The F-Rank Hunter Defies Fate Chapter 3.2

At first, he thought about sleeping more, but on second thought, the only person who could have brought him here while he was asleep was Baek Yoogeom. Deciding to act confidently and actually facing him were two different stories.

“Let’s just go first.”

Having finished his calculations in a short time, Harang tiptoed and moved cautiously. Trying to get ready without waking the sensitive hunter took twice as long as usual. Fortunately, Yoogeom’s home remained quiet until he finished brushing his teeth and getting dressed in neat clothes.

After he finally hung the ID card Hyemin had given him around his neck, the sky was gradually beginning to brighten. As befitting a high-rise building, Baek Yoogeom’s home was a prime spot for watching the sunrise.

“It’s pretty.”

Forgetting his intention to leave immediately, Harang watched the sun rise from the edge of the horizon. It was a sight he hadn’t seen in a long time, as he used to sluggishly get out of bed only after noon when he ran the tarot shop.

“Where are you going?”

“Gasp!”

Startled, Harang fell on his butt and swallowed a sharp breath as he looked around. He had been so focused that he didn’t even notice someone approaching. Hiding in the darkness without any lights on was Yoogeom. Approaching like a jaguar, Yoogeom reached out his hand in a fluid, natural motion.

“Wha-What is it?”

“I asked where you’re going.”

Although he had unconsciously taken Yoogeom’s hand, he couldn’t be honest. Anyone would feel bad if they were told, “I was leaving early because it’s awkward to see your face.”

“I was going to work.”

So he decided to just state the plain facts. It was true that he was trying to go to work, regardless of the time, so his heart didn’t pound like crazy.

“At this hour?”

Yoogeom’s eyebrows, which hadn’t budged even at rude interview requests, furrowed. It seemed that even in the eyes of Baek Yoogeom, who was full of all sorts of peculiarities, going to work two hours early was strange. Harang’s lips parted at the unexpected criticism.

“I’ve lived as a freelancer for a very long time. It’s been a while since I’ve been affiliated with a place like this…”

He tried hard to make up an excuse, but it didn’t sound convincing even to Harang’s own ears. Yoogeom’s eyebrows drew back into a straight line. Instead of asking further, he gently pulled the hand he was holding.

“Because I like it! I woke up early because I like it, that’s what I mean.”

Pulled along unexpectedly, Harang staggered for a moment even after getting to his feet. Once he finally regained his balance, Yoogeom’s attire came into view. While Harang had coordinated a neat shirt and slacks, Yoogeom was in typical hunter gear.

A harness stood out over a black, short-sleeved turtleneck, as if the heat didn’t bother him. Harang glanced back and forth between Yoogeom’s solid arm and his own hand resting precariously on top of it. It was pale, as if showing the years he had spent indoors.

“Where are you going, Mr. Baek Hunter?”

When he shook off his hand in embarrassment, Yoogeom surprisingly let go easily.

“Training.”

His words were very short. Harang wondered if he meant he was going to train now or if he was going to train other hunters, then thought of a question.

“But you ate breakfast yesterday, didn’t you?”

“I came back after training. I have to eat, after all.”

It meant that while Harang was wandering through dreamland, he had trained at dawn and then prepared breakfast. Was he not a luck-obsessed psycho, but a food-obsessed psycho?

“Aren’t you going?”

Yoogeom, who had been staring blankly at Harang, asked. Although he desperately wanted to lie back down in bed, he had already said he was going.

“I’m going.”

Harang followed behind Yoogeom, holding back tears. When he earnestly twitched his middle finger, he felt a little better.

The unwanted commute together continued past the entrance and to the front of the elevator. It would be nice to part ways here, but unfortunately, there was only one mode of transportation connecting to Yoogeom’s penthouse. Harang stared at the floor, hoping Yoogeom wouldn’t talk to him.

