#190
“……Park Jung-hoon?”
“Yes. Haven’t you heard yet?”
Ah. Right, that was a thing.
It was information that he’d received but had put off dealing with since it wasn’t important. Dan Joo-hyuk reflexively examined Yoon Pa-ran’s expression.
He found himself gazing endlessly at his pale face as he fell silent, seemingly lost in thought.
‘Well, we avoided that well enough. Anyway, I wonder if Park Jung-hoon was in a similar situation?’
It was Yoon Pa-ran who had questioned whether Park Jung-hoon might have also been controlled by that bastard Kim Tae-jun. And before attacking Yoon Pa-ran, Park Jung-hoon had openly shown his clumsy affection toward him.
Fortunately, Yoon Pa-ran hadn’t noticed that fact…
‘Besides, even if that was genuine interest, what does it have to do with you?’
…he definitely couldn’t let his guard down.
“……”
Dan Joo-hyuk’s mood, which had improved slightly, plummeted again.
He was curious about what Yoon Pa-ran was thinking, but for some reason, he was afraid to ask.
❖ ❖ ❖
The mission was completed quickly and smoothly.
“Thank you for your hard work, Hunter Yoon Pa-ran.”
“No, I didn’t do anything.”
As soon as they exited the gate, government officials rushed over to Yoon Pa-ran, making a fuss.
Since he literally hadn’t done anything, Yoon Pa-ran looked at the officials with slight discomfort. He found it somewhat difficult to adjust to the officials’ suddenly overfamiliar attitude overnight.
The D-grade gate was low-ranking and overflowing with hunters. With Dan Joo-hyuk joining in as well, Yoon Pa-ran was truly able to leave the gate without even drawing his sword.
The task of carrying out that heavy stone statue fell to the other hunters. When he quietly tried to help pull one of the ropes, everyone gasped and stopped him.
He understood that his skill was important, but this behavior seemed a bit excessive. Also, he was getting tired of everyone suddenly talking to him so much.
Behind him, the hunters struggled to drag out the safe zone statue. Then, for some reason, they all suddenly started cheering in unison, “Waaaah!”
“Why are they doing that?”
“Who knows. I think they’re all out of their minds.”
Dan Joo-hyuk, standing beside him, quietly covered both his ears with his palms.
He wasn’t the type to be affected by that level of noise. So he thought Dan Joo-hyuk’s action was unnecessary kindness, but he remained silent.
Did they all expect to watch the safe zone being created right here? Originally, they were supposed to experiment with it immediately after bringing it out, but the schedule had been urgently changed, which they all seemed unaware of.
Where to install the ‘safe zone’ first had recently become a hot topic of debate.
“By the way, I secured what we talked about.”
Having covered someone else’s ears to protect them from noise, Dan Joo-hyuk was now whispering right next to his ear. Perhaps because it was so noisy around them, he was close enough that Yoon Pa-ran could feel his breath, making his ear tickle.
“Mm. Thanks.”
Naturally brushing his ear with his shoulder, Yoon Pa-ran expressed his gratitude. After all, he now had materials to secretly experiment with later. After that, Dan Joo-hyuk kept his distance.
Yoon Pa-ran looked curiously at his somewhat subtle attitude recently.
It had been about a week since Dan Joo-hyuk had stopped receiving skills from him.
“……”
Since they had made the contract, this was rare except for the early days. After their brief kiss during the first safe zone experiment, he and Dan Joo-hyuk had barely had any contact of that nature.
While he didn’t need to worry about injury aftereffects anymore, was everything really okay?
“By the way, I have some things to organize. Please go to the orphanage first. I’ll assign you security.”
Just as Yoon Pa-ran couldn’t quite figure out what was okay, Dan Joo-hyuk, who had been looking toward the government officials, spoke.
“Security?”
“I’ll follow soon after.”
He had asked in the sense of “why security?” but Dan Joo-hyuk just smiled slightly and said only what he needed to say.
Recently, they had been spending an excessive amount of time together, but this was the first time he had mentioned assigning security.
“I can go alone.”
Although he understood the need for security, Yoon Pa-ran somehow found this situation a bit uncomfortable.
It also seemed unlikely that anything would happen during the short car ride to the orphanage. Besides, there were already security guards stationed in the neighborhood where the orphanage was located.
However, Yoon Pa-ran’s resistance melted away at Dan Joo-hyuk’s next words.
“I know. But I’m worried, so please go with the security guards.”
If he’s going to put it that way, well, what can I do?
“…Alright.”
When Yoon Pa-ran agreed with diminished spirit, Dan Joo-hyuk let out a chuckle. That laugh was so natural that Yoon Pa-ran found himself staring at him.
