The Way of Life for a Terminal S-Class Hunter - C25
$25
“Of course.”
I wanted to protect him. I hoped the first child I saved would be happy. Even if it was petty, it felt like proof that I deserved to live and breathe.
Lee-han quickly fainted but held tightly onto my clothes, not letting go. He looked so desperate that I couldn’t bring myself to put him down. So I dealt with the remaining monsters while carrying him on my back. Naturally, my movement speed slowed as I was careful not to wake the child.
“Who’s this?”
Seo-heon, who had quickly finished the rescue, looked at Lee-han on my back with disapproval. Unfortunately, Lee-han woke up at that sound, and the two exchanged wary glances.
For the next week, Seo-heon tried every means to separate me and Lee-han, while Lee-han refused to leave my side, like a baby bird following its mother.
In fact, saying he tried to separate us wasn’t quite right – he just called me away saying we had work to do, but that’s how it must have felt to Lee-han. Perhaps because of those memories, even after becoming an adult and joining the Ihwa Guild, Lee-han still followed me well and disliked Seo-heon.
“Lee-han. It wouldn’t hurt to become somewhat friendly with Seo-heon.”
Lee-han held quite an important position in the Ihwa Guild. While there was no friction now because I was there, if he constantly clashed with Seo-heon, things might become quite difficult in the future.
With Lee-han’s special abilities, joining another guild would be no problem. However, if he unfortunately joined a guild with dirty practices, he might just be used. Kind children with power were easy for bad adults to exploit.
“If you say so, hyung, I can force myself to try. But I don’t think he wants to be friends with me either.”
His tone was sharp.
“I’m going to leave the Ihwa Guild. Then there won’t be anyone to mediate between you two.”
“I see… Wait, what did you say?”
Lee-han, who had been lounging, sat up straight and asked. I had tried to hide it from other guild members as much as possible, but I felt I should tell Lee-han, who had joined the guild after seeing me.
“I’m leaving after the S-rank dungeon subjugation. So make up with Seo-heon before then.”
“No. Hyung. Why are you suddenly doing this?”
“I’m just trying to rest, so don’t be so surprised.”
I downed another bitter drink. We had already gone through over six bottles of alcohol.
“There’s no way you’d do this just because you want to rest.”
Lee-han persistently pressed for the reason. Even in the middle of casual conversation, he would suddenly ask “But what’s the real reason you want to leave the guild? You wouldn’t go to another guild, right?” or “Did Kang Seo-heon really do something?”
“It’s really not that. I’ve been working constantly since I turned twenty, so I want to rest. Don’t worry.”
Lately, I found myself saying “don’t worry” a lot. Although it might not be polite to those left behind, I wanted to avoid the painful sight of those around me suffering because of me. I’d rather go somewhere I couldn’t be found and disappear into nothingness.
“I can’t believe you because you always say you’re fine.”
By now, the boundary between formal and informal speech was blurry. Lee-han, slightly tipsy, was just like any young man his age.
“When you said you wanted to become an adult and a hunter, I should have stopped you and told you to go to college.”
Ihwa didn’t officially hire guild members until they became adults. Even though Lee-han, with his special abilities, expressed his desire to work, neither I nor Seo-heon allowed it. We only permitted him to live in our hunter dormitory while attending school.
“I didn’t want to go to college. I was so frustrated that you were against me becoming a hunter.”
“Still, it would have been good to live a normal life. A-rank hunters at least have a way out. They don’t force people to become hunters as much as before.”
“Hunters earn a lot of money, you know. It suits me. Not everyone who studies and goes to college lives a normal life.”
“If that’s the case, then I’m glad.”
I felt sorry, wondering if he had chosen this path thinking it was the only option, but surprisingly, Lee-han seemed satisfied with being a hunter.
“It would have been nice if we had drunk together earlier.”
“We can start from now, can’t we?”
My fingers brushed against Lee-han’s hand as I reached for the empty glass. His grinning expression as he filled the empty glass with alcohol looked unfamiliar.
“From now on, let’s drink often and go out to have fun. Hyung.”
“Shall we?”
It was a promise difficult to keep for someone about to leave. Still, I agreed because I hoped it could be so. Perhaps because I felt guilty about telling a lie I wasn’t good at, I kept drinking. My body felt lighter, and it seemed like the burdens weighing on my shoulders were falling to the floor.
So this is what it feels like to drink and feel good.
