The Training Camp of Vice
"So... starting next week, I've been assigned as a training camp instructor."
"Ugh... so you'll be staying out there then?"
"Mm... I'll be going back every other day, so don't worry."
"I'm not worried. I trust you, dear... just take care of yourself, okay?"
"Mm."
I'd been recommended for the instructor position at the Hunter School by my new case handler.
The new handler—whether they'd heard something from the previous one or if they were just naturally thorough—went through various assignments and explained the pros and cons of each in detail.
Having a proper handler put my mind at ease.
To be honest, the training camp instructor role was the lowest-recommended assignment among those the handler had suggested.
Since the instructor's job is to train trainees, the mission risk is practically zero, but the pay is correspondingly low, and few A-rank Hunters want to take the position, so it's been perpetually open for recruitment.
Back when I was a trainee, being an instructor was quite a popular career, but with Hunters' market value skyrocketing since then, the instructor position—with its salary barely different from that era—naturally became a job people avoided.
'Three million won a month...'
If I complained about that salary to regular office workers, I'd get slapped with charges of fraud and defamation and have my neck wrung while being hauled off to Gwanghwamun—but an A-rank Hunter can out-earn an instructor's annual salary by clearing a single B-rank Gate.
In other words, for the kind of work an A-rank Hunter does, the pay is indeed abysmal.
According to the handler, the current training camp instructors fall into two halves: one half stayed because they're genuinely passionate about educating trainees, and the other half have no intention of entering Gates and need money for luxuries.
So why did I choose the instructor role out of all those assignments?
The answer is right here, in this very moment.
Chu-uh chu.
"So... you work two days and rest two days?"
"No, it's Mon-Tue on duty, Wed-Thu off, Fri-Sat on duty, and Sunday is a day off..."
In truth, that's a lie.
Three days a week—Mon, Tue, Fri—but the Saturday duty is a lie too.
I plan to just book a hotel nearby and rest that day.
"Dear... I'm going to put it in now... just lie back nice and easy, dear... hehe."
Yuna gently pushed my shoulder and laid me down on the bed.
Ever since coming back from the hotel, every day has been like this.
I'm waging a mandatory defense war against three women every single night.
Now it's getting hard to hold on.
Nahyun starts her association job next week, Jihyun's slowly moving her stuff into the dorm, and she'll be attending university too.
If that happens, having sex every day like this will be impossible, so I held onto the hope that I could return to the good old days—when we'd only have sex when I was going crazy, and otherwise just enjoy each other's company.
I thought I could grit my teeth and endure until then.
But a little while ago, I overheard the three women whispering together at the table.
"So... every other weekend I spend with Nahyun-unnie and oppa, and one week with me..."
"How are you going to manage that from the dorm?"
"There are plenty of motels around the school, so what..."
"Mom's okay with that?"
"Yeah, since I monopolize her on weekdays..."
"I'm so jealous..."
Why didn't they ask me if I was okay with it?
Before I knew it, I was pressing my ear against the door, eavesdropping on their conversation, clenching my teeth.
This can't go on. If it keeps going like this, on weekdays I'll be squeezed dry by Yuna, and on weekends I'll be passed around to Nahyun and Jihyun every other week like a biological weapon.
In the end, I chose the training camp instructor job—the one that would let me leave the house.
Chu-geok chu-geok.
"Dearhehe! I love youu! I like youu! Hehehehe!"
"Phew..."
Are you asking if I'm tired of this life? No, it's fucking great.
But good is good, and hard is hard.
This daily routine is far too heavy for someone who's lived half their life alone.
Every night I have sex with three women in rotation, and in the morning I have sex with whichever woman is still at home. Like right now.
At first, everything was stimulating and new, but now I'm starting to numb.
But I know all too well that I'm the embodiment of sexual desire, so I concluded that if I can see them once every two days, I'll be able to throw myself into the relationship with full passion again.
***
"Yoon Suhyun Hunter, sir..."
"Ah, yes. Hello. Thank you as always."
The driver had the back door open and was waiting for me.
Today, I finally step into the training camp in my new role as instructor.
It's not the training camp where I trained, but still, the thought of returning to a training camp put me in a strange mood.
"Are you tired, sir?"
The driver kept glancing at me in the rearview mirror as we drove.
The final act before heading to the training camp was a morning-long orgy with all three women, and it was showing on my face.
