CH-043

"Lululu... lu."

Lulu, who had been 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 voice.

"Show me what you put in your pocket earlier."

"......"

"What happened in this room yesterday?"

Sweat trickled down his pale cheeks.

"That. Um..."

I rubbed the back of my neck with my hand.

'We played with a whip. For the record, I didn't touch anything but alcohol. The director is a junkie, but I'm not.'

Would he believe me if I said that?

But it was too late to make up a half-baked lie.

'I'll just show my back and appeal as a victim right now. Give up on the junkie part...'

I organized my thoughts and opened my eyes. The hunter in front of me was waiting for me to speak. I should look as pitiful as possible. I arranged my expression seriously.

"Yesterday,"

The moment I opened my mouth.

Ribbit.

"...Huh?"

Did I hear wrong?

I turned my head toward where the sound came from. A purple object was slightly sticking out from under the sofa. Something smooth and moist-looking, elongated yet with a round, bulbous end.

"What is that?"

"Hyung, please focus. Yesterday...!"

Ribbiit!

Yeom Hajae said something, but I had no time to listen. The purple frog jumped out from under the sofa and shot its tongue out like a bullet.

Swoosh!

I instinctively twisted my body to dodge the tongue. The long tongue narrowly missed my leg and hit the table.

Hiss.

The corner of the table touched by the frog's tongue melted rapidly, as if touched by acid. Seeing that reminded me of the melted front door.

'Boss monster...!'

It appeared at a truly absurd timing.

"Sunbae?"

Lulu, not knowing what had happened, let out a puzzled voice. Meanwhile, Yeom Hajae quickly assessed the situation.

"Get out of the way!"

He gripped his sword with both hands and lunged at the monster. I stepped back a few paces to avoid getting caught up in the fight.

Swoosh!

The frog wrapped its tongue around a light fixture and leaped high into the air.

"Ack!"

Only then did Lulu seem to notice the monster, ducking to avoid the flying frog. Relying on the light fixture, the frog spun around in the air and stuck to the opposite wall with a slap.

Yeom Hajae stepped on the sofa and rushed straight toward it. He probably couldn't use fire because of all the people sprawled everywhere, but judging by his form, he seemed likely to kill a monster or two quickly.

'Should I just watch from behind?'

When that monster dies, an escape gate will open. I should slip away quietly then.

I folded my arms leisurely, but for some reason, Lulu came running with a desperate expression.

"Sunbae, get out of the way!"

Lulu pointed at the ceiling.

Screech.

Looking up, the chandelier-type light fixture was tilting to one side.

"Ah."

The cord of the light fixture, which had been barely holding on, snapped. The fixture falling to the floor looked like slow motion.

Crash!

The surroundings were instantly enveloped in darkness.

"Aack!"

"Hyung?! Are you okay?"

Confused voices came from both sides.

"What about a flashlight?"

"No time to look, ugh!"

The sound of Yeom Hajae swinging his sword could be heard, likely engaged in combat with the monster.

Ribbit.

But it seemed he hadn't finished it off yet. The frog made a sound somewhere.

Crackle!

I generated a spark to briefly secure my vision.

Yeom Hajae was confronting the frog with his sword drawn.

Crackle!

Yeom Hajae slashes the frog's flank.

Crackle!

The frog attacked by Yeom Hajae was dangling, its tongue wrapped around the curtain rod. Yeom Hajae was looking around, searching for the frog.

There was no time to relay a message. I threw a liquor bottle I grabbed at the frog.

Ribbit!

Maybe I missed, the frog jumped somewhere again. A slapping sound of its slimy skin sticking to the wall was heard.

'Should I use my ability?'

I wanted to maintain the feeble position of someone who just knows a few tricks with electricity, if possible. But I was too frustrated to just watch.

If Yeom Hajae gets hurt or dies like this...

'Ah, whatever.'

Crackle!

"Ah!"

Just then, perhaps the curtain rod melted and fell, Yeom Hajae was tangled in the curtain.

He swung his sword wildly. But the sword only cut the curtain, far from reaching the frog.

'That pathetic bastard.'

Crackle!

The frog hanging on the wall was looking down at Yeom Hajae. It looked poised to shoot its tongue out any moment, as if preparing to attack.

I threw a bottle cap I picked up from the floor.

Crackle!

The metal cap flew and tore the frog's stomach.

The sound of the frog falling to the floor was heard, suggesting the attack hit.

Rib...bit...

It was an anticlimactic death rattle for something that had been so troublesome.

"Sunbae!"

