Damn Hunter Life Chapter 16
The association president’s expression after suddenly being addressed informally to his face could be described as like a second reporter.
Which is to say, it was quite a sight to behold.
The association president, who had looked bewildered for a moment, soon regained his composure.
[“You were talking about successor Jin Seol-woon? I suppose he said he doesn’t have time to sing because he’s training.”]
“He’s never actually said that directly.”
I didn’t exaggerate anything. I only presented facts.
A thin smile appeared on the association president’s lips. I could clearly see him thinking that as an adult, he needed to cleverly handle me and send me away.
It was quite unpleasant, and that mindset was cliché.
[“As I mentioned just now, the current training schedule is not forced by the association. The association has no justification to do so. If successor Jin Seol-woon wants to obtain free time, he should discuss it with other successors, not the association. Do you understand?”]
It was annoying, but the association president’s words weren’t wrong.
But what if I came out like this here?
“That’s true. There’s nothing the association president can particularly help with.”
A delinquent meekly agreeing.
The association president furrowed his brow again, as if he couldn’t follow the flow of the conversation.
“The more they suffer, the more benefits they get, successors feel responsibility and choose to sacrifice, there’s no other way to stop stage gates – everything you said is right, association president.”
Actually, I didn’t request this meeting to extract anything from the association president either.
Right, to be honest and frank… I had no purpose. If I had to call it a purpose—
‘Let Jin Seol-woon, who’s hiding off-screen, hear the bullshit I’m spouting, and even if it’s ridiculous, at least give him some inner satisfaction?’
So Kim Jae-moon, sir, you were just used by me.
“I just wanted to vent a little. Thank you for listening. Thank you for accepting the meeting request too. Now it’s over! Shall we dismiss?”
I put on one of my specialties, the ‘head full of flowers’ expression again. The effect doubles when you smile brightly!
Finally, the association president’s face reddened. Did you just realize you were played by me?
That’s what you get for not interfering with what the Twelve Zodiac do in the original work and doing what they ask. I’m going to make your life even more miserable from now on.
The association president on screen picked up his teacup and downed it in one shot. He put the teacup down with a face of suppressed anger.
[“Successor Gyeon Gang-hyeon. I’ll let this slide just this once. There shouldn’t be any more noisy behavior from now on.”]
He didn’t spit in my smiling face, but the association president gave me what amounted to a warning.
[“Don’t think the Hunter School will protect a successor who hasn’t awakened forever.”]
What he meant was, ‘You’ll retire in 2 years. What are you going to eat when you get expelled from school?’ put in roundabout terms.
Of course, if I go outside the school in this delinquent state in two years, I’ll become a beggar.
But I just need to awaken before then, awaken.
I changed my facial expression without warning. With a face devoid of any laughter, I rapid-fired back.
“Association president, would you prefer it if I never awakened?”
The association president froze for about a second, then put on a relaxed face again.
[“Of course not. How could that be? How much a successor’s awakening contributes to national security is…”]
“What you’re saying sounds a bit… wrong to me.”
Inwardly, succession or whatever, he’s probably hoping a troublemaker like me gets kicked out without ever seeing the light of day.
Considering how I’ve screwed over the association, I’d think the same if I were the association president.
I smiled brightly again as if I’d never reacted sharply and wrapped up the call.
“Well then, enjoy your meal and have a good day.”
I hung up without listening to a response. The screen went black.
I can clearly picture the association president banging his desk saying “Argh, that troublemaker really!”
I think I need to be careful walking alone at night.
Someone might really make the decision to just assassinate me and wait for a new Dog successor.
Right, remembering the presence that would be behind me, I spun around in my chair.
There was Jin Seol-woon, pale as a sheet, looking at me like I was insane.
“You saw, right? The association president isn’t against you singing either. Get ready to spend points making a recording booth at home.”
Jin Seol-woon, who had been pale and seemingly disagreeing with my words, gradually grew more angry.
“That’s the kind of irresponsible thing only someone like Gyeon Gang-hyeon-ssi could do.”
