#28
The Seo Yi-young of this dimension truly engaged in unbelievable behavior. If even Choi Do-jun knew about it, there was a high possibility that rumors had spread among other hunters. Even if he wanted to tell the hunters he encountered that it wasn’t him, it wasn’t a situation where he could do so, nor was it an appropriate matter to bring up.
Seo Yi-young wrapped one hand around his throbbing head and leaned to one side.
*
“Yi-young!”
What he felt afterward was the impact of his mother embracing him and falling to the ground.
Krrrr- Something with a grotesque form moved its glowing eyeballs, looking at Seo Yi-young. The surroundings were in chaos with monsters pouring out. Fear created a state of panic, making it impossible to breathe properly or make a sound.
Bewilderment and embarrassment. And layers of fear and helplessness pressed down on Seo Yi-young. Nevertheless, his mind went dark as his desire not to die tangled with these emotions.
Seo Yi-young sat up, opening his eyes that had been tightly shut.
The terror he felt during that brief moment, and his mother’s face as she embraced him while calling his name, were too vivid to be just a dream. He was overwhelmed by the fear of death, unable to move a muscle. Perhaps due to that aftereffect, his body tingled as if blood wasn’t flowing.
In the dream he had just had, Seo Yi-young was clearly much younger than now. But this scene wasn’t in his memories. Seeing the mob appear, could it be a memory from the Seo Yi-young of this dimension? Seo Yi-young searched for related information on his phone.
His guess was correct.
There was a record of an interview where the Seo Yi-young of this dimension said he had lost both his parents to a dungeon break. After looking away from the screen, Seo Yi-young stared into space for a moment. Why had he dreamed such a dream? Was it because it was Seo Yi-young’s body? It didn’t matter. Seo Yi-young sat on the bed for a while, his mood sinking.
He didn’t want to go anywhere.
He didn’t want to meet other hunters, including Choi Do-jun, for a while.
But not being able to do as he pleased was precisely Seo Yi-young’s current position.
When he first came to this dimension, he had thought he would live as he wanted, but he couldn’t even achieve that properly. And he had come to know just how recklessly his other self had lived in this dimension. Especially yesterday. Yesterday. After experiencing that yesterday, he wanted to crawl into a hole.
Instead of a cave, Seo Yi-young wallowed in a cocoon made of blankets.
Yesterday, he had returned home and slept like the dead. And this morning, after waking up and going to the bathroom, Seo Yi-young was puzzled by the stinging sensation each time the inside of his thighs rubbed together, soon recalling the cause. He truly wanted to collapse right there. Though he could immediately heal it using his ability, the mental impact couldn’t be dealt with in the same way.
During waking hours, he thought about Choi Do-jun.
More precisely, about what he had done to him.
What he did to him wasn’t based on affection. Of course.
He’s not trying to argue that sex is only possible with love. Seo Yi-young didn’t consent, but he had seen some people in the previous dimension who didn’t, either.
He needed a comprehensible reason for why he suddenly acted that way.
And then he derived one conclusion.
What Choi Do-jun did to Seo Yi-young wasn’t sex, but mounting.
He was showing that he was stronger than Seo Yi-young.
Threatening to break his wrist if he refused was in the same context.
The act itself wasn’t the goal; the goal was to imprint his position through the act. And he achieved that goal.
Hadn’t he acted that way as soon as Seo Yi-young started using his ability properly? It clearly conveyed the message not to climb up.
The evidence was that he used the fastest method for sex. He skipped all foreplay and stimulated only the areas good for eliciting immediate responses. It’s not that Seo Yi-young particularly wanted to be kissed by Choi Do-jun. What was unbearably frustrating was the fact that, in his first sexual experience, he had lost his mind and been led exactly as Choi Do-jun wanted without even thinking it was strange.
Seo Yi-young clenched his teeth.
He took a deep breath to suppress the rising curses.
Thinking about it made his blood boil, so he wanted to act as if it had never happened if possible. Stressing over this would only hurt himself. He needed to move on. He needed to move on, but…
“Grrrr…!”
Seo Yi-young, who had been rolling up in the blanket, writhed and thrashed.
Today, he only had about two external schedules, but he wanted to cancel those too.
But the places he had to go today were an event for elementary school students and an orphanage.
He didn’t want to cancel those two, unlike other corporate events.
“Haaa…”
He didn’t know how many times he had sighed.
Apart from the pain of seeing other people’s faces, when he was alone like this, distracting thoughts clung to him. He had experienced worse than this. He just needed to think of it as something that had passed and cover it up.
…Though he wasn’t sure if he could cover it up.
If he thought he couldn’t do it, he’d be losing from the outset.
Seo Yi-young spread his hands and concentrated. Soon, his palms began to glow.
His former self had nothing, but his current self has this power. He can’t fix what happened before. But if he gets buried in it, he’ll only continue to sink.
He’s no longer in a position to only receive help from others in dungeons. Seo Yi-young can now barely do his part.
Expectations come with an added weight that increases the more one receives.
For an S-Class like Seo Yi-young, it went without saying.
Now, he doesn’t have to stress when receiving dungeon schedules. That alone was a tremendous change.
