A week before the season opener, the raiding squad members who had gone on vacation during the off-season were gradually returning to the guild.
Everyone had bright expressions, and laughter bloomed all around.
Their outfits varied: some were wrapped in luxury items never seen before, while others wore Hawaiian shirts and sported sun-darkened skin, practically advertising, “I just got back from Hawaii!”
“Hawaii was amazing! Just lying in the lounge doing nothing, staring at the ocean all day, and all the fatigue just melted away~!”
“I went to Bali. The water was incredibly clear! You could even see the fish swimming—it’s a whole different level from the seas in Korea.”
“Babe~ How’s this dress? Shopping in Paris, you know. Quality is totally different, right?”
“Crazy… all this overspending. Just go cheap like me to Thailand. Full-day massages don’t even cost that much.”
Ha ha ha.
Laughter never ceased in the training hall.
Although they looked a little relaxed, it was understandable. Hunters are human, and if they constantly maintain sharp senses, they would eventually break down.
That’s why giving hunters vacations after the league became customary, and why the guild did not impose strict control over hunters once the league ended.
Moreover, there was something special about them.
Excluding Mountain King, the oldest member was 23. Most of the team was young, even extremely young.
After achieving overwhelming success and receiving substantial incentives, those who had once trembled over a single ten-thousand-won note or were trainees could now travel abroad without worrying about money within just a year. It would have been stranger if they weren’t excited.
While the members were competing over who had the happiest vacation, Lee Hye-jeong walked out from the training hall showers, drying her wet hair.
“You’re back?”
“Oh! Noona? Why are you coming out from there?”
“I worked up some sweat at dawn, so I showered. But what’s with everyone? What have you all been doing?”
“Hye-jeong unni~! We missed you.”
“Don’t cling so grossly. Sniff sniff, what’s that smell? Did you put on perfume?”
“Noona, welcome. Please accept this gift first.”
“Huh? A gift? What kind of gift… eek?! It’s a bag?”
“I just thought of you and bought it.”
“Oh… thank you.”
Thankful, yes, but…
A luxury bag in her hands and the piercing scent of perfume.
Are they okay? Lee Hye-jeong tilted her head for a moment, then smiled.
Well, that’s understandable.
“By the way… Hye-jeong noona, you said today th-they would be coming, right?”
“Th-they? What do you mean? Speak properly.”
“Ah… the… the new recruits! New faces.”
“Are they really coming?”
“Yes, today.”
Wow~! New recruits!!
Even the already high spirits brightened further at the news of new faces.
“How many? Are they boys or girls?”
“What positions? Tank? Dealer?”
“Wanting a healer would be asking too much, right…?”
At that moment, a heavy sound came as the door opened.
All eyes turned and saw a tall young man with long limbs, giving an even taller impression. Yet his face was youthful and quite cute.
The members, talking about the new recruits, approached to greet him warmly.
“Welcome….”
“Hello, noona. Your face is quite tanned.”
“…??”
…??
…!!
“You aren’t….”
“Su, Su-bin?”
“Yes.”
Park Su-bin smiled brightly.
The 17-year-old boy had become a young man.
________________________________________
After the fever, Park Su-bin grew incredibly fast.
His father even said, “He’s like a bean sprout.” Like a bean sprout that grows quickly if watered and left in the light, just feed him plenty and close the door, and the next day a different person stands there.
Even for a growing boy, this was beyond normal.
Humans instinctively fear situations they cannot comprehend.
His family was genuinely scared of Su-bin’s explosive growth, only feeling reassured when a doctor confirmed there was nothing wrong.
“…The air feels different.”
His height, which grew by nearly 20cm, changed Su-bin’s life.
The old Su-bin had to look up at the world. He had been scared of people looking down on him and had gradually lost the ability to meet others’ eyes.
But now, with a higher eye level and the world at his own, he could see the eyes of those who once looked down on him. And surprisingly, it didn’t bother him.
He realized those who seemed to mock him weren’t really paying much attention anyway.
Of course, some did mock him, like certain classmates, but even they awkwardly avoided his eyes once they were on the same level, saying, “Uh, hi.”
Lee Shin cheered, “Revenge! Totally revenge!!” but Su-bin didn’t want that.
It wasn’t because he was especially kind, as some might say.
He just found such things trivial now.
The saying “eyes are the windows to the soul” was true. With his new perspective, Su-bin’s mind had grown bigger and stronger.
He no longer avoided gazes. The world no longer scared him. He was no longer ashamed of himself.
He had his family by his side, and someone who believed in him even more than he did.
― “Brother trusts our Bokchi. If not, could you invest 10 billion in equipment and spend tens of billions on medicine? I can guarantee it with my name. Bokchi…”
You’re amazing.
“I am amazing.”
Now, Park Su-bin looked forward to tomorrow.
________________________________________
Surrounding Park Su-bin was the raid squad.
“You’re unrecognizable, Su-bin.”
“What’s going on? Why has our Su-bin changed like this? What kind of magic did you use? Honestly, you’re not our Su-bin. Our Su-bin couldn’t be this handsome!”
“The shoulder line, those long limbs… oh? Even your Adam’s apple has presence now, cheeky.”
“Hm, I thought with a small head he’d be handsome if he grew, and my prediction was right.”
Overwhelmed by praise from his older siblings, Park Su-bin scratched his head, laughing “Hehehe” without knowing what to say.
Even after changing, compliments were still embarrassing.
