When I Returned to Farming, National-level Big Juniors Flock - Chapter 16



Only Krnovel

16. Junior and Junior

“How are you doing… Are you feeling better?”

“As you can see, it’s fine. It doesn’t interfere with daily life at all!”

“…That’s fortunate though. I haven’t heard any news of you being discharged. When did you get discharged?”

“It hasn’t been that long since I came out. How have you been?”

“Of course I do.”

Choi Jeong-il nodded.

His impression was a little different and his attire was completely different from then, but his unique way of speaking was still the same.

“Don’t you know that the others have also been discharged? No, if it was senior Sooyeon, you would have known.”

“Yes, I was at a hospital under the management office. Suyeon came to my house once. I didn’t tell anyone, so the other guys probably don’t know.

“It seems like the two of you don’t keep in touch.”

“We were both so busy that we couldn’t even keep in touch. The last time we saw each other was the year before last at an official event.”

Oh Hyun-seong and Choi Jeong-il having a conversation.

But there was one forgotten being there.

Joo Ji-hye attracts people’s attention wherever she goes.

Normally, she would have screamed, but her mouth had not been closed since she had been watching the two.

“No… why… do we know each other…?”

Joo Ji-hye muttered blankly.

Then, the gazes of the two people who had forgotten her existence turned towards her.

“Oh, Jihye. Come say hello.”

“Greetings… What is the relationship between you and that person?”

“He’s my senior. Now that I think about it, the atmosphere was tense earlier. Did he get into any trouble in the meantime?”

“Ah… no, that’s…”

Joo Ji-hye’s expression changed to one of extreme trouble.

She had already caused a huge accident, and Choi Jeong-il, who noticed it, let out a deep sigh.

“If you’ve been rude, apologize quickly. And sincerely!”

“Wait a minute. Is that person really your senior? I’ve never seen his face before. How can that be?”

“He is the senior I respected the most. Are you trying to smear my face with something?”

“The… most respected…?”

What era is this?

This is an era where even if you have no experience in strategy, if you have one unique constitution that is useful, you will be considered a promising prospect and your face and name will be sold nationwide.

And Joo Ji-hye clearly had never seen Oh Hyeon-seong anywhere.

His presence was no different from that of an ordinary person, and even though he was a hunter, I thought he was a third-rate hunter whose face was unknown.

But not only was he a first-generation hunter who worked in the government at the time, he was also the senior that CEO Choi Jeong-il respected the most.

‘This, this is ridiculous.’

Joo Ji-hye’s face turned pale.

Oh Hyun-seong stepped in to intervene as she hesitated, unable to open her mouth.

“Okay, let’s stop here.”

“…Let’s talk about it later. For now, don’t bother me and go outside.”

Choi Jeong-il said with a slight frown.

Then Joo Ji-hye started to cry.

They tell me to go out because I’m bothering you. It’s the kind of treatment I’ve never experienced in my entire life.

“I’m Joo Ji-hye! I built one of the pillars of your company! Barely… Barely, who is that guy to do this to me…! Ugh…!”

Joo Ji-hye, who had been pouring out her words, ran outside in tears.

The two stood speechless for a moment as she suddenly disappeared.

“…youth.”

“That’s true.”

Inside the office, it’s a mess.

Choi Jeong-il found the instant coffee that was spread out on the floor as if he was familiar with it, and made coffee using the water purifier that barely survived in the corner.

“The manager in charge urgently contacted me to say that there was an accident, so I came right away, but I didn’t know that the accident had already occurred. Since it was my family member who caused the accident, I would like to apologize on his behalf.”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s not my office.”

“Haa… I guess I’ll have to pay compensation to the department store and have them shut up. Is there anyone else injured?”

“Fortunately, no one was hurt. One employee was involved, so I’ll have them apologize separately.”

“I will do that.”

Choi Jeong-il hands over the whipped mixed coffee with both hands.

Inside the messy office, two men leaned against the wall and sipped coffee.

“…You said you became a farmer?”

“Not bad. Think about it when you retire later.”

“I will seriously consider it. However, I never imagined that you would go down to the countryside.”

“Suyeon said that too.”

Oh Hyun-seong chuckled.

“But that’s the same for me. Rather, of all the news I’ve heard from outside, your story surprised me the most.”

“Are you talking about Hunter Management?”

“Yeah, after the team disbanded, I thought you’d naturally join the military. But I never thought you’d have talent as a businessman.”

“It just turned out like this. I also feel awkward sometimes. Being here like this.”

Choi Jeong-il drank half of his coffee in one go.

“I started this job to raise my successors before I retired. Raising children was harder than I thought. It’s so hard that I can hardly go out to the field these days.”

“Isn’t that a joke? I’ve heard that you’re active and often conquer S-rank gates.”

“It’s nothing compared to the physical condition of the senior who was injured there… but I’m not the same as before.”

Swish.

Choi Jeong-il took off the blindfold he was wearing on his left eye.

The eyes, which have turned pure white, stare straight ahead without focus.

Oh Hyun-seong’s face frowned in surprise.

“you…?”

“As you can see, this eye is completely blind. It wasn’t a wound from a monster. The burden accumulated and eventually the side effects exploded, and the vision never recovered.”

Oh Hyun-seong was speechless for a moment.

Choi Jeong-il’s ‘unique constitution’ was an ability that put a lot of strain on the eyes.

So, even in the past, whenever I wasn’t using my powers, I always wore an eyepatch over my left eye.

But if you are completely blind, you can no longer use your special constitution’s abilities.

“Hunters are a consumer product of society. If you use them, they will eventually break down. The more you go out to the field, the more injuries you accumulate, and the more your resilience will run towards zero, so it is an unavoidable fate.”

Choi Jeong-il said calmly.

