.｡.:✧ Chapter 1 ✧:.｡.

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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It had been a long time since I visited the court.

“Your documents have been submitted, sir,” the clerk said.

I thought she would have an awkward expression, but she seemed already accustomed to this task, continuing with the next task without anything unusual.

I pushed open the glass door and walked out of the entrance with heavy, powerless steps.

“Is it over?” she asked, taking her lips off the coffee she was drinking.

“Yeah.”

“So now we’re strangers?”

“I guess so.”

It really was the end.

I wondered how many times I had to face this end… When would I get used to this feeling?

“Live well. And don’t make another woman like me…” The person who was my wife until just 10 minutes ago trailed off.

“Just live alone.”

With those words, she walked away from me, her high heels clicking.

The weather was unusually clear.

This was my third divorce as an S-rank hunter.

* * *

[Breaking news. It has been confirmed that the rumors of divorce of Choi In-wook, the strongest S-rank hunter representing Korea, were true!]

[It’s not for nothing that they say heroes have many beauties! With that level of wealth and power, it’s true that he could get married 10 more times without any problems!]

[Surprisingly, did you know that all of his spouses were alumni of the same academy?!]

[Then, here begins the special feature on the legendary star hunters who were his wives!]

Crash!

I threw the remote control at the screen with all my might.

The screen shattered and glass shards scattered across the floor.

They were babbling without knowing anything.

I plopped down on the sofa and grabbed my head.

Sigh…

I picked up my carelessly discarded jacket and took out a cigarette to light it.

The fact that I could smoke inside the house felt even more painful.

It was really the last time…

It was the first.

She was the woman who married me even knowing I was infertile.

But I ended up losing her by repeating my stupid mistakes.

What’s the use of being an S-rank hunter?

If I can’t protect my own person.

The various medals and trophies hanging on the wall felt ridiculous.

I flicked the cigarette ash on the floor without an ashtray.

Even after inhaling until my lungs burned, I didn’t feel any better, so I grabbed a bottle of liquor from the cabinet and gulped it down.

The feeling of my throat burning.

The drunkenness that quickly rose.

I walked up to the rooftop terrace with the liquor bottle in hand.

The scenery allowed only to the most expensive top floor of the ultra-luxury officetel seemed meaningless.

What’s the point of such things when there’s no one to share the view with?

Perhaps because it was so high up, I couldn’t even see the people walking on the street properly.

But having lost everything, I felt no fear at all.

Yes, let’s die.

Even if I’m not an S-rank, in the next life…

I hoped for a healthy and happy married life.

* * *

“In-wook! You have to wake up!”

Mom…?

It was a familiar voice.

“Hey, In-wook. Didn’t you say you’re starting school today? Can you really sleep in this late?”

Sch… ool…?

It didn’t take long to sense that something was wrong.

The 3-bedroom apartment where I lived with my parents before properly becoming a hunter.

I had woken up there.

Thinking I might still be dreaming or in the afterlife, I slapped my cheek with all my might, but nothing happened.

My poor cheek, still plump before becoming wrinkled with age, turned red and swollen.

Looking in the mirror, I had no choice but to acknowledge it then.

For whatever reason, I had returned to before entering the academy.

“In-wook! Why aren’t you coming out to eat… Oh my!”

Seeing my much younger mom, I was newly delighted.

“What happened to your cheek! Who hit you?”

I silently got up and hugged my mom tightly.

When I was over thirty, my mom’s health deteriorated rapidly.

I tried to improve her condition somehow, saying money wasn’t an issue, but I was only told it was beyond modern medicine’s capabilities.

In the end, my mom spent 10 years in the hospital in a vegetative state.

“Really, did something happen…?”

Her worried voice.

“No. Nothing happened… I’m just happy to see you.”

Tears welled up.

“Mom. What’s the date today?”

“It’s March 1st. No matter how much you sleep, how could you forget… Are you really okay? Son?”

Memories started coming back little by little.

If my memory served me right, today, I would meet those girls for the first time.

My ex-wives from my past life.

Ha… Should I run away…?

Frankly, I didn’t have the confidence to face them nonchalantly again.

But at the same time, to live as a hunter in this life too, entering the academy was indispensable.

What to do…

The current time was 8:30. The entrance ceremony would start at 11:00.

I had about 2 hours.

Alright.

Let’s check just one thing first.

