“Lululu… lu.”
Lulu, who’d come out from searching another room, sensed the strange atmosphere and stopped.
After a long silence, Yeom Hajae let out a sigh.
“I’m not an idiot either.”
He continued in a serious tone.
“Show me what you put in your pocket earlier.”
“…..”
“What happened in this room yesterday?”
Sweat trickled down my pale cheeks.
“That’s… um…”
I rubbed the back of my neck with my hand.
We were playing around with a whip. For the record, I didn’t put anything in my mouth besides alcohol. The Director’s a druggie, but I’m not.
Would he believe me if I said that?
But it was way too late to come up with some half-baked lie.
Should I just flash my back now and play the victim? Forget the druggie…
I finished organizing my thoughts and opened my eyes. The hunter in front of me was waiting for me to speak. I needed to sound as pathetic as possible. I arranged my expression into something serious.
“Yesterday,”
The moment I opened my mouth—
Croak.
“…Hm?”
Did I hear that wrong?
I turned my head toward the sound. Something purple was sticking out slightly from under the sofa. Something smooth and slick-looking, long but with rounded ends.
“What is that?”
“Hyung, please focus. Yesterday…!”
Croaaak!
Yeom Hajae was saying something, but I had no time to listen. The purple frog leapt out from under the sofa, shooting out its tongue like a bullet.
Whoosh!
I instinctively twisted my body to dodge the tongue. The long tongue grazed past my leg by a hair and struck the table.
Hiss.
The corner of the table the frog’s tongue touched melted away rapidly, as if exposed to acid. Seeing that, I remembered the melted front door.
The boss monster…!
It had shown up at a truly fitting moment.
“Senior?”
Lulu, not knowing what was happening, made a confused sound. Meanwhile, Yeom Hajae had already grasped the situation quickly.
“Get back!”
He gripped his sword in both hands and charged at the monster. I stepped back several paces to avoid getting caught up in the fight.
Whoosh!
The frog wrapped its tongue around the light fixture and leapt high into the air.
“Argh!”
Only then noticing the monster, Lulu ducked to dodge the flying frog. Spinning through the air via the light fixture, the frog stuck fast to the opposite wall.
Yeom Hajae stepped off the sofa and charged straight at it. With people sprawled all over the place, he couldn’t use fire, but from the look of his form, he seemed like he’d take down one monster in no time.
Guess I’ll just watch from back here.
Once that monster died, the escape gate would open. I’d sneak away then.
I crossed my arms leisurely, but Lulu came rushing over with an urgent expression for some reason.
“Senior, get back!”
Lulu pointed at the ceiling.
Creak.
Looking up, I saw the chandelier-shaped light fixture tilted to one side.
“Ah.”
The cord that had been barely holding on snapped. The fixture falling to the floor looked like it was happening in slow motion.
Crash!
The surroundings were instantly plunged into darkness.
“Aaagh!”
“Hyung?! Are you okay?!”
Confused voices called out from both sides.
“Where’s the flashlight?”
“No time to look for it, ugh!”
I could hear the sound of Yeom Hajae’s sword swinging—he must’ve still been fighting the monster.
Croak.
It seemed he hadn’t finished it off yet. The frog made a sound from somewhere.
Crackle!
I generated a spark to briefly get a view of the surroundings.
Yeom Hajae was facing off against the frog, sword in hand.
Crackle!
Yeom Hajae slashed at the frog’s side.
Crackle!
The wounded frog ended up dangling from the curtain rod, its tongue wrapped around it. Yeom Hajae was looking around, searching for it.
There was no time to explain. I grabbed the nearest bottle and threw it at the frog.
Croak!
It must have missed, because the frog jumped off somewhere else again. I heard the wet slap of its slimy skin sticking to the wall.
Should I use my ability?
If at all possible, I wanted to keep up the act of being some useless guy who could only do a few cheap electric tricks. But I couldn’t just sit and watch anymore, it was too frustrating.
If Yeom Hajae ended up hurt or killed because of this…
Screw it.
Crackle!
“Ah!”
The curtain rod must have melted and given way, because Yeom Hajae was now tangled up in the curtains.
He swung his sword wildly. But instead of hitting the frog, he just kept slashing at the curtains.
This pathetic bastard.
Crackle!
The frog clinging to the wall was looking down at Yeom Hajae. It was poised as if ready to attack, looking like it might shoot out its tongue any second.
I threw a bottle cap I’d picked up off the floor.
Crackle!
The metal cap flew and tore into the frog’s belly.
The attack must have hit—I heard the sound of the frog falling to the floor.
Cro… oak…
For something that had caused so much trouble, its death cry was rather underwhelming.
“Senior!”
