Finally, they arrived. Escape. The moment the engine turned off, Lee Kanghyun unfastened his seatbelt as if he’d been waiting for this.
The two took the elevator up to the 25th floor. Even the brief time it took for the floors to climb felt long to Lee Kanghyun.
Ding. They arrived at the 25th floor. Lee Kanghyun quickly got off and walked to unit 2501. It was in front of his home.
He reached his hand toward the door lock. But one beat faster than him, Kang Yujun’s finger suddenly popped out and skillfully pressed the numbers first.
‘0127’.
Beep-. The lock was released. Lee Kanghyun glared at him. He hasn’t said a single word, so why is he suddenly following me instead of going to his own place? Understanding Kang Yujun was impossible for Lee Kanghyun’s brain.
“Hey. I told you to stop pressing other people’s door codes.”
Lee Kanghyun snapped, but Kang Yujun didn’t even blink.
“It’s my birthday, so what’s wrong with me pressing it? Just don’t forget it.”
Kang Yujun shamelessly pushed Lee Kanghyun’s shoulder with his own and entered the house first. Lee Kanghyun let out a deep sigh as he took off his shoes. It was absurd, but this wasn’t the first or second time that bastard had been absurd, so he was used to it by now.
Rather, he felt a little relieved. Guess he’s not that angry.
“Ha… So what do you have to say? Hurry up and say it, then get lost. I need to sleep.”
Lee Kanghyun grumbled as usual and plopped down on the living room sofa. Kang Yujun silently stared at him for a moment before opening his inventory.
A thick envelope of documents popped out from thin air and dropped onto the table with a thud.
“Take a look at this.”
Usually, hunters kept potions to preserve life or weapons for urgent situations in their inventories. But just pieces of paper? He himself was a bit outside of common sense, but Kang Yujun was no less so. Lee Kanghyun picked up the envelope with an incredulous expression.
Lee Kanghyun’s brow furrowed sharply after checking the contents. It was a contract.
[Guild Recruitment Contract]
Affiliation: Yunseul Guild
Name: Lee Kanghyun
Below that were densely written clauses.
“This again? I said I won’t do it. I said it’s annoying. I said I’m not joining a guild. How many times do I have to say it?”
Lee Kanghyun threw the contract down on the table. Kang Yujun calmly pushed the contract back toward Lee Kanghyun as if he’d expected this.
“Look at the conditions again. It’s different from before.”
“What’s different?”
“No attendance obligation. No training obligation. No mandatory gate raids. You just need to have your name registered with our guild.”
Lee Kanghyun’s eyes narrowed at Kang Yujun’s explanation.
“What kind of guild member is that? That’s a ghost member.”
“Yeah. Be a ghost member. I’ll give you a salary too. I’ll cover the four major insurances.”
“Don’t need it. I just hate being tied down to anything in the first place.”
Watching Lee Kanghyun flatly refuse, Kang Yujun smiled, lifting the corners of his mouth.
“If you’re going to refuse, then from now on, you write all the gate raid reports.”
“Why should I?”
“Why? Because it’s a gate raid report.”
“No, you led the raid, so you should write it. I just helped from the side.”
Lee Kanghyun protested. But Kang Yujun didn’t even blink and responded calmly.
“What kind of hurtful thing to say is that? You and I are a party. We clearly raided it together.”
“……”
He had no words to counter. It was true that they were registered as a two-person party, so whether on paper or in reality, it was a joint responsibility. Lee Kanghyun quickly turned his brain. He couldn’t take the fall alone like this.
“Fine, let’s say that’s true, being generous a hundred times over. Then we should take turns writing it. Why are you dumping it all on me? Where’s your conscience?”
“Take turns?”
Kang Yujun asked back as if intrigued. Lee Kanghyun nodded, thinking this was his chance.
“Yeah. Since you wrote it this time, I’ll write it next time. That’s only fair.”
“Mm, that makes sense. It’s reasonable. Then shall we calculate? Since I’ve been writing them all alone without complaint for the past two months…”
He held up two fingers and grinned. Goosebumps broke out all over Lee Kanghyun’s body. This must be exactly what a devil looks like when it smiles.
“Now if you write them all alone for the next two months, that’ll be perfectly even. Right? Very fair.”
“…Hey.”
Lee Kanghyun’s face turned ashen. Just imagining it was so annoying that he was on the verge of tears. Kang Yujun bit his lip watching Lee Kanghyun like that.
That bastard, is he holding back laughter right now? He was being serious, but seeing Kang Yujun finding it funny made Lee Kanghyun’s insides churn.
“Won’t work. Taking turns is also rejected. Just keep submitting the reports yourself from now on. I’m too busy to write them.”
“Hey! How does that make sense!”
“You’re unemployed. I’m the guild master of a major guild. Whose time is more precious? No matter how I think about it, it’s right for you to write them.”
“Your guild staff write most of it for you anyway.”
