Chapter 14

<>Like a Shrimp (1) >

Whew, in the end, I figured out another case . Now all I had to do was finish the contract and Awaken her .

“Saying something I never say, it’s embarrassing as hell . Quickly sign, I’ll Awaken you . ”

“Okay . Ah, it’s so funny . ”

“Don’t laugh . ”

“Even ahjussi’s neck is red!”

“You’re difficult to handle too, okay?”

Giggling, Bak Yerim signed the contract . As soon as the two signature lines were filled, the contract glowed weakly . Continuing, the surface became slippery as if it was covered in lamination . As if she was fascinated, Bak Yerim touched the contract .

“It looks like you can’t modify it . ”

“It wouldn’t do if you could modify it . ”

Taking back the contract, I put it back in the inventory . With this, the preparation was complete .

“Then, I’m going to use the Awakening skill?”

“Ah, wait a moment . ”

She shook her hand and sat up straight as if she was going to go into meditation . Then, she took a deep breath .

“Will I Awaken right away?”

“If your luck is good . At the longest it’ll take a week . ”

The Auspicious Seed-Leaf skill was applied immediately but I deliberately choose a week’s time . Since I didn’t know if I would be able to apply the keyword immediately like this time, when I Awaken a different person later .

“Okay, please do it!”

There was no need to be that nervous . I used the Auspicious Seed-Leaf optimized Awakening skill toward Bak Yerim . And then, shortly .

“M-message Window really came up! Ahjussi! Rank, how do I check my rank?”

“Think about opening your Status Window . You can say it outloud too . ”

“Status Window! Huh? Wow!”

Bak Yerim’s mouth dropped open . Her whole face looked as if the word ‘astonishment’ was engraved into it .

That’s right, it was certainly shocking enough . Stat rank S with skills that were as much as SS . An incredibly excited Yerim screamed and grabbed the table with her han-

“Ahjussi! I’m S-!”

-Pajik!

Huh? The table broke? I mean, did she dig her hand into it? The thick surface had sunken in in the shape of a hand . Oh my .

“Uh……”

“D-don’t move!”

Ah, shit . Yoohyun definitely told me that C-Ranks and higher couldn’t immediately adjust to their suddenly changed physical abilities . Since Yerim was S-Rank… I messed up .

“Right now, your strength is a lot stronger than before . So don’t touch anything . Okay?”

“Yes, yes . ”

“Okay . Let’s go out carefully . Move very slowly . Think about walking slowly, without even making a sound . ”

Yerim stood from her seat slowly and carefully . It was a precarious movement as if she was walking on a tightrope . Watching this, I felt anxious as if in front of a young child who could fall off at any moment .

This was the 1st floor, with no basement, so that was a relief at least . Even if the ground broke, people wouldn’t get hurt .

“Slowly, step by step . Yes, like that . ”

“I think I’ve gotten a little used to it . ”

“Still, you can’t hurry . Apparently it takes at least a day . ”

Not looking away from her, I opened the sliding door . After putting on my shoes[1], I took care of Yerim’s sneakers . Her sneakers were very old . And they looked big compared to Yerim’s feet . At least buy her new shoes instead of handing over used ones .

“I’ll put them on for you so give me your feet . ”

“Okay . Uh… I’m a little uneasy about standing on one foot though . ”

“Then sit down carefully . Slowly- . ”

Ack, a slight handprint was left on the floor . But unlike with the table, only a small crack was left . As I put a sneaker on a stretched-out foot, she must have found something funny because she burst out laughing .

“Isn’t this a little exciting?”

“Rather than exciting, it’s nerve-wracking . [2]”

Why would excitement come up here? After telling her not to touch anything, I looked around again and then went over to the checkout counter . I guess I should pay for the table .

“Here, to pay . And the table got a little brok- . ”

“Ah, a fly!”

“Don’t!”

