The Hero Has Returned

Chapter 6 - April Fools' Day (2)

If I must confess, I'm a good liar when I put my mind to it.

I hated my father for breaking his promises as often as he ate, but the power of genetics was truly astounding.

Though no one ever taught me how.

I possessed a talent for stating things that weren't true with a perfectly straight face.

In short, I had just fully exercised a high-class lie.

Instead of a roar of laughter, the factory fell silent as if doused with cold water.

"Choi Yong-gi, you son of a bitch!"

The president's facial muscles trembled as he shot up from his spot.

Given that I had just destroyed a press machine worth tens of millions of won, it was understandable that he would be furious.

"What the hell do you think you're doing right now!!"

The president screamed his head off.

I briefly focused on the numbers floating in the air.

[ Awakened's Balance ]

: ₩ 1,074,565,998

Once for saving Kkalkki.

And again for destroying the machine.

As the price for using a total of two times, 2 million won had been withdrawn.

Since I had used it twice on the bus ride over, I had spent a total of 4 million won in just this one day.

'Spending money is so easy.'

"Where are you looking!"

The president grabbed me by the collar.

The short, frail president was basically hanging off of me.

It was a threatening gesture, but the president was clearly terrified.

Then again, if I were him, I would have been scared too.

I had just ripped a steel press apart as if it were a piece of paper.

Something an ordinary human could never do.

It was no different from having announced to everyone that I had Awakened and gained monstrous strength.

"Let go."

I calmly looked down at the president.

"I-If I don't let go! What are you gonna do about it!"

He talked a big game, but his legs were trembling uncontrollably.

I lightly slapped the president's hands away.

"Ugh!"

The president, his pride wounded, did not back down.

He pointed at the press with a shaking hand and screamed his head off.

"What are you going to do about this! Pay for it!!”

"And how are you going to compensate for the fact that an employee's hand was almost just cut off?"

In my past life, Kkalkki had tried to return to Nepal immediately after the accident.

It was because the mental shock of losing a hand was so great.

However, the president dragged his feet on the issues of industrial accident treatment and compensation, refusing to let Kkalkki go.

For a whole six months.

The president cleared his throat and feigned ignorance.

"Sheesh. These things can happen when you're working. Making a fuss over nothing!"

"It's not just one or two people."

I looked around at the others and continued.

"Anyone here who's ever been in danger even once because of the press, raise your hand."

The factory workers exchanged glances and hesitated.

When one person tentatively raised his right hand, the others soon began to raise their hands too, sneaking glances at each other.

"That happened to me before, too."

"Me too."

"How long has it been since I asked you to fix the sensor... Tsk."

Dozens of stinging glares were directed at the president.

The president's face turned red as if he felt he was cornered, and he screamed.

"Choi Yong-gi, you punk! Are you trying to instigate something right now? If so, then get out! You're fired!"

A place where you could fire an employee with a single word, completely ignoring all labor laws.

This was the Ilsan Hunter Industrial Complex.

I thought for a moment.

My plan was to return to the factory and become rich, not to become unemployed.

If that's the case.

Should I get on my knees in front of the president right now and beg for forgiveness?

'No.'

Even if I left this place, there were plenty of ways to make money.

Therefore, the action I would take was.

I took the employee ID card from my inner jumper pocket and threw it on the floor.

"That works out well. I quit."

I was about to turn and leave without any regrets when someone shouted.

"You rotten bastard of a boss! This place is disgusting, so I quit too! You motherless bastard!"

Kkalkki raised his voice, as if letting out all the resentment that had built up over the years.

"Did you not just see what happened?! I was almost fuckin' scre-wed! And that's the kind of shit that comes out of your mouth? Are you even human, you bastard?!"

A smirk escaped my lips.

For him to say he's quitting too, as if he was just waiting for the moment I said I'd quit.

Even if he follows me out.

It's not like he's guaranteed a job.

It was a move typical of Kkalkki and his single-minded devotion to me.

