Welcome to Dungeon Hotel Chapter 312 - Side Story 1. An Ordinary Romance (7)

Side Story 1. An Ordinary Romance (7) 

 

“What?”

 

While I was asking, someone called out to me.

 

It was some classmates sitting at another table, and since I was the only one over here, they seemed curious.

 

“We came to see you too. Ranked #1 Lee Junghyo.”

 

A boy in a denim jacket said playfully.

 

“Isn’t she practically the top output of our high school?”

 

“Hey. What are you talking about?”

 

Chae Minyoung, who was next to me, lightly tapped the denim jacket.

 

Then another kid chuckled and said.

 

“Yeah. Calling her the top output of our school is an understatement—she’s basically the top output of all of Korea. Look at that table over there. Only their side has all the snacks laid out.”

 

I finally came to my senses and looked at our table.

 

Come to think of it, our table was the only one with all sorts of snacks.

 

I took the plate from the clerk, who had neatly sliced the melon, and looked at Minji with a puzzled expression.

 

“Did we even order something like this?”

 

“There’s no way we did.”

 

Minji picked up a piece of Hanwoo sirloin from the Jjapaguri with her chopsticks and said.

 

“This is the power of being number one in the rankings. Strength. Since you’ve got some sirloin, why don’t you give them over there a smile?”

 

“Huh?”

 

I followed Minji’s gesture and looked toward the bearded owner standing behind the counter.

 

He was a kind-hearted owner I had met a few times before.

 

The kind of sociable, generous owner you could find at least one of in every college neighborhood.

 

When I smiled at the owner as if under Minji’s spell, he shyly lowered his head, then quietly pulled something out from under the table.

 

It was whiskey.

 

‘Ah, no. That’s not it.’

 

What kind of bar owner gives alcohol as a service instead of food?

 

I hurriedly got up from my seat to stop the owner. That was when it happened.

 

“Mhm?” 

 

I looked down at Han Woohyun, who was lightly holding my hand. 

 

“…”

 

This guy, his bangs slightly down, was smiling—

 

‘He’s drunk.’

 

“I’m not going anywhere, just heading to the counter for a second.” 

 

I said, gently twisting my hand free.

 

But soon enough, my hand was caught again—pulled back into Han Woohyun’s grasp. 

 

“I don’t want to.” 

 

“What, what do you mean?” 

 

Me? Turning down free whiskey? 

 

“I don’t want to let go.”

 

“…What the heck?”

 

As I stood there, I heard a sigh from beside me.

 

“No way…”

 

It was Choi Minji.

 

If you don’t want to let go—

 

I glanced once at Han Woohyun, who still wouldn’t let go of my hand, then at Choi Minji—before quietly sitting back down.  

 

“If I don’t let go, problem solved.”

 

“…This is couple hell, seriously.”

 

Choi Minji glared at me furiously, but I simply raised my free hand and lifted my glass without a word.

 

* * *

 

The drinking party went on quite late, and by the time everyone was talking about going for a third round, Junghyo and Woohyun had already slipped away. 

 

There was a brief little scuffle at the counter.

 

It was a little scuffle between Junghyo, who wanted to pay for the second round, and Minji, the treasurer, who wanted to cover it with the reunion fund. 

 

“Oho.” 

 

“Oho…?” 

 

“No, no. You can’t just buy stuff like this because you earned money.” 

 

“I think I can…?”

 

“You’re going to end up broke doing that, you know?” 

 

“I don’t think I will?”

 

While the two of them bickered in front of the counter, wallets in hand like a couple of old men, Han Woohyun quietly slipped away from the scene. 

 

“I’ll head downstairs first and wait for the substitute driver.”

 

But along with that, Han Woohyun walked past the parking lot and all the way to a nearby convenience store.

 

After buying a few necessary items at the convenience store, just as he had expected, someone was waiting for him.

 

“Woohyun…”

 

Chae Minyoung, wearing a thin dress, gave Han Woohyun a slight smile, but her expression soon hardened.

 

“…You…”

 

It was when she realized that the phone she had been holding in her hand had, in an instant, ended up in Han Woohyun’s hands. 

 

“What are you doing?”

 

It was a perfectly reasonable question for the phone’s owner to ask, but before the question could even be fully formed, Han Woohyun threw the phone to the ground and stepped on it.

 

“Hey, you crazy—”

 

“I accidentally dropped it. I’m sorry.”

 

Facing the shattered phone, Han Woohyun calmly apologized.

 

But there was no way the other person would accept such a heartless apology.

 

“What are you doing? Are you crazy?”

 

The reason Chae Minyoung, her face pale as a sheet, didn’t curse wasn’t because she still had a shred of reason left, but because she felt the utterly inhuman difference in strength—the kind that could smash a phone to pieces in an instant. 

 

Moreover, the faint trace of contempt that seeped through his perfectly expressionless face was enough to freeze Chae Minyoung’s entire body.

 

Because it was a completely different expression from the one he had, smiling brightly while leaning drunkenly on Junghyo’s shoulder.

 

“If you get really angry, call the police, Minyoung.”

 

Han Woohyun, in a voice devoid of any emotion, took the SIM card out of the smashed phone and picked it up.

 

“My name…”

 

“Check what’s inside.”

 

“…!”

 

“So why would you take pictures of someone without their consent?”

 

Han Woohyun looked down at Chae Minyoung with his overwhelming height. Only disdain filled his brown eyes.

 

Junghyo must have known too.

 

The phone being shoved over his shoulder, the photos and videos stored inside it.

 

Still, the reason Junghyo let it go without a word was probably a very simple one.

