S-Class Healer? Me? 12

#12

After thinking about that, his appetite disappeared.

As Seo Yi-young wiped his mouth, he found it slightly ridiculous that he still felt satisfied despite everything.

Figuring it was best to focus on the positives, Seo Yi-young returned to his room. After struggling so much in the dungeon, he was curious about how much money he had earned.

When he checked his bank account balance, his mouth fell open wide enough to fit a fist inside.

“…How much is this? One, two, three, four… eight… twelve zeroes?”

And that wasn’t even his only bank account. Sleep completely vanished.

He was looking at it with his own eyes, but he couldn’t believe it. With this much money, he could live his entire life just on the monthly interest. It was hard to believe all this money was his.

To be precise, it was money that the Seo Yi-young of this dimension had earned and saved, but wasn’t he still himself? What belonged to Seo Yi-young belonged to him. And how much could he possibly spend anyway? With this money, he felt like he could buy an entire department store.

Just imagining it made him fidget, unable to sit still.

But perhaps because he had just come out of the dungeon, his fatigue wasn’t something to ignore. Thinking he should rest a bit, he turned on the TV. Ironically, Choi Do-jun’s face appeared on screen, taking up the entire frame. It seemed to be an interview right after clearing the dungeon.

Come to think of it, he hadn’t thanked him yet.

The unpleasant memories with Choi Do-jun from the previous dimension hadn’t disappeared, but right now, Seo Yi-young was alive thanks to him. He was literally a lifesaver.

Even if Choi Do-jun’s personality turned out to be as bad as in the previous dimension, he should still act properly and follow etiquette.

Right. Regardless of whether I like Choi Do-jun or not, I should thank him.

Just as he made this decision, Choi Do-jun’s face filled the screen.

“Hunter Choi Do-jun, how was the dungeon conquest?”

“This was your first time entering a dungeon with Hunter Seo Yi-young. How was it?”

Choi Do-jun, who had been ignoring the reporters and walking forward expressionlessly, reacted to that question.

“It was good. Hunter Seo Yi-young helped me a lot.”

That slight upward curl of his lips burned into Seo Yi-young’s vision.

Seo Yi-young realized he was gaping without even knowing it.

He’s deliberately setting me up.

Seo Yi-young was certain. Rather than saying something directly to someone’s face, he was giving interviews like this?

It was infuriating. He should have used his ability properly and shut him up completely. The reality that he couldn’t even make a peep about how the dungeon was cleared thanks to him, let alone claim credit, made his blood boil.

Seo Yi-young was grinding his teeth but then remembered that he was alive thanks to Choi Do-jun in the dungeon, so he relaxed his body. He sighed deeply, promising himself to pay him back next time.

But still, wasn’t it a bit much for him to speak like that in an interview knowing Seo Yi-young would be watching? Was he trying to make him feel guilty? Of course, it was true that Seo Yi-young himself hadn’t performed satisfactorily.

With that slick appearance, he just couldn’t warm up to him.

Even knowing he was a different person from the one in the previous dimension, seeing the same face made his blood boil.

“Sigh.”

Seo Yi-young shook his head and changed the channel. But Choi Do-jun’s face appeared on that channel too. He tried switching several times, but Choi Do-jun’s face was being broadcast everywhere. No matter what, he couldn’t help but feel annoyed that Choi Do-jun was on almost every channel.

Wanting to quickly express his gratitude and get rid of this uncomfortable feeling, he grabbed his phone.

He thought that as fellow S-Class Hunters, they must have each other’s contact information, and as expected, Choi Do-jun’s number was saved in Seo Yi-young’s phone.

But what Seo Yi-young was pondering was a different issue.

Even though he was a lifesaver, was it right to just thank him over the phone? Though having a meal together with Choi Do-jun was a bit much, it seemed proper to thank him face-to-face.

Hastily dealing with it just to ease his own mind didn’t suit his temperament.

“……”

Seo Yi-young glared at his phone for a long time.

The thoughts of “What does it matter?” and “But still, that’s not right” fought intensely in his mind.

Didn’t he want to live differently in this dimension than in the original one?

What’s wrong with thanking him over the phone?

He saved his life. Because of that, Choi Do-jun was even injured. What’s wrong with just thanking him over the phone and being done with it?

The more he thought about it, the more reasons against it piled up.

But thinking this could be the first step toward living his new life as he pleased, Seo Yi-young closed his eyes and touched the call button.

Ring- Ring-

The dialing tone sounded, and Seo Yi-young’s nerves became increasingly sensitive.

In a way, it wasn’t a big deal, but just because the other person was Choi Do-jun, he couldn’t help but feel restless. In the previous dimension, just encountering him had filled him with indescribable emotions. To think that the day would come when he’d make such a call to him.

Seo Yi-young looked up at the ceiling once.

