Editors: Spade, Roki
Proofreader: Sapphire
A fight between S-class Hunters was no easy matter that could simply be brushed aside once it was over.
As a national organization, the Hunters’ Association strictly sanctioned battles between Hunters, especially since the higher the class, the greater the damage that could be done. A fight between the first and third-ranked raid team captains during the Seven Wonders Raid made for enough reason for the Association to become alarmed.
And thus, a lengthy investigation ensued to determine the root cause of the fight and the truth behind it. Even though the hotel was abandoned, they had still destroyed a large building, and while the general public was not harmed, some Hunters suffered very serious injuries; the Hunters of Paradise Guild collapsed, while Cheon Hyeongwon had to be rushed to the emergency room. Now that their next leader was in such a state, Paradise Guild was in an uproar.
Yisun had entered the Hunters’ Association building as the sun was setting, and only managed to leave in the middle of the night. He gave a very calm account of the situation in what appeared to be an interrogation room. He was now clearly in the position of a victim, as supported by Han Arin and Na Gunwoo’s accounts as well.
Although there were no security cameras at the hospital’s rear garden, the CCTVs showed Yisun and Han Arin heading to the back together, and Han Arin briefly crossing outside the hospital’s fence was proven by the dashcam of a car outside. With the testimony of reputable Hunters backed up by hard evidence, it was clear that Yisun was not lying.
The investigation lasted for around five hours. The hunters from Cheon Hyeongwon’s Guild who were present at the scene had collapsed and thus were unable to be interviewed, and the Hunter that Han Arin had chased and caught on the road had yet to wake up after passing out. Cheon Hyeongwon was in the emergency recovery room of the Association building, and the next investigation could only take place after they regained consciousness.
The situation seemed clear enough, but they couldn’t conclude anything after only listening to one side of the story, so the Association had ordered all Chord Hunters involved in the case to stand by. They were to be released for the moment, but if contacted again, they had to go back to the Association and cooperate with the investigation.
Han Arin grumbled as she left the building, “Bastards, always getting in the way.”
“I never imagined that someday I would end up at the Hunters’ Association like this either…” Yisun sighed and looked back at the large building. The Association’s building was so tall that looking up at it from the entrance meant he had to tilt his head all the way back. Even though the HN Guild’s building was taller, the Association’s building’s imposing presence was befitting of a national organization.
“Ah, Yisun-ssi, you’re a non-combatant Awakener, so you should’ve never had to come to the Hunters’ Association, right?” Na Gunwoo said as Yisun was looking at the building in wonder. Han Arin’s expression darkened and her curses grew even harsher as she blamed them for making Restorer Yisun’s first visit to the Association so messy, while Ki Joohyuk echoed her thoughts.
They were all standing at the entrance of the building, watching the rain fall outside, when Sa Hyeon walked up to Yisun and said, “Stay with the Hunters at Chord’s office for today.”
Sa Hyeon, as a party directly involved in the fight, was still under investigation and needed to stay with the Association for a while longer, so he’d asked him to stay in the Chord office. Yisun nodded, wondering if he thought it too dangerous to send him home alone, and that it was safer for him to stay in the office surrounded by the Chord Hunters who practically lived there when dungeons approached.
The 42nd floor of the HN Guild building, where Chord’s office was located, even had rooms for people to stay. Even though the entire floor was only used by 20 people, it was almost like a hotel with its abundant amenities. Ki Joohyuk himself had been living in the Guild building recently because he had been training and would have no energy to head back home.
As the group left the Hunters’ Association building to get to the car, quite a few reporters followed, but they didn’t dare get too close to Han Arin, who was clearly in a bad mood, as she escorted Yisun and Ki Joohyuk to the HN Guild building before returning to her own apartment.
As the night wore on, heavy torrents cascaded from the skies. It was such a heavy downpour that the raindrops crashing against the glass windows made the room feel a bit noisy.
“Wow, this is going to end tomorrow evening at the latest, right?”
“They say it could last until the morning after…”
“It’s gonna be the worst if it rains when we enter the fifth dungeon. It’s in the ocean, after all,” Ki Joohyuk worried as he looked out the window. The fifth dungeon was located at the harbor, where they had to face the Colossus of Rhodes, and if it rained, it would be quite a struggle on their side. Even the smallest misstep might lead them to face fierce storms or raging waves. “If it rains inside, won’t the Sun God’s attack power drop a bit?”
“But so will ours if we get swept away while fighting in the harbor…”
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.
Rj Xeckbb rtbbx tlr tfjv lc gfrqbcrf ab Bl Abbtsex’r tsqbatfrlr. Lf rjlv atja atf meggfca obgfmjra kjr atja atf gjlc kbeiv rabq abwbggbk fnfclcu ja atf fjgilfra, jcv atf wbgclcu joafg atf cfza vjs ja atf ijafra, rb atfs mbeiv bcis tbqf obg atf obgwfg. Ktfc, Rj Xeckbb rjlv atja tf tjv ab ub tbwf jcv delmxis ujatfgfv tlr mibatfr.
