Chapter 19
“What?!”
The man, Han Seong Hyeon, jumped up from his seat as if he couldn’t believe it. Then he stared at Seo Won menacingly with eyes that had grown about twice as large as before. Since he couldn’t understand what was happening, Seo Won could only flinch and step back at that violent reaction.
But even in the midst of this, he couldn’t help but ask what Baek Rak meant by “found him.”
“Baek Rak, what is…… this situation right now.”
“What do you mean?”
“You said you found me. Me? You never said anything like that before.”
The guy who had helped him and urged him to become a Hunter seemed far from anything ‘planned.’ But now that very premise was being shaken. Baek Rak had been looking for someone, and the situation was telling him that person was himself.
Perhaps sensing the atmosphere wasn’t ordinary, Han Seong Hyeon hurriedly approached.
“Baek Rak has some selfish tendencies. You can tell even after spending a little time with him, right? Please understand.”
Han Seong Hyeon spoke in a gentle voice that matched his appearance. Unlike the norm here of not smiling at strangers, his face was full of smiles. He couldn’t tell what the truth was.
“By the way, what’s your name?”
Like Baek Rak, Han Seong Hyeon also asked for his name first, as if asking names was an important custom here.
Seo Won glanced at Baek Rak and answered Han Seong Hyeon.
“My name is Yoon Seo Won.”
He knew using formal speech would seem strange, but it wasn’t easy to speak casually to someone who appeared older than him, unless they were a child.
Besides, what Baek Rak had emphasized he should hide was only that he was awakening as a Hunter. He hadn’t told him to hide that he came from another world, so he wanted to show himself as he was. It would be discovered eventually anyway as they lived together.
He thought this was the best way to let them know he didn’t know the common sense of this place, but Han Seong Hyeon hesitantly stepped back. He looked troubled.
“I’m sorry if I offended you.”
“……What?”
“I was just so happy to see you, so please don’t be angry.”
Seo Won blinked and soon realized the situation, rubbing his forehead. It seemed like a headache was coming on. What the hell was wrong with this world……
“I’m not angry. I mean……”
“He’s not from this world. You can tell by looking at his face.”
While he was organizing his thoughts to explain step by step, Baek Rak presented the conclusion first. Seo Won couldn’t hide his bewilderment. Why was that guy so disorderly? If you suddenly say someone’s not from here, would they just accept it and say yes?
“Ah, I thought so.”
However, contrary to his worries, Han Seong Hyeon nodded and accepted it.
‘Wow, really. It’s too hard to adapt.’
Both Baek Rak and Han Seong Hyeon. Are people like me common here? They acted as if they had met people from other worlds several times before, so he was rather curious himself.
“But is this kind of thing common?”
“Huh? What?”
“When you say someone came from another world, don’t people usually get surprised or treat them like weirdos?”
“Hmm, that would take a long time to explain.”
When Seo Won tilted his head, Han Seong Hyeon gestured for him to sit and pointed to the sofa. Since the conversation seemed like it would be long, when he sat down, Han Seong Hyeon also sat across from him.
He immediately asked a question.
“Do you happen to know what disease people get if they can’t get sunlight?”
“That’s……”
He roughly knew that diseases like depression or osteoporosis developed. There would be various complications due to vitamin D deficiency too. He didn’t know in detail, but he had that much knowledge.
“In terms of physical changes, I knew about osteoporosis or even heart disease in severe cases. Until the meteorite fell. That was about…… 300 years ago, so there’s practically no remaining data left now.”
“Wa, wait a moment. 300 years……?”
“Yes, 300 years. Why?”
Seo Won still couldn’t forget that day. Since not even a week had passed, he remembered it vividly.
The object that suddenly fell definitely resembled the meteorite here. So he thought this was a mirror world that had suffered the same thing, but 300 years had already passed since that day. He didn’t know there would be such a time difference.
“A meteorite fell where I lived too. It was about a week ago…… but hearing that 300 years have already passed here is a bit strange.”
“A meteorite fell there too?”
Baek Rak also showed interest, perhaps because it was the first time he was hearing this story. Baek Rak, who had been casually leaning against the sofa, sat next to Seo Won.
“Yeah.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
At Baek Rak’s interrogation-like tone, Seo Won glared at him. It was absurd that the guy who always cut off conversations and had no intention of properly talking was acting like this now.
“Did you ever want to have a conversation with me?”
“Wasn’t what we’ve been doing conversation?”
