Chapter 164

With a clang and the sound of something breaking, the explosion began to crumble into dust and vanish from my fingertips.

‘What the hell.’

A look of confusion spread across my face in an instant.

I hadn’t expected my ability to erase even explosions.

But the Dimensional Being was even more panicked than I was.

Despite its insect-like appearance, it clearly displayed emotions on its face, as if it possessed intelligence.

The moment I noticed that, I didn’t hesitate and reached out my hand.

The Dimensional Being, realizing the danger of my touch, tried to retreat quickly, but it was too late.

Zap!

With red sparks wrapping around my body, I accelerated and my hand touched its body.

Crackle, crackle, crackle!

In that instant, starting from where my hand touched, the Dimensional Being’s entire body split apart and shattered into pieces.

Watching the Dimensional Being crumble, I took a deep breath.

Then, I looked down at my hand.

I knew my ability was effective against Dimensional Beings, but I hadn’t expected it to work on something like an explosion.

The expression of the Dimensional Being, accepting its death in the final moment, reminded me that it was an intelligent life form, but I turned my gaze to Baeksan instead.

I wondered if Baeksan had noticed the effect of my ability.

When I looked at Baeksan, his eyes were wide open.

“Kang Ha-chan, you…”

His reaction was as if he hadn’t expected me to be capable of such a thing.

Just as I was about to speak,

“Wow!”

“Hey, as expected of an SS-class Hunter!”

At that moment, exclamations of admiration erupted from the Hunters behind me.

So, I stopped what I was about to ask Baeksan and paused my attempt to scratch the back of my head.

It hurt when I touched it.

First and foremost, I needed to get treated.

“Baeksan.”

So, I called out to Heuksan, and she quietly looked at me.

“Sorry, but don’t tell the kids about today’s incident.”

If the kids found out, I’d definitely get scolded.

Hearing my words, Heuksan looked at me with a baffled expression.

“…That’s what you’re worried about in this situation?”

“Well, I don’t want to worry them.”

“Haa, do as you please.”

With that, Baeksan turned and walked away. I talked to the Hunters for a bit and then headed to the hospital.

—

After arriving at the hospital, I received treatment.

When I asked the Hunters to keep it a secret, they nodded enthusiastically.

They agreed to take credit for the Dimensional Gate incident this time.

After all, if rumors spread that there was a real SS-class Hunter, it would be a headache for me.

‘Of course, people talk.’

It wouldn’t be that easy to keep it a secret.

[I can’t live like this. Getting hurt all the time, worrying about Ha-chan, I won’t live to see my time!]

Then, I received a call from Seolhyang and got an earful.

I had forgotten about Eun-hyeon, who had been watching over me.

‘The secrecy I asked Heuksan for was pointless.’

Though, thanks to Seolhyang, I got treated at the best hospital.

“Sorry, I’ll be more careful.”

[Haa, so the Dimensional Being you faced this time was intelligent?]

“Definitely.”

I answered with certainty.

Judging from its final actions, it was clearly an intelligent Dimensional Being.

Hearing my answer, Seolhyang let out a thoughtful sound.

[Alright. What about Baeksan?]

“He’s here. Want me to hand the phone over?”

When I turned around, Heuksan was standing there, wearing a leather jacket with her arms crossed.

She had been staring out the window disinterestedly but turned to look at me when she felt my gaze.

“What are you looking at?”

She’s prickly.

[It’s fine. No need to hand it over. We’ll talk at home later.]

“Alright.”

[Don’t get hurt, take your medicine properly. Don’t make me worry, okay?]

“Yeah, I’ll take it.”

I answered Seolhyang’s repeated questions several times.

Seolhyang just sighed again.

After being told to be careful once more, I hung up and approached Heuksan.

“Baeksan, let’s head back.”

“……”

Hearing my suggestion to go back, she quietly looked at me.

“……You.”

Then, Heuksan pushed herself off the wall and glared at me as she spoke.

“What were you thinking back there?”

“What do you mean, what was I thinking?”

I tilted my head.

“About protecting those guys earlier.”

She looked at me with a confused expression.

Seeing that, I tilted my head.

“Well, I could protect them, right?”

“Why?”

“Because they looked like they were in danger.”

Heuksan and I stared at each other for a moment.

Both of us had eyes filled with emotions the other couldn’t understand.

“……”

We remained silent for a while before finally moving.

We decided to head back for now.

As we started driving, Heuksan, sitting beside me, spoke up.

“……I don’t get you.”

“About saving those people earlier?”

“Yeah.”

Looking at her, who was deeply distrustful of humans, I made a right turn and said,

“Has that been bothering you all this time?”

“……I thought it was all just an act.”

Hearing her call it an act, I glanced at Baeksan in the rearview mirror.

