The Captain's Teasing and a Man Named Measurement
The barrier pole rose as the hunting season approached, and the motorcycle roared back to life. The passing scenery was nothing but a desolate plain, with the occasional glimpse of something resembling haystacks. Just as the repetitive landscape was beginning to feel a little tedious, they arrived at a place encircled by low walls of gray brick. Several military vehicles were visible, and a number of enormous green tents—each as large as a greenhouse—had been pitched across the grounds.
"Is that made of reinforced soil?" Mina asked. She had seen soldiers build temporary structures like this in areas hit by dungeon breaks where no proper buildings were available. She used to wonder why they made them so flimsy, but she had heard that no matter how expensive the materials, monsters would simply smash them anyway. So they built them this way on purpose.
"When you think about soldiers without magic or mostly B-grade hunters building something like that with no equipment, it's actually pretty impressive."
"It's mostly the fruit of sweat and labor," Seok-jun replied in a somewhat reluctant tone. Mina was tilting her head in curiosity when she felt a prickling sensation, as if someone's gaze was poking at her cheek. She turned her head and realized that the people and soldiers in the yard were all staring in their direction. Her body gave an involuntary shiver.
"Did we do something wrong?" she whispered to him, startled by the attention.
He shook his head. "You don't need to pay them any mind."
Even though those piercing stares were still fixed on them, she wondered if it was really okay to ignore them. Soon he dismounted the motorcycle and removed his helmet, so she followed suit.
"...Are you sure I don't need to worry about them?"
While she was fixing her hair, which had been flattened by the helmet and tousled by the wind, the murmuring voices of the crowd reached her ears. She was starting to feel unnecessarily on edge when someone stepped forward from among them, parting the crowd like a path opening through the sea.
"Get your head in the game!"
"Ah, yes sir! I'll pay attention!"
One of the soldiers who had been staring blankly at them was dragged away. Finally, another soldier walked out from the group.
"Cha Seok-jun! You came at just the right time. I was seriously at my wit's end wondering what I'd do if you didn't show up."
The man with short-cropped black hair approached with a bright expression. Seok-jun returned a light salute.
"It's been a while, Captain Jeong."
"Come on, we're past that. I told you to call me comfortably."
He laughed and gestured, then caught sight of Mina and his eyes widened.
"And who is this?"
"We came after seeing the notice."
"Ack— Nice to meet you!"
When Mina showed him the Hunter License app she had kept open just in case, Captain Jeong gave her a startled salute. Then he immediately moved to Seok-jun's side, slung an arm around his shoulder, and whispered.
"Hey, why the hell did an A-grade hunter come with you? You could've at least given me a heads-up!"
Just as the letter B sat at the center of a B-grade hunter's QR code, Mina's displayed an A. It was immediately obvious she was an A-grade hunter.
"A hunter came to hunt monsters like a hunter should. Is there a problem with that?"
"Then you should've told the supply officer in advance!"
Even though Captain Jeong was whispering, Mina could hear every word clearly. But she had no idea what they were talking about, so she stood there like a scarecrow in a barley field while the conversation continued.
"So what's the deal between you two? Riding together on a motorcycle all cozy. When did you manage to charm an A-grade hunter of all people?"
'Ack?!'
She nearly let out a sound and barely managed to clap a hand over her mouth. She glanced at Seok-jun, secretly curious what he would say. His voice came back in the same calm tone as always.
"We simply had the same destination, so I brought her along."
Mina felt a pang of inner disappointment, but she comforted herself with the thought that they still didn't know each other that well yet. It couldn't be helped.
"Come on, have I only known you for a day or two?" Captain Jeong's voice returned.
"If you weren't interested, you wouldn't have given her a ride. You'd have told her to come on her own and shown up alone."
Mina forgot he was whispering and stared at Seok-jun. Their eyes met—those murky teal-green irises. His expression remained blank as ever, so she couldn't tell what he was thinking, but when he looked away first, she somehow felt a surge of confidence.
"Don't turn me into such a cold-blooded person."
"If you're not cold-blooded, then I'm the hottest man in the world."
Apparently finished, Captain Jeong removed his arm from around Seok-jun's shoulders.
"The other hunters won't be here for a while yet, so wait in the operations tent."
Following Captain Jeong as he led the way into the base, Seok-jun and Mina arrived at one of the large tents. When the door opened, the interior revealed bare dirt floors, several long tables with chairs, a projector overhead, and a screen at the front. It really did look like a space used strictly for meetings.
