Damn Hunter Life Chapter 17
Esi didn’t show his face in the video. The recording video only showed a design background created by the agency’s editing team.
But his voice alone was enough.
—You mean everything in me.
Esi sang a song by a pop singer who had dominated the indie music scene in the 2000s, arranging it in his own way. With that one song, he drew praise from both fans and the general public.
—Just give me a chance, I never disappoint you.
It wasn’t a depth that a mere 20-year-old should be able to contain. Fans said this about Esi. Esi would be main vocalist material in other groups, but because he was young and the leader hyung was even better, he became the lead vocalist.
Though his default expression was blank, fans highly valued that faint smile he occasionally showed.
Jin Seol-woon, who realized how much fans welcomed him, was surprisingly moved in another way as well.
This memory goes back to before he even recorded the cover video.
==
<Hunter School Shop>
Would you like to construct a recording booth?
Insufficient points.
==
The shop could make anything, but the more high-tech the facility, the more points it cost. Jin Seol-woon, who had tried to install a recording booth using the Hunter School shop’s power, faced a financial problem.
But then.
“Want me to lend you some? I don’t have anywhere to spend points anyway.”
His Twelve Zodiac colleagues were the first to extend their hands.
It was obviously a facility that would interfere with training, and it would have been reasonable for them to look unfavorably upon it, but surprisingly, they all accepted it positively. Thanks to the points they pooled together bit by bit, he was able to meet the amount.
Even Woo Sae-geon, the Twelve Zodiac’s leader who had never smiled in front of others, had an impressive reaction for him.
Though he didn’t give even 1 point, at least he didn’t curse.
“Did it have to be right before Stage 26?”
It ended with this level of reproach.
So on the day the recording booth was completed, Jin Seol-woon inevitably encountered Gyeon Gang-hyeon in front of his house as usual.
“I’m going to listen to the song too, you know? I told you I’m your fan.”
“How many times is that the same bullshit?”
Even though profanity finally came out of Jin Seol-woon’s mouth, Gyeon Gang-hyeon wiggled his straight eyebrows and responded with an amused face.
“I’m a dog, so I talk bullshit.”
It really was bullshit. In the end, Jin Seol-woon gave up early and let him into the recording booth. Gyeon Gang-hyeon sat down quite naturally with an attitude like it was obvious, and looked around inside the glass.
Having prepared a recording booth, he didn’t want to delay any longer, so Jin Seol-woon just started his first sound quality check with Gyeon Gang-hyeon right in front of him.
Jin Seol-woon, who became instantly absorbed, returned to the past through the microphone in front of his face. At this moment, he forgot all about being the Dragon successor and training.
The time when he sang with the heart to captivate someone.
Even before that, the time when he was simply happy if he could just sing.
Jin Seol-woon, who had a smile on his lips, had become accustomed to Gyeon Gang-hyeon’s presence outside the booth before he knew it.
It didn’t seem bad to have someone listen.
Whoever that person was, he would sing with the thought of making them his fan.
After one song ended, Jin Seol-woon and Gyeon Gang-hyeon’s eyes met.
Gyeon Gang-hyeon, who had been sitting delinquently on the chair, raised one corner of his mouth. That image stuck particularly long in Jin Seol-woon’s mind.
Jin Seol-woon had to admit once again.
‘The method was annoying, but if it hadn’t been for Gyeon Gang-hyeon…… I wouldn’t have been able to reclaim what was mine this quickly.’
Though the cover was just one video, it quickly rose to the trending list. Subscription notifications poured in to the SNS account that had lost hundreds of thousands of subscribers due to inactivity on Jin Seol-woon’s phone.
How strange. He was excited like the day he first debuted.
While coming out of the recording booth, Jin Seol-woon unconsciously rolled up his shirt sleeves in front of Gyeon Gang-hyeon while wiping off sweat.
At that moment, Gyeon Gang-hyeon’s gaze fixed on Jin Seol-woon’s bare arm that still had blue and green marks.