The president clicked his tongue.

"Hah. Look at these two, acting like a pair of fucking idiots. Fine. Good riddance. Both of you, get out!"

Even if two screws are missing, a clock's pendulum still swings.

The factory wouldn't shut down just because we were gone.

He could just find two new parts.

However,

Someone placed their safety helmet on the floor.

"Then I'll be quittin' too, sir."

A middle-aged man in his 50s.

He was the factory's foreman and the man with the longest career among us.

His son had also worked at a Hunter equipment factory.

They said he had lost his footing while working at a high place and fell to his death.

I still remembered the words the foreman had once muttered with a lonely expression while looking at me.

— If my son were alive, he would have been right around your age.

I had no idea where my father was after I went to live at my grandmother's house.

I didn't want to know where he was or what he was doing.

It was easier to just forget him as if he were dead.

Unlike my father, the foreman was a responsible man who fulfilled his duties in his given position.

I looked up to him like a father.

"Among all the lads workin' here, where ya gonna find another one as sharp as Yong-gi? And you're firin' him?"

The foreman's voice rang out loudly inside the factory.

His action became a signal flare.

From all over, as if by prearrangement, the same action was repeated.

Someone took off their gloves, and someone else put down the grinder they were holding.

"I'm quitting too."

"Make sure ya give us our severance pay, or I'm reportin' ya to the Ministry of Labor."

"Yong-gi's right! Last month's overtime pay wasn't in our salaries!"

I had worked all sorts of part-time jobs until I was 20 before getting a job at the factory.

In terms of years worked, I was in my third year.

I had shared the ups and downs of life with the 10-odd people here.

I don't have any particular memory of being good to them.

Because I was a terrible miser.

I had never even treated them to something as common as a single drink.

However, I worked with all my might.

When heavy raw materials were delivered, I would step up and carry twice as much as anyone else.

And whenever I had a spare moment, I would pick up trash and clean, keeping the site in a tidy state.

Cleaning the bathroom was a job for Kkalkki, the youngest, but whenever he was resting, I would roll up my sleeves.

During break times, rather than lying down, I would make instant coffee and hand it out to the other employees.

"President-nim."

The foreman spoke on behalf of the workers.

"If Yong-gi quits, we're all walking out too."

I felt a little embarrassed.

At the same time, a corner of my heart grew warm.

The me that I had judged was the worst.

But it seemed the me that others judged wasn't the worst, after all.

The flustered president stammered.

"Wh-Why is everyone acting like this?"

A subcontractor of a subcontractor.

A third-tier vendor factory is a slave to the mega-corporation .

If that many screws fall out at once, the clock's pendulum will definitely stop.

In the end, the president tucked his tail between his legs and raised the white flag.

"Puhaha! It's April Fools' Day, isn't it? It was a joke. A joke! Yong-gi-ya. You did great! We can just buy a new press, no big deal! I'm gonna go visit a client!"

The president fled the scene as if running away.

The foreman watched the president's retreating back for a while, then spoke.

"...Let's get to work. Yong-gi, you get changed too."

"Yes."

At his instruction, the workers moved as if nothing had happened.

Suddenly, my eyes met with Kkalkki's, who was beside me.

The dark-skinned kid revealed his pearly white teeth and grinned.

"Cap'n. Somethin's different 'bout you today."

"What is?"

"Like, how do I say it. You seem full of life."

He was right.

The factory had been a cross I had to bear for my family, a rightful duty, and a public square for my atonement.

Whenever I arrived here, my smile would automatically vanish.

"Hand."

I held out my right hand.

Kkalkki tilted his head, then accepted the handshake.

A wave of relief washed over me as I held that coarse but warm part of his body.

With this, I had righted a part of a life that had been on the verge of becoming seriously distorted.

"Don't get hurt. You have to work with me for a long, long time."

Kkalkki stood at attention and gave a salute.

