#136
The next morning.
“…”
Dan Joo-hyuk slowly opened his eyes to the sunlight irritating his nose bridge. The sunlight was an issue, but something was also gently stimulating his chin.
His consciousness, which had been like a spark, gradually raised its head. Dan Joo-hyuk unconsciously grasped something soft that touched his palm.
“Mmm…”
At the same time, a faint groan was heard from Yoon Pa-ran. Dan Joo-hyuk instinctively stopped his hand that was about to apply force.
Slowly looking down at his arms, he saw Yoon Pa-ran frowning with his cheek firmly pressed against Dan Joo-hyuk’s chest.
“…”
For a moment, not understanding the situation, Dan Joo-hyuk blinked a few times. It didn’t take long for him to realize that he was lying down, greedily embracing a completely naked Yoon Pa-ran.
Did I fall asleep for a while?
Before realizing the meaning of this, his gaze moved to Yoon Pa-ran’s round shoulder. The blanket had slipped down due to his movement earlier, revealing bare skin.
Without realizing it, he pulled the blanket to tightly wrap Yoon Pa-ran’s body. Yoon Pa-ran squirmed, furrowing his brow even more as if feeling stuffy.
“…”
Only then did Dan Joo-hyuk also frown.
Why did I fall asleep?
He clearly remembered lying down next to Yoon Pa-ran. After tormenting him all night under the pretext of skills, Yoon Pa-ran had passed out. He didn’t even wake up when Dan Joo-hyuk was cleaning his wet body.
After making that body dry and comfortable, there wasn’t much else to do. So he ended up observing that peacefully sleeping face.
‘…’
Yoon Pa-ran, who had passed out, didn’t wake up even after a long time. Whether it was due to the aftermath of the quest or just fatigue, he couldn’t tell.
After pondering for a moment, Dan Joo-hyuk just lay down on his side next to him. After all, this was his bed too.
He had only thought about lying next to him, but before he knew it, it was morning.
Dan Joo-hyuk couldn’t believe that he had fallen into such a deep sleep. Since his awakening, he had never slept with another person nearby. His sharp instincts had made him that way without even being conscious of it.
However, the train of thought shattered like the sunlight when he saw Yoon Pa-ran’s white face.
“…”
The sunlight that had been tickling his nose bridge had now moved to Yoon Pa-ran’s cheek. The soft down there shimmered in the light.
As if he had never frowned, Yoon Pa-ran’s face was peaceful again. Even though it should have been enough time for the skill’s side effects to pass, he looked quite at ease. It was very like Yoon Pa-ran to be so careless, trusting who knows what.
Even while thinking this, Dan Joo-hyuk couldn’t take his eyes off him, as if entranced.
For a long time, Dan Joo-hyuk remained still in the position he had woken up in. Until the sunlight shining on his back slowly crept up his veins and conquered his mind in a flash of white.
Still, for the first time in a very long while, the morning after waking up wasn’t bad.
‘Enough, ungh…!’
Scenes from last night passed over Yoon Pa-ran’s calm face. The memory made his lower part, which was already naturally tensing, become hard.
Once the cause for hesitation was removed, Yoon Pa-ran no longer pushed Dan Joo-hyuk away. Was it because he was worried about the orphanage that he had been blindly running away at the mention of filling the skill?
Or was it simply because he didn’t want to do it?
“…”
Either way, Dan Joo-hyuk succeeded in implanting pleasure in Yoon Pa-ran’s body again. It was also thanks to the quest that appeared at an opportune moment.
It was really strange that the quest appeared at exactly that point. Especially considering that the quest was full of loopholes. Unlike the quests Dan Joo-hyuk had received so far, there was no “time limit.”
So the quest would never fail even if they never did it. No penalty could be enforced, whatever it might be. So Dan Joo-hyuk clearly sensed the will of something beyond the status window.
How would this unknown power, whether it was a god or something else, affect Yoon Pa-ran and himself in the future?
A momentary tension arose and then subsided. In any case, it wasn’t a bad situation that this unknown power was urging Dan Joo-hyuk to stick close to Yoon Pa-ran. Moreover, he didn’t feel any particular sense of crisis at the moment.
Thanks to that, last night was quite satisfactory. That’s probably why he too fell into a deep sleep without any wariness.
“Mmm…”
“…”
Dan Joo-hyuk, who had been looking down at Yoon Pa-ran’s face, slowly reached out his hand. He carefully tidied Yoon Pa-ran’s back as he stirred and pulled him into his arms.
Despite the fairly gentle touch, Yoon Pa-ran’s face showed subtle discomfort. Still, perhaps thanks to the slow movement, he didn’t wake up.
This kind of approach seemed to be effective in many ways. Once the soft-hearted Yoon Pa-ran judged that he wasn’t threatening, he reacted quite vulnerably.
