Lee Kanghyun ignored the chattering from behind and moved forward.
“Ah! Hunter-nim! Please wait!”
He also ignored the shout to wait. He flung open the boss room door by himself.
He wanted to finish the hunt quickly and go home.
Lee Kanghyun never imagined in his life that he would be clearing gates this diligently.
As he entered the boss room, thud, thud, the ground shook. Soon, a massive boss monster revealed itself. With a body the size of a house, charging while exuding bloodlust, it looked quite threatening.
Look at that thing.
Still, to Lee Kanghyun, it was nothing that could stir any emotion—just an obstacle preventing him from going home.
Lee Kanghyun, whose mind and body were already greatly weakened by the boss’s too-hideous and ugly appearance, squeezed his eyes shut. Looking at something like that wasn’t good for his mental health.
With his eyes closed, he roughly kicked his foot toward where he felt a presence.
Crack!
The boss’s leg, hit by Lee Kanghyun’s kick, was torn off and flew through the air.
“Kieeeeeek!”
The boss, having lost its leg in an instant, writhed in pain and screamed like crazy.
Up to that point, it was normal.
“Amazing!”
“Wow! Did you see that just now? That kick! He perfectly predicted the boss’s movement path and struck accurately without even looking!”
“Does he not even need eyesight to hunt a B-rank monster!”
“He must be training!”
But the team members’ cheers that followed were not normal.
He covered his ears in agony.
I just closed my eyes because I didn’t want to look….
He was annoyed, exhausted, and wanted to go home so badly tears were about to trickle out.
Whether Lee Kanghyun was slowly dying or not, their praise didn’t stop.
“Look at that lonely back… Can you feel that heavy silence of not rejoicing even after defeating the enemy?”
“This must be the weight of being S-rank. He looks like the back of a hero in anguish…!”
“So cool….”
That’s not it—he’s just a pitiful hikikomori.
Lee Kanghyun finished off the tattered boss monster and checked the hologram window floating in the air with trembling hands.
Gate Clear!
Reward: Greatsword of Black Iron (B-rank)
The item fell with brilliant light. It wasn’t the ‘Fragment of Truth’ Lee Kanghyun was looking for. It was a decent weapon that could fetch tens of millions of won at auction, but to him right now, it was just a heavy and cumbersome lump of scrap metal.
“Ha….”
A sigh escaped automatically. The fact that it didn’t come out today meant he had to repeat this terrible act tomorrow too. He had to enter gates again with those noisy guys and beat up more monsters until he found the ‘Fragment of Truth.’
His vision went dark. This time, tears really came out.
“Huk, Hunter-nim! Why are you crying!”
“Handkerchief! Give him a handkerchief right now!”
“Are you hurt somewhere? To the hospital immediately…!”
Please just shut up.
***
2 AM.
Lee Kanghyun was standing in front of the entrance to Kang Yujun’s house.
He hesitated for a moment before placing his hand on the door lock keypad.
No way.
Beep, beep, beep, beep.
0, 1, 2, 7.
Kang Yujun’s birthday, and the current door lock number of Lee Kanghyun’s house that had been forcibly set. He pressed those numbers in order with doubt.
Ding-a-ling-!
The lock was released.
“……”
Lee Kanghyun clicked his tongue and went inside.
Simple bastard. Surely his bank account password isn’t also his birthday.
Curious, Lee Kanghyun decided to steal Kang Yujun’s bankbook sometime soon and try withdrawing money. He absolutely wasn’t trying to steal Kang Yujun’s money. It was just to satisfy his curiosity.
Without even turning on the lights, he smoothly laid his body down in the middle of the living room sofa. The empty house was quiet and dark.
It was comfortable. His ears, which had been tormented by those noisy team members all day, finally seemed to be resting.
How long had he been waiting?
Ding-a-ling-!
The sound of the door lock being released was heard again, and the entrance sensor light turned on brightly.
Soon Kang Yujun entered.
He had encountered a monster that used lightning, which had the worst compatibility with him who controlled water, so it took more time than usual to clear. His hair was disheveled and his eyes were sunken. Today had been quite tiring even for him, an S-rank.
He pressed the living room switch to turn on the light.
Click.
When the light came on, Lee Kanghyun lying on the sofa was revealed. His arms were hanging down, and his face was pale like some corpse, looking like a ghost.
“Ack! You scared me!”
Kang Yujun clutched his heart and jumped. He was so startled he even stepped back.
Lee Kanghyun raised the corners of his mouth. It was worth stopping his breathing and even controlling his heartbeat to erase his presence in time for Kang Yujun’s entrance.
