Chapter 55

“If you want to live longer, shouldn’t you quit being a hunter first?”

“I have to earn my keep.”

Suui Kim looked at Cho-i and Yeonwoo, who were taking pictures by the window. Yeonwoo Han started by taking pictures with Cho-i, but then he just had Cho-i Hyeon stand by the window and took pictures of her. Far from being awkward, Cho-i looked like she was enjoying posing for the pictures as she pleased.

“Oh! The pictures turn out really well, I’m jealous.”

“The pictures turn out well because the subject is good!”

“Honestly, you have no humility!”

“Being humble only leads to losses!”

“That’s true.”

Suui Kim sucked on his candy as he watched Yeonwoo and Cho-i, who were getting along so well. Wow, they’re really having fun, those two.

“Let’s go get some lunch.”

At the mention of lunch, Cho-i Hyeon stopped posing for pictures and ran over. She wrapped her arms around Suui Kim’s waist and asked,

“What are we going to eat?”

“Don’t you remember what I said earlier?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You shouldn’t just touch another man’s body. How big is the age gap between us? Tsk.”

“Hahaha. That’s hilarious, old man.”

“…Old ma…”

“It’s true, isn’t it?”

“Hahahaha.”

Cho-i jumped up and walked ahead. From behind, Yeonwoo Han, who had been busy organizing photos, came and slapped Suui Kim on the back.

“If you’re over thirty, you’re all old men. Let’s go.”

The four of them began to move outside. Namsu Kang and Yeonwoo Han walked side by side in front, followed by Cho-i Hyeon and Suui Kim. Suui Kim, with a candy in her mouth, walked and quietly spoke to Cho-i.

“Don’t do that elsewhere either. Do you know how carefully planned S-Rank parties are? If you do that there, you’ll definitely get scolded.”

“Oh, nagging again?”

“I’m not just saying it, so take it to heart.”

“Alright, alright.”

Suui Kim looked down at the top of Cho-i Hyeon’s head, who seemed to be half-listening, then just smiled.

“Still, you held up well last time.”

“Why the sudden compliment?”

“It must have been hard to endure by yourself there.”

“Was it hard?”

Cho-i slowly recalled the situation inside the cave and what had happened in the hidden dungeon. Hard, she thought. It seemed that the concept itself had disappeared for her. If it was decided whether she could do something or not, there was no such thing as ‘hardship’ in the process. She just did it.

“I don’t really know.”

“If it’s hard, make sure to say it. Hunter Dongju Kim and Hunter Yeonhan Kim aren’t people who wouldn’t listen to that.”

“Hmm, alright.”

“Take good care of yourself.”

“I said I got it. I feel like I suddenly have parents I never had.”

“If you think that, then listen well.”

“Even if I had parents, I don’t think I would have listened well.”

Cho-i smiled brightly. Suui Kim gave a faint smile and crunched on her candy.

“Do well there too.”

“You too, Suui Kim.”

As the two exchanged what wasn’t quite a final goodbye, the two people a little further away waved their hands.

“Why are you so late!”

“Come quickly.”

“I’m coming.”

“We’re going~”

The two ran towards the other two. Cho-i felt that this party wasn’t so bad. The first party that told her to trust them. Cho-i blinked and just smiled without thinking. As long as the world didn’t end, they would be in the same Paehyeok and could see each other again anytime, so there was no regret.

* * *

“That’s really f*cking funny.”

Gihyeon Park laughed, looking at his disconnected smartphone. His secretary, standing nearby, looked at his face as if asking what was wrong. He had said that a call came from the Paehyeok Guild Master and told him to look at it, but suddenly he was acting like this, upset about something.

“Find out more about the new S-Rank in Paehyeok.”

“Are you going to recruit them?”

“No, I’m going to kill them.”

The secretary frowned. What was bothering him again this time? It was a different feeling from when he was raging about killing the Paehyeok Guild Master. The latter was unrealistic, but the former was realistic.

“Paehyeok won’t stand by idly.”

“They proposed the bet themselves, so they’ll shut up. Find me a dungeon below A-Rank. I need to clear it and use it a bit.”

“Understood. But what’s the reason?”

“A fledgling who just became an S-Rank wants to fight.”

“Huh?”

“F*cking funny, right? I find it funny too.”

Gihyeon Park chuckled, slapping his knee. The secretary didn’t laugh at all. Gihyeon Park was clearly in a bad mood, and if he laughed along, he’d probably get slapped.

“Should I choose the fastest available day?”

“Yes. Find out his number too.”

“I already have his number. I got it when the Paehyeok promotional video came out.”

“Oh, really? How much were you planning to scout him for?”

“65 billion won.”

“That’s a pretty stingy offer.”

“He just became an S-Rank, so his combat techniques will probably be lacking. Considering the cost of training him internally, that’s not a small amount.”

“Right, right. I’m sure our secretary handled it. Give me the number.”

“Sent it.”

Gihyeon Park tilted his head, looking at Cho-i Hyeon’s number that had arrived on his messenger.

“How should I handle this…?”

He called Cho-i’s number. Ring, click. The other person answered the phone without delay.

-Hello? “Not ‘hello.’ It’s ‘honey.'” -What the hell, are you a crazy bastard?

뚝.

