#104
“By the way, is Hunter Shin Jeongho alright?”
Eunseok suddenly asked about Shin Jeongho’s well-being.
“He’s fine. He received healing in time, so there’s not even a single scar left. No need to worry.”
“That’s a relief.”
Although Eunseok said it was a relief, he guessed that Shin Jeongho would be more shocked by the betrayal of his colleague than any physical injury. But that was something he would have to overcome on his own.
“What happened to those people gathered at the hideout?”
Eunseok took the opportunity to ask something he was curious about. Since Park Sunwoo had only taken Eunseok and fled, they had essentially become abandoned cards. Since they were mostly young rookies, it didn’t seem likely that they would have properly assessed or handled the situation.
“Many of them were injured, some seriously, but there were no fatalities. They’ve all been arrested, so the Bureau of Ability Management will handle the rest.”
“Then, what about Taeuk hyung…?”
Eunseok trailed off, thinking of Ji Taeuk, who hadn’t shown his face even once since Eunseok was kidnapped.
“He was finally arrested while trying to escape this morning. Since he’s been expelled from the guild, the Bureau of Ability Management will handle his case as well.”
Choi Hanseo’s voice was cold when speaking about Ji Taeuk. His tone suggested he didn’t even want to mention him.
Ji Taeuk’s betrayal was a big shock to Eunseok as well. He thought there must have been some circumstances. But regardless of the circumstances, betrayal was betrayal. He had no intention of defending him. It just hurt deeply because Ji Taeuk was someone he had trusted.
“As long as he’s alive, that’s enough.”
Eunseok neatly concluded the conversation about Ji Taeuk. Choi Hanseo’s eyes softened.
“I’ll take care of all the troublesome matters, so don’t think about anything and rest well. You’ve lost too much weight. I won’t let you out of the house until you’re back to your original body.”
Choi Hanseo said, stroking Eunseok’s cheek.
“As the kidnapping victim, they’ll probably want to take my statement too.”
“I’ll take care of that as well. Since you’re not feeling well, we’ve arranged to submit a written statement. Secretary Kim will write it up and send it, so don’t worry about it.”
“…I understand.”
Eunseok replied softly and pulled on Choi Hanseo’s wrist. The watch was displaying a deep orange color. It seemed some guiding had occurred while they were embracing and sleeping for a while. Still, with this level, there would be physical pain.
For a moment, the thought of kissing him to do some guiding before he left crossed Eunseok’s mind. But he remembered he had just thrown up everything, including stomach acid. It would be too much to kiss without brushing his teeth first.
“What time do you think you’ll finish work?”
“Why? Worried I’ll come back late?”
“The numbers are too high. Try to wrap up as quickly as possible and come back. So I can do some guiding.”
As Eunseok tapped the watch displaying high numbers with his finger, Choi Hanseo nodded with a gentle smile.
“I’ll come back as soon as I can.”
Choi Hanseo lightly kissed Eunseok’s forehead and got up. He lingered for a moment, touching Eunseok’s face with regretful eyes, before turning and leaving the bedroom.
After Choi Hanseo left, Eunseok carefully ate two energy bars, chewing thoroughly. Then he slowly got up from the bed. As he entered the bathroom dragging the IV stand, his face was reflected in the mirror. The effects of barely eating for over ten days were clear – his cheeks were sunken and his jawline was noticeably sharper. But Eunseok was more concerned about the loss of muscle than fat. It seemed he would need to focus on rebuilding his body for a while.
After brushing his teeth, washing his face, and roughly styling his messy hair with some water, he looked somewhat better. Eunseok looked at the IV needle fixed to his arm with troubled eyes. As long as this was attached, he was effectively tied down. It was incredibly cumbersome, but if he removed it on his own, Choi Hanseo would likely come running up immediately.
What to do…
As he stood there pondering for a moment, there was a knock on the bedroom door.
“Yes, come in.”
Eunseok answered as he came out of the bathroom, dragging the IV stand.
The bedroom door opened and an older woman poked her head in. She spoke with a troubled expression.
“Um, Eunseok-ssi. Hunter Moon Bora is here to see you. What should I… Would you like to meet her?”
“Ah, please tell her to come in. …No, I’ll go out.”
Eunseok checked his clothes once and then left the bedroom, dragging the IV stand.
“Eunseok-ah!”
As their eyes met, Moon Bora’s face brightened and she approached with quick steps. Before Eunseok could react, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
“N-noona.”
“Hey, you… Are you alright now?”
Moon Bora asked, releasing the hug and looking Eunseok up and down repeatedly.
“As you can see, I’m fine.”
Eunseok answered with an awkward smile. Moon Bora gripped both of Eunseok’s shoulders tightly, her expression complicated. Her face was filled with a mix of emotions.
“Let’s sit down and talk instead of standing. You look tired too, noona.”
Eunseok said, pointing to the living room sofa.
“Right, right.”
Moon Bora let go of his shoulders and instead held onto Eunseok’s arm as if supporting him. Then she carefully started walking towards the living room sofa. Although the drug’s effects had worn off and he didn’t need support, it felt awkward to shake off her hand. Eunseok had no choice but to sit on the sofa with Moon Bora’s support.
