Lee-Min read the contract once, then twice, then a third time, but the words didn't make sense. His father's name was at the top of the document, and it was dated fifteen years ago, just before he died.
"This... this can't be real."
Lee-Min said, his voice shaking. The man from the Hunters Guild stood there patiently, waiting for him to process what he was reading.
The contract was written in formal language that was hard to understand, but the main points were clear. His father, Seong Joon-Ho, had borrowed money from the Hunters Guild to cover some kind of emergency. The amount was massive — enough to buy a house, enough to change their lives forever.
But his father had died before he could pay it back.
"Your father was a good man."
The man said, his voice softer now. "He was a low-level hunter, F-rank, but he was brave. He died protecting civilians during a gate break in Seoul."
Lee-Min looked up from the contract, his eyes filled with confusion and anger.
"My father wasn't a hunter. He was a construction worker. He died in an accident at a construction site owned by the hunter's guild before he was killed."
The man shook his head.
"That's what your mother told you to protect you. The truth is, your father was registered with the Hunters Guild. He hid it from his family because he knew how dangerous it was. The money he borrowed... it was for your mother's medical bills."
Lee-Min's world started spinning. His mother had been sick before? His father had been a hunter? Everything he thought he knew about his family was a lie.
"What medical bills? My mother was never sick when I was a kid."
"She was pregnant with your sister, but there were complications. The doctors said she might die during childbirth, and the treatment to save her was expensive. Your father borrowed the money to pay for it, and it worked. Your mother survived, and Min-Jae was born healthy."
Lee-Min felt like he was going to be sick. His father had risked everything to save his mother and sister, and he had died before he could pay back the debt. And now, fifteen years later, the debt was coming back to haunt them.
"But there's more."
The man continued, and Lee-Min's heart sank. How could there be more?
"Your father added a clause to the contract. He requested that if his family ever found themselves in a medical emergency again, the Hunters Guild would help them. In exchange, if he had a son who was physically capable, that son would join the Hunters Guild to work off the debt."
Lee-Min stared at the contract, and there it was, written in his father's handwriting: "If my family needs help, and if my son is able, he will serve the Guild as I have served."
"You're telling me that my father sold me to the Hunters Guild?"
Lee-Min's voice was getting louder, and he could feel people in the hallway starting to stare at them. The man from the Guild looked uncomfortable, but he didn't back down.
"He was trying to protect his family. He knew that if something happened to him, you would need support. This contract ensures that support."
"And what if I refuse?"
The man adjusted his glasses again and looked at Lee-Min with sympathetic eyes.
"Then your mother doesn't get the treatment she needs. The Guild has already agreed to cover all of her medical expenses — the chemotherapy, the medications, the hospital stays, everything. But only if you honor your father's contract."
Lee-Min felt like he was trapped in a nightmare. His father had made a deal with the devil, and now he was the one who had to pay the price. But his mother was dying, and this was the only way to save her.
"What would I have to do?"
He asked, his voice barely above a whisper. The man opened his briefcase again and pulled out another set of documents.
"You would register as a hunter with the Guild. You would go through basic training, and then you would be assigned to missions. The debt your father owed, plus interest, comes to about five hundred million won (about three hundred and sixty five thousand dollars). Based on your current level, it would take approximately five years of active service to pay it off."
Five years. Five years of doing the one thing he had sworn he would never do. Five years of being part of the organization that had taken his father away from him.
"What if I'm not strong enough? What if I fail the training?"
The man looked at him with an expression that was almost pitiful.
"Then you would be assigned to support roles. Clean-up crews, equipment maintenance, administrative work. The pay would be lower, so it would take longer to pay off the debt, but you would still be contributing."
Lee-Min thought about his mother lying in the hospital bed, about Min-Jae crying beside her, about the doctor saying they needed to start treatment immediately. He thought about Rena calling him weak and pathetic, about Ryo's smug smile, about everything that had gone wrong in his life.
"If I sign this, my mother gets the treatment she needs?"
"Yes. The Guild will cover all medical expenses starting immediately. You have my word."
Lee-Min looked at the contract again, at his father's signature at the bottom. Seong Joon-Ho had made this choice to save his family, and now Lee-Min had to make the same choice.
"I need to think about it."
"Of course. But don't take too long. Your mother's condition is serious, and every day counts."
The man handed him a business card.
"My name is Park Dong-Sik. I'm the Guild's recruitment coordinator. Call me when you've made your decision."
Lee-Min took the card and watched as the man walked away, his footsteps echoing in the empty hallway. He stood there for a long time, holding the contract and the business card, feeling like he was standing at the edge of a cliff.
He walked back to his mother's room, where Min-Jae was still sleeping in the chair. His mother was awake now, and she smiled when she saw him.
"Lee-Min, you look upset. What's wrong?"
He sat down beside her bed and took her hand. She was so weak, so fragile, but her eyes were still filled with the same warmth and love he had always known.
"Mother, I need to ask you something, and I need you to tell me the truth."
She looked at him with concern, and he could see that she knew what he was going to ask.
"Was father a hunter?"
Her eyes filled with tears, and she nodded slowly.
"Yes, he was. I'm sorry I lied to you, Lee-Min. I wanted to protect you from that world."
"And he borrowed money from the Guild to pay for your treatment when you were pregnant with Min-Jae?"
"Yes. I was so sick, and the doctors said... they said I might not make it. Your father did what he had to do to save me."
Lee-Min squeezed her hand gently.
"And now they want me to join the Guild to pay off his debt."
His mother's eyes widened in shock.
"No. No, you can't. I won't let you do that. I won't let you sacrifice your life for me."
But Lee-Min had already made his decision. He looked at his mother, at the woman who had given him everything, who had loved him unconditionally, who had never asked for anything in return.
"I'm going to do it, Mother. I'm going to save you."
"Lee-Min, no. Please. That world... it killed your father. It will kill you too."
"Maybe. But if I don't do it, you'll die for sure. And I can't live with that."
He stood up and kissed her forehead.
"I love you, Mother. And I'm going to make sure you get better."
He walked out of the hospital room, pulling out his phone and dialing the number on Park Dong-Sik's business card. The man answered on the first ring.
"I'll do it. I'll sign the contract."
There was a pause on the other end of the line.
"Are you sure? This is not a decision you can take back."
Lee-Min looked back at his mother's room, at the woman who had given him life, who had raised him with love and sacrifice.
"I'm sure. When do I start?"
"Tomorrow. Come to the Guild headquarters at 9 AM. We'll begin your registration process."
Lee-Min hung up the phone and stood in the hospital hallway, feeling like he had just signed his own death warrant. But his mother would live, and that was all that mattered.
He was no longer just Lee-Min, the weak and pathetic man that Rena had thrown away. He was now Lee-Min, the hunter. And he had no idea what kind of monster he was about to become.
The fluorescent lights above him flickered, and for a moment, the hallway looked like it was filled with shadows. He walked toward the elevator, his footsteps echoing in the empty corridor, and he couldn't shake the feeling that he was walking toward his own doom.
But he kept walking anyway, because sometimes love means sacrificing everything, even your own soul.