<Episode 90>
Ari narrowed her eyes.
The way she looked me up and down was anything but ordinary. Feeling guilty, I averted my gaze and tried to act casual.
“Oh, we’re out of fish cake skewers? I’ll go put some together right away!”
“Unnie.”
At her firm voice, my footsteps stopped instantly.
Ari blocked my path and crossed her arms.
“Tell me honestly. Unnie! Did you find some kind of item that increases magic power?”
“W-What do you mean my magic power changed? I’m exactly the same.”
“Liar.”
Ari spoke with complete certainty.
“Before, your magic power was way lower than mine, so I could barely feel it. But now… I can feel it clearly. It’s either about the same as mine, or maybe a little higher?”
Frowning, Ari tilted her head.
“Hm. They said the magic power can’t suddenly increase.”
Come to think of it, the magic-concealment artifact Hunter Lee Hyunwoo had given me was only A-rank.
It seemed it wasn’t enough to completely hide the SS-rank magic power that was my actual level.
The magic power I appeared to have on the surface was probably around E- to D-rank.
High-ranking Hunters wouldn’t bother paying attention to tiny differences among lower ranks, but Ari was E-rank, so she could keenly sense magic power at a level similar to her own.
‘Can’t be helped. I can’t hide it from Ari.’
I let out a long sigh and grabbed her shoulders.
Then I lowered my voice as much as possible and whispered.
“The truth is… I reawakened.”
“Gasp!”
Ari clapped both hands over her mouth.
Her eyes widened so much they looked ready to pop out.
“R-Really? Oh my gosh! Congratulations, Unnie! Then what’s your rank now? D-rank? Or maybe C-rank?”
“Shh! You’re being too loud, Ari.”
I put a finger to my lips while glancing around.
Fortunately, there were no customers yet since we hadn’t opened.
“I’m keeping it secret for now because things aren’t completely settled yet. Don’t tell anyone for the time being, okay?”
“Of course! You know I can keep a secret. I’ll take it to the grave!”
Ari nodded with a solemn expression and mimed zipping her lips shut.
Cute kid.
Fortunately, the customers who arrived afterward didn’t notice anything strange.
“Boss! One fish-shaped pastry, please!”
“Put lots of filling in it!”
Their only concern was food.
I let out a sigh of relief and started flipping fish-shaped pastries.
For a while, it seemed like the day would pass peacefully.
Jingle
Just as the number of reserved customers was dwindling, the door opened, accompanied by a cheerful bell.
“Welcome—Huh? Shinhye!”
While stirring tteokbokki with a ladle, I reflexively looked up and saw a familiar face.
As soon as Shinhye saw me, she waved brightly.
“I heard an amazing dessert café opened nearby. Wanna go after work?”
***
As soon as work ended, we headed to the café Shinhye had mentioned.
Only after ordering several kinds of cake did she finally ask me a question.
Now that the shop had reopened, where exactly had I been staying?
After hesitating, I told her the truth.
“…What? So you’re living at Hunter Lee Hyunwoo’s house right now? Are you insane?”
“Hey, lower your voice. It’s supposed to be a secret!”
I hurriedly covered her mouth.
Shinhye nodded with an expression as if she’d bitten into something unpleasant.
Since she had worried about me more than anyone when the false report spread that a Hunter had died after eating food from our shop, the sense of betrayal seemed even greater.
“No wonder you absolutely refused when I told you to stay at my place…”
“The reporters all knew we were close! How could I go to your house?”
The world was scary these days.
What kind of school life I’d had, what my parents were like, what my social relationships were like… everything was already circulating on YouTube.
People already knew I was close to Shinhye too.
There was no way I could hide out at her house.
“Even so, Hunter Lee Hyunwoo’s house is… Wait! Don’t tell me you two are actually dating?”
Shinhye lowered her voice as much as possible while glancing around.
What nonsense was she talking about?
I scooped up a huge bite of mango cake with a fork and stuffed it into her mouth.
“Stop saying useless things and eat your cake.”
“I thought you two seemed suspicious during that picnic before… Mm! This cake is really good.”
Eyes wide, Shinhye examined the mango cake while muttering,
“Maybe we should add something like this to our café too.”
Before she could start talking nonsense again, I hurriedly changed the subject.
“By the way, are things going well with Hunter Yoon Kanghyuk? Nothing happened, right?”
“Mm… sort of.”
