The F-Rank Hunter Defies Fate Chapter 1.5

A hollow laugh escaped him naturally. As he roughly waved his hand, the unwelcome status window disappeared cleanly. With a “hup,” Harang raised his upper body and began to carefully examine the surroundings that he had consciously ignored until then.

The soft ground was densely covered with grass lush with new green, and stepping stones curved to form a path convenient for people to walk on. And at the end of it, a two-story house sat cozily.

“Master!”

This must be what they call a penthouse. How much would the price be? Harang, who was seriously pondering, was called by someone.

“You must have been very surprised. Are you okay?”

Harang, who had been sprawled on the ground until then, did not move a muscle while the other person approached and bent at the waist.

“It was Mr. Hyemin, right.”

Fortunately, the name he had vaguely overheard came to mind. Hyemin, who was anxiously checking Harang’s body, nodded his head.

“Yes.”

“I was surprised, but I’m okay. Where is this place?”

Harang, who swallowed once with his still raspy throat, asked what he was curious about first. It was because Baek Yoogeom did not communicate, and from the circumstances, it seemed he would have to stay here.

“It’s the top floor of the headquarters. It’s where hyung stays. I think he’s been living here ever since the guild building was completed? Hyung isn’t picky, but he really discriminates against strangers. He hates crowded places, so he’s been living alone for a while. He only lets the caretakers or family come occasionally.”

It’s not discriminating against strangers, it’s just low sociality. Harang couldn’t bring himself to badmouth the family outright and chimed in softly with “I see.”

“But honestly, I’ve only come up to the garden myself. No matter how much I begged, he wouldn’t let me in.”

He doesn’t even let family in, but tells me to stay inside? Suddenly, an uneasy premonition came over him. Harang turned his head with an awkward movement that even the oblivious Hyemin could see was strange. In his gaze that creaked around, the penthouse sparkling prettily came into view.

“Is he really a madman?”

“Hyung isn’t a bad person like that. He’s just a bit clumsy.”

Hyemin added words as if to make up for the small mutter he had heard.

“Clumsy? Isn’t he too selfish for that? He drags people around like dogs, and then just leaves them behind.”

Harang rubbed his goosebump-covered forearms roughly and said through gritted teeth. Hyemin intuitively sensed that things were going wrong. This is bad…. It was the first time in a while that hyung had shown interest in something, and if Harang ran away, he wouldn’t be able to get his fortune read.

Hyemin rubbed his increasingly sweaty palms on his pants. He thought he had to somehow change his mind, but even as he racked his brain hard, no particular answer came to mind.

“Um… it seems like it’s because he’s nervous, because he’s nervous! Our fans wait all day in front of the tower and then can’t even talk when they see his face. Maybe hyung is like that too?”

From Hyemin’s omniscient point of view, Yoogeom was currently deeply immersed in tarot. If it wasn’t an exaggeration, it would be a lie, but after saying it, it somehow seemed true. However, Harang’s expression only hardened more coldly.

How could that be! Hyemin, who had convinced himself, couldn’t hold back and asked back.

“Aren’t you happy?”

In the Republic of Korea, the man ranked number one to want to rely on, number one to want to be close to, was Yoogeom. Hyemin, who had timidly added one more vote every time the polls came up, found it hard to believe that Harang rejected Yoogeom’s fandom.

“Yes, well.”

Harang nodded half-heartedly and focused on surveying the surroundings instead of indulging in useless flattery. The time they had spent together wasn’t long, but he felt like he knew how this household operated. It seemed like there was something wrong with the Baek family genes.

Not wanting to join in the Yoogeom praise, he flopped down on his back, and an open panoramic view came into sight. As it was the top floor, the view was amazing. As if announcing that summer was in full swing, a cloudless deep blue sky spread out as if within reach.

“By any chance, do you also read love fortunes?”

“Yes.”

Harang, thinking it was another useless remark, chimed in without listening and then jumped up.

“You’ll read my love fortune?”

When it came to love fortunes, this Min Harang was the expert. He had nothing to do at the moment, and he was curious because he had never drawn cards in front of a hunter. The eyes of Harang, who had been dead until just now, sparkled brightly.

“Ah, right. You said you can’t read without cards.”

“Actually, I always carry my main deck with me. What tarot master in the world walks around without cards.”

Harang answered nonchalantly and put his hand to his back pocket as if taking out cards. His MP, which had been full at 10, decreased by half. As he deliberately took his time rummaging in his pocket, a blue window appeared.

The ancestral spirit is enraged.

— How dare you with something like love fortune… Men and women are distinct!

He didn’t know which ancestor it was, but it was truly consistent. What was easier to make money from than love fortunes? Harang, who had earned his living expenses for years with reunion possibilities, the other person’s true feelings, and compatibility, didn’t even glance at the status window and gave a capitalistic smile.

“Why did you say you didn’t have them earlier….”

Suspicion arose on Hyemin’s face, who had expected him to read fortunes right away. He had tried to earn some money after a long time, but Hyemin, the hyung fool, was sharp in strange places.

Harang let out a short breath and beckoned as if to come closer, like a person about to reveal a grave secret. As Hyemin, still looking suspicious, bent his upper body forward, Harang meaningfully uttered a rumor that circulated among tarot masters.

“Each deck specializes in different things.”

“There’s something like that…!”

