“……?”
In Yoo-shin thought he must have heard him wrong. How could someone, who at first had the desire to kill you, ask you to date them?
Merely looking at this human pile of horse dung that had a puzzled expression, Hyeon Gyu-ha scooped him up back onto his side.
“Since monsters might approach if we stay here long, let’s go outside and talk.”
Hyeon Gyu-ha came out of the dungeon and noticed In Yoo-shin’s bare feet, his slippers having fallen off. He jumped into the air. Then, in an instant, they came out of the woods and sat on the bike.
“I hate to say it twice, so listen carefully. I said I wanted to date you.”
“……”
So, I didn’t hear it wrong. In Yoo-shin’s eyes twitched in a different way from before.
“Y-yes, of course Hunter Hyeon Gyu-ha-nim is attractive to me, even as a man like myself, and he is tall and handsome, so he must be popular, and I’m happy and grateful for the proposal to date, but……”
“Your mouth goes on and on.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m straight……”
“I like women better.”
“But why……?”
“It’s pretend, pretend.”
Hyeon Gyu-ha poked In Yoo-shin in the shoulder with his index finger.
“I mean that I’m suffering from separation anxiety, like a dog wagging its tail when it sees its Master, because you tamed me. If there wasn’t a link like this with me somehow, I’ll turn away. Do you understand this so far?”
In Yoo-shin, who had nothing to say even though he had a mouth, only nodded his head intently.
“Even if we separate today, I’ll continue to look for you, meet and see you, and only then will I be relieved. But how are you going to explain this to others? I think the context that we’re dating is the best for a smoke screen.”
“How about friends……? A warm friendship?”
“Do you explain to people that stalkers are friends these days?”
“……”
Does that mean you are willing to stalk me because of your separation anxiety?…… A sudden chill went through In Yoo-shin and sent shivers down his spine.
“Or whatever, you can tell the truth. That I’m taking you as my Master. That you became the Master by taming me, whom you are fake dating. Which direction are you taking?”
In Yoo-shin pondered.
Hunters with outstanding abilities or outstanding looks enjoyed popularity as much as celebrities. Hyeon Gyu-ha had both. If I lied about dating him, I would receive bad comments asking why such an ordinary guy like me is his lover, but if I reveal the truth that I had become his Master……
“……”
It was a matter that I didn’t need to worry about.
“I-I’ll date you.”
The corners of Hyeon Gyu-ha’s mouth curled thinly.
“Great. Then, it’s our first day together starting from today.”
Hyeon Gyu-ha held out his hand. In Yoo-shin grasped the Hunter’s rough hand, which had small scars and calluses. His own hand, which was content with handling a hamster at most, was trembling slightly.
The smile that had won the ‘Most Beautiful Smile of the Year’, for five consecutive years in the country’s best hunter community, was brilliant and bloody.
[Name: Henry Raymond Charles Francois VII]
[Current Status: Murderous. Questioning. Intriqued.]
It was the creepiest laugh I had ever witnessed in my 22 years of life.
***
After they came down the mountain and entered the city, Hyeon Gyu-ha walked off somewhere, telling him to wait. It seemed impossible for me to go back to my office before closing time.
[Team Leader-nim. I don’t know when I’ll be able to go to the office because I’ve been talking with Hunter-nim for a long time. I’m really sorry]
[No~^^ You can go home right away^^ It’s the weekend tomorrow, so take a good rest, and if going to work on Monday is hard, I’ll take care of it to tell them (fighting rabbit emoticon)]
On a day that seemed so unreal, Team Leader Hong, who was hysterical about an old bachelor, sent a reply that seemed sweet as honey.
Of course there would be people who were not interested in Hunters and didn’t even know Hyeon Gyu-ha’s face. However, among the civil servants working in the Department of Supernatural Affairs and Public Safety, not anywhere else, there was definitely not a single person who would not recognize Hyeon Gyu-ha.
No matter where you go, the A ranks have more hunters, and B ranks are the ones suffering from a chronic shortage of manpower. In response to Hyeon Gyu-ha’s abuse of power, Team Leader Hong willingly offered In Yoo-shin up and sacrificed him.
Thanks to that, he was relieved to have fewer worries about getting fired.
“Wear this.”
A pair of sneakers shook in Hyeon Gyu-ha’s hand when he returned. He was wondering where he went, and it seemed that he had stopped by a shoe store. In Yoo-shin quickly held his hand out to take the shoes from him.
“Thank you. I’ll wear them.”
“I would like to hand them over, but my instincts tell me that I'd be glad if I take care of my Master instead.”
“……”
Putting the sneakers on In Yoo-shin for him, who quietly shut his mouth, Hyeon Gyu-ha showed a subtle yet satisfied expression. I knew without opening the status window. That he felt ‘Fuck You.’
“I’m so happy that I feel pretty fucked up.”
“You must have a good eye. The size is just right.”
I tried to change the subject with a smile. Hyeon Gyu-ha also followed the clumsy attempt.
“When I looked at the data from the police, I couldn’t see your full name properly, so what’s your last name?”