-Pajik

A table corner crumbled like some kind of biscuit . Yerim laughed, saying ‘oh dear’ .

“I caught all the bugs in the restaurant . It must have become a habit, ahaha . ”

Don’t laugh . The employee inside the checkout counter stared back and forth between the table and Yerim with huge eyes . I’m so sorry for my kid . I handed over both an apology and a card .

“Please include the costs of our seated table and that table . ”

It’s okay to take off a lot .

The way back to Haeyeon Guild was relatively smooth . The car’s frontseat headrest was crushed and once we got off, the sidewalk curb was split, but nobody was hurt so it was okay .

That said, don’t come near, Yerim . She kept on trying to cling . The sudden change must have made you uneasy but if you just grab me once, my arm will shatter . I’m stat F .

I only told Haeyeon Guild’s Guild Leader Yoohyun about Bak Yerim . That was because if word leaked out at any moment, it would become troublesome . I planned on letting word about the new S-Rank be known at the rank evaluation at the Hunter Association .

So that there wouldn’t be any unfortunate victims, while Kim Sunghan was on guard against the surroundings, we went up the elevator . There weren’t a lot of people in the lobby due to it being a weekend evening, so it was a huge relief . Excluding floors 1~3, to go into the area, you had to go through a security check, but Yoohyun had notified them ahead of time, so thanks to that, we got to skip it .

“My heart is beating a little . ”

As soon as the elevator door closed, Yerim came closer to me again .

“Don’t stick to me . There’s no place for me to escape . ”

“I won’t disturb you . You think I can’t control it that much?”

“You’re saying that after crushing the headrest? If a person was there you would have become a murderer . ”

At the talk of being a murderer, Yerim’s lip stuck straight out . I wondered if my words were too much, but thinking of the future, giving this amount of warning seemed better . An Unawakened Person and stat S-Rank were different to the extent of being different species .

In order to prevent accidents, she had to bear in mind constantly the truth that she wasn’t normal .

In the guild leader’s office, there weren’t other people and only Yoohyun was there waiting . As soon as we entered, this guy put on a business-like smile .

“Please come in, Bak Yerim-yang[3] . ”

“…Hello . ”

Yerim awkwardly bobbed her head in greeting . Strange, she didn’t seem like someone shy with strangers .

“First of all, I will guide you to where you will stay while you are adjusting to the ability change . Stat S-Ranks finish adjusting in one day, on average . After that, it is possible for your daily life to stay the same as before, so there is no need to worry . ”

Yoohyun explained, courteously . It was definitely an unfamiliar image . Though if you thought about an S-Rank Awakened Person’s worth, that was standard . Did I treat Yerim too casually?

“Please come this way . ”

Yoohyun took the lead and left the room . What do I do . It’s getting to be time to feed Peace, so could I leave?

“Ahjussi, what are you doing not coming over!”

While I was standing there blankly, Bak Yerim gestured to me and called me over . She even glared at me, as if asking why I wasn’t hurrying . Now that I thought of it, I did say I would be her guardian . I guess I had to follow .

Unlike when we were coming up the elevator, the elevator didn’t stop at the 1~3 floors, and we went down to the basement . In the basement, there was a training facility for Awakened People .

Following the long hallway, Yoohyun continued explaining .

“The basement 2nd to 3rd floors are spaces for training . For safety reasons, you have to go to the training center located in Gyeongi Province for the training for just A-Ranks and above in full-fledged battle . Skills with killing power especially are strictly prohibited from being used in the downtown area so please take care . ”

“…It seems like there’s a lot to learn . ”

“After registering as an Awakened Person, you will formally receive training . Until then, you only need to take care when using your skills . ”

“Okay . ”

Now that I thought of it, I wondered what Yerim’s skills’ effects were . I was curious .

“This stamina training room is where Bak Yerim-yang will remain for one day . ”

The place we arrived at was a wide room with various athletic equipment . There was a high ceiling, and the walls and floors that didn’t seem to be made out of normal material stood out .