"Yessir, Cap'n! Thank ya for savin' my life! Reporting for duty, sir!"

The factory lights shone down on Kkalkki's raised right hand.

......

Meanwhile,

The Dio Guild arrived late at the scene.

"Afterward, Dionysus was dispatched. He attempted to subdue the Big Lava, but..."

"Wait."

Combat Team Leader Lee Yu-seol swept her bobbed hair aside, revealing a cold gaze.

As the briefing was halted, the reporting agent gulped.

"Where did the Big Lava's corpse go? I heard you failed to subdue it. But I was also told it was taken care of."

"Ah... That is correct, but."

The agent's gaze shifted somewhere else.

It was toward the area where Seo Gwang-pal was currently receiving first aid.

A piece of the helmet was embedded in the crown of his head and had to be pulled out with tweezers.

"Ouch! I said be gentle, it hurts!"

Seo Gwang-pal snapped at the medical team.

"According to Hunter Seo-nim, an unknown assailant appeared and took care of the Big Lava."

Lee Yu-seol's brow furrowed.

"An assailant? What's his affiliation?"

She quickly tried to place him in the hierarchy.

Just like corporations, guilds were groups that pursued profit.

In a capitalist society, the bigger you were, the more advantageous your position.

Dio was one of the top three guilds in the Republic of Korea.

If the assailant was from a weaker faction, the problem could be resolved simply.

"We have not yet been able to identify him."

"What?"

"I-I'm sorry."

Lee Yu-seol felt like the conversation kept going off track.

Amidst a nagging feeling that she was missing something important.

She pointed at Seo Gwang-pal with her chin.

"Call that bastard over."

"Yes."

The rookie agent ran over to Seo Gwang-pal and whispered in his ear.

Seo Gwang-pal looked toward Lee Yu-seol and let out a deep sigh.

To Seo Gwang-pal, who was merely a C-rank, the A-rank Lee Yu-seol was like an uncomfortable boss at work.

Seo Gwang-pal walked over as slowly as a cow being led to the slaughterhouse.

"Team Leader-nim. As you can see, I'm a patient. If you have something to say, maybe later at the hospital... Gak!”

Without any mercy, Lee Yu-seol struck Seo Gwang-pal's stomach with her fist.

It was a single blow so powerful that the body of Seo Gwang-pal, who weighed over 100kg, jolted.

"Kkeuek......"

Seo Gwang-pal clutched his abdomen and writhed on the ground, screeching.

"God fucking dammit! Just 'cause you're the Team Leader, you think you can assault a guild member? I'm gonna sue your..."

Lee Yu-seol bent her knees and calmly spoke as she grabbed Seo Gwang-pal's chin with one hand, lifting his head.

"Hey. You son of a bitch."

She rubbed Seo Gwang-pal's smooth, bald crown.

"Sue me? You seem to be mistaken about something. If it weren't for the CEO-nim, you would have been dead by my hands long ago."

At her voice, which was cold enough to give him goosebumps, Seo Gwang-pal broke out in a cold sweat and quietly shut his mouth.

If he got kicked out of here, his life as a Hunter would be over.

There wouldn't be any other guild willing to take in a loose cannon like him.

Seo Gwang-pal quickly changed his tune and got on his knees.

"...Please forgive me, Team Leader-nim. I lost my mind for a moment. Is there... something you wanted to say?"

"Report on the situation."

Seo Gwang-pal quickly explained what had just happened.

Of course, he didn't tell it exactly as it was.

He added a little exaggeration and manipulation.

"So, at the crucial moment, my prey was stolen. And then that motherfucker attacked me, can you believe it? Ah, of course, I only let my guard down and took just one hit, but as you can see, I'm perfectly fine."

Lee Yu-seol wasn't looking at Seo Gwang-pal.

She didn't believe his words at face value anyway.

"Is that your helmet?"

"That's right. Agh. It's totally wrecked. And it was so expensive, too."

Lee Yu-seol stared at the shattered helmet.

