Free Web NovelAfter that there was a brief scuffle about washing up, but since we were both exhausted it didn’t last long.
‘Want me to wash you?’ freeweɓnovel.cøm
‘...No?!’
‘Then what... want me to carry you?’
‘Don’t....’
‘Then my sex manners end up looking like total asshole-tier.’
‘They are, you fu...!’
I’d even offered all the options, so what exactly made me the asshole? The thought process was fascinating.
I shoved the idiot who was making a huge fuss over nothing into the attached bathroom and finished the shower too. Leaving him in there struggling and huffing about trying to do something on his own, I came out first.
‘Clothes....’
Since I had zero intention of picking up the ones already dropped on the floor and putting them back on, I naturally yanked open Joo Seowon’s wardrobe.
“...What are you doing?”
Joo Seowon, who’d come out of the bathroom right then, looked at me rummaging through his closet and asked in disbelief. I glanced at him and, without answering, kept digging through the wardrobe for something wearable.
“Your clothes are fucking... why do you even wear stuff like this.”
“...Why! That’s expensive. If you layer it, it looks good.”
“Fuck, what is this, you doing brand ads for them? Even the bastard who designed this shit wouldn’t wear it.”
“That’s expensive too... don’t throw it away, you psycho!”
Letting his words go in one ear and out the other, I pulled out several shitty clothes and tossed them on the floor. When I shoved them aside with my foot, Joo Seowon came stomping up behind me throwing another strange tantrum.
Whether he picked them up or not, I kept ransacking the closet and finally pulled out something barely acceptable.
“Why do you have so many hoodies. Are you a kid?” frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
“What? Hey, go outside. Even grandpas wear them!”
“Belts... where’s the one I bought you. Displayed on a shrine?”
“I dress better than you.”
I just snorted at the absurdity, and Joo Seowon, apparently annoyed, narrowed his eyes sharply at me. I casually threw the rest of the clothes over him and shut the wardrobe.
From the trash pile I’d sifted, I found a plain oversized T-shirt and pants that at least fit, then said while throwing them on roughly:
“Can I take these? Not planning to give them back.”
“You’re saying that so boldly....”
“Don’t want me to?”
“...Wear them.”
I picked up the pajamas lying on the floor and shoved them toward Joo Seowon, jutting my chin to tell him to put them on.
Even with drained eyes, he glared hard at me before finally picking them up and dressing.
“Stock this place with some normal clothes.”
“Normal...! They are normal!”
“Looks like you still have stamina. The way you’re yelling.”
“.......”
“Use it sparingly.”
I could feel him protesting behind me, but ignored it and turned my gaze to the ruined bed.
‘Should I just throw everything out?’
Looking at the state of it, sleeping here tonight was flat-out impossible.
“You can’t sleep there, right?”
“.......”
When I turned to ask, Joo Seowon was staring at me again with his ears flushed red, like he’d gotten lost in some thought by himself.
“What now.”
“...Yeah, you can’t... sleep there.”
“Right.”
“.......”
“If you’ve got something to say, say it.”
Joo Seowon covered his fully flushed face with his hand and muttered quietly.
“I’ll clean it.”
“I’m not such a mannerless asshole that I’d make the guy who pissed himself while taking dick clean the sheets too.”
“You fu... bastard!”
What, I show kindness and still get cursed at.
I looked at him for a moment and shook my head. Well, if he insisted on cleaning it himself.
Anyway, what mattered now was whether there was somewhere to sleep tonight.
After a brief thought, I informed him:
“Sleep in my room.”
“...There’s a room with another bed.”
“You want to sleep there? I won’t stop you.”
He’d be the one missing out.
Sure enough, after saying that, Joo Seowon just worked his lips and turned his head away.
I tossed my clothes into the trash, sorted out what could be washed, then strolled back to my room.
By the time I lay down on the bed, the accumulated fatigue hit all at once—there wasn’t a single part of body or mind that wasn’t tired. Joo Seowon too, apparently having spent the last of his stamina pretending to be fine, shut up obediently the moment I laid him down.
Right as my body went slack and I hovered on the edge of sleep, Joo Seowon spoke in a low voice.
“...So why the hell did you go into that dungeon? You can... tell me.”
I’d already told him, hadn’t I. He’s doing this again.
Since I’d decided to ignore it, I said nothing. Joo Seowon cautiously placed a hand near my shoulder.
“...Sleeping?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re not.”
“Seowon.... I told you. Im Haekyung dragged me in by force. They used the Teleport Box. Obviously my will had fuck-all to do with it. Question satisfied?”
“.......”
After that, Joo Seowon shifted beside me a bit, then asked something else.
“How do you know that S-rank Hunter?”
“Just happened.”
“You’re the same age—were you... friends? You even have friends?”
What the hell is that supposed to mean.
My eyes, which had just been sinking shut, opened again. When I turned over to face him, I felt him flinch.
“What bullshit are you saying.”
“Having friends doesn’t make sense.”
“Seowon, I’ve got great social skills and tons of friends.”
“You don’t know what social skills means? So how do you know them! Answer what I’m asking.”
“You keep interrogating....”
I stared at him for a moment, then answered:
“Right now we’re basically strangers.”
“You said you know them.”
“I do. But it’s not important.”
“.......”
After a long while, Joo Seowon finally nodded.
“Okay.”
After that answer, he closed his eyes. I studied his expression like I was observing something. He clearly looked tired, yet not sleepy enough to drop off immediately—his eyelids were trembling faintly.
