POSSESSED 51

“Mmm, because the Hunter is sweet and reliable, a younger man is the right fit. Not that every younger man leans on others, but I think someone younger rather than older would follow your lead well.”

How old was Lee Kangseo again? I don’t remember, so let’s just give a rough estimate.

“I think a younger man about three or four years apart would suit you.”

“You don’t know me very well. I suit an older man four years my senior.”

“…….”

“An older man four years senior is also someone who can be leaned upon. Though the older man in question doesn’t seem to realize it.”

Baek Joomyeong stared intently at me, his blue eyes filled with intensity. Unable to win against an eye contact that lasted more than one, two, three seconds, I slunk my gaze away and bit into a shrimp.

An older man four years senior. Just come out and say it’s me, just say it…

I drank the highball Baek Joomyeong had made for me. I liked the clean taste, so after wetting my mouth several times, I moved on to the whiskey on the rocks.

Overall, it was drinkable. There was no trouble gulping down alcohol that was about twice as strong as soju. I didn’t feel much of a buzz either.

Jang Taeyeon—does this body just handle all types of alcohol well? Or is my ability covering for me? Is Baek Joomyeong okay?

I glanced at Baek Joomyeong. He had both arms on the table and was gazing at me deeply. His blue eyes were slightly unfocused. His cheeks were flushed red. I had thought he was perfectly fine, so I was a bit flustered.

He said he never gets drunk, so why does he look drunk?

When our eyes met, Baek Joomyeong’s eyes crinkled into a soft smile. It was the exact same eye-smile Yeonji shows. While I was thinking that one really can’t ignore bloodlines, he brushed back his bangs and raised his glass.

“Teacher, may I ask you something?”

“Yes.”

“Earlier, you said it was a problem because it was me…. Is the problem that I am a man? Or is it… just me that’s the problem?”

A voice tinged with alcohol flows sluggishly. I wondered what he was going to say, but it seems he’s talking about what happened in front of Yeonji earlier. What should I say? While time was spent choosing an answer, Baek Joomyeong filled his glass using his ability. I watched in absurdity as the whiskey bottle floated up and tilted on its own.

I thought you said you don’t get drunk, Joomyeong-ah.

“Hunter-nim, you should be the one to speak honestly. Is the reason you want to stay close because of the Jeoksang Guild? Or is it, well… personal feelings?”

I wasn’t drunk, but it was because of the atmosphere steeped in intoxication. If not for that, I wouldn’t have probed to confirm his feelings. Propping his chin on his left hand and nonchalantly shaking the ice in the glass with his right, Baek Joomyeong spoke in a lukewarm tone.

“Honestly, Jeoksang—if you told me to wipe them out, I could wipe them out. At most, I’d just take my disciplinary punishment and be locked up.”

“…….”

“I could do that… but then who would raise Yeonji in the meantime? What about Yeonji’s hurt? When I think of Yeonji….”

“I understand. Yeonji shouldn’t be hurt any more….”

Just thinking about the loss Yeonji experienced brings a surge of pity. And for this man, the reason he cannot act rashly likely isn’t just Yeonji. Baek Joomyeong was practically called the representative of Hunters. His own recognition, the guild’s reputation—there must be many things at stake.

“If you know that, then let’s get a bit closer. Then it’ll be fine.”

“Even if we do…. Then let’s say it’s because of Jeoksang. I’ll cooperate knowing there are no personal feelings involved.”

Baek Joomyeong chuckled at my words and emptied his glass. Haah. With a short sigh, his head dropped. I began to worry about Baek Joomyeong, who remained still without a single movement. To check if he had fallen fast asleep first, I approached him and leaned in.

Are you sleeping? The moment I tried to check his face like that,

“……!”

Baek Joomyeong grabbed my wrist as I approached him. And looking up with a dark blue gaze that was subtly hazy, he muttered.

“How could there be no personal feelings? When you’re this pretty….”

There’s nothing a drunk person won’t say.

The hand gripping my wrist slid down suggestively. His fingers, sliding smoothly between mine, completed an interlace. It was a rather ticklish gesture.

“Hunter-nim, you’re drunk.”

Baek Joomyeong, who nodded his head, smiled sheepishly but put strength into our interlaced hands. He must have noticed me trying to sneakily pull away.

Before I knew it, the time had long passed midnight. Immersed in a quiet atmosphere where not even the sound of breathing could be heard, I stood leaning against the table and quietly looked down at him. Then, for no reason, I gently shook the hand he was holding.

It can’t be helped.

“Well… I’ll let you hold it for a little bit.”

🍥

It was when I was preparing breakfast in a clean state without even a hangover. While I was busy moving around in someone else’s kitchen, a loud clatter-bang came from the direction of the bedroom. Drawn by the sound, I looked toward the bedroom door. Soon after, Baek Joomyeong appeared with a serious case of bedhead.

“Teacher…!”

Baek Joomyeong’s face was the definition of pure panic. His sharp eyes were widened to the point of being rounded, and the blue eyes within them were wavering like waves.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

When he suddenly popped out in that state, I couldn’t help but be startled along with him. Baek Joomyeong, who rushed toward me, asked instead.

“Yesterday, how…. What happened? Yesterday….”

“Yesterday? Oh, I thought it was something serious….”

I calmed my startled heart. And handing him a glass of water I had prepared for myself, I explained calmly.

“You got drunk first and went to sleep yesterday.”

“I was drunk? Me? That’s impossible. I vaguely remember holding Teacher’s hand, but….”

“It was very possible. You were drunk, Hunter-nim. After saying you were a good drinker…. You couldn’t even last that long and got drunk, so it was a bit anticlimactic, you know?”

Unlike me, who was grumbling with pouting lips, Baek Joomyeong looked quite distraught.

“Drunk…? Me… I’ve never been drunk….”

He only muttered the same words and couldn’t even drink the water despite taking the cup. No, he wasn’t paying any attention at all to the fact that he was showing me his disheveled appearance. This was a man who always wore his guild uniform or, at the very least, maintained a neat appearance.

Is the fact that he got drunk that unbelievable to him?

At first, I also thought Baek Joomyeong was just acting drunk. Looking at the mouth that told me I was pretty and the hand that wouldn’t let go, I couldn’t easily believe it and suspected he might not be drunk. However, after that, he had become completely wasted.

“My back hurts because of you, Hunter-nim.”

“Your back…? Why the back…. What on earth did I do to Teacher yesterday?!”

A deathly pale Baek Joomyeong approached in a single bound.

“By any chance, did w-we….”

Baek Joomyeong’s gaze swept me from head to toe. When it passed from my waist to my pelvis, his blue eyes moved exceptionally slowly. It seems this man has made a wild misunderstanding.

“If I made a mistake and can’t remember it….”

“If you want to call it a mistake, it could be a mistake, but I didn’t do anything to make you blush.”

I raised both arms to my chest and shook them to stop him from coming any closer. And I firmly corrected his misunderstanding. Even though I said it wasn’t like that, my own face was turning red. It was because I had inadvertently imagined his wild misunderstanding. I mean, me and Baek Joomyeong on the bed….