Editors: Spade, Roki
Proofreader: Sapphire
The awakening of Sa Hyeon as an S-class Hunter at eight years old, the youngest age for an Awakener in Korean history, had drawn a lot of attention.
This was not only because of how extraordinary his manifested abilities proved to be, but also because of the circumstances of his awakening. On his way home with his driver, Sa Hyeon was involved in a car accident. The second wife had gone home first, and Sa Hyeon had been returning on his own when the accident had happened.
The car was crushed beyond recognition by a very large cargo truck, and that’s when Sa Hyeon’s powers were revealed. The moment the collision happened, Sa Hyeon had moved into the shadow of a nearby building and survived.
Sa Hyeon had stood by and watched as the events unfolded. Only eight years old at the time, he didn’t show any signs of shock or fright, as the car crumpled before exploding right before his eyes. That was the end of the CCTV footage up until the Hunter’s Association sensed a huge amount of mana and arrived on site.
“It was Sa Yoonkang’s maternal family behind that incident.”
“…Really?”
“Yes. Why lie about something like this? Only a few people know about it, but, well, they were trying to get rid of the second wife, starting with her child first…They were planning to make Sa Yoonkang the next Guild Leader from a young age, and so, when an obstacle got in the way, they had to deal with it.”
Yisun nodded absentmindedly at Han Arin’s words.
“But unexpectedly, Sa Hyeon awakened as an S-class Hunter, so how could they dare attempt to kill him? And even if they tried, they wouldn’t be able to kill an S-class. So after that, they resorted to subtle abuse instead. The Guild Leader was also watching the situation, and only after his son became the youngest S-class Hunter in Korean history did he start to take care of him to some extent… Of course, it was really just a little bit, but he did bring him out to several official events…”
Yisun’s expression changed subtly as he listened to Han Arin’s words: The second wife had also passed of an illness about ten years later, and for that whole decade, she had never taken care of Sa Hyeon nor did she have any plans to make him the next Guild Leader; all she had wanted was to live comfortably at home. It was practically a relationship where each of them had to survive on their own.
That’s why she hadn’t intervened even when Sa Hyeon was subjected to insidious and childish harassment from Sa Yoonkang and his maternal family. At that, Yisun finally spoke up. “Do you think that, for him… that counted as a traumatic childhood memory?”
“Whoa, that’s some bullshit. Ah, my bad, I shouldn’t curse in front of Restorer Yisun.” Han Arin hastily slapped her hand over her mouth. Yisun was a little confused by her reaction, but Han Arin laughed awkwardly. It was a smile that told him that she thought his question was dumb but would go along with it anyway. “Restorer Yisun, do you think Sa Hyeon is someone who can be bullied?”
“Err… no?”
“Well, do you think that much would count as a painful childhood memory for him?”
“….”
At Yisun’s silence, Han Arin nodded with a smile. Sa Yoonkang’s maternal family has always been an annoying fly on the wall to Sa Hyeon, and there was an incident that vividly revealed it….
“The HN Guild and that company had a celebration for their collaboration anniversary. They rented a big hotel, gathering all the relevant figures, and the in-laws had attended as well… While the family and close relatives were having a meal, they would pick fights with Sa Hyeon, who was around 10 at the time. They’d say that he was acting so obnoxiously because he was uneducated, uncultured, and such other trivial insults…”
“Ah…”
“The Guild Leader was wary of his in-laws and couldn’t outright tell them to stop, so he simply took his wife and went outside. When he came back a while later, the dining room’s chandelier was broken, and those people were suspended from the ceiling like hanged criminals on the death row.”
“Oh…”
Han Arin laughed out loud as Yisun’s sighing turned into dumbfoundedness instead. She recounted how everyone had stood and stared in stunned silence, while only Sa Hyeon calmly sat and continued to eat his meal. Han Arin then explained that she had seen the scene firsthand; her parents had once worked for an affiliate of the company and she had been lucky enough to attend as a child, only to witness such a disaster. She said that this incident was kept under the wraps, so it didn’t spread much outside the company…
“But what he said when the Guild Leader came in at the end was pretty awesome.”
“What did he say?”
