# Chapter 208
“You’re advancing in tier?”
Jaekyung’s voice grew louder in surprise, drawing everyone’s attention. It wasn’t something worth announcing so dramatically. While Iyeon was feeling awkward, D.S was the first to nod in agreement.
“Well, it’s about time.”
Her tone suggested she’d expected this. Iyeon had never openly used his abilities in front of D.S. When he gave her a questioning look, D.S met his eyes and bluntly replied.
“If someone with drawing materialization ability was doing underwater combat, I’d have to be an idiot not to know, right? Who do you think repairs your goggles when they get water in them?”
“Ah.”
“Yeah, why drag it out in such a sloppy state? Good thinking.”
“…”
Iyeon quickly became dejected at the inevitable criticism and took a swig of water. Hyegang rushed to comfort him.
“Hyung, do whatever you want. It’s good for the company if your rank goes up. But what suddenly brought this on? You said you were satisfied with tier 2.”
Curious, sparkling eyes turned toward Iyeon. After appearing to think for a moment, he casually said:
“I want to be a hero too, you know?”
“What, a hero? Where did that come from?”
Jaekyung burst into laughter at the grand statement. As everyone was treating it like a joke, Iyeon just laughed along without bothering to correct them. Sua approached with a large tray and asked excitedly while setting the table.
“Iyeon-ssi is advancing in tier? So today is a tier advancement celebration party?”
“No, it’s not that big a deal… I haven’t actually done anything yet, just made up my mind.”
After Iyeon waved his hands in dismissal, Young’s solemn voice followed:
“If someone with your abilities can’t advance in tier, then there’s something wrong with the Superpower Management Office.”
“That’s right, I saw before—you were amazing. Even Jesan-5 would have to step aside.”
Jaekyung, agreeing, raised the new beer glass Sua had just placed.
“Early congratulations on your tier advancement, Iyeon-ssi.”
Everyone else raised their glasses as well. Iyeon hesitated briefly before finally picking up his glass.
“Thank you…”
The glasses clinked together with a clear sound. Delicious-smelling food filled the table.
It didn’t take long for people to get drunk. After a while of boisterous eating and drinking, everyone’s movements gradually slowed. When Iyeon returned from a quick bathroom break, the change was even more apparent.
At some point, Jaekyung had cornered Young and was passionately lecturing about variant history, while Jaei, seemingly half-gone, was slowly shaking her head while staring at her half-empty beer glass. D.S was now chatting with Sua, who had taken a seat at the table, and Hyegang—who appeared the most sober despite having drunk the most—was counseling Mirae about her elementary school friendships.
“So Minhee likes Seongjun, but Mirae doesn’t like him. He only says mean things.”
“I see. It is hard to play with kids who say mean things.”
“Exactly! But Minhee says she likes him. So what can I do…”
“Mirae is so kind.”
…It was quite a mature conversation. After observing Hyegang patting Mirae’s head, Iyeon sat down glumly, and Mirae turned to him.
“Uncle, Mirae is sleepy.”
“Oh, is it bedtime already?”
Iyeon checked the clock hanging in the restaurant. It was already well past 9 PM, so it was natural she’d be getting sleepy. Glancing at D.S, he noticed her expression was quite serious, whatever she was discussing with Sua. It wasn’t the right moment to interrupt.
“Then why don’t you take a quick nap here for now?”
Iyeon pulled over empty chairs from another table and placed two together to create enough space for Mirae to lie down. He called forth white sand to create a small topper, pillow, and even a blanket. After rubbing her eyes a couple of times, Mirae burrowed into the blanket. She quickly fell into deep sleep with gentle purring breaths.
“Sleep well.”
After arranging her hair, Iyeon turned back to find the situation had changed slightly. Young had desperately escaped Jaekyung’s lecture and was now trying hard to engage Hyegang in conversation. Although Hyegang looked annoyed, he was still responding diligently. Whenever Jaekyung—left alone like a kite with a broken string—glanced over with wistful eyes, Young’s speech would accelerate.
It was quite a desperate scene. Maybe I should sacrifice myself… Thinking this, Iyeon tapped Jaekyung on the shoulder.
“Have you had a lot to drink?”
“Iyeon-ssi.”
Jaekyung looked at Iyeon with a brightened face. Having heard about variants several times while sober, Iyeon figured he could handle it even in a drunken state. He steeled himself for the conversation.
But what actually came from Jaekyung was something completely different.
“Will you be okay?”
“What? With what?”
“No matter how I think about it, the timing seems really odd. If you wanted to reveal it, you’ve had plenty of opportunities.”
When Iyeon just blinked without answering, Jaekyung added:
“About advancing in tier.”
