I Tamed the First Rank Chapter 14

“It doesn’t matter. Since it’s already been 20 years, I probably already forgot who was worried about me.”

After saying that, Hyeon Gyu-ha let In Yoo-shin down from the bike and patted him on the head.

“Let’s continue next time, with Master’s other abilities that we haven’t checked yet. Stop cluttering your head with useless thoughts and go upstairs to rest. You will feel refreshed after taking a good night’s sleep.”

As always.

After seeing the lights in the rooftop room turn on, Hyeon Gyu-ha drove off on his bike.

“6-seya.”

Back in the dark room, the rattle of the hamster wheel grew faster. Her mood seemed to improve when she heard me.

In Yoo-shin squatted in front of the cage without saying a word.

It’s the same scene I always saw whenever I returned home, but my legs were sagging, and I felt empty. I had a delicious meal, and I didn’t have any symptoms of illness, so why was I like this?

In Yoo-shin knew why.

It was because I had a good dinner.

‘It’s been a while since I ate with someone other than Seung-gi.’

In Yoo-shin lived and worked alone in Seoul, which was not his hometown, and he had no known acquaintances to have dinner with. Park Seung-gi, his only friend living here in Seoul, was a graduate student, so he was very busy.

Except for the irregular meetings with Park Seung-gi to get dinner together or the periodic times I had to attend a company dinner, I always ate dinner alone.

It was a constant daily routine. I had never been dissatisfied with it, and I had never felt regret………… or so I had thought.

Hyeon Gyu-ha made him realize his loneliness with just one meal.

He broke the hard shell of Yoo-shin’s heart, which he had turned away from and ignored despite how deep he felt it and revealed his loneliness. Gyu-ha stepped boldly into my life, when I always lingered a step behind others due to my inferiority complex from being an orphanage graduate, and he revealed my loneliness to myself.

His consideration for me during the meal, his calmly chasing eyes, and his warm conversation all awakened my loneliness.

“He really lives in a different world from me.”

Didn’t you already realize that you didn’t know Hyeon Gyu-ha at all today? I do recall that our relationship is merely forced by the means of taming, but still.

“6-seya.”

When he opened the cage door and held out his palm, 6-se came down from the wheel and stood up slightly. I felt a sense of relief as I caressed the cuddly creature.

 I even borrowed a magnifying glass from my grandpa to check, but there was no tattoo of my name on 6-se’s body. Was Hyeon Gyu-ha special? If so, what was the reason? And……

How could I cancel taming?

“Will you always stay by my side?”

“Squeak.”

As if comforting my heart, 6-se wrinkled the tip of her nose. In Yoo-shin smiled lightly and kissed the hamster.

I wanted to end this relationship with Hyeon Gyu-ha as soon as possible. Before sinking further into loneliness, before having false expectations.

For In Yoo-shin, who suffered two instances of annulled adoption and one of death…

The scariest thing was the expectations of other people.

*****

When his mana signature was injected into the door lock, the lights in the room turned on all together. However, the officetel (studio apartment designed for both residence and work), which was not a space for people to live in but was like a model house, was quiet and dreary.

Hyeon Gyu-ha threw his riding jacket onto the couch and lay down in the air. Without even looking at his refrigerator, he gestured lightly, and the fridge door opened in the kitchen, then a cold can of beer flew into his hand.

‘I think it’s about time to fill up the fridge.’

After all, it’s a refrigerator with only alcohol and bottled water. He took a gulp of beer and looked around.

In many ways, it was a space that contrasted with In Yoo-shin’s house. Compared to In Yoo-shin’s rooftop room, which was narrow and shabby but smelled like people living there, his officetel was only a shell of desolate luxury.

In the first place, the space he called home was enough as long as it was safe to lie down and sleep. It was a useless high-class officetel, and it was not his will to equip it with furniture.

When he thought of In Yoo-shin and his house, Hyeon Gyu-ha realized that they were apart. His heart started to beat uncontrollably. It’s a sound I had become accustomed to.

“Eye of Munin.”

After briefly reciting the keywords, a map of coordinates spread out in front of his eyes, and a specific point flickered. That target point was his ‘Master,’ made by utilizing that generic artifact from before. His heart, which had been anxiously thumping, quickly calmed down upon learning his Master’s location.

In Yoo-shin seemed to be idling in his room. Hyeon Gyu-ha, who had been drinking beer with satisfaction while tracking In Yoo-shin, jumped up.

Because suddenly, In Yoo-shin started moving.

‘Where is he going alone in the middle of the night?’

It’s a dangerous world! A gate might open unexpectedly out of thin air, he might get hit by a car, he might get beaten up, or he might find an abandoned hamster. For Hyeon Gyu-ha, the last one was the most fatal.

