Chapter 129

—Crackle, pop.

The flames let out a quiet, serene sound.

“……”

While three out of the four slept, Shin Jae-heon quietly gazed at the fire.

Maletia’s sword was stuck roughly into the ground beside him.

If it had been any other sword, he wouldn’t have dared such a stunt for fear of dulling the blade, but Maletia’s sword showed no signs of wear, as befitting an SS+ grade item.

Then again, it was only natural—this blade was meant to pierce and slice through far harder things than mere dirt.

As he narrowed his eyes at the flames…

“It’s your turn, Yuri Hunter.”

A rustling sound came from behind.

Shin Jae-heon didn’t bother turning around.

“I wasn’t going to wake her.”

Rubbing her eyes, So Yeri shuffled over to his side.

She’d tossed her sleeping bag into her inventory and let out a yawn.

“Why? Because of her rank?”

She meant that a B-rank was too low to stand watch in an SS-rank dungeon.

Of course, ever since Shin Yuri had entered the dungeon as a B-rank, there had been an unspoken agreement among the others to cover her shifts.

“……Me?”

Shin Jae-heon’s gaze shifted to So Yeri.

Her face held a mischievous expression, far too playful for someone freshly woken from sleep.

Her eyes still carried a hint of drowsiness, but it would fade soon enough.

“Yeah, you, Hunter Shin Jae-heon.”

—Thud.

She plopped down beside him as she spoke.

Shin Jae-heon chuckled silently.

“I shouldn’t be the one doing it.”

Shin Yuri was the one who had taken risks dragging around a C-rank like him back when rank-ups were still a rarity.

No way would he ignore her just because she’d dipped to B-rank temporarily.

“She seemed tired, so I figured I’d let her sleep.”

“She looked full of energy today, though?”

So Yeri glanced over at Shin Yuri as if to say, What are you talking about?

Lacking an inventory of her own, she’d borrowed Shin Jae-heon’s sleeping bag and was now snoring away peacefully.

“She tosses and turns when she’s tired.”

Shin Jae-heon spoke without even looking her way.

And sure enough, Shin Yuri was wriggling around inside the bag like a caterpillar in a cocoon, rolling this way and that.

So Yeri let out a snort of laughter.

“Make her pull extra shifts next dungeon.”

Shin Jae-heon nodded slightly.

“That’s the plan. Can’t have her getting the upper hand on me.”

He shrugged. So Yeri watched him for a moment before giggling softly.

“You really gonna do that?”

Now fully awake, she picked up a twig and poked at the fire.

—Crackle, pop.

Shin Jae-heon nodded as he listened to the small sounds she made.

“Yeah.”

“I didn’t see her take it, though~?”

So Yeri’s eyes crinkled playfully.

Shin Jae-heon turned to look at her.

The moment their eyes met, she blurted out,

“You like Hunter Shin Yuri, right?”

Before he could even respond, Shin Jae-heon glanced at Shin Yuri.

She was sleeping blissfully, oblivious to the world.

“Don’t worry, she won’t wake up. She’s tossing and turning to her heart’s content in there.”

So Yeri burst into quiet laughter.

Shin Jae-heon narrowed his eyes, then chuckled silently.

“That obvious?”

So Yeri shrugged.

“You’re wearing it on your sleeve—if I didn’t notice, that would be weird~”

She laughed again. Shin Jae-heon scratched the back of his head.

“But how come Shin Yuri doesn’t know?”

Her laughter grew a bit louder. Shin Jae-heon glanced back again.

Shin Yuri was still out cold, as was Joo Yian.

“You’re too much like friends for that.”

Shin Jae-heon turned back to So Yeri. She continued,

“Way too much like friends, so she can’t see you as anything else. And Yuri Hunter, she’s…”

So Yeri looked over at Shin Yuri.

So Yeri and Shin Yuri.

Even back home in Korea, the two spent plenty of time apart, but they were the ones who popped into each other’s rooms most often—and pulled the most pranks there, too.

So Yeri narrowed her eyes, recalling the middle school yearbook tucked away on Shin Yuri’s bookshelf.

“She hates goodbyes. And change.”

Shin Jae-heon gave her a puzzled look.

He got the part about hating goodbyes, but change? Shin Yuri lived a life far too varied for that.

“Gotta try new things at least once!”

“Better to mess up young so you don’t get burned later.”

She never hesitated to dive headfirst into the unknown.

Naturally, anything worthwhile ended up coming home with her.

Their house was full of her handmade experiments.

Right before heading into this L-rank dungeon, she’d decided to turn the balcony into a mini café, handcrafting chairs that ended up snapping a few legs.

…And she hates change?

Reading his expression, So Yeri asked abruptly,

“What do you think the end of love looks like?”

Shin Jae-heon tilted his head slightly.

“Does it need an end?”

“If it did.”

So Yeri spread her hands, then slipped in slyly,

“Marriage? Or… breakup?”

He shook his head.

“Happiness. Giving each other everything we can.”

So Yeri smiled faintly.

“I think the same, but Yuri Hunter might see it differently.”

Shin Jae-heon listened quietly.

“She might think it’s a breakup.”

She pulled the twig from the fire.

As she watched the flame creep closer to her fingers, she went on.

“It changes things from friendship. Lovers means a different kind of bond—deeper, more special, taking up a bigger spot in your heart.”

She waved the burning twig around in the air.

“And if that person disappears, it’s an unbearable change.”

