Chapter 126: I’m the First One
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 126: I’m the First One
“Can we do it one more time?”
Seeing Seol-hyang ask like a child begging her parents, I wrapped my hand around the back of her head and pulled her in.
A man’s pride wouldn’t let me just keep taking it.
As our lips met once more, Seol-hyang’s eyes widened before she wrapped both arms around my neck.
Time seemed to stand still. When our lips finally parted, a thin thread lingered between them, and the feverish sigh that escaped her made my heart ache.
Our eyes met.
Seol-hyang, as if not knowing where to look, glanced from side to side before finally meeting my gaze again.
“…One more time?”
Does this girl’s greed know no bounds?
Any more than this and I’d be at my limit, so I ended it by kissing her on the forehead, just as she had done for me before.
“You could have done more, you know.”
Grumbling, Seol-hyang turned around and sat down, leaning the back of her head against my chest.
Then, she took my arms and made me wrap them around her.
“Still, if you ever feel like it, I’m always ready.”
As she said that and looked up at me, her upper body blocked my view of what was below.
…Is that what she means by ‘ready’?
I was almost bewitched for a moment, but I barely managed to regain my senses.
Being with Seol-hyang felt like it would make me lose my mind.
“But things like today are okay, right?”
Seeing her look at my lips again, I had no choice but to nod.
I could feel a dangerous energy in her eyes, one that suggested she might do something more if I didn’t at least allow this.
“By the way, there’s something I’m curious about.”
Just then, Seol-hyang asked a question.
As I tilted my head, she gently touched her own lips and asked me.
“The Ha-chan I know would have frozen up and been unable to do anything at first. So why did you seem strangely skilled at kissing?”
Just how much does she know about me?
“I’m just so curious as to why.”
Seeing Seol-hyang smiling, but not really smiling at all, I looked up at the ceiling.
“…You’ve done it before.”
“…Yes.”
“With the Heavenly Demon?”
“…Yeah.”
I had become a yes-man.
“Hmm, well, I guess it doesn’t matter. After all, I was your first a long time ago.”
“Huh?”
Her unexpected words made me turn to her in surprise.
“Wait, we’ve already kissed? When?”
“You don’t remember? The day I left, when we were in elementary school?”
I fumbled through my memories.
Then, I finally recalled the day just before she left, back before my parents passed away.
‘…That’s right, for sure.’
On the day she left, Seol-hyang kissed me before she went.
It was a faint memory, but it was there.
…My first kiss wasn’t in the hospital break room. It was in front of the moving truck.
No, wait, was that just a peck?
For someone like me who’s never even dated, it was all too confusing.
“Right?”
My childhood friend was a much scarier person than I thought.
“…But if we’re counting that, I think my sister used to peck me on the cheek every time she saw me before she was taken to another dimension.”
There was a pretty big age gap between my sister and me. She really doted on me.
“Are you going to argue?”
“No. Of course not.”
Whatever, I’ll just let her have this one, I thought, smiling bitterly.
In the first place, the fact that she cherished being “the first” so much was both funny and kind of cute.
Looking at her, I felt it was time to ask what I wanted to ask.
“So, Seol-hyang, there’s something I want to talk to you about, regarding my sister.”
At my question, she looked ahead while still leaning against me.
“Yeah, that’s fine. Go ahead.”
“Sorry, I know this is your break.”
“No, it’s fine. Just being with you like this is a break for me. But hold me a little tighter.”
What couldn’t I do for her? I pulled her tightly into my arms, and Seol-hyang’s eyes trembled slightly as she let out a soft sigh.
“Okay, so?”
“So, the returnee attached to me told me something. He said it seems like my sister is working with someone who has the ability to see worldlines.”
Hearing that, Seol-hyang flinched slightly.
Because the power to see worldlines was none other than Seol-hyang’s own ability.
To her, it must have sounded like I was suddenly accusing her of scheming with my sister.
“So I wanted to ask you what you think about it.”
“…That returnee knows about my ability, doesn’t he?”
I had no choice but to nod. I had to tell her for this conversation to go anywhere.
After seeing my nod, Seol-hyang, who had been silent, let out a faint sigh.
“Well, I suppose a few of the returnees already knew about it anyway.”
Ahyu probably already knew. She had warned Seol-hyang about the “Crown” a few times.
“Yeah, so… I also think that, just as you suspect, a situation similar to what my ability can do is unfolding around you, Ha-chan.”
“I knew it.”
