Hunting Season
"Mr. Seok-jun, really. Were you actually planning to leave me all by myself?" Mina puffed out her cheeks as she watched him sip his coffee. They had already left the Southern Plains and stepped into the large cafe visible straight ahead.
"It's not exactly a place you want to linger, is it?"
"Well, that's true, but..." She recalled how Min-jeong had spoken as if the area didn't suit her at all. The others had felt something similar, but Min-jeong's disapproval of Mina had been especially obvious. Still, the reason wasn't completely impossible to guess.
"By any chance, have you ever dated anyone before, Mr. Seok-jun?"
"Dated?" He picked up the sandwich he'd ordered with his coffee and looked at her. With his cowboy hat off and the long case slung across his back now leaning against the sofa, Seok-jun still looked every bit the cowboy despite the change of clothes. The worn, weathered feel could have come across as rustic, yet the way he silently lifted and set down his cup before biting into the sandwich gave him an oddly refined, vintage air. Most of the cafe patrons were women, so it probably wasn't just Mina's imagination that so many eyes kept drifting toward him.
Maybe I should have picked a more secluded spot. The thought was pointless since Seok-jun had simply grabbed the first available table, but the stares coming from every direction still prickled at her nerves. At least the cafe was spacious enough that no one would overhear their conversation.
He gave a small shrug and answered her question. "I don't have any experience dating other women."
"What?! Really? You're not lying, are you?" Mina was genuinely surprised. His style was unusual, sure, but even so he seemed like the type who would have been popular. And it wasn't as if he struggled to make money.
"Work has kept me busy, and I never really had the time to think about it." That reason, at least, Mina could understand. "Hmm, but it still feels like there should have been plenty of women around you." Separate from that, she remained a little suspicious of his answer. "I do have quite a few work acquaintances." "Hmm." Thinking of Min-jeong, Mina could accept it. If the relationships were all work-related, she could roughly imagine how it went.
"Then have you ever had a boyfriend, Miss Mina?"
"I never really had the luxury to date either." Looking back on her school days, she had managed her schedule with ruthless efficiency, squeezing every second out of studying, handling magic power, and everything in between. When she thought about that old timetable now, she wondered how she had survived it. If someone told her to live exactly like that again, she doubted she could even attempt it. In a life like that, there had been no room to date anyone.
"And at the company, Gu Gang-woo's obsession pretty much killed any interest I had in romance." His fixation had been so intense that it was enough to toss every last fantasy she'd held about love straight into the mental trash bin. Having her own work disrupted by someone else's—especially a superior's—personal feelings had been the worst kind of experience.
"Still, lately I've been thinking that dating wouldn't be so bad." Mostly thanks to the cowboy sitting across from her.
"That's fortunate." At Seok-jun's unexpected reply, Mina lifted her head in surprise and met his steady, murky teal gaze.
"I've been thinking the same thing recently—that dating wouldn't be so bad."
"Eep!" Certain her feelings had been found out, Mina felt her face burn. She quickly reached for the Americano that had been set in front of her and took a sip. Sugar had been added, so it wasn't completely without sweetness, but the strong bitterness still stung her tongue.
"Ugh, it's bitter." Blaming manga for the lie that everything tasted sweet at moments like this, Mina narrowed her eyes at him. "You really haven't dated anyone before, right?" How could he say something so pointed so casually?
"Yes. There simply wasn't anyone who caught my interest." As if nothing had happened, Seok-jun was already biting into the other half of his sandwich.
"Really?"
"Of course." He soon finished the sandwich and began slowly drinking his coffee. Watching him, she found herself at a loss for words, so she took a bite of her own sandwich, trying to settle her heart with the clean taste of the bread, the crisp texture of the paprika and lettuce, and the smoky aroma of the bacon.
"We should get going soon." Once they'd finished their coffee and sandwiches, Seok-jun gathered his hat and case. "Already?" Mina thought it was rather early—the evening was only just beginning—but he seemed to have made up his mind. "Yes. There are still many loose ends from the previous incident. I'll take you home on the way." In the end, she rode behind him on his motorcycle all the way back, arms wrapped around his back.
"Am I just getting my hopes up for nothing? Mr. Seok-jun seems way too unaffected." Back home, Mina grumbled into the phone while peeling off her pants.
Don't you have anything better to worry about? You hung up on me yesterday without warning, and now you're back all excited about your little flirtation and bragging to me?
"What flirtation? Who said I was bragging!" There hadn't really been anything that qualified as flirting, had there? She replayed the day's events, but she couldn't recall many moments that felt like they'd done anything special together. The monster hunt had been the most memorable part, if anything. Then Min-ji's exasperated voice came through the receiver.
Who would have guessed you were such a dense blockhead? You really had zero self-awareness?
