Chapter 61

“So, don’t try to dodge it, got it?”

After hearing that, I stared at Josia for a moment and then picked up my chopsticks.

“If I tell you the truth, will you stop bothering me?”

“Of course.”

She looked at me with an excited expression, urging me to speak.

If she wants to know, I might as well tell her.

“Do you know Seo-ho has a younger sister?”

“You mean Ha Si-ho?”

“Yes, that Si-ho. I’m the Hunter manager at the company she’s affiliated with.”

I only told the truth.

“Si-ho and I were somewhat close, but after I awakened, I registered as a Hunter. Si-ho, being a worrier, asked her brother to look after me. Does that explain enough?”

After hearing that, Josia’s head started to tilt.

For some reason, her expression was filled with disbelief.

When I looked at her, wondering why she was like that, Josia tapped her cheek and then spoke.

“I already knew about that. I did my research.”

I wish she wouldn’t dig into people’s backgrounds like that.

“But close? With Seollsan Iri’s younger sister?”

“Is that a problem?”

“Problem? It’s more like a miracle. Ha Si-ho, Ha Seo-ho’s younger sister, is known to be even colder and more prickly than her brother. In fact, she gives off an aura of not wanting to get close to anyone.”

Hearing that, I recalled my first impression of Si-ho.

She definitely used to be like that.

She always had a disinterested attitude.

But Si-ho and I went through quite a few incidents together.

We spent a day together on a deserted island, going through all sorts of hardships, and even fought against Returners.

Recently, there was the incident with Gwak Sa-yeon involving Seo-ho, so it was natural for us to get close.

Even now, she smiles brightly only when she sees me, while she remains expressionless with others.

‘But I can’t explain this.’

The Returner incident is top secret.

The only reason I’m involved is because of my connection with Ayu and Baeksan’s possession.

Even as an S-class Hunter, there are things I can’t explain.

Thinking about it, I’ve strayed far from being an ordinary person, but that’s just how my situation is when explaining it to Josia.

“Some things happened.”

“It’s not something you can easily say you’re close to Ha Si-ho after just one or two incidents.”

When I said I was close to Si-ho, her eyes started to sparkle even more.

“What kind of relationship is it?”

“Boyfriend.”

Then Eun-namu suddenly spoke up.

She had taken the spoon out of her mouth and was smiling as if she was enjoying herself.

“Ha-chan is Si-ho’s boyfriend.”

What nonsense is she spouting?

When I tried to cover Eun-namu’s mouth in shock, she whispered in my ear.

“Just go along with it. It’ll make things easier for you. You can’t keep hanging around with this person forever, right?”

As Eun-namu pointed out the surrounding gazes, I hesitated.

I didn’t want to attract attention, but still.

Even so, saying I’m Si-ho’s boyfriend?

She’s a minor.

“Boyfriend? Really?”

Josia’s gaze was filled with disbelief, as if saying, ‘You?’

Well, Si-ho is a natural beauty despite her age, and being Seo-ho’s younger sister, it’s a natural reaction.

People easily get hurt by such gazes.

And it also stirs up unnecessary stubbornness.

“Yes, that’s right.”

I said it with a sense of resignation.

Then Josia looked surprised, but soon a look of understanding crossed her face.

“Well, you’re both S-class Hunters. In terms of ability, you’re not lacking.”

“I’m F-class.”

“That’s a funny joke. Kang Ha-chan, trainee. Should I run over to the instructors right now and tell them that Kang Ha-chan has S-class output?”

“Then I’ll lie on the floor and cry, saying you’re bullying me, so think carefully.”

Of course, I meant it.

“…Do people usually threaten like that?”

“In modern warfare, the one who cries first wins.”

After all, the victim’s tears are evidence.

“Can I ask you one thing now?”

“Huh? What is it?”

She looked at me as if it was no big deal.

I’ve been thinking about it for a while now, but her interest in Seo-ho goes beyond normal.

The scale of the S-class Hunter organization, Alters, is enough to influence the world.

S-class Hunters are the strongest cards a nation holds.

For her to immediately step down to join Seo-ho’s team is too risky a decision.

Unless she’s a simple person, but she’s not someone who lacks intelligence.

“Why are you so interested in Seo-ho?”

“Well, Seo-ho and I are…”

“Even if it’s a rivalry, there’s a limit. If it were a rivalry, you’d want to be on different teams, not the same one.”

When I pointed that out, Josia’s face stiffened slightly.

And from that, I sharply noticed her reaction.

“…Do you like Seo-ho?”

Actually, whether it was true or not didn’t matter to me.

I just wanted to push her to the point where she’d get fed up with me.

But her reaction was different.

Her body stiffened like a rock, and her wide eyes met mine.

Her purple eyes stared at me for a while before she awkwardly got up from her seat.

“I, uh, I, uh, have, uh, work, uh, to, uh, do.”

Seriously?

As she ran off, I stared in her direction for a moment.

Did I win?

I picked up my chopsticks again.

I should finish my meal.

“You know other people’s business well.”

“You know other people’s business well.”

Then Baeksan and Eun-namu spoke in unison.

Eun-namu couldn’t even see Baeksan.

Now that I think about it, Baeksan must have been thinking the same thing as Eun-namu all along.

Under their gazes, I barely managed to stop myself from flipping the tray.

I’ll find out if Si-ho and Baekseolhyang really like me or not.

