EFME 47

Dakyung stayed with Sunyul until late in the evening. Sunyul was very grateful, feeling that he was deliberately being looked after. As he handed Sunyul over to Jaehoon, Dakyung glared at Jaehoon repeatedly.

“Take good care of Sunyul hyung, hyung.”

“I got it, you punk.”

“If you don’t do it right, I’m going to tell the Guild Master.”

“That’s absurd. I’m the Vice Guild Master too, you know?”

“You don’t have any dignity, hyung.”

“Tsk.”

Dakyung scoffed at Jaehoon’s feeble threat and left. Jaehoon scratched his head for no reason.

“Isn’t he really cheeky?”

“He’s nice, though.”

“Well… I guess he is nice.”

Jaehoon said, somewhat reluctantly. His attitude was a bit too hesitant to be in full agreement with Sunyul’s words.

“Why? Isn’t Dakyung nice?”

“No, he is nice. But the kid can be a bit of a dick… he pulls a lot of mischievous pranks. It’s just strange that he’s being so nice to you. Then again, I doubt his kindness can compare to that Kwon Muyoung fellow.”

Jaehoon shrugged. Then, he took the lead, pulling a suitcase with one hand. It was the suitcase he had threatened his younger brother into bringing. Though Sunyul didn’t know that fact.

Jaehoon glanced at Sunyul. He thought Sunyul would be downcast all day from being hurt, but thankfully, he seemed to not be thinking about it much. Was it thanks to Dakyung coming by? That was a relief, at least.

While waiting for the elevator, Sunyul hesitated for a moment before speaking up.

“By the way, I heard from Dakyung earlier.”

“Huh? What.”

“He said ghosts appear in the sleeping quarters.”

“Oh, yeah, they say they do.”

He had expected him to deny it, of course. Sunyul froze in surprise.

“……They do?”

“It’s fine. They say they only wander around and don’t cause any harm.”

It’s not fine at all……. Sunyul shivered, feeling a chill. But Jaehoon, who had dropped the bombshell, was perfectly calm.

“What’s the big deal about ghosts? If you were to rank the things ghosts do by skill level, they wouldn’t even be C-rank. Ghosts are just scary because they’re unverified, unknown beings. They’re no big deal.”

“Is that so……”

“Yep. If you see one, wake me up. I want to see one for myself.”

Jaehoon grinned and got on the elevator that had just arrived.

The sleeping quarters of the Cheongyeon Guild were quite large. Sunyul looked with curiosity at the space, which was divided into compartments like a capsule hotel, and settled on a spot on the second floor.

“Isn’t it inconvenient? You can’t even jump.”

“The second floor is interesting.”

“You’re such a kid.”

After saying that, Jaehoon took the spot on the first floor beneath Sunyul. Not long after they finished preparing for bed, the faint sound of Jaehoon’s snoring began to drift up from below.

The soundproofing seemed good, so it wasn’t bothersome. In fact, having someone nearby was quite reassuring. Sunyul closed his eyes to fall asleep.

“……”

But sleep wouldn’t come.

All sorts of thoughts chaotically shook Sunyul. Whether Muyoung was safe, whether the ghost Dakyung mentioned would appear, and… the matter of Jaehoon’s younger brother, who had been so wary of Sunyul he was about to use a shield item.

For some reason, he kept finding himself wondering what on earth he was.

Eventually, after tossing and turning for a long time, Sunyul picked up the smartphone lying to one side. For some reason, there was a message. It was from Bada.

Hunter Lee Bada
Hey what are you doing

Heard you’re sleeping in the sleeping quarters

Why are you being so pathetic there when you have a home

Sunyul thought for a moment before typing a reply.

Things just ended up that way

Hunter Lee Bada

You in the sleeping quarters now?

Yes

Hunter Lee Bada

What are you doing up

I can’t sleep

Hunter Lee Bada

Then come out

I’m at the guild now, I’ll head over to the sleeping quarters

You’re at the guild?