There were about a half-dozen Hunters in the office, and while they talked about the fifth dungeon, they occasionally checked on Yisun’s condition. They had all seen the news of Sa Hyeon and Cheon Hyeongwon’s fight on the breaking news, and they had heard the details from Na Gunwoo, who had been to the hospital, so they were naturally worried about Yisun.
“Are you sure you’re okay? Must’ve been quite a scare for you to be kidnapped out of nowhere….”
“Would you like a cup of hot tea?”
“Ah, I’m really fine.”
But it was a bit overwhelming for him to be checked on almost every half hour. He’d stopped by the hospital before going to the Hunters’ Association to have his cast removed and to check for any further problems. And even though everything turned out fine about him, the Hunters were still worried. Apparently, non-combatants seemed to be as fragile as glass to the combat Hunters.
In the end, Yisun went to hide in his room. The Hunters had their own private offices in the spacious office, and he’d been assigned the one directly across from Sa Hyeon’s. He peered through the glass window briefly at Sa Hyeon’s office, then pulled the blinds halfway down and sat down on the couch.
The lights in the private office were turned off, but the faint glow from the overhead light in the office seeped in. With his back to the light, he reviewed the path he would have to restore in the fifth dungeon out of habit, then with sudden newfound awareness of the sound of rain, he stared out the window. The city lights that never went out, even in the deepest night, were glimmering in the rainwater on the glass. There was a faint haze over Yisun’s face as he took in the scattered lights.
Rain. Rainy days always seemed to weigh heavily on him.
By default, he was always living with a sense of suffocating stagnation, yet on rainy days, his mood was especially low. The memories of his lost friends haunted him and chained him to his past like shackles. He was suddenly brought back to that day, to the road he walked as he took them back home with those departed. But such reminiscence was fleeting; more vivid and intense in his mind were the raindrops that had fallen today.
A few hours earlier, when Sa Hyeon had been fighting Cheon Hyeongwon, a huge fire had engulfed the area. Yisun had followed Sa Hyeon’s instructions and left the stone dome with Ki Joohyuk, his mind still worrying about the situation inside. Maybe it was because the last thing he saw was the blood on Sa Hyeon’s face, but when he saw the rain falling at the end, he let out a sigh.
‘Thank God it’s raining,’ he’d thought.
Suddenly, he heard the door open. Reflexively, Yisun’s gaze shifted to it, and he sat up with a surprised expression.
“Why are you here?”
“Y, you’re back so soon. Is the investigation done already?”
It was Sa Hyeon. He was so startled to see him while he was thinking about him that he couldn’t even answer the previous question properly. As Yisun quickly recovered from the unnecessary awkwardness, Sa Hyeon motioned for him to sit down. He walked across the darkened room and sat down in the chair next to the couch, not bothering to brighten up the space where Yisun hadn’t.
“The situation is clear, there’s nothing to investigate any further, so it’ll wait until after Cheon Hyeongwon wakes up.”
Only when all the Hunters involved regained consciousness and gave their statements would the Association get back to work. The investigation period was usually long enough to last well over four days, given the Hunter Association’s strict handling of fights between Hunters, but since Chord was supposed to enter the fifth dungeon in two days, they let them go with only half the trouble.
However, since he was the one who fought the battle, Sa Hyeon would probably only be released from the Association the next morning if he was called back. While this was being considerate on their part, from Chord’s perspective, it was a waste of time.
“Is there a way for you to avoid going back for investigation? Like, not answering the calls from the Association…”
“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I didn’t expect you to say that. I thought you were the type of person that’d go along with anything.”
“What? No, this is… Honestly, our side just unnecessarily got caught up in this mess because of that weirdo…”
Faced with Sa Hyeon’s amused gaze, as if he was seeing a good student act out for the first time, Yisun wanted to crawl into a hole from embarrassment. He just found the situation unfair and ridiculous. Why should Sa Hyeon be the one to suffer when Cheon Hyeongwon had been in the wrong?
Although Sa Hyeon’s provocation had led to the battle, the root cause was definitely Cheon Hyeongwon’s inferiority complex. Cheon Hyeongwon’s desperate attempts to make Chord trip up having paid off, even if only a little bit, made him feel unsettled.
“Well, if I don’t want to go, I don’t have to. Though the Association has its own S-class Hunters, they can’t forcibly drag me there. But it’s better to avoid unnecessary friction.”
Since their side was blameless, it was better to cooperate and come to a quick conclusion than to avoid it, Sa Hyeon explained calmly. Feeling that he had caused Sa Hyeon unnecessary trouble, Yisun nodded with a complicated look on his face.
Seeing such a Yisun, Sa Hyeon smiled at him, “So,why are you still in the office? I thought you were tired and would go to bed early.”
“I don’t feel sleepy yet, so I’ll go later….”
“Were you thinking about your friends?”
Yisun’s mouth snapped shut mid-sentence at the interjection. Even in the darkness of the room, Sa Hyeon’s jet-black eyes were fixed on him. He said that when he just came in, he had seen the back of Yisun’s head.
“You’ve been looking out the window the whole time.”