"But we didn't even hold hands. How is that flirting?" She wasn't completely ignorant of what flirting meant. Thinking back on the day, there had been pleasant feelings here and there, but from Mina's perspective it always seemed to fall just short, ending on a precarious line that left her full of regret. Not to mention most of their time had been spent in the farmlands of the Southern Plains.
Ugh, that's exactly why people call you a blockhead. Holding hands counts as flirting now? Even little kids do that.
"Ouch. What? So you're saying I'm worse than kids?"
I wouldn't normally say anything, but after listening to you... yeah. The kids would probably be better at dating than you.
"Then what even counts as flirting?" Feeling like she'd been repeatedly smacked on the back, Mina asked sullenly. She had taken off her top and shirt, hung them on the hanger, and was spraying them with deodorizer as her friend's voice continued.
It's the atmosphere, obviously. Not overly stimulating, but that feeling of walking a tightrope, right on the edge?
"Hmm? If that's what you mean..." Suddenly, memories flashed through her mind: the murky green eyes that had met hers at such close range, the moment their eyelashes had nearly brushed, the feeling of her chest pressed against his back, her pounding heartbeat, the solid forearm that had supported her, and the conversation they'd shared about romance.
"Ah..." She caught sight of herself in the slightly tilted full-length mirror. Her pure white silver hair cascading down to her hips looked the same as always, but perhaps because she was wearing the matching black underwear she'd bought as a set, her whole body appeared noticeably redder than usual.
See? I told you you're doing well. Stop worrying over nothing and just enjoy it a little.
Having noticed Mina's mood, Min-ji's giggling voice poked at her ears like mischievous fingers. Mina couldn't bear to look at her own flushed body any longer and crouched down on the floor.
"Ugh, ugh, I don't know anymore. Maybe I should have put more effort into my makeup?"
Oh wow. You've fallen hard. Instead of overthinking it, just act normal next time. If you get too self-conscious, it'll only get more awkward.
"But isn't that a little..." The suit-style equipment provided by Hanshin was convenient in many ways thanks to its neat appearance, making it easy to wear. The problem was that she only had one set, so proper maintenance was essential if she wanted to keep using it for long. And if there was one major drawback to this equipment—
"The only thing I ever wear is a suit." The nature of a hunter's work made it extremely difficult to wear regular clothes instead of the provided gear. Back when she was B-grade, she'd been too busy trailing after A-grade hunters in her suit to do anything else. That was why, even though she'd bought all sorts of clothes for her closet, after becoming an A-grade hunter she barely had the chance to even look at them.
Hehe, you really do worry about the strangest things. That's exactly when you should be making use of that dynamite hot body of yours.
"Hey! Oh Min-ji!"
If you're going to use a body that good like that, you could at least share some of it. I don't know why only you ended up so blessed in that department.
"Agh, seriously!" Her friend was wonderful in every way, but this kind of sleazy, middle-aged-man humor was always a bit much to handle.
Anyway, just do your best. From what I can tell, he doesn't seem completely uninterested in you either, so don't rush things too much.
"Ugh, okay." After ending the call with Min-ji, Mina let out a long sigh, stood up, and checked herself in the full-length mirror again. Fortunately her flushed skin had returned to its usual pale tone. "How should I dress this up?" She thought of Min-jeong's appearance from the Southern Plains earlier that day and tried gathering her hair with both hands as if tying it back, but it didn't really appeal to her. If anything, raising both arms only lifted her chest and made it more noticeable. Knowing full well she was alone in her own home, Mina still glanced around nervously before lightly cupping and lifting her breasts with both hands.
"Since Mr. Seok-jun is a man, maybe he'd like this after all." Strictly speaking they were just lumps of fat, but she was well aware this was the feature that drew the most male attention. On top of that, the women around her would often sneak glances at her chest or use it as an excuse to criticize her.
It was right then, while Mina was absentmindedly kneading her own breasts and thinking of Seok-jun, that—
"Woof!" Pomi barked from behind her, as if calling her name.
"Ah?! P-Pomi?" Only then did Mina realize she'd been standing in front of the mirror far too long. When she turned around, she found her dog staring at her with an almost pitying look.
"Are you hungry? Want a snack?"
"Woof." When she offered the treat, Pomi took it without hesitation. Watching her pet, Mina thought of Seok-jun again and couldn't help but smile. "Or maybe it's just my own taste." She patted Pomi's head and headed to the bathroom to wash up. "Hehehee~♪" And so, her vacation was drawing to a close.
The phone rang. Click.
"Yes, this is HHH." In an office somewhere, Seok-jun's voice answered, and a mischievous tone came from the other end of the line.
So you're even dating the person you're supposed to be protecting these days?