Chapter 27
“Yeah…”
Saebyeok answered awkwardly, looking uneasy, and Park Woojoon grabbed the back of his neck.
“Don’t tell me you’re the one who hunted that lizard horde?!”
“Yeah…”
“Wow! No wonder it seemed strange! Looking at that pile of lizard corpses, it didn’t feel like Hwang Taesan’s combat style. I thought something was off, and wow!”
He ran his hand roughly through his hair with a betrayed look on his face.
“And here I was, touched, thinking you went out of your way because you were worried about me!”
“Sorry.”
“Wow, this is real betrayal!”
“Are you sulking?”
“Do I not look like I’m sulking?!”
Next to him, Han Sejin, who had been grilling meat, let out a shocked sound.
“Then that night, when you suddenly ran out—it was to go to Seoul Station?!”
Both of them laughed helplessly now that all the pieces finally fit.
Saebyeok glanced at them, then wrapped another bite and put it into Sihu’s mouth.
She also placed a nicely grilled piece of pork belly into Kang Suho’s bowl. She’d noticed he hadn’t been able to eat properly, too tense the whole time.
Especially when Seoul Station was mentioned, he looked very uncomfortable. Maybe because of their reactions, he kept stealing nervous glances at her.
“Eat comfortably. They’re always like this. Just unnecessarily loud.”
Saebyeok tried to reassure him.
“If you’d just been honest from the start, I wouldn’t be acting like this!”
“It’s your fault, noona!”
But both Park Woojoon and Han Sejin yelled in protest at the same time.
Saebyeok quickly covered Sihu’s ears with her hands and feigned distraction.
“Enough! Just register starting tomorrow!”
Picking up his chopsticks again, Park Woojoon waved them like nothing else mattered.
Saebyeok, who had already been planning to, nodded obediently—when suddenly, Woojoon’s phone rang. The caller ID showed it was one of the raid members.
—Captain! You need to get here, quick! Kim Ihan and Lee Pado are fighting!
“Again? Where’s the Guild President?”
—The President got called away by the President of the country! The moment he left, Lee Pado grabbed Kim Ihan by the collar!
“Ha, that hothead…”
—Captain, hurry! At this rate, they’re going to demolish the few buildings we have left on-site!
“Got it. Try to hold them back as best you can. I’ll be there in 10 minutes.”
After hanging up, Park Woojoon grabbed his coat and stood up.
“Han Saebyeok, this is all your fault.”
“That’s just for show. Lee Pado may have a temper, but he’s not stupid. He won’t throw a real punch. He’ll just smash up some buildings, that’s all.”
He was only putting on an intimidating front to squeeze information out of Kim Ihan. No way would he really throw fists at the man who had helped save his daughter. What would he tell her if he did?
“And why do you think he’s putting on that show? To figure out who you really are!”
“That man is peculiar. He can always repay the favor of saving his daughter later. Why is he in such a rush to resolve it now?”
“Hey, Han Saebyeok. Forget waiting until tomorrow. Come with me right now.”
Woojoon reached out to pull her up, but she smoothly dodged his hand.
“No. I’m going to enjoy my last night as a civilian.”
“Can’t you see what’s going on? Lee Pado and Kim Ihan are clashing. If Donghae and Glory butt heads for real…!”
“Isn’t Glory picking fights with other S-class guilds practically a daily routine?”
Saebyeok stayed firm.
“That’s all for show, too. With so many news cameras around, they’re just stirring up attention.”
She told him flatly: Kim Ihan being Kim Ihan—ignore it.
Woojoon was left exasperated.
“Argh! I’m the only one suffering here!”
“Just tell Hunter Kim Ihan I said to go easy—since he knows me. And tell Hunter Lee Pado, if he really wants to meet me, he can come tomorrow when I go for evaluation.”
“I’m telling you, let’s just settle it right now! Seriously… damn, I can’t even drag you off by force!”
Frustrated to death, Woojoon nearly lunged like he would scoop her up by force.
In that instant, Kang Suho’s body reacted. He jerked forward as if ready to spring.
He quickly pretended to look back down at the table, but there was no way a hunter like Woojoon could’ve missed it.
“By the way…”
Woojoon’s face hardened, realizing he’d forgotten to ask the most important question.
“So, who exactly is this guy?”
His voice was sharp, bristling with edge.
* * *
The man who would help her establish a guild.
Saebyeok gave the same answer to Woojoon as she had to Han Sejin.
