The Way of Life for a Terminal S-Class Hunter - C102
“Let me come along too.”
Seo-heon seemed to be holding back a lot just by not preventing me from meeting Lee-han. However, I had no intention of agreeing to his request.
“If you’re there, I won’t be able to talk comfortably with Lee-han.”
The car started with a slight jolt. I could tell we were heading towards the guild without checking.
“I won’t ask to be there with the two of you. I’ll stand outside while you talk.”
It felt like that was the Maginot Line of what Seo-heon could endure. I let out a deep sigh.
“Why do you dislike me meeting Lee-han? It’s just a short conversation.”
I asked directly. Seo-heon, who had been eloquent until now, couldn’t easily give an answer. Looking at him made my throat feel scratchy, as if a fishbone was stuck in it.
“Nothing you’re worried about will happen. I don’t have feelings for anyone and won’t date anyone, unlike you.”
Sharp words shot out like protruding nails. Though I didn’t directly say the name, as if it were a taboo word, we both knew who we were talking about. It was ‘Kwon Ho-jun’, whom I had tried hard not to even think about until now.
“Right. I was foolish.”
Seo-heon no longer tried to persuade me about his actions. Instead, he calmly admitted it.
“Use a well-soundproofed conference room if you think I might eavesdrop.”
Yet he still insisted on not being completely separated from me. Having Seo-heon stand outside wouldn’t particularly be a problem. If the person I was meeting wasn’t Lee-han, I would have told him to do so.
“I need to maintain at least minimum courtesy.”
Even with my polite refusal, he showed no sign of listening. I needed to speak firmly once more.
“I won’t leave the guild building, so don’t stand in front of the door.”
In return for Seo-heon taking a step back, I decided to take a step back too. If I hadn’t seen his hands on the steering wheel trembling slightly, I wouldn’t have made such a compromise.
“Alright.”
Judging that I had no room to back down further, Seo-heon agreed readily.
***
The gazes I felt as soon as I got out of the car became more blatant when we entered the guild. It was understandable. My disappearance after the dungeon conquest would have been enough to talk about, but now the guild master had conducted a large-scale manhunt and finally caught me. It was something that even people uninterested in gossip would be curious about.
I would be curious too if I were them.
For someone like me who was uncomfortable with being the center of attention, this situation was poison.
“Woo-hyun, are you hurt anywhere?”
Mi-yeon seemed to take the lead in asking about my well-being.
I guess they can’t ask what they’re really curious about directly.
“I’m sorry for blowing things out of proportion.”
There was no other way to explain besides this. If Lee Hye, who knew about my physical condition, were here, she might have guessed why this happened, but fortunately or unfortunately, she wasn’t present.
“No, it’s not your fault. I don’t know what happened, but I tried to stop even the wanted notice…”
Mi-yeon spoke softly, pretending to watch Seo-heon’s reaction. Though she lowered her voice, she said it knowing Seo-heon would hear. Considering the events of the past few days, it was remarkable that all the office staff hadn’t quit, so this much could be overlooked.
“Mi-yeon, you haven’t done anything wrong.”
“If there’s any fault, it’s the crime of receiving a high salary.”
I played along with Mi-yeon’s joking smile, then subtly brought up the main point. I wanted to leave quickly before more guild members gathered upon hearing news of my return.
“I have something to talk about with Lee-han. Do you know where he might be?”
“Ah, Lee-han should be in Team 1’s office. Shall I call him for you?”
“No, I’ll go find him myself.”
I waved my hand at Seo-heon who was trying to follow.
“I’ll be back, so wait here.”
He, who was habitually trying to follow me, stopped abruptly and clenched his fist.
“Okay. I’ll wait, so come back.”
Without the energy to act perfectly, he left an impression of trying hard to imitate a caring person. Instead of acknowledging that, I moved my feet.
Team 1’s office was located close to the 2nd floor entrance, so I didn’t need to walk far. Just as I arrived and took a deep breath, about to knock-
“Welcome.”
Lee-han opened the door and came out as if he had been waiting. The timing was so perfect that instead of the greeting I had prepared, different words came out.
