CH-038

Back. Let me see your back.

Yeom Ha-jae was saying that with burning eyes.

If I could roughly end this by just taking off my clothes once, I'd take them off as much as needed... but for some reason, I had an intuition that I shouldn't show him.

"Come to think of it, yesterday your back was..."

Yeom Ha-jae muttered something incomprehensible and reached out his hand again. I smacked his hand away and pressed close to the emergency door.

"We're strangers now, so do you need to care?"

"Strangers?"

"Strangers. Are we even family?"

Drawing a firm line, I grabbed the doorknob behind my back.

"Then I'll be going now. I'll wait in my room until the rescue team arrives."

Keeping my gaze fixed straight ahead, I open the door very slowly. While watching Yeom Ha-jae's reaction.

Screeeech—.

The slowly rubbing hinge made a creepy sound.

"In this dark building, alone, I'll wait. Even though my ability is weak and I'm not even a hunter."

Even emphasizing that I was leaving, Yeom Ha-jae stayed still with his head deeply bowed.

Screeeeeech—.

In the end, the door was half open.

Having no choice, I was about to turn my body when Yeom Ha-jae grabbed my arm. Since I had been inwardly waiting for that touch, I stopped abruptly.

"Hunter-nim? ...Do you have something to say?"

I waited, but Yeom Ha-jae, who had grabbed me, didn't actually say anything.

It would end with just one word saying he wouldn't get involved.

Did he really want to fight here? My smile disappeared at the distasteful feeling. I tilted my upper body to check the face of Yeom Ha-jae, who had been only looking at the floor since earlier.

"Hic..."

"?"

He was holding back tears.

When our eyes met, Yeom Ha-jae flinched in surprise.

"S-sorry."

A single tear that had been precariously welling up flowed down his cheek. Yeom Ha-jae hurriedly wiped it with his sleeve. But the tears, which had already started to overflow, endlessly streamed out and soaked his face.

'There won't be a guy who comes seeking revenge because I made his colleague cry, right?'

I was deeply flustered.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No. It's just, I want to get closer to hyung, but that's..."

"......"

"Because I'm worried that you hide your ability and live by stealing in some strange organization."

He couldn't continue his words and kept hiccupping. He was like a child stifling his crying for fear of being scolded.

"...Stealing?"

Nod nod.

Stealing wouldn't be the issue here.

Yeom Ha-jae continued speaking, his voice trembling sorrowfully.

"You're even scared of dungeons, but you forced yourself to come in..."

"Right. I was scared of dungeons."

Come to think of it, I've never properly used my ability in front of Yeom Ha-jae.

'No way, does he still think of me as some petty criminal who hid his ability to dodge military service and joined a villain organization?'

And on top of that, with dungeon trauma?

If so, that meant I wasn't even on Yeom Ha-jae's radar of suspicion in the first place.

Yeom Ha-jae was busily wiping away tears and snot with a reddened face.

"I'm, sorry. Ugh, suddenly tears..."

Unless he was a genius actor, there was no way he could perfectly act out such a pathetic appearance... so the talk about reporting and all was just a tantrum.

As the small flicker of suspicion was dispelled, one thought came to mind.

'Is there a reason not to show him my back?'

Getting closer to Yeom Ha-jae is a good thing, isn't it.

It's a separate issue from pride. What if he sees the wounds on my back and misunderstands me as a weak victim?

I could use him as a shield when needed.

"Alright. I'll show you my back."

"!"

Yeom Ha-jae's head shot up. Hope filled his eyes, which were brimming with tears.

"However, after we leave the dungeon."

"Huh?"

If the opportunity arises, I'll show him, and if not, I just won't show him.

"Because saving people is the priority right now. Or should I take it off right here on these stairs?"

"Ah, no!"

"So stop it now."

At my words, Yeom Ha-jae roughly rubbed his eyes with his sleeve. The rims of his eyes, which had become reddened from crying, became even redder.

"...Thank you."

"Let's go up."

I promptly pushed Yeom Ha-jae toward the stairs. I wanted to quickly get out of the dungeon before the rescue team arrived. Did Yeom Ha-jae still not know the gravity of the situation?

Following Yeom Ha-jae, I lightly opened my mouth.

