F-Rank Secretly Becomes Stronger - Chapter 54

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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54

“What do you think, Mother?”

“Well… I don’t know much about cars.”

After encountering Hyeonho Candy.

Several peaceful days passed, and Juhyeok finally got the new car he had been waiting for so long.

“Still, it looks sturdy, which is good. I heard small cars are extremely dangerous in accidents.”

“I wouldn’t get seriously hurt in an accident anyway.”

“Being an Awakener doesn’t make you invincible, you need to be careful.”

No matter how much of a rising rookie Hunter he was, did he still look like just a little kid to his mother?

He thought she would finally acknowledge that he was an adult now seeing him behind the steering wheel, but it seemed that to Mother, a son was still a son.

‘She says she believes I’ll do well, but whenever the day comes for me to leave, she tries to take care of this and that, so she must still be anxious.’

As a son, he could fully understand his mother’s feelings.

After losing her husband in an accident, her son had chosen the dangerous profession of being a Hunter.

She was surely cheering him on outwardly as if nothing was wrong, but she was probably worrying quite a lot inside.

“…But son.”

“What?”

Mother’s expression had become serious somehow.

He answered while keeping his eyes on the road ahead, and she continued.

“You didn’t overextend yourself to buy this car, did you?”

“Huh?”

“It’s just… there’s a lot of talk about car-poor people these days.”

The conversation continued cautiously with a dubious expression.

He gently pressed the brake in front of a traffic light that had turned red and looked at his mother.

“Even if Hunters make a lot of money, I wonder if it’s really okay to just buy a car like this.”

“….”

What on earth was she talking about?

Mother surely knew that her son went in and out of A-rank Gates like he was going on a picnic.

Was she a bit old-fashioned and didn’t know how much Hunter work paid?

Juhyeok looked at his mother listing unnecessary worries and said.

“Don’t worry, buying one car doesn’t even scratch my bank account.”

“Really?”

Her eyes widened in surprise.

She had no idea how much Hunters who entered A-rank Gates earned.

Whenever she searched for information, she only looked up how dangerous it was rather than the income aspect.

Of course, she occasionally heard that they earned a lot of profit accordingly, but since she hadn’t heard exact figures, she couldn’t really grasp it.

In the midst of all this, hearing that his income was so tremendous that buying a new car wasn’t a problem, she naturally couldn’t help but be surprised.

“My son earns that much?”

“Mother’s hospital bills and living expenses all came from my bank account.”

Juhyeok had been responsible for the household finances since he started working as a Hunter.

Of course, seeing that aspect, she thought he must be earning quite well, but she never knew it would be that impressive.

“Is my son rich?”

“I don’t know what the standard for being rich is.”

Quoting something he had heard before, he pressed the accelerator as the light changed again.

He slowly alternated between looking at the navigation and the road ahead as he spoke.

“At least we’re living much better than before.”

“…I see.”

The atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

Seeing his mother’s hesitant expression, it seemed like she had something she wanted to say.

“What, is there something you want?”

“…Never mind. Just save your money well.”

“If there’s something you want, tell me now, don’t say something different later.”

“….”

The conversation fell into momentary silence.

Only the car’s engine noise filled the gap between Mother and me for a few seconds.

That awkward time didn’t last long before Mother spoke again.

“There’s nothing I want.”

“Then what is it?”

What on earth did she want that made her hesitate like this?

‘A luxury bag? I can definitely afford that much now.’

As long as it’s not something ridiculously expensive, he could definitely buy Mother a bag to carry around.

No, rather, if Mother, who had never shown any interest in such things, could now find a little happiness in that area, he could definitely pull out his card.

Just as he was thinking about going to buy whatever it was right away.

Mother said something quite different from what Juhyeok had imagined.

“Would it be okay to hire just one part-timer for the shop?”

“A part-timer?”

A completely unexpected request.

He naturally thought she would ask for luxury items or at least the latest baking equipment.

Hearing that she needed a part-timer, he hesitated for a moment before his gaze went to Mother’s knee.

‘…Ha.’

Mother smiled awkwardly, perhaps noticing Juhyeok’s gaze.

I found it hard to meet Mother’s awkward smile.

“As I get older, it’s hard to watch both the hall and the back area at the same time.”

“….”

Slowly gripping the steering wheel and turning left toward home.

Turning the wheel fully with both arms, he asked in a calm voice.

“Does your knee still hurt?”

The surgery had ended successfully, but the doctor had advised that while the knee pain would be much less than before, it wouldn’t disappear completely.

So he had said it would be better to rest from work as much as possible going forward.

Like mother, like son – stubborn Mother had somehow managed to open the shop anyway.

“Hey! It’s not like that. I’m just a bit tired because I’m getting older.”

“Then you have absolutely no intention of… closing the shop temporarily, do you.”