"Have a good time."
With that, Captain Jeong closed the door and left. Only Seok-jun and Mina remained in the operations tent.
"Um... was what the captain said true?"
After a brief silence, Mina spoke first.
"You heard all that?"
"You know perfectly well that hunters have exceptional physical abilities, Mr. Seok-jun."
His tone had sounded almost scolding at first, but when she smiled and answered, Seok-jun gave up and leaned back in his chair.
"Are you close with him?"
"It's not so much that we're close... we just end up meeting every time something like this happens."
"That's what people call being close, you know."
Mina poked his waist with her finger as she watched the man who was strangely awkward at dealing with people.
"So, what did you think?"
"About what?"
He tried to play dumb, using the thickness of his trench coat as an excuse, but Mina noticed. Her finger, which had been poking his side, moved to jab him in the back.
"When I was sitting behind you. No matter how thick the coat is, you must have felt something, right? It's one of my proudest assets, after all."
Seok-jun seemed determined to keep pretending he didn't know, but her eyes weren't about to miss the opportunity.
"Oh, you're turning red."
The cold weather made it hard to tell, but she could see that the tips of his ears had gone slightly pink. In the end, Seok-jun let out a sigh and turned to look at her.
"I think it would be better if you were a little more careful, Miss Mina."
"Why~? Does it bother you after all?"
"Good grief."
She was thoroughly enjoying teasing him since he couldn't talk back when it happened.
"If you keep doing this, it's going to be hard for me to hold back either."
Her eyes widened at the action that followed his words. A calloused, rough yet somehow smooth fingertip traced her chin, and a thumb brushed just beneath her lip. Only then did she realize he was holding her jaw. His breath swept across her lips. And above all, those murky teal-green eyes right in front of her—eyes that seemed to pull her in—along with his lashes brushing against her own.
"Ah, uh, aah..."
Her heart had shot up to her ears and was pounding like a drum. The situation felt like he might swallow her lips if he leaned in even a fraction more. Just as her lips began to tremble—
"I assume you've understood by now."
"Huh?"
Seok-jun was already resting his chin on the table, looking perfectly composed as if he had never been that close. Mina puffed out her cheeks. This felt like she was the only one who had lost out. She shot him a resentful glare.
Then she heard it—footsteps approaching the tent from outside. They weren't the heavy military boots of soldiers. She realized they belonged to a hunter who had seen the notice and come looking. She was feeling a twinge of disappointment when the door suddenly burst open.
"You bastards! I'm here!"
The one who entered was a man wearing a brown cowboy hat. His outfit was similar in style to Seok-jun's.
"Huh? Why's it so empty in here?"
At the boisterous entrance, Mina didn't know what to say and simply watched. The man scanned the empty operations tent and scratched his head.
"Cha Seok-jun! As expected, you're fast as alwa—?"
The man spotted Seok-jun and started toward him, only to stop short when he saw Mina.
"Oh, a new lady I haven't met before? You've got great style. How about a cup of tea with me?"
"I'm sorry."
She found herself refusing before she even had time to think. The loud personality was one thing, but he simply wasn't her type. Checkered shirt, jeans, leather jacket. If you thought about it, he looked more like a cowboy from a movie, but wearing that in the middle of winter was a bit much.
Seok-jun looked at him and spoke up.
"You're the same as ever. Parent's Enemy."
"Parent's Enemy?"
Mina stared at the new man with an incredulous expression. No matter how cowboy-like he looked, had he really done something straight out of a Western?
"Wait, wait, wait! You're making her misunderstand!"
He saw her face and waved his hands in a panic. When Mina looked at Seok-jun—
"It's just that his name is so strange that I call him that."
"Even so, isn't that a weird thing to call someone?"
"But I can't exactly call him Measurement, can I?"
"Pardon?"
For a moment Mina thought she had misheard.
"Then 'Parent's Enemy' means..."
When she asked with a sense of dawning realization—
"It means he must have been an enemy to his parents in a past life."
"Ugh! I hate my name too! But if I change it, they'll kick me off the family register!"
The man—Measurement—clutched his chest in agony and pounded the table. Mina watched him, carefully choosing her words before she finally spoke.
"I-it's okay, Mr. Measurement. It's a rare, unique, and nice name that you don't hear everywhere, right?"
"Cough!!"
"Ack?!"
"Miss Mina, you're quite cruel yourself."
While Seok-jun watched on with an expression of exaggerated horror, Mina flailed in embarrassment.