The surroundings suddenly brightened. Squinting slightly, I turned around to see Lulu standing in front of the light switch. I’d wondered where he’d gone—turns out he’d gone to turn the lights on.
Ah, the indirect lighting was fine after all.
“Monster! Where’s the monster?”
A muffled voice came from in front of the sofa. I hurried over to Yeom Hajae’s side and retrieved the fallen bottle cap. Then I started clapping.
“Hunter! Well done. I knew I could count on you.”
Yeom Hajae, wrapped up in the curtains, flailed around. I pulled the curtain off him and smiled.
“H-hyung?”
“You took down the monster.”
“What…?”
I gestured dramatically toward the frog’s corpse. Yeom Hajae’s eyes widened as he saw the corpse lying in front of him. He looked back and forth between his sword and the frog’s torn belly, the corners of his eyebrows drooping.
“It didn’t feel like I cut anything…”
“You really took it down magnificently. And in total darkness, no less.”
“??”
“So you really do deserve to be guild leader. Amazing.”
“Wow, amazing.”
With Lulu joining in too, Yeom Hajae stood up looking thoroughly confused. The dazed man looked around at the wrecked surroundings.
“Did I really do that?”
“Of course. Who else would’ve?”
He blinked blankly, still unable to believe it.
“Wow, I really see you in a new light. Hunter, you saved me.”
Undeterred by his lukewarm reaction, I kept piling on the praise, and Yeom Hajae’s cheeks turned red. Face flushed, he hurriedly changed the subject.
“Th-then again, the gate didn’t open?”
The core might still be intact inside the monster’s body. Since there were no signs of another monster around, it was probably still inside the corpse.
“Right, let’s hurry and get the corpse…”
A throb.
I clutched my stomach mid-sentence.
“Ugh…”
I couldn’t keep my face from twisting.
Damn it.
The pain in my stomach was unbearable.
***
Perhaps due to the influence of the dungeon environment outside the hotel, hot air lingered in the room. A monster that had been holding its breath in the corner began moving cautiously. Whitey slipped through the silence and climbed up onto the bookshelf. Perched at the highest point, its red eyes took in the whole state of the room at a glance.
Seo Sinwoo had suddenly dropped to his knees. The other two approached him with worried expressions.
“Are you okay, Senior?”
Lulu grabbed Seo Sinwoo’s right arm.
“Are you hurt somewhere?”
Yeom Hajae took hold of the other arm. The two of them pulled Seo Sinwoo toward themselves at the same time.
Tight.
Both arms were pulled taut. The two men’s gazes clashed sharply.
After a brief standoff, Lulu was the first to speak.
“Lulu will help him.”
“I’ll do it.”
“Lulu’s closer with Senior.”
“What does closeness have to do with it? You look weak anyway, so leave it to me.”
“Didn’t you see me close that iron door earlier?”
Their voices grew louder. Seo Sinwoo barely managed to lift his head.
“I’m fine, so stop fighting and hurry up and get the core… ugh!”
“Senior! Lulu will help you!”
“I’ll help him. I’m closer to his height!”
“Ha, hu… hic.”
Seo Sinwoo’s stomach hurt so much he couldn’t even laugh anymore.
What are these bastards doing.
The core was right there. And yet they were squabbling over something this trivial. At this rate, his arms were going to get torn off.
“Stop…”
“Senior said he doesn’t want it. Let go.”
“You’re the one who should let go.”
Lulu bent down and wrapped his arms fully around Seo Sinwoo. He rubbed his face against Seo Sinwoo’s bowed shoulder, openly, as if showing off.
Yeom Hajae’s eyes narrowed.
“Let go of him.”
“What if I don’t?”
“Let go…”
“Nooo.”
“…..”
Yeom Hajae released the arm he’d been holding and stepped right up in front of Lulu. The closer he got, the tighter Lulu clung to Seo Sinwoo. Just as Lulu sandwiched Seo Sinwoo between his arms and pressed their bodies together—
“Nngh…”
Seo Sinwoo let out a small groan and curled in on himself further. Lulu, noticing something was genuinely wrong with him, looked down at Seo Sinwoo.
The other man seemed unaware of his gaze. No, he didn’t even seem to register being held at all. Normally, he’d have shaken them off long ago.
“…..”
Lulu reached a hand toward Seo Sinwoo’s face. To check his temperature.
Smack.
Just before it touched his forehead, his wrist was caught.
“You’re the one who left that mark on hyung, aren’t you?”
“…..”
As Yeom Hajae stared at him quietly, the hand gripping his wrist tightened. Lulu obediently straightened up and stepped away from Seo Sinwoo.
“A mark?”
“Don’t play dumb.”
“Yep. That was Lulu.”
Lulu reported the lie with a bright smile.
