Damn Hunter Life 61

Damn Hunter Life Chapter 61

And so, Jin Seol-woon took the seat to my right on the talk show, while my left side was still empty.

“Is there… no seat?”

At the cautious voice, I turned to see a light blue nangdo robe there.

Perhaps nervous about the broadcast, Hae Mi-jun’s face had already turned beet red even before we started, and he quietly pulled out the chair next to me. As he did so, the chair moved a bit closer in my direction.

‘This will throw off the symmetry on both sides, won’t it?’

I was about to tell Hae Mi-jun when Jin Seol-woon suddenly turned to look at Hae Mi-jun, making me miss my timing.

“Hae Mi-jun-ssi, would you like to put something on your lips too?”

“Ah, yes. I understand.”

“To be honest, since you’re sitting next to Gyeon Gang-hyeon-ssi, I think you should pay extra attention.”

“Yes, you’re right… Gang-hyeon hyung is really, really handsome.”

What kind of conversation is this?

Jin Seol-woon leaned his elbow on my table and gestured for Hae Mi-jun to come closer. Hae Mi-jun quickly leaned his face forward. Since I was sandwiched between them, Hae Mi-jun’s upper body touched mine.

‘What are you two trying to do in front of me? One of you should get up and go over there.’

I’m always the easy target, aren’t I.

After that, the remaining seats were gradually filled. Perhaps for audio balance, Myo Cho-hui, who had a lively concept, sat next to Ja Hyeong-woo.

Yang Pyo, Ma Cheon-ah, and Won Ha-ri’s seats were three chairs lined up next to Sa Ye-ho.

[“Alright, let’s start recording—!”]

Behind the host’s refreshing voice, a red light came on at the top of the screen.

The official broadcast “The Heroes.” A show that covers the new sides that hunters—successors who protect South Korea—show in private settings.

It featured personal stories that fans would go crazy for, like hobbies and past histories, or dealt with hot topics currently trending in communities. They also played games occasionally. Physical games like arm wrestling, or quizzes done comedically.

[“There are no games today! We’re too busy just looking at successor Won Ha-ri and successor Gyeon Gang-hyeon’s faces!”]

‘I’m saved, thank heavens.’

I wasn’t ready to embarrass myself doing thigh wrestling or something with Won Ha-ri, who’s still a 15-year-old female student.

‘Originally, they would have talked about the new successors and had the host mention mine and Won Ha-ri’s stats to turn mine into a laughing point.’

But talk shows can’t discuss hunters’ actual stats.

Every time the talk topics and order were conveyed, Woo Sae-geon crossed them out without fail.

Who’s superior and who’s lacking… to prevent such issues from becoming official statements when spoken aloud by the parties involved.

[“Today’s topic is… alcohol tolerance?”]

But another problem came.

Woo Sae-geon hadn’t removed this topic.

The host probably won’t ask me about my alcohol tolerance since they wouldn’t openly put me in a difficult position, but just having this topic come up is problematic.

It’ll probably be brought up again in communities.

Gyeon Gang-hyeon’s past wrongs of drinking and tormenting students.

“Ah, before the questions, let me address this one thing. We’ve decided not to know Gang-hyeon’s alcohol tolerance! Our Gang-puppy and I agreed to quit drinking together.”

But unexpectedly, Sa Ye-ho gathered attention with his booming voice.

The camera automatically turned this way and blinked to capture my reaction.

“When did I ever agree with you—”

“You said I could drink all your alcohol for you.”

“Wow, that’s because you don’t have enough alcohol to drink yourself.”

The fact that Sa Ye-ho was quite a heavy drinker was fairly common knowledge among Sa Ye-ho’s viewers.

“Then let’s see the evidence video!”

Sa Ye-ho suddenly raised his hand and shouted, then sat back down.

“This way, during the broadcast, a video will be inserted after my comment and aired.”

“What video.”

“You and me at the convenience store before.”

Ah. That one.

The video where I saw the fake chat and mentioned regretting my past drinking life.

“That’s right. I think I was pathetic myself.”

Sa Ye-ho had been saving this for a reason. He planned to air it together with this broadcast.

Our Ye-ho had it all planned out. A plan to cover for me.

I looked at Sa Ye-ho with emotion. Hot gazes were exchanged.

‘You bastard. Thank you.’

‘If you’re grateful, keep quitting alcohol from now on. Don’t embarrass me~.’

When the question about alcohol tolerance came to Jin Seol-woon, the host was particularly respectful to him.

Since Jin Seol-woon was a famous idol before being a successor, it was natural if you think about it. He was even a top-tier idol with solid agency care. It would be trouble if they carelessly asked questions and damaged his image, only to receive complaints from his agency. Like a prince, you could say.

“I don’t like alcohol. It’s bitter. Unless it’s a situation where I absolutely must drink, I tend not to drink.”

[“How unexpected! Don’t you get told you’re cute by your fans?”]

“A little.”

Then why did you drink beer with me in that field?

