Chapter 6 - Bounty Hunt (1) (2/2)

It was the first time it happened since he had awakened.

“You gave me a shock!” he said.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she smiled comfortably and stepped back a little.

She looked beautiful. She had smooth, brown hair and was wearing a casual suit.

There was a large camera in one of her hands.

Considering her attire, she doesn’t seem to be an Awakener.

Suddenly, she went closer.

“I was wondering what you were doing with a fake coat,” she said, looking at him up and down.

Il-hyun stuttered as he thought of an excuse.

“I… I d-don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Hmm… There is no defensive coat with such a design.”

“How do you know that?” he asked her, embarrassed.

There are hundreds of different types of defensive coats around the world.

She couldn’t have known all designs.

The woman shrugged and suddenly grabbed one side of Il-hyun’s collar. She turned it over.

The embarrassed Il-hyun was startled.

“There should be a barrier machine here, but why is there nothing?” She pointed to the back of the collar.

Barrier machines, which should be located in various places of clothes, were essential parts for the protection function.

Without barrier machines, of course, it could not be called a defense coat.

When Il-hyun couldn’t answer, the woman adjusted his collar back to its position.

“You don’t look stupid to play as an Awakener… are you an average citizen?”

“No, I’m an Awakener. It’s been a while since the equipment was…”

Il-hyun, who was trying to make defensive excuses, suddenly paused.

“By the way… who are you?” he asked.

“Oh, me? I’m Park So-yeon, a reporter at the JTR gate.”

He looked at the big camera she was holding in one hand.

“Ah…”

JTR is one of the five biggest broadcasters in Korea…

As he looked at her, he felt like she was someone running the field, rather than a reporter.

Why do I feel that way? He thought.

“Are you a member of a private company? Fighting without equipment is dangerous. How about joining a team?”

“I haven’t joined a company yet. But being a reporter, aren’t you in more danger than me?”, Il-hyun asked.

It was more dangerous for the general public to come to this place alone.

“Huh, I don’t have to worry,” Park So-yeon smiled pleasantly.

Park So-yeon smiled pleasantly and passed it.

“I couldn’t keep still while this incident happens. Anyway, I’m glad you’re an Awakener. Believe it or not, there are a lot of people who rush at this place looking for monsters.”

She explained that there are ordinary people who want to hunt monsters because they long for Awakening or because they urgently need money.

In a well-prepared country, the citizens should have no actual encounters with monsters, as much as possible.

In some movies and cartoons, though, monsters can be caught by an average person, so some stupid ones end up thinking they can do it, too.

They arm themselves with bombs, air guns, and such, and they started hunting.

Obviously, it would not go well for them.

Il-hyun remembered his urgent need. “Oh, right. Have you seen a monster corpse around here?”

If she were a reporter covering the incident, she would have seen the monster bodies in the area. Meeting her is a good opportunity.

“Monster corpse? They recovered it. The public opinion is already not good, do you think the government would leave corpses on the street?”

“…”

Monster corpses have strong toxicity and may leave pathogens that can affect the citizens.

Therefore, since the treatment team has already recovered the corpses, it was over.

Not even its smell would remain once the team has finished their job.

The answer was a disappointing one, and Il-hyun sighed.

Without a monster corpse, the mouse wriggling hard in his pocket was useless.

Like everyone else, he had to go around and look for the monsters the hard way.

“I’m not sure what you need the monster’s body for, but I’m sorry. The cleanup was over two hours ago.” Park So-yeon continued.

“Yeah… Thank you. There is no use. I will go. I have to find the monsters quickly,” Il-hyun said as he turned to leave.

But Park So-yeon stopped him. “May I know your name? Sorry, I didn’t catch it earlier.”

“Oh, I’m Kang Il-hyun.”

“Kang Il-hyun… Il-hyun… Il-hyun? Okay, I remembered.”

She repeated it as if to ingrain it in her memory. Then, she continued.

“Maybe I will see you again, Kang Il-hyun. I think you will succeed.”

“Haha, thank you.”

Il-hyun smiled as he left her.

Park So-yeon smiled back and watched him thoughtfully as he walked away.