Chapter 61 – Financial Therapy

“Excuse me?”

It meant that no matter where she went, Kang Jin-hyun would end up living next door. Hee-na was dumbfounded and let out a hollow laugh.

Kang Mok-hyeon explained calmly.

“I was planning to notify you when you came to work tomorrow, but our side’s handling seems to have been complacent. I simply thought that since you would be coming and going frequently as you work anyway, it wouldn’t be a bad thing to be close by, and proceeded with the work. It was a misjudgment. I want to apologize once again.”

He added that if she wanted compensation, they would pay as much as she wanted.

If he had acted shamelessly, she would have argued further, but since the other party readily offered an apology, Hee-na’s soft heart easily melted. Although she was a bit dumbfounded…

“……Well, since you put it that way……. Anyway, I just wanted to say I was surprised. I hope nothing like this happens next time. We are going to continue working together in the future, so we shouldn’t have uncomfortable things happen.”

“Yes. The guild failed to show sufficient consideration for Team Leader Lee Hee-na. Please let us know if you need anything at all. We would like to compensate for your mental shock, even if only materially.”

Kang Mok-hyeon seemed to be trying to win Hee-na’s heart back by making capitalistic remarks. Although one cannot buy human hearts with money… Hee-na was also only human.

Financial therapy worked better than expected.

“Then……”

Hee-na pondered for a moment, then beamed. It was because a good idea came to mind.

* * *

“Hee-hee.”

Hee-na chuckled repeatedly as she toyed with the black card.

“I didn’t know my sister’s face could be this thick. No, I didn’t know you had such big guts.”

Hee-won scratched his head vigorously and followed behind Hee-na at a stroll. Hee-na snapped back at her brother.

“You have to take it when you can. I don’t know about other things, but this matter is justified.”

Hee-na realized a few facts after taking on the role of the Awakened Condition Management Team Leader.

First was the fact that the wealth of the guild and its executives was astronomical.

In fact, although Hee-na had seen Kang Jin-hyun pull out large mana stones without hesitation all this time, she had not truly felt his wealth. After all, mana stones were a somewhat unfamiliar concept to ordinary people.

However, ‘houses’ were different. To Hee-na, whose dream was to own her own home, and who used to sigh daily while looking at real estate apps, a house was a commodity that hit much closer to home than a mana stone.

To think they would hand over three such houses without a second thought and even add an immense down payment on top of that. Only then was Hee-na able to comprehend the hunter world’s extreme sense of money.

The second realization was a slightly personal one.

Once she received houses from the guild, everything else felt like no big deal. It felt like she had developed a bolder attitude.

‘Is this what they mean by the difference before and after going to the restroom?’

Hee-na had successfully rejected Kang Jin-hyun’s numerous temptations all this time. However, after inevitably finalizing the contract this time, her mind had changed slightly.

Already done, and she had already accepted the wealth. It meant that whether she accepted once, twice, or thrice, it was all the same.

“Splurging a bit on furniture won’t even scratch this card.”

Hee-na muttered, as if justifying herself.

Indeed. The siblings were currently browsing a furniture store. And with the black card they had received from the guild in hand, at that.

Hee-na snorted inwardly. This was a legitimate expense that the guild, which had failed to notify her of a crucial fact in advance, had to pay.

‘I should receive at least moving assistance funds as compensation for damages.’

At Hee-na’s demand, Human Resources Team Leader Kang Mok-hyeon readily handed over the card, saying she could swipe it to her heart’s content since there was no spending limit.

Since she also had an interior design concept in mind, choosing furniture was not difficult.

‘So shopping without having to worry about prices was this convenient.’

Along with that, she experienced a new world of shopping. The only things she had to worry about were the color, shape, and durability of the furniture.

Since she did not need to assemble her budget here and there like playing Tetris, she even felt a strange sense of liberation.

“Please make the payment in a lump sum.”

Hee-na swiped the card for the living room sofa, which she had agonized over the most, in one go. It was her final payment at the furniture store.

“All done!”

Stretching her limbs, she felt incredibly refreshed.

She had not bought minor accessories yet, but she planned to proceed with that slowly after arranging the large furniture.

“Man. I only followed you around, but why am I so tired?”

Hee-won grumbled by her side.

He complained that coming out of the dungeon after a long time made him clearly feel how bad Seoul’s air was, that it was suffocating, that the ground was completely covered in asphalt…

Just listening to him speak, one would think he was a wild man from the mountains.

“Oppa, you don’t go outside the house enough. Since you have time to spare, go watch a movie or have some fun outside.”

