Bitten by the Bugs?

"Ugh..."

My head hurts. It must have been yesterday...

"While I was drinking... definitely..."

A memory from the past suddenly surfaced. The one where I woke up after drinking and found myself lying naked next to Cheon Maru.

"!!!"

I quickly scanned my surroundings. There were people around, but...

"Whew."

Fortunately they were all girls. It was Chae-eun and Yeon-hwa unni. Both of them were properly dressed too. I carefully slipped out of bed without waking them.

But the facilities here are seriously nice. There's even a full vanity.

I lightly combed my hair with the vanity brush. After patting down my now-neat hair, I stepped out of the room.

"Did everyone sleep well... huh?"

An unbelievable scene was unfolding there.

"...Did a villain drop by?"

"A crazier bitch than that dropped by."

Maru was pinned down by iron chains that had appeared from who knows where, and right beside him Nuri was asleep on the sofa. Just what had happened?

"Mmm... unni?"

"Nuri, what is all this?"

"Unni!!"

Nuri suddenly rushed over in a panic. What was going ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on?

"Unni! That bastard didn't do anything weird to you, right?!"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

What on earth had happened yesterday... ugh!

A slight headache hit me and the memories flooded back. So yesterday I... acting all cute... dragging Maru along and...?

"Maru! I didn't do anything strange yesterday, did I?!"

In front of my friends, and even my friend's mother, no way!

"Well..."

"Tell me properly! What exactly did I do?!"

After what happened the last time I drank, the anxiety was driving me insane. Why wasn't he giving me a straight answer? I didn't actually get wasted, strip, and do something like that... right?

"It wasn't a big deal. You were just drunk and pulled me over for a hug."

"Really? Whew... wait, that's not reassuring at all?!"

I hugged him in front of everyone?!

"Ughhh... what the hell did I do..."

"Huh? So unni was the one who pulled him in?"

"Yeah. I remember that part."

But why was she completely uninterested in the hugging part and only focused on the fact that I had pulled him?

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"See, I told you. I didn't do anything."

"What are you talking about? Then you should've gotten away faster. Does it feel good when a drunk person clings to you?"

Nuri only responded to the aggrieved Maru with irritation. Still, she did release him.

"Um... Nuri. Did I do anything else weird?"

"No? You were cute, unni."

"Arghhh..."

Even with only a year between us, hearing my younger friend call me cute was embarrassing.

"Ugh. Where's Mother?"

"Mom went for her morning walk. She goes out every single morning."

"By herself?"

"Yes. I offered to go with her but she said she was fine and left alone. She should be back soon."

At this point wasn't she less brave and more oblivious? It hadn't even been a week since that incident.

"Then Maru and Nuri, you two rest for a bit."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to make some simple hangover soup. Nuri had the sense to buy the ingredients yesterday."

I was planning to make bean sprout and dried pollack hangover soup.

"Is there anything I can help with?"

"Huh? You can rest if you want. Didn't you sleep badly?"

"It's okay. I'd rather do something to wake myself up properly."

"Then cut some ingredients and wash them for me. I'll stir-fry the dried pollack."

"Okay."

I lightly rinsed the dried pollack and squeezed out the water with force. I added sesame oil to the pot and gently stir-fried the pollack. Then I poured in water, added radish, and waited for it to boil. Once the radish was fully cooked and the broth had deepened, I added bean sprouts, minced garlic, and seasoned it with soup soy sauce. After a while I tossed in green onion and cheongyang chili peppers, cracked in an egg, and it was done.

"Maru, help me set the table. Nuri, go wake up Chae-eun and unni."

"Yeah."

"Got it."

I set out the leftover meat from yesterday along with a few vegetables. I also brought out the cabbage salad and crunchy chili pepper salad I'd prepared the day before.

While setting the table, Mother returned. I was relieved she was safe. Korea had good public safety, but I couldn't help feeling anxious since it hadn't been long since that incident.

"You're awake... huh? What's all this?"

"Ah, I put together something light to help with hangovers."

"Ughhh... my stomach..."

"Chae-eun. Come eat some hangover soup. Unni, wake up a little."

"Mmm... okay..."

Chae-eun clutching her stomach and Yeon-hwa unni, who still looked like she wanted more sleep, came out at perfect timing.

"Let's eat well."

"Let's eat well~."

I soothed my stomach with the hangover soup I'd made myself. This was the first time I'd ever been this drunk... no, the second time, so it was my first time making the soup for it. I'd made it plenty of times just to eat, though.

"Ughhh. I feel alive again."

"Are you an old man?"

A voice that was impossible to believe belonged to a fresh twenty-year-old female college student came out of Chae-eun's mouth.

"After we eat, let's head to the association branch. I'll teach you what I mentioned yesterday."

"Yes! I'll get ready right away."

"Ooh. X-rank tutoring that money can't buy!"

"Mother, unni, and Maru..."

"We'll just watch."

"Yeah. I'm kind of curious about a hunter's fight too."

"Then let's all go together. I have something else I need to discuss with the association anyway."

"Again? Just how many things do you have going on?"

"Look at this."

I showed them the message I'd received from the Busan Association branch head. Following the link, there was a post waiting.

"...Huh? We've been completely found out?"

"He wrote the post the second he got out of that fog. We were a step too late. The branch head said that trying to force-delete it now would only make it spread more, so they left it up for the time being."

"So everyone knows we're close to Baek Wol?"

"Yeah. It's already spread across every site imaginable. There hasn't been anyone with a personal connection to Baek Wol until now."

If anyone, maybe the Association President or the masters of the three major guilds? But even they were known to have strictly business relationships. This was the first time a personal connection had been revealed.

