven’t actually read it. Isn’t it just modern martial arts?”
“Haha.”
The Black Dragon Ark clicked its tongue. He didn’t seem to like the way I expressed it.
“Is it just modern martial arts? No. It’s not like that. [City of Heaven and Demons] Is not just a modern martial arts site. It is a guidebook that tells you what a heavenly horse is.”
“A manual?”
“Okay. Guidebook. It’s the same thing as a non-professional. How wonderful it was to see the main character realize his destiny as a heavenly horse, fight against injustice, and become a being who punishes evil. I, Choi Soon-hong, made up my mind after seeing that. I also want to become a being like the Heavenly Demon. I want to become a person who defeats evil and pursues my own justice.”
“Nice.”
“If you want to read it, I’ll just give it to you. How do you get interested?”
“Sorry. I don’t have time for training these days. I’m interested, but I don’t have time to read, so it’s hard to say anything.”
Aside from my personal interests, I really didn’t have time. After volunteering and meditating, it was time to sleep. The Black Dragon Ark looked a bit disappointed.
“Okay? That’s right. Come to think of it, now was the time for the Rookie of the Year competition.”
“Yes. Yes.”
The Black Dragon Ark drank the cup. Then he looked straight into my eyes and asked.
“Is winning your goal?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
I nodded. Once I decided to become a Hunter, it was right to run towards the top. No matter what your name was or what your personality was, you had to do it. Choi Soon-Hong poured the drink again. I tried to follow him, but he shook his head.
The Black Dragon Ark, who had finished drinking, said.
“I, I have hit a wall lately.”
“A wall?”
“Do you know what people say about me in the world?”
“I don’t know.”
The Black Dragon Room was only seen in the news of participating in donation events or hunter events, and he had never personally looked for reviews about him. The Black Dragon Ark said.
“They say he’s an old man who has to retire. I’ve been a hunter for a long time. My senses aren’t the same as before, and I don’t feel like my strength increases even if I practice every day. It’s like there’s a big wall in my way, blocking me from becoming an S-ranker. Look at this, Jung Soo-hyun.”
The Black Dragon Ark, which was lamenting its life, suddenly called me. He was looking straight at me.
“Maybe, the Almighty will be the key to breaking through my blocked wall. That’s what you’re thinking. What do you think?”
He asked me a question I blinked and looked at the ark. But that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t have given it a chance here. Anyway, the Black Dragon Ark had no way to prove that I had an Almighty Emperor. If I didn’t give you useless space like I don’t know how to give it, this conversation right now would just stay in lamentation. I said.
“I do not know.”
“…Is it.”
Choi Sun-Hong nodded his head and he said so. Then he inhaled the remaining bamboo leaf extract from a bottle and stood up. Since he is an A-class awakener, he did not show signs of being drunk with a bottle of alcohol. He put his hand on my shoulder and said.
“I want to become an S-class. Otherwise, how can I put the heavenly horse in front of my name? If you’re not strong, you’re not a Heavenly Demon. Class A is not strong. No way.”
In fact, I didn’t even know if he was talking to me. When he passed through the hallway, his back, which had looked wide, seemed a little shrunken. Said the ark.
“Didn’t you eat dinner? Let’s have a meal together. I will buy I know a place that is good at making seolleongtang.”
Before I knew it, the staff filled up my volunteer time and stabbed it in my pocket. 5 hours. It was a decent reward for listening to the grumblings of an old man mad at the Heavenly Horse. I nodded once more to the ark’s suggestion. It was because if there was a restaurant that was good at seolleongtang around here, I had to visit it at least once.
I couldn’t agree with the idea of the Black Dragon Ark or his motives, but I thought that his personality wasn’t that bad.
“Go quickly. It’s just a quick walk away.”
Following the footsteps of the Black Dragon Ark, I saw a shabby shop as I walked down the back alley. The signboard that once had [Youngmi Seolleongtang] Written on it was broken and said [Eungmi Seolleongtang], Which made me have a strange imagination. Soonhong Choi pointed at the signboard and shouted at the owner.
“I told you to fix this sign, why don’t you listen?”
“Oh, I need money to fix it.”
The restaurant lady screamed as she watched us from the steaming kitchen. When people in shabby clothes saw us enter, they rolled their eyes and started eating again. Black Dragon Ark sat down and ordered two bowls of seolleongtang. My saliva went down on its own in the steaming, greasy broth.
Without delay, I ate a spoonful of the soup, closed my eyes and let out a deep sigh as the mild taste passed through my throat. Black Dragon Ark said with a frown on his face as I started to roll the rice.
“You don’t know how to eat seolleongtang yet.”
“Yes?”
“I will make it more delicious. Give me the bowl.”
“Yes?”
And the Black Dragon Ark poured radish kimchi soup into my seolleongtang. He rubbed the soup with a spoon and burst out laughing.
This fucking bastard
********
In the corner of the office in Black Dragon’s room, Hunter Seong Ha-yeon was agonizing over her cell phone. Her junior [Iron Blood Fist King], Who had just finished exploring the gate, spoke to Seong Ha-yeon Hunter.
“Sister Hayeon. What are you doing?”
“Uh? I was just thinking about what to change my nickname to when I become a B-class?”
“Aren’t you okay, Princess Ice Palace? Mysterious, just cool.”
“No. At all. You’re not as trendy as young kids these days. What should I say, if I use a nickname with a little old-fashioned sensibility, people think I’m very old? I’m 25 now, but everyone is like that when I go to a dispatch. ‘Oh, you’re younger than I thought?’ They thought a housewife in her 40s was coming just by looking at her nickname.”
“Ah, everyone says I have a cool nickname, right?”
“That’s just a formal compliment. If your nickname isn’t fucking fucking Adama Bomber, everyone praises you like that.”
“Ah, that bastard.”
Iron-Blood Fist King Gyeong-tae giggled at the thought of Jung Soo-hyeon’s face. Seong Ha-yeon shook her head and held out the LCD screen of her cell phone to Gyeong-tae.
“Hey, which of these two do you like better?”
“A nickname? But can I just change it like that? The brain test death penalty is going to be very scolding?”
“They say they changed it because they were drunk. If you change it once, you have to wait a month before you can change it again. I live with this nickname for a month. There’s still a long way to go until B grade, so I’m just choosing. Take a look.”
“Where…”
[Ultra Ice Girl]
[Bling Bling Ice Girl]
“Are you choosing between these two?”
“Huh.”
“…Isn’t the Ice Palace Princess better?”
“That makes you look old.”
“That looks old, but this one looks like a real mess.”
“Fucked cubs.”