Shinhye stirred her drink with a straw and trailed off.
She looked troubled about something.
“Why? Did something happen? Did you two fight?”
“A fight? No way! Nothing like that. It’s just… maybe because he’s been so busy lately? It’s hard to see him. And even when we do meet, it feels like he can’t really focus on me anymore…”
She sighed, saying she couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but something felt different from before.
“Don’t tell me he found another woman? If that’s the case, I’ll break his legs!”
Glowering, Shinhye viciously mashed her cake with her fork.
Looking at what used to be a mango cake, I fell into thought.
‘I really don’t think Hunter Yoon Kanghyuk would have a change of heart and leave Shinhye.’
The way he looked at her practically overflowed with affection.
Hoping there was nothing wrong between them, I spent the rest of the time catching up on all the gossip we’d missed.
After parting with Shinhye, I took a taxi home.
“Ah, Hunter Haneul. You’re back?”
The moment I opened the front door, a delicious smell assaulted my nose.
Wearing an apron in the kitchen and cooking, Lee Hyunwoo turned around and smiled brightly.
“I prepared a late-night meal. The menu is spicy chicken feet. You said you wanted some before.”
“Wow! Amazing! I was really craving something spicy!”
I stomped my feet excitedly and ran to the dining table.
After eating four slices of cake, I wanted something spicy.
Hanyang followed closely behind me, asking where its share was.
And so peaceful days continued.
Running the shop.
Watching my steadily growing points with satisfaction.
And every night, baking fish-shaped pastries filled with blessings for Hunter Lee Hyunwoo.
Ah, speaking of which, there had been one interesting piece of news during that time.
The verdict had finally come out for the man and woman who had used an illegal item to push Hyunwoo and me into the dimensional rift.
The woman who had participated in the crime received two years in prison.
The man who had directly activated the illegal item and caused us to fall into the rift was found guilty of direct assault and sentenced to five years in prison.
‘No settlement, no leniency. It was handled cleanly. And because of this incident, the Association was launching a large-scale crackdown on illegal items too, right?’
With even that lingering source of discomfort completely resolved, the thirtieth day promised by the system finally arrived.
As usual, I placed a perfectly shaped golden fish-shaped pastry onto a plate and handed it to him.
“Once you eat this pastry, all your memories should come back. How do you feel?”
“Hmm… I’m looking forward to it, but I’m also a little afraid.”
Saying he was prepared to endure whatever memories surfaced, Lee Hyunwoo carefully picked up the final fish-shaped pastry.
“Then… I’ll eat it.”
Finally, he bit into the golden-brown pastry.
The crisp crunch echoed through the room, and at the same moment…
“Ugh…!”
Lee Hyunwoo grabbed his head and staggered violently.
His magic power began fluctuating erratically.
***
Hyunwoo’s childhood had been relatively unhappy.
“Someone like you is a Hunter? Ha! The world’s really going to hell.”
His father, Park Seongcheol, had been an ordinary employee at a large corporation.
Unable to endure the existence of his mother, who had gone from being a housewife to becoming a C-rank Hunter, he had changed.
Once her income from Hunter activities far surpassed his salary, he had even begun throwing things and causing violent scenes.
“Just because you’re making a little money, you think you’re special? Don’t get so full of yourself!”
“Aah!! Honey! Please calm down!”
In Hyunwoo’s memories, Park Seongcheol was always drunk, his face red as he shouted.
For some reason, his mother could never stand up to him.
All she ever did was retreat to a corner while comforting the crying Hyunwoo in her arms.
Then one day, Park Seongcheol vanished as if evaporating into thin air, leaving behind only a ridiculous letter claiming he was going to become a politician.
“It’s all my fault. If only I hadn’t become an awakened person like an idiot…”
His mother always blamed herself that way.
An even more shocking truth came to light afterward.
He had never even legally registered his marriage with her.
Legally speaking, they were strangers.
Hyunwoo was an illegitimate child.
When his mother learned that fact belatedly, she collapsed.
“I thought if I had you, I could keep him with me!!! I… I was such a fool…”
Young Hyunwoo wiped away his mother’s tears and made a promise to himself.
His father might have abandoned them, but he would become the reason his mother kept living.
He would do better.
He would become better.
But in the year he turned ten, his mother entered a Gate and ended her own life.
Leaving behind nothing but a suicide note filled with resentment toward Park Seongcheol, who had abandoned her.
Comments (0)