Chapter 9

Chapter 9

No, seriously, why would someone who became an S-Rank hunter go around babysitting someone else? You’re an S-Rank hunter, aren’t you? Shouldn’t you be in a position where you can boss people around with just a chin nod?

The biggest problem in all this was that Hunter Yoon Juyeong’s care wasn’t half bad. No, to be honest, it was good. Really good.

Anyone who’s ever lived alone would sympathize, but actually, even if you haven’t lived alone, anyone who’s ever done housework knows how annoying it is.

Housework — something you absolutely have to do, but if you don’t, it shows right away, and even if you do it diligently, it’s hard to feel any sense of accomplishment.

When there’s someone who does all that housework perfectly and neatly without a single complaint, who would hate that?

I looked at Hunter Yoon Juyeong with a complicated feeling I couldn’t put into words.

For just a moment, really, *really* just a moment… I felt guilty for having thought, “Huh, this isn’t so bad, is it?”

To have taken possession of a young man with a bright future ahead of him just because of my skill, and then try to settle into the present. I guess my conscience has worn down so much it’s chipped away all over.

“Um, hey, Hunter Yoon Juyeong. Should I do the dishes…? No, I think I should…”

“Huh? No, Seohee, please just relax. Seeing you rest comfortably is my joy.”

“No, even if you say that, it still bothers me as a person…”

It’s one thing, but having someone else wash the dishes I ate off of is a bit much. No, it’s a lot. Enough to prick what little conscience I have left.

I crept closer to Hunter Yoon Juyeong and pressed on his arm insistently, expressing my intention to do the dishes myself.

Of course, I’d expected it to some extent, but Hunter Yoon Juyeong just gave a bright smile and replied with something like, “I’ll do it, Master.”

I told you not to call me Master.

“Can’t I really do it? Wouldn’t you feel better if—”

*Boom.*

Suddenly, a strange crashing sound rang out. Startled, I felt the hairs on my skin stand on end as I spun around to look behind me. Then another crash erupted.

*Boom, boom boom, boom boom boom.*

This time it wasn’t just once — it was a continuous series of crashes.

And not long after, something enormous burst through our living room with a loud roar.

“…Huh?”

Let me repeat — it burst through our living room. I stared blankly at ‘it,’ which had come crashing through our living room. It was black and pointed… How should I describe this? Something like part of a roof.

For a moment, I was dazedly trying to figure out what was happening, when Hunter Yoon Juyeong suddenly scooped me up. Before I could even scream at the sudden action, he held me tightly and quickly rushed out of the house.

“W-wait, hold on, Hunter Yoon Juyeong, what is this—”

“Seohee, look behind you.”

“What now— whoa, what the hell is that.”

*Kugugugu.*

As soon as I heard a sound like something breaking and collapsing, a pointed structure was rising upward, piercing through the building that had been our house.

I stared blankly at the place that had been my home, feeling a strange sense of unreality, like I was half-watching a movie.

Just as you’d expect from a place where people living alone reside, my home — full of that worn-out, shabby feeling in every way — was gone without a trace, and all that remained was a single structure rising up as if it had no regard for the world.

“Seohee.”

“What, what in the world…”

“It seems…”

Even in the midst of this, Hunter Yoon Juyeong didn’t seem flustered at all. In a calm tone, holding me tightly, he murmured in a low voice.

“It looks like the ‘Dungeon’ the Administrator mentioned has appeared in your house, Seohee.”

I stared blankly at the small wristwatch on my wrist.

12:00

The Administrator… it was exactly the time the Librarian had announced.

“What the hell…”

Give me back my house…

* * *

As a rule, as you go through life, everyone experiences all kinds of things.

For example, running out of food and eating nothing but ramen for a whole week, or washing your hair with soap because you don’t even have money for shampoo, or collapsing in front of your own front door from a raging fever and getting taken away in an ambulance thanks to a kind-hearted neighbor.

…Well, I guess there are people who don’t go through things like that, but anyway, I did.

So maybe this situation right now could be counted as one of those ‘all kinds of things.’

Yeah. When you live long enough, there are times when your own house gets destroyed.

It’s not like stories about people losing their homes to floods, earthquakes, or whatever are rare on the news. So if I just think of it as that kind of disaster unluckily hitting me this time, it’s not a completely incomprehensible situation.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m not pissed off about it.

“You were living here on a monthly rent basis, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Then the property damage in question would mostly be related to your personal belongings.”

