The Way of Life for a Terminal S-Class Hunter - C81
$81
Unbelievably, his eyes were moist as he faced me. I could feel the madness I had sensed when confronting him in this hospital room before I collapsed, now calmly settled. At the moment he confessed the truth right after the dungeon conquest, the hatred had disappeared from the intense love-hate that had flashed. Instead, only a damp affection was now sparkling.
Can I trust this person, Kang Seo-heon, once again? My heart warned that I shouldn’t.
“I’ll do everything I can for you.”
“First, approve my resignation from the guild.”
The first answer that popped out surprised even me. Despite being an unexpected response that didn’t fit the situation, Seo-heon answered naturally without showing any reaction.
“Alright. I was planning to do that anyway. I originally didn’t let you leave because I thought you might run away somewhere.”
Suddenly, I thought about how long it had taken for this resignation to be processed. Seo-heon, who had been trying to prevent me from leaving, nodded readily. Why had he dragged out such an easy thing for so long?
“And discharge me from the hospital tomorrow.”
“Let’s think about that more after the results come out tomorrow. And stay at my house for a while. If you want, we can stay at the house we used to live in.”
My head heated up at this unilateral decision. I didn’t understand why I couldn’t contain my anger since yesterday, but my churning emotions had long since escaped my control.
“Kang Seo-heon, I’m saying this because you agreed to approve my resignation, but I have no reason to follow your orders anymore.”
Seo-heon heard my words and momentarily showed an expression of dismay before touching his mouth.
“You’re right. I misspoke. For the sake of your body, would it be okay if you stayed at our house?”
Seeing Seo-heon react in a strangely weak manner towards me was emotionally complex. To think that he, who used to act so confidently as if he knew all my thoughts, would change so much just because I nearly died. Emotions that couldn’t be expressed merely as dejection swept through like a typhoon. In the midst of it, I stood stupidly.
“You’re really strange right now.”
The cold words, drained of venom, fell in front of Seo-heon.
Even as I thought to myself that I shouldn’t be swayed by Seo-heon anymore, I felt that I was the strangest for not being able to properly rebel.
In fact, I had nowhere else to go besides the dormitory. But having submitted my resignation, it seemed ridiculous to enter the dormitory. I hadn’t made any plans before because I had thought of leaving abruptly, but now that the plan had fallen through, it was natural that I had no suitable accommodation.
Maybe it would be better to stay at a hotel. But even then, it didn’t seem like Seo-heon’s surveillance would particularly decrease.
If that happened, it wouldn’t be much different from staying at his house. It was a problem that could be solved by roughly pushing him away and telling him not to follow, but seeing his gloomy face, I didn’t want to say harsher words.
He’s not the type to do as I say just because I speak harshly anyway.
The act of hurting him gave me no pleasure and instead made my chest sting like a child doing something very wrong.
“I don’t intend to force you. Just know that your safety is my top priority. Even if you dislike it, I have no intention of compromising on that.”
I was about to snap that his words didn’t match, saying he had no intention of forcing me but then saying this. I didn’t have the energy to repeat this circular behavior. In the end, we both stubbornly closed our mouths again.
“Either sit down or leave. You’re casting a shadow.”
In the end, I was the one who couldn’t bear the silence. In fact, the shadow wasn’t a problem at all. We both knew it was a ridiculous excuse, but the atmosphere didn’t lighten at all.
“Alright.”
He obediently followed my words and sat in the chair. Even at that moment, he was only looking at me, and that blatant and persistent gaze was uncomfortable. I couldn’t understand what he was thinking to act like that.
It’s not like he’s trying to tease me.
Disliking this stifling atmosphere, I even opened the laptop I had closed and started doing something else in earnest. Not that I was doing anything particularly special, just repeatedly clicking on articles whose content I couldn’t read and then exiting.
Seo-heon rested his chin on his hand and observed me in earnest. I felt his eyes were like iron bars caging me.
Knock knock.
“Patient, I’m coming in.”
Looking at the clock, it was eight o’clock. The tests were already completed, and they said the results would come out tomorrow. In other words, unless someone had called, there was no reason for medical staff to come at this time. I hadn’t even had surgery.
“I’ve come to give you an injection.”
“What kind of injection is it?”
