The Skill Maker

Kim Yoo-Na arrived quicker than he expected.

Even though Hyun-Soo took the long way home, she was standing in front of his place and waiting for him.

Under the dimly lit street lights, there were a couple of shadows, which surprised Hyun-Soo.

‘No way…?’

He was afraid that someone was following him, so he purposely went to different transfer stations since there were usually a lot of people.

He thought they still followed him despite that.

There were other people besides Kim Yoo-Na in front of his house.

He thought she came by herself but there were a group of large men wearing suits.

“I brought back-up just in case. You can trust all of them and they’re very skilled. So, don’t worry about what happens out here.”

Even though he didn’t ask for it, she knew of his concern and introduced him to the people around her to calm him down.

She knew exactly what he was worried about.

“Since the situation turned out this way, if it’s okay with you, I would like to meet your parents and convince them. There won’t be any issues as long as I’m here, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m just helping out. Let’s go inside.”

Hyun-Soo wanted to quickly go inside, so he thanked her quickly and she nodded her head.

‘…I think I heard something odd.’

However, he was in a hurry to go inside, so he ignored it.

And then.

“You’re home, Hyun-Soo? …Oh my, who’s this young lady?”

Since the issue with the landlord hasn’t been resolved, his mother has been resting at home and she greeted him.

After she greeted him, her eyes widened when she noticed Kim Yoo-Na standing behind him.

“Are you home, Hyun-Soo?”

“Yes, I’m home.”

Today must’ve been his day off because his father was home as well.

“Honey, come here. We have a guest.”

“A guest?”

“Hyun-Soo brought home a young lady.”

“Really?”

His father stopped watching TV after his mother called for him.

He looked at Hyun-Soo and after seeing Kim Yoo-Na behind him, his eyes widened as well.

“Oh my, where are my manners? I didn’t invite you in. Please come inside.”

“Oh, thank you.”

‘It seems like she’s welcoming her more than me.’

Hyun-Soo felt somewhat excluded as he entered the house.

“Where’s Hyuna?”

“She should be home soon. Instead of studying at school, she’s been listening to lectures online.”

His mother placed a table in the small living room and after asking whether Kim Yoo-Na wanted coffee, she placed a pot of water on the stove.

“She’s very lovely and pretty. Are you his friend?”

While waiting for the water to boil, she started asking Kim Yoo-Na questions.

Hyun-Soo looked at his mother while thinking how Kim Yoo-Na was going to explain to her about the hunter world and how she was going to convince her.

His mother looked at Kim Yoo-Na with a satisfied expression.

‘The atmosphere is weird. Is she misunderstanding the situation?’

That was it.

“Mother, I think there’s a misunder…”

“I apologize for not introducing myself earlier ma’am. My name is Kim Yoo-Na and I’m a hunter that’s been going on hunts with Hyun-Soo. I’ve been getting a lot of help from him.”

She was Kim Yoo-Na.

She wasn’t someone that he could easily get into a relationship with.

His mother was probably thinking that they were in some sort of a romantic relationship.

Hyun-Soo quickly started speaking in order to clear up the misunderstanding, but Kim Yoo-Na spoke first.

“Oh my, you’re a hunter?”

Hyun-Soo’s mother poured the hot water into the cup that was filled with coffee and after mixing it, she handed the cup to Kim Yoo-Na.

“Yes, ma’am. The reason why I decided to visit you is because I would like to recruit Hyun-Soo.”

Kim Yoo-Na sat up straight and after greeting his parents, she gave them her business card.

“Recruit? Hyun-Soo?”

Right when she was about to clear up the misunderstanding that his mother had, Kim Yoo-Na slightly blushed and quickly changed the subject.

When she mentioned that she was a hunter, his mother was shocked.

After greeting her, his father started watching TV again, but after hearing her talk, he turned his attention towards her again.

“Yes, Hyun-Soo has dormant skills and has potential to grow stronger. I’ve never seen a hunter that grew as fast as Hyun-Soo.”

After clearing her throat, she spoke while looking directly at his mother.

“One of the most important characteristics that a hunter should have is willingness. Hyun-Soo definitely has potential to grow, but his willingness is great as well. One can lose their life during the hunt, so having the willingness as well as concentration is important. I’ve been giving Hyun-Soo a lot of points because of that.”

She was complimenting him way too much.

“Is that so? I don’t really know much about the hunter world…there are a lot of rumors about it, but to me, it seems like a dangerous job. If he goes into a bigger place, will he be hunting in a more dangerous area?”

“That’s something you don’t have to worry about ma’am. Being part of a clan, a guild or a group in general is better than hunting alone because they have supports, so it’s safer.”

‘…I’m glad that she likes me, but it’s a bit embarrassing.’

