DEB 18

“Excuse me.”

“Yes?”

“Mr. Hong Juan.” 

“Just call me Ash.”

“…Mr. Hong Juan, are you not busy?” 

“I’m busy though?” 

“Why are you here then, may I ask?” 

“Well, we agreed to meet again, didn’t we?” 

That was your promise alone.

Huiyun swallowed his irritation and glanced at the man lying on his bed. 

Look at that calm demeanor. 

Huiyun couldn’t tell if this was his hospital room or his living room.

“I thought about it again, and I don’t think we ever decided to see each other again.”

“Hmm? No, no. I said we’d see each other again before I left. So, here we are.”

Just because he says it with a smile doesn’t make it convincing. Touching his forehead, Huiyun debated whether to sit on the bedside chair or push Hong Juan aside and get on the bed. But even in his own hospital room, being relegated to a chair while a guest occupied the bed felt too pathetic.

Seeing Huiyun lying on the bed next to him, Juan grinned.

“We’re already on sharing a bed stage?”

You’re the one who stole someone else’s spot!

Suppressing his rising frustration, Huiyun forced an awkward laugh. Making a scene here would only make it harder for his brother. So, despite feeling resentful and irritated, he had to give in.

“If sharing a bed is uncomfortable for you, Mr. Hong Juan, you can sit on the chair over there.”

“I’m fine. Pat my head again.” 

Again? 

For a moment, he forgot to maintain his composure and he frowned. 

Was he really asking for that subtle and uncomfortable gesture again?

“…What do I get in return this time?” 

“Why do I have to do something for you?” 

“Life is about give and take, isn’t it?” 

“Hmm… Shall I refrain from killing people?” 

“What?”

“If you want, I won’t kill anyone. Is that enough?”

His questioning tone seemed innocent enough, but the content was far from it. Not killing people shouldn’t be something to negotiate. Considering the criminal in front of him, Huiyun fell silent, and the man, seemingly interpreting his silence as a refusal, shrugged his shoulders.

“Weird. Everyone else tells me not to kill people. Aren’t you the same?”

“Mr. Hong Juan.”

“Yes.”

“Killing people is something that shouldn’t be done.” 

Huiyun replied as he recalled for information related to him. If Hong Juan was a maniacal murderer, there would have been rumors circulating, but the online community responses were surprisingly clean. Could there be manipulation of public opinion?

“But if it’s someone who deserved it, we should kill them.”

“Someone who deserved it?”

“Serial killers, psycopath, things like that.”

“… Then only kill bad guys.”

“Yeah. But Vina doesn’t want me to kill. Says it’s a headache. The other guys in the guild are the same, even the old man from the bureau… If I kill them, everything will be resolved neatly, so why they so concerned?

As he grumbled, he naturally leaned his head on Huiyun’s shoulder. Trying to move away from the weight pressing on him, Huiyun sighed as the man grabbed his wrist. It seemed like he was accustomed to getting his way without any opposition.

“Who is Vina?”

“You’ve seen him too.”

“I have?”

“The Blue Flame Guild Master.”

“Huh?”

His voice momentarily raised.

The Blue Flame Guild Leader, Vina? Did he really call Kwon Jiwook Vina?

“…”

“Why?”

“Why did Kwon Jiwook become Vina?”

“Huh?”

“…Is it a nickname or something?”

“No. That’s his real name.”

“Oh.”

Is that so…

In response to his nonchalant reply, Huiyun chuckled slightly. He was just a lunatic after all. He didn’t use his real name and instead call himself Ash, of course people around him weren’t spared of his craziness.

But Vina…

The Blue Flame guild master nickname was Vina.

It was a name with a soft and lovely connotation, but the man was a cold and hard perfectionist.

He felt sorry for Hong Juan’s naming sense as it did not suit the man at all, so he agonized over the terms of the negotiation. 

I guess he’s still greedy for that damn skinship.

“So what do you want me to do for you to pet me?”

“You have to think about that, Mr. Hong Juan. If you can’t think of anything, go back to your guild and think about it.”

“Back to the guild?”

“Yes.”

“But I don’t want to. Then I’ll have to leave here, right?” 

Ah, it’s not working.

He seemed so simple-minded that he thought he might fall for such manipulation, but he realized he had underestimated him by assuming he’d accept it so easily. At that moment, an unexpected suggestion came from Juan’s mouth.

“Do you want to leave with me?” 

“Excuse me?”

“You seem uncomfortable here. It must be inconvenient because of the guards. So, I’ll take you out. I’ll take you away from their sight.”

Pointing towards the door, Juan smiled, indicating the guards. Taken aback by this unexpected proposal, Huiyun widened his eyes.

It was indeed stifling and uncomfortable. Of course, being next to Hong Juan was also uncomfortable, but being with him without surveillance in a spacious area was better than being watched in a limited hospital room.

Most of all, he had been confined in this hospital room for too long. If he counted the time he had been unconscious, it had been over 15 days. 

Before, he would go out for a walk at least once or twice a week, but now, being stuck in one place for a whole week felt suffocating. When Huiyun hesitated, the man who had grasped the situation tried to persuade him.