Wearing the academy uniform for the first time in decades, I couldn’t help but feel nostalgic.

The blazer was pure white now, but by the time of graduation, it would be filled with brooches for student council president, valedictorian, and whatnot.

After hastily finishing the meal my mom made, I left saying I’d be back and ran out to the street.

Perhaps because I hadn’t fully trained my body yet, I felt out of breath after just a short run.

And the place I arrived at after running like crazy was none other than…

The urology clinic.

Although it wasn’t opening time yet, I stood at the entrance first.

The nurses and doctors arriving for work all looked at me with puzzled eyes.

I could understand.

After all, how often would a young man who seems to have a bright future ahead of him visit a urology clinic at 9 AM, dripping with sweat?

At least in my previous life, I had never experienced it.

Ding dong.

“Choi In-wook. Please come in,” the doctor’s voice came through.

A middle-aged doctor checked my chart and tilted his head.

“Mr. Choi In-wook. Age 20. Is there something urgent or painful that brought you here?”

The doctor also seemed curious about the reason for my visit.

“Well, you see…”

* * *

This life was different.

I… was not infertile.

Receiving the test results, I asked again and again.

[Doctor! Can I really have children?]

[Hoho. Why is a young person worrying so much? You’re healthy, so don’t worry.]

[Really? You’re certain it’s possible for me, right?]

[Are you doubting my credentials now? Even though I may look like this, my urology career is…]

My heart raced.

I felt like I could achieve the one dream I couldn’t fulfill as a top-ranked hunter in this life.

Goodbye to the eels, oysters, and garlic I ate so often to the point of being sick of them.

Would it be possible for me too? A normal married life…?

And a thought that naturally followed.

I remembered something I had briefly forgotten.

If I were to get married… the other person would be…

Three women flashed through my mind.

Two people I divorced due to infertility.

One person I lost simply due to my own mistakes.

Surprisingly, all of them were at the academy I would be attending starting today.

* * *

The entrance of the academy was bustling with students.

After quickly glossing over the principal’s typical pep talk and greetings at the entrance ceremony, I was looking at the bulletin board to find my class like the other students.

Aish… Which class was it again?

I was pretty sure it was either class 5 or 7.

Maybe because I was old, I couldn’t remember properly.

Scanning the list with my eyes, I finally found my name.

[Choi In-wook. Class 7]

I thought it was class 5, what a shame. Tsk.

I followed the crowd to the classroom.

As usual at the beginning of the semester, I noticed groups of people and lonely individuals.

Since I didn’t recognize their faces now, it meant I wouldn’t need to know these people in the future either.

They were sure to either die somewhere or be low-rank hunters.

But. As expected, the person I could never forget caught my eye.

Yoon Ha-rin.

The woman who was my first wife.

Sitting by the window, she turned her head and looked in my direction.

Perhaps I had been staring blankly for too long.

She seemed to have noticed my gaze.

Seeing my ex-wife’s appearance from when she was young felt strange.

Right… I had lost my mind over that black hair and cute looks.

Feeling awkward, I turned my head and sat in any remaining seat.

Soon, the person who was the homeroom teacher came in.

“Now. Everyone brought their prepared self-introduction letters, right?”

Oh? Did I bring that?

Actually, I had just grabbed my bag and left, not checking what was inside at all.

Rummaging through my bag, I found a self-introduction letter filled densely in a folder.

I smiled in amusement at the [Become the strongest hunter on Earth and roam the world] written in the aspiration section.

It went somewhat similarly though.

As I was lost in memories for a moment, the person in the very back started collecting the self-introduction letters.

A student clearly passed by me, but for some reason, my self-introduction letter remained in my seat.

What did they take? They picked something up.

The homeroom teacher called out each name one by one to check if everyone submitted properly.

“Choi Bo-mi. Yoon Hye-sun. Park Jeong-min. Hm? What’s this?”

He took out a sheet of paper with a puzzled look.

“Choi In-wook.”

“Yes?”

He asked me as I was checking what paper the previous student had taken.

“Wow. At your age, you went and got this kind of test~ You youngster.”

It seemed the previous student had mistakenly taken my test results.

“But you’re healthy! You won’t have to worry about having babies, hoho.”

At that moment-

Thud.

The sound of a pencil case falling loudly came from the window seat.

…For some reason, Yoon Ha-rin was looking at me with trembling eyes.

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