Chapter 6

“Uh, uh-huh, thank you.” “Thank you for what? Come on out!”

Nara Shim nodded with a blank expression, then began to gather items from Deer Knuckle’s corpse. Her eyes, as she looked at the scattered bodies around her, were full of confusion. But she also felt that it was her own doing. She had survived by keeping a shred of conscience. Gulp, she swallowed dryly. And she continued to gather the items. She thought it would be best to lay low and watch Cho-i Hyeon for a while.

“I should be careful…”

Her hands were trembling. She still couldn’t grasp the reality of it. It was natural that she couldn’t believe that the stuttering girl had suddenly changed so drastically.

“What are you doing?”

Cho-i, who suddenly poked her head out of the exit, said.

“Don’t think too much. I don’t want to kill you either. You know that, right?” “Ah, I know.” “Come on, let’s go home. I’m hungry.” “R-Right.”

Nara Shim and Cho-i Hyeon came out of the dungeon. Outside, the guild they belonged to, the “Hanshin” mining team, was waiting. Normally, a hunter care team would also be present, but since it was a C-Rank dungeon entered with three B-Ranks, no care team had come separately. The mining team, whose job it was to enter and excavate so-called “junk items” once the boss monster was dead and the exit opened, asked with a puzzled voice when only two, not five, came out.

“Excuse me, where are the others?” “Oh, they all died.”

Cho-i glanced at them with unfocused eyes and then ambled away. Nara Shim followed, saying to them,

“Th-That is. The boss monster’s rank suddenly increased. So, while protecting us, they….” “Pfft.” “Look, look. She’s crying too.”

People looked at Nara Shim with shocked expressions. Nara Shim tried her best to maintain her composure. A sad expression, a sad expression. Fortunately, Cho-i Hyeon had her back to them. Her trembling shoulders made her seem a little sad.

“W-We’re tired too. The boss monster has been dealt with, so you can go in. Th-Then, goodbye.”

Nara Shim ran away from the mining team and grabbed Cho-i’s arm. And she looked back at Cho-i.

“…”

Nara Shim looked at Cho-i’s face and swallowed dryly. Then, she pulled back the safety line and began to walk outside with her. After passing the safety line, which was set up a certain distance from the dungeon, about five times, they reached a regular road.

“It’s a good thing others can’t see her expression.”

Nara Shim bit her lip tightly, pretending not to notice the goosebumps on her arms. And she recalled the expression she had just seen. That face, which was hard to call a smile, with curved eyes and a distorted mouth. That face, which seemed to have a jumble of emotions, as if she had forgotten how to express them. As soon as Nara Shim came outside, she immediately let go of Cho-i’s arm. It was the gesture of someone who had touched something they shouldn’t have.

“First, let’s go home separately. The company car will come to pick us up. More importantly, what are you going to say when they pick us up?” “I’m tired, can’t I just take a taxi?” “What?” “Just explain tomorrow. For now, let’s go home.”

Cho-i yawned widely. Nara clutched her head, a headache starting.

‘No, why has she changed so much? Did she get a hidden item? But do hidden items change someone’s personality?’

Thinking that far, Nara Shim cautiously asked her.

“You got a hidden item, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“Oh, what kind of item is it?”

“Why would I tell you that?”

“Oh, r-right. No reason to tell me.”

But Cho-i looked at the awkward Nara Shim, grinned, and said,

“If you’re curious, I might tell you.”

“Really?”

“No.”

She trotted out to the road and opened a taxi app. Nara Shim watched her retreating back with a seething face, then calmed down slightly when she saw the knife stained with monster blood.

“First, put your item away quickly. Are you going to take a taxi like that?”

“Ah, right.”

They put their equipment into their inventories. Expensive equipment was said to come in modern styles, but what they had was all cheap, making them look like strange costumes.

“Oh, right. What’s your home address?”

“Why?”

“To get a taxi.”

“Oh, my address is Seoul Special City…”

Cho-i entered the address she was given and started calling a taxi. Nara Shim approached her and glanced at the screen.

“Are you calling one for me too?”

“No, I only called one.”

“What about you?”

“I’m going with you.”

“Why, why?”

Cho-i said in a soft voice,

“I was living with Hyeonchan An. I don’t want to go back there. I’ll impose on you for a bit.”

“Oh, no, my house is small too.”

Nara Shim’s house had two rooms. This was because after awakening as a C-Rank hunter, she had painstakingly saved money to get a lease in the middle of Seoul. It was still difficult to buy a house in Seoul if one wasn’t a high rank. With dungeon appearances, the value of ‘safe-looking’ land and buildings had only increased, making them even more expensive.

“Yeah, I won’t be there long. Just for a while. You don’t like it?”

Cho-i’s unfocused eyes turned to her. Nara Shim flinched and laughed, “Hahahaha.”

“Oh, no. It’s fine. Stay as long as you l-like.”

Nara Shim wanted to hit her own mouth for saying that. And so, their not-quite-cohabitation began.

