#156
Why is he suddenly acting like this?
There was no apparent reason. He had only talked about Lee Ha-min. Ah, could Lee Ha-min possibly be connected to this situation somehow?
With this plausible suspicion, Yoon Pa-ran asked Kwak Jung-min first. After all, he was concerned about the person he’d rescued from the gate.
“How is he doing?”
“Still recovering, he says. Well, he’s lucky not to have seizures from injury aftereffects. These days, with everything in chaos… Wow, this fruit is really sweet.”
After answering casually, Kwak Jung-min cheerfully pulled the fruit plate toward himself.
Na Young-mo, who was looking at Kwak Jung-min somewhat pitifully, continued:
“It seems he wants to repay the favor. Someone like him could be helpful in various matters. His family has considerable influence.”
“Really?”
It was a meaningful statement, but Yoon Pa-ran just shrugged.
He hadn’t helped with any expectations in the first place.
“As long as there’s no problem, that’s fine. I’ll see him later or something.”
Though he had no intention of visiting, he gave a casual answer.
At that moment, Dan Joo-hyuk, who had been silent beside him, suddenly grabbed Yoon Pa-ran’s arm.
“Let’s go.”
“Uh…”
His body was pulled away. Crossing the threshold, Yoon Pa-ran barely managed to say goodbye to the three people.
“I’m leaving.”
“Y-yes…”
Dan Joo-hyuk didn’t release Yoon Pa-ran’s hand until they reached the car. Noticing his suddenly serious demeanor, Yoon Pa-ran silently followed along.
Is there another urgent issue we need to address?
The car was parked in an open space behind the restaurant. The Guild Fish Cutlet members’ cars weren’t visible, and only Dan Joo-hyuk’s car sat alone in the spacious parking lot.
Despite having urgently dragged Yoon Pa-ran to the car, Dan Joo-hyuk didn’t start driving. Just as Yoon Pa-ran was wondering about this prolonged silence, Dan Joo-hyuk finally spoke.
“I heard that Yoon Pa-ran rescued some guy and carried him out.”
“Huh?”
“I didn’t know you were injured trying to save him.”
“Ah. It was nothing.”
It turned out to be nothing special. At the time, it was merely a broken rib—a minor injury.
Besides, it wasn’t even an injury from trying to save Lee Ha-min. It was because Won Dong-hyun went berserk.
However, apparently displeased with the answer, Dan Joo-hyuk clamped his mouth shut again. Only the sound of his fingertips tapping the steering wheel echoed inside the car.
He seems upset. Why?
Dan Joo-hyuk had appeared to be in a good mood while eating fruit. Despite racking his brain, Yoon Pa-ran couldn’t figure out the cause of Dan Joo-hyuk’s suddenly deteriorated mood.
Instead, a question flashed through Yoon Pa-ran’s mind. Hearing Lee Ha-min’s name after a long time reminded him of something he’d forgotten.
During the Linked Anomaly Incident gate, after being attacked by Won Dong-hyun, Lee Ha-min had acted as if he was being controlled by that black energy.
If so, perhaps…
“Tell me.”
“What?”
“What you’re thinking right now.”
Just as Yoon Pa-ran was lost in thought, Dan Joo-hyuk spoke sharply. How he knew what Yoon Pa-ran was thinking was enough to make monsters weep.
With a bewildered expression, Yoon Pa-ran began:
“That day, Hunter Lee Ha-min seemed to be controlled by an energy similar to the stone fragments.”
“…Did he attack Hunter Yoon Pa-ran and injure you?”
Dan Joo-hyuk asked a question that was off-topic, but that wasn’t the important part.
“No, I dodged that well. Anyway, I was wondering if Park Jung-hoon might have been in a similar situation?”
What came to mind after seeing Lee Ha-min’s case was none other than Park Jung-hoon.
He had completely forgotten about it, but the more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed. Especially now that he knew those stone fragments could manipulate people’s minds.
When they were clearing the gate together, Park Jung-hoon had been a decent guy. But then he suddenly attacked, trying to kill Yoon Pa-ran. Could it have been the same situation as Lee Ha-min?
“That’s impossible.”
However, Dan Joo-hyuk immediately retorted as soon as Yoon Pa-ran finished speaking.
“You almost died because of him. It’s a pointless thought.”
A large hand approached and caressed Yoon Pa-ran’s cheek as usual. Unlike earlier, Dan Joo-hyuk’s lips were smoothly curved upward.
“Don’t you think?”
He gently tapped Yoon Pa-ran’s cheek as if seeking agreement. Feeling the rhythm on his skin, Yoon Pa-ran stared blankly at Dan Joo-hyuk’s face again.
Is he feeling better now?
“I guess…”
Upon hearing it, Dan Joo-hyuk’s words made sense.
Whatever the circumstances, that day Yoon Pa-ran truly almost died at Park Jung-hoon’s hands. So there was no need to preemptively sympathize with his situation.
“More importantly, I have something to give you.”
“Something to give me?”
Dan Joo-hyuk changed the subject as if the conversation was over.
Naturally, Yoon Pa-ran’s attention shifted that way.
“Here. It came from the Russian gate last time. I received it as an additional reward.”
“Really?”
