DEB 17

The response was brief, but his voice felt hazy as if lost in a dream. He carefully examined the face of the man lying beside him, his legs crossed.

When searching for information about him on the internet, he came across several articles praising his face so much, now he could understand why. 

To be precise, his face was beautiful. Like a male incarnation of a deity of beauty. If they met under normal circumstances, he would have admired his appearance at their first meeting.

His deep red hair gave a striking impression, but overall, his facial features and thin eyebrows exuded a softness rather than sharpness. Therefore, it was hard to imagine his abilities being as intense as fire or explosions.

Was he even taking care of his appearance?

He didn’t seem like the type, but upon seeing his smooth lips and untanned white skin, it seemed like he put quite an effort into grooming his appearance. 

As he speculated, he examined his face.

“Hey Huigang’s little bro, having fun?”

“Huh?”

“Playing with my hair.”

“What?”

Confused, he looked down at his fingers, only to be surprised to find a strand of Hong Juan’s hair wrapped around them. Startled, he pushed Hong Juan’s head away.

Why am I twirling his hair around my fingers?

Did my finger have mind of its own?

It was a crazy thought, but it wasn’t crazier than his actions. Suspiciously, he looked at his hand, but it offered no explanation or excuse. Even Hong Juan, seeming perplexed about why he acted that way, chuckled and got up from the bed without showing any signs of annoyance.

Was he difficult to please or easygoing? He had a temperament that was hard to gauge.

“Stop staring. Just because you look doesn’t mean your hand will answer you.”

“Oh.”

“I get it. Sometimes you just feel like playing with someone’s hair.”

“…No, I’ve never felt that way.”

“Really? I did… It was soft and silky, and he didn’t get angry when I touched it, so I often played with it.”

Is he talking about old times?

It was a rather sudden reminiscence. Hong Juan closed his eyes and started talking about old stories without any prompt.

He tells stories about how he got into an accident when he was young, and how he had to take in younger children and be their older brother after he got older. 

As Huiyun listened quietly, at some point his guard relaxed a little.

Huiyun found it odd that the man kept chattering on his own. The chattering voices were clearly happy, but contrary to his upbeat tone, his eyes were sad, as if he was longing for something… or someone.

Was it a memory of a dead person?

The atmosphere and the way he spoke seemed to be talking about someone who is no longer with him.

As Huiyun was speculating that the person Hong Juan was looking for was someone from that story, Hong Juan, having climbed down from the bed, straightened his wrinkled clothes and opened the window. The chilly wind of late winter seeped in through the open window, making him shiver. The hospital gown was too thin.

“Anyway, I’ve finished what I came for, and you even petted my hair, so I’ll be going.”

“Oh, are you leaving?”

“Do you want me to stay?”

“No. It’s probably better if you leave now.”

“Haha. You’re overly honest.”

Even though he deliberately replied with arrogance, he wasn’t sure if it was fortunate or unfortunate that Hong Juan didn’t get angry. Whether it was because of the hair-petting or listening to his stories, it seemed like Hong Juan was fond of him. If he showed any more interest and visited every day, it would be a disaster.

It felt like carrying a time bomb. With a troubled heart, he pulled down the blanket that was halfway covering him and sat on the floor. But since Hong Juan was the leader of the number one guild, he felt obligated to see Hong Juan off to the door of the hospital room, hoping it would make Huigang future path easier.

Just then, as Hong Juan reached for the window, he turned his head. 

“Well, let’s meet again next time.”

“Huh?”

“Goodbye, Huigang’s lil bro!”

“No, wait…! Just a moment!”

That’s not the door, you lunatic!

When he said he would open the window and go, he didn’t expect him to actually climb onto the window sill. Huiyun reached out his hand, but Hong Juan was faster. Before Huiyun could grab him, Hong Juan raised his remaining foot onto the sill and leaped out, waving his hand.

“See you again!”

As Hong Juan waved his hand even as he fell, he couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh as he saw Juan skillfully land on both feet near the ground.

