My Life Is Screwed... Where Am I Supposed to Go?

"We're terminating the contract."

On a late-autumn day when the wind was growing increasingly bitter, I became a beggar.

A literal beggar, with no home, no car, and nothing complicated to rack my brain over.

A complete and utter beggar.

That remark eliminated even the faintest chance of turning things around.

'In debt? Me?'

Unable to accept the reality before me, I asked in a tone that demanded an explanation.

"Why... why?"

"They say your work isn't what it used to be."

That couldn't be true. After the Gates appeared, my income had dwindled, and I had worked myself to the bone so I wouldn't be left behind.

But now they were saying my work wasn't as good as it used to be?

"Specifically, what is lacking? The deadlines? Or is it the design?"

"Huh? Oh, um... the design."

The representative was flustered. His wandering eyes trembled, giving off the unmistakable scent of a lie.

.....Of course. He hadn't expected me to press him this hard.

I began to wonder what I should do.

No, to be precise, I pretended to think. If I backed down too easily, he would see me as a complete pushover.

After watching the fidgeting representative for a while, I finally managed to speak.

"Ha... I understand. Then, the penalty fee..."

"What? The penalty fee?"

He shamelessly raised his eyes. Look at that absurdly bewildered expression—as if this were completely unexpected, even though he clearly knew I'd bring it up.

He was every bit as predictable as expected.

He spoke to me in a low voice.

"......A penalty fee? Surely you're not saying you expect us to pay you?"

"Yes. Jihyeon Furniture is the one terminating the contract, so that's only natural, isn't it?"

His brows began to draw together.

......So this is where things fall apart.

The account manager I'd worked with for four whole years.

We used to contact each other often even outside business, so I felt a little disappointed.

But it couldn't be helped. Business was business, and personal matters were personal.

I was desperate for money, and he had the company's interests to consider, so I supposed he couldn't help acting this way...

"We can't."

"What?"

"I said no. You know perfectly well what our company is going through. How can you bring up a penalty fee now? We won't give you a single penny, so get that through your head."

"...?"

'...What is he talking about?'

It was a completely unexpected declaration. I had thought he was bluffing simply to negotiate the amount.

He was staring at me with an utterly arrogant expression.

That was enough to tell me he meant it.

......Kim Youngjin.

Kim Youngjin—the account manager who was warmhearted but firm when it came to business.

Taken aback by this attitude I'd never seen from him before, I asked,

"W-Why are you suddenly acting like this?"

"What do you mean, suddenly?"

"You weren't originally like this. You know perfectly well I'm about to starve to death, so why are you suddenly doing this... Did the company tell you to?"

"The company? Bwahaha! Mr. Na Ji-hoon, seriously, where do I even begin explaining this?"

He began rummaging through his briefcase.

After selecting something from the numerous file binders, he pulled out the contents and tossed them in front of me.

Several sheets of A4 paper slid toward me.

"...What is this?"

"See for yourself. Don't expect me to explain every little thing."

"…."

What a damn rude way to talk.

I held down my anger for the moment and examined the documents.

'Na Ji-hoon, quarterly... performance. Account manager: Kim Youngjin.'

Earnings the year before last: 230 million won.

Earnings last year: 23 million won.

This year's first-half earnings... 743,000 won.

"......."

"You see? I didn't even make as much as I would have working at a convenience store while looking after you this month. I don't even have money to buy formula for my kid, damn it. Got it?"

'Convenience-store wages.'

With a rustle, I crumpled the papers.

Then I asked him in a low voice,

"Then what about before that?"

"What?"

"Before that. When was it that you were sucking up to me because you were making money thanks to me, and now you're acting like this?"

"What? No, what an unbelievable bastard. ...Hey, you fucking piece of shit. You hit rock bottom after the Gates appeared ages ago, and you're still on about that...? It's always you worthless bastards who say, 'Back in my day~' For fuck's sake, you moron."

As he said that, he hurled the stack of documents into my face. The white sheets fluttered about, obscuring my vision.

And through that chaotic gap, I saw the luxury watch on his wrist.

It was the five-million-won luxury watch I had given him as a wedding present about three years ago.

There weren't many items capable of measuring time, so it was one of the few possessions that had retained its value even after the Gates appeared.

When he noticed me looking at it, he tucked his arm away.

"...Give it back."

"What?"

"I said give me that watch. I bought it for you, didn't I?"

"What the fuck are you talking about, you fucking bitch? Do you have proof? Ha... no, forget it. I'm leaving, so don't come looking for me again. If you say one more stupid thing about a penalty fee or whatever, I'll kill you."

He jerked to his feet. It was clearly an attempt to flee because he knew he was at a disadvantage.

'Yeah... I never thought he'd give it back.'

I grabbed him by the shoulder—hard.

"What?"

"...Bitch."

"What?"

"You fucking bitch! Give me my money!!!"

SMACK!