Even now, he’s not rolling around in a worn-out blanket used for years in the previous dimension, but in a high-quality goose down blanket purchased from a department store. Thinking about that, the situation hasn’t gotten worse at all. It hasn’t just not gotten worse; it’s gotten hundreds of times better.
“Right. This much…”
Moreover, in the past, he was penniless and had to repay a compensation of 800 million won. That 800 million won was once an astronomical amount, but now it’s little more than pocket change, with a slight exaggeration.
And he’s an S-Class hunter, which could be considered the highest class in this world.
Having obtained it overnight, one could say he hit the jackpot.
Having received such a huge stroke of luck, he should be able to laugh off a little trial.
Reaffirming his resolve, Seo Yi-young threw off the blanket he had been rolling in. He decided to muster his strength and get through today’s schedule.
His first schedule was the orphanage.
“Saebit Dream Flying House.”
Seo Yi-young looked up at the sign and murmured softly.
Unlike the event in the afternoon, this was a completely personal schedule, so no photos were taken for media promotion. There, he had a peculiar realization.
The Seo Yi-young of this dimension had the exact same upbringing as the Seo Yi-young of the previous dimension.
No parents. No relatives either.
His parents, sitting in the driver’s and passenger’s seats, died at the scene of a traffic accident.
Only Seo Yi-young survived.
It was a night when the family of three went for a drive together.
It happened when he was 6 years old.
A fragment of memory of joyfully singing remains, but he can’t even clearly recall his parents’ faces.
Naturally ending up in an orphanage, Seo Yi-young gradually became accustomed to the pitying gazes. But that didn’t change anything. Neither his circumstances nor the stereotypical way people looked at him.
Still, there was nothing he hadn’t tried to live well.
He had a dream, and he could pride himself on having lived diligently to achieve it. He worked hard at part-time jobs, and through connections, he was even able to apply for a manufacturing job.
The reason he hadn’t fallen into what’s commonly called the “wrong path” wasn’t just to become a son his parents would be proud of.
He simply wanted to be able to hold his head high.
He could have stolen necessary items or lied for personal gain, but he didn’t. Others might not know, but Seo Yi-young himself knows.
Seo Yi-young’s dream was to live in his own home. Not a gosiwon, but his own place with a proper bathroom, whether on a jeonse or monthly rent basis.
“Shall we go in?”
At the gentle voice, Seo Yi-young came to his senses, nodded, and replied.
“Director. I know there’s a set program for today, but after greeting everyone in the auditorium, would it be okay if I play comfortably with the children in the yard?”
“What?”
The director didn’t hide her surprise.
“I’m sorry. I know it’s an unreasonable request.”
“No, no. We’d be very grateful if you did that. But since you’re such a busy person, I wasn’t sure if it would be okay for you, Hunter.”
“I’m fine for about two hours.”
“I see. Then, we’ll proceed as you suggested, Hunter. Deputy Director Kim.”
As Seo Yi-young watched the director call the deputy director and whisper something in her ear, he moved his feet.
When Seo Yi-young went inside, the children suddenly became quiet. With sparkling eyes, they were following his every movement as if not wanting to miss anything.
“Hello. I’m Seo Yi-young, an S-Class hunter of Korea.”
When Seo Yi-young, who had climbed onto the stage, opened his mouth to greet them, everyone applauded. The eyes filled with wonder and disbelief were the embodiment of admiration.
Seo Yi-young didn’t think of himself as someone so accomplished that he should stand in front of these children and say something. It was an emotion he hadn’t felt even in front of company CEOs, which was quite strange.
“I’m really glad to meet you all today. I imagine you might have various questions, so please come and ask me during the playtime later. Okay?”
At Seo Yi-young’s words, the children stirred.
Someone raised their hand high.
When Seo Yi-young told them to speak, an unhesitating question flew out.
“Are you going to play with us?”
“…Hey!”
Children sitting nearby, who seemed to be around ten years old, hit the shoulder of the child who asked the question. They seemed to think it was an absurd question.
“It’s alright. That’s right. I’ll play with you.”
As soon as Seo Yi-young finished speaking, he heard the children’s cheers. Some had expressions of disbelief, while others just looked happy, but they all looked adorable to him.
When they went out to the front yard, the children surrounded Seo Yi-young and wouldn’t leave.
“Is the dungeon difficult?”
“What do the monsters look like?”
“What’s inside the dungeon? Is there really, like, a golden castle built there?”
“Oh, children, one at a time, the hunter is getting confused.”
“It’s fine.”
Hearing a voice from behind asking them to restrain themselves, he smiled and answered.
The chattering noise was certainly a bit loud, but not at all unpleasant. Children are naturally noisy, and it felt good that they were lively. In an orphanage, whether one likes it or not, one or two of them might be silent or not fit in well, floating on the periphery.
Even now.
There was one child who caught Seo Yi-young’s eye.
Whether the child was naturally cautious by nature or not, unlike the other children who wanted to be close to Seo Yi-young, a child who was a couple of steps away caught his attention. It didn’t seem like the child wasn’t interested in Seo Yi-young. It was just difficult for them to mingle with the other children.
Giving appropriate attention is also challenging. Everyone wants attention. If you give too much attention to one child, there might be others who take issue with it.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