…I thought I was the only crazy one jumping out of windows.

“Crazy people just do strange things without hesitation.”

Realizing how incomparable the action was, he felt a bit disheartened. With the window wide open, the chilly wind kept coming in, so he closed the window, and the room fell silent. Not hearing the sound of the wind, he suddenly realized how quiet the space usually was.

“He was a noisy person.”

He had been so absorbed in the company of someone who could chatter away for two or three hours without tiring that he hadn’t realized it was already 8 o’clock. He straightened the blanket and opened the door of the room. Not sensing the movement of the guards, he checked, and sure enough, two adult men were lying unconscious in front of the room.

“Excuse me.”

He nudged them lightly, but there was no response. Oh, this wasn’t what he wanted.

Feeling like he needed to be firmer, Huiyun grabbed grabbed their collar and exerted some force.

“…Huiyun?”

“…Brother?”

As the sound of the elevator stopping echoed, a voice called out to him. Turning his gaze following the startled voice, he saw a familiar figure standing there.

“Why… why are you here already…?”

“Today’s work finished earlier than usual… No, it’s not that, you!”

Naturally answering the question, Huigang suddenly raised his voice and grabbed Huiyun’s wrist. Only then did Huiyun realize what he looked like now, and he was startled to see Huigang’s face, which now looked like he was about to hit someone.

“I didn’t do this!”

“Then who did?”

“Well, it’s… “

He wanted to say it was Juan. But the words wouldn’t come out. If he confessed here, wouldn’t it make it all he did to have chase Hong Juan out worthless? With a sigh, Huigang grabbed Huiyun’s hand and pulled him up from the ground.

“Huiyun. Let’s just not cause any accidents… okay? I mean, it’s good to stay healthy, but let’s not cause any accidents. Why did you have to his someone.

“No, I didn’t hit anyone.”

“Given the circumstances, it’s obvious that you’re the one who did this… What… Did you use your abilities to knock them out? They both seem to be A-rank hunters.”

Checking the pulse of the two guards who had collapsed, Huigang had a troubled look on his face. He didn’t know what he was thinking, but he couldn’t leave it alone. Huigang, who was already harboring various suspicions, might become even more suspicious if he misunderstood.

He didn’t want more distrust to build up here.

“I really didn’t do it! This is Hong Juan’s doing!”

“Hong Juan…? Ash Guild Master?”

“Yeah. I was trying to wake them up because they were unconscious.”

He expressed his resentment as much as possible and protested that if he had really knocked them out, there would have been at least a trace somewhere. Huigang, who seemed to be convinced when he saw them clean and without any traces of injury, turned his questioning direction.

“Why was the Ash guild leader here? Didn’t he finish all of his business here?”

“I’m curious about that too.”

Huiyun led Huigang inside and told him what had happened after Juan came. Even after thinking about it again, Huiyun had no idea why did he come for, so he asked Huigang opinion. Huigang, who had been quietly listening to the story, also looked at the room with puzzled eyes.

“… Is he here to monitor you? That said, he didn’t even ask you much.”

“Uh. He just talked about himself and left.”

“Maybe he came because he was bored?”

“…”

“Um… Even if that’s the case, he’s one of the three S-rank hunters in Korea, so he wouldn’t do something like this. He has a lot to do and a lot of people to call.”

“No, that seems quite possible.” 

“Huh?”

So it was highly likely that he came here because he found this place more interesting and fun than what he had to do or the people calling him. Others might be surprised that the leader of a guild would do such a foolish thing, but considering the way he had just been begging to be petted, it was a hundred percent plausible.

That is a hundred percent plausible.

The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became. Firming his expression, when Huigang heard Huiyun’s theory, and he dismissed it as absurd and waved his hand.

But Huiyun, who had already firmed his resolve, rebutted that it was something Juan would do. 

The short-lived argument was revisited the next day, sparked by Juan’s return, this time through the window.