[“Oh my, this question must be boring for successors who can’t drink alcohol yet! Then let me change the question a bit here. Successor Won Ha-ri, question! When you become an adult later, who would you like to learn drinking from?”]

“Anyone except Gang-hyeon oppa would be fine.”

“I’m really just everyone’s punching bag.”

I made a grumpy face and rested my chin on my hand. It was an expression I deliberately made to be caught on camera. Since I was doing it anyway, I even grumbled out loud.

[“Huh? Successor Won Ha-ri. You said ‘so-and-so-nim’ to the other people, but just now you seemed to call successor Gyeon Gang-hyeon ‘oppa’? Am I imagining this?”]

“Ah…”

A light blush appeared on Won Ha-ri’s cheeks. She looked very flustered.

“Ga, Gang-hyeon oppa isn’t someone you can call ‘nim’!”

[“Haha. I understand.”]

Now that the word ‘oppa’ came up, I’m reminded that there are hardly any same-age peers among the successors.

The 22-year-olds Ja Hyeong-woo—Sa Ye-ho—Gyeon Gang-hyeon are the only ones.

However, Ja Hyeong-woo had not even a speck of interest in Sa Ye-ho.

Gyeon Gang-hyeon had the potential to be the bridge connecting the two and the main component of same-age chemistry… but before people could even grasp the existence of the same-age trio, the original Gyeon Gang-hyeon failed to awaken, and Gyeon Gang-hyeon became known as an unawakened drunk.

‘And that’s still the same now.’

Throughout the talk show, Ja Hyeong-woo and I barely even made eye contact, pretending not to know each other.

[“The next topic is… I got this with difficulty! Our successors were so cute when they were young! Your childhood photos were sent by your parents!”]

“What?”

Yang Pyo and Ma Cheon-ah, who happened to be sitting next to each other and had been fighting throughout the talk show, were horrified. Only at times like this were they a pair.

This was a topic that wasn’t in the script given beforehand. This kind of surprise was probably the whole point.

[“Haha, why are you surprised! Whose photo will be first? Here we go! Receive the photo!”]

Parent-selected past photos are usually embarrassing.

I’m the same, but I had something to rely on, so I was relaxed. Enough to just watch the other guys’ faces turn red.

[“Kyaa, successor Myo Cho-hui! So cute!”]

“I object to that photo—!”

“Overruled.”

Sa Ye-ho’s joke that Myo Cho-hui jumping up to interrupt was like a prosecutor in court made several people chuckle.

[“Ah, unfortunately we couldn’t obtain successor Woo Sae-geon’s photo.”]

I wonder if they really couldn’t get it, or if they deliberately left it out to maintain Woo Sae-geon’s tyrant image.

“Aw, I wanted to see it! He’s such a tough one.”

Sa Ye-ho lightly poked Woo Sae-geon, who was sitting with his arms crossed and eyes closed.

[“And… unfortunately we also couldn’t obtain successor Gyeon Gang-hyeon’s photo.”]

I expected this. The host didn’t bother explaining the reason, and I just passed it off with a nonchalant expression.

“My photos are really expensive.”

I just made one cheeky comment.

Well, when I had been possessing this body for a few days, based on what I found out through the phone and manager…

It seemed Gyeon Gang-hyeon had lost his parents one after another during middle and high school. There didn’t seem to be any relatives he kept in touch with either. So there would have been no place to get photos from.

[“Then the last photo would be successor Ja Hyeong-woo’s? Let me see… Gasp! Oh my… This is big.”]

The host reacted with surprise, then soon began grinning while looking at the small photo in his hand alone, perhaps to arouse viewers’ curiosity. His face was plastered with excitement and interest.

[“This photo was given directly by successor Ja Hyeong-woo’s parents—!”]

The photo appeared large on our screen too.

“Eek!”

A strange scream burst from my mouth.

I jumped up so suddenly that my chair rattled as it was pushed back.

Uh… Apart from Hae Mi-jun making a dumbfounded sound next to me in surprise, I couldn’t see anything around me. Only that photo, because of that photo.

The background appeared to be the entrance to a mountain. There was Ja Hyeong-woo from that time, small with chubby cheeks. He looked to be elementary school age. His face was quite different from his disgusting current self, yet somehow his impression was exactly the same.

That Ja Hyeong-woo was carrying someone on his back, looking at the camera lens. Ja Hyeong-woo’s expression was gentle and bright. Along with another kid whose legs were stretched out to both sides from behind and whose head was tilted to the side.

I couldn’t help but recognize him. That pale face was… young Gyeon Gang-hyeon. He was making a V with his hands like horns above Ja Hyeong-woo’s head and smiling brightly.

‘Crazy broadcast. There was a reason they saved Ja Hyeong-woo’s photo for last!’

Anyway, damn it, I reacted too strongly. They definitely won’t edit this part out.

But the real ambush was what came next.

[“Successor Ja Hyeong-woo, have you seen this photo before!”]

“…Yes.”

Ja Hyeong-woo’s lips, staring intently up at the photo, finally continue speaking.

“It’s in the drawer of my room at my family home.”