At the reasonably persuasive remark, the sharp glint in Hyemin’s eyes rounded. It was worth the occasional tarot study he had done to avoid getting caught.

“Do you see the color on this?”

Having realized that the initiative had passed to him, Harang tapped the light pink border of the card.

“Doesn’t it look just like it’s for love fortunes?”

“It does look that way.”

Hyemin had already completely fallen for Harang’s coaxing. Confirming Hyemin nodding his head fervently, Harang lifted the corners of his mouth as much as possible.

“You see well.”

Then, as he began shuffling the deck with flashy hand techniques, Hyemin’s admiring sound was heard. Instead of reacting to each one, Harang asked monotonously.

“So, what are you curious about?”

“I was wondering if there’s no one I’ll continue with in the future….”

Hyemin answered hesitantly and worried if it was okay to spread the cards on the ground. It was about what if the grass got wet, but Harang just laughed it off. Anyway, the deck would disappear after time passed. Since he had used mana for once, it was better to get his money’s worth.

‘What are they doing?’

In the eyes of Yoogeom, who had come out of the portal, he saw the two huddled together, grunting with their heads together. One was Hyemin, whom he saw every day, and the other was the owner of the office he had just raided.

“Well, they say you have to meet someone you like yourself. No matter how much the other person likes you, if you’re not interested, it’s over. Over!”

“That’s why…. No one meets anyone.”

Hyemin, who had been listening intently, muttered with his spirits down.

“Then, does hyung… have to live alone forever?”

The follow-up remark was equally questionable. Harang’s excited muttering stopped abruptly.

“Were you reading Hunter Baek Yoogeom’s?”

“Th-that’s not….”

Hyemin tried to gloss over it, but Harang was a step faster. With a clap as their palms met, Harang made a fuss, saying “That’s right, it is.”

“From my reading, he doesn’t seem like a total loner. He definitely had connections in the past. This card comes out when the other person feels truly attractive. And this one suggests unconditional love. Maybe he can’t meet other people because he can’t forget the past.”

Harang, who had stubbornly insisted he couldn’t read fortunes without a deck, was excitedly pointing to this card and that card.

“Huh, really? Hyung had a first love?”

Look at these two. Yoogeom, who could no longer listen, approached deliberately making noise. At the small sound of grass bending, Hyemin keenly noticed and jumped up from his seat, looking around. His eyes widened to the utmost upon meeting Yoogeom’s.

“By any chance, do you have no guess who it is? It comes out as a huge romantic….”

Unaware of that, Harang, who had been excitedly laying out interpretations, rolled his eyes around only after the large figure in front of him disappeared. He wondered why he suddenly stood up, but oh my god, Baek Yoogeom had heard his entire interpretation.

“Fun?”

“It wasn’t me, ugh, it was Mr. Hyemin’s….”

A hiccup came out naturally at the eerie question. If Harang had any sin, it was only that he had read diligently with a professional spirit. Harang, who drooped his eyebrows sullenly, only glared at the empty spot innocently. However, Hyemin had already run off far away.

“So, who is my first love?”

Would you like to change the client?

“No, no! If I knew that, I’d have laid out a mat.”

Harang hurriedly shook his head. Whether it was because the subject was right in front of him or because he was a hunter, the status window, which had been quiet all his life, was acting on its own.

Skill ‘The path I take is the path itself, and your heart is none of my business?’ activation canceled.

Fortunately, the client did not change to Baek Yoogeom. Harang let out a sigh of relief inwardly. Anyone who knew the enormous difference between the two would click their tongue at the needless worry, but for Harang with strength-stamina-agility 6, it was another secret.

You have encountered an out-of-spec hunter for the first time. <Beginner’s Luck> Would you like to glimpse Hunter Baek Yoogeom’s fate? With passive ‘Ancestral Spirit’s Blessing,’ all differences in rank, stats, and items are ignored.

Fate? Whose fate? Harang’s eyes widened like saucers. Normally, the status window should just inform him of the interpretation of the drawn card and disappear, but it was annoyingly flashing.

“Ugh.”

Harang, who didn’t even want to glimpse it by mistake, muffled his pronunciation as much as possible so Yoogeom couldn’t hear. He didn’t know about other hunters, but Harang had to vocalize to control the status window.

“Strange name.”

Yoogeom, who had been observing him while standing crookedly, lowered his posture and said. Harang wanted to thump his chest in frustration. Beginner’s luck my foot! If he had known such a thing would happen, he would have stubbornly refused no matter the stable job. However, the deed was already done, and the person who should take responsibility had run away.

“I’m wronged.”

“What?”

“Mr. Baek Yoogeom’s younger brother asked me to read it. Of course, I thought it was Mr. Hyemin’s.”

Confirming that the status window scattering light had disappeared, Harang pouted his lips. This was the pure truth without a shred of lie.

“You seemed too excited for that.”

At the remark that hit the nail on the head, Harang demurely lowered his gaze. Honestly, it was fun. But… who wouldn’t be interested?

Even Harang, who deliberately avoided hunters, knew that much, yet Baek Yoogeom was someone about whom nothing was known except his name and face. People even speculated about his abilities.

“Anyone in the Republic of Korea would be curious.”

The more he thought about it, the more resentment toward Hyemin grew. Why am I the one explaining? The wronged Harang mumbled with his head hung low.