, the company that produces Hunter equipment.

It was a mega-corporation that released new state-of-the-art products every year, backed by its immense capital.

had specially supplied the Dio Guild with its biggest hit helmet of the year.

Lee Yu-seol didn't use it, finding it stuffy, but in terms of durability alone, it was this year's greatest masterpiece.

'That, in a single hit?'

Lee Yu-seol bit her lip.

Could she have done it?

If she gathered as much mana as possible and struck, it wouldn't be impossible, but.

She wasn't confident she could shatter it to that extent while the opponent was wearing it.

'Someone on CEO Go's level could probably do it.'

She thought of the man who was both an S-rank Hunter and the head of the Dio Guild.

'In the first place, to be strong enough to turn a Big Lava into minced meat... this is no ordinary bastard.’

Lee Yu-seol spoke to the agent.

"What about the CCTV?"

"It malfunctioned due to the interference waves from the Gate. There is a vehicle's dashcam, but the bus overturned and damaged it, so the image quality is really bad."

"Secure it anyway."

"Yes, Team Leader-nim."

She turned her head to Seo Gwang-pal.

"Which guild was he from?"

They hadn't secured the mana stone, the dispatched Hunter was injured, and his equipment was destroyed.

They hadn't gained a single thing.

In times like these, the next best option was to shift the responsibility.

Since he caused a loss for the guild, he had to be held accountable accordingly.

"You must have seen his face."

"...Well, he was wearing a mask."

"A mask?"

"Yes. He had his face covered."

Seo Gwang-pal stammered.

"He didn't even look like a Hunter. His clothes were all shabby, too."

While his voice trailed off, Lee Yu-seol was lost in thought.

'He's not a Hunter?'

They existed, occasionally.

Those who worked freely without having officially registered as an Awakened.

However, most of them were insignificant.

They were either people who had their Hunter licenses revoked for causing trouble, or their ranks were so low there was no need to register.

Although she had heard urban legends about hidden masters hiding among them.

'I've only ever actually seen one once.'

Seo Gwang-pal feigned being in pain and whined.

"Um, Team Leader-nim. Is it alright if I go to the hospital now?"

"Pathetic bastard. Get lost."

Seo Gwang-pal's shoulders slumped as he turned away.

In the heavy silence, Seo Gwang-pal opened his mouth.

"Um... Team Leader-nim. I don't know if this will be helpful, but... that bastard called himself a hero."

"What?"

"Ah, it's nothing. Please, carry on."

Lee Yu-seol had clearly heard what Seo Gwang-pal said.

He was a bastard who exaggerated his own achievements, but it seemed that this time, he was telling the truth.

A hero, he says.

‘Is he trying to play hero, or what?’

Due to complicated procedures and laws, it was rare for Hunters to fight each other.

On this land, besides monsters, the only ones who would commit such an act were Villains.

Lee Yu-seol crossed her arms and agonized.

"Hmm."

Was this an impulsive crime committed by some madman steeped in anti-Hunter ideology?

Or was it a meticulously calculated declaration of war?

"Hey. Octopus Head."

Lee Yu-seol called out to stop Seo Gwang-pal.

"You. Take responsibility and find that bastard."

"...Understood. Should I find him and beat him to a pulp?"

Seo Gwang-pal waited for an answer, his eyes burning with fervor.

One of the things people misunderstood about the Dio Guild.

They said the guild recruited people regardless of their character, but in reality, CEO Go was a believer in skill supremacy.

The curiosity that had been crouching inside Lee Yu-seol began to stir.

"Make him join the Dio Guild."

"What?"

His subordinate was beaten up, but instead of getting revenge, she was offering the guy a job.

Seo Gwang-pal was furious to the tip of his bald head, but in front of Lee Yu-seol, his anger was automatically regulated.

"And if he refuses?"

Lee Yu-seol raised her red lips into a chilling smile.

"Then we'll have to kill him.”