When Choi Do-jun answered, he should first casually ask how he was doing, and then thank him.

But.

“I can’t take your call right now, please leave a message…”

His worrying ended anticlimactically as the call didn’t connect to Choi Do-jun. Finding his own anxiety ridiculous, Seo Yi-young laughed once. Calling until he answered would be silly too, so he tossed his phone onto the bed.

It seemed like even the situation was telling him not to do something he wasn’t used to doing. Thanking someone for saving his life should be done face-to-face after all.

Seo Yi-young quickly came to that conclusion.

He wondered what to say if Choi Do-jun called back after seeing the missed call, but figured he could just say he was curious about how his injuries were doing.

With that thought, he unconsciously continued flipping through channels and started feeling sleepy again. It was hard to believe he could be this drowsy when he had just woken up not long ago. After turning off the TV, Seo Yi-young stretched once and let his body go limp.

If you’re sleepy, you should sleep.

There didn’t seem to be any urgent matters, and when he entered dungeons, he couldn’t sleep on such a soft bed. So while he could, he decided to sleep without thinking about anything as he lay down. Though he was concerned about having another nightmare, he had a strange confidence that it wouldn’t happen again since he’d already had one. And so, without realizing it, Seo Yi-young fell into a deep sleep.

He opened his eyes feeling refreshed, and it was early evening.

Fortunately, he hadn’t had a nightmare.

Thinking he had really slept for a long time, Seo Yi-young got up from the bed and scratched the back of his head. Looking at the clock, it was a little before 5 o’clock. Having had enough sleep, he began preparing to go out.

With so much money in his account, he wondered if he could shop without even looking at price tags. He recalled a time after the court ruling when he had to put down a cup of ramen priced at 500 won because he didn’t have money. It was such a bleak period that he involuntarily closed his eyes tightly and shuddered at the memory.

Regardless of the reason, Seo Yi-young decided to enjoy the present.

“Are you going out, sir?”

“Yes, I’m going out for a bit. I’ll have dinner outside and come back.”

“I’ll contact Driver Jung to prepare.”

He was about to decline, thinking it wasn’t right to make someone miss their quitting time because of him, but he closed his mouth at Butler Choi’s next words.

“When Hunter Seo Yi-young is not around, we rest, so working at times like this justifies our expensive salary of 3,000 per month.”

How much? Not annual salary but monthly?

Seo Yi-young couldn’t believe his ears.

Thinking about it, Butler Choi’s words made sense. The days when Seo Yi-young was away for dungeon conquests were like holidays for them.

“Then, I’ll leave it to you.”

In response to Seo Yi-young’s words, which still carried a hint of hesitation, Butler Choi smiled gently.

“Oh, and I have a request…”

“Yes, please go ahead.”

After asking Butler Choi to prepare a large room with soundproofing, Seo Yi-young said goodbye and went outside.

He got into the car, exchanged brief greetings with Driver Jung, and sat down.

“I’m sorry for making you work past your quitting time.”

“It’s no problem. You had a scheduled appointment at 8 o’clock today.”

Scheduled appointment?

Seo Yi-young had no memory of this. It seemed like an appointment set before he came to this dimension.

But if there had been such a thing, Butler Choi would have told him. Which meant…

It was something only the driver and Seo Yi-young knew about.

Had he already told the driver where they were going?

If he hadn’t discussed the location in advance, it would be awkward.

However, asking to confirm this would also seem unnatural, so Seo Yi-young remained silent.

He wasn’t sure what this scheduled appointment was, but he concluded it was best not to reveal that he knew nothing about it.

In unknown situations, keeping quiet was the best option. Opening his mouth rashly could lead to awkward situations. So, pretending to know everything, Seo Yi-young maintained his silence until they arrived at the department store parking lot, where he asked:

“What time should I come back?”

As a test, the driver answered:

“7:30 should be fine.”

Ah, as expected. Driver Jung seemed to know exactly where they needed to go.

Seo Yi-young said he would be back by then and closed the car door.

Though there was much to think about, he decided to enjoy the moment since he was at the department store.

Putting on the sunglasses he had brought just in case, Seo Yi-young entered the department store. Despite wearing sunglasses, people recognized him immediately and began whispering.

“That’s really Seo Yi-young.”

“…Wow.”

“He’s so handsome. What should I do?”

“Should I ask for a photo?”

“The notice says not to do that, so you can’t.”

All the whispers from around were favorable. It was fortunate he had worn sunglasses that could hide his expression. The corners of his mouth were rising involuntarily, which was quite embarrassing. Covering his mouth with one hand, Seo Yi-young quickly walked away. With limited time, he needed to be efficient.

The first place he went to was a luxury brand store.

“Welcome, welcome!”

The store, which had been giving a routine greeting, recognized Seo Yi-young and changed its tone.

Notes: