Life Is Sometimes Blurry
Gu Gang-woo let out a ragged breath, grinding his teeth against the phantom sensation of the rope still tightening around his neck. “Ugh, fuck. Fuck! Fuck!!!”
He never in his wildest dreams imagined he would be humiliated like this. The Cursed Hornet Warrior was a named monster among the Cursed Hornets, all by itself rated as an A-grade threat. -Kieeeeek!
“Goddamn it!”
Even as an A-grade hunter, there was no way he could face such a monster alone without any preparation. The moment he managed to free himself from the rope, he fled as fast as he could. Thankfully, by pouring every ounce of his magic power into speed, he was able to weave through the maze-like nest, circling and circling until he finally shook it off.
“That bastard. The second I get out, I’m going to kill him.”
Thinking of the man who had run off with Lee Mina—a guy he wouldn’t mind grinding into dust and drinking as medicine—Gu Gang-woo finally reached the guild’s camp. The guild members stared at him with shocked faces.
“Gu Gang-woo? You said you were just going to rest for a bit. What the hell happened to you?”
“Don’t worry about it. I ran into one of the leftover monsters. That’s all.”
He had always shown his fellow guild members a strangely kind side despite his eccentric personality, so when he saw their worried looks, he forced an awkward smile.
A quick glance around confirmed that neither the man nor Mina were anywhere in sight.
“The injuries are pretty bad, so let’s withdraw for now.”
“Huh? Oh, yeah. Sure.”
His colleague still looked doubtful, but Gu Gang-woo’s terrible condition must have convinced him to prioritize getting him out first. And so they stepped through the gate’s shimmering exit.
What greeted him were flashing red and blue lights, the murmur of a crowd, and a man in a leather hat looking down at him.
“Well now, didn’t we still have some unfinished business?”
Behind the man stood Mina, glaring at him with pure hatred, several police officers, and a throng of onlookers.
“Fuck.”
All Gu Gang-woo could do was spit out a curse.
Haa, I’m so tired.
Mina sipped the coffee she had grabbed from a vending machine. Today was supposed to be her first proper day entering a gate as a real hunter. Instead, everything had spiraled completely out of control and she had ended up at the police station.
Fortunately, the man who had rescued her had recorded everything on a voice recorder, so she had been treated with some consideration. Still…
“That bastard won’t get kicked out of the guild, will he?”
She muttered to herself while glancing at Gu Gang-woo, who was locked up in the detention cell wearing restraints. Gates—those occasional phenomena that made the impossible events from novels actually happen—had come to reality, but the real world was far crueler than fiction.
Even if someone was born with magic power and became a hunter, most only possessed enough strength to barely handle a single monster spilling out of a gate. Only the truly exceptional were classified as A-grade hunters. Those people were especially valuable assets, and among them, Gu Gang-woo was considered quite powerful. Mina had only just barely reached A-grade herself. It was unlikely that what happened to her would cause any major fallout.
If anything, the guild would probably try to sweep it under the rug and bury the whole incident quietly.
“Maybe I should just resign.”
Mina had originally been a B-grade hunter. The treatment B-grade hunters received wasn’t particularly good. Registration was mandatory for emergencies, but they received almost no benefits. They were simply humans who happened to possess a bit more power than ordinary people. The one saving grace was that their abilities could grow.
The guild she currently belonged to had recognized both her ability and her growth potential, which was why she had been accepted into one of Korea’s top guilds. After much hard work, she had finally been acknowledged as an A-grade hunter. She had been so happy that day. She received her uniform and equipment, thinking that even if the road ahead would be a little rough, a solid future awaited her.
Instead, she had ended up with the worst possible boss.
“Ughhh! Gu Gang-woo!”
Mina glared at the man sleeping peacefully inside the detention cell. The incident had nearly left her with a scar for life, yet to him it probably meant nothing. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and she was in the middle of fuming to herself when she suddenly met someone’s eyes.
Only then did Mina realize how loud her voice had been. She glanced around and discovered that everyone in the police station was staring at her with strange looks.
“I-I’m sorry!!”
Feeling her face burn with embarrassment, she immediately bolted out of the station.
“You don’t have to run that fast. No one’s going to eat you.”
“Ah?”
The person who grabbed her shoulder to calm her down was none other than the man who had saved her. Come to think of it, she had been waiting for him so she could at least thank him properly.
“Well, this is the kind of person I am.”
He held out a business card. She took it, but…
“…What is this?”
“It’s my business card.”
“Ah, yes. Mr. Grizzly… that doesn’t make any sense!”
