11. Name
It wasn’t a conclusion reached out of heroism, hope, coincidence, or the power of friendship.
Sword Demon threw a fit, claiming it was a cold and rational decision, and Kim Suho had to bow and scrape in apology.
Tadadadada.
In the distance, a barbecue joint came into view. Near an alleyway, CEO Choi was smoking a cigarette.
“Sorry for being late!”
Stopping in front of the alley, Kim Suho bowed deeply.
“You're here. And like I said on the phone earlier, it’s fine if you skip a day.”
“Still...”
“I said it’s fine. My son asked for some pocket money, so I put him to work. We’ve got enough people.”
“Understood.”
“Oh, and Suho.”
“Yes?”
Kim Suho walked into the alley and squatted beside the boss.
“One week left, right?”
Even if one's ability is lacking, one can still earn good money by tackling low-level gates—especially those with spirit-type monsters.
After much gate activity, Kim Suho had made up his mind to focus on being a Hunter, and told CEO Choi he’d work only until a new part-timer arrived.
“Thank you for everything until now.”
“Suho.”
“Yes.”
“You’ve still got a week left.”
“Haha.”
Seeing Suho’s awkward smile, CEO Choi let out a chuckle.
“How’s the job treating you?”
“It’s fine.”
“You’re not overdoing it?”
“Of course not.”
Kim Suho was living for his family. That’s why CEO Choi had been worried when he heard Suho became a Hunter.
Was he pushing himself too hard for their sake?
That thought crossed his mind. But it wasn’t that. After becoming a Hunter and doing gate work, Suho’s expression had brightened.
Why had it brightened?
He was risking his life fighting monsters—a highly dangerous job. So why did his complexion improve day by day?
“So, uh...”
“…?”
“Do you enjoy the job?”
“Who does a job for fun?”
“Fair enough.”
“Still, maybe it’s because I’m not doing it alone—it’s kind of fun.”
“Teammates?”
“Yes.”
“Then bring them by sometime.”
“Sure… huh?”
Kim Suho looked up at CEO Choi. The boss, cigarette in mouth, was looking right back at him.
“What?”
“…Ah.” He probably thinks they're fellow Hunters.
Kim Suho gave a short chuckle and shook his head.
“I can call them right now.”
“Do it. I’ll feed them so much they can’t move.”
“Yes, sir. Sarang, Sword Demon, Demon King—summon.”
Wooong!
Sarang, Sword Demon, and Demon King were summoned. Magic circles formed mid-air, and they fell from the sky.
Thud.
Sarang landed safely.
-Ma!
Whoosh! Thump!
Sword Demon threw his wooden sword to the ground and caught Demon King with both hands, landing gently.
-Maa!
As soon as Demon King was placed on the ground, it raised both arms triumphantly.
“….”
The sudden appearance of the summons.
CEO Choi’s jaw went slack, his cigarette falling from his mouth as he stared blankly at the creatures.
“I’ll introduce them. This is Sarang, that’s Demon King, and this one’s Sword Demon.”
-Nyaa.
-Maa!
-Ma!
Sarang raised her paw confidently.
Demon King waved its raised arms back and forth.
Lastly, Sword Demon retrieved his wooden sword from the ground and bowed.
“…Wow.”
CEO Choi gave a dazed laugh.
“Demon King? Sword Demon? Do they eat meat too?”
“They only drink water.”
“Hahaha. Then who eats the meat?”
“Me and Sarang.”
CEO Choi shook his head and turned around.
“All right, let’s go in.”
Sunday.
A long-awaited day off—and the first weekend since Demon King and Sword Demon were summoned.
The whole family at Haneul’s house gathered in the dining hall.
Bang! Bang!
It was a long-awaited family meeting.
The meeting was led by high school senior and female rep, Lee Yuna.
“Today, we will decide on names for Demon King and Sword Demon!”
“Waaa!”
Suho’s younger sisters clapped and cheered. His younger brothers, dragged out of bed under duress, yawned or nodded off.
“There was constant opposition.”
The sisters nodded.
Kim Suho sat in the corner chewing peanuts, silently watching the meeting after summoning Demon King and Sword Demon.
“No matter how good the names we came up with, Demon King and Sword Demon kept shaking their heads in rejection.”
Bang!
Lee Yuna slapped the whiteboard and winced in pain, shaking out her stinging hand.
“Demon King said they want a cute name. Two days ago, they seriously considered the name ‘Charming’ when asked.”
“…Charming?”
Kim Suho tilted his head. Next to him, Kang Hanseul was fiddling with her phone.
“It’s Demon King, after all.”
“Technically it’s True Demon King.”
“That’s not the point. They just tried to make ‘True Demon’ sound cute.”
“True? Charm?”
“True. Chamang.”
“But then why ‘Charming’?”
“‘Chamang’ sounded weird, so they twisted it again. So: Charming.”
“….”
“It actually has a good meaning too.”
“Oh? There’s a meaning?”
“Yeah. English.”
Charming: attractive. cool. amazing.
“We’ve narrowed it down and selected final candidates.”
“Waaa!”