That, too, was part of his charm. Lee Hye-jeong, who claimed to have raised the youngest, couldn’t miss out.
“Beep beep. It’s time for noona’s InBody check. Come here, our youngest.”
Lee Hye-jeong waved her hands to dismiss everyone and reached for Su-bin with both arms.
Snug.
Normally, Su-bin would lean into Hye-jeong, but now Hye-jeong was enveloping Su-bin in her arms.
Hmm, might need to be a bit careful…
“Feeling it now. Your skeletal structure has completely changed.”
“Hehe…”
“Gained some weight too? About 20kg?”
“14kg…”
“Needs more. Straighten your back. Spread your shoulders like this, pressing down here like noona, right, much better posture. Didn’t expect our youngest to have such a good frame.”
“Hehe… thank you.”
“But it’s a shame you don’t fit fully in my arms. That was part of the fun. Not good. Back you go, our youngest.”
“S-Sorry… Noona?”
“Ah, you act the same. That’s more like you.”
Actually, since everyone here was a hunter, Su-bin’s height barely crossing 180cm wasn’t that special.
Among the tank line, including Park Jeong-seok, no one was shorter.
But it’s the difference in contrast.
Su-bin’s first impression to them was the clumsy, messy youngest.
Small, just over 150cm, wearing ten rings, three or four bracelets, a gold necklace, a champion belt, oversized sunglasses, and a mink coat larger than himself, dashing into battle, amusing everyone even in the thick of combat.
Now, after the off-season, the youngest had become a proper man.
The emotional impact on the older siblings was different.
While the training hall buzzed warmly around Park Su-bin, last season’s MVP and newly appointed official squad leader Park Jeong-seok entered the hall.
Naturally, he too widened his eyes at Park Su-bin.
“Ho… Su-bin?”
“Yes, hyung.”
“You’ve grown a lot. You’ve worked hard.”
Park Jeong-seok, after patting him on the back, called everyone together.
“There’s an announcement, everyone gather.”
The vice-captain’s role was to serve as a bridge between the captain, the management team, and the hunters, and preliminary announcements were his responsibility.
“Everyone here? There are a lot of announcements today, so pay attention. First, as I mentioned before, new recruits are coming today. There are three of them. I won’t tell you to get close, but don’t show any territorial behavior. There will be a welcoming ceremony afterward. The representative and the captain will all attend, so if you have plans, cancel them in advance.”
At the phrase ‘absence is not allowed,’ the raid team groaned in disapproval.
Since this part had already been announced beforehand, the raid team seemed relaxed. But that only lasted briefly; the upcoming schedule that Park Jeong-seok was about to announce was unexpected for them.
“Next, there will be regular training under the captain’s supervision.”
“??!!”
Huh? Regular… training…? Today? The vacation just ended!
Park Jeong-seok answered the flustered strategy team stiffly.
“Feeling sorry won’t help. That’s the captain’s decision. You’ll understand now that by reaching League 3, you can use the ‘stadium.’ The captain said he will conduct regular training himself, both to check the recruits’ condition and to familiarize everyone with the stadium we’ll use going forward.”
“Then we’ll depart soon, so get ready.”
After finishing the announcement, Park Jeong-seok exited through the same door he had entered.
For a while, there was silence, until someone let out a nervous laugh, prompting everyone to laugh together.
“Hahaha…”
“But a stadium and all… aren’t we screwed?”
“I couldn’t believe it either. Regular training on the first day back?”
“League 3 is different, I guess. Last season, Mountain King didn’t care this much.”
“That’s true. Let’s think positively.”
Everyone was flustered, but not seriously worried. In a positive sense, they were full of confidence; in a negative sense, they were still intoxicated by their recent promotion.
But Su-bin was different.
Just moments ago, Park Su-bin had been laughing, but now he had regressed in an instant, looking like a scared little kid.
“Huh? Su-bin, are you okay? You look pale.”
“Nu, noona… what should I do? I… haven’t trained even once.”
“Pfft. How cute.”
Lee Hye-jeong snickered. “At least this one’s normal. The youngest is better than the hyungs and noonas.” She whispered only to Park Su-bin, thinking how admirable he was.
“Don’t worry. They’re all just like you.”
Not touching during the off-season isn’t just for fun. It’s the only time hunters can work on their ‘personal development.’
Freedom comes with responsibility. If you played hard, you have to work just as hard. That’s why Hye-jeong had tilted her head at the younger members’ conversation earlier.
“You’ll all get scolded anyway, so you won’t be singled out.”
“But I don’t have a map, and I didn’t bring my equipment…”
“It’s fine. Just do it halfway. You can do it, right?”
Encouraged by Hye-jeong, Park Su-bin swallowed hard and thought:
‘Right. Just halfway, like noona said. Just halfway.’
Even as he boarded the bus heading to the stadium, Park Su-bin kept repeating that thought to himself.
________________________________________
The stadium had been converted into a grassland field. People were sprawled across the green land swaying in the wind.
One.
“Ugh… my back.”
Two.
“Huh… hehe…”
Three.
“I feel dizzy…”
Four.
“…Right, that one wasn’t ordinary either.”
Finally, five.
“…Su-bin is amazing…”
Park Su-bin stood at the center of everyone’s gaze. He looked up at the air, as flustered as the colleagues he had knocked down.
“…How is this even possible?”
The number of mines that the original Park Su-bin operated was 13.
Now, that number had tripled—39 mines were revolving around Su-bin.
