The Way of Life for a Terminal S-Class Hunter - C46
$46
My life is fading away, but the world is becoming chaotic. I couldn’t predict what kind of future these sudden changes would create, and it was even more uncertain whether I would be around in that changed world.
“What have you been thinking about this whole time?”
Lee-han, who had just changed clothes and come out of the changing room, asked in a natural tone.
He was stuttering and using polite speech belatedly before, but it seems he’s getting used to it now. He should have done this from the beginning.
“Just thinking about what might happen in the future by combining everything that’s happened so far, and which possibilities are the most likely.”
“Occupational hazard.”
Lee-han looked at Halo, who was coming out last, and contacted the guild to call a car. Although Halo had insisted on taking public transportation when we left, this time he quietly got into the car that came to pick us up. I also wanted to clear my complicated thoughts, so I quickly got into the passenger seat. About fifteen minutes after getting in the car, our guild building was reflected in the car window. It was too short a time to reach any conclusions.
Indeed, it’s quick by car. These days I don’t travel such short distances by car, so my sense of it had dulled.
“Huh?”
The unexpected point was that an unimaginable figure was standing at the main entrance. It was Seo-heon.
Is he waiting for Mr. Kwon Ho-jun?
When I saw Seo-heon in a well-pressed suit while still in the car, that’s what I thought, but as soon as I got out of the smoothly stopped car, my thoughts changed immediately.
It seems like something unpleasant happened.
There was a faint but distinct cold scent from Seo-heon’s expression and gestures.
“Did you three go on a Seoul tour or something?”
Seo-heon’s question was full of displeasure, and he even seemed somewhat hostile, especially towards Halo. Sensing the unfavorable atmosphere, the driver quickly drove away with the car, leaving us four grown men standing awkwardly in an uncomfortable situation.
I wanted to think he wasn’t waiting for us, but Seo-heon quickly closed the distance with large strides, making it difficult to misunderstand.
Indeed, bad premonitions never fail.
“Yes, Woo-hyun-ssi and Lee-han-ssi were my one-day guides.”
“You seem to have more free time than expected.”
There was nothing good about treating a guest like this, but Seo-heon seemed to really not get along with Halo.
“Since he came to a new country, we introduced him around and took care of some work at the same time. Plus, thanks to Halo-ssi’s prophecy, even though a dungeon suddenly appeared today, no one got hurt. Why are you being so sharp?”
While telling the truth, I somehow ended up defending Halo.
“Prophecy, huh. You just need to perfectly fulfill the contracted parts and match well. The incident today could have been resolved without problems even if Ihwa Guild hadn’t been deployed.”
It was typical of Seo-heon to show aversion to prophecies, let alone foresight. Seeing the two in opposition, I suddenly remembered Halo’s earlier hypothetical question about what one would do if changing the future to save just one person resulted in the death of 100 others.
Halo could change the future with his prophecy ability if he wanted to. The actions to change that future would probably be hard to predict, and would be an obstacle for Seo-heon, who tries to anticipate people’s actions and stick to plans. Thinking about it this way, it seemed the two fundamentally couldn’t get along well. Of course, their personalities didn’t seem to match either.
“Thanks to that, we got to practice coordinating, isn’t that enough? I’d say I was quite a useful hunter today.”
“Right. At least more useful than you.”
Even Lee-han, who didn’t particularly like Halo, joined in. Worried this might look like a 3-on-1 argument, I gently pushed Lee-han back and stood next to Seo-heon.
Unlike me who tends to think the best of things, hunters generally have this rough side. Even the gentle Lee-han and cheerful Halo are hunters after all.
In my case, I didn’t live in an environment where I could assert my pride or show my thorns, but the three of them had lived in the general world of hunters. Powerful hunters had strong tendencies to engage in power struggles and establish hierarchies. Even people who didn’t show such symptoms before awakening often became sensitive when meeting someone with powers contrasting their own or others with similar powers.
Even so, Seo-heon is being excessively sensitive now, and the three’s powers are so strong that onlookers would get tired. I’m tired first, so I need to separate them quickly.
However, as if instantly grasping my thoughts, Seo-heon put his hands in his pockets and stood at an angle, not yielding his position.
“I saw the video. Woo-hyun looked pretty good in it.”
“You saw that?”
I didn’t think he would have seen a video that had been uploaded less than a day ago, even if it was filmed by drones.
“Oh, then you must have seen us fighting together. We must have looked quite good together. Right, Woo-hyun-ssi?”