“Right. So that’s why you should join the guild too.”
Now he was even threatening him. Lee Kanghyun really didn’t like that.
Should I just write those damn reports? As Lee Kanghyun showed signs of wavering, Kang Yujun quickly added:
“Until now, I’ve caught almost all the monsters, and I caught most of the bosses too, right? That seems a bit unfair too. Let’s take turns from now on.”
This isn’t right! Not only write the reports but also take the lead in catching monsters? If he had to do that, joining the guild would be a hundred times better.
In the end, he surrendered to Kang Yujun.
“Really… I just need to register my name?”
“Yeah. I won’t make you do anything. I promise.”
Joining Kang Yujun’s guild felt somehow unsettling, like putting on shackles, but if he didn’t join, he’d fall into the hell of reports. There was no room for negotiation.
“Ha… Give me the pen.”
In the end, Lee Kanghyun surrendered. He snatched the pen Kang Yujun offered and signed without hesitation. He didn’t even read the contract.
Well, it’s Kang Yujun. He wouldn’t put in any unfair clauses. Even though he was pretty pushy, Kang Yujun was a good guy. He had that vague trust.
“Good decision. Welcome, Lee Kanghyun.”
Kang Yujun carefully put away the contract like a treasure and stood up from his seat.
“If your business is done, leave. I’m tired.”
“Okay. Make sure you eat. Contact me if you need anything.”
When Kang Yujun left, tranquility finally came to the house. Lee Kanghyun let out a sigh of relief as if his tension had finally released.
Finally alone.
“Ah, happiness.”
Lee Kanghyun crawled to his bed and pulled the blanket up to the top of his head. The familiar smell of fabric softener, the cozy texture wrapping around his body. As expected, his own home and his own bed were the best.
He fell into a deep sleep in an instant.
***
A few days passed since then.
Lee Kanghyun was happily lazing about, becoming one with his bed as usual. He was savoring peace on a warm, sunny afternoon.
Crash-!
But the sound of breaking glass from the living room shattered the peace.
“……?”
Lee Kanghyun’s brow furrowed. That wasn’t the sound of a single cup falling and breaking. It was too loud for that. This was clearly the sound of the living room window being smashed.
He reluctantly forced himself to slowly get up from bed. When he shuffled out and opened the door, a strange black figure was standing in the middle of the empty living room.
A man in a black mask and black tights. An outfit that advertised ‘I am a suspicious person’ to anyone who looked. The intruder was looking around the living room, stepping on the shards of glass scattered at his feet. Then, his eyes met with Lee Kanghyun, who was standing crookedly in front of the door.
“……”
“……”
The intruder’s eyes wavered. As soon as he recognized Lee Kanghyun, he turned pale and stepped back.
“They said he definitely wouldn’t be here at this time?”
A small muttering voice could be heard.
Lee Kanghyun quickly grasped the situation. Aha. So you came to rob my house, targeting the time when I’m not here?
You dare disturb my rest time?
Lee Kanghyun’s form soon became blurry. The intruder felt Lee Kanghyun disappear from his sight, but he had already reached the front of the intruder. He snatched the intruder’s wrist and twisted it.
Crack.
The chilling sound of bones crushing echoed through the living room.
“Aaaaah!”
The dagger he was holding fell powerlessly to the floor. Lee Kanghyun twisted the screaming intruder’s arm behind his back to subdue him and slammed his head straight into the floor.
Thud!
“Be quiet. You’re too loud.”
He pressed down on the guy’s back with his knee. The intruder wheezed, unable to breathe properly.
“Now, only answer what I ask. Who are you? Who sent you?”
“Kugh…”
“You’re not just a petty thief. You knew this was my house when you came in. What would be the purpose of someone gutsy enough to break into an S-rank hunter’s house?”
Lee Kanghyun applied more force to the twisted arm.
“This is annoying me to death. I want to sleep. If you don’t talk quickly, I’ll make sure you can never use this arm again. One, two…”
Of course, he didn’t actually intend to cripple him. He was just planning to scare him appropriately.
The intruder’s body trembled like an aspen tree, gripped by extreme fear. Seeing that reaction, Lee Kanghyun thought the guy would soon open his mouth.
But then came the sound of something hard breaking inside the intruder’s mouth. Lee Kanghyun’s brow narrowed.
What was that sound?
Before that question could even fade, the intruder’s body convulsed violently and then went limp.
“…What the.”
With an ominous feeling, Lee Kanghyun grabbed the intruder’s hair and forcibly lifted his head.
Black foam along with black blood trickled down from the corner of his mouth. His eyes had already lost focus and were rolled back, showing only the whites.
He wasn’t breathing.
Lee Kanghyun stared blankly down at the guy’s face. The strength left his hand. The intruder’s head fell to the floor with a thud.
“Ha…”
A hollow laugh escaped from Lee Kanghyun’s mouth.
It was suicide.