“……”

“…Call again and identify yourself…”

“Damn it, this is infuriating…”

As he looked at his smartphone, annoyed, Cho-i, who was having lunch with his party members, was also looking at his smartphone.

“What was that? What kind of call makes you hang up like that?”

“Probably Gihyeon Park from Hwayeon?”

“Cough, hack.”

Namsu Kang, who was spooning up soup, coughed. Suui Kim, sitting next to him, was no different. She clicked her tongue and patted Suui Kim’s back.

“You answered his call like that?”

“Well, what am I supposed to say when he spouts nonsense as soon as I pick up?”

“What did he say?”

“‘Honey.'”

“…”

It was understandable. That was the thought that simultaneously crossed all three of their minds. Cho-i, with a sulky face, sat among them for a moment before getting up.

“I’ll go out and make a call.”

“…Be careful.”

“Why?”

“Because that bastard is famous for being a lunatic. Don’t provoke him unnecessarily.”

“I think I’ve already provoked him.”

Cho-i walked out of the restaurant with his smartphone. He stood in front of the door and called the number that had just called him back. After a short while, the other person answered. Cho-i put a Peppermint Candy he had gotten from the counter into his mouth and asked.

“So why did you call?” -What are you eating?

Crunch- Instead of an answer, only the sound of chewing candy came through the receiver. The other person seemed to understand, was silent for a moment, then spoke.

-How about this Thursday at 2 PM? Let’s not bring guardians. It gets complicated. “Oh, are you scared of Taehyeok Sa?” -…What are you going to do, acting so reckless? “Wouldn’t it be because I have something to rely on?” -Let’s see how amazing that thing you rely on is. “Haha, I’m not planning to show you everything. So, where this Thursday at 2 PM?” -…Gangbyeon District C-Rank dungeon.

Huh? Cho-i blinked. If it was there, then surely…

“That’s where I found the hidden dungeon.” -…What did you say? “I said it’s where I found the hidden dungeon.” -You didn’t find the hidden dungeon in this A-Rank dungeon? You were S-Rank before that? “I don’t think I need to tell you in such detail right now. Just show up with your neck clean that day. Oh, by the way. If your guild goes bankrupt, will you give it to me?” -Don’t talk nonsense right now. “You started the nonsense first. What’s with ‘honey’ instead of ‘hello’?” -You really better prepare to die that day. “Oh~ okay. Take care. See you that day.”

Smack. Cho-i kissed his smartphone and mercilessly hung up. He put it in his pocket and mumbled.

“He must have been incredibly humiliated.”

Cho-i hummed and went back into the restaurant. He then took another Peppermint Candy from the counter, put it in his mouth, and crunched and swallowed it.

“Then let’s see how much he can do.”

Cho-i’s eyes sparkled. Her long, drawn-out laugh made her seem genuinely excited. She had found an opponent with whom she could freely use her newly acquired items, so why wouldn’t she be happy?

“What happened?”

As soon as she returned to her seat, Yeonwoo Han asked. Cho-i smiled brightly and sat down.

“It went well.”

“Why does ‘it went well’ sound so unsettling?”

“Oh, you don’t trust me?”

“I don’t.”

Suui Kim, who had been watching with a troubled expression, said.

“If anything happens, call the Guild Master.”

“Oh, I can handle it myself.”

Cho-i said, picking up her spoon again.

‘If it really comes down to it, I could try using the skill Sanity Paralysis again.’

Her gaze shifted sideways. The best thing would be to take Ganansu in and record the situation, but the problem was that, true to the skill name Sanity Paralysis, she didn’t know what she might do.

“Will the stealth skill work?”

Cho-i decided to trust Ganansu’s stealth skill and continued eating. She had to eat to live, after all. And that day, on Cho-i’s Ansta, not a picture with Yeonwoo Han, but a picture taken with everyone in front of the restaurant was uploaded. Of course, the number of likes and comments exploded.

[HCH’s Ansta’s new post is finally up]
[It’s a picture with the A-Ranks]
└ That’s a video from the dungeon they went to together, this promotional video
└ They must have gotten pretty close
└ What did they do in the dungeon?
└ I don’t know, the camera only filmed HCH, so I don’t know what they did on the side
└ Since they’re A-Ranks, they probably handled themselves └ Didn’t HCH do it all alone?
└ Since there’s a rumor that HCH is S-Rank, that could be it
└ If it was just a place they went to shoot a promotional video, HCH might have done it all alone
└ They look so warm, don’t be a hater

Fortunately, there didn’t seem to be any particularly negative reactions. Cho-i Hyeon went around the Huntred anonymous board again today. And she clicked on a topic post that occasionally appeared.

[Hey, so the Paehyeok Guild Leader]
[Will they be pathetic towards HCH or not? Is the Paehyeok Guild Leader good at fighting?]
└ This guy always comes here and says the same thing
└ So, the Paehyeok Guild Leader isn’t good at fighting?
└ This guy is trying to throw his life away
└ Give up, you crazy bastard
└ Why are all of HCH’s fans out of their minds?

“Hehehehehe.”

She crawled into bed with her hair still not completely dry. Nara Shim wasn’t there today. Since she said she had a dungeon schedule in the morning, she would probably be gone for a few days.