The elevator moved as smoothly and quickly as it had yesterday. What do I do at work now? Watching the numbers change at high speed, a belated sense of reality hit him. As Harang was busily racking his brain, he heard the sound of someone clearing their throat.

“Ahem.”

When he gave no attention, Yoogeom cleared his throat once more. Instead of answering, Harang glared at Yoogeom as if to say, ‘What?’

“Get off with me.”

And here I was, wondering what he was going to say. Was he clearing his throat just to say that one thing? Having discovered a new side to him just two days after meeting, Harang was about to step forward, thinking there was no reason not to grant such a small request.

That is, if the place where the elevator stopped hadn’t been the 30th floor.

‘The 29th and 30th floors are training rooms, so it’s probably best if you don’t go there. Everyone controls their strength, but you never know.’

As soon as he saw the large floor number, Hyemin’s refreshing advice came to mind. The 30th floor was a training room, and seeing that Baek Yoogeom was about to get off, it seemed he was going to train himself. But he was telling me to get off with him?

“Why?”

Without a moment for deep thought, a blunt reply slipped out. Yoogeom, as if he didn’t care about others’ tone of voice as much as he himself was rude, just kept pressing the open button so the door wouldn’t close.

“It’s dangerous if you’re alone.”

The word ‘dangerous’ set off a red light in his head. Even Harang knew that Raid Team 1 couldn’t be the only ones in this big building. But hadn’t he been told they used the 27th to 30th floors exclusively?

“You said only Raid Team 1 uses this area separately. So shouldn’t it be fine?”

“If you go now, people will probably start coming in. If you want to give a reading to just anyone, go ahead and go by yourself.”

Harang’s shoulders, which had been pressed tightly against the wall, slumped. Well, he had gone on about lucky colors and whatnot in front of a live camera, so he supposed even he would be curious. Among them, there were bound to be one or two hunters who would break the taboo of it being exclusively for Raid Team 1 and come up.

“Fine. But I’m not going to get hurt… right?”

Harang let out a deep sigh. He had already stepped out of the elevator, but he couldn’t help feeling worried deep down. When he thought about it, the root of the problem was Baek Yoogeom, and it was also sad that the only person he could trust right now was the hunter in front of him.

“What do you take me for? Absolutely not.”

Baek Yoogeom boasted, the corners of his mouth turning up. There was no inflection in his voice, so it didn’t feel like he was being defiant, but in Harang’s eyes, it looked like a triumphant attitude. Like a young, newly awakened hunter who wanted to show off his power.

The layout of the 30th floor was simple. It was divided into a total of four sections, with a large training room made of thick defensive walls and a monitoring room for real-time observation making up one set. Yoogeom tapped on the keypad in front of the north door out of the four directions.

Just like when they went to the storage room yesterday, after finishing the iris scan and inputting something, the guide text ‘Raid Team 1 Team Leader, Hunter Baek Yoogeom, confirmed’ popped up. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t curious, but Harang deliberately looked away.

If it hadn’t been for the occasional announcements like ‘Environment settings complete’ and ‘Beginning implementation of the target monster,’ he wouldn’t have paid any attention at all.

“Sit there.”

After finishing all the settings, Yoogeom pointed to a chair in the monitoring room. It looked so well-cushioned that one could sit for a long time without any issue. Harang nodded slowly and perched on the seat.

When Yoogeom entered the training room, the sound of electronic equipment activating could be heard. With a slight vibration, the door closed, and the lights turned on in the previously dark training room.

“Oh.”

It was exciting even though the monster hadn’t appeared yet. Drawing a dagger that had been tucked into his harness, Yoogeom loosened up by tilting his neck from side to side. He had wondered why he was wearing short sleeves since early morning, and it seemed it was to enhance his mobility.

— Raid Team 1 Hunter Baek Yoogeom, commencing simulation training.

A clear AI voice followed, and a large monster appeared in front of Yoogeom. The monster, three times Yoogeom’s size, had the form of a spider. It was so huge that a clattering sound was made every time its eight legs moved.