The man in the suit with thick horn-rimmed glasses was busy tapping away at a calculator and scribbling on documents, like he was calculating something or other.

I stared half-dazed at the man wearing the blue brooch that was also the symbol of the Dungeon Management Committee, recalling all the things that must have been destroyed along with my house.

‘My used TV that I finally splurged on after a long time… it’s probably smashed for sure… Ah, I borrowed a drying rack from the neighbor next door… What do I do about that… And my jewelry box with all my earrings is definitely wrecked too…’

The more I thought about it, the more depressing it got. As an orphan with nothing to my name, like most people who live that way, my entire wealth was the stuff in my house.

Oh, come to think of it, my mid-range smartphone in my pocket is still fine. Let’s count that as a small mercy. In this day and age, you can’t do anything without a phone, so losing that would have been a real disaster.

“For now, regarding the property damage, please fill out this application form. We’ll investigate the exact amount, so just write down an estimated figure based on your best guess… and over here, please write the account you primarily use. Do you have somewhere else to stay for now?”

“Ah…”

Of course I don’t. No parents, and the orphanage that’s the closest thing I have to a hometown doesn’t have the capacity to take in a grown adult like me.

I’d thought about crashing at a friend’s place, but most of the friends I know either live with their families or are renting rooms outside of Seoul.

“Sorry, but I don’t think so.”

“No need to apologize. In that case, we could arrange a nearby hotel through government coordination—”

“I don’t think that will be necessary.”

This time, it wasn’t me or the man sitting across from me who spoke. It was someone else.

I couldn’t hide my surprise as I stared at Hunter Yoon Juyeong, who was sitting quietly beside me. Hunter Yoon Juyeong met my bewildered gaze with a calm smile and looked at the man across from us.

“Ju—”

“If you say that, I’ll really get mad.”

“…Seohee. Even if the government arranges a hotel, the facilities probably won’t be that great.”

“That might be true… but it’s still probably better than my place.”

Either way, it’s a place with the word ‘hotel’ in its name, so of course it’ll be way better than my house. I’ve never stayed in a hotel in my life, so it might be nice to experience it for once…

“Seohee. You need to consider safety.”

…That’s definitely something I should think about. I carefully set aside my dream of a first hotel experience and whispered quietly to Hunter Yoon Juyeong with a serious face.

“Uh, is going to a hotel a bit dangerous…?”

“Yes. A place like a hotel is somewhat open to the public, after all. Reporters might come looking for you… or people related to me might show up.”

Hearing that, I really did start to worry. As Hunter Yoon Juyeong said, all kinds of reporters would definitely swarm the place. Would the hotel be able to keep them out? Even if they could, I wasn’t sure about the latter case.

Plus, since dungeons suddenly appeared, nearby residents would probably end up staying in hotels or at friends’ places like me… In that case, I was worried not just about myself, but about the harm that might come to other people staying in the hotel with me.

‘Hmm, what do I do about this.’

If I refuse the hotel, I have nowhere to go. If I go to the hotel, I’m worried about safety and privacy. The reporters will definitely come. They will.

I don’t know about the other papers, but the Hunter Daily will definitely come. Those bastards have thrown away any sense of journalistic ethics—if they can get an interview, they won’t hesitate to stalk or even infiltrate your space. They’re crazy.

“Hunter Yoon Seohee. If you’re worried about privacy or safety—”

“Seohee, how about coming to my place instead?”

…I think the DMC employee was about to say something to me.

(Probably) Yoon Juyeong, who had unintentionally cut off someone else’s words, didn’t seem to have any awareness of his own actions, still gazing at me with that gentle smile.

Had he gotten his sense of tact eaten up along with being hit by my skill?

I wore a sour expression while harboring a very reasonable suspicion.

“Um, Hunter Yoon Juyeong… I said this when you were at my place too, but you and I are complete strangers with no connection whatsoever.”

“How can you say such a thing… You and I—”

“Ah, I’ll go! I’ll go, okay!”

With this, I was certain. Hunter Yoon Juyeong knew that I hated—no, loathed—that damn ‘Master’ talk, and whenever he felt the situation wasn’t going his way, he deliberately brought it up.

He was the very definition of a passive-aggressive gaslighter waging high-level psychological warfare. Judging by his current actions, Hunter Yoon Juyeong only called me ‘Master’ with his mouth, but deep down, he probably thought of me more as a pet he had to personally care for and raise rather than an actual master.