“Sa Hyeon has this signature smile, you know? He had the same one on his face at the time, as he said, ‘Maybe it’s because I’m too young, so it seems that I can’t control my abilities properly.’ It was really, wow…”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Han Arin, who was feeling some nostalgic bitterness, said that they weren’t so bad as a team. She mentioned that Sa Hyeon’s excellent analytical skills allowed him to thoroughly understand and develop each team member’s abilities. In a profession where many Hunters become drunk on their own strength and complacent in their development, it was impossible for that to happen in Chord.
She also added that the team members felt pride in following Sa Hyeon as, not only did he demand rigorous training, but he also induced substantial growth worthy of their title as “Korea’s Elite Team.”
Listening to the story, Yisun couldn’t help asking, somewhat puzzled, “By the way, didn’t that other company… go out of business now?”
“Yes. Surprisingly, it started to go under right after the Guild Leader fell.”
Yisun blinked owlishly at Han Arin’s cheerful answer, and then let out a breath of realization. Sa Yoonkang’s family, which had strong ties with the Guild Leader and had endless influence within the guild, constantly invested only in Sa Yoonkang, but faced ruin as soon as the Guild Leader fell. For a year, every single business they touched was only met with failure, until they finally went bankrupt and dissolved. By the second year, the once-prominent company was completely out of business.
Following the downfall of said company, all the executives from Sa Yoonkang’s family in the HN Guild board disappeared. There were no longer people who would blindly support Sa Yoonkang in the Guild Leader succession.
“Did Hunter Sa Hyeon have a hand in it?”
“I’m not too sure about that, but oh boy am I glad to be on his side.” Han Arin shook her head, saying that even though they were both S-classes, Sa Hyeon wasn’t someone she wanted to have as an enemy.
“Anyway, now that I’m thinking about it, it seems like while Sa Hyeon avoids unnecessary friction, Sa Yoonkang keeps picking fights… He’s toned it down a bit after losing the support of his family, but he’s still trying. That’s why Sa Hyeon plans to clear all the dungeon raids so that he can crush him once and for all.”
“I see…”
“I once told Sa Hyeon, jokingly of course, that since he made potions for a living, he could simply cut off an arm. Or just a hand even.”
Yisun nodded hesitantly as he considered whether those words were simply a joke or not, and Han Arin burst into laughter at his uncertain expression. She giggled with her head down for a long while, before finally managing to calm her laughter and continue.
“But Sa Hyeon said that by doing that, he would be giving Sa Yoonkang a mental victory, thinking that he went for dirty methods because he felt threatened by his power or that he had the upper hand. And that’s not something he’d want to see. Ah, really…”
“Ah…”
“So now, he’s purposely trying to get him to go wild as much as he wants, and after he’s done his best, he’ll realize it was all for nothing. It’s basically a big ‘fuck you.’”
It was a pretty blunt way of putting it, but it made perfect sense. Suddenly, Yisun felt slightly uncomfortable as he remembered how Sa Hyeon had once said that killing him was too easy, too boring. He’d also told him that the best way to crush someone like Sa Yoonkang, who had an inferiority complex, into a pathetic state was to defeat him at something he’d worked so hard for.
“I see, so rather than killing him, he went for something like that…”
“Yeah. Sa Hyeon doesn’t kill people.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah, Yisun-ssi, I don’t kill people.” As Yisun was still processing Han Arin’s answer, another voice chimed in from above. Even without looking back, he could tell who the gentle voice belonged to. It was Sa Hyeon.
Han Arin flinched in surprise at his sudden appearance. She then frowned and muttered about how hard it was to sense his presence.
“I don’t kill people.” Sa Hyeon, eyes locked with Yisun, tilted his head back, and smiled.
“That’s right… he only kills monsters…” Hearing Sa Hyeon’s words, Han Arin had a very complicated expression. Suddenly, she seemed to remember something and walked up to Sa Hyeon, asking for a moment to talk. Yisun could hear the name ‘Cheon Hyeongwon’ mentioned intermittently; she seemed to be relaying the news she had heard from him earlier.
At the end of the talk, Sa Hyeon tilted his head with an “Ah” and smiled. It was the kind of smile that caused Yisun, who had been watching him for a while, to cringe.
Sa Hyeon then walked over to him and asked, “Did that guy do anything sketchy?”
“Oh, he just approached and made some offers, and I rejected all of them.”
There really wasn’t anything to hide, so he just told him everything as it was. Leaving out the harsh words, he also told him all about how Cheon Hyeongwon had offered him a position in the Paradise Guild. Sa Hyeon stood in front of Yisun, quietly assessing his condition for a while, when his gaze stopped at his left wrist.
