The Unemployed Life of a Hunter 96

#96

Is this what they commonly call reality check time? Ha-seong sat blankly at the dining table after coming out of the shower. The dream he had earlier felt as if it were reality, and he still seemed to feel those sensations.

Cha Do-hyeok’s voice, breath, and even those sticky touches…

“Ugh, seriously!”

Ha-seong shook his head vigorously and filled a cup with cold water from the water dispenser, then gulped it down.

Why on earth did he have such a dream? Had he unknowingly become sexually frustrated? But even if that were the case by some chance, Ha-seong was utterly bewildered as to why he had dreamed of doing such things specifically with Cha Do-hyeok.

‘You wanted it, hyung. Thinking only of me, getting jealous. It’s all because you did that, hyung.’

The voice Do-hyeok had whispered in his ear before waking up suddenly came to mind. I wanted it? I was jealous? What nonsense.

Ha-seong was about to snort when he recalled the thoughts he’d had before falling asleep. He kept thinking only about things related to Do-hyeok, fixated on that benefactor person so that nothing else caught his eye.

And that wasn’t all. When Do-hyeok had mistakenly thought he was that precious person and touched his cheek, thinking of that gaze made somewhere in his heart feel uncomfortably tight, as if being squeezed. This was jealousy? So I’m currently jealous over Cha Do-hyeok’s precious person?

“There’s no way…”

Ha-seong clutched his head and collapsed gloriously onto the table again.

Had there ever been a time in his life when his heart was this complicated and confused? He had never once agonized this much or felt such incomprehensible sensations. Ha-seong had always lived and fought on battlefields, so without hesitation, without deep contemplation, every action he took was always without reservation.

That was the environment where he could survive without dying, and since all he did daily was enter dungeons to beat up and kill monsters, there really weren’t many things worth pondering deeply. His human relationships were smooth, and to the hunters he worked with, Ha-seong was literally a respectable existence, so there was no reason for him to deeply contemplate and think about his personal relationships in the first place.

So caring about the past of a man five years younger than him, feeling unidentifiable emotions, and having such dreams about him was too great a challenge for Ha-seong right now.

After spending several minutes lost in thought while sitting there, Ha-seong realized he needed to prepare for work and busily moved his body before leaving the house.

* * *

<This is breaking news. The real culprit of the hunter murder case that recently threw society into great confusion has been caught. This morning, the Hunter Management Bureau announced that they arrested the real culprit of the hunter murder case and that the perpetrator has confessed to all crimes. This is reporter Lee Seong-bin.>

Ha-seong got off the bus and stood at the crosswalk in front of the Nameless building. Urgent morning news was flowing from the outdoor electronic billboard on the high-rise building.

<The hunter murder case that brutally killed two hunters. Society was thrown into great confusion by this incident, and now comes news that the culprit has finally been arrested.>

The screen switched along with the reporter’s voice, showing the Management Bureau building.

<I am currently in front of the Management Bureau building. The Management Bureau announced that they will soon transfer the real culprit of the hunter murder case to the Management Bureau’s detention center. The perpetrator is a middle-aged man surnamed Baek, and detailed personal information and motives for the crime have not yet been disclosed. The Management Bureau stated they will investigate the possibility of accomplices and dig into the detailed circumstances of the case. Yes, at this moment Mr. Baek is coming out!>

The cameraman and reporter could be seen hurriedly running to the front of the Management Bureau entrance. There, Baek Sa-jin was slowly coming out wearing a hat and mask pulled down low, with his wrists covered. Among them was a familiar face. Woo-bin was blocking the reporters while leading Baek Sa-jin and walking forward with difficulty.

<Why on earth did you commit such murders?>

<Was this all a planned crime? Are you a hunter or non-hunter?>

<Please tell us how you’re feeling right now.>

The reporters who had gathered like dogs thrust their phones forward and bombarded Baek Sa-jin with questions. But he never opened his mouth and maintained an upright posture as he got into the prepared car.

The screen immediately switched to the studio.

<As you can see, with the culprit of the hunter murder case revealed, citizens felt great relief. But at the same time, there are also loud voices of criticism that hunters and the Management Bureau should be more alert and work to prevent such incidents from happening again in the future. As this is the first criticism raised against hunter society, attention is focused on how guilds and the Management Bureau will respond and take measures going forward.>

The announcer hoped this would lead to a healthier hunter society and didn’t forget to include words of gratitude for hunters, and the news ended like that. Ha-seong crossed the crosswalk while entering the community on his phone. As expected, since there had been major progress in the case, the community was also heated.

[Title: Hunters should take this opportunity]

I hope hunters take this opportunity to properly discipline themselves. Honestly, the government has been giving them generous support and people have been enthusiastic, so there were quite a few complacent ones.

-Agreed. There were rumors the culprit was a non-hunter, but instead of thinking about improving skills, they only think about filming commercials, so they get beaten like that.

-Totally agree. They make tons of money with just a little work, so they couldn’t even catch the culprit and two people died.