“Yeah. No matter how you look at it, the way returnees are gathering around you seems intentional. It’s like fate is being forcibly drawn together. I once saw you by chance with the Crown while I was looking at other returnees.”
Is that how Seol-hyang found out about me?
“And Ma-ri unni even appeared and stopped me from trying to use the Crown.”
“My sister stopped you?”
“Yeah. It was clear that whoever is using their power centered on you doesn’t want me to see the worldlines. And she said something that’s been bothering me…”
Seol-hyang said, slowly twirling a strand of her hair.
What could she have said that was so bothersome? I was about to ask, but she had an uneasy expression and seemed reluctant to answer. So I didn’t press her.
“Still, since Ma-ri unni is involved, I don’t think they have any ill intentions toward you, Ha-chan.”
“But it’s still worrying.”
She nodded, looking up at me with concern.
“You want to find Ma-ri unni too, don’t you, Ha-chan?”
Hearing that, I thought of my sister.
Just as Seol-hyang said, I wanted to find her.
At first, I just vaguely thought that Baeksan’s prophecy had been misinterpreted, and that was why my sister couldn’t be by my side. But now, it didn’t seem like that was the case.
Since she’s started to appear more and more recently, I wanted to run out and find her right away.
But Seol-hyang, the chairperson of the World Returnee Association, had been searching for Ma-ri this whole time and still hadn’t found her.
And I didn’t have a single tracking ability to my name.
On top of that, my sister seemed to be avoiding me for some reason.
The chances of me finding her, even if I searched for a hundred days, were slim to none.
“I want to find her, but I don’t think now is the time.”
So I decided to wait instead.
“Because for some reason, I feel like I’ll be able to see her again before too long.”
Hearing my words, Seol-hyang looked at me with a bit of pity and cupped my cheek with her hand.
The warmth from her hand was so comforting it felt like it was melting my heart.
“I’ll look into it more for you.”
“Sorry, I’m always indebted to you.”
She let out a small sigh. It was a sigh full of worry for me.
“I don’t know why the man I love has to live such a hard life. He could just love me and be done with it.”
“I’m sorry.”
“And you’re surrounded by women. Do you just like any woman?”
Hearing that, my expression hardened. That was absolutely not it.
“I like you because you’re you.”
I could say that with certainty. I may have become this kind of trash, but when I said I liked Ahyu and Seol-hyang, I said it because it was them.
And there would probably be one more… but still, this much was certain.
Seol-hyang looked into my eyes and, as if she couldn’t hold back any longer, sat up.
“Just one more time.”
In the end, I had to kiss Seol-hyang one more time.
Once I allowed it, it felt like the limit had disappeared, which was terrifying.
“Ah, right. And there’s one more thing I need to tell you.”
“You mean about the dimensional invaders?”
“You knew.”
“We’ve been monitoring the dimensions ever since the incident in China. It’s complicated, but we’re in the process of resolving it. Asura and the Girasung members we successfully persuaded have been deployed there.”
“So they’re making them take responsibility for their own mess.”
“We’re short-staffed for this kind of work.”
Seol-hyang seemed to be the most competent person in the world. A true career woman. The way she handled both work and love was admirable.
“The problem is the Heavenly Demon, then.”
“Ah, that’s right. Since Eunhyeon is with you, Do Hwa must have reported to you as well.”
“Yeah. I think she’ll be fine since you’re there, Ha-chan. But when she first returned, the Heavenly Demon was very unstable. She had a screw loose.”
Seol-hyang shook her head with a fed-up expression.
“I’m the one who whipped her into shape. But she gets her hackles up every time she sees me. You think I enjoy it?”
This was the same Seol-hyang who acted so confidently as the chairperson of the World Returnee Association every day. But in front of me, she whined like a sulking child.
The thought that this was a side of her only I could see sparked a sense of possessiveness in me, but I knew I shouldn’t let it.
“Don’t hate them both too much.”
“…Are you telling me to get along with your other women?”
“Th-uh, yes.”
“Hmmph, I guess I have no choice. I have to listen to what my dear husband says, right? I bet you’ll want us to all kiss you together later.”
I couldn’t say a word to the playfully teasing Seol-hyang.
Trash like me has no excuse, even with ten mouths.
“Fine. If you like them, Ha-chan, I’ll try to like them too.”
“S-sorry for being this kind of guy.”
“It’s okay. To be honest, I don’t think we’re entirely blameless either.”
“We were the ones who did the seducing, after all,” Seol-hyang muttered to herself.
