The Otherworldly Magic Swordsman Who Disciplines the Hunter World Chapter 60

Gong Siyoung also knew exactly how garbage his drunken habits were.

He had always disliked alcohol, but now he loathed it to an almost hateful degree. How many dark histories had he created during a single drinking session with Gong Sijin?

As a lesson from those days, he had sworn that he would never let alcohol touch his lips under any circumstances. He definitely had, and yet…!

Julian, who was sitting on the floor, raised his head. His lips, curled in a troubled smile, were the first thing Siyoung noticed.

Hesitating as if he had something to say, Julian soon shrugged his shoulders.

“You didn’t make a mistake.”

That was all he said. While normally he would prattle on about things he wasn’t even asked, he was now being strangely tight-lipped.

Because of this vague attitude, Siyoung’s anxiety only grew.

“Really? You aren’t lying?”

“Really, you didn’t make a mistake. More importantly, I’ll get you something to eat.”

Julian awkwardly changed the subject. He hurriedly stood up. His retreating figure as he moved busily felt unfamiliar for some reason.

‘Did something really happen?’

He felt he had to find out even if he had to pester him. If something, if by some absolute chance something had happened… that at least had to be stopped. Even if he didn’t know how to stop something that had already occurred, Gong Siyoung was serious.

While he was weighing the timing to speak, a loud voice erupted from behind. Julian, who was organizing the side dish containers, also turned around in surprise at the loud noise.

Hwatu cards showered down into the air like fireworks—flutter. The red Hwatu cards scattered messily over the green blanket. Park Ildo, who had flipped the board, shamelessly picked at his ear.

The excited captain threw down his Hwatu cards and threw a tantrum. Regardless, Park Ildo swept the scattered cards together with his foot.

“Captain, you’re going to grab your neck and keel over at this rate. Let’s stop here for today and do it again tomorrow.”

“You’re a swindler, a swindler!”

It was the most excited voice Siyoung had heard from him since they met. Saying he wouldn’t play Hwatu with a swindler, the captain quickly packed up the gambling board.

Tucking the Hwatu and the blanket under his arm, the captain headed for the entrance without so much as a goodbye. Donning his raincoat, he muttered a stream of curses starting with “Kids these days.”

“We’re doing this again tomorrow! If you flip it then, I’ll—!”

Leaving a final warning, he vanished—whoosh. Fierce wind and raindrops rushed into the spot where the captain had left.

“I guess I’m just that popular.”

Park Ildo rose to his feet with a grunt—heave-ho. He approached the front door and straightened the leaning backpack. Even though the door had only been opened and closed for a moment, the entrance was already damp.

“I wonder if the dawn departure will be canceled too at this rate.”

Since it had just passed midnight, “dawn” was only two or three hours away. If the rain didn’t stop by then, it would be difficult to launch the boat.

If it was delayed again, they might have to give up on making the Return Stone entirely. The schedule for resuming the raid had already been set, and they only had a buffer of a day or two at most to arrive on time.

Gong Siyoung was equally distraught. He rubbed his forehead. Julian’s strange reaction weighed on his mind, and the fact that he had consumed alcohol was unsettling. He wanted to ask something, but with Park Ildo acting like that, it wasn’t easy to question him.

If he brought it up wrong and got caught by that man, he’d just be teased. He wanted to decline that at all costs.

Park Ildo’s mouth was as light as Woo Yujin’s. To the point where there was no one in the guild who didn’t know a fact once he knew it. He didn’t want to step forward and throw bait to a man with a mouth that loose.

“But that captain, I guess he wasn’t a captain but a card shark. If I hadn’t flipped the board, I really would have been cleaned out, man.”

He shook his head, saying it was a bet of 1,000 won per point. The more he spoke, the more Siyoung lost respect for him. Fortunately, before he could lose any more respect, Park Ildo took his rest first.

“I’m going to sleep for a few hours, so wake me up in a bit.”

He lay on his side, using the backpack as a pillow. Fearing he might change his mind, Gong Siyoung brought a blanket and covered his face with it. Since he couldn’t see his face, he felt a bit more refreshed.

“Sleep well.”

At the cheeky greeting, Park Ildo narrowed his eyes through the gap in the blanket. After glaring for a long time, he closed his eyes without saying much.

“Do you want to sleep a bit too if you’re tired? I’ll wake you at dawn.”

Julian, who had been watching the scene while standing in front of the sink, asked tentatively.

“You said you’d get me something to eat.”

“Ah, right.”

Julian turned his back again. His hands, hurrying to prepare the food, were clumsy. Gong Siyoung glared at the back of his head with his arms crossed.

Park Ildo was already snoring, and raindrops were still falling—tap, tap—outside. His intoxication had faded, but the unpleasant feeling remained.

Time was flowing by meaninglessly, filled with unresolved curiosity and anxiety.

A fierce sea breeze whipped around. Because it carried more moisture than usual, hair, faces, and every part hit by the wind quickly became sticky and damp.

Park Ildo, standing with his arms crossed, braved the sea breeze with his whole body and declared:

“I’m telling you in advance, I’m only going as far as the boat. I’m not getting off on the island.”

