42 chapter - Uninvited Guest (1)
“I'm sorry, please, let me live. I’m sorry.”
I was groveling on the ground, begging someone for my life.
Instead of forgiving me, he kicked me in the gut.
Thwack!
“Guh!”
I couldn’t breathe.
It felt like a broken rib had punctured my lung—I couldn’t inhale at all.
I squirmed in desperation, but my whole body was so beaten I couldn’t move a muscle.
Barely lifting my head, I saw the bastard who had kicked me.
He was a giant.
He looked human, but he was a monster.
Fury burned in his eyes.
In one hand, he clutched a bottle of soju, and his face was flushed red like a goblin.
“You worthless little shit!”
I was terrified.
His tone, his gestures, the sound of his footsteps—
To me, they were all primal triggers of fear burned into my subconscious.
“I-I’m so—sorry…”
I tried desperately to shield my head—and that’s when I noticed the pitiful surroundings of the room.
‘…Huh?’
A sense of dissonance struck me.
Familiar, yet unfamiliar.
Memories that felt like mine… but weren’t.
And then I saw the whole room as if from above.
Like I was watching a movie.
There was a child, collapsed and crying, begging for forgiveness.
“I’m sorry, h-hic…”
The child trembled as he pleaded.
The man, who moments ago had seemed like a giant, was now just a shabby, aging middle-aged man.
“Fuckin’ told you not to cry! I said stop crying!”
He mercilessly stomped the child, kicked him in the head.
Soon, the sobbing stopped. The trembling ceased.
The man’s ragged breathing grew faint as the world faded to black.
**
“……”
When I woke from the dream, my mind was blank.
It had been too vivid—too real—to dismiss as just a dream.
‘Was that a memory from Choi Changshik’s childhood?’
It was a childhood even more tragic than mine.
At least I hadn’t grown up being abused.
‘Poor bastard.’
What could a kid not even five years old have possibly done wrong?
With a bitter heart, I sat up—then froze.
There was a stranger sitting in my house.
‘Hong Soo-ah? She’s still here?’
She was dozing off in the corner.
She’d changed into the T-shirt and shorts I gave her.
‘She’s seriously asleep in a guy’s house dressed like that? Isn’t that a bit too relaxed?’
Still, I quietly picked her up, laid her on the bed, and pulled a blanket over her.
Then I headed for the bathroom to take a shower.
“…Huh?”
My eyes locked onto the towel rack.
There was a set of underwear hanging there.
Looked like she’d hand-washed them and hung them to dry…
‘Am I really that comfortable to be around?’
If someone walked in, they’d think we lived together.
Her dirty clothes were neatly placed in the laundry basket in the utility room.
I ran a full load, tackled the pile of dishes, and started cooking rice.
I skipped cleaning.
Because Hong Soo-ah was still fast asleep in my bed.
‘This feels weird.’
It felt strange having someone asleep in my house—a place I’d always had to myself.
Maybe this is what it feels like to have a daughter.
♪♬♩♬~
“Hm?”
The ringtone came from my phone on the living room floor.
The caller ID showed a single word.
[Unni]
010-1234-XXXX
‘Hong Yura.’
I picked up casually.
“Hello?”
[…]
“Hello?”
[…Choi Changshik?]
“Yes, that’s me.”
After a brief silence, she asked:
[Why are you answering? Where’s Soo-ah?]
“She’s sleeping.”
[…Excuse me?]
“So this is what happened—”
Sensing potential misunderstanding, I quickly launched into an explanation.
After listening, Hong Yura spoke again in a low, heavy voice.
[So you’re telling me Soo-ah is sleeping at your place right now? And the only people there are you and her?]
For some reason, she sounded absolutely livid.
“…Yes.”
Her voice turned frigid, lethal.
[If even a single hair on her head is out of place, you’re going to be sightseeing at the bottom of the East Sea.]
The fact that she was that specific made it all the more terrifying.
“That won’t happen.”
[Honestly, I don’t trust you. You said you had amnesia?]
“…Yes.”
[Losing your memory doesn’t change your nature. I know what kind of person you are.]
“……”
A heavy silence followed.
I just held the phone to my ear until she finally spoke again.
[...I don’t trust you. But I do trust my sister. I heard you saved her life in that last Gate.]
“I just did what I had to do as the party leader.”
[No. Not just anyone would risk their life to save someone else.]
“……”
[I know it’s late, but I wanted to thank you. For saving Soo-ah. Just once—whatever you want, I’ll grant it. I should’ve said it in person earlier, but I forgot.]
For a moment, I wondered what would’ve happened if I had let Hong Soo-ah die back then.
‘Would I be staring at the bottom of the East Sea by now?’
With someone like Hong Yura, taking care of a low-rank Hunter like me would be as easy as flipping a switch.
[Either way, I trust what I see with my own eyes. Back during that interview… and this morning, too. You’ve changed. Enough to make people gather around you. That’s why—I’m choosing to believe.]
Was she saying she trusted me? Or didn’t?
She wavered, throwing out contradictions, then suddenly wrapped things up.
[…Send her back before 7. I need to feed her dinner.]
“Understood.”
I checked the time—it was 1 p.m.
I must’ve slept for about five hours, but I felt great.
Ever since my stats increased, even a short rest completely wiped away fatigue.
♪♬♩♬~
Same ringtone.
I thought maybe Hong Yura had more to say—but this time, it wasn’t her phone ringing. It was mine.
“Hello?”
[You’re up, oppa.]
“Yeah. Just now.”
[What should we eat? Should we order something?]
Yuna was talking like it was only natural we’d eat together.
And to be fair, since she moved in, we’d basically eaten every meal together.
Still, this wasn’t the best timing.
