Damn Hunter Life 8
Even while being grabbed by the collar by a menacing brute like a brown bear, Gyeon Gang-hyeon’s face showed no wavering.
‘What’s this bastard? I’ve never seen him in the original work.’
Then there’s only one conclusion.
A kid playing bully in places where successors can’t see.
His gang snickered behind him. Ha Gwon-yeong, encouraged by the supportive sounds, reached out his other hand toward Gyeon Gang-hyeon as well.
He roughly grabbed and squeezed the pale cheek that looked like it would crumble if pressed.
‘He’s fucking pretty though. Pretty enough to trust his looks and go on camera.’
Those well-shaped eyes turned vicious, but there was no way they could look threatening to Ha Gwon-yeong. It only made him more amused.
“Since this is fate, would you like to make a weight bet, Gyeon Gang-hyeon-nim? Even if you haven’t awakened, you’re a successor so your body must be solid, right?”
The hand that had been touching his cheek soon grabbed the white tie of his sobok.
Yoon Cha-on, who had been peeking from the doorway, trembled violently. His mind went blank from the bewildering situation.
Crazy Ha Gwon-yeong, that’s sexual harassment.
That bastard crossed the line. He wouldn’t even do something like that to Hae Mi-jun. Maybe it’s because Successor Hae Mi-jun is a minor.
Since Successor Gyeon Gang-hyeon is 22 years old, is he confident that he’ll hide what happened here out of embarrassment?
Gyeon Gang-hyeon was still calm for now.
‘I expected someone to pick a fight, but I didn’t expect this.’
But well, to get stripped in a show by that bastard’s hands while regretting my poor preparation of not wearing anything layered under the sobok—
‘I have something I trust too.’
Before taking any action, Gyeon Gang-hyeon smoothly raised his gaze and glanced sideways at the status window.
He confirmed that the [Public] phrase, which indicated that the situation was being transmitted to the association like surveillance cameras, wasn’t appearing in this place.
‘Yeah, so that’s fortunate.’
Gyeon Gang-hyeon finally moved his hands.
His pale arms looked even thinner compared to Ha Gwon-yeong’s. Ha Gwon-yeong truly pitied this bastard.
How does he live with arms like that? No matter how much he struggles and grips tightly, he won’t be able to make a single scratch on my arm with arms like that. If I had a body like that, I’d be too embarrassed to go out and die.
That very hand, and among them only two skeletal fingers, touched Ha Gwon-yeong’s arm.
“…!”
Ha Gwon-yeong let go of all his hands at a tingling sensation as if electricity had passed through.
He was so surprised himself that he was dumbfounded. He wasn’t even aware that he had flinched back from a weakling like Gyeon Gang-hyeon.
He had experienced this same sensation before.
A few months ago when general hunters were first deciding their affiliations, when he persistently pushed through people saying he wanted to touch hands with Ja Hyeong-woo and succeeded in one handshake.
When he held the hand Ja Hyeong-woo extended, he felt exactly this kind of tingling.
‘Since the source of power that general hunters borrow flows through successors of the same attribute, when bodies make contact, energy rushes in and the body heats up.’
Since then, he hadn’t had any opportunity to meet Successor Ja Hyeong-woo, so he thought he’d never feel this uncomfortable yet somehow ecstatic sensation again…
“Gwon-yeong, what’s wrong?”
Other guys who couldn’t stand watching came over. Ha Gwon-yeong was still trembling his arm until then.
‘Someone like Gyeon Gang-hyeon? How?’
He’s someone who hasn’t even awakened. There’s no way such a Gyeon Gang-hyeon could dare stimulate his senses to a level similar to the Rat successor…
‘The Dog successor isn’t even water attribute. His attribute is different from mine.’
So it must be a mistake.
Ha Gwon-yeong, who finally came to his senses, strode toward Gyeon Gang-hyeon again.
However, before he could take any action, Gyeon Gang-hyeon’s voice came first.
“Try going further there. I’ll stab any reporter to make it public.”
Brushing off his wrinkled front panel, Gyeon Gang-hyeon twisted his lips.
The atmosphere was both menacing and confident, as if he was certain he had gotten one over on Ha Gwon-yeong and the tide had turned.
“Don’t think you can do it twice?”
If anyone here had momentarily forgotten, he should remind them again.
Gyeon Gang-hyeon is a dog that bites when touched.
Shouldn’t they have realized at the point when he called a first-time reporter a son of a bitch?
Ha Gwon-yeong’s words got stuck when he heard the provocation asking if he wanted to appear intimately on the 9 o’clock news tonight.
‘That bastard, is he like that when he’s not drinking?’
Since he gets drunk and lies on the street causing trouble, I thought he was an idiot and dissed him.
His appearance in the video, and now.
He couldn’t find that image in the man actually before his eyes. The cool gaze somehow gave him chills.
“Fuck.”
The situation ended when Ha Gwon-yeong gestured to his gang and left the gym.
No, just as it was about to end, Gyeon Gang-hyeon briefly called Ha Gwon-yeong to a stop.
“I’ll come every day at 2 PM.”
Gyeon Gang-hyeon spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear and even smiled.
“Keep that in mind.”
His eyes curved meaningfully. Ha Gwon-yeong gritted his teeth and whirled around.
