POSSESSED 4

To be honest, I’m not the strongest. If we’re talking about the strongest person, there’s no one who could beat Baek Yeonji’s uncle, Baek Joomyeong. I doubt there will be anyone for the next 10, or even 20 years. Baek Joomyeong was twenty-five this year. He was still a young Hunter with a brilliant future.

How old is Lee Kangseo supposed to be? Twenty? Twenty-two? I know for sure he’s younger than Baek Joomyeong. These guys, they’re dating in the prime of their youth.

Wait, what is Yeonji doing right now?

I turned my eyes to find Yeonji. I was worried she might be alone, but the child was running around following the other kids. What a relief.

“Teacher Taeyeon, for a moment.”

The vice principal called me. The reason for the call was to transport heavy boxes. It was only after moving five boxes of considerable weight that I became free. The moment I was about to head back outside to where the children were, the entrance of the center swung wide open and some huge man walked in.

Could it be an intruder? A villain?!

Startled, I reflexively looked toward the entrance. I immediately doubted my eyes.

“Hello.”

The man’s identity was Baek Joomyeong.

Appearing today in his guild uniform again, he smiled brightly the moment he spotted me. As those captivating blue eyes shone intensely, my heart began to tremble.

Ah, I’m not a villain anymore, so why am I acting so anxious?

“Hunter Baek Joomyeong, how are you here at this hour….”

“I forgot to put this doll in Yeonji’s bag.”

A rabbit doll was held in his hand. Once again, it felt strange. The fact that an S-rank Hunter, who runs around risking his life for the country and the guild, brought that tiny doll.

Maybe it’s a bit cute, and maybe it’s even a bit admirable. Quelling my peculiar feelings, I approached Baek Joomyeong. As I received the doll, my eyes widened when I discovered a scratch located on his jaw.

Is that a trace from the battle? It looks quite painful….

While I was agonizing over it internally, I ended up speaking out loud without thinking.

“If it’s alright, shall I apply some ointment for you?”

Baek Joomyeong tilted his head, his eyebrows twitching minutely. His blue-tinted pupils looked bewildered.

“…You’ll apply it for me?”

“Yes, it looks like you need to put ointment on that wound.”

I replied to Baek Joomyeong’s question by pointing at his jaw with my index finger. I almost accidentally said, “It went ‘ouchie’,” as if matching the eye level of the children.

Baek Joomyeong asked again with a face that still hadn’t shed its bewilderment.

“Do you mean you’ll apply it yourself, Teacher?”

“Yes. Me, personally… Huh?!”

Ah! No!

Only now do I realize why Baek Joomyeong found my words so puzzling. Because I opened my mouth without thinking, the message was delivered differently. A slight difference in phrasing can lead to big trouble.

What I meant was that I’d give him the ointment so he could apply it himself. Baek Joomyeong himself, not me.

It’s a bit awkward for me to apply ointment to this man’s jaw. It’s not like it’s a spot he can’t reach; it’s his jaw. It’s right below the lips, so it’s a bit much….

“I couldn’t possibly impose such a burden on you. But if you bring it to me, I will apply it.”

I should have said that’s not what I meant. I should have told him not to misunderstand.

I lost the timing to make an excuse to Baek Joomyeong, who warmly declined my goodwill. The atmosphere became too embarrassing to flatly deny that faint smile that said he was grateful for the sentiment alone.

“…Please wait a moment.”

I’ve ended up becoming the guy who got rejected after overstepping by saying I’d apply it personally, but it can’t be helped. Leaving him behind, I turned around and entered the teachers’ room, rummaged through the first aid kit, and then just came out with the kit itself.

Baek Joomyeong was crouching down, looking at his face in the safety mirror set at the children’s eye level. To be precise, he was peering at the wound.

“Hunter. Here.”

“Thank you.”

As I approached and held out the first aid kit, Baek Joomyeong gave a polite greeting of thanks and just pulled out the ointment. It would be better to disinfect it before applying ointment. Working as a daycare teacher has made me a bit more meticulous.

“Wait! Hunter, wait a moment…!”

I stopped Baek Joomyeong before he could squeeze out the ointment. He stopped his movement with a slightly surprised face and looked at me.

I don’t know. Since I’ve already become the guy who got rejected after offering to apply it personally, I might as well actually apply it. As soon as I made up my mind, I crouched down just like Baek Joomyeong. No, I just sat down on the floor with him.

Narrowing the distance slightly, I snatched the ointment from his hand. Taking out disinfectant and cotton from the first aid kit, I asked.

“Isn’t there an infirmary or a treatment room at the guild headquarters?”

“There is.”

“Have you not received treatment there? No matter if it’s just a scratch. Rule number one is disinfection, and rule number two is disinfection.”

In truth, I’m just babbling whatever. Because I’ve never been at the exact same eye level as Baek Joomyeong like I am today. Because the situation of crouching down together—not as friends—and giving treatment felt strangely surreal.

The atmosphere was also suffocatingly awkward.

“Endure it even if it hurts.”

I picked up the disinfectant-soaked cotton with tweezers and “tap-tap” dabbed the scratch on his jaw. Baek Joomyeong’s face remained calm. Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be very painful or stinging. This time, I squeezed ointment onto a cotton swab and applied it gently.

Gently, gently, so the ointment doesn’t clump….

“…Do you have something to say?”

I tried my best to focus only on the scratch, but I failed. I felt burdened by Baek Joomyeong, who had been staring intently at my face for a while, and I became conscious of his blue eyes.

Even if the distance is close, why is he staring so fixedly….

“You are very kind, Teacher.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s a wound that could easily be overlooked. Both the fact that you’re applying ointment personally, and that you fill out the daily reports every day without fail…. Also, you greet Yeonji warmly every time she goes home.”

“Ah, that’s….”

“You are kind. It’s likely thanks to you, Teacher, that Yeonji was able to adjust well to Eden.”

I rolled my eyes. Setting aside whether I was Jang Taeyeon or not, it felt foreign to hear a compliment about being kind after such a long time. In the world before the possession, I hadn’t really heard the word “kind” since I started working. I was always prickly because I was buried in work. I was even fierce, as if I would bite anyone who touched me.

For someone like that to be called kind…. It doesn’t feel bad.

First, as a Korean, I should play a bit humble.

“Not at all. I’m not as kind as you think.”

Wait, as a daycare teacher, is it weird to flatly deny it like that?

“Things like the daily reports and greetings are just what I should do as a teacher. As for the wound, it was just visible…. I saw the news this morning.”

“The news?”

“Yes. You ran to the gate at dawn. You’re protecting the country from monsters, so this is the least I should do as a citizen.”

“I haven’t done as much as what was reported. You shouldn’t believe all of it.”

I might be allowed to be humble, but why is this man doing it? Even if he bragged about being the strongest, no one would say a thing.

“Yes, I won’t believe all of it. Ah, take this with you too.”

Answering playfully as if I knew everything but was letting it slide, I peeled off a bandage and gave it to him. I told him it would be best to stick it on once the ointment dried, then closed the first aid kit.

I can’t keep this man here any longer.