“Even if the equipment here are broken, it does not matter . Please use them to familiarize yourself with your senses . The walls and floor can handle an S-Rank level 1’s physical strength . By any chance, is your Strength stat above 100?”

“No . It is 61 . ”

“That much will be no trouble . ”

It was 61 . It was as much as 3 times the sum of my stats . Just looking at Strength, it was 15 times . Just because the stat was 15 times didn’t mean actual strength was 15 times, but it was definitely a difference that meant I couldn’t dare to approach her .

“Over there, a showering room and a sleeping room has been provided . Again, if the two facilities are broken, there is no need to worry, but if possible, please use them after adjusting to your strength to a certain extent . ”

“What do I do if I need something?”

“You can request for it through the phone in the sleeping room . If you happen to break the phone, please press the emergency bell next to the sleeping room door . ”

Yoohyun asked if she had any other questions besides that . Bak Yerim shook her head to reply .

“Then, the remaining information will be given tomorrow after you adjust to your abilities . ”

Saying so, Yoohyun turned around . I should also go up and give Peace food . He[4] must be waiting .

“Ahjussi, where are you going!”

As I was about to turn, Yerim yelled shrilly . What do you mean, where .

“I’m going home . ”

“And leave me here alone? How could you? You said you’d take responsibility!”

It wasn’t wrong but the nuance was a little odd . Yoohyun stopped walking out and turned his head to look at me .

“Responsibility? Hyung?”

“I said I would be her guardian . ”

“Guardian?”

“Her parents aren’t here, and she doesn’t have a good relationship with the uncle she is living with . She didn’t want to be involved with that family . ”

There wasn’t anything bad . But Yoohyun’s expression looked bad .

“If the guardians for Awakened minors aren’t their parents, they’re usually Awakened People whose ranks are higher or around the same . That’s the only way to have control . If she needs a guardian then it’s better if I- . ”

“Ahjussi already said he would, okay?”

Bak Yerim cut in through Yoohyun’s words . Her expression was icy, unbecoming of her age, and I thought of the ice witch Bak Yerim I saw in the past that was also the future . Why was she overreacting now .

“Bak Yerim-yang . Even just for the guardian’s safety, that cannot be done . There are already many cases of guardians with lower ranks and not even a safety net of being blood-related being assaulted by their guardees while giving advice . ”

Uh… there was that kind problem too . Well, dealing with a teenager a lot stronger than you and going through the tough period of adolescence wouldn’t be an easy task . Thinking like that, I got a little scared . Since the contract said that Yerim would protect me, would it be okay?

“I contracted to protect ahjussi . So there’s no problem with safety . From the start I didn’t have the thought to hurt ahjussi . ”

“Even so, there is also another problem of hyung not being able to properly take on the role of guardian . Not to mention, the difference in rank is too high, and other than that, various other troubles probably will follow . ”

“…I don’t know, all of that . But . ”

Bak Yerim looked at me once and continued talking .

“If you don’t give me ahjussi as my guardian, I won’t enter Haeyeon Guild . ”

…What? No, wait?

[1] last ch, they said they went into a room . In some restaurants, you can get private rooms with floors that are slightly raised platforms, where you take off your shoes outside and go in and sit on cushions at a low table .

[2] in the prev . sentence YR asks lit . “doesn’t this make [heart] flutter?” (where ‘heart’ isn’t really said, bc the particular word for “flutter” is often used by itself, and either way means “excitement”), and so YJ replied “rather than shake, my skin/flesh is trembling . ” The meaning is as written in the tl .

[3] an female-only honorific that is basically the equivalent of “miss”

[4] I felt kind of bad using ‘it’ esp now that he has a name . Once again, krn doesn’t really use pronouns so idk if he even is a ‘he’ or a ‘she’ in the first place, and anyways who cares about gender . I’m just using ‘he’ just because .