“How did you know I was coming?”
“I heard the commotion outside and saw you getting out of the car with Kang Seo-heon. Seeing you come all the way to the guild, I figured you must be here to see me.”
I smiled awkwardly, wondering if it had really been that noisy.
“Don’t just stand there, sit down.”
Out of habit, I looked around, but there was no one in the office except Lee-han.
“Our team rarely sticks around the office unless necessary. Team members hardly come in unless they need to write reports.”
Lee-han preemptively blocked any concerns about someone coming in.
“Here, I’m returning this.”
After confirming Lee-han was seated, I took off the watch I had been wearing and handed it to him. Lee-han quickly erased a bitter smile that briefly appeared and received the watch. After quietly observing him, I said:
“I’m glad you don’t seem to be hurt anywhere.”
“I was the only one attacking one-sidedly. He couldn’t move a finger, with an expression like he wanted to kill me but couldn’t.”
“I’m sorry for leaving you behind.”
Lee-han said, “I told you to go,” while tapping the watch.
“Aren’t you going to ask why I gave you a location tracker, or why I told Kang Seo-heon your location?”
“I don’t intend to question it. You judged it necessary, right?”
“Yes. I had two choices.”
Lee-han looked up at the ceiling, then met my eyes again. He looked unwavering, as if he had made some decision.
“One was to use the location tracker to go to you myself after escaping from Kang Seo-heon, and the other was to tell Kang Seo-heon your location. Since you had a promise with me, you would have tried to find a way to live even if I went directly.”
“That’s right. Even with little time left, I would have at least tried to find a way to extend my life force.”
“Yet I fell for Kang Seo-heon’s words that he knew the only way to save you. If I had been confident in myself, I would have ignored those words.”
His clenched fist lightly hit the desk. It was a weak movement, as if he couldn’t bear it without expressing his frustration somehow, but didn’t want to threaten.
“I made excuses about not wanting to go back with the easiest way for you to live, but I lacked confidence. I had a feeling that while he could do it, I couldn’t.”
I didn’t bother asking ‘what’ he meant.
“So I chose the latter. I chose the safe and certain method. Instead, I planned to step in once more if he failed to persuade you. Fortunately, that chance didn’t come back.”
The word ‘fortunately’ buzzed like the sound of wind brushing through an empty space.
“I guess I hoped you would live even by someone else’s side rather than dying next to me.”
“Thank you. I wouldn’t have endured without you by my side. I probably would have been hiding alone, dying.”
Lee-han’s lips trembled slightly. The smile he had barely managed to maintain crumbled, and moisture filled its place. His scarred hands covered it.
“I’m glad if I was of help to you. Let’s consider our debts settled with this.”
The debt was practically mine alone.
“Alright.”
But this was a debt I had to bear entirely on my own. I couldn’t hold back Lee-han who was trying to settle things cleanly to lighten the weight on my heart.
“I’ll only come to Ihwa Guild until tomorrow. Don’t misunderstand, I’m leaving of my own accord. I have no lingering attachments since I joined because of you in the first place.”
The clean desk didn’t seem to be just because it wasn’t used often.
“Do you have any plans?”
“I’m thinking of traveling and resting a bit.”
Lee-han slowly removed his hand from his face. No moisture had seeped out.
“You’ve made your choice too?”
“Yes. I’ve decided to try living as much as I can.”
Lee-han made his choice by sending Seo-heon to me, and I made mine by not being able to ignore Seo-heon’s wounds.
“Then I have more things to sort out. You must have a lot to do too, so you should go now.”
Lee-han stood up, politely asking me to leave. It was a kind dismissal, considerate of me. There was so much I wanted to say, but it was better not to speak.
Saying sorry would be rude, and saying let’s meet again would be burdensome.
“I’ll be going then.”
I turned my back and grabbed the doorknob.
“You’re still my benefactor. Please remember that.”
Lee-han said his final words, as if exhaling a held breath.
“Saving you was the best thing I’ve ever done.”
I answered without looking back. And with that, the door between Lee-han and me closed.