At first, he thought, If she’s S-class, she could just establish one herself, and understood. But when he heard Kang Suho hadn’t awakened, he reacted just like Sejin did.
Still, there wasn’t much time to talk.
Because Lee Pado had started wrecking the building, raid members were frantically calling for Woojoon.
In the end, Woojoon could only postpone everything until later.
I’ve never seen that guy finish a meal in my life.
Han Sejin said as they watched Woojoon storm out.
Every time, he rushes off like that before finishing, so how does he keep putting on muscle? It’s a mystery. Must be because he’s awakened.
He shook his head, muttering.
Only after Woojoon left did Saebyeok notice Kang Suho finally let the tension leave his body.
Of course—Woojoon was none other than the association’s raid captain. For someone like Kang Suho, who harbored deep doubts about hunters and especially distrusted the association, being in the same room with such a figure must’ve been extremely uncomfortable.
At any rate, once Woojoon was gone, the meal soon wrapped up.
Han Sejin, tipsy from a can of beer, slumped over, while little Sihu, full and drowsy, fell asleep in Saebyeok’s arms.
Saebyeok carried Sihu to her own bed, while Suho helped Sejin into his room.
After delivering each of their younger charges to bed, the two of them returned to the table, as if by unspoken agreement.
“Sorry, that must’ve been a shock for you.”
Saebyeok smiled apologetically, cracking open another beer.
“I really didn’t expect him to show up like that. I thought he’d be busy cleaning up the Scavengers’ mess for a while.”
At her words, Suho’s face grew thoughtful.
“Are you two close?”
“Our families have known each other since we were kids. We went to the same kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high school.”
“Family friends…”
“Our parents met in the maternity ward.”
Suho nodded in understanding, though his expression was conflicted.
A silence fell, filled only by the low hum of the refrigerator.
“Can I ask you something?”
Saebyeok sipped her beer and spoke.
“Go ahead.”
“How old are you?”
Of course, she already knew—but in this life, it was her first time asking.
“Twenty-four.”
“One year older than me. You can speak casually.”
“No. I’m fine like this.”
Saebyeok was a little dumbfounded.
Funny, in my last life you spoke so harshly to me from the very first meeting…
But the past was the past, and now was now.
Maybe it was better this way—drawing a clear line between lives, treating each other with courtesy.
When she didn’t say more, Suho studied her face and asked,
“That’s all you wanted to know?”
“Mm… how old is Sihu, then?”
“Six.”
“Ah, just about to start elementary school.”
At her musing, his expression suddenly darkened.
“He… isn’t registered.”
Saebyeok almost spat out her beer mid-swallow.
Her eyes widened in shock.
This was something she had never heard, not even in her previous life.
After a moment’s thought, she asked carefully,
“You once said you live day by day. Is that connected to why he isn’t registered?”
She roughly knew his past, but couldn’t reveal it outright.
She was aware it wasn’t a pleasant story, and wondered if it was better to stay quiet. But if she stayed silent at this timing, it might only seem stranger.
She didn’t expect him to actually answer—she only threw the question out.
Yet…
“My mother ended her own life not long after giving birth to Sihu.”
Just like on the mountain, Kang Suho’s lips opened easily again.
Saebyeok’s eyes went wide.
* * *
Kang Suho couldn’t understand why he was telling her all this.
“My so-called father took out his anger on us for losing her.”
Why was he revealing something so personal…
“I’d already grown up being beaten by my mother, so honestly, I was used to the abuse.”
Something this private…
“But then one day, that man suddenly disappeared and never came back… The house went to auction, and we were thrown out.”
“With Sihu, too… that must have been overwhelming.”
“To be honest… instead of overwhelming, I felt relieved. Like we’d finally escaped that prison.”
Why was he pouring this out?
But like a broken dam, the words wouldn’t stop.
“At first, I thought about sending Sihu to an orphanage. But every single one demanded I contact my father to file a birth certificate for him.”
Was it the beer? Just a few sips—was he actually drunk?
“Having just escaped that prison, I felt if I sought him out, I’d be dragged back again. So I ran.”
“You never thought of asking for help? Reporting the abuse to the police…?”
Maybe it was this woman’s attitude.
Her tolerance, even after saving his life twice already, now trying to help him further—he was helplessly drawn in.
“My father’s a hunter. Damn it all… an A-class.”
As if under hypnosis, he spilled secrets he’d never told anyone before.