So there shouldn’t be any problem in continuing the contract for the time being. It wouldn’t be a loss for Yoon Pa-ran either, and it was a contract with an inherently predetermined end anyway.
“…”
Dan Joo-hyuk’s face suddenly hardened at the thought that occurred to him.
Right. This was a peace like a time bomb.
The tranquil morning air he had found for once was only calm. As the things that had been swirling chaotically disappeared, Dan Joo-hyuk discovered what he had been avoiding all along.
…This damn syndrome that all S-class awakened hunters inevitably get.
There had already been too much contact with Yoon Pa-ran. The second hand of the time bomb probably didn’t have much time left.
“…”
Dan Joo-hyuk’s expression hardened as he gradually became aware of his predicament. He couldn’t bring himself to put more strength into the arm holding Yoon Pa-ran.
It was a problem that had always been lurking underfoot, just forgotten. Wasn’t it originally set up so that the contract could be terminated at any time, anticipating that this syndrome would flare up?
Knowing this, he still felt unpleasant. An unpleasant emptiness, as if a monster had deeply stabbed a corner of his heart, consumed him. He thought he wouldn’t care since he hadn’t expected anything, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.
It was while Dan Joo-hyuk was hesitating, unable to let go of Yoon Pa-ran, that it happened.
“Mmm…”
Yoon Pa-ran, who had been sleeping soundly, suddenly reached out his hand.
With a very natural gesture, he pulled Dan Joo-hyuk’s head and hugged it. Dan Joo-hyuk, who had his face buried in Yoon Pa-ran’s chest in the confusion, blinked slowly.
“There, there.”
Soon, Yoon Pa-ran even started gently stroking Dan Joo-hyuk’s head. At this everyday-like gesture, Dan Joo-hyuk’s face hardened in a different way than before.
Who on earth does he think he’s doing this to…
“Min-woong…”
The indescribable emotion that had flared up quickly subsided. Come to think of it, the name of that confident little kid he met at the orphanage was Min-woong.
Yoon Pa-ran very naturally held Dan Joo-hyuk stably in his arms and then fell back into a deep sleep. His breathing settled more evenly than before.
Even though he had tried to be as gentle as possible, Yoon Pa-ran couldn’t shake off the awkwardness while in his arms. However, he was quite adept at hugging when he thought it was his younger brother next to him.
Looking at Yoon Pa-ran like this, Dan Joo-hyuk was enveloped in a subtle feeling. It was an indescribable sensation. It was just like when he saw Yoon Pa-ran’s gentle face laying down his sharp thorns after he apologized.
“…”
So Dan Joo-hyuk slowly closed his eyes. He leaned fully into the warm and soft embrace touching his face.
As if by ignoring the problem like this, it would somehow disappear.
❖ ❖ ❖
Two days later. Dan Joo-hyuk headed to the Special Administrative Security Department.
Minister Byeon had successfully received and returned with the attacker captured inside the Russian gate. Today, they needed to discuss what could be learned from interrogating this prisoner.
It’s said that he also managed to extract one more item as a reward for single-handedly defeating the boss monster of the Russian gate. Among various options, he chose one with performance suitable for a ranged attacker.
He didn’t need it himself, but it might not be bad for Yoon Pa-ran to use.
Both were outcomes without much expectation. It might be thanks to Minister Byeon’s silver tongue, but there were other variables as well.
It was said that the Russian Tsar’s condition had become even stranger. One moment he was eagerly attending meetings, and the next he completely disappeared from official occasions. Minister Byeon had no choice but to win against the Russian government that lacked a central figure.
Considering the Tsar’s condition he sensed when shaking hands, there was a high probability that something had happened to his body. He wasn’t sure how long the hunters loyal to the Tsar would be able to hide it, but it might not be bad to go see his condition in person soon.
Besides that, peculiar movements continued to occur, centered around autocratic countries like Russia. They all started showing somewhat extreme behaviors, leading some to express concern that a war might break out soon.
In the midst of this calm before the storm, Dan Joo-hyuk let out a languid sigh. It was becoming somewhat annoying that there were more and more things to pay attention to.
Would Heo Sang-yeon properly bring such information? Due to his suspicion of Yoon Pa-ran, Dan Joo-hyuk was also carefully monitoring her movements.
While various thoughts flowed through his mind, Dan Joo-hyuk picked up his phone, which he had looked at several times already today. The gesture of habitually checking Yoon Pa-ran’s location and the safety status of the orphanage was natural.
“Dan Joo-hyuk.”
At that moment, someone called Dan Joo-hyuk from behind.
He wasn’t surprised because he had been sensing the fucking aura unique to another S-class hunter for a while. After briefly checking Yoon Pa-ran’s last location on his phone, he tucked it away.
When he turned around, it was Hunter Kim Min-ji, whom he hadn’t seen in a very long time.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
