How to Seduce S-Class Hunters with Bungeoppang - Chapter 18

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

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Chapter 18
“Ha-nyang, let’s go home—”
I’d closed the Shop for the day, but Ha-nyang was nowhere to be found.
She occasionally wandered off on her own, but she usually returned by closing time. Worried, I searched the Hunter Management Bureau, combing through its corridors in search of her.
‘…A person?’
Someone was sitting in that dark corner.
The familiar face belonged to Kang Min Hunter, whom I’d seen a few days prior. He sat beneath the faint moonlight, his expression grave as he stared at his phone.
“Kang Min Hunter?”
“Ah… Noona!”
He lifted his head abruptly, spotting me, and broke into a gentle smile. The serious expression that had clouded his features moments before had vanished entirely.
He switched off his phone screen and tucked it naturally into his pocket, greeting me warmly.
“Noona, how’s the Shop?”
“I’ve already closed up. Ha-nyang disappeared, so I was looking around when I spotted you.”
“Ah, it’s already past seven….”
Kang Min Hunter checked the time on his watch, his words trailing off as if caught off guard.
The Leader is going to say something about this. He muttered this under his breath while running his hand through his hair. Unlike his usual demeanor, he seemed anxious and uneasy.
Could it be connected to that mission that appeared earlier? I sat beside him and broached the subject carefully.
“Is something troubling you?”
He’d been staring at the ground, but now he slowly lifted his gaze to meet mine. His large eyes wavered precariously beneath the moonlight.
After a long silence, he spoke in a quiet voice.
“Noona… when you awakened, how did you feel? Happy and joyful, right? Like everyone else?”
Kang Min Hunter scraped the ground with the tip of his shoe. Without waiting for my response, he continued.
“I wasn’t happy at all when I awakened. I actually hated it. But everyone congratulated me on awakening, so I couldn’t say I disliked it… I never wanted to become a Hunter in the first place.”
His final words carried a faint tremor of moisture.
Kang Min Hunter bit his lip anxiously, then lowered his head deeply. What spilled from his mouth was an apology directed at me.
“I’m sorry for suddenly bringing up something so heavy. It’s just… I felt suffocated all of a sudden….”
My friend Shin Hye would always bring up Kang Min Hunter’s idol days whenever she drank. She’d talk about how devoted he was to that idol—how no matter how busy he was, he’d send selfies to the paid fan app every day, leave lengthy messages, and always turn on his livestream at dawn just to greet them.
Though he’d awakened and become a Hunter now, she said she could remain his fan for life because she knew how brilliantly he’d shined back then.
Kang Min Hunter was someone who loved his work that much. Even through the small phone screen Shin Hye had shown me, I could tell how brightly he’d shone on that stage.
But when I recalled the moment he awakened as an A-rank Hunter… all the media celebrated the birth of a new high-rank Hunter. In that frenzy, a twenty-year-old boy couldn’t possibly voice his desire to remain an idol or express his displeasure.
‘…Kang Min Hunter must have had a lot on his mind.’
Why did everything we desired and longed for disappear so easily? Remembering my parents’ Shop, which had vanished so futilely, I smiled bitterly.
“Until recently, I worked at the Shop my parents left behind. Even though it was physically exhausting, I never thought about quitting. If I’d awakened back then, I think I would have found the prospect of becoming a Hunter absolutely terrifying.”
Running the Shop required so much preparation. From dawn, I’d trim ingredients, boil broth, and organize tables. Doing the work my parents and I had shared together alone was overwhelming. Yet because my parents’ Shop was so precious to me, I could never bring myself to abandon it.
Imagining myself suddenly awakening back then, I could understand how helpless and afraid the person before me must feel. At my words, Kang Min Hunter hesitated before asking.
“Did something happen to your parents, Noona?”
“They passed away in a Gate accident. The Shop is in a complicated situation now, so I can’t operate it at the moment. That’s why my current goal is to reclaim my parents’ Shop.”
“By earning a lot of money from the Taiyaki Shop?”
At his question, I burst into laughter.
What I truly desired was for Ha-nyang to grant my wish. Since she said it couldn’t violate the laws of causality, I couldn’t ask for my deceased parents to return to life, but I could reclaim the Shop.
“Just in my own way.”
“Your own way….”
I wanted to offer him some eloquent advice, but unfortunately, I lacked any special gift for words. However, I possessed a unique ability that only I had, and I could use it to help Kang Min Hunter.
“Next time, I’ll make special taiyaki just for you, Kang Min Hunter.”
“Just… for me?”
Kang Min Hunter tilted his head at my words. I told him he could look forward to it and rose from my seat.
I suddenly had things I needed to do back home.