Hunter Lee Bada

yep

Come out and move your body or something

That should make you sleepy

Sunyul contemplated, then left a message for Jaehoon saying he was going to meet Bada and slipped out of the sleeping quarters. Bada was standing in front of the entrance.

“What brings you here?”

“……I came to report after finishing the dungeon.”

“You must be tired, you should be resting.”

Bada strongly agreed with Sunyul’s words. No matter how good an S-rank’s stamina was, he had been clearing a dungeon for days on end, so it was true that he was tired. Yet, he had no idea why he was dealing with Sunyul instead of going home.

He wasn’t sure, but Bada wasn’t the type to think deeply about things anyway. He was the type to do as he pleased. Bada gestured with his chin to Sunyul.

“Whatever, let’s go.”

Sunyul nodded, not knowing exactly where they were going. As they got on the elevator, Bada turned to look at Sunyul.

“Are the sleeping quarters uncomfortable?”

“No. It’s not that they’re uncomfortable, but……”

“Then why can’t you sleep?”

Sunyul’s eyes darted around before he mumbled an excuse.

“I heard ghosts come out. Dakyung said……”

“You believe that?”

“You can’t be sure they don’t exist.”

“Hmm.”

Bada stared intently at Sunyul.

“I don’t think that’s the only reason.”

“……”

Sunyul didn’t open his mouth. Fortunately, the elevator stopped. Instead of prying further, Bada got off the elevator and headed for a training room.

Even though it was late at night, there were still a few people left in the training rooms. Bada reserved a training room on an empty floor. In the empty training room, Bada turned to Sunyul.

“Hey, take this.”

Bada handed him a wooden practice sword.

“When you have a lot on your mind, moving is the best thing.”

“……Yes.”

“Come at me.”

“What?”

“Try attacking me. A real fight is the best way to clear your head.”

“Uh, uh……”

“If you’re not going to, I’ll attack.”

Bada swung the wooden sword. Sunyul, caught by surprise, raised his sword to block the attack. He must have been holding back, but the force was incredible.

“Not bad. If you don’t want to get hit, keep doing that.”

“W-wait a minute.”

Paying no mind to Sunyul’s words, Bada began to swing his sword rapidly. In the end, Sunyul had no choice but to desperately block Bada’s sword.

It seemed like Bada was going easy on him, but to Sunyul, the attacks were incredibly fast and fierce. To avoid getting hit, Sunyul concentrated hard. Still, he got hit a few times.

After clashing, dodging, or getting hit by the sword countless times, Sunyul finally collapsed onto the floor, exhausted.

“Feel refreshed?”

“It hurts……”

“But your head feels clear, doesn’t it?”

It was certainly true. His miscellaneous thoughts had vanished as if washed away. But the places where he’d been hit hurt too much for him to be simply grateful.

“Stop being pathetic and sleep at my place starting tomorrow.”

“Is that really okay?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“I was worried I’d be a bother……”

At Sunyul’s timid words, Bada chuckled as if to say he worried too much.

“If you were, I wouldn’t have offered in the first place. Don’t worry about useless things.”

“……Yes, thank you.”

Sunyul lay on the floor, staring at the ceiling and catching his breath. Bada sat quietly beside him, watching Sunyul. Feeling the strangely persistent gaze, Sunyul spoke.

“The ghost.”

“You’re still thinking about the ghost? Is it that scary?”

“No. It’s not that I’m scared… The Vice Guild Master said ghosts are scary because they’re unverified, unknown beings.”

“That’s true. But what about it?”

“Well, I was thinking. I don’t think I’m all that different from a ghost……”

An unknown entity, whose mere existence makes people feel uneasy and afraid… that kind of unknown being.

Just then, Bada sat down next to Sunyul. Then, he suddenly flicked Sunyul on the forehead. The merciless flick echoed with a thwack.

“Ow!”

Sunyul cried out, clutching his forehead. It hurt so much that tears welled up in his eyes.

“You’re thinking useless thoughts. Get up, let’s go another round.”

