Damn Hunter Life Chapter 13
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<Status Abnormality>
You are currently in a poisoned state.
==
Jin Seol-woon lifted his shadowed eyelids from the status window. He placed his bare arm on a modern marble table.
His arm, which looked mature for his age with prominent veins, was visible. Jin Seol-woon spent the 5-minute break he had before going to the training ground with his long legs propped up on a footrest, looking down at his arm.
He remembered how much he used to care about evening out his skin tone and the muscles visible on the surface to beautifully maintain his bare skin.
Now his arm had ugly purple blotchy marks blooming on it. It was because he’d been bitten by a viper monster. The bite marks had been resolved with Ja Hyeong-woo’s heal, but the Twelve Zodiac’s only healer didn’t yet have a skill to cure poison.
‘I can’t have scars.’
While he was somewhat glad it wasn’t on his face, it still stung inside that the marks had appeared in a spot that would be revealed with just rolling up his shirt sleeves a little.
Originally, his hobby was browsing his SNS account that had millions of subscribers.
“……”
Jin Seol-woon glanced once at the phone on the table, then picked it up, put it in a drawer within reach, and closed it.
The successors would handle important contact through the status window anyway.
‘……Now, the only important contact for me should be from this side.’
It still didn’t feel real.
That unused new cleansing tissues had been sitting in the same spot in the bathroom for weeks.
The shock that he had to show his bare face on the Hunter School broadcast that the entire nation watched, with just sunscreen applied at most.
A few months ago, young people had fallen into Hunter School, the first gate.
They were fated to work as hunters unconditionally until they turned 24.
The resulting misfortune threw Korea into chaos.
The trapped youth couldn’t meet their families during that period. When going to external gates, they could only catch glimpses of their faces when their parents came to the areas blocked off by police lines.
So the government created the Hunter Association. Not only did they broadcast the inside of the school, but they somehow connected communications so they could see their families’ faces through video calls at least.
Also, for the youth who couldn’t even complete Korea’s mandatory education, the government hastily created hunter selection processes and all kinds of systems. They promised to take care of their lives after retirement.
However, Jin Seol-woon’s case was so rare and unique that no solution could be found, nor could anyone else understand it.
The case of a 20-year-old idol singer who couldn’t return to his group’s comeback.
“……My eyes see past, when I was your man—.”
The song sliding across his lips stopped in the middle. As he closed his own mouth.
As if he was afraid of being caught by someone.
The work given to him now wasn’t singing.
It was to immediately put his legs down, get up, and head to the training ground.
Jin Seol-woon was the only successor among them who had built his residence with modern marble and glass to not forget who he originally was, but.
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<STAGE 26>
Appearing Monster: Ogre (C-rank)
Personnel Limit: 5 people
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The duty of a hunter who protects the nation from threats weighed on him more heavily than being an idol who entertained fans.
Sometimes even humming songs felt like something he shouldn’t be doing.
After the world tore him away from music, Jin Seol-woon received warm comfort from countless people. His members and the agency president repeated many words to reassure him.
Male idols inevitably have to go through military service gaps, isn’t it good that hunters get military exemption privileges, Seol-woon, the group’s recognition went up thanks to you, fans will never forget you and we can’t do our best without you either, stay healthy and don’t get hurt, let’s definitely get back on stage together again……
‘……Even so, 4 years is.’
The agency promised that another member would also enlist in the military in about 2 years, and they would adjust the enlistment timing to match Jin Seol-woon’s return with the complete group period.
But even if everyone gathered together again like that, and Jin Seol-woon got back the spotlight on stage.
‘Even if we get the nickname of 7-year long-running idols, that’s not now. Even when I go back then…… it won’t be able to compare to the current peak.’
Today, he didn’t feel like looking at his SNS account. On this good day, there would be lines of fandom comments lamenting the absence of lead vocalist ‘Esi’ from the group.
Today was the comeback day of Korea’s top idol group, Innate.
Esi’s parts were divided among other vocalists. His spot on today’s stage would be filled, and the new song would be released.
While his colleagues who had shared joys and sorrows would be holding microphones and smiling brightly amid fans’ bittersweet cheers—.