Soon after, his large hand brushed against Yoon Pa-ran’s cheek before moving away.
Looking at him like this, he seemed like the usual Dan Joo-hyuk. But in reality, even such skinship had drastically decreased, which made Yoon Pa-ran feel a bit uneasy.
It feels like I’m missing something.
“Hunter Yoon Pa-ran. I’m Lee Hyun-moon, head of security.”
“Ah.”
Just then, a hunter wearing a government official uniform approached and spoke to him. There were quite a few hunters who belonged to the Gate Management Office, and Lee Hyun-moon was known as the highest-ranked A-class hunter among them.
Behind him stood security guards in rigid postures. Yoon Pa-ran gave an uncomfortable look at the composition of both civilians and hunters.
…Would he have to live like this from now on?
“We’ve prepared a vehicle. Shall we go?”
“Uh…”
Following Lee Hyun-moon’s guidance, Yoon Pa-ran headed toward the vehicle parked right in front of the gate. After waving goodbye to the Fish Cutlet Guild members who were saying farewell behind him, the process of getting into the vehicle felt extremely awkward.
“……”
For the first time in a while, he truly felt the weight of his skill. When he was with Dan Joo-hyuk, everything had seemed normal, so he hadn’t noticed much difference.
It might be much less troublesome to just go around with him alone.
“I apologize for the late introduction. Hunter Dan Joo-hyuk has been taking care of everything, so I didn’t have a chance to greet you.”
“I’ve heard about you. …Please take care of my siblings.”
Yoon Pa-ran nodded and responded to Lee Hyun-moon’s polite words. He had already heard that security guards had been placed at the schools his siblings attended and along their routes to and from school.
In a way, all the safety measures he had wanted to implement himself had been achieved. However, now that he was experiencing it himself, he worried whether his siblings would be uncomfortable.
“……”
“……”
Lee Hyun-moon was an extremely taciturn person. He was rumored to be the exemplar of a diligent civil servant, and now Yoon Pa-ran fully understood what that meant.
Because of this, Yoon Pa-ran had to endure this rather awkward moment alone. He found himself looking around the interior of what he’d been told was an armored vehicle several times.
“We’ve arrived.”
“Phew……”
Fortunately, the car soon entered the orphanage courtyard. This was thanks to the gate that had occurred today not being too far away.
“Please rest.”
“Thank you.”
As if he had been confined and was now liberated, Yoon Pa-ran quickly got out of the car.
It was still daytime, so his siblings would be at school. The orphanage director seemed to be out as well, as the courtyard was quiet and empty.
The security vehicle promptly left the orphanage. Watching it blankly, Yoon Pa-ran slowly walked to the swing and sat down heavily.
“Hmm……”
Dan Joo-hyuk said he’d follow soon, so should he wait? Moving his legs back and forth gently, Yoon Pa-ran fell into thought. The swing that Dan Joo-hyuk had personally hung for him creaked faintly, swaying slightly back and forth.
If it looks like he’ll be delayed, he should go to Dan Joo-hyuk’s house. He wanted to take a shower, but didn’t dare take off this dangerous equipment here.
But if he wanted to stay at Dan Joo-hyuk’s house, would he have to go with the security guards again?
A slight sense of frustration came over Yoon Pa-ran, but he decided to ignore it. If it couldn’t be reversed, adaptation was the best option.
As he fell into a daze, he suddenly remembered a rumor he had heard at the gate. They said Park Jung-hoon had regained consciousness.
“……”
Perhaps he should visit him.
Before attacking him, he had given quite a good impression. So if he was truly a victim who had been completely controlled, Yoon Pa-ran wanted to do something for him.
If he was really Kim Tae-jun’s sacrificial lamb, wouldn’t it be good to properly cleanse him?
“Hunter!”
Just then, a security company employee approached.
“Oh, hello.”
The employee, who was about the same age as Yoon Pa-ran, had a very friendly face. In his sturdy arms, he carried what appeared to be a luxurious potted plant.
“You’ve been to the gate!”
“Yeah.”
With a puzzled look, Yoon Pa-ran stared at the plant. Despite the elegant appearance of the expensive pot, the tips of the green leaves were withered.
“Ah, this. I received it as a gift, but I’m hardly ever home. I thought it might look nice as decoration for the orphanage.”
“Aaah……”
Stopping the swinging motion, Yoon Pa-ran looked at the potted plant again and tilted his head.
For some reason, he felt…
“By the way, Hunter.”
“Hm?”
“Would you… like to go see a movie with me?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
