The Way of Life for a Terminal S-Class Hunter - C82
$82
I picked up the fully charged phone. I searched for Halo’s contact that I had saved, but it only said there were no results.
You deleted it completely, didn’t you?
The culprit was obvious. But it was a useless act. I had already memorized the number. I tended to memorize important information after seeing it once, and this habit was very useful at times like this.
The other party answered the phone before the connection tone could even ring twice. Fortunately, my memory hadn’t rusted.
[Woo-hyun? You’re awake. Feeling refreshed?]
A soft laugh accompanied Halo’s greeting.
“Yes, thanks to you. If possible, I’d like to meet you briefly. Would that be okay?”
[I also wanted to meet you and came to the hospital, but I can’t get in.]
It was clearly Kang Seo-heon who was blocking Halo’s visit. This meant that Halo might be willing to open up to me. I speculated that Ihan was able to enter because he had made some kind of deal with Seo-heon.
“If we can’t meet in person, could we talk over the phone?”
The more I realized that Seo-heon was interfering with me, the more stubborn I became. There was a possibility that he might be eavesdropping, but I felt like challenging him to try.
[Of course. But before that, do you remember what I gave you before?]
“Ah… You mean the medicine and the compass?”
My response was a bit slow due to the somewhat abrupt topic. Come to think of it, this was how Halo used to talk.
[Yes. Make sure to carry the compass with you.]
There was no need to carry it or not, as I didn’t need to organize my inventory now. Halo probably knew that too, so he just wanted to remind me not to forget about the compass.
Will there be a situation where I need to use this?
I was curious about the answer, but when Halo spoke like that, it often implied that he wouldn’t give any deeper information. So I decided not to probe further.
“Thank you for the advice.”
[It’s nothing, really. But why did you call, Woo-hyun? Are you trying to ask me out on a date?]
His voice became playful again. Thanks to the tension in my body gently easing, I could also interact with him more naturally.
“Don’t you think you don’t need to ask? I think you already know what I’m curious about.”
[Haha, I’m not a mind reader, you know?]
Halo was being modest while his behavior so far had been close to that of a mind reader.
“Tell me, Halo. This isn’t fair, is it? What happened while I was collapsed?”
Impatience kept popping up. I developed a paranoia that Seo-heon might appear from somewhere and interfere with the call.
[Fair? Are you at war with Kang Seo-heon?]
I hadn’t perceived it that way, but hearing it, it seemed like it might be true. They say the words we use reflect our unconscious. A wry laugh escaped me.
“If that’s the case, will you be on my side?”
[Of course. Woo-hyun, I’ve always been on your side.]
Somehow, when Halo said things like that, it felt like I wouldn’t lose.
[But due to the contract, I can’t tell you in detail what happened inside the dungeon.]
“If it’s difficult to tell me directly what happened, could you tell me how I can find out the truth?”
I felt it might be cowardly to draw him in this way, but I wasn’t in a position to be picky.
[Ask for sleeping pills around 8 o’clock tomorrow. Then pretend to take them and act like you’re sleeping. After that, if you check what Kang Seo-heon does, you’ll be able to find out what you want to know.]
The correct answer was that Seo-heon was doing something while I was asleep.
“Thank you for telling me. And I’m sorry for making you get involved in our affairs.”
[Don’t say that. This is something I wanted to interfere with. Good luck, Woo-hyun.]
Halo ended the call briskly, as if he had nothing more to tell.
***
The day after talking with Halo, I pressed the nurse call button at exactly 7:55 PM. The nurse knocked on the hospital room door not long after the bell rang.
“Why did you call?”
The nurse looked surprised, probably finding my call odd given how indifferent I had been throughout hearing the test results.
“Could you bring me some sleeping pills? Strong ones that work well even on S-rank hunters.”
The nurse’s expression improved after confirming it wasn’t a big deal.
“Are you having trouble sleeping?”
“I’ve been sleeping for a long time, so I’m having trouble falling asleep. I feel like I’ll recover faster if I get some sleep.”