Suddenly the surroundings brightened. Squinting slightly and turning around, Lulu was standing in front of the light switch. He must have gone to turn on the lights when he wasn't visible.

'So the indirect lighting was fine.'

"Monster! Where is the monster?"

A muffled voice came from the front of the sofa. I hurriedly approached Yeom Hajae and retrieved the fallen bottle cap. Then I started clapping.

"Hunter-nim! Well done. I believed in you."

Yeom Hajae, tangled in the curtain, floundered. I cleared the curtain covering Yeom Hajae and smiled.

"H-Hyung?"

"You defeated the monster."

"What...?"

I gestured towards the frog corpse with an exaggerated motion. Yeom Hajae's eyes widened as he saw the corpse lying before him. With the ends of his eyebrows drooping, he alternately looked at his sword and the torn stomach of the frog.

"I didn't feel like I cut it..."

"You truly took it down splendidly. In a situation where you couldn't even see ahead, no less."

"??"

"You weren't made Guild Leader for nothing. Impressive."

"Woah, amazing."

As Lulu joined in, Yeom Hajae got up from his spot with a confused expression. The dumbfounded man quickly scanned the messed-up surroundings.

"Did I really do it?"

"Of course. Who else would have?"

He blinked blankly, as if still unable to believe it.

"Wow, I see you in a new light. You saved me, Hunter-nim."

Undeterred by his lukewarm reaction, I continued to praise him ceaselessly, causing Yeom Hajae's cheeks to redden. With a flushed face, he hastily changed the subject.

"B-But, the gate hasn't opened?"

The core might be inside the monster without having been broken. There were no signs of other monsters, so it was probably still inside the corpse.

"Yes, now let's quickly get the corpse..."

Throb.

I stopped mid-sentence and clutched my stomach.

"Ugh..."

I couldn't stop my face from crumpling.

'Damn.'

My stomach hurt unbearably.

***

Perhaps due to the dungeon environment outside the hotel, hot air lingered in the room. A monster that had been holding its breath in the corner began to move cautiously. The white creature pushed through the stillness and crawled onto the bookshelf. Sitting at the highest point, its red eyes took in the state of the room at a glance.

Seo Shinu suddenly kneeling. The other two people approached him with worried expressions.

"Are you okay, Sunbae?"

Lulu grabbed Seo Shinu's right arm.

"Are you hurt somewhere?"

Yeom Hajae grabbed his other arm. They both simultaneously pulled Seo Shinu towards their own side.

Tightly.

His arms were pulled taut. The two people's gazes clashed fiercely.

After a brief standoff, Lulu was the first to speak.

"Lulu will support him."

"I will do it."

"Lulu is closer to Sunbae."

"What does closeness matter? You look weak anyway, so leave him to me."

"Didn't you see me close the iron door earlier?"

Voices gradually grew louder. Seo Shinu barely managed to lift his head.

"I'm fine, so stop fighting and quickly get the core... Urgh!"

"Sunbae! Lulu will support you!"

"I'll support him. I, who am closer in height!"

"Ha, heu... heuk."

Seo Shinu was now in a state where he couldn't even laugh because his stomach hurt so much.

'What are these bastards doing.'

The core was right under his nose. Yet they were having a trivial fight. It felt like his arms might tear apart at this rate.

"Stop..."

"Sunbae says he doesn't like it. Let go."

"You're the one who should."

Lulu bent down and completely hugged Seo Shinu. As if showing off, he rubbed his face against the shoulder of the bowing Seo Shinu.

Yeom Hajae narrowed his eyes.

"Let go."

"What if I don't want to?"

"Let go...."

"Don't wanna."

"......"

Yeom Hajae let go of the arm he was holding and strode towards Lulu. As he got closer, Lulu clung tightly to Seo Shinu. The moment Lulu nestled Seo Shinu between his arms and pressed his body close.

"Ugh..."

Seo Shinu curled up more, letting out a small groan. Noticing that his condition was truly abnormal, Lulu looked down at Seo Shinu.

The other party didn't seem to notice his gaze. No, he didn't even seem to realize he was being held. Normally, he would have shaken it off long ago.

"......"

Lulu reached his hand towards Seo Shinu's face. It was to check his temperature.

Smack.

Just before it touched his forehead, his wrist was grabbed.

"It was you who left marks on Hyung, wasn't it?"

"......"

As he stared quietly, the grip on his arm tightened. Lulu obediently straightened up and pulled away from Seo Shinu.

"Marks?"

"Don't play dumb."

"Yes. Lulu did it."

Lulu lied with a beaming smile.