“It’s In Yoo-shin.”
“Im Yoo-shin?”
“It’s In-ssi, not Im-ssi.”
“How many In-ssi’s are in the world?”
“There are 40,000 people……”
“The population of Korea should be 100 million, but let’s say there are 40,000.”
Hyeon Gyu-ha snorted as he made a remark that turned everyone surnamed ‘In’ in the country into enemies. In Yoo-shin, who is proud of In-ssi, was a little emotional. Hyeon was a common surname.
“You can change your last name when you leave the orphanage. Originally, I was given the surname of the director of the orphanage, so it was originally Kim, but I changed it to In when I left the orphanage.”
“Did you want to have a unique last name?”
“I was moved to a temple nursery, and the monk who raised me was In Ja-yo. In is the name given to them.”
“Hmm.”
Hyeon Gyu-ha’s expression, which had been sarcastic, changed. He reached out his hand and stroked In Yoo-shin’s head.
“It’s a good change. Kim Yoo-shin does feel a bit weird, compared to In Yoo-shin.”
“I-is that so?”
In Yoo-shin could not say that the hanja was different from that of Kim Yoo-shin.
“I’m dating you, so I need to know your basic profile info. How old are you?”
“I’m 22 years old. After leaving the orphanage, I was fortunate enough to be hired as a contract civil servant. Since then, I have been working at the Department of Supernatural Affairs and Public Safety.”
“What is your hometown? In Seoul?”
“It’s Kaesong. That’s why I’m the only one from Kaesong.”
“I’m glad it’s unique.”
His tone wasn’t as sarcastic as before. For some reason, I felt that the conversation with Hyeon Gyu-ha had become a little more comfortable. It might be an illusion.
They also exchanged cell phone numbers to establish that they were dating. Seeing the name ‘Hunter Hyeon Gyu-ha-nim’ registered in the list of phone numbers he became a bit bewildered. It was a name he could never have imagined being on his phone until this morning.
“Don’t you have any questions for me? If you search for something, it’ll come up, so you can study on your own.”
“I thought you’d be angry……”
“How dare a bastard be angry with Master.”
In the midst of the conflicting emotions, wanting to point out that he was not angry, but being overwhelmed by the intentional choice of the word Master, In Yoo-shin asked timidly.
“You really can’t transform into a bat?”
Hyeon Gyu-ha didn’t get angry. Instead, he smiled, fresh as a green apple.
“Do you want to live hanging upside down from the ceiling for the rest of your life like a bat?”
“I’m sorry……”
He was truly a man who could kill a demon just by living with a smile. In Yoo-shin made a tentative vow not to mess with him.
It was already around sunset when he arrived back in Seoul by riding Hyeon Gyu-ha’s bike again.
“Would you like to have dinner together to commemorate our first day?”
“I think I won’t be able to eat dinner because I’m dizzy from riding the bike……”
“I see. Then, get some rest.”
Hyeon Gyu-ha kindly took him home. To be honest, I would rather suffer from crowded subways and buses than ride his crazy bike.
He soon arrived at the old residential area, where the rooftop room he rented and lived in was located. He was about to give his thanks and bid farewell when Hyeon Gyu-ha suddenly called out.
“Yoo-shin-ssi, how old were you when you awakened as a tamer?”
“I don’t remember exactly because I was very young, but the first time I started taming was when I was 5 years old. It was a hamster.”
“I’m not a damn rat.”
Hyeon Gyu-ha, who muttered something to himself that made listeners shudder, rubbed his chin.
“I’ll also find out how to cancel taming, so Yoo-shin-ssi, study your abilities well.”
He nodded his head vigorously. Disabling the taming was something that In Yoo-shin desperately wanted as much as Hyeon Gyu-ha.
“Well, until then, please take good care of me. Don’t be too surprised if I stalk you.”
“Yes.”
“Have a good weekend.”
Hyeon Gyu-ha said goodbye and left. In Yoo-shin went up the stairs only after his back completely disappeared.
“6-seya. I’m here.”
While stroking the delighted 6-se, he gently checked its chest. Whether it’s because the area of its skin was much smaller than that of a human, or because Hyeon Gyu-ha was special in the first place, the letters engraved with ‘YOO-SHIN 唯信’ were not visible.
“I don’t know…… I guess I’ll take a rest for now.”
He flopped down on the floor. Suddenly, I felt tired. I really went through so many things today. I almost died, crossed a Gate, and most of all, I became friends with Hyeon Gyu-ha, although it is a deception.
That last one was the biggest burden, but all well, it would work out somehow. According to my experience of being abandoned twice as a child, the people who were going to live survived somehow.
Feeling the sensation of 6-se’s eating sunflower seeds on his chest, In Yoo-shin fell asleep.
And less than 30 minutes later, he woke up to the ringing of his cell phone.
HM: 0-0 I guess this is how it turned out…
------
Credits:
Translator: Hoshi Miya
Editor/Proofreader: Stallion, Editor M
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Don't be too surprised if I stalk you. Lol, such an insane thing to say on the first day as a fake couple.