It was natural that I couldn’t sleep since I had been in a state of half-sleep for a while and had slept heavily yesterday too. The nurse, whom I thought would refuse outright, didn’t immediately say no.
“Have you taken sleeping pills before?”
“No, I haven’t.”
I lied since I wasn’t going to actually take them anyway. I just hoped my awkward expression wouldn’t give me away.
“I’ll give you some just for today. Since you’re a hunter, the risk of addiction is low, and you say you haven’t taken them before. Please wait a moment.”
Perhaps due to often dealing with unreasonable hunters, she hesitated but eventually nodded.
“You can take it with water.”
The nurse returned in less than five minutes and handed me the sleeping pill. I pretended to take the pill in front of her, but actually slipped it into my sleeve.
Now that she’s seen this, Seo-heon will also hear that I took the sleeping pill. That achieves my purpose.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Sleep well. If you need anything else, just call again.”
I secretly put the pill in another container and immediately lay down on the bed and closed my eyes. Even after being in darkness for over an hour like this, sleep didn’t come. I even felt elated that I would soon find out the secret Seo-heon was hiding.
“Did he take the sleeping pill? Ah, yes. I understand.”
Seo-heon, who had been talking with the medical staff outside, walked in with heavy steps. He entered the room without knocking, bringing a cold breeze. A cool wind rushed in, but I didn’t react, pretending to be dead asleep. No matter how dark it was, he wasn’t someone who wouldn’t notice I was pretending to sleep if I let my guard down.
Why is he just standing at the door?
Seo-heon stood still, holding his breath for a while. As a result, only my breathing echoed in the hospital room, and I tried to breathe as regularly as possible.
Did he already find out?
While I was worrying, Seo-heon suddenly approached with hurried steps and put his hand under my nose.
“Haa…”
A sigh of relief burst out. He hadn’t been intentionally holding his breath, but had been doing so unknowingly.
Did he think I had died? Despite monitoring me like that… Why is he worrying like that? Resentment built up in my throat, making it hot. The cruel Seo-heon and this anxious Seo-heon overlapped and separated repeatedly.
Seo-heon’s hand overlapped mine, and his thick fingers gently stroked my nails. Then he intertwined his fingers with mine, locking them together. Although it wasn’t a strong force, it felt like I couldn’t escape anywhere.
A warm heat rose from Seo-heon’s hand. I hadn’t noticed yesterday in my half-asleep state, but now I was certain. He was using some kind of skill. And my body was automatically responding to it.
I couldn’t stand it anymore and abruptly sat up. Seo-heon opened his mouth slightly and widened his eyes as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have. However, the guide window that entered my vision was even more shocking, so I had no room to react to him.
[The other party is using the special skill <Life Force>. <Life Force LV.1> resonates.]
A skill I didn’t even know I had was resonating regardless of my will.
[Life force transfer successful. Life force increases by 10 days.]
[Due to the effect of the special skill <Life Force>, the skill penalty is mitigated. While <Life Force> is maintained, the body’s durability temporarily increases.]
Moreover, life force transfer? I looked back and forth between Seo-heon and the status window.
Am I dreaming?
“What is this?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected content, I forgot I was pretending to sleep and sat up abruptly, blurting out a dumbfounded sound.
“Woo-hyun, were you pretending to sleep?”
Seo-heon touched his lips with an expression of being deceived.
Who’s the real deceived one here?
“You, what are you doing?”
“What?”
When I spoke sharply, Seo-heon responded shamelessly. My temper rose at his attitude of repeatedly trying to avoid while knowing what I was asking. This guy who never used to run away no matter what was now only showing his back since I woke up.
“This, what the hell are you doing?!”
I threw whatever I could grab. Only after hearing something shatter did I realize my actions. I didn’t even have time to be shocked by my crude behavior. The scattered glass shards on the floor seemed like my broken heart, or our relationship. It was the same in that we couldn’t go back to how things were before.
“Did you think I’d be grateful if you gave me your life force?”
My hands trembled. Seo-heon was blankly looking down at my hands.