Without thinking, I reached out and tapped Joo Seowon’s cheek.
“What are you....”
He snapped his eyes open and met mine, his body going rigid.
“Seowon.”
I called him softly.
Right. No matter how much warnings about plausibility popped up, once I interfered there was no way things could keep flowing exactly like the original. Even Song Hwayoung—she’d nearly died in the dungeon, but she was still alive for now.
Picking up Do Yehyun, making Joo Seowon attach to me instead of Kwon Taehan—everything... had been flowing according to my will. There were signs of slight deviation, but still within control.
“...Why.”
“You have to trust me. You know that.”
“.......”
“And don’t betray me.”
“What counts as betrayal.”
“Who knows.”
It wasn’t easy to convey it without saying the word directly. I thought briefly, then said:
“You can’t disappoint me.”
“Hah.... You get disappointed?”
“Of course.”
I blinked innocently, and Joo Seowon turned his body to stare at the ceiling. After a moment, his voice sank low.
“I still don’t know what you’re thinking.”
“Yeah.”
“But sometimes....”
“Sometimes?”
He trailed off, then closed his mouth again and pretended to sleep. I knew he wasn’t actually asleep, but didn’t bother waking him to force an answer.
Between uneven breaths, an unnatural silence without movement lingered. Within that silence, I eventually fell asleep.
***
Maybe because I hadn’t slept properly for days, even knowing it was time to wake up, my eyes wouldn’t open easily.
‘Fuck it, whatever. Sleep more.’
As I pulled the blanket up over my head and shifted, a notification rang from my phone. I reached out, found it, turned the power off as-is, and tossed it to the floor.
Some time after that, I felt someone shaking me awake.
“Seo Jehyun. Wake up.”
“.......”
Instead of answering, I pushed Joo Seowon’s arm away. He shook me harder.
“Hey, get up.... What the hell did you do in that dungeon?”
“Seowon. In the morning, fuck....”
I shoved him aside and slowly sat up. My head throbbed, sleep not fully gone. When I frowned and looked at him, Joo Seowon was biting his lip hard and thrusting his phone toward me.
“What is it.”
“You’re transferring to Haeseong now?”
“......?”
What kind of bullshit is this now.
I scrubbed my face roughly and took his phone, reading the article in front of me.
***
News │ Core SH Guild personnel transferring en masse ... guild tilting toward collapse
Concern has risen following reports of severe injuries sustained by Song Hwayoung, Guild Master of SH Guild, who participated in clearing the S-rank Gate that occurred on the 6th.
Given Song Hunter’s prior injury history from the Switzerland A-rank Gate, predictions suggest this latest injury may be even more critical.
Meanwhile, as Song Hunter’s condition remains serious, worries are also emerging over the continued operation of SH Guild, where she was affiliated. In fact, controversy has intensified after it became known that Seo Jehyun, one of SH Guild’s core personnel and a participant in the recent S-rank Gate clear, is positively considering transferring to Haeseong Guild.
Comments 49
— There’s such a thing as basic human decency. Tsk. Their own guild master is between life and death and he’s transferring just because they pay more?
— Of course you go where the money is. What controversy is this?
— Did you all think Hunters were volunteers? Everyone turns red-eyed at “money” but think of them as office workers. Wouldn’t you go where they pay more? Huh?
— Is SH beyond recovery... it was a good guild ㅜㅜ
— Guess he had a bad relationship with Song Hwayoung. He looks shady.
└ That physiognomy crap again lol if you read faces that well quit your job and go be a fortune-teller
***
I skimmed the article lazily, then turned the screen off and handed the phone back.
“Isn’t this Im Haekyung doing this on purpose? Like giving you options other than just Haeseong....”
“So what?”
“...What?”
Not ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) something worth waking me up over when I’d been sleeping just fine.
“Do you know how many times I’ve seen your name in articles right now? Before this there was that bullshit piece saying you’re super kind. In one day public opinion—!”
“Why’s that bullshit? Want to get hit?”
“No, you... please stop doing weird shit outside! If you get reported exactly as you are you’ll be buried as a fucking psycho bastard!”
He’s desperate to get hit this morning or what.
I shoved Joo Seowon’s face aside and tossed the phone back at him. Since going back to sleep was pointless now that I was up, I cracked my neck and stood, looking back at him.
“What now....”
While fiddling with the screen, Joo Seowon suddenly stiffened again and played something.
“What are you doing.”
“They say Seok Jiwon mentioned you again? What is this... they’re saying this person defended you, wait. You don’t have anything with Hunter Seok, right?”
I’d seen that bastard’s face for the first time in the dungeon, what could there be.
I listened to the audio coming from his phone, then took it back and replayed the video.
“Wa—!”
“Wait.”
What the hell did this idiot say?
[...So even if Hunter Seo does come to Haeseong, I don’t think personal criticism is appropriate. It may not look like it.... no, of course they do have a slightly arbitrary side, but that’s only a small part; as a person they’re truly outstanding. And I can’t say everything, but Hunter Seo’s transfer to Haeseong was probably talked about a very long time ago.... after all, between our Guild Master and Hunter Seo there’s... something special? Something... that, beyond friendship? Yes. Anyway, it’s difficult to explain.]
“What? Wait, what did they just— hey, my phone!”
“.......”
I slowly turned off the screen and let out a hollow laugh without meaning to.
‘This fucking bastard?’
