Chapter 31

The drizzling spring rain made it impossible to fly the paper airplane. Soram had to take the wheel again after a long time.

The place where the dispatch request came in was a new city in the suburbs of Seoul. Soram drove straight through the rainy highway and eliminated the 4th-grade rift without any trouble. And as soon as he got back in the car, another dispatch request came from a nearby location.

"... Hmm."

It wasn't strange that the distance was so close. In fact, they might have called Soram because they had already mapped out the route to move immediately from here to the next location.

But somehow, a sense of unease lingered. Even though he had taken on the work of two people, Ayoung had fewer calls while at school, and as a team leader, Soram had almost none. But from the very beginning, two... Soram pressed the approval button and moved the car.

"Oh, thank you. I came in the morning and almost had a heart attack. I wasn't sure if it was a big problem or if I should run away immediately."

"You did the right thing by reporting it immediately. There was no sign it was turning into a dungeon, and you know, since you care so much about your store, Chief Jin Soram himself came to help."

Soram turned to the side when his name was mentioned in the conversation. The restaurant owner, who had been anxiously pacing in the middle of the restaurant with a deep crack, leaned on his wrinkled hands and bowed deeply.

"Aren't you the one who's often on TV? Thank you, thank you."

"You're welcome. You must have been scared. I've completely removed the rift, so please rest assured."

Soram also bowed his head in return. After exchanging greetings, he opened the metal sliding door and went out of the store. Even though it was said to be Suwon, the store was located deep in a narrow alley. The time it took to navigate through the illegally parked cars on the street was longer than the time it took to come from the Seoul border to here.

Sitting in the driver's seat, Soram threw his damp jacket onto the passenger seat. But being human, he felt better about eliminating a rift in a 30-year-old precious store than one in a dusty warehouse.

To be honest, he had hoped that the few rifts he would be handling instead of Ayoung would be tricky and difficult. It might have been just his own deception, but even in that way, he wanted to pay the price for being indifferent to Ayoung in his previous lives.

There were no further calls during the winding return journey through the narrow streets. Soram tapped the steering wheel briefly before heading back towards Seoul, wondering if there would be more calls from this area.

The windshield wipers wiped the rainwater, and a sign marking the city boundary appeared beyond the car window. After passing the IC, he pressed the accelerator hard on the highway.

At that moment.

Beep― Beep― Beep―

In the middle of the highway stretching towards Seoul. There, a dispatch order came for a rift that had occurred in Yongin.

"No, this fucking bastard really..."

This was clearly intentional. Why didn't they say anything earlier, and as soon as he reached the highway where he couldn't turn the car, they did this?

So, if he refuses now, will they call Ayoung?

Soram rested his elbows on the window sill and let out a heavy sigh.

I do want to work hard, that's true. But fuck, I don't want to get screwed over either.

"Hah, okay. Let's see who wins."

Soram took his hands off the steering wheel and crossed his arms. He also took his foot off the pedal.

Shortly after, the car lifted off the ground like an airplane on a runway, the only way to turn around on a highway without U-turns. The car, having turned back in the direction it came from in mid-air, began to fly.

To shut down such petty tricks with a single stroke, showing overwhelming force was better. It was a declaration that such tactics wouldn't work.

Grinning through gritted teeth, Soram pressed the approval button that appeared on his wrist.

* * *

At this grade, even if it's not me or Ayoung, another hunter would be enough, wouldn't they?

The place where the latest dispatch signal came from was a location with low pedestrian traffic, so it wasn't difficult to get there by car. The rift was also only about a 6th-grade, a simple one. This level could be easily eliminated by a nearby Reconnaissance Bureau hunter, or even a few non-awakened people putting in their full effort.

This feels really fishy.

Zzzzz―

"Ah, shit!"

After the initial startle, Soram realized this vibration was coming from his pocket, not his wrist. Awkwardly pursing his lips, he took out his cell phone.

Han Tae-un.

"... Why is Han Tae-un calling again?"

Soram pressed the green call button and brought the phone to his ear.

"Yes. Han Tae-un ssi, what's the matter?"

"Should I come and help?"

He's calling already, not long after being assigned elsewhere. Was he missing me? Soram was about to ask but shook his head, deciding it was better to avoid jokes until at least 4 p.m. today.

"No. Han Tae-un ssi, just keep an eye on if there are any calls from the north."

"I met Chief Kim Ga-eul in the hallway earlier. After hearing you were covering for Ayoung's exams, she said Team 1 would take care of everything from the headquarters to the north."

"Ah, really?"

"She seems to really like Ayoung."

"That's right. Ga-eul..."

In all his previous lives where Soram had been distant from Ayoung, Ga-eul had taken care of Ayoung. Adjusting her schedule to match Ayoung's school schedule, and shielding her from a lot of pressure as well.

