Chapter 86

Chapter 86

The moment we entered the room the British government had assigned for me, Jeong Seojin cut straight to the chase.

“If you use it lightly, you just feel a bit tired. If you use it heavily… or if you see something you ‘shouldn’t’ see under normal circumstances, you go blind for a set period of time.”

The problem was that *this* was the point he’d cut straight to. I was so startled by the word “blindness” suddenly thrust in front of my face that my eyes went wide.

“Good heavens, blindness?”

“It’s not permanent. At most six months, so that’s short, right?”

“…Are you serious right now? You’re calling six months of not being able to see *short*?”

“That’s a cheap price to pay for seeing the future.”

“What are you talking about—no, what?”

What the hell was he saying? I stared at Jeong Seojin with a dumbfounded expression, forgetting what I’d even been about to say. He looked like he’d already expected my reaction as he continued speaking calmly.

“The price for peeking at the future is just six months of blindness. Isn’t that cheap?”

“No, I mean… that… that doesn’t make any sense. It sounds like you’ve actually peeked at the future before…”

“I have.”

As casually as saying the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, Jeong Seojin dropped that enormous fact with a serene demeanor.

“I’ve seen the future before. If I hadn’t experienced it myself, how would I know I could go blind for six months?”

I couldn’t find the words and just blinked blankly. So, he’d seen the future before, and because of that, he’d been blind for six months… But as far as I knew, aside from not showing his face in the media, Jeong Seojin had never had a sudden gap in his schedule.

As if reading my thoughts, Jeong Seojin immediately explained about that schedule that had never once had a gap.

“For the record, I kept clearing dungeons even while I was blind.”

The problem was that the explanation he threw out was insane. He used a skill to see the future, went blind for six months, and *still* cleared dungeons while blind? What kind of triple-hit crazy nonsense was that? I was so horrified I smacked his forearm repeatedly and shouted.

“Are you insane?!”

“I’m not insane.”

“No, no matter how I look at it, you’re definitely crazy! What? Six months blind? And you still cleared dungeons during that time?!”

“Just because I’m blind doesn’t mean my skills drop.”

“Take care of your own safety, you crazy bastard!”

Smacking the forearm of a S+-Rank hunter hurt my palm. But I didn’t stop hitting his arm. I guess this was what happened when someone grew up without a decent guardian. He casually said things like this, so I felt like I had to let him know that at least *someone* was worried about him.

But Jeong Seojin, apparently unable to stand it anymore, grabbed my hand that was hitting his forearm. He looked at my palm, red from smacking his S+-Rank rock-hard forearm, with a displeased expression. Looking at it now, it did seem to be throbbing with pain, but I had no regrets. I met his eyes squarely again and said firmly.

“Please, take care of your own safety, okay? Of course, I know you’re strong. You’re the strongest hunter in Korea, and you’re even an S+-Rank hunter, so how strong could you be? But that doesn’t mean you can’t die or get hurt.”

I had just witnessed with my own eyes an S-Rank hunter getting seriously injured. Honestly, until I saw Yoon Juyeong end up like that, I’d never worried about an S-Rank hunter either. It was true. No matter how much I was rated S-Rank as a production-type hunter, my physical abilities were still stuck at the C-Rank hunter level I’d been back then.

To someone like me, the fact that these people who could call down lightning from the sky and split the dry earth could also get hurt and die felt incredibly distant. Of course, now that I’d seen it firsthand, it didn’t feel that way anymore.

“Please, take care of yourself. I don’t know how *you* feel about it, but from the perspective of someone watching you, it’s so nerve-wracking I could go crazy.”

“…I never thought I’d live to see the day someone worried about me.”

Jeong Seojin looked genuinely taken aback, like someone who’d discovered something completely unexpected. Seeing him like that, I was reminded of his childhood, growing up under a guardian who wasn’t exactly human. I finally let the anger that had risen to my throat slowly subside.

Right. It made sense, considering the kind of people who’d posed as his parents. And who was Jeong Seojin, anyway? He was Korea’s strongest hunter, the Sword Emperor. Honestly, who would ever worry about someone like that? Even I had hardly ever worried about Jeong Seojin or Yoon Juyeong until I saw Yoon Juyeong’s injury…

“From now on, at least think that there’s someone who worries about you—”

“Being worried about feels better than I thought.”

“Huh… what?”