"That's why I need to talk with the branch head. We have to decide how much to reveal and how much to control."

"Ugh. It's really spread everywhere. All my messages are about unni."

Nuri looked at her phone and turned pale. But was there any reason for me to be famous in the internet broadcasting world? Or were the messages coming from hunter connections?

"Anyway, brace yourselves. A lot of people are probably going to ask about me."

"Ooh. The weight of secrecy!"

"This is going to be annoying."

In the middle of it all, Chae-eun was getting excited again. She really had an enviable personality.

"Don't force the mana in. Make it circulate endlessly inside your body. Spread it evenly and smoothly without any breaks or clumps."

"Ugh... and you want me to maintain this in actual combat? Is that even possible?"

"This is the easy version. I use something a hundred times harder than this. Nuri, your ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wrists are still too stiff. If the transmission of power feels unnatural, efficiency drops sharply. Pay attention."

"Yes!"

After moving to the association, we were helping with the promised training for Chae-eun and Nuri. The others were watching from a short distance away.

I was teaching Chae-eun an efficient body reinforcement method first, while showing Nuri several of my sword techniques modified to fit her otachi. Unni was in the corner reading the Deep Sea Fisherman's grimoire I'd given her. That was outside the scope of what I could help with.

"It's obvious, but being a hunter isn't easy work. But son, why are you here?"

"I'm in the production class?"

"Even production hunters need to know how to fight. Are you just going to keep getting protected by Arang every day?"

"Umm..."

"Maru. If you're bored, you can join too."

"...Yeah. I'll train with you guys."

I'd have to start Maru off with body reinforcement. Something simple.

"As you already know, body reinforcement isn't just about pouring mana into yourself."

Of course it was possible, but it wasn't efficient. Going through the proper flow and process produced far better results. That was why outstanding hunters each had their own reinforcement techniques. Some even taught them for money.

"The body reinforcement method I'm about to teach you is the most balanced one you can learn right now. It'll be useful no matter what, so learn it properly."

Following the method I showed him, Maru closed his eyes and began concentrating on manipulating his mana.

"The mana flow in your upper body is too rough right now. There, that's better. Good job."

Now that I thought about it, Maru was actually good at body reinforcement. The problem was with techniques like hand-to-hand combat.

"Chae-eun and Nuri, let's take a short break."

"Ughhh!"

"Whew..."

It wasn't good to just push them endlessly, so I made sure to give them proper rest periods.

"But unni, what's this technique called?"

"It doesn't really have a name?"

"Huh?"

"It's based on one of mine, but I modified it so much to fit you that it's changed a lot. If you really want, you can name it yourself."

"Then... what was the original technique called?"

"Baekwol Unrang Sword. I mixed several parts from it, so it doesn't mean much anymore."

It had already been altered too much for otachi use and was far from the original. I might as well let Nuri name it herself.

"Hmm... I'll think about it slowly then."

"Good. Pick whatever you like."

I hadn't taught her anything so amazing that it needed a special name. Wasn't she thinking a bit too highly of me?

"But... will this be okay?"

"We can only hope. There isn't really any other option."

I had already finished talking with the Busan branch head and the Association President. The President had joined by phone.

"Just openly showing off our connection to keep villains from approaching. It feels strange."

We had decided to take the straightforward approach. Since the information had already spread everywhere, denying it wouldn't convince anyone. So it was better to boldly advertise that we were close and make them fear retaliation.

"...It probably won't work on the Corpse Engineer, though."

Of course this would only work on random small-time villains. It wouldn't stop that bastard. Still, it was better than doing nothing.

"Alright, Maru. Once you get the feel for it, let's have a quick spar."

"Ehh."

To clear my head, I decided to teach Maru a bit of hand-to-hand combat too. If he had the strength, he should know how to use it.

"Ughhh."

"Seriously... I'm completely hopeless when it comes to using my body."

He had a good physique but couldn't use it properly. It was too stiff, I suppose.

"Ugh. I'm covered in sweat."

"The association has showers. Go wash up later."

Maru's body was drenched in sweat from moving so intensely. Of course I hadn't shed a single drop.

"If it's bothering you, just take off your top."

"Huh? Is that okay?"

"We saw everything at the beach anyway."

After hesitating for a moment, Maru finally took off his top. Maybe it was because his solid body was glistening with sweat, but it was really...

Gulp.

I felt blood rushing to my face for no reason. The smell of sweat rode the air and filled my head.

I made a mistake.

The heated nights we'd spent together came to mind. We'd only done it three times, but each time had been so intense. For now I should look away...

"Ugh, gross. Why are you taking your shirt off?"

"Then you take yours off too."

"..."

"...Sorry. Don't look at me like that."

It seemed Nuri had glared at him with pure contempt. Honestly, he deserved a smack for that comment.

"What the hell... huh? What's this?"

"What is it?"

"Oppa, the back of your neck..."

The moment I heard those words, I felt the blood drain from my body. There was something that could incriminate me.

The day right before the trip, when I'd worn a swimsuit and seduced him. I'd done it so intensely that my memories of that time were a little hazy.

What if I'd done something then? Then that mark... was something that absolutely could not be discovered.

"Okay! That's it for today!! Everyone go wash up!"

"Oppa. What is this, I'm asking you?"

"Huh? I mean, what are you—"

"Maru, put your clothes on quickly! Let's go now! We have a reservation coming up next!"

I hurriedly wrapped up the situation. If I didn't shut this down here, it would be a catastrophe...!

"..."

I deliberately ignored Nuri's extremely suspicious gaze. Please don't look at me like that...