<Episode 82>
“Mmm-hmm-hmm~”
A trendy idol song played through the food truck’s audio system. Nodding my head, I happily bounced along to the beat.
“Ah! This is the killing part.”
I grabbed Hanyang’s paw while it lay sprawled across my lap and made it do a TikTakTok challenge dance. Hanyang let out an annoyed puff through its nose.
Whether it liked it or not, I was completely swept up in my own excitement and spoke in an enthusiastic voice.
“Hanyang, should we debut as YouTubers? I feel like we could get a Gold Button in no time!”
“You’ve suddenly become interested in worldly riches, nya?”
“Worldly riches? Even I think it’s a genius idea!”
Hunter Lee Hyunwoo, who was driving, smiled faintly as he listened to our conversation. He even said that if we started a channel, he’d become our first subscriber.
Trading those silly jokes while driving along, we eventually saw the front gates of the Gangwon branch of the Hunter Management Bureau. I leaned out the window and waved energetically at the gathered crowd.
“Hellooo, everyone—!”
At my booming greeting, the hunters’ faces lit up.
“Kyaaaa! It’s really Hunter Haneul!”
“Hngh, sob… Today I finally get to try the legendary fish-shaped pastries….”
Mm, as expected, the response was explosive.
Once we parked the truck in a suitable spot and opened the side hatch, hunters flooded around the shop. Waiting in the back area of the truck, Mr. Kim Chasa stepped forward solemnly while pulling on black latex gloves.
“Please place your orders in sequence.”
A moment of silence passed before laughter erupted everywhere.
“Puhaha! The concept is seriously solid.”
“Wow, look at the makeup. They even made his skin look pale.”
Everyone was busy taking proof shots and selfies in fascination. Mr. Kim Chasa looked annoyed, but whenever a camera appeared, he subtly adjusted the angle of his gat and posed. Truly a professional(?).
“Hello, I’d like one sotteok-sotteok and two servings of tteokbokki!”
“I’ll take a red bean fish bun and a custard one. Ah, can we get fish cake broth too?”
Orders poured in from all directions. I skillfully poured batter while greeting Hangyeol, who had already approached.
“Noona! You really came. Thank you so much. I spread the word to all the other hunter teams too.”
“Good job. Seeing everyone so happy makes me feel proud. Coming all the way here was worth it.”
Hangyeol said he needed to hurry and get in line himself before dashing toward the back. By the time we finally finished the hectic business rush and started tidying up the Branch No. 3 truck, Hangyeol approached again with a regretful look.
“When are you coming back next time? I feel like I could eat this every single day.”
“Well, who knows. If I can come back, I’ll come as quickly as possible.”
Hangyeol nodded and asked if we were heading straight back to Seoul, but I shook my head.
“We’re planning to stop by a café nearby. It’s called ‘Forest Forest Café,’ and apparently the view is amazing.”
“Ah, there! I’ve been there too.”
Hangyeol’s eyes sparkled as he recognized the place.
“If you go, you absolutely have to try their signature menu item, the Forest Latte!”
“Forest Latte? What’s that?”
“It’s a latte topped with matcha cream and tons of Oreo crumbs. Soeun says it’s super sweet and delicious!”
Babbling excitedly, Hangyeol added awkwardly,
“Oh, Soeun is my girlfriend!”
Apparently, Hangyeol had been dating his longtime girlfriend ever since middle school. He even said they planned to get married as soon as she graduated from college.
Ding
At that moment, Hangyeol’s phone rang. His face immediately brightened after checking the message.
“Ah, my girlfriend says she’s nearby! Noona, I’ll head off first. Have a safe trip back~”
Watching Hangyeol disappear with the radiant smile of a boy in love, I smiled fondly. Beside me, Hyunwoo asked gently,
“Then shall we head out as well?”
“Wait. Where are we supposed to go now?”
Adjusting his gat beside us, Mr. Kim Chasa asked in a low voice about the destination. I showed him photos of Forest Forest Café from Starstagram.
“There’s a famous café nearby we wanted to visit. You should come too, Mr. Kim Chasa!”
“Places that bright are not to my taste.”
The moment he saw the photos, Mr. Kim Chasa recoiled in horror and declared he would clock out for the day before vanishing into thin air. In the end, only Hyunwoo, Hanyang, and I headed to Forest Forest Café.