What kind of random answer was that? I forgot what I was saying and just stared blankly up at Jeong Seojin. He looked back at me with a thoughtful expression, as if lost in deep contemplation. Then, suddenly, he gave a faint smile.

“Honestly, if anyone else had said that, I think I would’ve thought, ‘What nonsense is this guy spouting when I could kill him with a single tap?’”

“No, what are you talking about… Hey, Jeong Seojin. Weren’t we having a warm moment just now?”

“It doesn’t feel bad coming from my master. No, actually, it feels pretty good.”

Something felt off. I furrowed my brow, my lips moving wordlessly as I tried to make sense of the strange atmosphere. Okay, fine. Being worried about could feel good. After all, worry was an emotion born from interest and affection toward someone. Seeing someone worry about you could make you feel like, *Ah, this person cares about me this much.* Yes, that made sense.

But why did he have to say it in such a suspicious way?

“You know, Boss.”

“Y-yes?”

“Honestly, when you were worrying about that fake-nice guy, it really rubbed me the wrong way.”

“It… did?”

I didn’t think he’d shown any sign of that. I tried to recall Jeong Seojin after I’d been hospitalized. As far as I remembered, aside from refusing to leave my bedside for a single moment, there hadn’t been anything strange about him. He’d been his usual self—goading me, picking fights with Avan, calling Yoon Juyeong a fake-nice guy.

No matter how I thought about it, he was no different from usual. But as if to say that was just my perspective, Jeong Seojin continued, wearing a smile that felt subtly different from his usual one.

“I think I get it now. I don’t like it when my master worries about that guy… no, that’s not it. I don’t like it when she worries about anyone who isn’t me.”

“……?”

“I wish my master would only worry about me.”

Suddenly, a warm heat touched the back of my hand. I flinched and pulled back before realizing that the thing touching my hand was Jeong Seojin’s fingers.

“Just look at me, only worry about me. Ah, and I’d love it if you only nagged me, too.”

“Y-your tastes are a bit strange, Jeong Seojin. Why would you want to be nagged…?”

I tried to pull my hand away naturally, but suddenly, Jeong Seojin grabbed it firmly. I flinched again, my eyes going wide.

Jeong Seojin slowly lifted my captured hand and brought it to his lips. Only then did I feel a sense of déjà vu. Back when I first used the ‘Ruler’s Garden’ skill….

“You know, Boss.”

Something soft and warm brushed against the back of my hand, then pulled away. I was still wearing a dazed expression, like someone suddenly thrown into a reality I couldn’t comprehend. Seeing my face, Jeong Seojin smiled—a genuinely pleasant smile on his handsome features.

It wasn’t his usual emotionless, flat smile. Nor was it the sneer he always wore whenever he mocked someone.

It was a real smile. A smile born from happiness, or perhaps pleasure.

“What should I name this feeling of wanting something like this?”

* * *

Naturally, I couldn’t answer Jeong Seojin’s question.

And unfortunately, the hunter in front of me now, Joo Minju, seemed determined to get an answer out of me no matter what.

“That’s it? Huh? You really didn’t say anything? There’s gotta be something! Like, for example, ‘That’s love!’ Something like that!!”

“No, well… I fully understand that it could look that way, but I don’t think that’s it…”

The reason I was having this conversation with Hunter Joo Minju was extremely simple. Right after that shocking conversation, Jeong Seojin had said, “My master seems quite confused, so I’ll give you enough time to think.” Then he’d immediately gone off to meet with a government official related to this request, citing a need to discuss matters regarding my escort.

And of all people, he’d left my protection to Hunter Joo Minju, who—according to Hunter Joo Minjeong—was a severe case of a love-at-first-sight addict and romance junkie.

She must have had something to do and was passing through the hallway, but even though Jeong Seojin had grabbed her and semi-forced her into guarding me, Hunter Joo Minju didn’t look the least bit displeased. No, actually, after that brief conversation with Jeong Seojin, she looked more excited than anyone, grabbed my hand, and led me to a nearby cafeteria.

And now,

“No way, that Jeong Seojin son of a—ahem, Mr. Jeong Seojin actually spoke to me, so I was wondering what that guy was thinking… Oh my god. So the real target of Yoon Seohee’s dating rumor wasn’t Yoon Juyeong, but Jeong Seojin?”

“Really, absolutely not.”

I widened my eyes and frantically shook my head at Hunter Joo Minju, who had brought up the dating rumor. “Even if the sky split in two, it’s absolutely not true.” I denied it with the most resolute expression I could muster.