The Way of Life for a Terminal S-Class Hunter - C36
$36
My hands were sweating.
Today was to be the funeral for my parents that I had failed to hold, as well as a funeral for my own heart. And though undeserving, I hoped Seo-heon would be the sole mourner.
Isn’t it too sad a death if not even a funeral can be held?
Dark clouds were gathering ominously. The blue sky was rapidly stained with gray paint. It was 2 o’clock, the appointed time. Seo-heon had not come.
That’s unusual.
Contrary to his obsessive nature, Seo-heon seemed to be late. The minute hand moved slowly. Wondering if the clock was broken, I checked my wristwatch. Like the park clock, it was slowly passing 2 o’clock.
Used to waiting, I closed my eyes and endured the passing of time. The heavy minute hand, as if it had never been slow, completed a full rotation and returned to its original position.
[Have I ever broken a promise to you? Why are you feeling uneasy?]
Seo-heon had asked that.
[No.]
Though I answered like that at the time, I felt strangely anxious. Was it because I had decided this would be the last time, or because something always happened whenever I tried to confess my feelings?
Timing had never been on my side. Time was my enemy. No, since I had never hated him, perhaps it would be more accurate to say that time held a one-sided hostility towards me.
He’s probably just a little late.
Though it was already difficult to call it “a little,” I hypnotized myself. If something urgent had suddenly come up, he might come after finishing it. It was something I could resolve by contacting him first, but if I did that, I felt like I would lose even this right to wait.
‘I forgot.’
‘Something suddenly came up today, just go home.’
There were various possible answers, and none of them were what I wanted.
“Why is he late today of all days?”
I made a small complaint. But I knew nothing would change. I looked around, but there were still only a couple of people hurrying somewhere, and the one I was waiting for didn’t come.
The dark clouds that had been swelling finally couldn’t bear their own weight and sent raindrops crashing to the ground.
Plop, pitter-patter.
The raindrops that had been drawing dots on the ground now greedily colored it. My newly bought stiff clothes also got wet and became limp. The sticking sensation was unpleasant.
It’s a bit cold.
The rain falling in the cool weather was particularly cold and painful, as if hiding blades.
I continued to sit still, staring at the clock. It felt like that was all I could do.
Everything was flowing except for me. It felt somewhat surreal. The pouring rain obscured my vision as if a hole had opened in the sky, and I could see the few people hurriedly going indoors.
“Aren’t you going inside?”
I think someone asked that.
“I’m waiting for someone, I’m fine.”
I think I replied like that. But the person I was waiting for probably wouldn’t come. I knew, but my feet wouldn’t move.
[You have 386 days of life force remaining. Parts of your body will be temporarily weakened.]
[Your body’s durability has decreased, and all skills will be deactivated for one minute.]
Misfortunes never come alone. As if waiting for my loneliest moment, the status window popped up. It wasn’t even 7 o’clock yet.
Is it because my body weakened from the rain?
I smiled bitterly. Once again, timing was not on my side. A burning pain rose from my neck and spread throughout my body. My eyes burned and my vision blurred.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, no one was around.
“Seo-heon.”
The nape where the seal had been felt slightly hot, and when I touched it, the mark was gone. It seemed to have completely disappeared now.
For a moment, I thought I saw Seo-heon and reached out. My hand, trying to grasp the hallucination, fell to the ground, and I slowly realized my vision had flipped.
Strange. It had never hurt this much before.
***
I heard a loud noise from afar. When that sound repeated two, three times, I opened my eyes. My body had fallen from the bench and was lying on the ground. I tried to force myself up, but it wasn’t easy, perhaps because I was heavy from being soaked.
It was well past 7 o’clock, and it was still raining.
[Your body is weaker than usual. Some skills cannot be used.]
[Life force is insufficient. Reinforcement is needed.]
The notification window flickered painfully bright. So, due to the weakened body from insufficient life force, recovery was slow.
Indeed, there was no easy death. It would be nice to finish breathing the moment life force ran out, but the body, wanting to live to the end, struggled to live longer even at the cost of weakening the immediate body.
I didn’t even check which skills weren’t working. In this state, it was clear that no skill would be of help.
“Ugh.”