He was going to chase after him right away, but In Yoo-shin returned home. It seemed that he went out for a while to take out the trash.

[I’m going to sleep early today, so I don’t think I’ll be able to answer your call later, Gyu-ha. Have a good night.]

He looked down at the message that arrived on his phone and touched the screen.

[Goodnight. Dream of me.]

Even after sending the reply, he stared at the map with a blank expression for a long time. The position of In Yoo-shin’s tracker, which had stopped in one place, did not move afterwards. As said in the contents of his text, it seemed that he really did fall asleep. Only then did I feel complete relief.

“Fuck. What am I doing.”

Hyeon Gyu-ha laughed at his psyche and threw his body back into the air. The indescribable feeling that surged and spread through me when I heard what In Yoo-shin said.

I was on the verge of turning away because of how unfamiliar I was with my own mental state, blindly looking after the safety of just one person. If the symptoms of my servitude hadn’t distracted my mind, which was steeped in an almost melancholic boredom, I really might have commissioned a contract to kill him, regardless of what ¦°ø¾Îð was or who he was.

‘Wait, there’s no need to hire someone to kill him, is there? It’s possible to put a lethal trap on the road where In Yoo-shin passes by every day.’

In my head, countless ways to kill In Yoo-shin without using my hands came to mind and then scattered as quickly as they came.

〈…… Who was the first person to worry about you?〉

Hyeon Gyu-ha recounted the emotions he felt on his own among the emotions In Yoo-shin stirred up within him. When he remembered In Yoo-shin’s words, he felt a strange emotion spreading inside him.

“Who cares about whom, for goodness’ sake?”

He looked up at the hand which he pierced with a knife. I thought of him, flustered and in pain as if he were the one wounded, his smooth, bloodstained yet unscarred hands wrapping around mine with healing power.

It’s just... to see such a weak life form, that I could kill with one finger, worrying about me.

〈Hyung-ah, aren’t you hurt?〉

The child who was crying in fear with a pale face, clutching the hem of his clothes and worrying about my wounds.

Hyeon Gyu-ha suddenly wondered what kind of adult the child from 19 years ago would be now.

2.

I couldn’t sleep because I was immersed in complicated thoughts and eventually I overslept. I didn’t have time to eat breakfast, so I stopped by the local supermarket before going to work.

‘I shouldn’t be late, so I’ll take my food to the office and eat there.’

It was time for Hyeon Gyu-ha to arrive at his house and give him a ride to work. In Yoo-shin, who came out of the supermarket, instead got frightened.

“How did you know I was at the supermarket?”

“It’s the instinct of a pet mouse to follow after its owner. Are you going to work right now?”

“Yes, but…”

In Yoo-shin was in a daze as he got onto the back of the motorcycle. Hyeon Gyu-ha, as usual, tidied his bangs and put his helmet on him.

Thanks to that, I started my day without feeling awkward even after the way we parted yesterday, but I was still in no hurry.

‘Really, how did he know I was in a supermarket? Did he see me go in?’

However, before Yoo-shin could voice his confusion, Hyeon Gyu-ha started the bike. In Yoo-shin quickly wrapped his arms around his waist.

“Let’s hear about your buff on the way. What kind of buff is it?”

“It restores vigor and mana. I’ve only tamed rodents so far, so I’m not sure how effective it’ll be on you.”

“Try using it on me.”

“Now?”

 Although I didn’t know exactly how he intended to utilize mana on our way to work, I went ahead and applied a buff.

Hyeon Gyu-ha used his mana in a simple way.

“Wow……”

The motorbike that was running down an alley rose into the sky. On the slowly floating bike, In Yoo-shin’s field of view also broadened.

The familiar scene of the town unfolded beneath his feet like a model from a bird’s eye view. When he raised his head, he saw the backdrop of skyscrapers rising into the sky past the hills. The bike had only risen a few meters, but it felt as if the clouds were close enough to be grasped by hand.

Even the cold wind was pleasant. It was as fun as riding a ride in an amusement park.

“I guess this is what it feels like to fly through the sky.”

“Do you like it?”

“Yeah!”

The sense of floating up so high in an instant made me a bit dizzy, but it wasn’t scary. After all, I knew Gyu-ha would save me if I fell.

Hyeon Gyu-ha laughed in a low timbre.

“But it would be better not to use your buff while I’m hunting monsters or inside dungeons.”

"Ah, is it not very effective?"

“No. The problem is, it’s too good."

“…….”

“… going to stand up, I think.”

PA:  Reaaaallllllyyy, when I see ‘Vigor’ I already having dirty thoughts………. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° ) And when did Gyu-ha put a tracker to Yoo-shin?????≖ ͜ʖ≖)

------

Credits:

Translator: Hoshi Miya

Editor/Proofreader: Editor M

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