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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: A Disciple's Plea
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Kim Bong-gu held out an envelope filled with the cash he had withdrawn.
“Sirs, this is today's pay.”
Kang-jun immediately took the wad of cash from the envelope and began to check the amount.
“Hey, did you put the wrong amount in?”
At that, Kim Bong-gu hesitated, "Well..." He then added quietly with an awkward expression.
“Actually, I put in a little more than we agreed on. Please just think of it as payment for saving my life and accept it...”
Just as Kim Bong-gu was struggling to explain.
“Alright, I'll put it to good use.”
Kang-jun replied curtly, patting Kim Bong-gu's shoulder lightly.
“Let's see each other again if we get the chance.”
With that, Kang-jun turned and began to walk away with long strides...
Staring at Kang-jun's retreating back, Kim Bong-gu reached out and called out urgently.
“Uh, sir...!”
“Yeah?”
“W-would you...”
A moment of silence passed.
“Could you spare me a moment of your time? You're my savior. I'd like to at least treat you to a meal or a drink...”
“Some other time. My family is probably waiting for me today.”
After a moment's hesitation, Kim Bong-gu bit his lower lip hard.
‘I can't let him go like this!’
Then, mustering all the courage he could, he shouted.
“Please, could you just have one drink of soju with me? An hour. No, just thirty minutes...!”
At that, Kang-jun's brow furrowed for a moment.
“Did you just say soju?”
“Huh? Yes...”
“The soju I know?”
“Probably...”
Kang-jun then murmured, "Yeah, that's right," and began to mutter in a low voice.
“Earth had soju...”
It was just a short, two-syllable word.
Soju.
But funnily enough, the moment he heard that brief word, his heart pounded as if it would burst.
‘Memories of the past,’ which had been submerged deep in the recesses of his mind, began to surface.
Back when he reigned as the 'Emperor' of the Anux Continent.
He had tried every famous liquor imaginable, but none could compare to the majesty of soju.
In the end, he summoned the most renowned master brewers and ordered them to replicate the taste of soju, but...
‘It was beyond them.’
Although he had drunk soju almost daily back on Earth, his knowledge of the production process was far too scant.
After several rounds of trial and error.
Kang-jun finally decided to forget about soju altogether.
Most things he longed for were like that.
Longing for them endlessly only made things harder for himself.
Even his one and only family, whom he missed so desperately...
Even his friends, whose faces, let alone names, he could no longer recall...
And even the ordinary daily life he had once taken for granted...
Even...
A simple thing like soju.
Lost in deep thought for a long while, Kang-jun finally nodded and replied.
“Alright, let's have a glass of soju.”
It finally felt real that he had returned to Earth.
Not long after that.
While they were all wandering through a nearby downtown area...
“Ah, wait-?”
Crabslie, who had been following along just fine, suddenly stopped in his tracks.
“What is it?”
Kang-jun asked gruffly, turning his head slightly to see where Crabslie was looking.
“Grandma's 40-Year Hangover Soup?”
Crabslie was staring at an old, shabby restaurant.
“My Lord, I apologize. It seems I could not help but stop, drawn by the captivating aroma wafting from that eatery...”
At his words, Kang-jun muttered, "Huh?"
“Don't tell me it's because of the 'ox-blood soup'?”
Crabslie swallowed the saliva pooling in his mouth and asked cautiously.
“My Lord, forgive my ignorance, for my knowledge is short and shallow...”
“It's a dish called seonjitguk, made with 'blood' as an ingredient.”
Mumbling, "Good heavens..." Crabslie was so shocked that he lost his balance and staggered where he stood.
‘They cook with blood...?’
He had lived for a staggering 1,200 years as a vampire, a species for whom blood was a staple food.
But the idea of cooking blood had never once crossed his mind, and it was no exaggeration to say he had never even heard of such a thing.
“Why? You want to try it?”
Crabslie cautiously nodded his head.
“Yes, my Lord...”
With a rough nod, Kang-jun called out to Kim Bong-gu, who was walking ahead.
“Hey, let's just go in here.”
Spotting the old, shabby restaurant with the sign "Grandma's 40-Year Hangover Soup," Kim Bong-gu tilted his head slightly.
‘He's more frugal than I thought.’
He then replied immediately.
“Then let's head to the soup restaurant!”
♦ * *
The shabby soup restaurant was more crowded than expected. Amidst the boisterous chatter of patrons raising their voices...
*Clink-!*
Three small soju glasses clinked in the air, making a clear sound. The liquor inside sloshed, threatening to spill over.
“Ahh, this is it...”
Kang-jun, who had grimaced at the uniquely bitter first taste of soju, immediately scooped up a spoonful of the hot broth, tasted it, and marveled again.
“Ahh, this is it...”
Kim Bong-gu, who had been staring at Kang-jun completely engrossed in the combination of soup and soju, shifted his gaze to Crabslie.
“Hoo, hot, ho-ot, hot...”
