STC chapter 14

I wasn’t the only one who learned something from yesterday’s sparring. Surprisingly, Ye Ilhu also seemed to have learned something from me, as his attacks were sharper than before.

For instance, I tend to have a narrower field of vision on my left side because I’m right-handed.

Ye Ilhu, noticing this, relentlessly targeted my weak side with continuous fire attacks.

I clicked my tongue and barely dodged his attacks by rolling on the ground.

‘If I were in my old body, I could easily dodge this.’

Kang Baram’s current body wasn’t bad.

I was in the mid-170 cm range, slender but with well-defined muscles from being a hunter.

However, thinking of my previous body, which was 187 cm and muscular, I couldn’t help but feel regretful.

My current body’s reflexes were slower, and even shaking off Ye Ilhu’s grip was difficult.

Like the old saying, “You don’t miss what you have until it’s gone,” I couldn’t help but feel frustrated. If it were the old me, even as a D-rank, I would have been much more effective in combat.

Despite the regret, there was no point in dwelling on it. There was nothing I could do about it now.

While I was momentarily lost in thought, Ye Ilhu had suddenly closed the distance between us. His face was so close I could count his eyelashes, and I could feel the heat from the flames swirling around his fist.

“Are you really thinking about something else while sparring with me?”

His gray eyes were cold and sharp. I instinctively held my breath. Damn it! If those flaming fists even grazed me, I’d be in serious trouble.

Just then, my Hunter Watch on my wrist started beeping wildly. Simultaneously, I felt my energy dissipate like smoke.

I shouted urgently.

“Three minutes! It’s been three minutes, you jerk! Stop!”

Ye Ilhu miraculously stopped his fist right in front of my nose, as if by magic.

Wait a minute… Sure, the flames were a hologram, but if that punch had landed, it would’ve hurt like hell, hologram or not.

My voice rose involuntarily.

“Did you really try to hit me?!”

Ye Ilhu casually shook his wrist and responded with an irritatingly calm voice.

“One hit won’t kill you.”

Now I understood why all the hunters came out to watch.

While elemental attacks and the training room’s background were holographically simulated, physical attacks were very real.

So they had gathered to see how badly I’d get beaten up.

“You’re really annoying.”

“What about breakfast?”

Ignoring my complaints, Ye Ilhu asked nonchalantly while taking off his protective gear.

We had met at seven in the morning because Ye Ilhu, busy with gate assignments, didn’t know when he’d be called out. For me, who usually had breakfast around eight, it was an unusually early hour.

“Breakfast? Why? I was planning to go back and sleep a bit more before eating.”

“I’m eating now, so you should too.”

“Why should I?”

Are we close enough to eat together? Not at all. Yet, he lightly pushed me from behind without a care.

“Hey, hey, what’s with this?”

“I’m hungry.”

“So what? Why drag me along… wait, don’t push!”

Ignoring my protest, Ye Ilhu cut through the crowd that had gathered outside the training room.

In the background, I could faintly hear someone saying, “Hey, give me my five thousand won.”

*

By the time I came to my senses, I found myself inside the cafeteria run by the guild. In fact, I was right in front of the counter.

I rubbed my full belly with satisfaction, then suddenly realized the situation with a start.

Ye Ilhu handed the hunter ID card, which he could use within IDEA, to the café staff and looked at me.

“What do you want to drink?”

“Uh, iced Americ… no, wait. Why are you buying my coffee…?!”

“Two iced Americanos, please.”

I had somehow ended up having a meal with him, and I didn’t want to share coffee time as well. I quickly grabbed his wrist, but Ye Ilhu lightly shook me off and handed the card to the staff again.

He clicked his tongue in disapproval.

“We’re in the same guild; it’s not a big deal to treat you to this, is it?”

I blinked rapidly at his words. Well, he wasn’t forcing me to sit and drink with him in the café, nor was he extorting money from me.

If he wanted to buy me a drink with his own money, there was no reason to stop him.

Thinking about it that way, I wondered if I had been too harsh on him all this time. Although he was rude, I had learned a lot from sparring with him.