I glanced at Hong Soo-ah, still asleep in my bed.
[Oppa?]
“Yeah. I’m listening.”
[Aren’t you hungry?]
For some reason, I felt like it’d be a headache if Yuna found out—but lying felt ridiculous too.
It’s not like I’d done anything wrong.
So I made up my mind and told her:
“Come over and eat at my place today. I’ll cook.”
[…Really?]
“Yeah. Take your time.”
[Can I come right now?!]
“Then you’ll probably have to wait a bit.”
[That’s fine! I’m good at waiting!]
“Yeah? Then come and wait.”
[Okay!]
As soon as the call ended, the rice cooker beeped.
{Your Cuckoo has finished cooking delicious rice.}
I figured I just needed to throw together a few sides.
Spam and fried eggs would do.
I took out the Spam, sliced it into thick pieces, and started grilling it.
**
Yuna was buzzing with excitement.
It was her first time stepping ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) into Choi Changshik’s apartment.
‘Makeup’s good.’
Natural—but intentional. That was the key.
‘What about clothes?’
She debated whether to go with a plain white tee and jeans or just a tracksuit—then made her choice.
“Yeah. Tracksuit’s better.”
With butterflies in her stomach, Yuna finished getting ready and stood in front of Unit 302.
She rang the doorbell.
Ding-dong♬
“You’re here?”
“Yes, oppa.”
Yuna stepped inside carefully.
“Excuse meee.”
The layout was nearly identical to hers.
An open living room connected to the kitchen.
One bathroom.
One bedroom.
“Eh?”
There, sitting comfortably on the bed in casual clothes—was Hong Soo-ah.
She raised her hand in greeting.
“…Hey.”
“What are you doing there?!”
Yuna turned to Choi Changshik with a look demanding answers.
He was setting the table as he replied.
“She said she wanted to take a shower this morning.”
“A shower?”
“So I let her, and she laid down for a bit—and I guess she dozed off. When I woke up, she was asleep next to me.”
“…Next to you?”
Yuna pressed him sharply.
“So you’re telling me… the two of you slept in the same bed?”
“No. It’s not like that.”
He pointed to the living room floor.
“I slept out here. She was over by the wall. I just moved her to the bed.”
Yuna stared blankly between them.
Unbothered, Choi Changshik said to Hong Soo-ah:
“Come on. Let’s eat.”
The meal began in silence.
No one said a word.
Only the clatter of utensils echoed across the table.
♪♬♪♬♪♬~
Then the washing machine started singing.
Looking slightly flustered, Choi Changshik stood up.
“I-I’m done eating. Gonna go hang the laundry real quick.”
As he escaped, Yuna cautiously broke the silence.
“Unnie. If it was about the shower, you could’ve used my place. You could’ve even slept over.”
Hong Soo-ah replied:
“…I felt like if I stayed quiet, some alley cat might steal him.”
She said it flatly, eyes fixed downward.
That struck a nerve with Yuna.
“…What?”
She frowned and muttered:
“The alley cat… is you, unnie. I met oppa first!”
“…I was first.”
She was just stating a fact, but Yuna didn’t know that.
Still, it wasn’t that line that really got under her skin.
It was what came next.
“…I’m moving in, too.”
“Excuse me?!”
But any continuation was cut off by Choi Changshik’s return from the laundry room.
Yuna turned to him with a cheerful expression, masking her irritation.
“Oppa~ When are we tackling that F-Rank Gate?”
“F-Rank? If you’re good for it, I’ll register us for tomorrow.”
“I’m more than good! If it’s with you, oppa, I’d do Gates every day!”
“O-oh. Got it. I’ll set it for tomorrow then.”
She had brought it up on purpose.
And it worked—Hong Soo-ah responded.
“…Leader.”
“Yeah?”
“…Can I come, too?”
Choi Changshik looked a little troubled.
“Sorry, Soo-ah. If three of us go for an F-Rank Gate, the profit gets kinda…”
It was a gentle rejection.
Yuna smiled triumphantly and glanced at her.
But then Hong Soo-ah said:
“…I don’t need the money.”
“…What?”
“I won’t take a cut. So I can come, right?”
Changshik looked at her, stunned.
“Well… then it’s fine, I guess. You sure?”
She nodded.
“Alright. I’ll sign us all up.”
This time, Hong Soo-ah looked at Yuna.
Expressionless—but somehow smiling.
Yuna said nothing, just glared at Changshik with a sense of inexplicable betrayal.
**
F-Rank Gate raiding.
In public opinion, and even within the Hunter world, it was seen as trivial work.
But in truth, it was different.
Ironically, most fatalities occurred in F-Rank Gates.
Because they were more numerous than any other rank—and where most rookie and F-Rank Hunters gathered.
But that wasn’t the only reason.
“P-please… help… kuhek!”
Today, in some unnamed F-Rank Gate, two D-Rank Hunters lost their lives.
The key point: it wasn’t monsters that killed them.
It was humans.
“Mm.”
The man who had killed them closed his eyes and let out a soft sigh.
As if he were savoring something.
“Mmh. Not bad today. Two body-enhancement types.”
He smiled in satisfaction.
Then frowned as he watched the girl pulling eyeballs out of one of the corpses.
“Hey. I told you not to do that where I can see it.”
“S-sorry.”
“God… a Trait that needs you to eat human eyeballs to grow? That’s disgusting.”
This coming from a guy whose own Trait required him to kill people to grow stronger.
“I’m clearing the dungeon. Get everything packed and be ready.”
“Y-yes, Taehun!”
By the time she finished placing four extracted eyeballs into their prep containers, the man returned.
“You done?”
“Yes, Mr. Taehun.”
“Let’s go.”
And just like that, the two of them casually walked out of the Gate.