“You know, Eonni.”
“Yes, why?”
“The guild leader is also missing you!”
“Uh …. what?”
It was completely out of the blue, but Joo Shinhee sounded desperate.
“He … he did not intentionally not come! He wanted to come with us today too…….”
Ah. She was concerned that Ki Yoohyun hadn’t stopped by the cafe since the monster branch incident. Next to her, Joo Shinwoo quickly chimed in.
“Therefore … circumstances! Yes, it’s because of circumstances!”
I smiled bitterly and nodded. The twins were worried that I might think badly of Ki Yoohyun, but there’s no way I’d think badly of him.
‘Rather, it’s something else that’s bothering me…….’
Ouch. I should really get going now so I won’t be late. I dismissed the thoughts and headed for the door. Behind me, the animals grumbled.
“Waaeooong, waeong (Haaaa, being in charge of babysitting is a tiring job).”
“Kyuuuu!”
Well, no matter how I look at it, I can’t help but think that Ash is looking after you, Mieum, not you looking after him.
I stared at our house cat for a moment. She’d been practising her puppy cry until yesterday, but thankfully she seemed to have given up. Talking cats are fine, but cats that make puppy cries are kind of … you got the idea.
“Waeoong (Go quickly)!”
After repeatedly telling Ash and the twins to make themselves comfortable, I headed to the location of the appointment. The appointment was at a famous meat restaurant in the downtown area. When I arrived, I was greeted by my uncle and Kwon Jiwoon, who had come earlier.
“How have you been? It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, Oppa.”
The two had been busy since the monster branch incident. Kwon Jiwoon is a healer, so he helped treat the victims of the monster branch incident. However, the main reason he was so occupied was because the problems at C&L Corporation had a huge impact on the White Silver Guild. In addition, my uncle had to spend a day in the hospital for treatment, as he had been locked up somewhere in the C&L Corporation, which left him dehydrated and wounded on his ankle.
There was also one incident during this hospitalisation.
He was originally scheduled to be discharged at noon the day after his admission, but my uncle tried to sneak out of the hospital in the early morning. Kwon Jiwoon anticipated this and monitored the front of the hospital room, and I happened to be at the hospital door to witness the situation.
Kwon Jiwoon barely caught his father, who had already changed out of his patient’s clothes. The seriousness of the two of them was like an espionage film.
“Father, where are you going?”
“Heh, hold on! It’s not fair to keep a retired naturalist tied to the city like this. The mountains are calling me!”
“Uncle, I know you gave up your mountain life and came back because you didn’t get any views on YouTube.”
“My goodness, my niece is telling me on.”
“Hahahaha….”
My uncle looked at me with a look of betrayal.
“Now what are you planning to do by capturing this old man who isn’t even an Awakened?”
“You don’t need to be an Awakened to do paperwork.”
“Dang, you shouldn’t do that. It’s dangerous to leak confidential guild documents to outsiders.”
“I haven’t removed Father’s name from the guild yet. Come with me, Honorary Deputy Guild Leader Kwon Seokmin-nim.”
“Heh, somehow you’ve grown up a lot smarter than me, son.”
It was a few days ago that Uncle was dragged away by Kwon Jiwoon. Today, the three of us had finally made time to have dinner together.
The Korean beef was cooked on the grill with a satisfying crackling sound. It’s an expensive menu, so I must eat a lot. I picked up a piece of perfectly cooked meat and asked Kwon Jiwoon, “How’s your work going?”
“Well, it’s sorted out to a certain extent. It’s good that the manpower shortage has been resolved, but the sudden increase in the size of the organisation has created a lot of additional tasks.”
“How’s Yichan?”
“He’s fine. There are plenty of Hunters who follow him.”
“Hmmmm….”
It’s hard to imagine people would follow someone who’s screaming about the drink’s hotness while drinking coffee in our cafe.
Thanks to his strong abilities and good nature, Choi Yichan was quite popular. The world is always looking for a good and admirable hero. Especially during times like this when the Hunter World is undergoing major changes. Choi Yichan fits the role perfectly, but….
I was worried he’d feel overwhelmed like he did when he first became an S-Class, but I’m glad to hear he’s doing well.
If you think about it, there are famous people among the cafe regulars, including my uncle and Kwon Jiwoon. Still, I felt proud to see an old friend become famous and that things are going well for him … well, that’s a new story.
“Eat quickly. I’m going to grill some more meat.”
My uncle put some meat on my plate. We only made light conversation for a while, concentrating on our meal. It wasn’t until I was reasonably full and my chopsticks slowed down that I spoke up again.
“By the way, I was so surprised when I learned that Uncle was captured by Aeon, no … by that Being.”