He pushed up his sunglasses. It was an item Gong Siyoung had reluctantly lent him after he pleaded that wearing them made his mind stable.

As if they were a lifeline, he gripped the temples of the glasses tightly, fearing they might be blown away by the wind.

“But since we’ve come all this way…”

“No, absolutely not. It’s not that I won’t get off; it’s that I can’t. I can’t do it. You take the backpack and go.”

Since he drew a firm line, Gong Siyoung no longer encouraged him to disembark. It hadn’t been the plan for Park Ildo to come this far anyway.

Hunter Kim Myungja probably wouldn’t particularly want to see Park Ildo’s face either. What good would come from seeing that Mister’s face?

“Fine, then.”

In about ten more minutes, they would arrive at the island. The boat busily split the open sea.

Gong Siyoung wiped the moisture from his cheek with the back of his hand. The heavy rain had stopped, but a drizzle was still falling slightly.

Due to the thick fog, nothing could be seen around them. It felt less like the sea and more like being suspended in the sky.

A few steps away, Julian was holding onto the railing. He watched the sea spreading beneath his feet. Since it was before sunrise, the sea looked closer to black than blue.

In a world blurred by white fog, the churning black sea had a strange charm. It seemed confident that it could hide any secret. It was just that wide and deep.

“I think we’ve arrived.”

The boat gradually slowed down. Because of the fog, it was difficult to tell which direction the island was in.

Park Ildo quickly entered the captain’s cabin. It was an expression of his will to absolutely not get off.

“He says we’ve arrived?”

Julian approached, stumbling. The boat was still rocking violently due to the waves. Gong Siyoung reached out to him.

“Be careful.”

Julian hesitated for a moment but soon gripped the hand. Warmth spread to his fingertips, which had been chilled by the cold sea breeze.

“Hunter Park Ildo is waiting on the boat, so I think just the two of us need to get off.”

“Okay.”

There was no other conversation after that. He wasn’t talkative like usual, and his reactions were fewer. Since he had been like that since last night, it was impossible not to notice. Gong Siyoung, staring into the thick fog, let out a sigh.

He gathered his courage and spoke. He tightened his grip on Julian’s hand.

“Whatever I did yesterday while drunk, I didn’t mean it.”

After agonizing all night, Gong Siyoung had reached his own conclusion. Julian’s strange reaction was definitely because of him. He didn’t know how much of a drunken scene he had caused, but there was nothing else to suspect.

Julian said he hadn’t made a mistake, but it was an obvious lie. Otherwise, there was no way to explain that awkward change in attitude.

Gong Siyoung massaged his forehead. Getting drunk off that little bit, losing his memory, and causing a huge scene. He found it absurd himself, so how must Julian feel? He couldn’t bring himself to lift his head out of embarrassment.

“It’s just… I have a low tolerance for alcohol. I heard I grab and hug just anyone. I’m saying this because you seem to be acting awkward because of that. Don’t feel conscious of it just because of something I can’t even remember.”

Julian had given it to him not knowing it was alcohol, so it wasn’t something to blame him for. No, perhaps Julian was the one most distressed, so Siyoung didn’t want to blame him.

The reason Gong Siyoung was dissatisfied was something else entirely.

He wished Julian would rather just explain what kind of scene he had caused. Julian had said nothing happened and that he hadn’t made a mistake, yet he reacted the opposite way. How could Siyoung not care when Julian’s attitude changed over something Siyoung couldn’t even remember?

At this point, his frustration was greater than his embarrassment. Rather than letting things drift in this neither-here-nor-there state, it was better to talk openly.

Since Julian wouldn’t tell him, this was his best effort.

“…You do that with just anyone?”

Julian, who had been listening quietly, asked back shortly. Gong Siyoung nodded sheepishly.

“When I’m drunk. I cling to the person next to me… Anyway, there’s no other meaning, so don’t misunderstand. I’m saying there’s no need to blush over something I don’t even remember. Just because of that…”

Julian chuckled. After a moment of silence, he looked at Gong Siyoung. His expression was ambiguous—it was unclear if he was annoyed or offended. He retraced Gong Siyoung’s statements one by one.

“So, what you’re saying now is… it didn’t mean anything and there was no other intention… and that I shouldn’t bother being conscious of something you don’t even remember?”

Before Siyoung could avoid him, Julian reached out. His palm touched Siyoung’s lips.

Startled, Gong Siyoung stumbled back and grabbed the railing. His body swayed with the waves, and he slid down—slide.

Julian crouched down following him. His face came so close that their breaths could be felt across the single hand between them.

“Right, well… fine. If you can’t remember, I’ll just reenact it the same way. Let’s talk again after that. About whether you become conscious of it or not.”

He had a smiling face, but for some reason, he looked like someone who was angry. To prevent him from resisting, he grabbed the back of Gong Siyoung’s neck.

He then overlapped his lips onto the back of his hand. As he tilted his head, the tips of their noses rubbed together.

With a single hand between them, an act that could only be called a kiss continued.