“Don’t you want to go eat something delicious? Hospital food must be boring. I’ll buy you something. Um, if you want to watch a movie, we can do that too. If you’re curious about me hunting monsters, I can show you that too. I’ll take you wherever you want to go.”

When a lunatic behaves meekly and offers help, there’s always an ulterior motive. But if all he wants is a little petting, it’s a deal worth considering. Checking the clock, which showed just before 11 a.m., Huiyun made up his mind.

“I have to be back by 8 o’clock.”

“Got it. We’ll be back by 6 o’clock, that means you have to pet me for 2 hours.”

He’s asking for two hours of petting. With conditions like this, there’s nothing he can’t do, so he nodded his head in agreement as Hong Juan extended his arms.

“…?”

“What’s wrong? Come here.”

“Huh?”

“It’s a hassle to go out through the front door. We’re going out through the window, so come here. Right, you said you’re not feeling well. It’s okay for you to go out, right?”

“My seizure cycle has passed, so I should be fine for a while.”

As long as he doesn’t use his ability, there shouldn’t be any problem. Besides, he didn’t want to give them any reason to doubt him.

With Hong Juan here today, he can ignore any cries for help.

Even if he hears someone asking for help, he could just send Hong Juan. 

Let’s not get involved directly. 

Reminding himself of this, Huiyun reluctantly got up from the bed. As he glanced at the man still reaching out his hand, he hesitated, but eventually reached out his hand. Juan immediately embraced Huiyun.

His feet left the ground and his body rose. 

Momentarily embracing Hong Juan’s neck, Huiyun felt himself floating as Hong Juan told him to hold him tightly.

“Let’s go to the central park directly, so be prepared. We need to do this to shake off those guards and leave safely.”

Hong Juan put his feet on the window, and they descended together. With the wind blowing upwards towards his face, Huiyun closed his eyes and enjoyed the sensation of gliding through the air. 

When he opened his eyes, he noticed Hong Juan smiled beside him.

He was amazed by Hong Juan’s quick movement.

Even though he looked pathetic, S-class is still S-class after all.

Hong Juan’s face seemed more comfortable in the air than on the ground, so he relaxed his tight hold on his neck and looked around, and he heard a laughter.

“Keep holding me tightly.”

With a brief teasing remark, Juan began to descend once again. he could feel her body rising as he descended vertically.

“…!”

Surprised, he quickly tightened his grip again. Juan chuckled as he held him tightly.

“No… please, don’t play around like this.” 

“Okay, okay. Sorry.”

“So you do know how to apologize.”

“Huh?”

“It’s nothing.”

He is a man who walks the tightrope back and forth between normal and crazy. People like this are the scariest, so he shouldn’t let down his guard. 

As his body stiffened in alertness, Juan raised his hand and stroked Huiyun’s back.

“Hold tightly, but try to relax a bit. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“I’m not doing this because I’m scared.” 

“Then what is it?”

It’s because you’re so unreliable.

Avoiding a direct response, he shrugged his shoulders. Fortunately, Juan didn’t inquire further, and instead moved on.

How long had they been embracing each other? 

He could see greenery beneath them. 

Upon arrival at the central park as requested, he silently descended to the ground and released Huiyun.

“Ah.”

“Be careful.”

Perhaps because he had been flying so lightly, Huiyun felt his body become heavier as soon as his feet touched the ground. 

Juan helped support him as he staggered. Just as he was about to thank him, he felt the gaze of someone nearby.

“…Ah.”

People who had been watching them suddenly turned their heads in surprise. It wasn’t just one or two people, so Huiyun, who had been wondering, soon realized the reason.

Hong Juan was one of the three S-rank hunters in Korea, and he was famous enough to have fan clubs. Furthermore, it wasn’t strange for people’s attention to be focused on them when two people fell from the sky. 

No, at this point, it was as if they were saying, “Look at us.”

He felt sweat forming on his palms.

Won’t this make the news tomorrow? If it does, what excuse should he give to his brother…

“Huingang’s little bro, are you coming?”

Interrupting Huiyun’s thoughts, Juan asked as he poked him. Just as he was about to push him away…

Rumble–!

Suddenly, the ground began to shake.

This is…!

People’s attention shifted to where the sudden vibrations were coming from.

As he felt the energy and looked up at Hong Juan, he was focusing on the spot where the energy was flowing out strongly. He seemed to have noticed what was happening around and clicked his tongue with an annoyed expression.

“It looks like a gate is about to open. I’ll be back, so you either hide somewhere safe, or go back in advance. You’re not in good shape. If you come into contact with the gate’s energy, you’ll collapse.”

After giving his advice, he helped Huiyun lean against a tree and then moved towards the source of the vibration.

“Let’s continue our outing after I take care of this.” 

As Huiyun was about to report the incident to the Bueraeu with his phone, the ground shook once again, startling the people into a screaming mess.

“Aaaah!”

A sharp scream came from the opposite direction where Juan had run, striking Huiyun’s ears.