The Way of Life for a Terminal S-Class Hunter - C41
$41
“It meant to work together during the mission, not to hang out together when going out, Halo-ssi.”
[Sightseeing with me is also a kind of mission, you know? Plus, if something suddenly happens, we can practice coordinating, so it’s a double benefit. Mi-yeon, what do you call this?]
[Killing two birds with one stone!]
[That’s right, killing two birds with one stone, Woo-hyun-ssi.]
I was about to say it’s not “killing two birds with one stone” but “one stone two birds” or “one action two gains,” but I closed my mouth. He probably won’t use such phrases in formal settings anyway, since he won’t be staying in Korea for long.
“Still, it would be better to find someone else…”
[I predict that something will definitely happen.]
His tone was so light that it was hard to tell if he was just saying that because he wanted to go sightseeing or if something was really going to happen.
“Really?”
[My prophecy skill is telling me that something will happen if we go to Gyeongbokgung Palace.]
“Sigh… I’ll go along with it.”
[Ah, then it would be good if Lee-han-ssi comes along too. He doesn’t have any schedule today. If something happens, three is better than two, right?]
Mi-yeon-ssi chimed in from the side.
“Lee-han too?”
[Yes!]
“I understand for now.”
After hanging up the phone, I rubbed my eyes. It seemed like it was going to be a tiring day.
***
The members of the peculiar Gyeongbokgung Palace tour were decided without changes: me, Lee-han, and Halo.
Lee-han, who seemed a bit grumpy as if he had been forcibly summoned by Mi-yeon-ssi, ran over with a welcoming face when he saw me.
“You’re doing the guide together too?”
“Yeah. It seems like you didn’t have to come along, Lee-han, but he insists that you come too.”
I felt sorry for involving Lee-han, who had been minding his own business, in unnecessary work. Still, I felt more reassured having Lee-han there than doing the unexpected guide duty alone.
“That’s right. I’d prefer it to be just me and Woo-hyun-ssi though.”
“No. It’s better if we go together.”
Lee-han, who quickly changed his words, slightly rolled his eyes to look at Halo. The confident Halo saw that gaze and shrugged it off with a smile.
“That’s right. Build relationships among the three of you, share your skills a bit, and think about how to proceed in the future.”
It was an idea befitting Mi-yeon-ssi, the strategist. In short, she wanted the people going on the subjugation to do some ice-breaking. I wondered why she wasn’t cutting off this unreasonable request, but if that was her intention, there was even less reason to refuse.
If I had known Mi-yeon-ssi’s intentions from the start, I wouldn’t have refused in the first place.
“That’s right. Getting along makes combat more enjoyable too.”
Sometimes there were hunters who were battle maniacs or liked slaughter and blood, but Halo didn’t have that characteristic sticky unpleasantness that such people exuded. He just seemed like an idle person who wanted to enjoy all aspects of life.
“Alright. But I’m worried because I don’t know much.”
“Don’t worry, I roughly know the tour routes.”
Lee-han reassured me as I expressed my concerns.
“You said I should enjoy myself when I come to a new area, so before I officially joined, you assigned me a guide and we went around until I was sick of it. I know quite a few good restaurants too.”
As I felt this morning too, Lee-han was surprisingly good at practical life skills. I thought he wouldn’t be very interested in food, but that wasn’t the case either.
“Then let’s go!”
***
The tour started off rocky from the beginning.
“You want us to take the bus?”
Lee-han asked bluntly, apparently assuming we would travel by car or teleport. I nodded in agreement, feeling the same way.
“Yes. I don’t like the subway because it mostly travels underground. Cars are hard to park, and teleporting lacks mood, doesn’t it?”
“We’ll probably get about 100 sighting articles in a day. If you want to find mood, go alone.”
“I usually get about 100 articles when I go around anyway. If you’re scared of that, I can go with just Woo-hyun.”
I wonder if I’m imagining that he’s been using going with just me as a sort of threat since earlier.
Taking the bus wasn’t really recommendable, but Halo was a guest after all. I wanted to accommodate his wishes as much as possible. Plus, I quickly realized he wasn’t a man who could be beaten with words.
Halo was like the sun that uses hot light to strip off a traveler’s clothes. With his bright expression and cheerful insistence on his own opinions, I couldn’t think of how to persuade him, nor did I feel like trying to win with words.
You naturally end up giving in to that bright energy.
Acknowledging defeat, I nodded.
“Alright. It’s not like taking the bus will cause a big problem. Let’s do that.”
