The Way of Life for a Terminal S-Class Hunter - C2
$02
Even I thought my tone was calm. After being affiliated with the guild for 6 years, I wasn’t without regrets and attachments, but these were emotions that would become useless as my life came to an end.
“What?”
In contrast, Seo-heon, as if he had never imagined this, visibly stiffened from his mouth and his expression turned cold. It was a natural reaction for a guild leader.
“You might not have known, but the contract was until this month.”
In fact, it was a formal contract that neither of us paid much attention to. From the beginning, the contract terms were favorable to me, and the annual renewal proceeded naturally without anyone mentioning it.
‘That ends today too.’
The sound of tapping on the desk was heard repeatedly.
“Why? It’s not like you’ve been scouted by another place.”
Although his voice was bright, Seo-heon’s eyes were still cold. The temperature in the room dropped drastically. This wasn’t a metaphorical expression; actual cold air flowed. Perhaps because his emotions were greatly shaken, Seo-heon’s skill control, which mainly dealt with ice, seemed to have faltered.
I didn’t think he would get this angry. I tried to calculate in my head, but it was difficult to understand. It was too much to be angry about losing one machine part. Although that part was of good quality, Seo-heon should be able to find a replacement without any trouble.
“I want to rest a bit too. After awakening, I’ve been running breathlessly for 10 years, so it’s natural to be tired.”
“Hmm… Is that so? That could be.”
Seo-heon nodded, though he clearly hadn’t accepted it at all.
“But Woo-hyun, you need to act responsibly.”
It was a rational tone that made the anger he had just expressed seem like a lie. The cold air that had spread throughout the room also disappeared. However, in its place, a sudden fear and pressure rushed in.
I can’t breathe.
If I were a hunter below A-rank, I might have fallen to my knees immediately. It was a fear like being a herbivore standing in front of a predator.
[A-rank skill, Fear Immunity activates. Fear towards the opponent disappears.]
The skill that detected the crisis automatically turned on, and my heartbeat returned to normal. Even though we’re both S-rank, Seo-heon and I are really different. Even without my emotions, there would have been no way to beat him. The problem was that a small bird like me tried to chase after such a tall crane by overusing my skills.
While I staggered slightly, paying the price for carelessly turning off my mental skills, Seo-heon was quietly observing me.
“I’m not saying I’ll quit right away. I’ll prepare for the handover and participate in the upcoming S-rank dungeon subjugation together. It’s an important project, after all.”
The S-rank dungeon subjugation, which we had rarely succeeded in predicting its generation, was the task our Ihwa Guild was putting the most effort into. Once that was resolved, I wanted to spend the remaining year doing things I wanted to do after leaving the guild.
I had even made a small bucket list of trivial things like visiting the school I used to attend or going to see the ocean. In fact, I had thought about making a heartfelt confession to Seo-heon before dying, but I quickly gave up on that idea. A friend’s last words being a confession… I shook my head inwardly. It would probably become a nightmare. I didn’t want to leave such a bad impression on Seo-heon.
The confession that I couldn’t send 9 years ago, and again 3 years ago, was better left buried forever. There’s always a reason for letters that don’t reach their destination.
“I guess I’ve been neglecting you lately.”
After thinking to himself for a while, Seo-heon came to an unexpected conclusion and stood up without hesitation.
“If you still want to leave in a month, you can do so.”
“What?”
“I can’t accept it right now.”
A long shadow was cast.
“We’re not the kind of people who can be defined by just a piece of paper like this, are we?”
Seo-heon tore up the resignation letter in front of my eyes. It was something I had spent quite a long time thinking about and writing, but he was still as willful as ever. Moreover, it was annoying how skillfully he mixed in words that would make me react sensitively. As he intended, my conscience was pricked and hurt.
“It’s not like we’ll never see each other again just because I leave the guild.”
My once-confident voice faltered. Seo-heon’s words made my resolve weaken. Moreover, I felt ashamed because I had partially lied, intending to minimize the time I would spend with Seo-heon during my remaining days.
“Really?”
Seo-heon asked sharply, as if he had read my mind. Seo-heon definitely doesn’t have any special mental skills. Even if he did, it shouldn’t be strong enough to break through my mental barrier level, so why does it feel like he’s reading me like an open book?
While I was at a loss for words, Seo-heon came to his own conclusion.
