RG 141

‘Partner? What does that mean?’

Ryu Seonghyeon quickly shook his head at Song Ji-un. “It’s a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. Hunter Cha Seohu and I aren’t like that.”

Like what?

“But yesterday…”

“Yesterday I was too flustered and missed the right moment to deny it.”

“What does ‘partner’ mean?” I couldn’t hold back any longer and asked the two of them.

From what I know, it doesn’t seem like a problematic word. It gets used in a lot of contexts—like dance partners or sports partners.

‘But judging from the atmosphere, it’s probably not that innocent.’

Could it mean… sex partner? Would Song Ji-un really say something with that kind of implication? 

As I remained clueless, Ryu Seonghyeon hesitated before explaining, “It’s a term that used to mean when a DPS and Support are in a romantic relationship… It’s an old slang that’s not used much anymore.”

“A romantic relationship?”

“Old slang?”

Song Ji-un and I were each shocked by different parts of that sentence. I turned to him in disbelief. “We’re both men—why would you make that kind of assumption about us?”

“…It’s more about being a DPS and a Support than gender. Of course, it wasn’t common for same-sex couples, but still…”

After hearing the explanation, it finally came to me. No wonder it felt familiar—Song Ji-un used to say that occasionally before the regression, too.

It was a slang term that emerged during the transitional period when Hunters began being classified into DPS and Support roles. It originally had the same meaning as it did in sports, but evolved over time.

Anyway, it had been out of fashion for a long while now.

“If you’ve only lived up here in the mountains, I guess you wouldn’t know.”

It really wasn’t a big deal.

When I replied casually, Song Ji-un, clearly flustered, let his eyebrows drop low. “I… misunderstood. If it made you uncomfortable, I apologize.”

“It’s fine.”

It really was. I’d been mistaken for that with Ryu Seonghyeon more times than I could count before my regression. I’d heard it so often it barely registered anymore.

Ryu Seonghyeon, who’d looked unsettled by the whole thing, also seemed slightly taken aback by my nonchalant reply. Before I could figure out what that expression meant, Song Ji-un quickly turned his back.

“Thank you for accepting my apology. I’ll go organize the storage room now.”

“Ah, I was just asking because… ugh.”

I stared blankly as he practically ran off, like he was afraid I might stop him. He said he was going to tidy up the storage room outside, but it was clearly just an excuse to get away from me.

I mean, I could chase after him if I really wanted to… but if I came off too clingy, I’d definitely get kicked out.

‘Can’t be helped. Guess I’ll give him a break.’

Clicking my tongue, I turned to Ryu Seonghyeon and asked, “Was he this busy running around yesterday, too?”

Snapping out of his thoughts, he answered, “It was similar yesterday. During the day, he managed things inside the house, and just before sunset, he went out. Looked like he was patrolling the mountain.”

“If he’s going out late like that… then he’s probably looking for people who got stranded, like us.”

“That seems likely.”

It wasn’t just by chance that we ran into Song Ji-un the other day—he must patrol the mountain every day, looking for lost hikers. I had a feeling there were quite a few others who had been rescued by him, just like us. No wonder they call him mountain keeper.

That was when—

A sharp, needling pain spread through the middle of my throat.

“…?”

Sting. Sting.

It stung repeatedly, like I’d swallowed a thorn. But that wasn’t all—there was also a cold chill rising from deep within my chest. It was clear that the condition of my throat had worsened.

‘So suddenly? Why?’

I rubbed my throat, trying to think, and eventually realized—

‘Because I was near Song Ji-un…?’

A chill ran up my spine. Every time I swallowed, the icy sensation crawling up my throat grew more ominous.

“…Vicemaster.”

“Yes?”

I’d been thinking wrong. If I kept moving this slowly, I’d end up with nothing and get kicked out. Including today, I only had two days of grace left. Far too little time.

‘This won’t do.’

I needed to actively investigate Song Ji-un’s condition—and also figure out what was going on with this mountain. That was my only lead.

“When the mountain keeper heads out to check the mountain later…” I took a deep breath before continuing, “Let’s follow him.”

“What?”

Startled, Ryu Seonghyeon looked at me. I repeated myself firmly, “Let’s follow him. We need to see the mountain for ourselves.”

***

Of course, Ryu Seonghyeon was against the idea. He threw out several objections—You really want to go out in this heavy snow? The wind’s strong enough to shatter the windows. You think you won’t get caught by the mountain keeper? But the biggest issue he raised was this.

“You’ve only just recovered, and now you want to hike through the mountain again? Absolutely not.”

“If my condition worsens even a little, I’ll say so right away. We’ll just follow him at a distance—close enough to turn back anytime.”

“…He’s an S-class Hunter. If we’re not careful, we’ll get caught.”

“You’re an S-class too, Vicemaster. Please keep the distance in check. I’ll focus on tracking the markings the mountain keeper left.”

“Markings?”

“I saw them when we met him. Scratches on trees, carved with a blade. My guess is that they mark directions—to this house or to the mountain path. If we follow them, at the very least, we won’t get lost.”

“Hmmm.”

Despite my efforts to persuade him, Ryu Seonghyeon didn’t look particularly convinced. I pleaded with him again, “Let’s just go for a short while. We can’t stay out long anyway. Since we’re sneaking after him, we’ll need to get back before he does. I’ll wear protective gear too.”

