Chapter 71
It was Mujin who moved first, in place of the frozen Eunseong. He put his hands under Eunseong’s armpits and lifted him up effortlessly. Gripping his hands firmly, he immediately walked toward the entrance. In an instant, he had put shoes on Eunseong’s feet and stepped out into the yard.
“Baek Mujin, you absurd bastard. If you’re going to leave, at least say something, and take me with you. Do you even know the passcode to my house?”
Woo Nayeong, who had hurriedly followed them out, stood beside Mujin and complained. Mujin didn’t even answer him but put Eunseong in the passenger seat of his car and immediately went around to the driver’s side and opened the door. He only gave Woo Nayeong a nod, gesturing for him to lead the way.
“This is unbelievable.”
When Woo Nayeong just stood there, Mujin got into the driver’s seat and started the engine. The atmosphere was such that he might never speak to him again just because he had mentioned introducing his nephew. Woo Nayeong chuckled and opened the back door to get in.
“I took a taxi here. How could I drive with a hangover? Let’s go. You remember my home address, right?”
“You must have had a lot to drink,” Eunseong said, fidgeting with his seatbelt.
“I was up all night. In the morning, someone from Sayeong Guild came—who was it… Ryu? That hunter—I was watching him apply buffs, then went to take a shower when suddenly there was knocking at the door. Saying he had woken up.”
“Hunter Ryu Sehyeon.”
“That’s right. I took a taxi straight here. Haven’t even had a chance to cure my hangover.”
After saying that, Woo Nayeong gave a big yawn and then fell silent, asking only to be woken when they arrived.
As the car drove along the road, Eunseong couldn’t keep his hands still. After fidgeting with his seatbelt, he felt for his safety goggles. He felt like he could calm down if he could just see something. Sitting in the pitch-black closed vision made every minute feel like a hundred, which was unbearable.
Just as he was about to unfasten the safety goggles, Mujin, who had been silently driving, suddenly spoke.
“I wish I had a buff skill or something.”
“What?”
“To put you to sleep, Yoo Eunseong. You’re so restless that I feel like I might cause an accident.”
Eunseong composed his expression, neither smiling nor crying, and let out a small sigh.
“Sorry.”
“No. I understand how you feel.”
Maybe it was because Mujin hadn’t been too fond of Hanyeong from the beginning. But now he was willingly taking them there, and even though he was just saying something trivial, Eunseong felt like he might overflow with emotion.
“Thank you.”
With Curry gone too, Eunseong had been feeling downhearted. But facing the news that Hanyeong had awakened, he felt overwhelmed with the thought that if you just hold on, good things can happen.
“Just sleep, Eunseong-ah. We still have an hour to go.”
“I’ll try.”
Mujin silently nodded and took Eunseong’s hand.
“Will this help you calm down?”
No, it makes me more nervous.
“…Yeah.”
Eunseong lied because he didn’t want to let go of the hand that had been taken. The pounding heart would be concealed by the situation. He had only been focused on wanting to get to Hanyeong quickly, but because of their touching palms, he started to get confused. For a moment, he had the strange thought that it might be nice to drive a little slower.
***
Guided by Ryu Sehyeon from Sayeong Guild, Eunseong stood in front of the room where Hanyeong was staying.
“Whew…”
He wiped his damp palms on his pants. It was a door that needed neither key nor passcode—he just had to turn the doorknob—but he found it hard to move his feet.
“Geumseum-ah.”
Mujin, standing beside him, took the doorknob instead.
“You need to see him to confirm it’s real.”
“…Yeah.”
Eunseong placed his hand over Mujin’s and finally opened the door.
Inside it was quiet and warm. In the bedroom, where small beeping sounds from machines regularly sounded, Hanyeong sat on the bed, blankly staring out the window. His rounded back, propped against a blue cushion, made his body look much smaller than Eunseong remembered.
Eunseong took a sharp breath.
“Hanyeong-ah.”
Hanyeong’s shoulders flinched as he recognized the voice. He turned around quickly, and as he seemed about to jump off the bed, Eunseong rushed over and hugged him tightly.
“Geum… ah.”
His voice was extremely hoarse, unclear, and very quiet. When Eunseong looked at Ryu Sehyeon with an expression that asked for an explanation, he cleared his throat and began.
“It seems his vocal cords are damaged. But that can be treated gradually. Right now, even though it’s frustrating, the fact that he’s awake at all is a miracle, so you should just be happy about that for now.”