“You’ve lost a lot of weight. Look at how your cheeks have hollowed out.”
Moon Bora frowned, sitting across from him.
“The muscle loss is more painful than that.”
Eunseok joked towards Moon Bora. The joke seemed to have some effect. Moon Bora nodded with a serious face.
“That’s right. Fat can be regained if you lose it, but muscle loss requires bone-breaking effort to build back up.”
Eunseok chuckled softly at Moon Bora’s extremely serious words. Hearing Eunseok’s laughter, Moon Bora’s expression relaxed somewhat.
“I wanted to go down to meet the team members, but this makes it inconvenient to move around.”
Eunseok said, glancing down at the arm with the IV inserted.
“Why bother coming down when it’s difficult? If there’s something to do, we can call people up here. Just rest well here. Don’t even think about going down.”
Moon Bora waved her hands as if to say he shouldn’t even think about leaving the penthouse.
“The guild must be in chaos by now.”
“Don’t even mention it. The director and deputy director of the Bureau of Ability Management rushed over and it’s mayhem. Some government officials are also there, having a standoff with the guild master. We’re just quietly observing the atmosphere, you know.”
As expected, Choi Hanseo was having a hard time. Of course, it didn’t seem likely that a man like Choi Hanseo would be affected no matter who came or what they said.
“Is everyone else alright? It seems there was quite a battle.”
Eunseok asked, looking over Moon Bora’s body. Even if she had been injured, she would have been healed by now, but he couldn’t help worrying.
“It’s hard to subdue hunters of the same rank without getting injured at all. But we won. Those guys were mostly young rookies, and they had no teamwork at all. There’s no way we would lose to such rookies.”
Moon Bora spoke as if it were no big deal.
A moment of silence passed. Eunseok could roughly guess what Moon Bora really wanted to say.
“Taeuk hyung… I heard he was finally arrested?”
“…Yeah. That’s what they say.”
Moon Bora’s mask of cheerfulness crumbled quickly. Seeing her dark and gloomy face made Eunseok resent Ji Taeuk.
“From what I heard, it seems he had promised a future with a female guide from the Bureau during his time there. But you can probably guess… How free and easy do you think life at the Bureau is? There was probably subtle pressure for guiding too… That soft-hearted guy probably did what he did to get his girlfriend out of there.”
Eunseok didn’t bother to respond to the excuses Moon Bora was making on Ji Taeuk’s behalf. Everyone has their own desperate circumstances. Ji Taeuk made a choice for whatever reason. And the consequences of that choice were his burden to bear.
“Once he goes to trial… he’ll probably get quite a sentence. Public opinion is really bad right now. After he serves his sentence, I think he might have to serve again in the Bureau of Ability Management for that period.”
Moon Bora’s face twisted slightly.
“Noona. Stop thinking about Taeuk hyung now. There’s no need for you to suffer too.”
Eunseok said in a seemingly cold voice. Moon Bora nodded as if agreeing and ran her hand over her face once.
“Anyway, what I really wanted to say is… I’m sorry. You’re fighting alongside us despite the risks, but we couldn’t even protect you properly and you had to go through such an ordeal. I’m really sorry. Please think of this as an apology from all of our team members, not just me.”
It wasn’t really something they needed to apologize for. But if accepting their apology could alleviate the guilt in their hearts, that wasn’t so bad.
“Alright. Thank you, noona. Please protect me better next time.”
Eunseok said with a smile, as if joking. A faint smile appeared on Moon Bora’s face as well.
Moon Bora didn’t stay long. After seeing her off, Eunseok went back to the bathroom. He wanted to take a shower. But again, the IV was a problem.
The best option would be to call the nurse on duty by phoning the treatment room. But the problem was that Eunseok didn’t have a phone.
Well, the drug’s effects have worn off now anyway.
Eunseok came to that conclusion internally and locked the IV drip so no more fluid would flow. Then he peeled off the tape fixing it to his arm and carefully removed the IV needle. He pressed his thumb on the spot where it had been for a moment, and when he removed it, no blood flowed. Choi Hanseo would probably scold him, but for now, he felt liberated.
Eunseok immediately turned on the shower and stepped under it. Even the initially cold water was welcome. The water gradually warmed up and soon became hot. Eunseok washed his hair and scrubbed his body thoroughly.
Of course, Choi Hanseo had cleaned him thoroughly yesterday. But there was a high possibility that when he returned from work today, he would carry Eunseok to the bathroom saying he would bathe him again. By washing in advance like this, he could avoid being bathed like a baby again.
After finishing his shower and drying his hair neatly, Eunseok obediently returned to bed and lay down.
He must have fallen asleep without realizing it. Eunseok woke up suddenly at the sound of the door opening quietly. His body tensed automatically. But as a familiar scent touched his nose, he remembered where he was.
“I’m back.”
Choi Hanseo whispered, kissing the top of Eunseok’s head. Just that one phrase filled him with a deep sense of relief.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