Even if he told her to rest for a while, she would secretly bake bread anyway, saying this was her only joy in life.

Telling such a Mother to rest from shop work was completely useless, so he quickly gave up.

“Hire a part-timer.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, even hiring ten part-timers wouldn’t be a problem, so don’t worry and hire one.”

Her lips curved up brightly at the words that it was okay to hire a part-timer.

Had it been so difficult that she would be this happy about just hiring one hall part-timer?

He felt uncomfortable, thinking that lately he’d been so focused on training that he hadn’t properly paid attention to Mother.

“Now I can bake bread to my heart’s content even when customers come~”

“But don’t just accept anyone randomly, carefully consider and choose someone who seems like they’ll work hard and well.”

“Of course~ Mother has such good judgment about people.”

Her voice tone rose considerably.

He was a bit worried about what would happen if she acted like this and ended up meeting some strange part-timer and suffering.

‘Even if it’s not a part-timer who gets along well with Mother, I hope they’re at least polite.’

Having heard so many villain part-timer stories from here and there, his concerns came first.

He even considered whether he should pick the part-timer himself after training ended, but it seemed right for the person who would be working with them to choose.

‘I hope only normal people apply.’

*

“Hello!”

“…Yes, hello.”

When they raised the hourly wage 5000 won above minimum wage, interview inquiries poured in like rain.

They barely cut it off at ten people, but even after that, it was so popular that people kept calling wanting to work part-time.

The one who passed through that tremendous competition rate was the boy greeting him loudly in front of him.

Blonde hair and piercings in both ears…

‘Good judgment about people?’

Having prejudices based on appearance alone was definitely not a good attitude.

Everyone in the world says so, but perhaps they deliberately repeat that it shouldn’t be done because they’re actually so easily swayed by outward appearance.

Juhyeok wasn’t someone who discriminated against others based on looks, but at least when first seeing a part-timer who would work at his mother’s shop, he couldn’t help but notice.

“I’ll just take some bread and go, so work comfortably.”

“Yes, understood!”

Perfectly likeable, eager politeness.

If only his appearance wasn’t so thuggish, she would have felt at ease, but since he looked so rough around the edges, it would be strange not to worry.

“Mother, that friend is really okay, right?”

“Son! You shouldn’t judge people just by their faces.”

“No, that’s true, but….”

Juhyeok hesitated, finding it awkward to outright say he looked too much like a thug.

Mother sat across from her son at the dining table, casually picking up side dishes as she spoke.

“That kid grew up his whole life in an orphanage without parents.”

“….”

“He graduated high school through the qualification exam, and applied for a part-time job to save up for tuition later.”

The dining table fell solemn at this suddenly revealed dark past.

Mother spoke with a somewhat wistful expression.

“How could I not hire a kid who grew up without parents but is trying so hard to live properly?”

“…Right.”

So much for having an eye for people – in the end, she hired him out of pity and admiration.

Otherwise, she couldn’t have ignored her son’s advice not to hire minors unless absolutely necessary.

“The kid has bright manners and is very polite, he just needs to work hard.”

“He does work well. Seems like he’s had part-time jobs here and there since he was young.”

“Then that’s fortunate.”

A part-timer who works well and is polite.

Though his appearance was a bit rough, finding a part-timer who both works well and is polite wouldn’t be that easy.

Juhyeok decided to let it go, thinking what’s good is good, and continued eating slowly.

“But what did you say that friend’s name was?”

*

“Jigu~ How was work?”

“It was manageable, not that difficult either.”

Hanbit Orphanage.

The home where Jigu had lived for over 10 years.

He sat in his room talking with a friend who welcomed him.

“What are you doing a part-time job for?”

“What do you mean what for, I need to work hard to earn tuition money now.”

“University? Are you really thinking of going?”

“Of course.”

University wasn’t a choice but a necessity for him.

Jigu had quickly graduated high school through the qualification exam and was immediately preparing for university entrance exams for his career path.

“What will your major be?”

“Baking.”

“You happened to get a part-time job at a bakery too.”

“Yeah, they pay really good wages there too.”

An hourly wage 5000 won higher than minimum wage.

And work that wasn’t terribly demanding in comparison.

For Jigu, there couldn’t be better luck than this.

“So you’ll open a bakery later?”

“No. I need to join a company.”

“…Don’t tell me.”

His friend’s suspicious expression.

Jigu smiled brightly at that face and answered.

“I’ve been saying it all along.”

The words he had always talked about until everyone’s ears were worn out.

Anyone from the same orphanage would have heard it at least once.

The workplace he wanted was the company that had generously sponsored the orphanage he attended since he was young.

“I’m going to work at Hyeonho Candy.”

Jigu wanted to dedicate his whole body and soul to working for that company.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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