Jin Seol-woon gritted his teeth and growled as if wanting to shock me.
The venomous side of Jin Seol-woon that I’d never seen once in the original work… I’m seeing it for the second time now.
“It must be nice to do whatever you want like that.”
I did do things worthy of hearing such words, yes.
I had no intention of denying it. I’m doing this on purpose to get cursed at.
So this time too, I affirmed it straight up.
“Right. Normally you shouldn’t act like this at this age. But I do. That’s why I’m the worst of the worst.”
Jin Seol-woon is someone with a defensive nature who doesn’t easily allow people in over a short period.
To deal with such a person, there’s only one rhetoric I need to use.
Forcibly scraping away the wall to imprint myself on him.
And I’m confident it will be effective.
“But what is it that you can’t do whatever you want? You’re only 20 years old.”
Jin Seol-woon lost in the second conversation too.
Whoever gets dazed first loses.
‘I’ve done this much, now try to understand my intentions. You unnecessarily mature kid.’
* * *
Just what kind of person is he?
Maybe because it was so absurd, his head wasn’t working well either. Even as Jin Seol-woon left the training ground late at night with a tired body, he was still caught up in thoughts of Gyeon Gang-hyeon.
He could guarantee that Gyeon Gang-hyeon was truly the type he absolutely detested. Rude, a lawless person who does whatever he feels like.
A person he didn’t even want to think about…
While talking with Gyeon Gang-hyeon, as if his soul had been sucked away by him, that pale, handsome face just wouldn’t leave his mind.
‘He must want something from me, that’s why he’s doing this.’
Gyeon Gang-hyeon was troublesome even without drinking.
And he’d have to add that there was a calculating side to him.
On the other hand.
“……”
Jin Seol-woon stopped midway. Streetlights illuminated the dark campus, and that light also shone on Jin Seol-woon’s back.
“A kid just wants to sing, and he can’t even do that?”
At that moment, Gyeon Gang-hyeon had been genuinely angry.
Yet to the association president, he deliberately downplayed his own statements as just something he said casually.
Jin Seol-woon hurriedly cleared the fog from his mind. Returning home, he liberated his phone from the drawer after a long time.
Breaking through countless SNS notifications on the screen, he saw several missed calls at the top. They were all from the same person.
As soon as Jin Seol-woon saw that name, he made the call without delay.
[“Oh, Seol-woon!”]
It was Seong Yuhan, Innate’s leader and main vocalist. His delighted voice carried clear resonance as it touched Jin Seol-woon’s ears.
Hearing Seong Yuhan’s voice, Jin Seol-woon felt completely at ease. The tension in his body naturally relaxed.
“Congratulations on the comeback. You got first place on all three networks, right? Well done. Come to think of it, I haven’t properly greeted you except through messages. Tell the other hyungs and the maknae congratulations too.”
[“Hey, we all know your heart even without you saying it. You’ve been busy, right?”]
Mixed in with the words saying he understood not being able to contact due to being busy was an affectionate tone as if he knew all about his complicated feelings.
Listening to the leader’s concern, whose body must be equally exhausted from performing schedules, Jin Seol-woon finally felt like he’d come home.
‘My real team isn’t the Twelve Zodiac, it’s Innate.’
[“Were you watching all our performances even while busy? Thanks, man.”]
Actually, I wasn’t trying to watch, but Gyeon Gang-hyeon-ssi was giving me a one-sided situation report. Swallowing the truth inwardly, Jin Seol-woon didn’t bother to correct Seong Yuhan’s words.
“So hyung, why did you call? Is something wrong?”
[“Mm, how should I put this… Earlier this morning, a call came to your phone. So I answered it, but it wasn’t you, it was someone else.”]
It was true. When Jin Seol-woon checked, he saw ‘Yuhan hyung (1)’ in his call history. It was a call made from this end. Seong Yuhan had answered and even talked for about 4 minutes.
But he himself had never made a call.
Jin Seol-woon looked around the drawer with a hardened face.