“Wow, this giant greenhouse is really a café?”
“They say there’s even a small artificial waterfall inside.”
Just like its name implied, Forest Forest Café looked as though a massive forest greenhouse had been recreated in its entirety. After enjoying the various photo spots scattered throughout, we ordered the signature latte Hangyeol had recommended.
“Mmm, this is seriously delicious!”
“This body wants a sip too, nya.”
“No way. It’s way too sweet.”
“…Hmph, how mean, nya!”
After finishing a delicious dinner nearby, we were finally on our way back to Seoul. By now, the sun had completely set, leaving the surroundings dark.
I was sitting in the passenger seat of the truck, looking through the photos we had taken that day, when suddenly…
Screeeeeech!!
With a violent grinding noise, the truck slammed to a stop. My body lurched violently forward before the seatbelt snapped me back into place. Hugging Hanyang tightly, I tried to calm my startled heart.
“…There’s someone ahead.”
At Lee Hyunwoo’s cold voice, I lifted my head and looked forward. In the middle of the narrow road illuminated by the headlights, a woman was collapsed directly in front of the truck.
“Excuse me, are you alright?”
I carefully stepped out of the vehicle and called out to her, but the moment I saw her face, I froze in shock.
Disheveled hair. Bloodshot eyes so red they looked ready to burst. The woman stared blankly at me… or rather, at Hunter Lee Hyunwoo… with an unfocused gaze.
“…You look happy?”
Her cracked voice sliced through the night air.
“Who are you?”
As Hyunwoo questioned her cautiously, the woman’s shoulders began trembling intermittently. Letting out a bizarre sound somewhere between crying and laughing, she muttered,
“Our Seoyul died… but you look completely fine? Aren’t you supposed to be some S-rank hunter who saves civilians? Hehe….”
“……”
“Are you even human after all that? Our youngest died because of you! Because of you! Aaaagh!!!”
The woman stomped the ground violently as she screamed in fury. She seemed to be a bereaved family member who had recently lost her younger sibling in a gate accident. Unable to overcome her grief and anger, she had come seeking out Lee Hyunwoo to blame him.
“If you had gone, my brother would’ve lived! What, because you’re such a noble S-rank hunter, you don’t bother with low-rank gates? Ha, so you just let people die?”
It seemed the gate where she lost her sibling wasn’t even one of the zones Lee Hyunwoo had been dispatched to. Frowning, I stepped forward.
“Excuse me, no matter how sad you are, blaming someone who wasn’t even there is–”
But the one who stopped me was none other than Lee Hyunwoo himself. With a bitter yet troubled expression, he stepped in front of me.
“Hunter Haneul, I’ll speak with her.”
“But this isn’t your fault, Hunter–”
“It’s alright. Just in case, would you step back for a moment?”
It seemed Lee Hyunwoo intended to try talking things through with the woman first. In the end, I let out a small sigh and stepped back.
That was when it happened.
“Lee Hyunwoo, you should experience the same pain too!”
A strange man appeared behind us, shouting in a desperate voice. He violently slammed a small marble-like glass sphere he had been holding onto the ground.
Crash!
With a shattering sound, the space along the road twisted grotesquely. It seemed he had used an item to forcibly distort dimensions and open a gate rift.
“You should know what it feels like to lose something precious right before your eyes! Only then will you understand our pain!”
Wearing the expression of a vengeful spirit, the man roughly grabbed my arm. At that instant, Hanyang sprang from my arms and bit down viciously on the man’s forearm.
“Aaagh! You crazy cat! Get off me!”
Writhing in pain, the man grabbed Hanyang by the scruff of the neck and threw it like baggage straight into the horrifyingly gaping rift.
“Hanyang! No!”
Without even thinking, I hurled myself into the rift and wrapped Hanyang tightly in my arms.
“Hunter Haneul!!!”
Lee Hyunwoo’s scream rang in my ears. I saw him leap toward the rift in an attempt to save us.
“Grab my hand!”
I reached toward him.
But the speed at which we were falling was far too fast for us to touch.
In the end, instead of grabbing Lee Hyunwoo’s hand, I clutched Hanyang even tighter and squeezed my eyes shut. The endless fall continued without any sign of an end.
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