The Russian gate was where Dan Joo-hyuk’s SS-class item had been found. Even apart from that, it was deeply related to the suspicious stone fragments they were chasing.
Was there something he needed to examine with his skill? Thinking lightly, Yoon Pa-ran accepted the longsword Dan Joo-hyuk handed him without suspicion.
“This has a leap skill.”
The item was quite good. Though it was also an A-class longsword, it had many additional features incomparable to what Yoon Pa-ran currently used.
Especially the built-in skill allowing for long-distance leaps was tempting even for Yoon Pa-ran. It synergized perfectly with his ranged skills.
However, no matter how closely he examined it, he couldn’t sense any strange energy. So Yoon Pa-ran looked at Dan Joo-hyuk with puzzlement.
“Do you like it?”
“It’s a good item.”
“I’ve had it enhanced too. Use it as your main equipment from now on.”
“Huh?”
Rather than resolving his doubts, Dan Joo-hyuk only added to them.
Before Yoon Pa-ran, who didn’t immediately understand, could speak again, Dan Joo-hyuk definitively stated:
“It’s yours, Yoon Pa-ran.”
“No…”
Finally, Yoon Pa-ran examined the item in his hand with a perplexed expression—a longsword with an even more burdensome value due to being perfectly enhanced.
Since it was A-class, curses wouldn’t affect it anyway, so why enhance it? More importantly, there was no reason for him to accept this.
Already feeling weighed down by the anklet, Yoon Pa-ran faintly frowned.
“What do I need to do in return?”
“…You don’t need to do anything.”
At the statement that there wasn’t even a price, Yoon Pa-ran looked strangely at Dan Joo-hyuk. It was frustrating not being able to guess his intentions.
Though the sword’s leap skill was regrettable, Yoon Pa-ran handed it back to Dan Joo-hyuk.
“Then, you don’t need to give it to me. I have no reason to accept it.”
“…”
“I’ll return the anklet you gave me yesterday too. Um, sorry, but I already gave the necklace to Ju-hee. For that one, I’ll definitely pay the price.”
Originally, he considered just taking advantage of Dan Joo-hyuk’s generosity, but he didn’t want to. For the necklace, he was willing to give whatever was demanded.
It was more comfortable to return items that were too good for him. If Dan Joo-hyuk was doing this to demand a difficult price later, he would have preferred him to be honest.
However, Dan Joo-hyuk abruptly cut off Yoon Pa-ran’s words with a rather firm voice.
“You’ve already accepted the anklet, so that matter is settled.”
“Still…”
“That’s yours, so always wear it. …Especially when meeting me.”
It was an uncharacteristically inconsistent statement. Surprised, Yoon Pa-ran opened his eyes wide and met Dan Joo-hyuk’s gaze. In particular, he couldn’t immediately understand why he should specifically wear it when meeting him.
Is it because we’ll be going to many dangerous places together? Because it’s an item with a defensive skill?
“No, then why this sword…”
“I’m giving it because I think you’ll need it in the future.”
The question of “why” was immediately blocked by Dan Joo-hyuk’s dropping words.
Frustrated with his ambiguous attitude all along, Yoon Pa-ran simply looked directly at Dan Joo-hyuk and asked:
“If you need something, just say it straight. Don’t act suspiciously.”
“…”
From Yoon Pa-ran’s understanding, there was no such thing as “nothing” between them. From the beginning, that wasn’t an appropriate reason for such a hard-to-obtain item to change hands. Just as Dan Joo-hyuk had intended from the start.
Of course, recently Yoon Pa-ran thought of Dan Joo-hyuk as a close comrade. He also knew that Dan Joo-hyuk was treating him better than a mere contractual relationship.
But even considering all that, Yoon Pa-ran couldn’t understand this situation at all. Were these items of a value that could be casually given between mere colleagues?
He could simply take the benefit coming his way, but for some reason, Yoon Pa-ran wasn’t comfortable with even that. He couldn’t pinpoint exactly what aspect made him uncomfortable.
It felt like a crucial link was missing when activating a skill, leaving things misaligned.
“I don’t need anything.”
“…”
Dan Joo-hyuk answered Yoon Pa-ran with a somewhat subdued voice. His behavior, acting as if he was truly just giving a gift, remained suspicious.
After some silence, Dan Joo-hyuk moved closer to the passenger seat.
“If you’re that uncomfortable, how about giving me a kiss?”
Yoon Pa-ran looked directly at that handsome, faintly smiling face.
His own frowning face felt powerless against that composed expression. It was clear that Dan Joo-hyuk had no intention of properly explaining what he needed, and Yoon Pa-ran lacked the capacity to guess.
Though it wasn’t anything new, it felt quite frustrating.
“Hoo… Fine.”
Finally giving up, Yoon Pa-ran nodded with a slight sigh. Whether Dan Joo-hyuk was trying to tease him or actually needed the skill a little, he intended to play along for now.
Even if he ended up giving Dan Joo-hyuk more than expected later, it couldn’t be helped. In a situation with unknown dangers lurking, the item was too valuable to simply give up.
“Should we do it now? How much of the skill percentage do you want to fill?”
“…”
For a while, Dan Joo-hyuk stared back at Yoon Pa-ran’s innocent face looking up at him, unable to say anything.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
