Murim Login - Chapter 88

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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 88
“Son?”
Her eyes widened as she spotted me. My mother—wearing an apron embroidered with the restaurant’s name and rubber gloves stained with grease. My mother.
Her startled expression quickly shifted to bewilderment.
“T-Tae-kyung? What are you doing here?”
Just as I offered her a smile to ease her confusion, a sharp voice cut through the air.
“Is that Kim’s son?”
A middle-aged woman scrutinized me with cautious eyes.
There was no need to ask who she was or what she did. I already knew her identity.
“Hello, I’m Jin Tae-kyung.”
“Ah? Hmm. I see.”
The Restaurant Owner let out an awkward cough as I bowed respectfully to my waist, then asked his question.
“But what brings you here so suddenly?”
I answered with a slight smile.
“Does a son need a reason to visit his mother?”
“A reason?”
The Restaurant Owner’s eyes narrowed.
“You’re young, so your thinking is shallow. How do you think I feel when you just show up like this out of nowhere?”
“I imagine you’d be displeased.”
“Exactly!”
“It’s lunch hour—the restaurant is packed, and the kitchen and dining area are both swamped with work.”
“…That’s right.”
“And then suddenly an employee’s son shows up without warning? From the owner’s perspective, that’s certainly frustrating. I completely understand.”
“Well, you understand well.”
That’s exactly what the Restaurant Owner was thinking right now.
Ignoring his confused reaction, I tugged at my mother’s arm.
“With that said, we’ll be heading out now. Mom, change your clothes and let’s go.”
“What?”
“Ah, son?”
Both of them looked flustered.
I asked with a composed expression.
“Why not?”
“Why not? Why not?!”
“Is there a problem?”
“You brat, are you playing games with an adult? Did you forget everything you just said?”
“Oh, you mean when I said you’d be displeased if I showed up while you’re busy?”
“Yes! You said with your own mouth that from my perspective, I could be displeased, and now you’re forgetting that? Are you mocking me right now?!”
“No, of course not.”
“Then what is it?”
“What I said earlier was sincere. From your perspective, it’s certainly understandable. However…”
I broke into a broad smile and continued speaking.
“My mother isn’t your employee anymore.”
“What?”
“Don’t you understand? She’s quitting. Right now, this very moment.”
A heavy silence descended. Mother stared at me blankly, while the Restaurant Owner’s face flushed a dark crimson as he let out a shriek.
“Who do you think you are!”
“We do, that’s who.”
“You think I’ll just let you walk out of here!”
“And if you don’t?”
“You, you!”
“One, one! Two, two!”
That was the limit of the Restaurant Owner’s patience.
“You, you bastard!”
His hand rose along with the curses, but it failed to reach its target.
Snap.
One person caught the Restaurant Owner’s wrist in an instant, eyes blazing wide open.
Mother unleashed an aura so vicious that even a first-rate master would flinch, her voice dripping with contempt.
“Who the hell do you think you are, putting your hands on my child, you wretched woman.”
My goodness—I’d heard her curse once before when she was in the dining hall, but this was the first time I’d ever seen my mother swear like this. She was the kind of person who wouldn’t even gossip about others in front of her own child….
“And what kind of language is that? Your son’s the real bastard here. You bloated pig of a woman!”
“This is exactly! Hey!”
I stepped between Mother and the Restaurant Owner as he charged toward her.
I have a build that stands out wherever I go. Simply standing quietly between two middle-aged women was enough.
“Now, now. Please calm down.”
“Get out of the way, or don’t? You really think you’ll walk away from this!”
“Yes, I think we’ll live quite comfortably, actually.”
“Grrrraaagh!”
The Restaurant Owner’s eyes rolled back as he began flailing his arms wildly with a bestial shriek. Of course, none of his attacks posed any threat to me whatsoever.
‘I’m almost embarrassed to call it an attack.’
Compared to the enemies I’d faced at the Gate and in Murim, it was no different from a fly’s wingbeat. Now that my muscles, meridians, and durability had increased so dramatically, even a decent adult man’s blows would barely tickle.
“Please stop. You look like you’re really struggling.”
As expected, the Restaurant Owner’s thrashing ended quickly.
There were clear limits to what a body in his fifties, morbidly obese, could endure.
“Huff, huff—a Hunter oppressing a civilian?”