I gritted my teeth and forced my body up. Forcibly fixing my wavering vision, I staggered forward. Fever rose sporadically and I felt unwell. For me, fever had been a love-hate subject, but I had never felt it burdensome in itself, yet today was different. The heat emanating from my body was painful.
“Haa…”
I should go alone at least.
Even without mourners, a funeral had to be held.
I walked for over an hour to reach a distance that should have taken 20 minutes. I walked, vaguely recalling the floor Seo-heon’s mother had once told me about. There were people who pitied me as I walked like a ghost, soaked in rain, but no one spoke to or touched me. The columbarium seemed to be that kind of place.
Among hundreds of names, I found my parents’ niche with a neat bouquet of flowers.
Is it Seo-heon’s mother?
I tried to recall the owner of the flowers with my sluggish mind. Touching the flowers clumsily, I opened my mouth.
“I’m sorry for coming only now. I resented you a lot.”
I resented only as much as I loved.
“I’m sorry for coming now.”
Now that I was here, I wasn’t sure what to do.
“Our Father who art in heaven…”
In the end, I stumbled through a prayer I had learned somewhere. I didn’t believe in God, but if He existed, it was a cunning heart asking for some forgiveness.
Even if it’s irreverent, He’ll look upon it generously.
“I’ll follow soon. Please receive my heart first.”
I mumbled through the prayer I couldn’t remember and ended it in my own way. It was a shabby funeral.
It was my bad habit that when I had too much to say, my mouth wouldn’t open. I stared at the urn for a long time, soaked in rain and in shabby attire. Nothing happened, to the point of making my past thoughts that the sky would fall when I saw my parents seem foolish.
Boom, an unpleasant thunder sound echoed through the building.
It was still raining outside. My body was strangely hot, and it felt burdensome to stand up.
“I’ll be going now.”
If I stayed like this, I might show an unseemly sight to other visitors to the columbarium. There would be nothing good about rumors spreading that Baek Woo-hyun of Ihwa Guild was found collapsed in such a place.
[Abnormal status: Your body temperature is 38.8 degrees.]
The notification window that had lit up once seemed to have no intention of turning off. It was an unfriendly system; it would have been nice if it had given a heads up that the body would weaken when life force weakened.
I should secretly stop by the guild and get some fever reducer made by Ms. Lee Hye.
In the office of the healer, Ms. Lee Hye, there was fever reducer made for when hunters got status abnormalities from monster attacks. I planned to lie that I had been affected by monster poison. She might have some suspicions, but I expected that being a considerate person, she wouldn’t dig too deeply.
I hailed a taxi to head to the guild, holding my staggering body. I wasn’t confident I could walk through this rain and have a normal conversation.
“Where shall I take you?”
“To the back entrance of Ihwa Guild, please.”
The taxi driver, who had been hesitating upon seeing me all wet, asked with a sigh. If my body had been fine, I would have used fire to dry my clothes, but now I wasn’t confident in such delicate control.
“You must be a hunter from Ihwa Guild?”
The driver showed a slightly more friendly reaction upon hearing the guild’s name.
“Yes. I work there.”
“Oh, there was a time when a monster escaped from a dungeon in our neighborhood, and Ihwa Guild came for subjugation. Thanks to that, our property values didn’t drop and my daughter was safe.”
The driver peered into the rearview mirror as if trying to check if I was a familiar face. I avoided his gaze and bowed my head deeply.
“But how did you get so soaked in the rain?”
“Well, I forgot my umbrella.”
Fatigue was piling up. I wanted to respond more kindly, but my eyes closed and the driver’s questions subsided.
“We’ve arrived. Go and get some rest.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
When I gave him ample money including the cleaning fee for the back seat, the driver was very pleased as he took the wheel again.
“Have a good day!”
Before departing, the driver waved his arm excitedly out the window, regardless of whether it got rained on. I hurriedly shook off the water on my shoes and entered through the back door. The guild, which I thought would only have someone on duty, had lights on in several places.
What’s going on?
As I walked following the lights, I heard the voices of office staff.
“What’s this about on a weekend?”
“I know. We’re office workers, but to be dragged out even on weekends.”
To hide my sick body and shabby state, I unconsciously hid behind a pillar.
Did something happen? There was no contact on my end.