“I guess I’ll have to try courting our dear Vice Guild Master to keep him around.”
“What?”
His conclusion was so hard to accept for an ordinary person that I repeated the question like a fool. Even though he has a lover, he’s acting like this probably because he only thinks of me as a friend. My heart, which skipped a beat at such trivial words, started to feel a bit pathetic.
“For a month, I’ll do whatever you ask. Let’s start by having a meal and talking.”
Despite my big decision, Seo-heon easily swayed me as always. Whoever said that the one who loves more loses is truly wise. I, who was hopelessly in love with Seo-heon, was always destined to be the loser.
“Seo-heon!”
As we left the office, Kwon Ho-jun, who had been waiting outside, ran to Seo-heon as if even the brief separation had been difficult. The guild members found Kwon Ho-jun, who was more like the guild leader’s lover than a fellow guild member, uncomfortable. So they had all cleared out, leaving the surrounding area empty.
“Why are you standing here instead of sitting down?”
“I wanted to see you quickly.”
He’s a person full of love. He was a different being from me, who was becoming increasingly empty.
Is that why Seo-heon came to like him? Seo-heon was smiling with satisfaction as he watched Kwon Ho-jun snuggle up to him affectionately. Every time I discovered evidence of their love for each other, I learned to give up.
***
The first time I decided I should give up on love was on my birthday three years ago. We had a few unspoken rules, and one of them was to spend time alone together on each other’s birthdays.
So on that day too, if things had been normal, I would have spent the day having a meal or something with Seo-heon, just the two of us. Depending on the mood, we might have had a drink or gone to see the ocean. I, who cherished such small things, had been looking forward to my birthday.
[Of all days, a party today.]
Contrary to my expectations, the rule was broken. It was because of a government-level party. On the surface, it was to celebrate Ihwa Guild’s successful S-rank dungeon subjugation in collaboration with a foreign guild. Although it was a foreign dungeon, it was the second case of a Korean-affiliated guild successfully conquering an S-rank dungeon, so I was tipped off that it would be quite a grand affair.
It deserved to be grand. We had to submit a portion of the resources obtained overseas to the state. And this party was a place for undercurrent fights over how to divide the resources obtained from the dungeon.
Just imagining the power struggle among politicians made my head throb.
[How is it?]
Seo-heon appeared in front of me, wearing a formal suit, as I was clutching my head. His face, which looked like a sculpture even when smeared with monster blood, was shining excessively with just a bit of grooming.
[It’s fine.]
I forced a grumpy voice. Seo-heon leaned in slightly and whispered.
[You look pretty.]
His low bass tickled my ears. I felt dizzy at Seo-heon’s playful words.
Did I really look pretty to Seo-heon? If so, I would want for nothing else. Even if I looked like a monster to others, I wished those words were sincere.
[Why are you saying such things to a man?]
I weakly protested, not even thinking to hide my reddened face.
[I’m saying it because it’s you.]
Listening to Seo-heon’s words made me feel loved too. The more time we spent together, the more the pain of the past dissolved, and my feelings for Seo-heon kept growing. Thanks to that, I let my guard down.
Wouldn’t it be okay to confess today? If he only thinks of me as a friend, I’ll ask him to forget about today as a birthday gift. Seo-heon is kind, so he’ll pretend not to know.
If I had been a little more mature, I wouldn’t have had such thoughts, but unfortunately, I was young then and chasing vain possibilities.
[Shall we go somewhere after the event tonight?]
[Where do you want to go?]
[I’ll think about it.]
[Anywhere would be fine.]
Throughout the ceremony, I thought about where to go with Seo-heon. Because of that, even the uncomfortably formal party seemed bearable. I had even secretly searched for restaurants with a good atmosphere that were open late and made a reservation at a nearby hotel restaurant.
[That was Kang Seo-heon, the leader of Ihwa Guild.]
Seo-heon finished his words of gratitude for receiving the medal and came down from the podium. I, whose mind had been completely elsewhere, quickly approached Seo-heon.
[Kang Seo…]
However, before I could reach him, someone else cut in front of me. The man, who was about 10cm shorter than me, looked pretty and delicate, appearing lovable to anyone who saw him.
[Seo-heon!]
He grabbed Seo-heon’s arm with a bright smile. Seo-heon, who usually subtly avoided when touched by someone other than me, for some reason naturally accepted his skinship. I stopped in my tracks.