'Old Man Choi Dol-soe' was just as captivated by the soup.
He was shoving the steaming ox-blood soup into his mouth with reckless abandon, like a man possessed by a hungry ghost.
But, for some reason?
Both of their eyes were glistening with tears.
‘What is this...?’
Kim Bong-gu, who had been watching them in silence, asked...
“Excuse me, should I order more?”
The two of them nodded in unison, as if on cue.
“Grandma-!”
At Kim Bong-gu's shout, the old woman who was wiping a nearby table with a cloth replied warmly, "Comin'," and approached with slow steps...
“Could we get another bottle of soju and one more bowl of soup here?”
Crabslie lifted his head and watched the old restaurant owner for a moment.
“Listen here, old woman.”
Just as the old woman stared back at Crabslie.
Crabslie suddenly grabbed the old woman's wrinkled hand tightly.
“What on earth could be more important than your health? Please, think of your body and work at a leisurely pace.”
“Goodness me, what's this old fool doing, shamelessly grabbing my hand all of a sudden...”
“This precious food, filled with your noble sacrifice, I shall never take it lightly or leave a single drop.”
Just as the old woman pulled her hand away and started striding back to the kitchen.
Crabslie secretly wiped away a tear forming in the corner of his eye and thought.
‘That woman is nothing short of a saint...’
It was because Crabslie had jumped to the conclusion that the 'blood'—the main ingredient of the soup—was the old woman's own.
First of all, the restaurant's name itself was 'Grandma's 40-Year Hangover Soup'...
And the taste of an old human's blood and an animal's blood was so simple that it was quite difficult to distinguish between them.
Furthermore, with various other ingredients mixed in, not to mention the strong seasonings, it was even harder to tell the difference.
Kim Bong-gu, oblivious to the circumstances, asked with a puzzled look.
“Elder, are you... crying?”
“Certainly not....”
“Come on, it looks like you're crying.”
“I told you, I am not...”
“Did you bite your tongue or something?”
At that, Crabslie's eyebrow twitched.
He suddenly put down his spoon, leaned forward, and whispered in a chilling voice, his mouth right next to Kim Bong-gu's ear.
“If you breathe a word of the fact that I shed a tear, I regret to say I will have no choice but to boil this blood soup with your blood and taste it.”
Just as Kim Bong-gu muttered under his breath, "No, I was just worried..."
Kang-jun, who had been glancing at Kim Bong-gu out of the corner of his eye while devouring his soup and soju, asked.
“Bongsik, why aren't you eating?”
“Sir, I'm sorry, but it's Bong-gu.”
“Does it matter?”
“Then I'll just be Bongsik.”
Kang-jun asked again.
“Why are you just watching instead of eating?”
“I am eating, little by little.”
He hadn't even been able to bring up the main topic, so he had no appetite for food or drink.
Kim Bong-gu promptly picked up the soju bottle and added.
“Sir, would it be all right if I poured you a drink?”
“What have I taught you that makes you keep calling me 'sir'?”
Kang-jun accepted the glass and added nonchalantly.
“Just call me Hyung-nim comfortably.”
“Yes, Hyung-nim.”
Just as Kang-jun drained the filled glass.
“Hyung-nim, may I ask a difficult favor of you?”
“What is it?”
“Please, I would like you to accept me as your disciple.”
At that, Kang-jun repeated, "Disciple?"
He let out a snort of laughter and replied easily.
“No.”
As if he had expected that response, Kim Bong-gu nodded and replied calmly.
“I know becoming the disciple of someone as great as you won't be easy, Hyung-nim. But I will never give up.”
After speaking, Kim Bong-gu suddenly downed the soju in his glass in one gulp and immediately continued.
“Hyung-nim, I was actually a contract Hunter.”
At that, Kang-jun began to stare at Kim Bong-gu.
‘I hate sob stories...’
After a moment's thought, Kang-jun reluctantly asked.
“And?”
He decided he would listen as payment for the meal.
Kim Bong-gu continued, lost in thought.
“But I could never give up being a Hunter. There was no other job that would let me cover my young sister's tuition and living expenses, as well as my mother's hospital bills...”
Kim Bong-gu trailed off for a moment before adding again.
“To cure my mother's illness, I need an Elixir.”
“An Elixir?”
“Yes, the panacea that can cure any disease.”
At that, Kang-jun clicked his tongue, "Tsk."
It was because in the royal treasury, located within the imperial palace of the Anux Continent, there were at least a dozen bottles of that very 'Elixir'.
‘If only I could bring them here, I would have given him a bottle for free. What a shame.’
Kang-jun gestured with his chin, signaling him to continue.
“Right now, the Elixir's price is literally 'whatever the seller asks.' There are plenty of buyers, but no supply, so they're traded for tens, even hundreds of billions.”
Kang-jun, who was sipping the broth of his ox-blood soup, suddenly started coughing violently. "Kegh! Kack-!"