“That’s why I came out into society and started raising the next generation. I wanted to make sure that they could work in a better environment than when we were there, and that they would be less overwhelmed by the workload.”

“Then you succeeded. The Hunter world has become so well-known thanks to the business you started.”

“The Yangjihwa was expected anyway. I just brought it forward a little bit, and the essence has not changed.”

Choi Jeong-il stood there blankly for a moment, reminiscing about the past.

My classmates who were dragged in without knowing anything and trained together in the training camp, my seniors and juniors who were deployed to countless battlefields.

These are the hunters of the past, so-called first generation.

With his excellent memory, he could vividly recall countless faces, but only a few of them have survived to this day.

“I don’t think the current peace will last forever. Eventually, a disaster like that will strike again. Now that we’re on the decline, all I can do is raise the next generation.”

“So as not to be destroyed by the gate?”

“Of course that’s the primary goal. But even if we can prevent a crisis, we also want to make sure that our hunters aren’t recklessly exhausted in the process. We can’t afford to be overloaded and suffering from a manpower shortage like we were in our time.”

Choi Jeong-il said bluntly.

Oh Hyun-seong, who knew what he had been through, didn’t say anything more.

A moment of silence.

But soon he remembered what Joo Ji-hye had done at the department store, and since he was the farm owner she was looking for, he thought it would be troublesome if something like this happened again.

“Why was Joo Ji-hye making a fuss here? Did she really just want to eat the strawberries here?”

“Oh, where to begin…”

Choi Jeong-il, who had just finished eating, took a moment to gather his thoughts and then began to tell the story.

“Even though Jihye originally had a temperamental personality, she wasn’t as unable to control her emotions as she is now. If she had been, I wouldn’t have accepted her into the company. However, a lot has changed since she was injured in the S-rank gate raid that appeared in Busan a year ago.”

“PTSD? Or is it some kind of direct psychiatric aftereffect?”

“I am suffering from a nervous breakdown without a clear diagnosis. I have intermittent anxiety, tremors, excessive fatigue, and the worst symptom is insomnia. However, I recently said that my insomnia got better after eating strawberries from Hankyung Department Store.”

“What…? You’re saying that eating strawberries relieves your symptoms? Are you mistaken? Or is it a placebo?”

“At least that’s how he feels. He’s a quick-tempered kid, but he’s not so naive that he mistakes that for his own physical condition.”

Hunters are sensitive to their physical condition.

It was partly because he had a good innate sense, but also because he had a high probability of becoming monster food on the spot if he had not properly checked his own physical condition.

“Anyway, it seems clear that there has been some difference recently… but I couldn’t find any clues with a scientific approach. As you know, this happens often in this industry, but if it continues like this, it won’t last long. He knows it, so he must be even more upset.”

“Hmm…”

Oh Hyun-seong let out a sigh.

I’ve also seen many hunters who have fully recovered from severe trauma but still complain of mental issues.

I thought she was just a cheapskate, but it seems she had her own circumstances.

But what was more concerning was the strawberry story.

‘My symptoms improved after eating strawberries from our house… Honestly, I wonder if that makes sense.’

Especially, it is said that diseases are cured only with strawberries that are not original but downgraded versions that are on the market.

If that were a widespread phenomenon, there would have been chaos by now.

I’ve never even heard a story like this by hearsay.

Even Choi Jeong-il, who has a wide network of contacts in the hunter world, knows that this phenomenon only appeared to Joo Ji-hye.

‘But when I think about it, my physical condition has also improved to a peculiar degree. It’s still in good condition. Could it really be related to the crops grown by the spirits?’

Even while coming here, I was walking on both legs without limping and I didn’t feel any pain.

It was just a little numb.

During that time, I thought that my condition had improved because I came down to the countryside with good air and was able to spend time leisurely.

But if, just by chance, the spirit crops do have an effect on the hunter’s body, it would be something unusual.

‘I think I need to check.’

Oh Hyun-seong spoke with Choi Jeong-il and brought Joo Ji-hye back in.

“Why… why? If you two are so close, why don’t you two talk more?”

Joo Ji-hye said as she entered the office.

Although I pretended like nothing was wrong on the outside, I couldn’t hide the fact that my eyes were slightly swollen.

But whatever.

Oh Hyun-seong walked up to her and asked.

“You want to get better?”

***

People leave the conference room in a noisy atmosphere.

After finishing the NSC meeting chaired by the President, Han Su-yeon, who had been sitting for a while, let out a deep sigh and stood up from her seat.

Then, as if he had been waiting, the man who had been watching approached quickly.

“Director Han, you’ve worked hard.”

“I am the Deputy Prime Minister.”

“Hehehe… Who wouldn’t know that? You haven’t even eaten anything, so why don’t we have a meal together? I’ll take you to a really nice place.”

The Prime Minister shows a kind smile.

But Han Soo-yeon politely declined.

Of course, the invitation wouldn’t end in one go, so I had to refuse it several times despite its persistent persistence.

The only thing that increases here is this skill.

A meal here often wasn’t just a meal.

“Well then, I have an appointment so I’ll be going now.”

“Next time, let’s definitely have a meal together!”

Han Su-yeon, who shook her head repeatedly, got into the backseat of the car.

If it were a normal day, I would have gone to an expensive restaurant to have a meal, but now there was no need for such a schedule.

When she returned home, she threw off her heavy clothes and changed into comfortable ones.

“What should I eat today?”

Han Soo-yeon headed to the veranda with light steps.

A faint smile that you wouldn’t normally see even appears.

“Huh…”

But when she opened the box, she froze and stopped for a moment.

An empty box with nothing in it but crumbs.

Han Su-yeon’s expression suddenly became gloomy.

“The potatoes… were all gone.”

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