Even now, when Soram has taken on that role to some extent, Ga-eul still cherished Ayoung.

That's why when Ga-eul couldn't withstand the public criticism and unaliving herself in the previous life, the one who grieved the most was Ayoung.

"I should make her stop browsing fan cafes and reduce her searches."

"Pardon?"

"No, it's nothing. Then, um. Let's divide it east and west."

"Understood."

"... Thank you for helping."

There were still times when having this kind of conversation, this kind of call with Han Tae-un felt surprising. The voice that sounded heavier through the speaker gave the expected answer.

"You're welcome."

As Soram was about to pull out the car, the school bell rang from a block away.

"I wonder if she's doing well on the exam."

Even racking his brain for past memories, Soram couldn't really empathize with studying, as it was something he had to force himself to do. But seeing Ayoung's diligent efforts, he wanted to cheer her on.

To that extent, it seemed necessary to remember this Kim Jae-hyeok or whoever. If it had been Soram's own supervisor, he might have flipped out at him, but if Ayoung's supervisor was like this, it seemed like trouble might brew someday.

"There must be a way to make him leave on his own."

It remains to be seen whether Jae-hyeok's inferiority complex is greater, or Soram's morality in this life is more lacking.

Beep― Beep― Beep―

Another signal came through. It was already the fourth call since the morning had barely passed.

"Fine, have a field day today."

What tomorrow would bring was another question.

Soram's fans had said that Dorami doesn't forget or fail to repay anger. Soram immediately pressed the approval button and turned the car around.

The rain that had been pouring since the early morning had not let up yet. The dimly wet road was slower than usual. And Soram had now destroyed four rifts. If his dispatch record for the day was seen, the director and deputy director would be pleased, thinking Jin Soram had finally matured. But in a few days, he would return to normal.

Since Ga-eul and Team 1 said they would take responsibility for the north, it would be better to not return to the headquarters and just stay in the car.

Soram's car wandered into the nearby Burger Land parking lot. He planned to have a simple meal in the car. The inside of the store was deserted, as it was not yet the office workers' lunch time.

After scrolling through the kiosk, he chose the most ordinary bulgogi burger, two of them. The ones with lots of ingredients like cheese or fried stuff, he didn't know what they tasted like and found them troublesome. The basic one with just meat and vegetables was better. And a bottle of water. This menu was one that would make him swear to have a bowl of rice soup for dinner for sure.

The ordered burgers came out soon. The part-time worker, who had been glancing at Soram from the counter while waiting, handed him the paper bag with eyes and mouth wide open.

"Excuse me... Are you Hunter Jin Soram?"

"Ah... Yes, that's me."

"Wow, incredible. It really is you! Why go for the bulgogi burger when you could have something more expensive... Oh, not that, are you headed to Suji? I live in Suji."

"Huh? Why Suji?"

"Well... isn't it? Some friends sent me pictures saying a huge rift appeared there..."

The part-time worker took out their phone from their pocket and searched for the photos. Soram thought the manager would stop this part-time worker at this point, but the one who poked his head out from the kitchen was instead curiously observing Soram. It seemed the store was quiet at this time.

"Ah, this one."

The screen the part-time worker showed clearly had a black rift formed near the ground. It was visible on the sidewalk in front of the apartment complex, and the police were surrounding the area.

"I haven't received any calls. It seems it's not a job assigned to me."

"Ah, I see. Well, it is a bit far from here..."

"Yes. Let me check who's going."

Rift Phenomenon Management Application. Pressing the rough icon, the list of rifts recorded today appeared. Suji-gu, Suji-gu... His gaze swept across the location column.

Suji-gu, Pureumdal... 3rd-grade rift. The assigned hunter was...

Chief Hunter Jin Soram (1st Grade), Team 7.

"Ah, it was me. They were probably planning to call me for dispatch after the area evacuation."

It was not uncommon for them not to immediately call the hunter even after a report came in. If the hunter's rift elimination overlapped with the school dismissal time of nearby kindergartens or schools, it was not desirable. And if the distance to the assigned hunter was not far, it was not too late to send a broadcast notification request before calling them.

Holding the hamburger takeout bag, Soram returned to the car, shaking his head left and right. After spending the whole day in the driver's seat, his body felt stiff. With the hamburger wrapper half-peeled, he started the engine. He planned to move in that direction before the dispatch call came.

Five minutes later, the dispatch signal still hadn't come.

And five minutes later, Soram put down the hamburger he was eating. A sense of something being wrong started to arise.

Soram picked up his phone.

"Yes."

"Han Tae-un ssi, where are you now? No, can you get to the entrance of Pureumdal Apartment in Suji-gu as quickly as possible?"

"Understood."

His ominous premonition had never been wrong. After all, he wasn't a very lucky person. Soram bit his lips a few times and finally lifted the car into the air.