Shin Jae-heon stated firmly,

“That won’t happen.”

I’ll make sure of it. I’ve lived every moment desperately for that.

So Yeri could guess the unspoken words, but she slowly shook her head.

“That’s not all. Getting too close to someone might—just maybe—tear our little group of four apart.”

She watched the flames inch toward her hand, then shoved the twig back into the fire.

“It could change our team… and your relationship with Hunter Shin Jae-heon.”

“It won’t.”

I’ll make sure it doesn’t. I know what she’s afraid of.

Shin Jae-heon met her eyes with resolute determination.

So Yeri smiled gently.

“Someone’s convinced. But Yuri Hunter’s still scared.”

She hugged her knees as she spoke.

“That’s why she’s ignoring it. Even if she knows you like her, she’ll pretend not to notice. Even if it seems like she likes someone else. Right now, probably…”

She glanced at Shin Yuri, who had shifted to yet another position in her sleep.

“…pretending unconsciously?”

Shin Jae-heon had no reply.

The Shin Yuri he knew would prioritize the team’s survival over her own obliviousness.

“……”

Yeah, you’re right, he thought.

Shin Yuri doesn’t hate change.

Remodeling the balcony, bulldozing the front yard for a better view, booking surprise trips—

“……”

He closed his eyes. He had to admit his mistake. His focus had been too narrow; now the surroundings came into view.

Those weren’t changes to her.

Switching homes or altering spaces didn’t shake her world.

Because her world consisted only of the people around her.

As long as she kept the same bonds with them—with the hunter team—she could live peacefully in an unchanging world.

…No cataclysm like when the Gates opened and shattered her family-made world.

Shin Jae-heon turned to So Yeri.

“……”

It was time for him to sleep, but he felt more awake than ever.

“Hunter So Yeri.”

He spoke slowly.

“Yeah?”

She hummed a tune too soft for him to hear, tapping the ground lightly with her toes.

—Crackle, pop.

He watched her quietly, then asked abruptly,

“What do you think?”

It was out of nowhere. So Yeri turned to him.

“About what?”

But he thought she was being coy.

You know exactly.

He glanced back. So Yeri’s feigned confusion shifted into a sly smile, eyes narrowed.

“You want confirmation from me? Who has the better shot?”

So you do know everything.

Shin Jae-heon stared into the fire.

How long had she known? Since that day chasing the assassin, when she’d spotted him from the sky?

Or…

He thought of Joo Yian, quietly watching Shin Yuri.

With four together, if three were tangled like this, the fourth couldn’t miss it.

And Hunter So Yeri was anything but oblivious.

He rubbed his forehead.

“……I’m always so sorry. Truly.”

But I can’t help it. So Yeri burst into giggles at his unspoken thought.

“I don’t mind. As long as the ending’s good.”

She waved him off to bed. But he stayed put.

As if he needed to hear the answer.

After a brief silence, So Yeri asked,

“You think I know? Who Hunter Shin Yuri likes more between you two?”

Instead of answering, Shin Jae-heon just looked at her. She shrugged.

“I don’t. She never talks about that stuff when it’s just us.”

She smiled gently.

“Yuri Hunter isn’t the type to bring it up. Especially not with the team.”

Especially her, who feared relational shifts too much to start that conversation.

Her tapping toes slowed into a comfortable rhythm.

A soothing sound, easy on the ears.

“I don’t know about anything else, but I just want us to be happy together forever.”

Her foot stopped.

It’s not just Yuri Hunter who cherishes the team. She slowly closed her eyes.

“Does it make me uncomfortable? Feel like a burden?”

She recalled Shin Yuri in her school uniform one day.

On a day when harsh sunlight poured in.

Too embarrassed to ask for curtains, she’d just stared out the window endlessly—but Shin Yuri had offered her hand without hesitation.

“No, it’s pretty.”

That kindness was so beautiful, even in her sensitive state, she couldn’t push her away.

So Yeri smiled faintly.

Pulling from those memories, she turned to Shin Jae-heon.

“Sounds random, huh?”

“No.”

He shook his head. So Yeri looked back at the fire.

Thinking of the young Shin Yuri who had approached her in the darkness, bright as these flames.

“I’ve thought it over, and I’ve decided to stick by Yuri Hunter.”

A playful smile spread across her face. She held up a finger.

“Watch closely. You both just want her to be happy in the end.”

Her finger pointed at him and Joo Yian.

“If Hunter Shin Yuri’s happy, all three get their happy ending.”

Shin Jae-heon nodded slightly. So Yeri told him,

“Don’t stew in it alone and dig yourself a hole. Nothing’s more awkward in love than overthinking to the wrong conclusion.”

Her voice had grown serious for a moment.

But just as quickly, playfulness returned.

“Don’t fight, okay? I’m enjoying the show. Got it?”

Shin Jae-heon finally burst out laughing.

“Yeah. Like you’re watching your niece.”

“Technically, she is—I raised her in my heart!”

So Yeri clasped her hands and whispered dramatically. Shin Jae-heon whipped around.

“She won’t wake, she won’t wake.”

So Yeri laughed, patting his back.

That was when—

—Rustle.

A loud wriggling came from Shin Yuri’s side.

“!”

The two froze, barely breathing as they turned.

Unable to fit properly in her oversized bag, Shin Yuri had slipped right into Shin Jae-heon’s.

“……”

Like kids caught red-handed, Shin Jae-heon and So Yeri sighed in unison.

The secretive dawn slipped away.