***

Nara Shim brought Cho-i to her house and first had her change clothes. After taking off her items, she was wearing a sky-blue blouse and a flowing skirt, and her clothes were just like her personality. Although her personality had changed now, anyway. When given comfortable shorts and a T-shirt with a rock band drawn on it, Cho-i changed into them and carefully examined the rock band on the T-shirt.

“Do you like rock bands?”

“No, I just bought it at a clothing store.”

“Cool. I should buy some clothes like this too.”

“You can start buying them now, can’t you?”

“Because Hyeonchan didn’t like them.”

At that, Nara Shim’s lips parted as if she didn’t know what to say, then she spoke.

“He’s dead now.”

“Oh.”

Upon hearing that, Cho-i’s eyes widened. Then she smiled, her large eyes curving like crescent moons.

“Oh, right. He’s dead, isn’t he?”

And she arbitrarily jumped onto Nara Shim’s bed, stomped her feet, and hugged the blanket.

“I killed him!”

She giggled. Nara Shim wanted to abandon this house to Cho-i Hyeon and go outside right now. But she thought of the loan and endured it.

“First, tomorrow, get your belongings and bring them over. He’s dead, so it’s weird to keep living in his house. After that, find a studio apartment to live in and move out.”

At that, Cho-i jumped up.

“You’re helping me more than I thought, though?”

“So, should I just abandon a girl with nowhere to go?”

“You’re nicer than I thought?”

Nara Shim said, dumbfounded.

“I’m not that nice. If I were that nice, I wouldn’t have abandoned you and run away.”

“Is that so?”

While Cho-i tilted her head, Nara sighed and sat on the bed.

“More importantly, how much money do you have saved?”

“Me? I don’t know.”

“Why, why don’t you know?”

“Hyeonchan managed everything.”

“I’m going to lose my mind.”

“Still, my bankbook and seal should all be at that house.”

“Then let’s go find them tomorrow. Honestly, taking those isn’t wrong, is it?”

“Right? Because they’re in my name?”

“But do you have your wits about you or not? You entrusted all your money to him? Don’t your parents say anything about it?”

“I don’t have parents.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know that.”

Her apology was quick.

“But I have a younger sibling.”

“What did your younger sibling say?”

“It’s been a while since we cut ties.”

“Sorry, I didn’t know that either.”

“You apologize really fast.”

If I didn’t apologize here and you suddenly flipped out again, how would I handle it? Nara Shim just kept her mouth shut and smiled.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“Oh, right. I’m hungry.”

“Should we order something?”

“Let’s order chicken.”

“What do you want to eat?”

“I don’t know. Anything. Hyeonchan wouldn’t let me eat it.”

“That crazy bastard is dead, good for him.”

“Suddenly?”

“You’re making me think that right now.”

Cho-i hugged Nara’s pillow and giggled.

“It’s strange that there’s someone else who thinks that way besides me.”

“Go ask anyone on the street. They’ll all say he was a bastard, a son of a bitch, won’t they?”

“Well, still, no one would think he deserved to die. They’d think, ‘just for something like that?'”

“…That’s true. But let’s not think about that for now. I’ll order something. Let’s eat, sleep, and wake up early tomorrow morning to go to Hyeonchan An’s place.”

“Okay, I’ll have to go to the guild in the morning anyway.”

“Ugh, I’ll have to turn off my phone and sleep tonight.”

Nara Shim ordered delivery, then turned off her cell phone, and Cho-i Hyeon did the same. With three B-Ranks dead simultaneously, it was obvious that if the Guild Master heard about this, a summons would be issued immediately.

“That old man always talks as if he knows everything.”

And the reason they could be so defiant was because…

“He’s not even an Awakened one.”

The Guild Master Hyeonchan An’s uncle, Baekdeok An, is unawakened. In fact, everyone says that Hyeonchan An is the real Guild Master and Baekdeok An, being unawakened, is just a figurehead. However, Baekdeok An was quite actively playing the role of Guild Master, from a strictly business perspective.

“Why, I heard he used to be an executive at Hyeonchan An’s father’s company, then left at Hyeonchan An’s father’s command to form a separate guild. Have you heard anything?”

“No, he doesn’t really talk to me about work.”

“The more I hear, the more I pity you.”

“You pity me?”

Nara Shim stared at her, then shook her head.

“No, it’s fine. The three who died are the most pitiful right now.”

“Rather, pity me. They’re not pitiful at all.”

“You’re thorough about this. Alright. You’re more pitiful.”

“Haha.”

Cho-i smiled, her eyes crinkling, then flopped back down onto Nara Shim’s bed. Nara Shim couldn’t bring herself to tell her to get off, so she laid out an extra blanket beside the bed. Rank is power. Cho-i lay on the bed, staring at her hand. The Parasitic Ring, a hidden item she obtained after entering a hidden dungeon. Nara Shim must have fallen asleep, as soon enough, only her soft breathing could be heard beside her. Realizing Nara Shim was asleep, she sat up. And she tried to take the ring off her finger. Then, ding, a system window opened.