And fundamentally, a person who buys you food can’t be all bad. Of course, you should be wary if it’s anything more expensive than premium beef.

Once I simplified my thoughts like that, I felt more at ease. My suspicion and wariness completely dissolved, and I tapped his arm lightly with my shoulder, grinning.

“Thanks. I really like the coffee here.”

Of course, since this was a café for IDEA-affiliated hunters, I could easily buy my own coffee, but coffee bought by someone else always tasted better.

Ye Ilhu stared at the spot where I had tapped his arm, then looked back at me and asked.

“Are you always this touchy with others?”

His expression was stiff. Oh… did that upset him? He was usually expressionless, but now he seemed even more displeased.

He muttered.

“You were close to Chae Goya too earlier.”

Well, it might have made him uncomfortable since we weren’t that close. I was used to hanging out with friends in my previous life, so I hadn’t been considerate.

Feeling flustered, I started to brush off his arm but stopped midway.

My hand, which had reached out, recoiled as if it had touched something sensitive.

I had just realized he disliked being touched and almost made another mistake.

“Sorry, I’ll be more careful from now on.”

“That’s not it…!”

“Hunter Ye Ilhu, two iced Americanos are ready!”

He seemed to want to say more, but the staff’s bright voice cut him off. Wanting to return to my room quickly, I hurried to the counter and picked up the coffees.

“Thanks, I’ll buy next time.”

The thought of getting a free coffee lifted my spirits.

When I handed Ye Ilhu his coffee with a smile, a system window popped up above his head.

By now, I was quite used to glancing at it to check the contents.

—

[Ye Ilhu / SS-Rank Hunter (Elemental Attack Type)

♥ Affection Level ♥: 8 / ??

System:// Ye Ilhu likes your smiling face! He wants to see it more, but he’s embarrassed! This is your chance! If you keep smiling, you’ll gain a lot of affection points! Don’t miss out! ♪ ٩( ´ω` )و ♪]

—

Hmm, it must be broken. Ignoring it seemed like the best course of action for my mental health.

As promised, we had sparred, eaten, and now had coffee, so there was no reason to stay with Ye Ilhu any longer.

Just as I was about to say goodbye, he gently tugged at my shirt.

“Tomorrow at seven.”

“Got it. Don’t be late.”

“…..”

“See you!”

As I waved and said goodbye, he watched me quietly before letting go of my shirt.

“Go on, Kang Balbal.”

He had given me a strange nickname, but it was better than being looked down on for being a D-rank.

Was it because he thought I was always bustling around? How simplistic.

Crossing the hallway, I soon returned to the dorm on the 5th floor where my room was.

Some hunters I passed by whispered among themselves as they saw me.

Given that I didn’t know any of them, it seemed I had become quite well-known among them because of Ye Ilhu.

Regardless, I was preoccupied with mulling over the events of the previous day.

When I was called to the office, Chae Gohae had said:

[Yes, that’s a relief. No pain anywhere… right.]

He had definitely been probing me while hiding his true intentions.

[Oh dear, you must have been hungry? I couldn’t reach you since last night. Did you sleep straight through without eating?]

Jeong Yeonji had said that…

Despite my severe memory lapses, Chae Gohae had no doubts when I assured him there was nothing wrong with me. He was the guild leader of IDEA, after all.

With high-ranked hunters all around and no recent high-risk gates opening, it was odd.

Recently, an A-rank gate had opened, and most of the hunters had been mobilized. But that was rare, and everyone had returned safely.

But no matter how relaxed things had become, gates were always places where vigilance was crucial. The government was still conducting extensive research on these mysterious areas.

‘The person who should know best how dangerous gates are just lets a hunter with mental issues wander around without any measures?’

Even if I didn’t frequently enter gates due to my low rank, it didn’t reduce the danger.

‘Something smells fishy.’

Why did he insist on keeping me in IDEA… close to himself? What benefit would he get from a D-rank?

The deeper my suspicions grew, the more my animal instincts awakened within me.

It seemed like I had found something more important to do than just sparring with Ye Ilhu.