Just you wait.

With that firm resolution, I safely finished the day, washed up, and entered my room.

Eun-namu was on her phone, and her clothes were puffed up, having released the pressure.

Even so, she was smaller than Baekseolhyang but bigger than Ayu.

She was confidently showing off her chest.

Eun-namu had excused herself as having gynecomastia and would always release her compression bra when returning to the room.

Well, with that size, I could understand how uncomfortable it must be to wear a compression bra.

The problem was that she was a woman pretending to be a man.

‘Damn, I have nowhere to look.’

And this floor is the male dormitory, and we share the same room.

At that moment, Eun-namu’s gaze turned to me.

Startled, I quickly turned my head, and Eun-namu gave me a lazy smile.

“Do you like men, Ha-chan?”

“No, I don’t.”

“But you always seem so concerned about my chest.”

As she said that, Eun-namu lifted her chest from below.

The weight of it forced my gaze, but I forced myself to look away and spoke.

“Stop joking.”

“You can touch it if you want to confirm.”

“No, I won’t touch it!”

I panicked and jumped up to the second-floor bed.

Then I heard Eun-namu giggling from below.

Is she teasing me on purpose, knowing everything?

I thought, lying down on the bed, wondering why the dormitory room, where I should be resting comfortably, was so exhausting.

“Ah.”

In the middle of the night.

I woke up feeling the unique air of dawn.

Checking the time on my phone, it was 3 AM.

Thinking I should sleep more, I rubbed my head against the pillow when I heard a sound near my ear.

“…?”

Feeling something was off, I peeked over the edge of the bed and heard a moan from below.

The source of the sound was, of course, Eun-namu.

Startled, I quickly climbed down from the second-floor bed and found Eun-namu sweating and groaning under the blanket.

“Ugh, ugh.”

Her distorted face was clearly not normal, and I quickly grabbed her shoulders.

“Eun-namu! Eun-namu! What’s wrong? Wake up! Where does it hurt?”

Was she having a nightmare?

Whatever it was, she was in an unusual state, so I needed to wake her up.

“Ha, Ha-chan?”

At that moment, her eyes slowly opened at my shaking.

Her tearful face was a mess, and I spoke urgently.

“Are you okay? Should I take you to the hospital? I’ll call 119.”

“No, no. It’s not… that.”

Eun-namu spoke in a broken voice, trying to sit up but collapsing back onto the bed.

Seeing her struggling, I didn’t know what to do.

“Haa, what a night. Kang Ha-chan, activate your Aura.”

At that moment, Baeksan, who had been watching from afar, spoke to me.

Seeming to know the solution to Eun-namu’s condition, Baeksan’s words made me immediately activate my Aura, and he nodded at me.

“Just hold her for a while.”

What, really?

When I looked at Baeksan in disbelief, he also seemed displeased and spoke.

“That girl has something from another dimension clinging to her. That’s why she’s like that. Normally, infusing Aura would solve it, but damn, you can’t control it.”

After clicking his tongue, Baeksan gestured to me.

“So just hold her. It’s the same way the curse on you gradually lifted.”

Like how the curse Gwak Sa-yeon placed on me lessened when Ayu was by my side.

Hearing that, I had no choice but to hold Eun-namu.

Her limp body was much lighter than I thought.

Is this the body of a Returner?

What did she go through in the dimension she was in?

And why did she have to kill six Returners in Baeksan’s world?

Sitting on the bed, I held her and patted her head, drenched in cold sweat.

If this could make Eun-namu feel even a little better, I’d do it a hundred times.

Though she occasionally thrashed, leaving scratches on my back and arms, it was nothing.

“Ugh, ugh…”

As Baeksan said, it seemed to work.

Eun-namu’s sobs gradually subsided.

And after a while.

When she stopped suffering, Eun-namu spoke.

“…Ha-chan?”

Hearing her cautious voice, I knew she had calmed down and tried to pull away.

At that moment, her hand grabbed my collar.

Her trembling hand clearly showed she was still scared.

“It’s okay.”

I wrapped her arm with my faint Aura.

“I’ll stay by your side until you calm down. Don’t be afraid.”

I smiled at her.

Looking up at me, Eun-namu then rested her head on my chest.

“Sorry, sorry. Just a little longer, just a little more.”

“Sure, sure.”

As I patted her, she stayed like that for a few minutes before slowly lifting her head.

She touched her tear-stained eyes and looked at my arm.

My arm had blood from the scratches she left when she thrashed.

Realizing that, her eyes wavered.

“…Sorry. I had a nightmare.”

She seemed reluctant to talk about what happened.

Seeing that, I wrapped my arm and stood up.

“Well, people can have nightmares. Are you feeling better now?”

“…Yeah, thank you.”

Seeing her unusually vulnerable, I patted her head.

“Can you sleep?”

“Yeah.”

“Then I’ll stay by your side until you fall asleep. Lie down.”

Hearing me, she struggled back under the blanket.

Watching her, I sat down on the floor, leaning against the bed.

“Ha-chan.”

“Yeah.”

“…Thank you.”

For some reason.

That last word sounded the most sincere of all the things I’d heard from her during our time together.

With that voice alone, I felt I did the right thing and sat there until I heard her steady breathing.

Hearing that, I finally relaxed and watched her a bit more before returning to bed to sleep.