"Heh... it's just that the idea of going back to the training camp is strange, so I couldn't sleep well."
"I see. Close your eyes, sir. I'll wake you when we arrive."
"Yes, thank you."
Under the driver's kind consideration, I closed my eyes.
The subject I was assigned is live combat.
Since putting an A-rank Hunter in anything other than a combat-related course would be a waste of talent, most A-rank instructors are assigned to combat courses.
On top of that, the class I got is a regular trainee class.
'This is going to be a pain.'
I'm not dismissing them, but compared to the special class, they'll be easier to teach.
Most of them will end up as D or E-rank Hunters anyway, so there's no need to push them too hard.
There's even a saying that the most important thing to teach in a regular class is how to run away.
'I heard there's another instructor coming from headquarters besides me...'
I asked the handler who it was, but they said they only knew that it was an A-rank Hunter and hadn't heard any details.
The instructor position has low risk and pay, so it's not popular, but conversely, since the handler is short on personnel, I heard that having an assigned Hunter become an instructor would count as a performance achievement.
The handler honestly expressed their gratitude to me.
'This new handler's pretty good...'
***
"Instructor! Identity verification complete. Here's your ID. I'll have your instructor uniform delivered to the lodging building."
"Will you be training today?"
"No, today's the first day, so please rest and we'll start classes tomorrow. Today's training was conducted by the new instructor who arrived from headquarters yesterday."
"Ah, right. I heard another instructor was coming. Where can I meet them?"
"The instructor is... um... ah... ah..."
The association staff guiding me here stopped talking and looked past my shoulder.
When I turned around, there stood someone familiar—or rather, someone who knew more about each other than expected.
"Oh..."
"L-long time no see... Suhyun-ssi."
"Yes... long time no see."
Standing there, wearing training clothes as if returning from a session, was Min Serin.
"S-since Suhyun-ssi's room is right next to mine, let me guide you to your room...!"
"Ah, you don't have to, Instructor Min. Then..."
The association staff said their goodbyes and left, leaving Serin and me alone.
Since that day, we hadn't been in contact, and since it was the first time seeing each other, there was an awkwardness hanging in the air.
"Suhyun-ssi, then let me guide you to your room..."
"Yes."
When only the sound of footsteps and silence filled the air, I couldn't hold it in and spoke first.
"That... Serin-ssi, why exactly did you become an instructor...?"
Just in case—really, just in case—I was worried she'd come because she'd heard the news of me becoming an instructor, and I let the question slip out.
I was hoping my paranoid overthinking would end here.
"Ah...! Lately, there aren't many Hunters who want to be instructors, so headquarters is dispatching Hunters as sort of special instructors..."
"So you won't be doing it for long then?"
"About two months... I think."
"..."
Thankfully, it seems my paranoid overthinking was just that.
"Oh... this room is nice..."
As an A-rank Hunter instructor, the lodging was in good condition.
It's a two-room unit with a separate shower, kitchen, living room, and bedroom.
"Yes... the other instructors stay in the lodging building next door, and that one's fully booked, so the only instructor living on this floor is the two of us..."
"Huh?"
"Well then, rest well and see you tomorrow!"
Min Serin disappeared into her own room after saying that.
For some reason, my back was a little chilly.
Looking at Serin's complexion, it looked even better than last time. Thankfully, it seems the sex education from that day had an effect.
She doesn't seem to be losing sleep or being crushed by guilt anymore.
So now, there shouldn't be any more entanglements. No—there mustn't be.
This place is the only sanctuary the world has granted me.
I tossed my bags onto the bed and flopped down.
"Hah... this is it."
A sense of freedom I hadn't felt in a long time made my body go limp.
For two days, I wouldn't flinch at the sound of someone knocking on my door.
I picked up my phone, logged into the Hunter forum for the first time in ages, and started searching for "training camp," wasting time and snickering.
Then a post caught my eye.
"Aigoo..."
A hollow laugh and a sigh escaped me at the low-quality rambling of a Hunter forum post, but on the other hand, Ohana came to mind, and I thought—maybe, just maybe, there could be the rare trainee who'd be like that.
"I'll call Yuna and take a nap..."
I'd only been away from home for a short while, but I already missed the sound of Yuna's voice.
'As I thought, this was the right choice...'
The saying that being apart makes you miss each other more and want to see them was true.
I stretched out comfortably and basked in my freedom, then picked up the phone and called Yuna.