Then he asked with a slight frown.
“Hey, why is something like that so expensive?”
“Because it's a 'panacea'.”
“Hah, I should have brought some...”
“Sorry? I didn't hear you.”
When Kang-jun casually replied, "Nothing. So?" Kim Bong-gu continued his story.
“Anyway, since there was no other viable way to get one, I had no choice but to keep challenging Gates.”
“With that weak body of yours?”
“Yes. Thanks to that, I've had several near-death experiences, and there were times I was laid up for months due to injuries.”
After speaking, Kim Bong-gu downed another glass of soju.
“Of course, in the end, I had no choice but to go back to challenging Gates. Living like that, just barely getting by, I somehow managed to climb up to 'C-Rank'.”
“Wow, sounds like a story straight out of a novel.”
“You think so? The truth is, everyone was happy before the Gates suddenly appeared. So, until the day I die, I will keep struggling to reclaim that happiness.”
Finishing his words, Kim Bong-gu quickly, “*Swish*-,” wiped away the tears welling up in his eyes.
He had taken it all for granted.
The sight of his mother's back in the kitchen when he came home as the sun set...
The savory aroma that filled the house from a constantly bubbling stew.
The sight of his sister, her smile as fresh as summer grass, teasing him.
Or his father, who, on the day he came home after a big fight with a friend at school, would ask with a smile instead of a scolding, "Hey, did you win?"
“*Sob, hic...*”
Overcome by a sudden surge of emotion, Kim Bong-gu finally broke down in tears.
In the year he turned twenty, an adult in name only, things called 'Gates' began to appear all over the world...
His perfectly healthy father was brutally murdered by a monster that emerged from a Gate.
Not long after, his mother was struck down by an 'incurable disease' that appeared after the Gates emerged...
His innocent, mischievous little sister stopped smiling and became noticeably quiet.
Honestly, it was overwhelming.
But he knew he couldn't afford to break down.
He endured, firmly believing that if he just held on, he would one day be able to reclaim the happiness of those times.
But, really?
Would that day ever come?
“Hyung-nim.”
Kang-jun looked at Kim Bong-gu with a deadpan expression.
“I really have to get stronger, even a day sooner. Because, maybe, just maybe...”
Unable to finish his sentence, Kim Bong-gu lowered his head.
“There might not be much time left...”
It had already been several years since his mother fell into a coma.
Lying in a hospital bed, dependent on machines, her body grew thinner and her complexion more haggard by the day.
Watching her like that was painful...
But what was even more agonizing and terrifying was the fact that his own time might be running out.
Kim Bong-gu bowed his head low once more.
Then, in a voice thick with emotion, he struggled to continue.
“Hyung-nim, if you accept me as your disciple, I will do absolutely anything you ask. Please, just give me one chance...”
Kang-jun let out a deep sigh before he could stop himself.
“Hey, Bong-hwan.”
“It's Bong-gu...”
When Kang-jun glared at him, Kim Bong-gu quickly corrected himself.
“You can just call me whatever is comfortable...”
Kang-jun sighed again and said in a placating tone.
“Hey, why's a grown man crying his eyes out in front of everyone?”
“I'm sorry...”
“Jeez, first, wipe your tears, straighten your shoulders, and act with confidence, like a man...”
At that, Kim Bong-gu adjusted his posture.
“Are you really prepared to do anything I tell you?”
“Huh? Yes, of course.”
“How can you answer so readily when you don't even know what I'll ask?”
Kim Bong-gu seemed to shrink back for a moment at that.
“I'll really do anything.”
“It probably won't be easy.”
After speaking, Kang-jun added in a serious, measured tone.
“Cleaning, laundry, cooking, childcare, walking the dog... can you do all that?”
Kim Bong-gu couldn't help but ask back, "Huh?"
‘Wait, the things he mentioned seem a little... strange.’
After tilting his head in confusion for a moment, Kim Bong-gu answered urgently.
“Yes, I can do them all well.”
Was it because he was pleased with Kim Bong-gu's crisp reply?
Kang-jun nodded several times in satisfaction.
“Good, then my sister can take it a little easier.”
“Huh?”
“My sister works hard every day.”
Finishing his words, Kang-jun refilled his own glass and added.
“Actually, this next part is the most important.”
“Yes.”
“Can you lend me your name, too?”
At that, Kim Bong-gu stammered, "Y-your name?"
Kang-jun nodded once and replied quietly.
“You know.”
“If you mean...”
“Your Awakener registration.”
If he took 'Bong-tae' as his disciple, he could definitely save the full cost of getting his own registration issued.
He could just schedule Gate raids under the guy's name, accompany him as a 'porter', and then take care of everything himself.
Moreover...
By borrowing the kid's name like this, he could avoid all the annoying situations that came with fame or public attention, even after conquering so-called 'high-rank Gates'.
‘After all, Bong-tae can just get famous in my place, right?’