“That still hasn’t healed?”
Startled, he hurriedly pulled his sleeves back down to hide the wound. He turned around without responding, but Gyeon Gang-hyeon’s mind was already turning.
‘I think Hae Mi-jun could fix that if he strengthened his skills.’
It’s just that Ja Hyeong-woo doesn’t have skills for recovering from poison-type injuries. For an idol to have scars remaining in such a visible place.
‘But if I make Hae Mi-jun and Jin Seol-woon meet here, it might be exposed what I’ve been doing around school.’
Gyeon Gang-hyeon, who had been worrying, just decided to contact Hae Mi-jun. As always, Hae Mi-jun answered within 5 seconds.
[“Yes, hyung! Did you get another schedule during our training time tomorrow?”]
“Do I always change the time? It’s a different story, but I’ve been meeting with Jin Seol-woon lately.”
[“Seol-woon-nim?”]
“Just call him hyung. Anyway, I’m trying to get some Earth attribute weapons.”
Since it was wrong to leave an idol’s arm like that, he took the risk and told Hae Mi-jun to meet Jin Seol-woon.
“Don’t say I told you to do it.”
[“Yes? Yes.”]
Hae Mi-jun was overflowing with willingness to keep anything Gyeon Gang-hyeon instructed without question or argument.
“You watch Stage strategy videos anyway, right? Ask if all the injuries he got there have healed, and say you’ve gained skills recently and would like to heal him.”
[“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”]
Gyeon Gang-hyeon, who was thinking if there was anything else to instruct, suddenly showed amusement.
“It would be good if this gradually creates grounds for you to join the Twelve Zodiac strategy team.”
[“Whaaat? I, I still don’t have the skills for that…….”]
Hae Mi-jun couldn’t easily imagine himself weaving between monsters like Ja Hyeong-woo and throwing heal skills to tankers and dealers. He was scared first. So he stuttered and waved his hands in denial.
After hanging up the phone, his pounding heart wouldn’t calm down, so he took deep breaths for a while. He thought it was ridiculous, but still.
‘Since Gang-hyeon hyung says I can do it, strangely, I think it might be possible……’
Current Hae Mi-jun didn’t know well that that day would be closer than expected.
Hae Mi-jun briefly thought of Gang-hyeon hyung in a daze, then shook his head and focused on the task he was given again. Even while initiating a one-on-one successor chat with Jin Seol-woon, he was nervous again.
‘It’s a pity. I have to keep Gang-hyeon hyung a secret.’
I want to talk with Seol-woon-nim, no, Seol-woon hyung.
‘That Gang-hyeon hyung has changed. This recording booth, did you perhaps get help from Gang-hyeon hyung?’
It would be nice if there was someone to share this overwhelming feeling that the world changed thanks to Gang-hyeon hyung.
* * *
“Make me just one earth weapon.”
Jin Seol-woon’s problem was all resolved, but I still had a problem remaining.
Really, for the very last time, I barged into Jin Seol-woon’s house and lay sprawled on the hallway floor. So Jin Seol-woon couldn’t pass.
“If you do this for me, I won’t bother you anymore.”
Finally revealing my purpose to the person involved.
I thought he’d be angry that I’d been scheming for this reason, but Jin Seol-woon was calm.
Well, he’d already noticed. That I was moving with some kind of ulterior motive.
Jin Seol-woon gazed at me quietly with a blunt face, just like he had on the day we first met.
“I want to take sword classes but I can’t make attribute weapons. Do it. Do it.”
Jin Seol-woon still had an expressionless face but. Eventually he nodded. Then he lifted me up and kicked me out.
“Come at this time tomorrow. Using Gyeon Gang-hyeon’s specialty ‘sneaking around.'”
Okay, I got the promise.
I don’t care how Jin Seol-woon sees me. Whether he sees me as a self-destructive piece of trash or whatever, it’s all fine as long as I get a proper weapon.
That should be a somewhat usable weapon.