 

“I said I wasn’t interested.” 

 

“…” 

 

Chae Minyoung looked up at Han Woohyun, unable to even breathe under the overwhelming presence she couldn’t comprehend. 

 

Han Woohyun looked down at Chae Minyoung and thought to himself.

 

Ignoring someone takes effort too, you know.

 

She shouldn’t have made him put in that kind of effort.

 

Han Woohyun quietly placed the crushed SIM card into Chae Minyoung’s hand.

 

His body stumbled.

 

“…”

 

The remaining traces of alcohol still had a slight hold over his body.

 

Han Woohyun leaned against the convenience store wall and looked at Chae Minyoung.

 

“Go quickly. The other kids are coming.”

 

His eyes were half-closed, as if he was tired. 

 

Watching that, Chae Minyoung glared at his arrogant face for a moment before biting her lip and speaking. 

 

“Are you gonna at least hit me if I don’t leave?”

 

Han Woohyun chuckled.

 

He sighed, resting his head against the wall.

 

As if I’d ever do something like that over someone like you.

 

Why do people like this overestimate themselves?

 

Han Woohyun sensed it too.

 

The kind of gaze that had been pouring over him the entire time he was leaning on Junghyo’s shoulder.

 

Clinging to him so persistently, as if out of jealousy. 

 

Whenever it seemed that Junghyo even slightly noticed it, irritation arose more than a faint sense of pleasure.

 

“If you don’t want to go, then don’t. Being embarrassed in front of the others is your choice, after all.”

 

But he had no intention of venting that irritation.

 

Junghyo would be coming down soon, and if the fight escalated, she’d be worried too. 

 

Han Woohyun habitually took out his wallet and the cigarettes he had bought from the convenience store.

 

“Ah, if you’re hesitating because of the cost of breaking the phone…”

 

Han Woohyun opened his wallet, took out a generous amount of cash, and held it out in front of the other person. 

 

The other person’s eyes trembled with humiliation as they read contempt in his expression.

 

Han Woohyun, paying little attention, placed the cash on top of the ice cream container.

 

“Here. Breaking your phone was my fault… so take this.”

 

Han Woohyun also took out the remaining bills from his wallet and added them on top.

 

“Take a taxi.”

 

Han Woohyun spoke with a tired expression, then leaned against the wall and peeled the wrapper off the pack of cigarettes.

 

Then, Chae Minyoung, who had been breathing heavily in irritation, quickly turned away.

 

Han Woohyun put a cigarette to his lips, then flinched and put it down immediately.

 

He didn’t buy this to actually smoke, though. 

 

He realized that when he met the gaze of someone quietly watching him near the parking payment booth.

 

Lee Junghyo.

 

It’s Junghyo.

 

Han Woohyun froze for a moment at the sight of Junghyo, dressed in jeans, a white T-shirt, and a black jacket.

 

Junghyo looked slightly flustered, then grabbed Minji’s shoulder as she wobbled and leaned against her.

 

Then, she mouthed something as if she was saying something.

 

‘I’ll call Han Woohyun. The substitute driver will be here soon.’

 

Junghyo looked at Han Woohyun as she said that.

 

He continued looking at Junghyo for a moment, then picked up his phone.

 

Junghyo’s phone began to ring.

 

Junghyo answered the call.

 

[Why are you—]

 

“That was me who called you back then.”

 

[What?]

 

Junghyo’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.

 

She hesitated for a moment, then seated Minji on a chair set out for the valet drivers and looked at Han Woohyun. 

 

As the wind blew, Junghyo’s long hair fluttered, and he grabbed it with his hand.

 

Han Woohyun saw another image of Junghyo overlaying that image.

 

Perhaps around twenty.

 

He saw Junghyo from a time long ago, whether young or just a child, wearing a school jacket and sneakers, shivering in the cold.

 

* * *

 

It was a few years ago.

 

It had been a long time since Jinsoo had visited. As soon as Han Woohyun moved into an apartment, Jinsoo, around the same time, got his own place and left his family home. 

 

The man standing at the door had a rather sullen face.

 

“This… Mom said to give it to you.”

 

Seeing the side dish container in Jinsoo’s hand, he simply rubbed his forehead without saying a word.

 

A few days ago, he had been seriously injured in a raid and had an accident.

 

Not long after that accident, he received a call from his aunt.

 

It was a call to borrow money because of his uncle’s situation.

 

He had refused the request firmly.

 

‘Do you like the way you are now, Aunt? Don’t you resent falling in love with that person and ruining yourself like this? Look at the person you love. What happened to him because you loved someone like that?’

 

It was the first time he had spoken so emotionally.

 

Maybe it was because the call came while he was receiving healing treatment. Even knowing his condition after barely surviving, he felt a pang of resentment toward his aunt for bringing up money first.

 

Or maybe—

 

Choi Minji

 

This is my number.

 

I’m the alumni association secretary~ So feel free to contact me~

 

You know I won’t take it personally if you don’t reply because you’re busy, right~? After all, I’m the alumni association secretary~

 

Was it because he suddenly got a message like that from Minji back then?

 

Was it because, at the end of that message, he happened to check ‘that kid’s’ SNS photos and saw someone there?

 

Or was it just that he, foolishly, let his imagination run wild? 

 

He meant the foolish kind of imagination where he pictured what life would be like if he hadn’t become a Hunter.

 

The kind of imagination about the days around turning twenty, when, not having been given this unknown power, you lived as a normal person—going to college, doing part-time jobs, and then naturally finding your way back to ‘that kid.’