Once the high school gang that was nothing but trouble left, the water attribute gym became quiet.
The middle school hunters who had been hesitating at the doorway until then slipped in one by one and settled at exercise equipment.
There was no small talk at all as they were busy glancing and observing Gyeon Gang-hyeon who had started lower body exercises.
{Why should I lend you my power?}
“You already lent it. Did I use it well? And you said you’d protect me. Think about our contract.”
No one could hear the conversation Gyeon Gang-hyeon secretly had by just moving his mouth with someone.
Yoon Cha-on sat down and claimed the exercise equipment right next to Gyeon Gang-hyeon that his classmates couldn’t dare to sit on.
‘Is this what they call using barbarians to catch barbarians?’
Anyway, it was a fact that crazy Gyeon Gang-hyeon chased away psycho Ha Gwon-yeong. Yoon Cha-on was grateful to Gyeon Gang-hyeon for just that.
Moreover…
Somehow the words from the crazy guy next to him sounded a bit different.
‘It seemed like he was subtly letting the middle school hunters oppressed by Ha Gwon-yeong know that it would be okay if they came at the same time as him.’
“Haah—”
Gyeon Gang-hyeon let out a small groan next to him, crushed by the weight.
Yoon Cha-on glanced over carelessly, but when he saw that white face flushed red with healthy color, he unconsciously turned his head away with a snap.
‘Why, why does he exercise with that kind of face?’
So, that is. He’s really bad at it. How many times did he remove the weights? Yoon Cha-on shook his heated face and tried to focus his attention on the exercise equipment.
His arms, which had quite a bit of muscle for a teenager who still had many days left to grow, moved steadily. Yoon Cha-on’s thoughts naturally drifted to Gyeon Gang-hyeon as he exercised absent-mindedly.
“Acting tough when he’s been hiding until now.”
“After Gyeon Gang-hyeon appeared on that broadcast, Successor Woo Sae-geon got stress headaches…”
“The Ox successor’s kids did too. They said the Ox building’s ground shook all day that day.”
The sounds of friends talking shit about Gyeon Gang-hyeon.
But actually, Yoon Cha-on found Gyeon Gang-hyeon’s statement refreshing.
A statement that blatantly criticized the situation at Hunter School where public areas and everything was being broadcast.
Actually, until then, both Yoon Cha-on and his friends had been having difficulty even moving between areas because they were too conscious of the broadcasting.
And even with the broadcast transmission, it couldn’t catch the unreasonable things happening inside places like the gym. It meant there were no good points and only bad points were highlighted.
‘Another surprising thing is that he eventually came to this general gym because the successor training ground wouldn’t accept him, but he doesn’t seem embarrassed about it.’
Since he’s being ignored for not awakening, I thought he’d cling to his position as a successor itself. He’s actually someone who has been causing trouble relying only on his status until now.
But he’s so calm like that, not caring about gazes as if he’s alone, diligently doing his own exercise.
‘Even though he can’t lift more weight than middle schoolers, he’s not even embarrassed about that…’
Watching from the side, he looked really tremendously struggling. Even though he was doing it with the minimum weight.
People show their true nature when they’re struggling. Then he should be spouting all kinds of curses like he did to that reporter while exercising, and even that wouldn’t be enough.
“Ha.”
But even when struggling enough to sweat like rain, he just chuckled softly and that was the end. Yoon Cha-on was bewildered.
‘Unexpectedly, he seems to have a considerate side toward others…’
Despite starting late, he quickly finished his quota. While organizing his equipment, Yoon Cha-on briefly concluded his first impression of seeing Gyeon Gang-hyeon in person.
‘It’s a bit different from what I thought. He seems like a different person from what I heard.’
There was one towel left. Yoon Cha-on glanced at Gyeon Gang-hyeon and confirmed that the towel he brought was already soaked.
While Gyeon Gang-hyeon struggled with the barbell, Yoon Cha-on quietly hung his towel on the rod next to him and turned around.
Yoon Cha-on, who was about to leave the gym like that, suddenly stopped breathing.
Because he spotted someone quickly hiding around the corner of the corridor.
Though he couldn’t even see the hem of their clothes properly, Yoon Cha-on recognized who it was just by their presence.
It was natural. Because Yoon Cha-on shared the same power as him.
Even if his power was infinitely lacking compared to other successors, he was still borrowing and using such power.
‘Successor Hae Mi-jun.’
Yoon Cha-on hesitated whether to go over there and greet him. His toes wavered several times.
Then he eventually turned back.
Both ways, it would be awkward and uncomfortable to meet. There was no room for admiration like with other successors, but to resent or ignore him—
‘Then I’d become the same person as Ha Gwon-yeong.’
* * *
“Squeaky. Looks like I might not be able to keep our contract.”
{What? What’s going on?}
“It’s nothing much, but I’m really about to die from working out.”
I came out of the gym exhausted and staggering.
‘I exercised trusting in Squeaky’s basic healing abilities. Without that, this would be a week of body aches.’
It was a hellish hour, but I’ll gradually adapt. …Probably.
I was just turning around the corridor.
“Um… Hello!”
Someone blocked my path.
A young man with youthful, soft cheeks and gentle, moist-looking eyes.
“I’m, well, Hae, Hae Mi-jun.”
After quite a long time, it was a moment when the novel and reality suddenly overlapped.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
