The Way of Life for a Terminal S-Class Hunter - C34
$34
Seo-heon persistently continued the act, holding me who was on the verge of fainting.
“No matter how soundproof the dorm is, don’t you think you’re crying too much?”
While saying this, Seo-heon kept tormenting me relentlessly on the windowsill and in the bathroom.
I briefly lost consciousness feeling him pour into me.
***
When I opened my eyes, surprisingly not much time had passed. I thought it would be morning based on how I felt, but it was still dawn. Moreover, my body was unusually clean.
Did he do it in the bathroom and wash me?
Judging by how fresh my clothes felt, it seemed he had even dressed me. The very person who had done all this didn’t even move his lips despite noticing I was awake.
“What are you doing?”
“Checking if the seal has been erased.”
No wonder he kept touching my nape, he was checking if his actions had been effective enough.
“How is it?”
“Almost no trace left. At this rate, it will completely disappear by tomorrow.”
It was fortunate for both of us.
“Seo-heon. Shall we go out for a walk?”
He nodded obediently, perhaps remembering that he had agreed to talk with me.
In the pre-dawn darkness, we walked for a long time without speaking. There was no destination; we just moved forward as our feet led us. Strangely, even though we were walking together, it didn’t feel like we were walking together. Just like our relationship had been so far.
“Why are you hesitating so much to say something?”
“Can you make time tomorrow? We have things to talk about, don’t we? Like our future relationship, what we should do from now on, things like that.”
Seo-heon might not have known, but this was the first time I had suggested going somewhere since Kwon Hojun appeared.
“If you say to make time, I’ll make it.”
The same sweet answer as always came back. I nodded.
“Then let’s meet at the park we used to go to often in high school, at 2 pm tomorrow.”
Seo-heon stood close enough to touch me at any moment. I was afraid he might hear my heartbeat.
“I hope you’re not having bad thoughts.”
“It won’t be bad for you.”
From now on, I wanted to walk alone rather than walking together meaninglessly. I wanted the path to my death to be light and cheerful because I was alone, rather than painful because we were together.
That’s why I wanted to be greedy one last time.
Tomorrow, that is, this Saturday, was the death anniversary of my parents and Seo-heon’s father.
“Alright. Tomorrow at 2 pm, at the park we used to go to often in high school.”
Seo-heon repeated the time and place of the promise. I nodded and then abruptly asked.
“You’ll come, right?”
Some kind of premonition flashed by. Due to that ominous feeling, I ended up asking a doubtful question right after receiving the promise. Seo-heon laughed with a whistling sound, probably finding it absurd.
“Have I ever broken a promise to you? Why are you feeling uneasy?”
“No reason.”
During our student days, I sometimes postponed appointments with Seo-heon. On the other hand, Seo-heon had never broken a promise even once. So my doubt had no basis.
“I have nothing tomorrow. I’ll be there on time, so don’t worry.”
I had no choice but to nod.
***
Saturday, the long-awaited weekend dawn mission was simple. It was just about going around the outskirts of the city to check if there were any signs of dungeon appearances. The appearance of dungeons was like earthquakes, impossible to predict 100%, but there were areas that were somewhat separated as danger zones.
By directly checking these selected areas, we could quickly determine if dungeons had appeared through traces of monsters or subtle changes in terrain. Since B-grade or lower dungeons became the property of the guild that discovered them first, some guilds were desperate for exploration.
Ihwa periodically went out on explorations to gain priority in case of A-grade or higher dungeon appearances, and today was that day.
“It’s been a while since we worked together.”
This time, Lee-han’s team was dispatched. I participated in the exploration by joining the team.
“You don’t need to come out for these trivial tasks, hyung.”
“I can’t just idle around when I’ve only just returned.”
I hated desk work or meaninglessly killing time from the start. But since I didn’t enjoy much outside of work except reading, there was no reason to idle around. Today, the pain and skill forced termination time were still far off, so I felt more at ease participating in the search.
“But did Team 1 need to come out for this sector that’s not even a high-risk area? You could have requested another team.”
“I applied. I thought the team members were getting restless and we should come out soon anyway.”
Team 1 had many particularly vigorous members, so it made sense.