Objectively speaking, the benefits for hunters with higher tiers were much better than those with lower tiers. Lower tax rates, more policies targeting them, plus quite substantial additional perks. For hunters, achieving the highest possible tier was absolutely advantageous.
Yet Jaekyung’s eyes were full of concern when he asked if Iyeon would be okay.
Iyeon’s ability, which Jaekyung had briefly experienced in Dabalsin, was clearly not ordinary. This meant it wasn’t just about becoming a bit more skilled at using his power. If that was the case, the tier advancement examination would likely be different from the standard process. The result would also be different.
There must be a reason why someone who had lived normally until now would suddenly decide to advance in tier, accepting all the consequences that came with it.
“Is it perhaps related to our, our director?”
“What?”
Iyeon’s eyes widened at the sudden question. Seeing his reaction, Jaekyung seemed to realize he was wrong and awkwardly explained:
“Well, you looked a bit unsettled when we talked about Mungchi’s gem core. And Hyegang suddenly asking about the director too… So I thought they might be connected.”
“Hyegang did?”
“Yeah. But I’m not personally close with the director, so I don’t know much. I didn’t have much to tell him.”
It seemed Hyegang had naturally learned about Eunju while digging for information on Taejin. Iyeon had been planning to talk about it anyway, but there was no need now. While Iyeon was marveling at Hyegang’s information-gathering abilities, Jaekyung hesitated before speaking again.
“Hey, um. Is there anything I can help with?”
Despite his hesitation, Jaekyung continued firmly.
“I’m closer to a regular person and don’t know much about hunters, so I might not be very useful for tier advancement, but if you need anything, please tell me. Even if it’s just to vent… You said I was your friend.”
“…”
“Friends help each other, right?”
After finishing his words quickly, Jaekyung suddenly picked up his beer glass and downed it in one shot. The tips of his round ears were slightly flushed.
Iyeon stared at him for a moment before letting out a laugh that sounded like a sigh.
“Jaekyung-ssi.”
“Yes?”
“I like you too.”
“W-what?”
Jaekyung’s eyes widened. Iyeon continued, fighting off a slightly embarrassed feeling.
“I think I’m fortunate to have met you.”
It wasn’t just Jaekyung. Hyegang, D.S, Sua, Mirae, Young, and Jaei too.
He liked these people. He wanted them to live happily and joyfully. He wanted to celebrate with them during happy times, comfort them during sad ones, and help them when things were tough.
He wanted to live surrounded by people he cared about.
The truth was, he hated being alone.
“That’s why I decided.”
At his calm voice, Jaekyung stared at Iyeon, his mouth slightly open. The silence between them was broken by Hyegang, whose impassive face dropped a bombshell statement.
“Wait… Are you two dating?”
“Whaaat?”
Iyeon was startled.
“You just said you liked him.”
“No, that’s not what I meant. It was just a general sense of human affection…”
“Oh? Doesn’t Iyeon-ssi have a partner already? That’s what I thought.”
Somehow the conversation had ended, and now Sua and D.S were looking this way too. It’s true that I have a partner now, but it’s only been a day—how does the owner know? Iyeon was alarmed before barely remembering that once, when pretending to date Sano, they had even held a celebration party at Sua’s restaurant. It was a lie back then, but now it had become undeniable truth, which was strangely ironic. D.S, who had been calmly sipping her beer beside him, added:
“Right. Is it mutual? That guy seems like he’d tear you into two pieces if you ever cheated.”
“No, what cheating! What are you talking about?”
Everyone else was calm, but Iyeon was flailing. Hyegang nodded.
“Hmm… well, whether it’s him or Jaekyung-hyung, they’re similar. I don’t care either way.”
“I care!”
“So he had a partner…”
Meanwhile, Young quietly nodded. She seemed somewhat disappointed.
“No, that’s not it! I meant it in a friendly way. I like Jaekyung-ssi, and I like you too, and I like D.S-ssi too!”
“My, how disappointing. What about me?”
Sua quickly pointed at herself.
“I like you too, Sua-ssi!”
“Thank you.”
Sua smiled gently before finally picking up her chopsticks to eat some side dishes. The back of Iyeon’s neck heated up after his unexpected declaration of affection. He wondered what this sudden commotion was all about.
Young and Jaei stared at Iyeon intently. The suffocating gaze continued.
“…”
“…”
“I like Young-ssi and Jaei-ssi too.”
Only then did the two look satisfied, clinking their glasses together. Iyeon, his complexion considerably paler, picked up his water glass with a hollow expression. This wasn’t the conversation he’d intended to have. Fatigue was setting in.
It was then that a cold voice echoed through the restaurant.
“Seems you’re all having fun.”