Halo, who cut in from the side, grabbed my shoulder. Perhaps because we shared a secret, his touching wasn’t as unpleasant as before when he would grab without hesitation. The contact didn’t last long as Lee-han’s hand shot out from the side to separate Halo and me.
“Hyung doesn’t like being touched like that.”
Seeing him do this even to a man, it seemed to be Halo’s personality rather than simply being comfortable with skinship as a foreigner. I patted Lee-han’s back to indicate he didn’t need to go that far, but I felt a hot gaze from the side.
“Why?”
Seo-heon’s eyes, staring intently at me, quickly flashed with distrust, slight surprise, and displeasure. Even I, who thought I knew him well, found it difficult to read his exact emotions.
“You’ve already gotten comfortable after just a few days together.”
The laughter mixed in his words sharply stung the listener. Not knowing why Seo-heon was so sharp, I had no way to soothe him or means to resolve it.
“Yeah, it does seem like we’ve gotten a bit closer after fighting together once.”
With no good way to break this awkwardness, I decided to just speak honestly.
“Close…? So I’ve already become close with Woo-hyun-ssi.”
Halo smiled so brightly that his gorgeous appearance sparkled even more. I didn’t know if his one-sided expression of liking towards me was because he had already met me through his prophecy ability, or if it was kindness shown to someone with limited time left, but it didn’t feel particularly bad.
He just seems like the type who can’t stand seeing people sad. He’s not a bad person. Although it was embarrassing to change my evaluation after just one day, the impression I got of Halo today was quite good.
“I guess to get closer, you need to share secrets.”
“Secrets?”
At Halo’s words, two heads quickly turned towards me.
“Secrets are secrets. I can’t tell you.”
I gave Halo, who was answering with a grin, a meaningful look. Seo-heon and Lee-han seemed to be trying to gauge something, and I, having nothing to say even with a mouth, kept quiet. It was an uncomfortable silence.
What broke this silence was also an unexpected figure.
“Why did you suddenly go out alone?”
It was Kwon Ho-jun, who had just come out of the building. His expression showed anger beyond the sullenness I occasionally saw.
“Explain to me why you’re not doing as I say. I clearly said I wanted to go out and have dinner with my friends today, but you not only refused but also just left.”
His words were subtly imbued with the arrogance of someone who had never even experienced minor rejection. For me, who had only seen his lovely side, it was a bit shocking.
Is this how that old man felt when he went to remove a lump but came back with another one? It was already overwhelming with just the three of them, but with Kwon Ho-jun’s appearance, I felt like running away right then. My hand went up to my eyes out of habit.
“Wait a moment.”
Seo-heon rushed over to Kwon Ho-jun, who looked like he was about to pour out more angry words. Kwon Ho-jun seemed to feel a bit better at the sight of Seo-heon running quickly towards him. Seo-heon stopped halfway to him and spoke to me.
“It wasn’t a regular deployment today, so you don’t need to write a report, right? Just go home and rest. Don’t waste energy on unnecessary things.”
It was fortunate for me, but also a bit bitter. It was good that the burdensome situation was quickly resolved, but the reason being that I couldn’t become anything was sad even now that I had put down all my feelings.
Even knowing I don’t have the right to feel this way, why am I like this? I really need to stop now.
“See you tomorrow.”
Halo and Lee-han also seemed to have lost their energy, as the tense atmosphere from earlier had disappeared.
“I’m tired, so let’s part ways here.”
At my words, seeing the two with expressions like sad puppies with drooping tails softened my heart, but I didn’t want any more power struggles. I wanted to lie down in bed and rest.
“Then see you tomorrow.”
“Contact me if any problems arise, hyung.”
***
And on that night when I thought I would rest comfortably, someone knocked on my room door.
I had just finished showering, so I hung the towel around my neck, shook my head to remove some moisture, and then grabbed the doorknob. Whoever it was, it must be quite urgent to visit at this hour.
“Huh?”
Surprisingly, the person standing outside was a relaxed-looking Halo. At 11 PM, I couldn’t think of any reason for him to visit at this time. I opened the door wide with a puzzled look, and he casually waved his hand in greeting. Only after I slightly bowed my head in greeting did he slowly lower his hand that had been waving excitedly.
“What brings you here? It hasn’t been long since we parted.”
Since it was an unexpected visit, I couldn’t keep him standing outside forever, so I asked while slightly turning my body to gesture if he wanted to come in. Halo shook his head.
“Want to go for a short walk?”