Baeksan, who met my gaze in the mirror, clicked her tongue.

Heuksan’s eyes, looking at Baeksan, were filled with disdain for her past self.

Seeing that, I stopped at the traffic light.

“But this time, didn’t it feel like an act?”

“I thought it was.”

Heuksan leaned her head back against the seat.

“……I thought you were just trying to show off to me.”

Her words made her distrust of humans painfully clear.

Even though I had no ulterior motives, that’s how it seemed to her.

“But those guys were clearly strangers to you.”

Heuksan clicked her tongue, looking confused.

“……Seeing you get scolded by your sister made it hard to see it as an act.”

Hearing that, I let out a bitter laugh.

“And even if you were trying to show off to me, there’s nothing you’d gain from it. You’re stronger than me. I don’t get what you’d achieve by doing that.”

There’s nothing to gain.

That’s certainly true.

Just as I had no ulterior motives, no matter how much Heuksan thought about it, she couldn’t come up with an answer.

“I don’t just help anyone blindly.”

“……You don’t?”

“I only help people in front of me or those I know. I’m just that kind of person.”

Heuksan looked at me for a moment before turning her gaze back to the window.

“……The world’s in this state because there are so few people like you.”

“I think life’s pretty good.”

“Must be nice living surrounded by women.”

I couldn’t laugh at that.

“Don’t say it like that. Everyone has their reasons.”

Rumble-

While making a U-turn, I paused at the sound.

When I turned my head, Heuksan was staring out the window, refusing to look my way.

Upon closer inspection, the back of her ears were bright red.

She must have been embarrassed, given how serious the conversation was.

“There’s a burger joint up ahead. Want to grab something?”

“……Yeah.”

Looks like I’ll have to treat her to burgers today.

—

It’s been a few days since I started hanging out with Heuksan.

Since that incident, Heuksan has been looking at me strangely.

It seems she can’t understand me and is observing me instead.

It feels like I’ve become an animal in a zoo, which is a bit weird.

Still, recently, her sharpness has toned down slightly.

One concern is that she often gets lost in thought, but there’s nothing I can do about that.

“Baeksan, am I doing okay?”

“Probably.”

Hearing Baeksan’s words, I scratched the back of my head.

Baeksan sighed and added,

“Just keep doing what you’re doing. Since she’s started questioning things, even if she doesn’t understand it yet, she’ll gradually get better.”

Hearing that, I felt relieved.

If Baeksan says so, it must be going well.

‘More importantly, is it the weekend already?’

I looked at the clock.

Today, I wasn’t with Heuksan.

Seolhyang also said she was taking a day off, so she’s probably hanging out with Seolhyang by now.

If you’re wondering why I’m not with Heuksan today, it’s because I had someone else to meet.

Ding-dong-

At that moment, the doorbell rang.

Hearing the sound, I approached the door, and a voice followed.

Knock, knock, knock!

“Wanna build a snowman with me~”

A playful voice accompanied the knocking.

This girl, seriously.

When I opened the door, there stood Ayu, holding up a fist, wearing a hat and mask.

As soon as she saw me, she took off her hat and mask, smiling brightly.

She always covers her face when outside, but with me, she always shows her face like this.

“Domi Oppa, your girlfriend’s here. Aren’t you happy? Aren’t you happy?”

“Yeah, I’m so happy. Even though we played games together yesterday, it’s still great to see you.”

“Hehe, me too!”

As I said that, Ayu happily hugged me.

In her hand was something.

Upon closer inspection, it was a grocery bag.

“What did you bring all this for?”

“To make something delicious for you, of course.”

Hearing that, my eyes widened.

That’s because no one had ever done something like this for me before.

“Hehe, are you touched?”

Seeing my expression, Ayu smiled at me.

“Yeah, I’m really touched.”

When I said I was touched, Ayu’s eyes widened, and she soon broke into a wide smile.

“Hehehe.”

She’s laughing like a fool.

“Come in. It’s cold.”

I led Ayu into my room.

As she walked in, she glanced around my room.

Her curious expression made me laugh.

“Why are you looking around so much? Are you a pervert?”

“I just wanted to see if Oppa keeps his room clean!”

Honestly, Ayu doesn’t seem like the type to be good at housework.

But I nodded and let her look around.

“The kitchen’s here, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Wait a bit! I’ll make something delicious for you!”

It’s cute how excited she is to cook for me.

I noticed Baeksan had already left.

She probably saw the situation and decided to leave.

I always feel bad for Baeksan because of that.

At that moment, I heard the sound of Ayu bustling around as she cooked.

She even had an apron on.

The sight of my girlfriend in an apron.

It felt like a scene straight out of the internet, and I couldn’t help but laugh.