Come to think of it, Hee-won very rarely stepped outside ‘Home Sweet Home’ except when going to buy necessities.

“All you do is tend to the garden in front of the house every day… Since our circumstances have become comfortable now, go meet some people too.”

Hee-na began to worry about Hee-won belatedly. Excluding herself, did it not mean he barely interacted with other people? She suspected a lack of social skills.

“It is fine. We have Osaek-i and Baduki anyway. For now, digging the ground and touching the soil alone is more enjoyable. Is it thanks to Baduki’s golden powder lately? The plants seem to grow a bit better than before.”

Hee-won shrugged his shoulders as if it was no big deal. He joked that he was sick and tired of rubbing shoulders with people all that time to feed Hee-na.

“Do you think I am some kind of parasite? I earned my keep too!”

When she pouted and poked his ribs, Hee-won let out an exaggerated cry. The atmosphere, which had threatened to turn slightly heavy, instantly lightened.

“Anyway, my point is don’t just work. Since you suffered a lot all this time, I will support you now.”

“How reassuring, how reassuring. Having one well-raised sister makes you not envy winning the lottery. Indeed, of course.”

“You say the strangest things sometimes, Oppa.”

The siblings enjoyed their first outing together in a long time while chatting. As it was the last day of her long vacation, she planned to make good memories with her brother before going.

Hee-na and Hee-won returned after dining out at an expensive restaurant. It was a meal treated by Hee-na.

Seeing the price exceed 100,000 won per person, Hee-won coaxed Hee-na to use the black card she received from the company, but Hee-na stubbornly swiped her own card in the end.

“This is a treat for my promotion.”

Even though she was sponging off the company card for personal purposes, Hee-na was someone who maintained her boundaries. She intended to swipe the black card only for decorating the house.

It was the limit of a timid person pretending to be bold. Spending more than that weighed on her conscience.

“Thanks for buying me an expensive meal. But the meals you easily whip up are more delicious, so there is no need to spend such big money next time.”

Leaving the restaurant, Hee-won grumbled slightly.

Since he ate the home-cooked meals Hee-na prepared for him three times a day, his palate had become extremely picky. It was no wonder ordinary hand-made cooking failed to satisfy him.

“Still, I liked dining out with you, Oppa. It’s been a really long time.”

The siblings were always busy living. What with entering and exiting dungeons and working overtime through the night, they rarely had the opportunity to spend time so leisurely.

“That’s true. It reminds me of the times we went out to eat with our parents, which is nice.”

Hee-won smiled warmly as he recalled the distant past.

Hee-na also opened the front door of ‘Home Sweet Home’ while losing herself in the warm memories that bubbled up.

Once she opened this door, their new family members, Osaek-i and Baduki, would welcome them passionately.

‘There was a time when we were in endless despair after losing our parents…’

The very same Hee-won and Hee-na were now drawing a new future with their new family. Thinking of that made her heart swell with emotion for no reason.

Hee-na called Osaek-i and Baduki in a brighter voice than usual.

“Guys, we’re home. Did you wait long?”

“Baduki, Daddy is here!”

It was at that moment…

*Rustle, rustle.*

A black afterimage greeted the siblings who entered the entrance with warmed hearts.

“Kyaah!”

Startled by something dark charging toward her eyes, Hee-na instinctively slumped down on the spot.

Hee-won, who was following behind, failed to dodge in time and was struck on the forehead with a bonk.

“Ugh! What is this!”

Hee-won raised his hand and shook off whatever was stuck to his face. Then, something dark and wriggling dropped onto the floor with a thud.

Seeing it fall to the entrance floor, Hee-na screamed.

“It is a bug!”

It was a bug fluttering transparent wings. It looked like a gnat, but it was almost the size of a finger joint. And as it grew larger than a gnat, it was even creepy.

“Uaaah!”

While she was letting out a soul-less groan at the shocking sight, Osaek-i’s message popped up in front of her eyes.

♨Emergency♨ ♨Emergency♨ ♨Hot Hot♨ ♨HOT Hot♨

The fist-sized snail was crawling wiggle-wiggle, shouting ’emergency.’ All kinds of special characters attached to it were a bonus.

“…Osaek-i?”

Seeing the incredibly excited Osaek-i actually helped her regain her reason. Hee-na struck and killed the gnat with a slipper kept in the entrance.

“What is it, Osaek-i? What’s wrong?”

The system window answered instead.

It was a phrase indicating that a problem had occurred in the pest control system. Looking at it, it seemed to be an event similar to the previous power outage.

“Does this house not have a single peaceful day?”

The Homemaker of the Dungeon