Its twelve eyes rolled in different directions. Each time they did, a groan escaped him on its own.

“Ugh, it’s disgusting.”

He even had the illusion that he had made eye contact with it. Even though he knew the monster in front of him was just a simulation.

Fortunately, Harang did not have to dry heave. That was because Yoogeom was flying around freely, even with just a palm-sized dagger.

When Yoogeom lightly kicked off the floor and sprang up, the monster reacted immediately. It was incredibly fast for its huge size, but Yoogeom cut through the spider web without delay.

The spider, having lost its means of movement, tumbled to the floor. Is he really going to stab it? Harang, who had watched up to the point where Yoogeom approached the monster, hunched his body and closed his eyes.

“It’s over.”

Before long, he felt a hand patting his shoulder. It seemed Harang had turned his head away, as the fingers brushed against the tip of his chin. Remembering that this was the hand that had just defeated the monster, Harang scrambled to his feet and moved away.

“It’s not dirty. It wasn’t real.”

Yoogeom, who had been staring blankly at Harang, spread his palm wide open to show him. The creepy sound was still ringing in his ears, but there was truly nothing on it.

“It’s because you touched me so suddenly. You startled me.”

Embarrassed, Harang grumbled without reason. Not a shred of dignity was contained in the words he spoke as he frantically brushed off his shoulder. Instead of pointing it out, Yoogeom gestured with his chin towards the outside of the training room. It was a sign to go get some breakfast.

Harang, who was bothered by the fact that he had avoided Yoogeom’s hand, reluctantly followed him. While he had been sitting idly, the brusque hunter had whipped up breakfast in a flash. Was it because he had moved his body so vigorously? The speed at which he emptied his rice bowl was extraordinary.

“Is it good?”

So much so that Harang, who was watching, asked without realizing it.

“Yeah. Is it not to your taste?”

Yoogeom, whom he thought was focused only on eating, met Harang’s eyes and asked. Harang, who had been trying to awkwardly cover his own rice bowl, just confessed honestly.

“I’m not used to eating breakfast.”

When he was very young, there was someone who would wrap rice in seaweed and give it to him, telling him to eat something if he lingered in bed. But those peaceful times had long since passed, and Harang, left alone, had only eaten to survive.

Besides, unlike Yoogeom who had trained hard, all Harang had done was sit still and watch. Of course he wasn’t hungry, but he had kept his seat simply because Yoogeom was eating with such gusto. He knew all too well how lonely it was to eat alone.

“Master! Can’t you do a compatibility reading for me, too?”

As soon as he got to work, Hyemin came to find Harang. He had definitely been told it was the team leader’s office, but everyone in Raid Team 1 only pretended to be cautious and came and went freely.

Harang told him to wait a moment and used his skill. If the result had been bad, he might have had a headache making something up, but fortunately, Hyemin’s equipment compatibility came out well.

“The compatibility is good.”

This time, too, he left out things like compatibility percentages and just told him the result. At that, Hyemin said he was amazing as expected and gave him a hug. Harang, suddenly confronted with another person’s body heat, was extremely flustered. Thick muscles were enveloping Harang suffocatingly. Unfortunately for Harang, it wasn’t an entirely bad feeling.

“This is my payment for the reading.”

The tight hug must have made the heat rush to his face. Hyemin, noticing belatedly, pulled out a drink bottle from thin air and held it out. If it were an item that only hunters could use, he would have naturally refused, but the identity of the bottle, a moderate blend of gold and red, was simply red ginseng.

“I get a salary, you know. It’s fine.”

“Aw, come on, I heard you have to pay for a reading. Otherwise, it just drains your energy.”

That might be true for shamans, but Harang didn’t do readings with spiritual energy. Even though all that happened was that his mana dropped a little, Hyemin stubbornly held out the red ginseng.