She immediately tore the card into tiny pieces. While the card properly displayed his affiliation with the HHH Hunter Office, the spot where a name should have been was boldly occupied by the word “Grizzly”—the name of some bear.
“What kind of person in the world uses a weird name like Grizzly?!”
If he had at least tried to imitate an English name, she might have let it slide. To make matters worse, it was written in elegant gold cursive, which only made it more absurd. And above all, a business card without a phone number was completely useless.
“Those are harsh words. Those are my parents you’re insulting.”
“Eh?! I-I’m sorry…”
“Of course that was a lie. How could a person’s name be Bear?”
“Augh! Seriously!!”
What kind of person was this? Still, since he had helped her, Mina let out a sigh and decided to let it go.
“Anyway, give me a proper business card instead of this!”
“Unfortunately, that was the only one I was carrying. I put quite a bit of effort into making it.”
He looked regretfully at the shredded pieces of the not-really-a-business-card. Mina pressed a hand to her forehead. She had thought he was an unusual person from the moment they met, but he was even more so than she imagined.
“Fine! If you won’t tell me your real name, I’ll call you whatever I want. How about Mr. Teddy Bear?”
“A nickname right from our first meeting? How bold.”
“You’re the one who introduced yourself as Grizzly!”
While Mina tried to catch her breath—hekk, hekk—he simply shrugged.
“More importantly, lunchtime is almost over. Let’s eat first.”
“Huh? Already?”
When she checked her watch, it was already past one o’clock. Since the gate raid itself had ended successfully, if she returned to the company cafeteria they would probably still serve her lunch. But she had just sent her boss to jail. She had no idea what kind of reaction she would get if she went back.
“I know a good place. Let’s go together.”
“Did I ever say I would eat with you…?”
She didn’t understand why eating together had suddenly become the obvious conclusion, but she had no choice but to follow him. Wasting more time searching for another restaurant wasn’t appealing either.
Although Mina had lived here for nearly four years, she still wasn’t very familiar with the shops in this area. She had come here solely because her workplace was located in the area, and because of the nature of her job, she was often sent on business trips. She had never had the chance to learn the local geography.
“There was an alley like this here?”
As she followed the man, they entered a narrow side street. Glancing around, she saw what looked like a small clinic, a tiny clothing store, and an old shop that seemed to sell ancient cassette tapes.
“The place you’re taking me to isn’t that old fried chicken joint, is it?”
“If you want to go there, I won’t stop you. Can I eat somewhere else by myself?”
“I was just asking!”
Seeing how casually he offered to abandon her, Mina puffed out her cheeks.
“Ugh, after getting my hopes up like this, it had better not be some lame place.”
“I don’t know what kind of grand expectations you have for a simple meal, but you won’t be disappointed.”
The place he led her to was a tonkatsu restaurant located a little deeper into the alley.
“Haria?”
The paper signboard outside listed various dishes, but the tonkatsu clearly stole the spotlight.
“Welcome.”
When they stepped inside, perhaps because the restaurant was tucked away in a corner, there were no other customers. Only the owner’s lonely voice greeted them.
“Hello.”
“Ah, hello?”
Mina awkwardly returned the greeting after seeing the man do so, then sat down with him.
“Miss, what would you like to eat?”
“Umm, I’m not sure. Could you recommend something?”
There were many options—tonkatsu, hamburger steak, spaghetti—but it was hard to choose. When she left it to him and he began groaning in thought, she started wondering if they had come to the wrong place.
“Is this young lady your girlfriend?”
“What?!”
“Hmm, girlfriend, huh…”
At the owner’s words as she placed water cups on the tray, Mina panicked while the man muttered to himself and stared at her intently.
“W-what is it?”
When she faced him with a strangely sharp tone, she realized for the first time just how handsome he was. Warm sunlight poured in through the wide terrace windows, making his messy silver hair sparkle. His features were sharp and well-defined, and his piercing eyes were a striking, cloudy teal.
Before she knew it, Mina’s face had turned red. A soft chuckle escaped the man’s lips.
“Didn’t you mean younger sister?”
“Ugh! Who’s your younger sister?!”
“Oh my? You’re not? I thought so because your hair color is the same.”
When she shouted in indignation, the owner’s surprised reply only made her feel more wronged. If that was the logic, then wouldn’t most Koreans be considered family?
“Two combination plates, please. No matter how many times I think about it, I always end up ordering this.”
“Aigoo, acting like it’s something new.”
Whether Mina felt wronged or not, the man had already finished placing their order.