“Hot hot hot! It all worked out for the best, didn’t it, my niece?”
My uncle grinned. He had told the story of how he had broken his shackles and escaped from prison many times before. If I had to hear it one more time, I’d fill up ten.
“……It didn’t work out so well, did it?”
Kwon Jiwoon put his hand to his forehead. His father’s mouth clamped shut at the sarcastic remark.
“If everything hadn’t been a lucky coincidence, everything could have ended there. Did you want me to lose my one and only father again? Please don’t make a move on your own, if you had told me beforehand…….”
Kwon Jiwoon’s voice was hoarse, his words stuttering under his shaky breath.
Genuinely taken aback by this response from his only son, my uncle was at a loss for words. He was good at telling jokes, but not so good at soothing children. After struggling for a while, he opened his mouth.
“Uh, you know, I’m sorry. Yeah, I do feel guilty. Order more meat. Just plain Korean beef!”
“Isn’t this on me anyway?”
“Oh, that’s right. Then add beef tartare too.”
My uncle actually called the staff to add more meat and tartare. It wasn’t long before the staff brought the food he ordered, and Kwon Jiwoon pressed his hand to his forehead again. A deep sigh followed.
“……Huh, eat a lot. Yes, you eat a lot.”
“Son, your gaze is a little stinging.”
“Isn’t it starting to sting now?”
“Heh, it’s always like this when you’re treating an old man, persecuting him for eating some meat.”
“Haa….”
“Oppa, you’ve been through a lot…..” I looked at Kwon Jiwoon with pitiful eyes.
This conversation made the atmosphere more relaxed.
So in the end, I couldn’t say anything.
The fact that my grandmother sacrificed her life to save mine.
“…….”
I adore and trust these people. I know that no matter what I say, they won’t judge me blindly. I realised this for the first time. I realised there was things that are more difficult to talk about.
After I was silent for a moment, my uncle pushed the plate of beef tartare towards me.
“My niece, what are you doing? My son is buying us this, so eat a lot.”
“……Yes.”
“Tsk tsk tsk, you worked a lot that your face became very gaunt.”
“Ahahaha, gaunt … it’s not like that.”
I laughed. Laughing seemed to make me feel better.
By the time the three of us had eaten enough meat to burst our bellies, we were ready to go home. Then, another restaurant guest, who had been sneaking glances in our direction from earlier, came up to us.
“Excuse me….”
As expected, this kind of thing happens.
It’s pretty embarrassing to say it myself, but I’m famous again.
Besides being the only Hunter who makes buffed coffee, I also played a role in the last Monster Branch incident. In addition, there’s even a rumor that has recently started to spread that Muwon, the first Ranker, is a regular at my cafe. It was enough to pique people’s interest.
And what about Kwon Jiwoon? He’s the original celebrity, and his appearance definitely makes him stand out. For that reason, Kwon Jiwoon booked a private room in a quiet restaurant, but it seems he couldn’t completely avoid prying eyes.
Which one did they recognise? I looked at the customer who came over to talk to us with unnecessary excitement.
Kwon Jiwoon turned his head with a friendly smile, as if he was quite experienced at this kind of thing. He was probably trying to say something like, ‘I’m spending time quietly with my family, so please understand‘.
However, the person the guest was talking to was not me or Kwon Jiwoon, but my uncle.
“Hey, aren’t you the YouTuber Following The Wind Along The Mountain Seokmin-nim……?”
“Eh?”
“Who is……?”
We looked at Uncle in surprise. He too was dumbfounded, then remembered his YouTube nickname a beat too late and stammered out a reply.
“Ah, yes?”
I didn’t expect to encounter anyone here who has watched a YouTube channel with 11 subscribers and 53 views. So, this person is one of those 11….?
However, the customer’s words that followed were surprising.
“You’re about to get your silver button, so congratulations in advance, I’m enjoying watching your video!”
“Huh, heeeh …. a silver button?!”
My uncle’s fan (?) was even more surprised by our unusual reaction.
“What’s wrong with you? Who knows? It’s very popular right now. Don’t you know? It’s really popular right now. Seokmin-nim’s Following The Wind Along The Mountain channel.”
No way…….
I took out my phone and accessed my uncle’s YouTube channel, which I’d only visited once before, and was stunned to see the numbers on the screen.
“One, one hundred, one thousand, ten thousand …… eh?”
It was a huge number of subscribers and views. As this fan said, if he gathered a little more subscribers, he could receive a silver button.
How did a vlog about mountain life become so popular?
PREVIOUSNEXT
Translater’s Corner:
Our uncle is going to become an influencer..