Chapter 49: Honor Over Gold

“Ugh, my head…….”

The living room overlooking the Han River.

Kwak Daesu, emerging from the bedroom, headed to the kitchen and got cold water from the purifier.

Gulp gulp.

The cold water sliding down his parched throat.

Admiring the coolness, Kwak Daesu chugged the water.

“Ahh……..”

Kwak Daesu, who had downed the cold water in one go, let out an exclamation.

Wiping the water from his mouth with the back of his hand.

He swept back his hair and opened his mouth.

“Whew, how many days have I been going at it. I need to rest today.”

Since the launch of <Ultra Marine>, Kwak Daesu had been drinking every single day.

It wasn’t him drinking the alcohol, but the alcohol drinking him.

Feeling like his liver was starting to strain, Kwak Daesu decided to rest at home today at least.

“Aigoo, my head.”

After drinking the cold water, Kwak Daesu flopped onto the sofa.

His throbbing head.

Even as he battled the hangover, Kwak Daesu picked up his phone.

It was because there was something he needed to check.

“Shall we take a look?”

Kwak Daesu smiled as he entered the Melon site.

It was to check the ranking of his masterpiece <Ultra Marine>, created with blood and sweat.

“Oh ho, 11th place. Not bad.”

A smile spread across Kwak Daesu’s lips.

It wasn’t a huge rise, but climbing one spot in the upper ranks was truly joyful.

“Now, how far has that trash song fallen?”

Kwak Daesu chuckled as he tried to check the ranking of <Sweetie>.

<Sweetie>, which had been at 27th.

That cringy, embarrassing song from the title alone—how far had it dropped.

As Kwak Daesu scrolled down like that.

“Huh?”

He wore a shocked expression.

His frozen smile and thumb.

He narrowed his brows and looked closely at the smartphone screen.

“19th place?”

Surprisingly, <Sweetie>’s ranking was 19th.

What the fuck.

What the hell is this?

Kwak Daesu was utterly flustered.

“An 8-spot difference?”

Damn it.

Just an 8-spot difference.

Kwak Daesu furrowed his brow at the gap that had narrowed in an instant.

“Fuck, at this rate, won’t it catch up?”

Anxiety welled up in Kwak Daesu’s chest.

It was because he worried that <Sweetie>, which had narrowed the gap so quickly, might overtake <Ultra Marine>.

“No. That can’t happen. No way.”

Kwak Daesu shook his head, trying to shake off the worry.

Yeah.

It’s just a temporary spike.

Probably rose thanks to some post on a community drawing temporary attention.

And even if it rose, it’s still an 8-spot difference—how could it catch up.

Besides, <Ultra Marine> is still rising.

Right.

It won’t catch up.

“Hoo…….”

Kwak Daesu let out a long sigh.

He tried to calm his mind with all sorts of rationalizations, but he couldn’t hide the inexplicable anxiety.

Daphne Entertainment.

In the A&R team conference room, the meeting continued today as well.

Nam Seungha, who had been discussing various things about Daphne Enter’s affiliated singers.

He brought up the girl group Daisy.

“Daisy’s double title tracks are holding up well on the charts. Especially <Sweetie>’s ranking has risen a lot. Congratulations, Eunbyeol.”

Nam Seungha said, looking at our Eunbyeol.

“Thank you, composer uncle!”

Eunbyeol replied brightly.

She seemed happy about the rise to 19th too.

“Congrats, Eunbyeol!”

“Wow, as expected from our Eunbyeol! I knew it would rise?”

“Eunbyeol, let’s go all the way to 1st like this! Okay?”

“Congrats, Eunbyeol! Should unnie buy you something yummy? There’s a new cake shop nearby—want to go?”

The A&R team members also congratulated Eunbyeol.

Grateful people.

I felt thankful for their praise.

The team members, who had been praising her in unison, shifted their gazes to someone else.

That someone was none other than Kwak Daesu.

The Kwak Daesu who had made a bet with our Eunbyeol.

“Daesu oppa, what are you going to do? Won’t <Sweetie> catch up?”

“Daesu sunbae, you better be careful? Even if <Ultra Marine> is at 11th, it might be dangerous.”

“Kuk kuk kuk, Daesu hyungnim! Why’s your face so dark!”

“Daesu sunbae, you need to tense up. Now you won’t sleep and just check the Melon chart? Kuk kuk kuk.”

“Hey, don’t tease sunbae too much.”

“Ah, why. Daesu sunbae teased Eunbyeol a lot too. This much is fine. Right, Daesu sunbae?”

The A&R team members gently ribbed Kwak Daesu.

Then Kwak Daesu furrowed his brow and opened his mouth.

“Shut up, you bastards. Focus on the meeting.”

Kwak Daesu even spat out curses, his mood extremely bad.

Of course, the A&R team members were still all smiles.

‘His face is definitely dark.’

I quietly smiled, looking at Kwak Daesu propping his chin.

Perhaps because the ranking gap had narrowed to 8 spots, Kwak Daesu’s expression was extremely dark throughout the meeting.

“Alright, everyone, stop chattering and let’s wrap up the meeting. Anyway, good work today. Keep up the energy.”

The meeting ended with Nam Seungha’s summary.

Perhaps because of the good music performance, Eunbyeol’s face was even brighter than usual.

Looking at Eunbyeol’s brightly smiling face, I earnestly wished.

‘Please…….’

<Sweetie>, made by Eunbyeol.

That its ranking would rise even more sharply, so Eunbyeol could feel even greater joy.

***  

A few days later.

I went to work at Myth Guild headquarters as usual.

The Myth Guild headquarters, which had somehow become a familiar workplace for me.

Passing through its wide revolving door made me feel really good.

But…….

“Huh?”

A group of people was walking across the lobby.