I was amazed at the Restaurant Owner’s brain structure for coming up with such a line.
“Me? Oppressing you?”
“Don’t you see I’m hurt? My fingernail broke and I’m bleeding!”
“That’s just you hurting yourself while you were hitting me. I’ve just been standing here quietly the whole time—why are you shaking all by yourself?”
“Regardless!”
This was peak absurdity. I glanced around and saw that not only the kitchen staff, but the customers in the dining hall were watching the Restaurant Owner’s standing comedy routine with expressions of utter exhaustion.
“If you don’t accept it, call the police. There are about fifty witnesses here anyway, so it works out perfectly.”
“….”
“You won’t call? Since you got hurt and bled because of a Hunter, you should go to the police station, file a report, lodge a complaint, and hire a lawyer. You’ll be busy starting tomorrow.”
I’d wanted to toy with him a bit longer, but the more I talked, the more I felt time slipping away. I clicked my tongue in disapproval.
“What, do you think you’re some kind of mayor? Stop bothering the people around you and learn some manners. Well then, I’ll be going.”
Just as I was turning to leave, the Restaurant Owner’s lips twisted into a bitter smile.
“You live in Bucheon, right?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Which Guild in Bucheon?”
“Does it matter if I tell you?”
“My son knows. Min-su also works as a Hunter in Bucheon.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“I hear that Hunters all know each other through a few degrees of separation. If your reputation gets bad in that world, I wonder how long you’ll last.”
“I have a reputation for being diligent and skilled, so I’ll last a long time. Satisfied?”
“Do you know Kim Min-su? My son should be famous in Bucheon.”
Kim Min-su? Of course I know him. Over the past seven years, I’ve crossed paths with more than thirty Min-sus. I answered indifferently.
“Do you know Sung Jin-ho? He’s the most famous person in our Gosiwon.”
“Pfft, a Gosiwon? No wonder—an F-rank Hunter, so that explains the level. Is your income really that meager?”
“I appreciate the concern, but I do quite well. I made four billion yesterday alone.”
“How much?”
“Four billion.”
I hadn’t wanted to brag about money so childishly, but I’d gone and poked the sleeping lion’s nose hairs.
However, there was one thing I’d forgotten: people always make judgments based on their own common sense.
“Four billion? An F-rank Hunter makes that much?”
“That’s obviously a lie. A Hunter I know said that an F-rank would have to work incredibly hard just to make one hundred million. And didn’t you just hear? He said he made four billion in a single day yesterday, not as an annual salary. That doesn’t make sense. Even the lottery doesn’t work that way.”
“Ah, I thought it was real for a moment.”
Not only the customers in the hall but even the kitchen staff who had been subtly rooting for me changed their expressions to skeptical ones.
Well, even I had to admit it sounded ridiculous.
“Son, is that true?”
At the mother’s question with wide eyes, the Restaurant Owner let out a scoff.
“As if. Even my Min-su doesn’t make that much.”
“I’ve been curious since earlier—what rank is that famous Min-su? A-rank?”
“He’s a D-rank Hunter.”
“….”
“What, surprised it’s so high?”
“No, well… honestly, I am a bit surprised.”
The way he said it so confidently, I thought Min-su was at least some legendary figure.
‘Where in Bucheon is there a famous D-rank Hunter?’
The Restaurant Owner seemed to misunderstand my momentary silence and let out a snort of laughter.
“You need to be at least a D-rank Hunter like my son to get proper respect anywhere. How could an F-rank even dare to speak?”
“I wasn’t that embarrassed. I spoke well enough.”
“Still, you’d face discrimination. Among hunters, rank is everything.”
“Ah, yes. Rank is everything.”
“One call from me and Min-su would….”
“Yes, yes.”
I answered halfheartedly while rummaging through my pocket, and the Restaurant Owner’s eyebrows shot up.
“I’m speaking here. Do you want to get scolded by our Min-su?”
“I’m just looking for something. Ah, here it is.”
“What is that?”
“If you’re curious, look for yourself.”
My wallet was so stuffed with point cards and discount coupons that finding anything was a chore. The Restaurant Owner’s mouth fell open as he examined the thin silver card I handed him.
“…C-rank Hunter?”
“Personally, I think rank doesn’t matter much for hunters. What do you think, sir?”
“N-no way. I definitely heard you were F-rank….”
“I was F-rank. Now I’m C-rank. Your information is quite outdated.”