“There you are! I’ve been searching everywhere for you!”
Ha-nyang came sauntering toward us at just that moment. Emerging from the grass, the Tricolor Fat Cat was covered entirely in leaves—apparently, she’d been enjoying quite the exhilarating hunting game.
“See you next time, Kang Min Hunter. I’ll prepare something truly special for you.”
After scooping Ha-nyang into my arms, I gave him a light farewell. He wore a puzzled expression, clearly unable to comprehend what I was saying, and gave me a small wave.
Once home, I immediately began packing supplies for entering the Gate. Ha-nyang, watching me from beside, approached with her tail swishing gently.
“Are you really going into the Gate right now?”
“Yeah. Waiting until next weekend would take too long. I’ll go in quickly today and open the shop tomorrow.”
Kang Min Hunter, whom I’d met today, looked far too fragile.
Was the energetic version of him I’d seen before just an act? In those large eyes of his, I could see anxiety and impatience, yet beneath it all lay a helplessness he couldn’t overcome.
“He saved me from that Troublemaker Customer—I can’t just pretend I didn’t notice.”
Besides, he was the person my closest friend Shin Hye cared for. It was only natural that someone my friend liked became someone I cared about too. I carefully gathered the necessary equipment and extended my hand to Ha-nyang.
“Shall we go in?”
“Meow—”
Will you enter the Gate ‘Silent Cave’?
Yes/No
As I clicked to enter the Gate, my vision shifted with a rippling sensation.
Quickly regaining my balance, I looked around. The massive cave itself seemed to be the Gate; I could feel the damp, moisture-laden air. From somewhere distant, I heard the soft patter of water droplets falling—drip, drip.
“The material I need to collect this time is called Bubbling Stone, right? It has an interesting appearance.”
*Bubbling Stone*
: A stone with a smooth surface carved with swirling patterns. Each varies in size, and when ground and consumed, it provides a calming effect for body and mind.
-Habitat: Gate ‘Silent Cave’
-(Photo)
Clicking the photo revealed a white pebble with swirling patterns carved in crimson. With such a distinctive marking, finding them shouldn’t be difficult—the problem was that the cave was quite dark.
I used the flashlight I’d brought to examine every corner of the cave.
“Oh? There’s one here!”
“I found one too.”
Unlike the Solsol Grass, which had gleamed in silver and stood out clearly, this material required searching through crevices in the rocks to barely spot it.
As I wandered about, my pockets soon filled with Bubbling Stones, yet strangely, the material collection progress remained unchanged. Could it be that what I actually needed wasn’t the Bubbling Stone itself, but its ‘powder’?
“How am I supposed to turn this into powder?”
I picked up a Bubbling Stone with its swirling pattern and struck it against the cave floor, but no matter how hard I hit it, there was no sign of it breaking.
Instead, only my hand holding the stone began to ache. As I pondered this, Ha-nyang, who’d been watching beside me, stepped forward.
“Let me try.”
Ha-nyang placed the Bubbling Stone on the ground and took aim with her soft paw.
One, two, three. After completing her warm-up motions, Ha-nyang raised her front paw high and brought it crashing down,
Crack—
“Now it’s powder, meow.”
That rock, which had been so hard, shattered into countless fragments.
The very stone that wouldn’t budge no matter how much force I exerted crumbled to dust from a single swat of Ha-nyang’s soft paw.
You’re… really not an ordinary cat, are you? I recalled the past when I’d forcibly poked at Ha-nyang’s belly and broke into a cold sweat.
“From now on, if you say you don’t like it, I absolutely won’t touch your belly…”
“What are you suddenly talking about, meow?”
“It’s just… a thought essential to my survival…”
Laughing awkwardly, I began collecting the fine powder that Ha-nyang had crushed.
Curiously, the Boiling Rock, which appeared to be a white stone on the surface, took on a reddish hue when pulverized into powder. Moreover, when I touched it, I could feel warmth emanating from it. Is that why it’s called Boiling Rock?
“I’m glad I brought a separate pouch.”
Sure enough, as I converted the Boiling Rock into powder form, the collection count began climbing steadily.
Excited, I wandered throughout the cave searching for more Boiling Rock. Since it was a cave-type Gate, it seemed safe—no monsters appeared, so I could gather materials with peace of mind.
I wish the last Gate had been this easy. I wouldn’t have had to meet Lee Hyun-woo…
“Oh, that’s right!”
Lee Hyun-woo had insisted I contact him before entering the Gate. I’d rushed in and completely forgotten. Hmm, I shrugged my shoulders. Well, if I pretend I don’t know, how would he find out?
Last time we happened to run into each other at the Gate, but this time there’s no one here, so there’s no way he’d know. I quickly pushed the thought aside and returned my focus to gathering materials, unaware of what consequences this would bring.

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

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