Sisters cheered wildly, and the brothers clapped half-heartedly.
“Candidate 1: Chamuchamu.”
“…Wow.”
“Candidate 2: Charmmachamma.”
“…Insane…”
“Candidate 3: Dari.”
“Oh. That one’s somewhat normal.”
“That’s the end.”
“That’s it?”
As Kim Suho muttered to himself, Lee Yuna turned to look at Demon King.
“So cute.”
In a rice bowl filled with water, Demon King poked only its face out. Yuna’s cheeks flushed slightly as she shook her head.
“Demon King? Your Majesty? Mr. Demon King?”
-Maa?
“So cute…”
Demon King tilted its head. Yuna shook her head again.
“Do you like any of these?”
-Maaah.
Demon King looked at the name list with a serious expression.
“Hey, Suho.”
Kang Hanseul called Suho, eyes still on her phone.
“What?”
“Do they know Hangul?”
“They seem to. Don’t know why.”
“English?”
“They understand it, so I guess.”
“Can they write?”
“Nope. They can learn, but so far they can only write a few words.”
“Maybe they have like… language packs installed.”
Muttering softly, Hanseul stared blankly at Demon King and murmured again:
“I want a summon too.”
“…You want a summon for English?”
“Suho. It’s not just English.”
“…?”
“It’s a language pack. What if it's multilingual?”
“….”
Suho was tempted for a second, then scoffed and let the thought go.
-Maaah! Maa!
Demon King rose from the bowl and pointed at the whiteboard.
“What is it saying?”
As the sisters tilted their heads, Demon King waddled across the table to Lee Yuna and raised its arms.
“Huh?”
Yuna turned to Suho.
“Hold out your hand,” he said.
She naturally held out her hand, and Demon King leapt onto it. Her eyes widened.
-Maa!
Demon King pointed to the whiteboard.
Yuna moved closer.
Demon King accepted chalk with both hands and touched it to a name on the reject list—Charming.
“…Oh, you like ‘Charming’?”
-Maa!
[Demon King has received a name.] [Demon King’s name is ‘Charming.’]
“Yuna, it’s decided.”
“Charming?”
“Yeah.”
“They were seriously torn about it two days ago?”
“Maybe they thought it through and chose Charming in the end.”
If it didn’t like it, Demon King would’ve flat-out rejected it or cried—just like when naming Sarang.
“…Then what was I even doing?”
Yuna had gathered name candidates, held votes, narrowed it down—and got ignored.
“What do you mean, what? Wasted your time,” Hanseul said flatly.
Yuna glared at her.
-Maa?
“That, then what about Sword Demon…?”
Before Yuna could finish, Suho raised a hand.
“Oh, forgot to mention—Sword Demon’s name is already decided.”
“Why?!”
“It wasn’t me!”
“Not you?!”
“Nope. Sword Demon chose it themself.”
Yuna turned to look at Sword Demon, who was drinking water from a bowl beside Demon King.
-Ma!
Sword Demon nodded, agreeing with Suho.
Disappointed, Yuna slumped and asked:
“What’s the name?”
“Soma.”
“Oh.”
Cool name.
“Does it have meaning?”
“Yeah.”
“What is it?”
“Sword Master.”
“…Soma is short for that?”
“Bingo.”
“….”
“….”
“Meeting over. Disband.”
Shoulders sagging, Yuna announced the end of the meeting. Laughter filled the dining room.
Some kids left to go nap. Others chatted with friends. A few stood and approached Demon King, Sword Demon, and Sarang—who was baking like a loaf on the window sill.
Click, click, click.
“No posting online.”
“I know.”
A sister nodded.
“If it goes viral, things’ll get messy, right?”
“Politicians might show up.”
“Nah. They’re cute. Celebrities will show up. Definitely.”
“There are so many Hunter-themed shows these days. Broadcasters will come.”
“Not just TV. Streamers too.”
Orphanage. Hunter. Cute summons.
A grown orphan who stayed at the orphanage becomes a Hunter and fights alongside adorable summons.
TV crews will come for the emotion and entertainment.
Scandal-ridden celebs and streamers too—they’ll see this place as their comeback stage.
“Then why even take pics now if we can’t post?”
“….”
The sisters turned away.
“Someday, the world will know.”
“I’ll post it on Insta when that happens.”
“….”
She wasn’t wrong. This won’t stay hidden forever. A minor event—or a big one—will expose the truth.
“Charming.”
-Ma!
Charming raised a hand.
“Sarang?”
-Nyaa?
Still baking on the windowsill, Sarang twitched her ears.
Suho looked up to see his siblings staring at him with sparkling eyes.
“Yuna.”
“What?”
“Take Charming out to the field.”
“Got it!”
Yuna raised a fist and shouted:
“Guys! Let’s go!”
“Waaa!”
With Charming in tow, the kids left the dining hall.
“Tae-soo, go help watch the kids with Sarang.”
“Okay!”
Twelve-year-old Tae-soo left with Sarang.
Now only Sword Demon remained—Soma.
“Soma.”
-Ma!
“Can I learn swordsmanship from you?”
-Ma!
“Okay. Let’s go.”
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