‘Ah shit, he’s not giving me a D-rank weapon, is he? It just has an attribute attached, but if that’s the case, a kitchen knife would be better?’
I became rapidly anxious. The scenes of me tormenting Jin Seol-woon flashed by like a panorama.
Harboring uneasiness, when I visited the next day, Jin Seol-woon was standing with his long legs propped against the inner front door of his house.
He was checking civilian community reactions on his phone.
“Hey, can’t you not look at that? Just look at your SNS and Innate fan cafe?”
I, who have an allergy to Twelve Zodiac communities, frowned first. Jin Seol-woon ignored me and scrolled down steadily.
“……It’s amazing.”
“What is.”
“There aren’t even Innate fans here, but there’s almost no criticism about me.”
Actually, I had checked a bit in advance too.
From nutritionless posts like ‘Right, he was an idol;; I just thought he was handsome,’ to provocations at the level of ‘Is he training properly?’ there were some, but overall it was a level of reaction that Jin Seol-woon could think was okay.
“Stage 26 isn’t far away either. I was prepared for comments calling me reckless.”
Standing side by side, my height was much shorter than Jin Seol-woon’s. While trying not to be conscious of that, I glared at him.
“You really can’t be objective about yourself.”
“What do you mean?”
“Because you’re a good person.”
Jin Seol-woon took his eyes off the screen and met mine.
“You’re a hunter who’s never disappointed the nation. Is that all? When you were a singer, you had no controversies, and even if you don’t talk much or show expressions, you’re sincere with fan service. You’re young but skilled. Weren’t you also learning composition?”
“……You searched, didn’t you?”
“I told you I’m a fan?”
Jin Seol-woon shook his head. Look at this guy.
Before I could snap back, Jin Seol-woon appropriately diverted my attention.
“Here. The weapon.”
Jin Seol-woon suddenly gripped my hand tightly. His grip, hardened from holding swords, completely covered my hand as a fellow man.
Item transfer from inventory to inventory is possible only with contacted parties. Soon, a ding notification sound came.
Without giving me time to check, Jin Seol-woon immediately pushed away from the wall. Then he opened the door and left first.
“Come out a little later so you don’t get caught on camera. Don’t think about sneaking into the house and stealing things like a thief again.”
“Hey, I don’t have any more reason to do that, you know? I have no reason to come to your house!”
“That’s good.”
That bastard is now putting me down with a blank face.
I just said out of irritation that I had no reason to come to Jin Seol-woon’s house, but actually, there might be exactly one more time.
If this weapon Jin Seol-woon gave me is trash-tier?
‘Wait, let me prepare fully before summoning.’
The sword Jin Seol-woon made might be too heavy, so the moment it’s summoned in basic state gripped in my right hand, my wrist might go crack! and break.
Therefore, after putting my hand down on the floor, the status window was looking down pitifully at me trembling in fear as I tried to summon.
==
/You know your body well.
==
“Shut up, dude.”
Unidentified object in inventory, open.
A thin-bladed sword with a cool light appeared. My eyes widened at its extraordinary appearance.
It looked like a twin of the hunter weapon Jin Seol-woon uses.
‘First, the appearance passes. What’s the grade? B-rank?’
I was completely stunned by the alphabet that appeared on the status window afterward.
==
Weapon Grade: S
==
Top grade? Why is he giving me this when I’m trash like me? Something that each successor can only make 1-2 of?
How much of his ability did Jin Seol-woon dedicate to making this? He didn’t show any signs earlier?
I feel like I’ve been hit in the back of the head, no, like I’ve been surprised. Unable to contain my shock, I gently gripped the handle with my soft right hand. Supporting my wrist with the opposite hand, I tried lifting it up—.
“Why is it so light?”
It was as light as aluminum, as if considering the weak user. It was light enough that I could swing it around with one hand, so that says it all.
Looking at the status window again, I was stunned for the third time.
What’s with the weapon name.
==
<Thank You.>
Weapon Grade: S
Creator: Jin Seol-woon
Attribute: Earth
==
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