“Is that true, Hyun-Soo?”

Even though Kim Yoo-Na explained it, his mother didn’t know anything about this world, so she was still confused.

When his mother looked at him and asked, Kim Yoo-Na remained quiet and looked down.

He felt embarrassed by her compliments, but when his mother asked, he quickly pushed that thought aside.

“I’m not sure how good the benefits are for employees working in large corporations, but you can think of it as a temporary position.”

“But, isn’t it still dangerous? Like she explained before, if the group is made up of highly skilled hunters, they’ll probably focus on dangerous hunts…”

High risk, high return.

He knew what she was worried about.

But no matter what, he’ll always be in danger.

‘No, being part of an offensive group might be more dangerous. There could be a crazy hunter in there.’

But he couldn’t tell her what happened.

His mother would definitely be shocked.

Kim Yoo-Na noticed Hyun-Soo being hesitant, so he continued her explanation.

His mother listened to her explanation and with a worried expression, she nodded her head.

“I see. I understand thanks to your explanation. So, it’s best for Hyun-Soo to join a large group, like a guild.”

“Yes, that’s right ma’am.”

Kim Yoo-Na politely answered.

“If possible, I would like to recruit Hyun-Soo into the guild that I’m in.”

His mother thought about this for a moment and asked.

“I understand. If that’s what Hyun-Soo wants, I’m not going to go against it. But, why are you telling us…the offer that Hyun-Soo received before was from you, right?”

On the day that he met her team, he mentioned it to his family.

‘As I told them about the offer, I told them about going overseas.’

However, they didn’t react very well to it.

It was unexpected.

‘It’s because I suddenly said we should move overseas.’

“I’m not sure how he explained it you, but…yes. I did make an offer before.”

“I see. Hm…I understand what you’re saying. I’m grateful that you think of Hyun-Soo that way. If Hyun-Soo believes that he needs it, then I have no reason to go against it. But, why do we have to go too…?”

She must’ve thought that it was weird how Kim Yoo-Na visited them and explained everything in detail because her son was old enough to make his own decisions.

“Ma’am, please don’t misunderstand. The reason why Hyun-Soo is having a hard time accepting our offer is because of his family.”

His mother’s expression became dark.

“We’re weighing him down…”

“No, it’s not like that. There are a lot of people that will try to take advantage of skilled hunters. It’s inevitable. Nothing much really happens in most cases, but there are evil people with evil intentions that will do anything to get them out. This happens to many skilled hunters, including Hyun-Soo. That’s why I’m asking you not to misunderstand the situation.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, I believe that it’s best if all of Hyun-Soo’s family moved together, but I also understand that it’s not an easy choice to make. That’s why, we have a service where we take care of the family members of those hunters.”

“Service?”

“There are different methods, but there’s an Identification Protection Program where we create a new identity and completely hide people. If you don’t like that method, we can place guards to protect you 24 hours.”

“It’s a lot to take in…”

His mother placed her hand on her cheek while displaying a confused look.

What Kim Yoo-Na said was what Katrina mentioned before.

‘Honestly, I could’ve mentioned it too, but…if Kim Yoo-Na says it, it sounds more official and I think it’ll be more effective when convincing my parents, so it’s best to do it this way.’

The person that wanted to recruit him and a representative of the clan on top of that, came all this way to convince them by providing different options.

It was pretty effective.

‘Let’s do that then.”

The place was quiet due to his mother thinking, but his father intercepted.

“Honey?”

“Our son is saying that he can’t leave because he’s worried about us. Since Hyun-Soo brought her all the way here, I don’t think she’s a bad person and after hearing it, I think it’s good, so let’s do that. We should do whatever we can to help him.”

This wasn’t an easy decision.

In some ways, their entire lives would be changed because of it.

In his parent’s case, after their business failed and they had a big amount of debt, they cut ties with everyone.

When they had their own business, they knew a lot of people.

But after they closed their business, they stopped contacting them.

There wasn’t a need to contact them.

So that’s probably why he agreed without any hesitation.

His mother must’ve agreed with his thoughts because…

“Okay. It’s not like there’s anyone we know anyways. Then our Hyuna…”

“For his sister, I believe studying abroad is the best option and of course we’ll support her.”

“If Hyuna wants it, I’ll take her with me and take care of her. You know that studying abroad looks better on a resume when she gets a job. Since Hyuna is smart and does well in her studies, it’ll be better for her to get a degree overseas.”

“Even if we agreed to your suggestions, talking about Hyuna is pretty unexpected…”

In many ways, they were deciding her future.

It wasn’t easy.

There were realistic difficulties and they had to think about it.

Even they weren’t completely convinced, she calmly and politely waited.

That’s when Hyuna arrived.