Jin Seol-woon lives alone in this house. Moreover, he hadn’t told anyone where his phone was located.
……No, there was one recently. Someone who came into another successor’s house without permission and used things freely, with no trace of courtesy to be found.
“……What the hell is that person? Does he use stealth skills or something? A non-awakened?”
Seong Yuhan couldn’t hear the small muttering as he held the screen far away.
“Hyung, tell me properly. What did you talk about? Did that person say who they were?”
[“Ah, he just said he was one of the Twelve Zodiac. He called you ‘Seol-woon’, so he must be older than you.”]
Seong Yuhan, mentioning the morning events, seemed calm. That meant Gyeon Gang-hyeon, that bastard, hadn’t caused trouble… Jin Seol-woon anxiously waited for the next words.
After a moment of silence, what Seong Yuhan said next was somewhat unexpected. It even carried a slightly reproachful feeling.
[“Seol-woon. You told me and the members that you sing a little in the evenings and study composition. Like you have plenty of leisure time.”]
Ha. Jin Seol-woon silently sighed.
Now he could guess what Gyeon Gang-hyeon had blabbered about after stealing his phone.
Is that person really not in their right mind…?
“And? What else did that person say?”
[“He said it would be good if you reduced training a little and sang the songs you want to sing. But since you won’t listen to him at all, he asked me to persuade you.”]
Jin Seol-woon’s eyebrows drooped slightly upon hearing this.
He just brushed it off with a quiet laugh.
“As for singing… I’ll handle it myself. When things are more stable here. I’m grateful, but it’s not something for hyung to worry about.”
[“I figured you’d say that.”]
Seong Yuhan thought it sounded like an excuse… but he didn’t say anything more and just laughed it off too.
A strange silence flowed. It was a silence that originated from Jin Seol-woon. He seemed to be deeply lost in thought.
Seong Yuhan was the first to break the quiet.
[“But who is that person? I’ve watched all the stage videos, but I’m still not quite sure about the voice.”]
Just when he thought it would pass quietly, he hit a snag. As Jin Seol-woon stiffened for a moment, Seong Yuhan took a guess first.
[“Let me try to guess. Woo Sae-geon?”]
Jin Seol-woon’s eyebrows crumpled again in bewilderment.
Wasn’t that a completely unexpected person who didn’t match Gyeon Gang-hyeon at all?
[“That person is your leader, right? That’s what leaders should do, isn’t it? Taking care of each member individually. It’s good to encourage hunter training, but also caring for their inner selves.”]
Seong Yuhan muttered his reasoning, then laughed playfully.
[“Like me?”]
Seong Yuhan was indeed that kind of person… but he was completely wrong. Gyeon Gang-hyeon had never appeared in stage raids even once.
Well, Gyeon Gang-hyeon was known for being drunk every day. The idea that such a person would speak so logically—and calmly seem to care for Jin Seol-woon—wouldn’t normally occur to anyone.
Even Jin Seol-woon wouldn’t have believed it a week ago.
“Sing, you bastard.”
That was the line Gyeon Gang-hyeon left aimed at his back as Jin Seol-woon stomped out of Gyeon Gang-hyeon’s house.
“I’ll keep causing trouble until you sing.”
Jin Seol-woon ended his call with Seong Yuhan and went into the bathroom to bathe.
“You’re the one starting this now, right? Then it’ll be a good precedent and reduce the overall pressure on the Twelve Zodiac, right? Just trust me this once.”
Before water sprayed from the shower head, he suddenly muttered to himself.
“Fine. Gyeon Gang-hyeon-ssi. I lost.”
To get rid of you, I have no choice but to do as you say.
Hot water warmed his body and steam filled the bathroom.
His long-rested throat relaxed drowsily in the steam, and though it was funny, it served as a substitute for a recording booth for now.
A few days later, Esi appeared on Innate’s YouTube account for the first time in months.
The video, just over 5 minutes long, was a song recorded in Jin Seol-woon’s home.
However, it wasn’t Innate’s new song this time, but a different song.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