I gave him a full-force slap across the face. I was a little worried about what would happen afterward, but I felt somewhat relieved.

But...

...THUD!

"Huh?"

Kim Youngjin lay collapsed, completely motionless.

I approached him and shook him, but blood simply poured from his mouth.

Shattered molars.

A fractured cheekbone.

That day, I realized something.

'Ah... I was an Awakened!'

As soon as he was taken to the hospital, I headed to the Awakened Management Bureau.

...Good. I was going to starve to death anyway, so I might as well work as a Hunter, even if it was dangerous.

***

[Beep—E-rank.]

"Yes—Mr. Na Ji-hoon, you've been confirmed as E-rank. Please check the detailed data on this screen."

Fuck.

"..."

For the record, I wasn't normally a person who swore.

But this time, I couldn't help it.

Mana: 66. Magic type, Life attribute.

'I can't even fire off a Fire Bolt?'

Most E-ranks either tag along as deadweight in D-rank parties or don't work as Hunters at all.

The reason was simple. They made absolutely no money.

They made no money, and their bodies took a brutal beating.

On top of that, I was in the lower-middle tier even among E-ranks. What could a useless magic-type dud who couldn't use even one offensive spell possibly do in a dungeon?

I felt a sense of frustration I had never experienced in my life.

But...

'No.'

I should at least give it a try.

At this rate, I was guaranteed to starve to death, and paying Kim Youngjin's hospital bill was even more impossible.

I decided to give it one shot, and if it didn't work, I'd despair then.

Who knew? Maybe my ability would turn out to be insanely powerful.

Hoping to make a comeback, I headed to the Hunter Academy.

...

However.

If everything worked out just because you made up your mind, would that be life?

"Enrollment? ...The problem is, you're an adult now, so you aren't eligible for a subsidy. It'd be difficult for you to enroll like this. Do you have any other grounds for preferential treatment? Perhaps a family member who's a Hunter?"

"No, I don't."

"......Then I think you'll have to postpone your enrollment. Come back after preparing some tuition, and we'll consult again. I'm sorry."

Nothing ever worked out. I had no choice.

As a last resort, I went to find my family. But naturally, they turned me away at the door, and instead of helping me, they only mocked me.

An adopted child who couldn't even earn money.

That was my new title.

Eventually, unable to deal with either my debts or the law, I fled and survived by moving between the mountains and abandoned buildings.

And before long, I was caught.

The detective handling my case, B-rank Hunter Kang Ilhwan, looked at me with pity and said,

"...E-rank. You're nowhere near capable of repaying the debt. What's your ability?"

"Plant growth."

"Tsk,"

Kang Ilhwan clicked his tongue.

But then his expression slowly changed, and he began blinking.

"Wait...... Plant growth? Stay here and don't move."

BANG!

The police car door slammed shut.

As I stared blankly at it, Kang Ilhwan returned a short while later, wearing a bright expression. He seemed to have gone to make a phone call.

"Wow—you lucked out."

"Huh?"

"If things go well, you might be able to serve your sentence outside prison. You don't want to go to prison, either, right?"

"...?"

'What is he talking about?'

Seeing my bewilderment, Kang Ilhwan began explaining proudly.

"To put it simply..."

I could be assigned to a desert greening mission.

The reason was simple.

In rural areas with low population density, help was slow to arrive when a Gate appeared. As a result, Dungeon Breaks occurred fairly often, frequently ruining an entire year's harvest.

Once a Dungeon Break happened, cleanup took a long time, so reclaiming the land for farming took ages.

In other words, farmland was steadily disappearing. In fact, the prices of crops such as rice, wheat, and corn were rising year after year with no end in sight.

That was how the desert greening plan came about.

"They gather plant-growth Awakeners like you and put them to work cultivating fields. Since there's nothing but desert all around..."

"Then we could just move to another plot if a Dungeon Break happened."

"Exactly. You're not so dumb after all, kid."

As he said that, Kang Ilhwan roughly tousled my hair.

A warmth I hadn't felt in a long time.

I quietly lowered my head.

"Don't cry. Looks like there's a spot for you, so give it your best shot. If you don't cause any trouble and your performance is good, they might even hire you permanently."

"...Thank you for looking out for me. But which desert am I being sent to?"

"Probably the Sahara, I hear. That's the one in Egypt, right?"

'...Egypt.'

It was far away and quiet, which sounded nice.

As soon as I was found guilty in court, I volunteered for the desert greening mission, and everyone was surprised that I knew about the alternative-sentencing system even though it had only recently been established.

As it turned out, Kang Ilhwan had passed along information about a system that hadn't even been publicly announced yet. Without his help, I would have been sent straight to prison.

After offering him a brief but heartfelt thank-you, I boarded the plane.

'Just you wait. Someday I'll come back and repay every kindness and every grudge in kind!'

With that resolve etched into my bones.

...But when I returned to Korea, I was no longer myself.