I had only experienced drinking in situations that required varying degrees of tension. Perhaps because the tension had loosened, I experienced the pleasant effects of alcohol for the first time.
“Hyung.”
Is calling people and asking questions Lee-han’s drunk habit?
I couldn’t help but smile at his quiet drunken behavior, matching his personality.
“Yes?”
“What do you like about Kang Seo-heon?”
Why are you asking that?
“That he’s kind?”
My words came out opposite to my thoughts.
Is this okay? Well, he’ll probably think I like him as a friend, so it should be fine.
“All that kindness is dead.”
Lee-han’s words were rougher than usual. I thought the kid’s language got a bit harsh when drinking.
“I asked earlier too, but why do you dislike Seo-heon?”
“I dislike anyone who makes you suffer.”
“My suffering isn’t because of him.”
“Yeah, right.”
Lee-han had been treating all my words as lies.
He must have been building up complaints about me without saying anything.
“Lee-han.”
“What?”
“I have a confession to make to you.”
An unidentifiable silence lingered in the room. Lee-han hesitated to answer, probably thinking I was about to drop a bombshell he couldn’t handle.
“What kind of confession?”
“Actually, the reason I’m nice to you isn’t because I’m a good person. I’m telling you this because you seem to be misunderstanding.”
Lee-han had reason to misunderstand, since I had saved him and given him small help before he officially started hunter activities. The alcohol loosened my tongue, making me blurt out embarrassing thoughts without filter.
“You probably know, but I was often cursed at for being a murderer’s son. After becoming an adult, I went to the military and dealt with monsters and hunters doing bad things.”
“That’s right.”
“Then you were the first person I saved. You have no idea how much comfort it gave me to know that I could save someone’s life too.”
For the next year, I actively participated in rescue operations. It wasn’t out of a strong sense of professional duty, but purely for self-satisfaction.
“So I pretended to help you for my own sake. It’s selfish.”
“You become honest when you drink, hyung.”
“Is that so?”
Lee-han fiddled with his glass as he spoke.
“There’s one thing you’re misunderstanding. I don’t like you because you’re a good person.”
It had been so long since I heard someone say they liked me. I vaguely thought that kids these days must express affection naturally even among friends.
“Use me to make yourself feel better if that’s what it takes. It’s okay with you, hyung.”
The foolishly kind Lee-han didn’t seem disappointed even after hearing my true feelings.
“I’ve been acting childish.”
Heat suddenly rushed through my body. I wanted to check how many neatly lined-up bottles had piled up, but the numbers kept getting confused.
“This won’t do. Let’s go home.”
“Let’s drink more before we go.”
It had been a long time since I felt this good.
“I’m starting to feel drunk… Can I sleep in your room, hyung?”
Lee-han’s body swayed back and forth. He seemed really drunk, swaying to the point of dizziness.
“Come here.”
I supported Lee-han, who was taller than me, and came out of the room. At the door, Lee-han said he knew the owner here and would say goodbye, asking me to wait outside. As I obediently went out and stood there, I noticed some college students whispering while glancing at me.
Is there something on my face?
While I was pondering this, three of them who had been stealing glances walked towards me.
“Um, this is my phone number…”
“Hello. Why are you giving me this?”
I asked slowly at the sudden action of giving me a phone number written on a note, not even a business card. No matter how I looked at it, this person wasn’t a hunter I knew or someone related to work.
“If you don’t have a partner right now…”
“What are you doing there?”
Lee-han, who came out of the shop a bit late, asked. The woman who had written her number looked back and forth between Lee-han and me, then carefully said,
“Wait, are you really Baek Woo-hyun?”
“Yes, hello.”
Did they not know I was Baek Woo-hyun?
“I thought you just looked similar. I’m sorry.”
“No wonder he looked so handsome. Where else would you find looks like that?”
The three, with reddened faces, made a commotion among themselves as they entered another restaurant. Only long after the storm had passed did I understand the situation.
If I hadn’t been drinking, I would have caught on faster.
“These days, they don’t ask for numbers but give their numbers…”
Lee-han sighed deeply and pulled on my shoulder. His grip was strong for someone drunk.
“You said you’ve never been drunk before.”
“Yeah. I’m fine. You’re the one who’s drunk.”
“Oh, right.”
Lee-han stumbled over his words and subtly leaned his body towards me.
Well, he drank a lot to keep up with me, so it’s natural he’s drunk.
“Then let’s sleep at my place.”