Jin Seol-woon took out his S-rank weapon, a thin blade, inspected it once, and walked down the quiet stairs where not even a creaking sound could be heard.
Similarly, while passing through the empty first-floor hallway where there should be no people.
[“Be your star! Hello, we are Innate!”]
He heard the members’ greeting.
Did I hear an auditory hallucination? Jin Seol-woon stopped in the empty hallway.
But the sound didn’t end there, and what seemed like the members’ conversation continued to be heard.
From inside the guest room prepared on the first floor of his residence.
When Jin Seol-woon finally turned direction and pushed open the guest room door, what first caught his eye was the screen on the wall.
[“The title song cheer is a bit difficult! A little bit. But our Gifts! We believe you can do it!”]
[“Uh…… we’re informing our Gifts. This cheer was created by Yuhan hyung. That is all.”]
[“Wow, you’re passing this to me?”]
Below the members on screen who were bursting into laughter and lightly pushing each other, Jin Seol-woon discovered a figure sitting with his arm draped over the sofa backrest.
“Why are you…… here?”
Jin Seol-woon first recalled recent rumors. Reflexively, he first checked whether there was a liquor bottle in that guy’s hand.
Sober Gyeon Gang-hyeon leisurely turned around without even pausing the video he had playing.
“I had quite a hard time sneaking in.”
Innate’s new song flowed from the screen. A melody without Jin Seol-woon.
The scoundrel’s eyes, pointedly gripping the remote control, flashed toward Jin Seol-woon.
A quite intentionally orchestrated first meeting.
And Gyeon Gang-hyeon didn’t bother to hide this.
* * *
I watched Jin Seol-woon’s face intently.
……His heart must be shaken by the music that had taken over his hearing.
‘In the original work, around this time Jin Seol-woon was secretly hit by the comeback he was absent from and was taking a break from the internet.’
However, as expected, no emotional change was visible from the 3-year veteran idol specialized in poker faces.
However, there was one kind of agitation I could recognize.
“Sneaking, you said you came in.”
“Yeah. Literally without even an ant knowing.”
So no one would know the fact that I was alone with you, I told him again, but Jin Seol-woon glared at me with suspicious eyes.
Considering that bastard Gyeon Gang-hyeon’s usual behavior, it wasn’t strange……
Let me briefly touch on the outside situation here.
You’ll remember that common areas are broadcast in real time. Viewers would be waiting on surveillance broadcast standby like a fandom wanting to see a celebrity’s commute, wanting to see Jin Seol-woon leave his residence and go to the training ground.
But if Jin Seol-woon’s appearance leaving his house wasn’t shown, and instead the unprecedented trash Gyeon Gang-hyeon was caught entering Jin Seol-woon’s residence?
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—Are they close?
—Normal idol level;;; His quality dropped after becoming a hunter.
—Seol-woon, choose your friends carefully.
—Please stay away from our Esi.
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I can already see the state of the comments.
‘And Jin Seol-woon is probably imagining the same thing as me.’
Original protagonist Ja Hyeong-woo and supporting character Jin Seol-woon. Both guys are blunt and indifferent, so their characters seem similar at first glance. However.
To Ja Hyeong-woo, you add ‘more naive than he looks,’ and to Jin Seol-woon, you add ‘more sensitive than he looks.’
‘That bastard Ja Hyeong-woo might not even know internet communities exist.’
Ignorance is courage, so Ja Hyeong-woo lives his fucking own way. Original protagonists are sometimes scary.
Before too, if I hadn’t covered for him, rumors would have spread about Ja Hyeong-woo coming and going from Gyeon Gang-hyeon’s house.
On the other hand, Jin Seol-woon, unlike his cold-blooded face that seems like he wouldn’t care what anyone says—like an idol-origin person, he cares about civilian communities and public opinion and is sometimes swayed by them.
For instance, even at this moment.
“Don’t worry. I can guarantee no one knows. Do you know how hard it was to come here hiding?”
Actually, if I turn on the Boundary Between Life and Death skill, I’d be fine strutting around confidently in broad daylight, but why not show off a little.
“If you’re seen with a bastard like me, it’ll damage your image, but I won’t do anything that would harm you.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
