STC chapter 28

“……Have a seat.”

Seeing someone who looked like they should be slicing steak and twirling pasta eating samgyetang felt oddly out of place.

As soon as I gave my permission, Ryu Min quickly sat down and picked up his spoon.

Even though he was eating the same food as me, the aura of brilliance around him was all because of his beautiful appearance.

Maybe it was because there was someone approachable in our group, but the crowd that used to avoid us was slowly gathering.

Of course, they were approaching Ryu Min, not me, Ye Ilhu, or Chae Goya.

“Hello, Vice Guild Leader.”

“What brings you to the cafeteria today?”

In response to the flood of questions, Ryu Min smiled and chatted casually.

“They said they were serving samgyetang.”

Does he like samgyetang?

That’s really unexpected. I reflected on my assumptions about his food preferences based on his appearance.

Come to think of it, I rarely had personal conversations with Ryu Min.

I had coffee with Ye Ilhu and even went drinking with Chae Goya.

“By the way, what’s that?”

As the crowd thinned out, Ryu Min pointed at Dukbong and asked. Dukbong, who was pecking at the rice grains in a small bowl, looked up.

Actually, since it was a system window rather than a real bird, it didn’t need to consume nutrients, but maybe it just wanted to feel the experience.

Dukbong often ate something in front of others.

“It’s Dukbong.”

“Ah, Dukbong… That’s a very friendly name.”

He probably wanted to know what it was, but I gave a vague answer because explaining everything was bothersome.

I then gnawed on a chicken leg.

Normally, I would have kindly answered, but today was different.

I hadn’t realized it until now, but using abilities made me hungrier.

“C-careful, hyung. Eat slowly.”

Chae Goya, concerned about my hurried eating, handed me a glass of water. Just as I was feeling embarrassed about my ravenous eating, Ye Ilhu added a comment as if reading my mind.

“It’s better than nibbling at your food.”

It didn’t sound like he was mocking me, but what’s with this guy?

I was bewildered when Ryu Min, from beside me, supported Ye Ilhu.

“Baram, you eat so heartily. I like that.”

Ryu Min, who had already cleaned his plate, praised me with his chin propped up, facing me.

“T-thank you?”

I felt like a baby being praised for eating broccoli and carrots without fuss during weaning.

What’s with these guys? Suddenly trapped in a barrage of compliments, I felt awkward and stopped eating, scratching my arm instead.

‘Dukbong, this is no time for you to be eating.’

I was curious about what the three of them were thinking, but Dukbong was too busy pecking at rice grains to notice.

* * *

Ye Ilhu was quietly staring at his half-finished tray. The cafeteria had become noisy as people gathered around Kang Baram. To be precise, it was because Ryu Min had joined us.

He quietly glared at Ryu Min, the source of the commotion. When their eyes met, Ryu Min winked at him warmly.

Of course, Ye Ilhu ignored the gesture. Despite knowing Ryu Min for a long time, he still didn’t feel like getting close to him. That was true even when Ryu Min was best friends with his older brother.

‘I don’t like him.’

This was only the second time he had used the guild cafeteria. Both times were because of Kang Baram.

To be precise, he wanted to keep Baram close and watch him, but asking him to eat out would definitely get rejected, leaving no other choice.

Baram seemed to like the cafeteria food, but it didn’t suit Ye Ilhu’s taste.

Despite the care put into the menu, it was hard to prepare large quantities of food daily for hundreds of guild employees and hunters staying at the dorms.

It lacked the sophistication to satisfy Ye Ilhu’s refined palate.

That’s when Baram, noticing more than half of Ye Ilhu’s samgyetang untouched, asked directly.

“Don’t you like samgyetang?”

“……Yeah.”

It wasn’t a lie. He wasn’t a big eater, nor did he particularly avoid any food. However, his sensitive palate didn’t favor the slimy texture.

He disliked the feeling of the well-cooked chicken skin sliding down his throat.

“Hmm.”

Baram, lips pursed, looked at the now-cold samgyetang. As expected, Baram’s tray was completely empty. Despite his small size, he wasn’t picky and ate everything well.

“Do you want more?”

“What?”

“Why don’t you ask for more?”

“No, it’s fine.”

Baram shook his head, though he looked a bit disappointed.