"Actually, I saw a crack in the wall earlier."

"What?! Why are you only now saying such an important fact...!"

"I briefly forgot. Anyway, let's hurry before the building collapses."

Whether my intention to tell him to get a grip and pick up the pace worked, the sound of climbing the stairs quickened.

Shutting my mouth and speeding up together, I heard a small crying sound from behind.

Grrrr...

I flinched and stopped. Turning to where the sound came from, red eyes were shining in the darkness. Yeom Ha-jae seemed to have heard it this time too, as he shone the flashlight backward.

The round light precisely pointed to the source of the sound, and the identity of the monster that had been chewing my ankle was revealed.

It was a white furball staring intently at us from between the railings.

"Monster...!"

Startled, Yeom Ha-jae pulled a dagger from his chest. Coming down a few steps to stand in front of me, he aimed the dagger at the monster below the stairs.

"Stay behind me. I'll protect you...!"

'In a narrow space, it must be hard to even use your ability.'

From what I witnessed at the Association event, his supernatural power itself seemed to be on the quite strong side. But what did he plan to do in a situation where he couldn't properly use his ability? He wasn't very reassuring at all.

"Wait,"

"It might harm people, so we have to deal with it here."

He glares at the monster. He looked like he was about to throw knives like in a circus. As soon as I thought that, Yeom Ha-jae threw the knife.

Clang!

The knife bounced off the railing and tumbled down the stairs.

"Kkyak!"

The startled monster fell off the railing and hid. Yeom Ha-jae glanced at me as if flustered.

"M-my hand slipped."

He put his hand back inside his chest and pulled out a new dagger.

This time, holding the knife, he cautiously headed down directly.

'Hmm.'

After watching for a moment, I brushed past him and went down the stairs.

"Don't attack and just wait a moment please."

"Ah, hyung..."

I heard the flustered Yeom Ha-jae hurriedly following me down.

Arriving at the landing, the monster's appearance became clearer. The meerkat-like monster was crouching, blinking its round eyes. It seemed wary.

I bent my knees in front of the stairs where the monster was. When I beckoned with my hand like calling a cat, the monster reacted.

"Who's a good boy."

The monster cautiously approached step by step. After waiting a moment, it came close enough to touch. Without hesitation, I placed my hand on the monster's head. When I stroked it a few times just like that, the monster rubbed its head against my palm on its own.

"It seems friendly with humans. Maybe it's a monster that has an owner."

"! Are you saying someone trapped in the hotel was raising a monster?"

Yeom Ha-jae was horrified as if it were impossible.

'We made quite a bit of money on that side too.'

I didn't bother to elaborate.

"Or maybe being friendly to people is this monster's disposition."

"Anyway, we have to kill...!"

Yeom Ha-jae raised his dagger. I raised my arm to block his movement.

"Don't kill it."

"Huh?"

I tightly curled my hand, which was about to tremble from excitement.

"This little one has pretty eyes."

The sparkling red eyes reminded me of Hyun-woo.

"Since its fur is white, Whitey would be a good name, right?"

"Huuh?"

I looked down at the monster with a pleased expression. The monster also looked up at me with gentle eyes.

As we continued eye contact, the monster opened its mouth wide. The densely packed teeth inside its mouth were revealed. And then.

Chomp!

"......"

Blood dripped from the bitten hand.

"Aack, hyung!"

***

...I feel killing intent.

Jang Yi-jung slowly opened his eyes. The afterimage of bright yellow pupils floated around the dark room.

"......"

He didn't know the reason, but Seo Shin-woo had accepted the monster as a companion. He even stroked it as if treating a puppy, not a monster.

Feeling unnecessarily pricked, he hurriedly cut off the connection with the monster. Even though there was no way the other party knew his identity.

'...Should I rest a bit?'

Jang Yi-jung collapsed sideways from his sitting position. The soft hotel bed was perfect for sinking into.

Using his ability made him hungry. He reached out just like that and rummaged through the bread bag placed at his bedside. He bit into whatever bread he grabbed and chewed on it.

"Delicious..."

That's right.

Where he was right now was not outside the dungeon.

He was still inside the hotel. From a distance that could be considered close or far, he was observing the two people's movements.

Using his ability, Taming.