Besides my body being dull from lying down for a long time, I had no other issues, so I didn’t need medication. So it was even more puzzling that they came to give an injection. I looked at Kang Seo-heon as if to ask if this was his doing too. He seemed to already know the contents of the medicine and naturally gave way to the nurse.
“It’s medicine necessary for recovery. Because you’ve experienced skill penalties for a long time, it works to alleviate the pain from that. Of course, it’s not a cure, so it’s just a temporary measure.”
Recalling that I hadn’t experienced pain from skill penalties since waking up, that explanation wasn’t completely untrustworthy. However, a part of my mind felt uneasy.
“Could you extend your arm, patient?”
When I remained still, the nurse asked, watching my reaction. Not wanting to interfere with someone who came to work based on an uncertain uneasiness, I slowly extended my arm. Moreover, even if it was something Seo-heon had planned, I didn’t think he would do anything that would be a problem for me, so I didn’t consider refusing.
“It will sting a bit.”
I didn’t feel much pain, but the needle was quickly removed.
“You might feel drowsy after receiving it.”
The nurse warned while handing me an alcohol swab. When I responded that I understood, she hurriedly left the room, seeming very busy for some reason.
“Kang Seo-heon, are you going to stay here?”
The drowsiness that fell drop by drop as soon as I received the injection finally filled my body. I wanted to hear Seo-heon’s answer, but my ears felt muffled.
“I’m sleepy…”
My complicated mind quieted down as if switches were turning off one by one.
“Sleep comfortably, Woo-hyun.”
“I’ve slept too much.”
I tried to resist, but I couldn’t stop the overwhelming drowsiness. I tried to think about what kind of medicine it was to make me so sleepy, but my thoughts wouldn’t connect.
Before I collapsed, I saw Seo-heon stroke my head and then hold my hand. His hands were always cold, but today they were strangely warm. That warmth traveled up my arm and spread throughout my body. It felt like my empty body was being filled with light.
***
When I opened my eyes in the morning, Kang Seo-heon was still keeping watch. Judging by his change of clothes from yesterday, it seemed like he had a situation that required going out, but he was leisurely sitting in the chair.
“Did you stay here without going home?”
The spacious hospital room had everything, including a large auxiliary bed. However, there was no sign of it being used. He had stubbornly sat in the chair all night, watching me. I knew that not sleeping for a day wouldn’t cause health problems for him.
But seeing him look so haggard made me worried.
“Why would I go home when you’re here?”
Seo-heon spoke as if I were his sanctuary. I don’t know if he had decided to express his emotions freely now, but these were words I found difficult to digest.
“Since when have you been so attached to me?”
At my gruff response, Seo-heon’s hand, which was bringing in breakfast, stopped abruptly. But soon he pretended nothing had happened and started moving busily again.
“I asked them to bring your favorite foods. I’ll go out after I see you eat everything.”
In other words, he wasn’t going to leave until he saw me eat.
He really hasn’t changed his self-centered ways.
It was natural that my digestion wasn’t good from just lying in the hospital bed. I didn’t particularly have an appetite, but it was clear that if I stubbornly refused to eat, I would end up having to continue this staring contest with Seo-heon.
Heaving a deep sigh, I picked up the spoon. At first, I ate the food reluctantly, but the dishes composed of soft and fluffy textures slid smoothly down my throat. They were foods that didn’t even give a chance for indigestion.
“Thank you for the meal.”
After finishing, I automatically thanked him even though we were in the middle of a cold war. As I awkwardly turned my gaze away, Seo-heon smiled gently for the first time in a while. It was a natural smile without any hidden intentions.
“I’m glad you ate well.”
Seo-heon finished cleaning up neatly and stood up. It seems he finally felt like answering the pager that had been ringing like crazy.
“I’ll be back.”
I responded with silence to Seo-heon, who was waiting for an answer. It wasn’t that I wanted to ignore him, but I didn’t know how to respond.
“What exactly did he do?”
As soon as he left, I checked my status window, and my life force, which should have decreased, was still at 117 days. Either he did something while I was asleep, or the act of sleeping itself had significance.
I had narrowed down the range somewhat, but I concluded that there would be no progress if I just thought about it alone like this. Neither Seo-heon nor Lee-han would tell me anything. It might be under the pretext of protecting me, but it was certainly not welcome.
I need to contact Halo.
He was the only key man I needed now.