“You only said what you wanted to say.”
“I did that, and I also answered your questions.”
“……”
He couldn’t argue because it wasn’t wrong. It was true that he had constantly asked questions and wanted answers. The reason getting to know this world had to take priority over telling his own story was because it was connected to survival.
And honestly, he hadn’t thought Baek Rak would be curious about him. He found him interesting, but that was it. Baek Rak only cared about him becoming a Hunter.
So Baek Rak’s interest like this was unnecessary.
“Why does it matter that a meteorite fell where I was?”
Instead of answering, Baek Rak propped his chin and stared at Seo Won intently. Then he scanned Seo Won’s entire body again and narrowed his eyes.
“Yoon Seo Won, you.”
“What.”
After calling his name and staring at him for a while, Baek Rak slowly opened his mouth.
“Are you really from another world?”
What does that mean? Seo Won squinted and then jumped up after understanding belatedly.
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
“Well, isn’t this more credible? That you slept for a long time in the same world and woke up. It makes more sense than coming from another world.”
This time too, Seo Won couldn’t argue back. He wanted to say something, but he could only open and close his mouth without being able to say anything. When he thought about it, Baek Rak’s speculation wasn’t unreasonable either.
‘Could this really be future Earth? Really?’
As he was confused by another unexpected hypothesis, suddenly there was a clapping sound.
“Let’s slowly figure that out later, and can we continue the conversation we were having?”
At Han Seong Hyeon’s intervention, Seo Won snapped back to attention. When he looked at Baek Rak, he turned his gaze to Han Seong Hyeon without saying anything. Well, whether this was another world or future Earth, there was no way to confirm it right now. Now was the time to gather information.
When Seo Won nodded, Han Seong Hyeon also nodded.
“Anyway, that’s how it was in the past, but after the meteorite fell, those diseases disappeared. So we can live without getting sick even without sunlight.”
“……Is it because of the meteorite?”
“That’s what we think. We don’t know in detail what kind of reaction occurred. We just think we’re fortunate. Seeing that some people awakened as Hunters after the meteorite fell, it’s certain that some change occurred in humans. Oh, do you not know what Hunters are?”
“No, I know because I heard from Baek Rak.”
“That’s fortunate. Anyway, as other diseases disappeared, the skin that couldn’t see sunlight gradually changed too. Look, see.”
Han Seong Hyeon held out his hand. His hand was pale like Baek Rak’s and transparent enough to see veins. Seo Won held out his hand next to it.
He knew it, but comparing like this, he could definitely feel they were different. In this place, he felt like he was the only one with color.
“It is interesting seeing it up close.”
Han Seong Hyeon, perhaps thinking the same thing, looked at both hands alternately.
“Yoon Seo Won, you lived in a place with sunlight, right?”
“Yes, well.”
“From how comfortable you seem with formal speech, that must have been normal where you lived.”
Seo Won nodded. Fortunately, he was someone who communicated better than Baek Rak.
“But here it’s used when being sarcastic or angry, so I recommend changing your speech if possible. Actually, even now you look like you’re angry at me.”
“……It’s difficult.”
“You have to adapt, you know.”
Seo Won nodded with difficulty. Like when in Rome, do as the Romans do, here he had no choice but to adapt as a foreigner. It was easy to speak casually to Baek Rak, but now it took quite a bit of courage. He had no choice but to think of him as just a friend and steel his heart.
“Oh, come to think of it, I didn’t introduce myself. I’m Han Seong Hyeon. Though I’m inadequate, I manage the Yeongdeungpo Station shelter.”
“Please take care of me. No, please take care…… of me.”
Han Seong Hyeon burst into laughter seeing Seo Won’s awkward appearance. What was so uncomfortable? Shaking his head as if feeling sorry, he straightened his body that had been leaning against the sofa and slowly leaned forward. Then he put both arms on his knees and leaned his upper body forward more, clasping his hands together as he spoke.
“Now that we’ve roughly introduced ourselves, shall we have a serious conversation?”
Having said that, Han Seong Hyeon erased his previously smooth appearance and his eyes lit up. Literally, his black pupils began to shine with a yellow tint.
So Han Seong Hyeon was also a Hunter like Baek Rak. Seo Won felt like he was once again confirmed that this place was not a world familiar to him. Blue eyes followed by yellow eyes. It was really like a movie.
However, that wasn’t the only problem.
“You’re currently in the process of awakening as a Hunter, right?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