“Why’s your wrist like this?”
“Huh? Oh…”
The skin where Cheon Hyeongwon had grabbed him earlier was red and swollen. He did think the grip was painful at the time, but to think the handprint was still there… Yisun looked surprised, while Han Arin immediately spat out a harsh curse.
Sa Hyeon held out his hand, and Yisun naturally took it. As Yisun questioned his actions in hindsight, Sa Hyeon carefully examined the injury. The darkness in his eyes intensified.
“I should have marked you before leaving this morning.” After muttering that the last mark he left must’ve been removed due to his penalty, Sa Hyeon returned to Han Arin and started discussing something. Yisun, who missed his chance to ask about the marking because of how intently Han Arin seemed to be listening, averted his gaze. After a short conversation, Han Arin nodded in understanding.
Afterwards, she excused herself to return to the office. After bidding her farewell, Yisun turned to Sa Hyeon, who was sitting next to him. Han Arin seemed to know about what “marking” meant, and Yisun was curious about what it was that only he didn’t know about.
“What’s marking?”
“It’s nothing special.”
“If it’s nothing special, can’t you just tell me?”
Sa Hyeon smiled subtly at Yisun’s question. He had no need to hide his marking, but the curious expression on Yisun’s face made him strangely reluctant to tell him. In fact, he found it amusing that, despite appearing through his shadow on several occasions, Yisun was still oblivious to it… Sa Hyeon wondered when he would finally notice.
So Sa Hyeon just smiled as usual and said, “It just means that I’m keeping a close eye on you, Yisun-ssi. Since, you know, one moment you’re hurt, and the next you’re crying.”
“When did I ever—” Yisun’s outraged retort died in his mouth when he suddenly felt the warmth of Sa Hyeon’s hand on the back of his. He gently stroked the back of his hand before intertwining their fingers. Yisun was momentarily speechless, his lips pressed tightly together. In the end, he had no choice but to admit that he was indeed weak to human warmth.
Sa Hyeon’s smile was lazy and knowing as he changed the topic. “You were surprised when talking to Hunter Han Arin earlier. Did I really seem like the kind of person who would kill someone?”
“Oh, well… I didn’t think you were the type to casually take someone’s life.”
“Yes. Awakeners, especially Hunters, shouldn’t use their abilities on ordinary people.”
For a moment, Yisun’s face reflected awe, but he quickly composed himself. It was high time he ceased being surprised every time Sa Hyeon stated something well within the bounds of common sense. Neither the fact that Sa Hyeon didn’t kill people, nor the fact that he made such a distinction should’ve flustered him.
Sa Hyeon chuckled as he watched Yisun earnestly nodding. He smiled as if he could see right through what went inside his mind. “Even if it’s with other Hunters, things can get pretty complicated if you kill them. The Association is strict about these things.”
“I see…”
“Plus, I think that killing is pretty inefficient.”
Listening to his monotone voice, Yisun fell silent. He wondered how exactly one could distinguish the efficiency and inefficiency of death, but he didn’t feel like asking, so he quietly swallowed his curiosity.
Just then, a spring breeze blew.
The flowering trees in the garden swayed, their petals scattering and fluttering around them. Yisun briefly enjoyed the peaceful view of petals dancing in the air. People had kept their distance when he came here with Han Arin, but after Sa Hyeon had showed up, the garden was completely deserted.
Even as he realized that leaving the garden as soon as possible would be a courtesy for the ordinary people, he couldn’t help but contemplate the sense of tranquil serenity that the current scenery evoked. When was the last time he had seen flowers? He might have seen some budding flowering trees when he had visited Ki Joohyuk’s university, but unlike the current view, those had yet to bloom at the time. He hadn’t been outside much for the past year, so the current scene felt all the more striking.
Wait, had he ever gone flower-viewing before that? He hadn’t ever done that with his male friends before… It suddenly occurred to him but, could sitting in a hospital garden looking at flowers even be considered flower viewing?
As he blinked slowly, taking in the scenery, a sudden gust of wind blew in his direction. Naturally, flower petals were swirling along in the wind, so he unconsciously closed his eyes. When he opened them, there was a hand in front of him.
“…?”