Honestly, I also think the offensive from all sides was too strong.
“More importantly, all three of us rely on you a great deal, Ha-chan. That’s why I agreed to this. If you were only dating one of us, I figured the other two would cause trouble, nine times out of ten.”
I don’t know why Baeksan and Seol-hyang think so alike, even though they’re step-siblings. In this case, does that mean Baeksan was influenced by her later on?
“For now, you should take care of wife number two for a while, Ha-chan.”
“Okay. …Huh? Wife number two?”
As Seol-hyang, who had finally gotten up from my lap, said that, I looked at her in bewilderment.
“Yep. The first confession, the first kiss if you think about it, and the first time you heard ‘I love you’—that was all from me.”
Seeing her make such a statement so casually, I could only open and close my mouth. Seol-hyang gave me a smiling, crescent-eyed look.
“So I’m the first wife.”
Why are these girls so obsessed with being the first?
While I was speechless at their excessive obsession, Seol-hyang checked her phone.
“Huu, it’s already been an hour. I don’t know why time flies so fast at times like this.”
Seol-hyang looked at me with a hint of regret, then came over and kissed my cheek.
As if she were eating dessert, she then cupped my cheek tightly in her hand.
“If you add any more than three, even I will get angry.”
“Hey, even I’m not that unprincipled.”
“I’m saying it because there are so many around you. Just like how the three of us eventually fell for you.”
Saying that, she shook her head as if recalling something.
“The first time is always the hardest. Once you have one, it’s easy to have two, and then three. That’s why your wife is so worried, dear husband.”
“That ‘dear husband’ thing is really embarrassing.”
“Then I’ll keep saying it until you get used to it. Dear husband.”
Please don’t.
Seeing her like this, I got up from my seat. It was time for her to get back to work, so I couldn’t take any more of her time.
“If you want to take another break, just let me know. I’ll come running.”
“Okay. Thanks for today. For putting up with all my childishness.”
“Well, it’s not like there’s anyone else who would put up with it.”
Hearing that, Seol-hyang’s eyes widened slightly, and then she broke into a gentle smile.
“You’re right.”
*
“You done?”
After Seol-hyang’s break was over, I left the World Returnee Association, and Baeksan appeared next to me.
It seemed he’d been waiting at the entrance the whole time. He saw me and let out a long yawn.
“Baeksan, about that…”
I couldn’t bring myself to tell him that I’d gotten into the same kind of relationship with Seol-hyang after Ahyu, and Baeksan made an indifferent face.
“Well, I expected it anyway. I told you from the beginning, didn’t I? Don’t even think about it unless you’re going to date them all.”
“I’m such fucking trash…”
“You’re the one who seduced them in the first place, so it’s only right that you take responsibility.”
“I did?”
“Yeah, you.”
Baeksan shot me a look that said ‘don’t make me say more,’ so I just scratched my head.
Has the demonic, homme fatale Kang Ha-chan been born? Ugh, how disgusting.
“So, how many are left?”
“What do you mean, how many?”
“The members of your polygamous household.”
Si-ho’s face popped into my mind.
“No, forget that, what do you mean ‘how many’? I have no intention of adding more!”
“If things went according to your intentions, you wouldn’t have three in the first place, would you?”
I was rendered speechless.
“Just figure it out and handle it well.”
Figure it out and handle it. That might just be the hardest thing to do in the world.
“…I should just go to the company.”
Just as I was thinking that and started to walk, a car suddenly screeched to a halt in front of me.
I was staring blankly at the black sedan, the kind a high-ranking person would ride in, when the door clunked open.
A middle-aged man in a suit stood there. He had deep, dark circles under his eyes and looked utterly exhausted.
“Are you the F-rank hunter, Mr. Kang Ha-chan?”
“…Yes.”
It was obvious he already knew who I was. When I answered, he bowed his head to me.
“My name is Jin So-yeop, an agent with the Korean Hunter Management Bureau. Could you spare a moment?”
Is this about the hunter matter Seol-hyang and I talked about?
“Yes, well, I suppose so.”
I wanted to have a conversation with them at least once anyway.
And since Eunhyeon was with me after I left the Association, I decided I could humor them.
‘Besides,’ I thought. With the World Returnee Association backing me, they had no reason to harm me. More importantly, it wouldn’t be easy for just anyone to restrain me now.
And so, for the first time in history, an unprecedented event was unfolding: an F-rank hunter was being escorted by the Korean Hunter Management Bureau with the treatment of a state guest.