-Why does this kind of post have so many upvotes? Discipline or whatever, the one who committed murder is wrong, not these “complacent ones” bullshit. You’re all living safely now thanks to hunters.

People were also engaged in heated debates over this incident. People who had considerable dissatisfaction with hunter society began voicing their opinions, while others still defended hunters and fought them head-on.

Ha-seong was captured by strange emotions while reading the comments. There might indeed be “complacent hunters” as they said. He thought such hunters deserved criticism, but conversely, there were also many hunters who worked harder than anyone with a sense of mission. Seeing them all lumped together and criticized reminded him of the gazes that pointed fingers at Ha-seong for failing to save even one person, making him feel somewhat gloomy.

“Thinking about it gives me a headache.”

The text on the screen somehow summoned voices from the past. The association bastards shouting at him to work, citizens’ voices asking why he, as a hunter, let people die. As a headache surged and his breathing became labored, Ha-seong momentarily couldn’t see ahead.

The blinking green light went out and a car was speeding toward him from far away. The car that was approaching without seeing Ha-seong still standing at the end of the crosswalk honked its horn.

And at that moment, someone reached out and pulled Ha-seong’s body away.

“What are you doing so dangerously?”

Do-hyeok stood there with his brow deeply furrowed. Then, amazingly, the headache disappeared completely and his pulse and breathing, which had quickened, began to calm down. Feeling the blood that had been rapidly circulating through his body settle down, Ha-seong looked up at Do-hyeok.

“…I told you not to use informal speech.”

Ha-seong pulled his hand free from Do-hyeok, whom he had reunited with once more in dawn’s dream. The afterimage of that dream was still vivid, so Ha-seong had to turn his head away. He even felt like he had unknowingly committed a crime by having such a dream about a young guy.

“What were you thinking about that you didn’t notice the car coming? Didn’t you hear me calling you?”

“You called?”

Listening to him, it seemed Do-hyeok had spotted Ha-seong and called to him from across the street before crossing. He must not have heard because he was too focused on the news.

“Hey, but why did you come out today?”

That’s when Ha-seong, sensing something strange, furrowed his brow sharply. Not even a day had passed since Cha Do-hyeok had caused that ruckus. No matter how S-rank he was, he had used his power mercilessly without being able to control it, yet he was already out.

As the rank gets higher, the amount of energy a hunter can use for abilities, that is, the amount of power, differs. Since he’s S-rank, the energy Do-hyeok possesses would be at the highest level. Moreover, the skills Do-hyeok mainly used were explosive flame-type. But he had burst all of that at once and couldn’t even control it, so his body should need at least a day of rest.

But now this bastard was standing in front of the guild building with a clear face.

“I’m fine.”

“Don’t bullshit me. I know because I’ve experienced it too – you might be okay now, but you don’t know what will happen later. A hunter who can’t even take care of his own body? Go inside quickly and rest.”

What if he gets some chronic illness from acting like that?

Ha-seong had also once lost control after pouring out all his power during his hunter life. It was a dungeon he entered in high school, though he couldn’t remember what rank it was. But he had definitely thought he killed the boss there, and whether he was mistaken or another boss monster popped out, the careless Ha-seong had suffered major injuries.

To avoid dying, Ha-seong had no choice but to burst out all the power he had, and fortunately he was able to exit the dungeon while preserving his life. But afterward, Ha-seong experienced extreme pain throughout his body, and even when the association threw a fit, he ignored them and rested for a whole day to recover relatively quickly.

But Cha Do-hyeok, who didn’t know this, was wandering around so thoughtlessly, which was bound to be bewildering.

“Did you bring your car? Go quickly. Go and lie down.”

“Hyung, are you worried about me?”

“What?”

I told him to go inside and rest, so what the hell is that response? Ha-seong sighed deeply. At times like this, he really felt that Cha Do-hyeok was five years younger.

“I’m not joking. Go inside quickly.”

Do-hyeok stared intently at Ha-seong with clear eyes. For a moment, the lewd dream from dawn came to mind, and Ha-seong had no choice but to clear his throat and avoid his gaze.

“I asked you. Whether you’re worried about me.”

Do-hyeok’s voice had also sunk as if he was serious. Ha-seong was about to scold him for using informal speech again, but thinking the conversation would go in circles, he decided to step back.

“Yes. I’m worried. So don’t talk like this.”

If he wasn’t worried, why would he force him to go inside and sleep? But that answer seemed to be correct, as Do-hyeok’s expression relaxed considerably.

“Now it’s settled, right? I answered you, so quickly…”

“I’m not going in.”

“What? No, where did you hear what I said?”

But Do-hyeok defiantly spun his body around and walked toward the building.

“Hey, did you hurt your head or something? Why aren’t you going in? I told you to go and rest. Is that so difficult?”

“Because I like it.”

“What?”

That’s when Do-hyeok suddenly stopped walking and turned his head to look at Ha-seong, who was extremely annoyed.

“Because I like that hyung worries about me. I’m not going home right now, so keep doing it. Worrying.”

Do-hyeok smiled slightly and then slipped into the building.

Author: Hyacinthus B

Hyacinthus