Ryu Seonghyeon looked at me with conflicted eyes. He didn’t seem convinced by my argument so much as… troubled, unsure of what to do with this reckless kid in front of him.

‘Ah, that look. I saw it a lot before regression too.’

Fascinating.

I stared blankly at this familiar expression of Ryu Seonghyeon I hadn’t seen in a long time. After hesitating for a while, he finally let out a deep sigh and gave in. “Alright. But you have to keep your word. If you feel worse, you must tell me immediately.”

“Of course!”

Grinning in relief at finally earning his approval, I watched Ryu Seonghyeon sigh again.

Once the decision was made, we waited quietly until Song Ji-un left the house. We didn’t follow him around trying to get friendly or pester him unnecessarily.

Song Ji-un, seemingly unsettled by my sudden change in attitude, kept glancing my way as he moved around the house.

‘Heh. This is what you call playing hard to get.’

I smirked proudly and gave the toy fishing rod a dramatic flick, which made Eunbok leap up with excitement.

Mrooww!

This toy fishing rod was something I made myself—Ryu Seonghyeon had broken off a tree branch for me, and I tied a string to it with a beaded bracelet I found rolling around in the living room attached to the end.

“Wow, good job, Eunbok! That’s it!”

He must’ve been so bored out here in this desolate mountain. I pulled out all the flashy tricks I’d honed before my regression, and Eunbok was thrilled, bouncing all over the place.

Meoww! Mrow!

Eunbok, so excited that his nose had turned redder than usual, bounced and jumped, trying wildly to catch the bracelet. The commotion was too much to ignore, and Song Ji-un cautiously approached and asked, “Um, Eunbok…?”

“I just called him that on my own. You never told me his name.”

Song Ji-un gave an awkward cough, as if caught off guard. “The cat doesn’t have a name.”

“No name?”

“He’s not a pet I’m raising. At some point, he just started following me and came all the way here on his own. He seemed to be having a hard time in the mountains, so I didn’t drive him away.”

“…”

That made me feel strange.

When I looked down, Eunbok had, during our conversation, successfully grabbed the fishing line and was now rolling on the floor with the bracelet in his mouth.

The image of Song Ji-un from before my regression, gently petting and holding Eunbok, came to mind. I could almost hear his affectionate voice calling, Eunbok-ah, echoing in my ears.

“Still… wouldn’t it be okay to at least give him a name?”

“Then we’ll go with what you’ve been calling him—Eunbok.”

Song Ji-un decided on the name without a second thought. My heart sank.

His attitude was so different from before the regression that a searing ache spread in my chest. While the cat, the true owner of the name, was happily playing with the bracelet, I was the only one left feeling hurt for no reason.

Even after Song Ji-un left, I just sat there in a daze until Eunbok came up to me. The cat looked up at me with his big, round eyes, as if saying, Play with me more.

Smiling bitterly, I gently stroked Eunbok’s tiny face. Mrow—his meow was full of affection.

***

After that, I spent the rest of the afternoon playing with Eunbok after lunch.

About three hours later, Song Ji-un put on the same blue leather cloak he wore the day we first met and said, “I’m going to take a quick look around the area. I’ll be back before nightfall, so just rest.”

“Okay. Have a safe trip.” I smiled brightly and gave a cheerful wave.

At that, Song Ji-un moved his lips, as if wanting to say something, but eventually left without a word.

Thunk—as the front door closed, Ryu Seonghyeon and I immediately exchanged glances.

“Shall we get ready too?”

“Yes.”

We headed straight to the second floor and changed clothes. I dressed exactly as I had on my first day in the mountains and put on the protective item—a long robe—over it.

About ten minutes after we finished preparing, we stepped outside.

Whooosh!

As soon as we walked out, the lingering warmth around our bodies vanished, replaced by a sharp winter wind. Fortunately, the wind wasn’t as strong as it had been in the morning, though the snowfall was still heavy.

“There are faint footprints.”

“Then let’s follow them.”

With how much snow had fallen, they would’ve been covered up quickly if we were any later. At this distance, Song Ji-un was unlikely to notice us.

Meow!

Just then, while I was talking with Ryu Seonghyeon and looking at the footprints, a soft touch brushed my hand. Eunbok, with his light gray fur, was suddenly beside us. Apparently unbothered by the snow-covered ground, the cat blinked slowly a couple of times, then rubbed up against my leg.

Meow. Mrow. Prrr…

He let out a string of chirps and meows that sounded just like he was insisting on coming with us. Even when I nudged him gently and patted his backside, telling him to go back because it was cold, he wouldn’t budge.

Noticing Eunbok’s stubbornness, Ryu Seonghyeon asked with a helpless expression, “What should we do?” 

I folded my arms and thought for a moment before nodding. “He follows the mountain keeper around, so let’s just leave him be. Besides, when I held him before, I noticed that, unlike us, his body temperature didn’t drop—he stayed warm. I don’t know why, though.”

I added that we were only going nearby, so it should be fine. Hearing that, Ryu Seonghyeon reluctantly agreed. And so, with Eunbok, who was cheerfully holding his tail high, we followed Song Ji-un’s trail into the mountain.