A hunter, seeing Baram talking to Ye Ilhu, approached and asked.

“Kang Baram Hunter, did you finish eating already? You must have been very hungry.”

A hunter with notably heavy eyelids and a sleazy expression spoke familiarly. Baram narrowed his eyes and replied.

“Well… Maybe.”

Baram, usually friendly, seemed indifferent. The hunter, not sensing the chill, laughed heartily and persisted.

It puzzled Ye Ilhu.

He then realized most of the people here were the ones who had gathered in front of the training room on the day of his first spar with Baram.

They had even placed bets on the match, so it was no wonder they weren’t well-received.

Ye Ilhu watched Baram, who was answering the sleazy hunter.

If he didn’t like it, he could just ignore them, but he seemed uncomfortable doing that, so he responded to everyone. That’s why people kept bothering him.

Feeling Ye Ilhu’s gaze, Baram looked at him and tilted his head.

“What?”

“Can’t I look?”

“Sure. It wears out. If you want to look, pay up. 1 million won per minute.”

So childish. Ye Ilhu let out a snort, finding it ridiculous, and Baram, slightly embarrassed, gave a sheepish smile. His light pink eyes crinkled cutely as he laughed.

‘Maybe because he looks like a puppy.’

Or maybe it was his fluffy hair. Whenever Baram laughed like that, the atmosphere around him softened.

A few months ago, Ye Ilhu hadn’t even known about this D-rank support hunter, but recently, Baram had been shaking his heart.

After his brother’s untimely death, Ye Ilhu had come to despise hunters. Those who approached him always had a clear purpose, trying to use him and his SS-rank brother.

For him and his brother, each other was the only family and support.

Both had awakened as high-ranking hunters around the same time.

The brothers, once ignored by society, became a hot topic overnight.

At first, the public’s attention was purely enjoyable.

After moving to Idea, founded by Chae Goya’s grandfather, everyone treated them kindly.

Of course, excluding his friend Chae Gohae, all the other hunters were thoroughly exploiting the two naive brothers.

After losing his brother in the midst of all this, Ye Ilhu began to despise the awakened gene flowing through his body.

To avoid being exploited any longer, he had to stay alert. He no longer had his brother to protect him.

He had to become stronger. And for that, he needed Kang Baram, who could temporarily use similar abilities.

‘…That’s why I approached him in the first place.’

But now, he found himself constantly noticing Kang Baram.

When Kang Baram was stuck close to Chae Gohae, it irritated him, and when he saw Kang Baram talking with Ryu Min, he wanted to whisk him away somewhere.

The problem was that he wasn’t the only one noticing Kang Baram. Until yesterday, Kang Baram’s mornings were entirely his, but now all sorts of hunters were gathering around him.

Initially, it was intriguing to see Ryu Min using the guild cafeteria, so people started to gather around him one by one.

But now, most of them were glancing at Kang Baram.

Of course, the reason was Ye Ilhu himself.

If he hadn’t taken an interest in Kang Baram from the start… If he hadn’t started morning training with him, Kang Baram wouldn’t have drawn so much attention.

Unaware of this, Ye Ilhu grumbled to himself.

‘He’s like a human honey bun.’

As he was pondering how to get rid of those pesky flies all at once, both Ryu Min’s and Ye Ilhu’s hunter watches rang simultaneously. It was an alert for an important upcoming meeting.

Ryu Min spoke up from across the table.

“Shall we get going if you’re done eating?”

“Yeah.”

It was likely about the team system restructuring that had been mentioned a few months ago.

As Ye Ilhu thought about this, a sly smile formed on his lips. He had been worrying about how to keep Kang Baram close to him, and now a good idea had come to him.

Ye Ilhu, who was walking a few steps ahead of Ryu Min as they left the cafeteria, suddenly threw open the meeting room door without knocking.

Usually, only the guild’s management attended these meetings, but as the sole SS rank, he had free access.

“Are you both here?”

Ye Ilhu quickly approached Chae Gohae, who greeted them with a smile, and slammed his fist on the table.

Sparks flew from where his fist struck, cracking the surface. The loud noise made the management team jump and look towards the source of the sound.

Ignoring them, Ye Ilhu grinned and said,

“Boss, about Kang Bal… no, Hunter Kang Baram. Give him to me.”