“Ah… Well, no, I wasn’t really thinking about anything…”
For a moment, Yisun was at a loss for words. More than his surprise that he was caught daydreaming, he was a little surprised that Sa Hyeon would remember to check on him on a rainy day. Besides, it wasn’t just his friends he was thinking about while he watched the rain fall. He was about to blurt it out when Sa Hyeon’s hand came up to him, casually cupping his cheek and gently rubbing his thumb across the corner of his eye.
“Yisun-ssi, did you know that your lies are rather transparent. The cold, heavy air that had settled in from the rain only made the laughter resonate more. It tickled his ears for some reason, and when Yisun remained silent, Sa Hyeon suddenly spoke in a breezy tone. “Take off your jacket?”
“What…?”
In response to Yisun’s reaction of ‘Did I mishear…?’ Sa Hyeon explained, “Just to check your injury. You were rushed to the hospital so I didn’t get a good look at it.”
Feeling strangely relieved by his calm response, Yisun immediately took off his hoodie. He wore short sleeves underneath, so he could feel the chill of the space as soon as he removed his outerwear.
Sa Hyeon’s hands were always just the right amount of warm, and the soft touch of his fingers on his cold arm sent shivers down his back. He flinched slightly, and in response, not only did Sa Hyeon’s expression change, but Yisun’s as well. It wasn’t just that he was surprised by the touch…
“…Why do you always hide the fact that you’re hurt?”
“I had no idea either…”
“How could you not know?”
Sa Hyeon looked at Yisun in disbelief. It seemed like he’d been burned back when Cheon Hyeongwon had used his hidden ability to hide in the flames and grabbed his left arm.
The arm didn’t blister, but the redness and tingling sensation when it came in contact with something alerted him to the problem. At the hospital, he was so focused on the cast and wound on his right arm that he didn’t check his left arm, and afterward, when he was interrogated by the Association, he completely forgot about it.
Sa Hyeon actually stood up from his chair and walked over to the couch to inspect the wound. He frowned slightly, then sighed and took out a potion, sprinkling it on Yisun’s arm. He had brought it with him because he suspected something was wrong, but he hadn’t expected to actually need it.
“You’re so fussy when someone else is only bleeding a little bit, but when it’s your own wound, you don’t even show any signs of pain. Are you numb to pain?”
“Not really, but…”
“Sometimes it looks like you’re caught off guard by your own wounds, Yisun-ssi.”
“Huh…?”
“It’s like you’re unused to it happening or wondering how it occurred.”
Yisun’s face went blank at the casual remark. He’d tried to hurt himself so many times over the past year and had always failed, so he inevitably grew subconsciously curious and fascinated by it. Sa Hyeon was too observant and eventually caught him in the act.
Unable to say anything, he remained silent as Sa Hyeon rubbed his arm. It was a gesture to make sure the potion soaked in properly, but the sensation on his bare arm was ticklish, and he flinched.
“I’ll do it myself.” He tried to push Sa Hyeon’s hand away, but it stubbornly clung onto him. It wasn’t a forceful grip by any means, yet somehow, he couldn’t shake it off. Before Yisun knew it, Sa Hyeon was standing in front of him, while he sat on the couch staring up at him.
“…I feel like I’m missing something, but I don’t know what yet.” The quiet murmur echoed through the silence once more. Yisun could hear the raindrops distantly tapping on the window, but it was as if his words were the only thing echoing in his ears. Yisun hadn’t yet figured out how to react whenever Sa Hyeon looked down at him with such a blank expression.
With his back to the rain-splattered glass window, Sa Hyeon looked down onto Yisun’s face. The light filtering in through the half-closed blinds grazed the corners of his eyes. A wave of déjà vu washed over Yisun, leaving him with a creeping sense of unease and apprehension. This was—
Vrrr-, Suddenly, a vibration could be heard on the table.
It was Sa Hyeon’s cell phone, and a text from the Association popped up on the screen. It said that Cheon Hyeongwon was awake and to come back for further investigation. Sa Hyeon turned his head to check it and let out a short sigh, which, strangely enough, made Yisun sigh as well.
He looked at Sa Hyeon with a more relaxed face and said, “You should get going now….”
“I almost forgot.”
“What?”
“If I go to the Association now, I won’t be back until the morning of the dungeon outbreak, so I have to do it now.”
“Wh, what is…”
Yisun’s pupils, which had been gradually colored with anxiety, suddenly rippled like a tidal wave. The way Sa Hyeon slowly lowered himself, saying that he needed to stop him from overthinking because it was raining, was enough to remind him of something he had barely forgotten. Then, kneeling before him, Sa Hyeon looked up at him and smiled.
“If you understand what we’re doing, could you please spread your legs for me? I need to finish this quickly.”
Min: Oh noo, Yisun-ie, run quiickkkkkkklyyyyyyyyyyyyy 
Fuck, it’s hot as hell. Office s*x, new achievement
Thank you for your translation 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙
It’s been a whileee, thank you for still reaadinng (≧◡≦) ♡
I’m really excited every time when I see notification about new chapter, so I never can skip it 💓
Thank you Min999 for your hard work!!!! Thanks thanks ✨✨✨
Well…ha. Thanks for the update ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️