“I-is this fake? It’s a completely different color from our Min-su’s certificate!”
“That certificate is bronze-colored, right?”
“….”
“I used that one before too. Low-rank hunters get bronze, mid-rank hunters get silver. Seems you didn’t know that.”
Suppressed laughter erupted from various corners of the hall.
The atmosphere had reversed in an instant. Mother beamed with pride and linked her arm through mine, while the Restaurant Owner’s face flushed red as he began making excuses.
“P-pfft, what’s so important about hunter rank? C-rank and D-rank are just one level apart anyway. They’re basically the same.”
This is ridiculous. Watching such pathetic flailing, I could only let out a hollow laugh.
“You shouldn’t say that when you were just discriminating against people based on hunter rank.”
“Is position all that matters? Where the company is matters more. A mid-level manager at a small company gets less respect than an assistant manager at a large corporation, right? Am I wrong?”
“I’m not sure about that… but it seems the customers here don’t agree with you.”
I gestured toward the customers filling the hall. Dozens of small-company employees were glaring at the Restaurant Owner without bothering to hide their displeasure.
“What’s with that lady?”
“Ugh, my appetite just died.”
“We haven’t even gotten our food yet. Should we just leave?”
“Yeah, let’s go. Come on.”
“Everyone, let’s move. There’s a decent rice bowl place up ahead. I may not be a large-corporation assistant manager, but I’m a mid-level manager at a small company, so I’ll treat everyone.”
Scrape, scrape.
At the middle-aged man’s words, five or six subordinates stood up and followed him. This scene was playing out across the entire hall.
“Sir, that’s not it. Sir!”
“What do you mean ‘not it’? I won’t be coming back here.”
“Your order’s already been placed. If you leave now….”
“Looking at the kitchen, it’ll take an hour anyway. Never mind. We’re leaving too.”
Despite the hall staff’s attempts to stop them, customers flowed out like a receding tide. Within barely a minute, fewer than ten customers remained in the hall.
‘Ah, I can already hear the sound of this restaurant going under.’
The Restaurant Owner was already trembling with rage and panic.
“You… you people…”
“So which Guild does your son work for?”
“Our Min-su is doing exceptionally well at the Sangdong Guild! Someone like you…”
“Pardon? Which one?”
“Sangdong Guild! They give houses and cars there.”
“Ah, Sangdong Guild. Just a moment, please?”
What an absurdly perfect coincidence. I stifled my laughter and pulled out my smartphone to make a call.
Ring, ring, ring. Click.
– Oh, what’s the occasion?
“What do you mean occasion? We only contact each other when there’s business?”
– …I already sent the promised 4 billion won.
“Ah, I confirmed that. Received it well.”
Everyone heard the conversation through the speaker phone.
4 billion won. As my earlier claim was proven true, their eyes bulged out in unison. I ignored the flood of stares and got to the point.
“Do you happen to know someone named Kim Min-su?”
– Kim Min-su? I’ve never heard that name before.
“The Team Leader at Sangdong Guild doesn’t even know that? He’s a D-rank Hunter under your Guild.”
– …There are plenty of D-rank Hunters. How would I know? Is this why you called?
“Yeah, hang up.”
Keeping Im Chang-su’s business card was a masterstroke to avoid getting scammed.
Click. As I hung up, the Restaurant Owner asked in a stammering voice.
“W-who did you say?”
“Didn’t you hear? The Team Leader of Sangdong Guild. In other words, Min-su’s direct superior.”
“…Team Leader? Superior?”
“Oh, and one more thing—I’m also his potential future employer. This man’s father is the Guild Master of Sangdong Guild.”
“…”
His face had gone pale as a blank sheet. There was no reason or need to say anything more. I turned toward my mother.
“Let’s go.”
“Shall we? Son.”
My mother, Kim Jung-hee, beamed with a smile and tossed her work clothes into the sink. Of course, she didn’t forget one final remark directed at the Restaurant Owner.
“If you’re going to be a parent, then act like one. You woman. How dare you speak carelessly of someone else’s precious child?”
The final blow.
The Restaurant Owner bowed his head deeply instead of answering, and we walked out of the restaurant with light steps.
“Son, have you eaten? We have doenjang-jjigae and kimchi pancakes at home.”
“Wow, quite the feast.”
The weather is truly beautiful.

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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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