Even I, who was relatively calm, felt stuffy if indoor activities went on for too long, so it was natural for Team 1, with a lower average age and more dynamic members, to feel worse.
“I also wanted to talk with you, hyung.”
“Huh?”
Lee-han added belatedly. Then, in a deliberately serious voice, he asked.
“Are you really not going to tell me what Halo said?”
He didn’t even call him Mr. Halo. As expected, while some people liked his light impression, quite a few found it unpleasant.
“It was just a joke. I don’t know why he did that to me, but it wasn’t something worth fighting over. It wasn’t particularly important talk either.”
Everyone in that conference room must have been curious. But there really wasn’t anything I could tell. He did act as if he had read my future, but even that wasn’t certain.
“Could it be that he has ulterior motives towards you, hyung? They say men offer to read palms for people they’re interested in, so he might be trying to make a move by offering to see your future.”
There was a momentary silence at this completely out-of-the-blue remark. I soon laughed out loud for the first time in a while. Lee-han looked aggrieved, not understanding why I was laughing when he had made a reasonable deduction.
“No, why would Halo make a move on me? By the way, have you ever tried to seduce someone by offering to read their palm?”
Lee-han’s face turned red in an instant.
“That’s impossible. I don’t do such childish things.”
Imagining Lee-han reading someone’s palm to hold the hand of someone he liked was hard to picture, but it was cute in its own way.
“Team leader.”
At that moment, a team member who approached briskly had slightly shaking eyes.
Did something happen during preparation?
“Preparations are complete. Let’s, let’s depart.”
“Alright.”
The team member, despite his nervous appearance, conveyed the ordinary message that preparations were complete.
His trembling didn’t subside easily, but why he was so nervous remained a mystery. I could only guess that maybe it was because he was a newcomer on his third mission.
“Search begins.”
As expected, 30 minutes into the search, not a speck of monster traces was found. Instead, we met some people who were curious about us and filming.
“This area will be accessible after the search is complete.”
Lee-han spoke stiffly in a businesslike manner when people approached. The people who were watching carefully retreated hesitantly beyond the boundary line. Lee-han was quite shy with strangers.
“From here, we’ll proceed in separate groups. Form pairs of three each, and as you already know, include one A-grade hunter in each team. Reports every ten minutes in order. Teams that finish surveying report immediately.”
“What about me?”
After the nearby search was completed, teams were formed to explore the wider outskirts. As I had joined the team, I looked around to join other team members, but they had already formed teams with familiar people.
“Since it’s just the two of us left, we can go together.”
I watched Lee-han give orders like a borrowed sack of barley. Unless it was about overseeing the whole operation, there wasn’t much for me to direct in my current position, which was practically just being invited to the team. The team members dispersed according to Lee-han’s words, and eventually only the two of us were left.
“Hyung. I saw you going somewhere with the guild master yesterday.”
Lee-han seemed to want to know my every move, as he had many questions. The intensity with which he asked right after the subordinates left was quite fierce.
“When did you see that?”
“I just happened to see it?”
The answer that followed calmly was tinged with worry. Such straightforward kindness was rare these days.
How could he have grown into such a sensitive child?
“There’s nothing to worry about. I just decided to sort out my feelings.”
“Sort out your feelings…?”
“Yes, I decided to come to my own conclusion when we meet today.”
Since my feelings had already been exposed, I answered without hesitation. Lee-han, who had many curiosities, became my bamboo forest.
“Then…”
Lee-han, who was about to say something urgently, shut his mouth. I looked at Lee-han, curious about what he was going to say next, but the sound from the device was faster than Lee-han’s lips moving.
[Team A, no abnormalities.]
[Team B, no abnormalities.]
Reports continued. Lee-han’s mouth remained tightly shut.
“I’ll tell you after waiting a bit more.”
My question mark grew darker. But since there was no value in answers obtained by prying, I chose to wait together.
After that, we finished the search blandly while having everyday conversations. Other team members also reported completion one by one and gathered at the meeting place.
Whirr.
At that moment, my phone rang with a loud vibration. The screen showed “Mi-yeon”.
Why did she contact me on my personal phone instead of the dedicated device?
“Aack!”
Just as I was about to answer the call, I saw a person falling from the sky at an incredibly fast speed with a loud noise.