For a moment, Yisun was taken aback and shuddered violently when Sa Hyeon’s hand came closer to his face. As his whole body trembled, Sa Hyeon’s expression turned strange. The fingers moving away from his face held a single pink petal, causing Yisun to feel awkward about his reaction.
“Why are you so startled, Yisun-ssi? Did you think I’d hit you?”
“…” Yisun was about to explain that he was just momentarily surprised, but his expression subtly changed at the latter part of Sa Hyeon’s words. From a certain perspective, wasn’t Sa Hyeon more likely to cause self-harm than hurt himself? As he pondered for a moment, Sa Hyeon suddenly burst out laughing. It was a very small chuckle, but the way his eyes crinkled revealed that he was quite amused.
“Yisun-ssi, why do you keep reacting like that?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“You keep making interesting expressions.”
At that, Yisun’s face flushed with bewilderment, “I don’t think I particularly react much, though…?”
“No.” The fairly gentle tone of his voice made Yisun pause for a moment; then, a hand reached out towards him. Long fingers grazed the corners of his eyes and settled in the hair by his ear, a gentle thumb softly tracing the corner of his eye. “Whenever you’re a little embarrassed, the corners of your eyes would crinkle slightly in a frown, just like this.”
Yisun furrowed his brows as Sa Hyeon exerted a faint pressure on the corner of his eye. He couldn’t figure out just why Sa Hyeon was pointing this out, and with their faces in such close proximity as well. Feeling awkward, he looked away.
“And when you’re feeling awkward, you would avert your gaze like this.”
“… Just why are you doing this?” Yisun snapped, noticing the teasing lilt to Sa Hyeon’s voice, and turned to look at him. And it was at that moment, facing those piercing black eyes, that everything came to a halt. He couldn’t help but be drawn in by those sharply focused eyes. In the face of all things that signaled life, he was weak and vulnerable; the warmth of the hand cradling his face, the lucid gaze holding his own.
A soft whisper fell into the frozen Yisun’s ears. Sa Hyeon whispered softly, as if he already expected this kind of reaction, “And then, when our eyes meet, you can’t look away.”
“…”
“Is it fear? No, more like uneasiness? You don’t seem to be too uncomfortable, though…” Sa Hyeon continued, looking straight into Yisun. Yisun looked up at him, completely trapped in the shadows.
After having his face held and analyzed for a long while, Yisun finally managed to shake off that hand and pull his face away. For a moment, it felt like he couldn’t breathe, and then the next, a lungful of air would cascade into his lungs. His breathing had become slightly erratic.
“Do you normally analyze people’s expressions like this?”
“Not particularly. But I have to take care of you, Yisun-ssi, so I pay attention.”
Though Yisun had a limited expression arsenal compared to other people, Sa Hyeon argued that if one looked closely enough, they could notice minor changes. Yisun frowned slightly again, then made an annoyed sound and raised his hands to cover his face; he felt like he might get analyzed again.
Without any further conversation, Yisun stood up abruptly and walked back into the building. He was wary that Sa Hyeon might follow and try to talk to him, but thankfully that didn’t happen.
With only a few days left until the next dungeon occurrence, Yisun had no idea why he’d come here and pull a prank like this, nor why he found his reactions so amusing. He’s always been incomprehensible to him, but this was getting ridiculous.
Even though he knew it would be futile, he locked his door as soon as he returned to his room. Seriously, why did these S-classes keep bothering him?
Despite just basking in the warm spring breeze, Yisun’s face felt hot, as if he’d been hit by a chilly wind.
Min: Oof, a whole family of influential people ganging up on a child is kinda pathetic…
Also Sa Hyena, ur not being subtle at all… it’s still effective tho
Thank you for reading~
Thanks for the update ❤️❤️❤️
Thank you for reading~❤
I got the feeling that the Guild Leader of Paradise Group would not give up so easily
Thanks for the chapter
Well… abou that…| |ω･)ﾉ
Thank you for reading~~💕
Thank you for the update 🙏 omg Sa Hyeon examining his lover’s face was way sexier than the blowjob swooooooon
Riightt?? Seems like he learned to be more romantic in his approaches compared to whatever he was doing during the bj 🤕
Thank youu for reading~☺💞
Thank you for the update 🙏🏻🍪
Nice.
Paradise group future leader 🕯️🕯️🕯️
Thank you for your translation 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
The tension between them….