“No… but it’s true. Everyone treats me like something weird or scary because they don’t know what I am……”

Sunyul protested, rubbing his stinging forehead. It was bad enough being miserable, but now he was getting hit too.

Ignoring Sunyul, Bada clicked his tongue, tsk.

“Ignore them. What does it matter to them if you’re weird or scary? Did they contribute anything?”

“……”

“You’re less weird or scary and more like a pushover.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. Hey, do you know how hard life gets when you’re a pushover? People will come at you from all sides trying to leech off you. After getting backstabbed a few times, you’ll start doubting your family and friends. It’s better to seem scary than to go through that. Don’t you think?”

Sunyul thought deeply. Being leeched off was one thing, but being betrayed by someone you trust seemed like a truly terrible feeling. If he had to doubt even someone like Muyoung… wouldn’t life just be meaningless?

“……I think so.”

“Don’t worry about useless things.”

Sunyul nodded.

Even so, he couldn’t think as coolly as Bada, but it was a bit of a comfort. At least he felt that his situation wasn’t the absolute worst.

Just as Sunyul was about to rest on the floor, Bada shook him.

“Hey, I said get up.”

“I’m still tired……”

“This is supposed to make you tired.”

Bada relentlessly urged him on, and in the end, Sunyul reluctantly staggered to his feet. He thought to himself that the next time Bada asked him to go to the training room, he shouldn’t follow so easily.

⊹₊｡ꕤ˚₊⊹

Jaehoon, looking extremely apologetic, entrusted Sunyul to Bada. Bada, who had just gotten out of the dungeon and received a vacation for a while, stayed at home with Sunyul.

At the guild, he was said to be cooped up in the training room, and Bada continued to move constantly at home as well. He mainly spent his time exercising in a room full of gym equipment, and he dragged Sunyul into it too, which was… absolute hell.

A few days passed like that.

Early in the morning, a call came from Muyoung. Sunyul, his face beaming, shared the happy news with Bada.

“The Guild Master said he’s out of the dungeon.”

“Ah, is that so?”

“That’s a relief. You said you had plans today, right?”

“Well… I did.”

Bada’s reply was strangely half-hearted, but since he naturally had a gruff way of speaking, Sunyul didn’t notice.

“Do you have a date with your girlfriend?”

The atmosphere all around was so festive for Christmas that Sunyul had also looked up a few things about it. One piece of information he’d found as a result of his search was that ‘many people spend Christmas with their significant other.’

“I don’t have a girlfriend.”

Bada was never without a partner. He wasn’t particularly picky about gender, either male or female. But no matter who he dated, there was always an emptiness, a hollow thirst that was never quenched. That’s why his relationships were always short.

It had been about three months since Bada, who used to change partners frequently, had stopped dating. It was a rare occurrence. It was also strange that he didn’t feel like seeing anyone right now.

Bada looked at Sunyul, who was right in front of him. Sunyul’s appearance was… the type that seemed to combine all the lovers he had ever dated. Based on looks alone, he was Bada’s ultimate type. Though he was a bit young.

Honestly, he was drawn to Sunyul. However, Bada found it hard to admit his feelings. Because the other person was an unknown entity. And yet, his eyes kept going to him.

“Really? I thought you would.”

“……Why?”

Bada asked back, feeling unnecessarily tense. Sunyul’s eyes darted around.

“Just… because you seem like you’d be popular?”

“I don’t.”

“But they said Hunter Lee Bada had a ton of lovers. That you were never without a partner.”

“Who said that?”

“The internet.”

“The internet tends to exaggerate things.”

In truth, it wasn’t much of an exaggeration, but Bada played dumb.

“Um, Mr. Hunter.”

“What.”

“Does the Guild Master have a girlfriend?”

“Does he look like he does?”

Sunyul shook his head. From Sunyul’s perspective, who was with him every day, it didn’t seem likely that Muyoung was dating someone.

But he couldn’t be certain just because he hadn’t seen it. Thoughts about Muyoung’s lover kept circling in his head.