<Episode 42>
The days settled into a routine.
I ran the shop in the mornings, and after work, I went to the training center for shooting lessons.
At first, it had been so exhausting I felt like I would pass out, but little by little my stamina improved, and eventually I could endure the training without collapsing afterward.
“There’s a reason Hunter Lee Hyunwoo recommended you. You’re truly amazing!”
“Thank you. It’s all thanks to your excellent teaching, Instructor.”
The moment training ended, Instructor Ganggeon gave me a double thumbs-up, saying my stamina was improving day by day.
Today was also the first day I had handled a gun properly, which seemed to make his reaction even more enthusiastic.
‘To think I actually had talent for shooting. This is really surprising.’
Me, an F-Rank, secretly a genius?
I was entertaining such ridiculous thoughts as I walked outside when I spotted a familiar face in front of the building.
“Hunter Lee Hyunwoo!”
“Fortunately, we didn’t miss each other.”
He spoke quietly as he looked at me.
Apparently, he had been waiting.
“I was curious about how your training was going, so I stayed.”
“Ah! It’s going great. I really like it. The instructor is wonderful too. I even got praised today!”
In fact, my stamina skill, ”Steel Stamina”, had recently leveled up from ”B” to ”B+”.
All those brutal sessions in the training center had paid off.
“I knew you would do well.”
Lee Hyunwoo nodded.
The cold weather caused our breath to fog in the air.
‘Come to think of it, there was something I wanted to ask Hunter Lee Hyunwoo.’
Since I had run into him today, I decided this was the perfect opportunity.
“You said before that you had a favor to ask me, remember? Can I finally hear it today? I never got to hear it because I got injured back then.”
The day I was attacked by those thugs.
Lee Hyunwoo had called and said he had a favor to ask me.
But the situation had turned chaotic, and time passed before I ever got to hear what it was.
“Ah…”
A quiet sound escaped him.
“To be honest, I was going to ask you to help me recover my lost memories.”
“Your memories… you mean the memories you lost when you Awakened?”
He slowly nodded.
After a moment of contemplation, he spoke softly.
“There is someone I want to remember.”
“I don’t know who they are, or even why I need to remember them.”
“They must be someone important. But how could I possibly help?”
A way to recover the lost memories of an S-Rank Hunter.
Unfortunately, no solution came to mind.
He carefully asked,
“Would it be possible for your ability to create a special effect that restores memories?”
“Hmm… I’m sorry, but I can’t choose the effects myself.”
“I see.”
He nodded.
He appeared calm, but a faint trace of disappointment crossed his face.
“But I’ll try my best to get the effect you want if I can–”
“It’s alright.”
“I can’t force you to do something impossible.”
He lightly drew the line, as though trying not to burden me.
‘…I wish I could help him.’
There were so many things I owed Lee Hyunwoo.
He rushed to help me when I was injured.
He arranged my dormitory at the Hunter Bureau.
And despite how busy he was, he continued accompanying me into the gates.
That was why, when he mentioned having a favor to ask, a small part of me had actually been looking forward to it.
I wanted to repay him, even if only a little.
‘But recovering memories… there’s nothing I can do right now.’
Unless a perfectly timed mission appeared.
Yet the system window remained silent, as though it neither knew nor cared about my feelings.
Lee Hyunwoo and I resumed our slow walk toward the dormitories.
Though it felt like we were taking our time, my dormitory building was already visible ahead.
“We’ve arrived.”
“We have. Thank you for walking me home.”
“It was nothing.”
“If the opportunity arises, I think it would be nice for us to train together sometime.”
“…You and me?”
“The difference in skill is enormous, though.”
No matter how hard I practiced, standing beside him would probably make me look about as skilled as an anteater.
But he showed no intention of taking back his suggestion.
“That, too, would be a new source of enjoyment.”
“If you say so… then I’d be happy to.”
He nodded lightly and turned around.
It looked like he was finally about to leave.
“Ah, Hunter Lee Hyunwoo. Wait a moment!”
A sudden thought struck me, and I hurriedly stopped him.
Digging through my inventory, I pulled out an overstuffed paper bag.
“Please take this. It’s a thank-you gift for accompanying me into the gates and introducing me to a shooting instructor despite your busy schedule.”
“These are the bungeoppang sold at your shop, aren’t they?”
Whenever I had spare time, I had gradually stockpiled them in my inventory.
I never imagined I’d end up giving them away as a gift.
I handed him the bulging bag with a grin.
“I may not be able to restore your memories… but maybe I can help you recover something else.”
He ran his fingers over the bag, his expression unreadable, before slowly looking up.
“You mean my sense of taste?”
“Yes.”
“Everyone else can taste food, but you can’t. That’s not fair, is it?”
“But this item doesn’t work for me either–”
“Maybe not now.”
“But if you keep eating them, someday you’ll be able to taste things properly.”
My firm answer seemed to catch him off guard.
“Trust me. I have a special ability, don’t I?”
His pessimism was understandable.
I remembered the first time he had eaten my bungeoppang.
He had only said that his tongue tingled.
After living so long without taste, he couldn’t distinguish sweetness or saltiness anymore.
But this time was different.
I had packed the bag with a variety of flavors.
“I included every type. I thought multiple kinds of stimulation might help you experience taste properly.”
Not stopping there, I pulled out a sticky note and quickly wrote flavor descriptions based on what I personally tasted, then attached it to the outside of the bag.
‘This way, he’ll know exactly what each one is supposed to taste like.’
The red bean bungeoppang had a gentle sweetness and nuttiness.
The custard-filled one offered soft sweetness with a hint of vanilla.
The spicy one carried the clean heat of kimchi and black pepper.
Unlike before, when all he could describe was a tingling tongue, I hoped he would be able to recognize the actual flavors this time.
“This is a gift I never expected. Thank you very much.”
“There’s plenty inside, so keep it in your inventory and eat them one by one. You could even record the sensations you feel on your tongue!”
He nodded as if in agreement.
I smiled warmly at him.
“You know, sometimes a single delicious meal helps me get through the day and gives me something to look forward to tomorrow.”
“I hope you can experience that small happiness too, Hunter.”
After hearing my words, Lee Hyunwoo fell silent, seemingly lost in thought.
He stared at the bag of bungeoppang in his hand before speaking in a low voice.
“Happiness…”
“Do you really think I deserve to feel something like that?”
There was a strange guilt in his voice.
As though he believed he had no right to enjoy ordinary happiness.
Perhaps he was thinking about all the people he had failed to save.
I looked him straight in the eye.
“Of course.”
“…”
“You deserve to be happy, Hunter.”
“There’s nothing in this world that can take that right away from you.”
He had been staring at the ground.
Now, slowly, he lifted his head and looked at me.
‘…Ah.’
A bright, genuine smile rested on his face.
It was a smile I had never seen from him before.
After taking a deep breath, he spoke slowly.
“This is the first time.”
“The first time someone has ever told me it’s okay for me to be happy.”
“Hunter Lee Hyunwoo…”
“So this is what it feels like.”
His expression quickly settled back into composure.
Then he took one step closer.
The distance between us vanished in an instant.
Caught off guard, I hurriedly averted my gaze.
“Since you’ve given me homework, I’ll diligently keep records.”
“Then that makes Hunter Haneul my teacher.”
“M-Me? Suddenly?”
“You’re the one who promised to teach me about flavors.”
“Isn’t that right?”
A deep smile appeared on his face, as though he were asking for an answer.
For a moment, my mind went completely blank.
‘Smiling like that out of nowhere is completely unfair!!!!’
In the end, I couldn’t say a single word.
I simply lowered my head and nodded.
Comments (0)