A person walking with a bunch of secretaries in tow.

It was none other than Shin Daeho.

The man reigning at the top of Korea’s hunter world, Myth Guild Master Shin Daeho.

Swish.

Like the other Myth Guild members in the lobby, I bowed my head.

As I waited for Shin Daeho to pass like that.

“Ah, Hunter Seo Juwon. It’s been a while.”

Shin Daeho recognized me and greeted first.

Huh……..

I thought he’d just pass by, but to greet first.

It was quite surprising.

“Ah, yes. Guild Master. It’s been a while.”

“Hahaha, yes. Lately, you’ve been active. It’s good to see.”

“Thank you for the kind words, Guild Master.”

“Yes, I heard about the Thunder Wolf Bracelet I gave you—using it well?”

“Yes. Thanks to it, I’ve saved my life and made hunting easier.”

I was indeed using the Thunder Wolf Bracelet effectively.

The Thunder Wolf Bracelet that discharges a powerful Charged Bolt upon being hit.

Thanks to this, I saved my life in the imp gate and could easily take down the manticores that had massacred numerous hunters.

“I see. Good to hear. It was an item I chose with care, so I’m glad you’re using it well.”

“Yes, Guild Master. I’m always grateful for your great kindness.”

“Heh heh heh, great kindness, you say. You’ve gotten quite smooth since I last saw you. Anyway, I look forward to your future activities. With this opportunity, I’d like to see you on a bigger stage.”

This opportunity?

Bigger stage?

I didn’t know what he meant, but I replied that I understood for now.

“Yes, see you later then.”

With those words, Shin Daeho left the headquarters with his bunch of secretaries.

He probably had a schedule as the Myth Guild Master.

‘Hmm, bigger stage. I wonder what he meant by that.’

With a slight question, I headed toward the elevator.

As I boarded the elevator and went up to the floor with the Nova Team office.

Ding ding ding!

The phone in my pocket rang.

Checking the screen, it was Kim Taegon.

Kim Taegon from HunterLink, the hunter headhunting company.

“Hello.”

─Hello, Hunter Seo Juwon. Have you been well?

Kim Taegon, with whom I’d exchanged messages after his previous visit.

He spoke in a cheerful voice like a salesman.

“Yes. I’ve been well, thanks.”

─Haha, good to hear. Anyway, have you thought about transferring?

The reason I’d exchanged messages with Kim Taegon a few times was simple.

It was to discuss whether to transfer from Myth Guild to another guild.

‘He said I could get five times the money if I go to another guild.’

Kim Taegon had said.

That the guilds wanting me were offering up to five times the salary.

In other words, if I just said I’d transfer, I could get a 25 billion won salary.

‘If I get 25 billion, I could be a better dad to Eunbyeol.’

Money is good.

Not for living lavishly, but because I can give good things to my family.

Better living space, safer car, higher quality food, etc.

It was good because I could raise Eunbyeol better.

That’s why I pondered with my mouth firmly shut.

Whether to transfer guilds or not.

It was then.

Suddenly, words I heard after hunting the manticores came to mind.

‘Thanks to the Myth Guild hunters, we can sleep comfortably, go to kindergarten, and live our daily lives, and she said we should always be grateful! We’re grateful to other guilds too, but we should be most grateful to Myth Guild!’

After subjugating the manticores.

The mother and daughter hiding in the alley.

The words the bright girl among them said echoed in my mind.

That thanks to Myth Guild, they could live peaceful daily lives.

Grateful to other guilds too, but most grateful to Myth Guild.

Those words kept swirling in my head.

‘She called us heroes!’

Moreover, the girl called our Nova Team members ‘heroes.’

Heroes.

Heroes I’d only seen in movies.

The lump in my throat when I heard that kept shaking my heart.

Perhaps that’s why.

In the important decision of whether to transfer or not, I greatly reflected the girl’s opinion.

“I’m sorry. I think we should forget about the transfer.”

Huh? W-why?

“I’ve decided to stay with Myth Guild. I want to live as a Myth Guild member.”

Well, of course Myth Guild is a good guild. It’s ranked first in Korea. But Hunter, think calmly. It’s 25 billion. With that money, you can live lavishly for life.

“Of course. I like money too. But I think the honor of being a Myth Guild member is worth more than 25 billion.”

Sigh, Hunter Seo Juwon……..

Kim Taegon on the other end let out a long sigh, as if things weren’t going well.

Then how about this.

“What do you mean?”

I’ll talk to the other guilds and get them to match up to 10 times. That is, up to a 50 billion won salary. I promise on my name.

Kim Taegon persistently persuaded me, saying please think again.

50 billion.

That’s really good money too.

But…….

“I’m sorry, but my decision hasn’t changed.”

─Hunter……..

“Of course, I was tempted by the high salary, but still, I like living as a Myth Guild member in Myth Guild.”

With firm resolve, I continued.

“Above all, I think if I work hard here, I can earn 50 billion too.”

To earn 50 billion, I’d need to be promoted to the gold attack squad.

An extremely difficult process.

Even so, I clenched my fist and resolved.

Rather than earning 50 billion the easy way by transferring, I’d work hard in Myth Guild and earn 50 billion by getting promoted to the gold attack squad.

“Then I’ll end it here. Thank you for everything.”

─W-wait! Hunter……!

Kim Taegon desperately tried to hold on, but I hung up.

Calls kept coming after that, but I just turned off the phone.

In the quiet elevator.

I pondered for a moment there and opened my mouth.

“Eunbyeol, Dad did the right thing, right? Staying in Myth Guild and living honorably is also a way to be a good dad, right?”

Thinking of Eunbyeol’s face, I affirmed it several times.

I’d earn the 50 billion in Myth Guild.

Even if I couldn’t earn that money, I’d live like a hero in Myth Guild.