“Walking would be faster.”
Lee-han’s objection was reasonable, but he didn’t seem to realize yet that Halo wasn’t someone who could be persuaded with rationality.
“When I come to a new place, I want to use that country’s public transportation at least once. I’m fine with taking a tour bus too.”
“If we do that, we might become the tourist attraction ourselves. Unless you want Woo-hyun-hyung to do a fire show, let’s just take the bus.”
In the end, we arrived at the bus stop for the fastest bus to Gyeongbokgung Palace in less than ten minutes.
“Aren’t those people from Ihwa Guild? Who’s that next to them?”
“Gasp, go talk to them.”
The people waiting for the bus at the stop gathered in small groups and whispered. If there had been someone around who knew about hunters well, they would have told them that hunters have good hearing so they can hear everything even if you whisper like that. However, judging by how noisy it was all around, unfortunately, it seemed like no one besides us knew that fact.
“Ah, but Shin Lee-han looks a bit scary…”
“Even so, he wouldn’t bite a regular person. We have nothing to lose.”
Lee-han wouldn’t bite people even if they weren’t regular civilians. Perhaps because he had many small scars on his hands and body, he seemed to be occasionally misunderstood as having rough behavior too.
“Hello. Were you talking about us?”
Halo bounced off in an unexpected direction again. He approached the students who were repeatedly saying “Ihwa” from the closest spot and spoke to them.
“Gasp, us…? We didn’t say anything bad, just that you’re really handsome so we wondered if you were a new hunter, I really like Ihwa Guild. It’s such an honor, that’s all.”
Their speech was as dazzling as rappers. As for me, I was just grateful that they seemed worried we might have been offended, even though they hadn’t picked a fight with us.
“We don’t think that.”
When I told the students it was okay first, the two visibly relaxed.
“I’m Halo. Nice to meet you.”
“Gasp, Halo?”
Recognizing the name, the two looked at each other’s faces and then, even more excited, clapped their hands and repeatedly asked, “Really?”
“Yes. Where are you going? I’m sightseeing in Seoul for the first time today. My guide is the handsome Woo-hyun-ssi. And Lee-han-ssi who insisted on coming along.”
“We’re going to academy. But could we take a picture? We really like you guys.”
I intervened, seeing that if left alone, they might end up taking pictures, getting autographs, and even the students who were heading to academy might end up going to Gyeongbokgung Palace with us.
“I’m sorry. We’re still a bit cautious about that. If it’s okay, I can let you take a picture with Lee-han.”
It was already a given that articles would come out, but I wanted to minimize Halo’s exposure as much as possible. When I suggested that taking a picture with Lee-han would be better than with me, the two nodded shyly. It seemed they didn’t dislike Lee-han, even if they found him a bit difficult to approach.
“One, two.”
The photo captured the slightly awkward smiles of the two and Lee-han’s expressionless face.
He’s cuter when he smiles though.
As I handed over the phone with a bit of regret, the two hesitated a bit before starting with “Um…”
“We need to take that bus.”
Before they could finish speaking, Lee-han pointed at the incoming bus with his finger and then grabbed my hand to join the bus line. Halo, the actual traveler, leisurely greeted the two once more before following at a relaxed pace.
“Are you in your right mind? Didn’t you see more people gathering just now to take pictures?”
“If you think of it as fan service, it’s all fun. Isn’t the charm of travel meeting people, Lee-han-ssi?”
“Not at all. It’s just tiring.”
In fact, Lee-han looked exhausted just by Halo’s very existence.
“Ah, I don’t have a transportation card.”
“Our guild devices have everything. It should work if you tap it. You tap too.”
“Ah, the back is empty. Let’s sit there.”
Halo followed us, tapping his card adequately, and then insisted on going to the back. Thinking it would be funny to sit separately, I headed for the window seat in the back.
“Sit at the end.”
“Why? I want to sit next to Woo-hyun-ssi.”
Another unexpected issue was raised. I thought there were quite a lot of things to clash over, but it was a bit strange that Lee-han wasn’t backing down either.
“I’ll sit in the middle.”
It seemed like the prologue to a not-so-easy journey was opening.
“I had a lot I wanted to talk about with Woo-hyun-ssi, it’s a shame. Lee-han-ssi, if you want to go back even now, it’s okay.”
“No, it’s fine. It’s nice to travel after a long time.”
I couldn’t tell if their bickering was real fighting or just part of the process of getting closer.
The words “Then can I drop out here?” rose to my throat.