Nodding, Eunseong adjusted his position to sit facing Hanyeong. Carefully placing both hands on his cheeks, he drew up his power. A gentle, warm energy gathered and tickled Hanyeong’s skin like popping soap bubbles. It was Eunseong’s buff skill that he had been diligently training to revive.
Hanyeong opened his eyes wide and looked back at Eunseong. With a surprised expression, he flapped his hands wildly.
“He’s wondering if your eyes have fully healed, what this power is now, and where he is…”
Mujin said quietly.
“…He seems curious.”
Hanyeong gave a thumbs up to Mujin, who had volunteered as interpreter. As he nodded, confirming Mujin’s accuracy, Woo Nayeong, who was standing nearby, burst out laughing.
“I’ll call Lee Haesu.”
While listening to Mujin contacting Lee Haesu, Eunseong examined Hanyeong. The look of overwhelming emotion was the same in Hanyeong’s eyes.
The last thing he remembered was losing consciousness on that night when they were being chased by the spider monster. Then when he opened his eyes, he was in an unknown place with Geumseum, who had become much more beautiful than before, standing in front of him. Hanyeong had an expression like he was dreaming.
Eunseong wiped his wet eyes with the back of his hand and hugged Hanyeong again. The warm body temperature was exactly the same as when he had saved him from the Bottom. It was a moment when relief washed over him like a tide.
“You must have been in so much pain.”
He couldn’t forget when the blood flowing from Hanyeong’s mouth had soaked his palm. Having a precious person’s body damaged and eventually leaving his side was a deeply rooted trauma in Eunseong’s unconscious.
But Hanyeong had survived. Eunseong had deliberately suppressed hope, thinking it would hurt more if he allowed himself to hope, but Hanyeong had endured so admirably. His heart was so full that his vision kept blurring.
Hanyeong patted Eunseong’s back. Then he pushed Eunseong’s shoulders away with both arms and examined his face. He wiped Eunseong’s soaked cheeks with his small hands and then pointed to his own shoulder with his finger.
“He says you’ve made his shoulder all wet.”
Mujin’s monotone translation made Eunseong laugh through his tears.
Woo Nayeong, who had stepped out briefly, returned with a small tablet. He turned on a memo pad and handed it to Hanyeong with a pen. Eunseong demonstrated to the wide-eyed Hanyeong.
[You can write what you want to say here.]
Hanyeong stroked the tablet curiously and then adjusted his grip on the pen. After a moment’s hesitation, he carefully wrote his first words.
[Are you okay?]
Eunseong felt as if Hanyeong’s soft young hand holding his was more solid than his own.
“I’m okay. I’m fine now. Now… everything is really okay.”
[Really?]
“You probably don’t know this, Hanyeong, but I got rid of the boss too. I was so angry about him hitting you that I killed him.”
At Eunseong’s words, Ryu Sehyeon, who was standing nearby, made a shocked expression. Hanyeong, however, showed no surprise at Eunseong’s statement about killing the boss. Instead, his eyes sparkled as if they had stars in them as he gazed at Eunseong.
While Lee Haesu, who had arrived just then, examined Hanyeong’s condition, Eunseong borrowed the bathroom to wash his face. Cooling his face with cold water made his sore eyes feel a bit better.
“From now on, Geumseum is your boss.”
Mujin defined their relationship in terms Hanyeong would understand.
“Boss? Me? You should be the boss.”
“Since you’re the guild leader, Geumseum, you’re the boss.”
“Actually, you should be the guild leader.”
Eunseong laughed incredulously. Woo Nayeong was bringing out various clothes that his nephews had worn when they were young. He urged Eunseong to sort through them for something Hanyeong could wear.
“Anyway, now that you’re better, you need to earn your keep. Though I’m not sure how helpful you’ll be.”
“How evil. You’re going to make a minor work?”
“I think this kid will enjoy it.”
Despite Woo Nayeong’s criticism, Mujin didn’t back down.
Meanwhile, Hanyeong was holding Lee Haesu’s arm, his eyes sparkling. Looking to see why, Eunseong saw that he had written a question on the tablet.
[Could that person possibly be Baek Mujin?]
“Y-yeah. That’s right. That’s Baek Mujin.”
Despite Lee Haesu’s lukewarm confirmation, Hanyeong’s expression of admiration didn’t fade. Even in the Bottom, far removed from residential areas, some hunters were incredibly famous, and among them, Baek Mujin was undoubtedly the greatest.
Our Geumseum is so cool. He must be on the same level as Baek Mujin.
Hanyeong looked at Eunseong with bright, sparkling eyes. I must have picked up a shooting star back then. His chest swelled with pride.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
