#24
Hello. I’m a fire-breathing wild boar. Right now, my original dungeon became too harsh, so I ran out of the dungeon and am living by clinging to Do Ha-seong-nim. Ha-seong-nim is a bit suspicious and has a rough mouth, but he’s still kind enough to prepare my favorite cabbage every day and take me along whenever I throw a tantrum asking to be taken somewhere.
Of course, when he threw me to the crocodiles as bait in the dungeon, I cursed him a little in my heart, but now I know that was also an action he took with thought behind it, and I was impressed. So I thought that if I stayed by his side, at least I wouldn’t die, and I could really say goodbye to the oppression and fear of living as a lower-class species in the dungeon.
So I thought I’d dedicate this body to Ha-seong-nim! That’s what I thought. Though I didn’t know he’d leave me behind like that. When Ha-seong-nim was having a conversation with the scary hunter, I was resting nearby for a moment but ended up falling asleep. When I woke up startled, well, Ha-seong-nim wasn’t there. I thought I could just go find him since I knew where his house was, but…
“Hello.”
I never dreamed I’d be discovered by those Nameless hunters I’d seen before.
“Kkweek.”
Do-hyeok looked curiously at the pig making incomprehensible sounds.
“But is this really a monster?”
“Yes. That’s correct. It’s a lower-class species called ‘Fire-breathing Wild Boar,’ and it’s quite popular among monsters for having a rather cute appearance.”
Standing in front of Do-hyeok, Han Shin-woo began excitedly explaining as if he were a monster encyclopedia. Starting from when the fire-breathing wild boar was first discovered, its origins, and then its characteristics and features.
“So you’re saying you found this guy?”
“Yes. It was wandering around confused at the gate cleanup site, so I recognized it and brought it right away.”
That day, following Cha Do-hyeok’s orders, Han Shin-woo was deployed to the dungeon cleanup site. He had things to discuss with Ha-seong so he needed to leave the scene, and he left that role to his executive secretary.
But he didn’t expect to come to work the next day and suddenly bring this pig.
“Why were you left alone?”
Do-hyeok asked while lightly touching the pig’s ear.
[You two left me behind!]
The pig said this desperately, but to Do-hyeok it just sounded like pig grunting.
“What’s it saying?”
“Well, I don’t really know either…”
Han Shin-woo looked at his guild leader with a somewhat incredulous expression. No, Han Shin-woo wasn’t a pig, and how could he understand the words of a monster he hadn’t tamed?
“I’ll take good care of delivering it when Do Ha-seong-ssi comes to work.”
Feeling sorry for the pig facing the expressionless Cha Do-hyeok, Han Shin-woo picked up the pig from the desk and held it in his arms. The pig also squealed as if reacting to Ha-seong’s name.
“Well. I don’t know if that pig’s owner will come today.”
“What? Isn’t Do Ha-seong-ssi coming to work today?”
Did he quit after just one day? Still, it was a large guild that shone with the name of being ranked #1. It was a guild that purifiers were dying to get into, and Nameless Guild was known for having the best treatment. Moreover, he understood that Do Ha-seong was a bit of a special case, so they had offered him even better conditions than other purifiers.
But did he just run away like this? Han Shin-woo couldn’t understand it a bit.
“I don’t know either.”
But even thinking that way, when he considered that Do Ha-seong had entered Cha Do-hyeok’s direct team, it seemed somewhat understandable. Even now that he had adapted, Han Shin-woo himself had wanted to run away more than once or twice after being selected as Cha Do-hyeok’s executive secretary and starting work.
Cha Do-hyeok was, how should he put it, difficult to deal with and had somewhat demanding aspects. If Ha-seong had run away, it would surely be because of that person. That’s what Han Shin-woo thought. If that was really the case, he resolved that he should take care of the poor pig that had lost its owner.
Do-hyeok stared intently at the LED clock on his desk. Time was already approaching work hours. Honestly, after that conversation at the cafe, a heated debate had taken place in Do-hyeok’s own mind about whether Do Ha-seong would actually come today.
First, the argument for “Do Ha-seong will come to work” was based on the reasoning that “a proposal is a proposal and work is work, so of course he’ll come to work.” Although it’s still hard to accept, that person’s dream was, what was it, to be a rich unemployed person, so he wouldn’t break this employment proposal where they agreed to give him as much money as he wanted.
But there was also an opposing argument. Do-hyeok had approached Do Ha-seong with ulterior motives from the beginning, and it was no different from openly saying he wanted to use him, so he might have thought “What the hell is this bastard” and decided never to get involved again. Moreover, the conversation they had that day was all ominous and suspicious talk.
Of course, as Ha-seong said, it would have been good to explain more about what Do-hyeok wanted from him, what the current situation was. But it was difficult to rashly reveal everything. Especially when Yoon Woo-bin was being so careful about security.
Do-hyeok unconsciously turned on his phone and entered the messenger app. He had never exchanged contact with Ha-seong even once, but the app he opened just in case was quiet. Looking at the few chat windows, he suddenly entered his private conversation with Kang Won-hyeok.
(Photo)
[Kang Won-hyeok: Hey, come to this hyung for romantic advice anytime.]
Looking at that photo, Do-hyeok recalled what he had whispered to Ha-seong that day.
‘If you accept my proposal with such a half-hearted attitude like you’re just testing the waters, you’ll get hurt badly, hyung.’
Maybe Do Ha-seong had been scared by those words. As he had thought then, this time he might really run away. With S-rank hunter skills, he could live without starving anywhere. The more he thought about it, the more the argument that “Do Ha-seong won’t come” gained strength in Do-hyeok’s mind.
But the stronger that argument became, the more Do-hyeok’s mood sank. Why was that?
“Should I give instructions to recruit another purifier?”
Han Shin-woo asked Do-hyeok carefully as he had become quiet.
Another person. A new person to replace that person.
It might take some time, but if they looked, they might be able to find someone. Someone to replace Do Ha-seong, that is. Of course, it wouldn’t be easy at all. Still, there was exactly one reason for feeling this way.
“Let’s wait and see for now.”
He hoped Do Ha-seong would come. He hoped he would open that door and enter nonchalantly. That was Do-hyeok’s current feeling.
“Then I’ll keep that in mind.”
Han Shin-woo nodded and seemed to think it wasn’t good to be near Do-hyeok whose atmosphere had changed quite a bit, so he just left his greeting and hurried out.
It was exactly 5 minutes after Han Shin-woo left his seat. Suddenly the guild leader’s office door burst open. The only person in Nameless who opened doors like that was Kang Won-hyeok. He was starting to think he should give up on that guy knocking.
“Hey, I’m not late today.”
But that voice wasn’t Kang Won-hyeok’s. Do-hyeok opened his eyes a bit wider and faced the person who had burst through the door.
“Why are you looking at me like that? I really wasn’t late.”
“…You came.”
“Well, should I not have come?”
Ha-seong closed the door and slowly approached Do-hyeok.
“No.”
Watching Ha-seong slowly approach, Do-hyeok vaguely felt it. This person has faithfully brought an answer to the proposal they discussed then, that’s what he thought.
Ha-seong caught his breath for a moment and then slowly opened his mouth.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