He had always been the victim of Kang Yujun’s pranks, but getting him back like this felt like clearing a 10-year-old grudge.
“Hey! You, when did you get here? No, how did you even get in in the first place? I thought you were a ghost!”
“Password 0127. I tried it just in case and it opened.”
“Ah….”
Kang Yujun leaned against the wall, calming his startled heart. Soon the corners of his mouth began to rise. Rather than being upset about the unauthorized intrusion, he actually seemed pleased.
“What? You remembered my birthday? Wow, I’m touched? Our Kanghyun had this much interest in me.”
“Would I remember it because I wanted to? You set my house password to that!”
Suddenly overwhelmed, Lee Kanghyun yelled.
Those humiliating days of being forced to recite his birthday every time he pressed the door lock flashed before his eyes like a panorama.
“Oh, did I?”
Kang Yujun feigned innocence and laughed.
“Don’t laugh. It’s annoying.”
Lee Kanghyun took deep breaths while pressing down on the bridge of his nose to calm his rising anger. Haa. Let’s just state the business and go home quickly.
There was a specific reason he had come all the way here at this early hour, dragging his tired body.
“Hey. I have a favor.”
“A favor? From you? What is it? Just say it. I’ll do anything. Need money? Or should I give you a massage?”
At the mention of money, Lee Kanghyun was a bit tempted. He almost asked how much was possible. Who would hate free money?
But he barely held onto his reason. Right now, obtaining immediate mental peace was more urgent than money.
“My team members. Re-educate them a bit.”
At Lee Kanghyun’s serious eyes, Kang Yujun tilted his head.
“Why? Did they make a mistake? They’re kids with solid skills though. Plus, I picked all of them to be younger than you so you wouldn’t be uncomfortable.”
Fuck, what?
Lee Kanghyun almost cursed out loud without realizing it.
So Kang Yujun picked young kids as team members thinking he was being considerate?
It was really useless consideration. That was the start of the disaster.
“Haa… Why would you do that… Never mind. Just make them tone down their mouths.”
“Did they say something rude?”
Kang Yujun’s eyes sank coolly. He took out his phone from his pocket with the momentum of dunking someone. At his action, Lee Kanghyun jumped up in alarm and quickly grabbed his wrist.
“No, why are you so quick-tempered? It’s not that they were rude.”
A call from a boss at work when it’s almost 3 AM? Lee Kanghyun didn’t hate the team members enough to inflict that level of suffering, even though they were tiring.
“They just talk nonstop without giving me room to breathe. Making a fuss and causing a complete scene. I seriously feel like my ears are going to bleed.”
“Oh, that?”
Kang Yujun laughed as if deflated. He put his phone back in his pocket and shrugged his shoulders.
“Then you should just tell them directly. One phrase like ‘let’s be quiet’ and they won’t talk anymore, right?”
“I did. But they won’t listen.”
“You should say it more firmly. Scary.”
At his words, Lee Kanghyun’s shoulders flinched.
Of course, he could say it firmly and coldly. He could say it.
But how could he say ‘shut up, get lost, stay quiet’ to those innocent faces looking at him with sparkling eyes?
If it were Kang Yujun doing this? Lee Kanghyun would have already yelled at him to shut up, then wrapped tape around his mouth and kicked him right into the middle of a swarm of monsters.
“What? Don’t tell me you can’t do it?”
“What are you saying?”
Lee Kanghyun immediately retorted indignantly.
“I can do it?”
Just… he was someone who had only recently joined Yunseul Guild, and the team members were people who had joined Yunseul Guild right at the beginning of their awakening.
Even though he was older, in terms of seniority, he was their junior.
How could a junior lecture seniors like this and that? That would be clear insubordination.
This was consideration for a healthy organizational culture within the company. It absolutely wasn’t because his heart softened seeing team members younger and weaker than himself.
“…It’s a bit awkward for me to say it directly. It feels like I’m crushing their spirits. I’m already a murder suspect. Won’t the kids be scared?”
Lee Kanghyun made excuses while pretending to be dignified and considerate.
“So you, with your Guild Master authority, cut it short and order them. ‘No private conversations during operations.’ Got it?”
“I don’t want to?”
Kang Yujun answered very brightly. Lee Kanghyun thought for a moment he had misheard. That’s because just a moment ago, hadn’t Kang Yujun himself said he would grant any favor?
“…What did you say?”
Lee Kanghyun asked again with hope. Hurry, say you misspoke.
“I said I don’t want to.”
But Kang Yujun was still merciless.
Lee Kanghyun unconsciously grabbed the back of his neck. His blood pressure seemed to shoot straight up, making his vision spin.
