Chapter 94: Si-ho’s Night
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 94: Si-ho’s Night
10
Si-ho had cried for a long time after saying goodbye to her mother.
Exhausted from crying, she had fallen asleep and only managed to open her eyes at dawn.
The first thing Si-ho saw when she opened her eyes was none other than Ha-chan.
She must have cried buried in his arms for a long time; his dress shirt was a wrinkled mess, stained with tears.
Even so, he had continued to comfort and hold her, staying with her until she fell asleep.
The blanket covering her felt incredibly warm.
Seo-ho didn't seem to be sleeping in his room.
Si-ho lifted her head and looked at Ha-chan's face.
His sleeping face was the face of the person Si-ho loved most in the world.
It wasn't a strikingly handsome face.
Just enough to make a decent first impression.
That had been her first impression of him, too.
She had high standards to begin with.
Having grown up with Seo-ho, who was naturally good-looking, she had never felt any interest in the opposite sex.
And Si-ho had thought that would never change.
But after what happened on the deserted island, that had gradually begun to change.
On the island, Ha-chan had simply been caught up in her affairs.
She could have solved the problem just by releasing her power, but she was using it to maintain her mother's existence. He would have been justified in complaining.
But instead, Ha-chan had told her she was an A-rank hunter.
Even when Girasung appeared and they were in a desperate situation, the way he tried to protect her and her mother to the very end…
It was enough to leave Si-ho in shock.
At first, she wondered how such a person could exist.
It was enough to make her suspicious.
But despite that, he prioritized her, someone he had only known for a few days.
Just like how her mother was willing to sacrifice herself to save her.
Ha-chan genuinely wanted to protect her.
The sight of his back as he ran to face the two members of Girasung who had come for her told her that it was the truth.
Later, after being attacked by Catherine and fainting, when she woke up…
Ha-chan was struck by Catherine's attack right before her eyes.
When his body stopped moving as if he were dead, Si-ho saw the image of her mother's death superimposed over him.
Her mother, whose body had been devoured by a dimensional entity, leaving only a mangled remnant.
And him, who had grabbed Kaito even as his intestines spilled out, only to finally die from Catherine's attack.
Si-ho thought she was going to lose her mind.
But he was different from her mother.
He got up as if nothing had happened, defeated Catherine and Kaito, and protected her so she wouldn't have to use her powers until the very end.
It was clearly someone else inside him who had done it, but Si-ho knew that even that person carried Ha-chan's will.
His heart, which genuinely wanted to save someone.
And feeling that heart, Si-ho felt a strange flutter in her chest.
An unidentifiable emotion muddled her thoughts, and the memory of Ha-chan's face on the island surfaced dozens of times before fading back into her heart.
Then she heard the news that he had woken up.
She was wracked with guilt.
It was entirely her fault that he had nearly died, and she couldn't bear to face him.
But the moment Seo-ho led her by the hand to face Ha-chan…
“Is your mother okay? She must have been very worried about you, Si-ho.”
Seeing his smile as he worried about her first, Si-ho made a decision.
“That’s a relief.”
I’m going to love this person.
She had never been in love with anyone before.
But Si-ho thought that if she were to ever love someone, she wanted it to be him.
Her mother always used to say.
That her father was her mother's prince, that he had rescued her from a fire and, despite being burned himself, had worried about her first.
So Si-ho should meet someone like that, too.
Someone who would always worry about her first, no matter what.
And Si-ho thought that person was Ha-chan.
No, it could only be Ha-chan.
The tingling in her toes whenever she saw him.
A face that was hard to look at, yet one she wanted to keep staring at.
Above all, her pounding heart confirmed her love more than anything else.
When Ha-chan smiled, she was happy. When he was by her side, she felt wonderful.
The problem was that this feeling didn't shrink; it just kept growing.
In an instant, her mind was completely filled with him.
That was why, looking at Ha-chan's sleeping face now, Si-ho found it hard to control her emotions.
That sleeping face was just so unbearably lovely.
The man who had held her and comforted her all day after she said goodbye to her mother was more caring and wonderful than any fairy-tale prince.
No one in the world could be as kind as Ha-chan.
She loved him so, so much for being there for her all day.
How could I not love a person like this?
He filled the pain left by her farewell to her mother with a different emotion.
Just having the person she loved by her side was enough to quickly heal the pain.
Si-ho reached out and gently touched Ha-chan's cheek.
“Mmm.”
He must have been tired from all the recent events; there were faint dark circles under his eyes.
It pained Si-ho to see them, but she wanted to help Ha-chan with whatever he was doing.
And she wanted him to praise her and pat her head for it.
Si-ho lifted her head slightly, moving up onto his chest.
His tall frame and broad chest, so much larger than hers, made her heart flutter.
Her heart pounded wildly as their faces drew closer.
When Si-ho was close enough to touch his chin, she could feel his breath just before her, and her lips parted slightly.
Ha-chan's lips came into sharp focus in her eyes.
They'll touch.
They'll touch if I move just a little.
Her heart raced at the thought, but she didn't do it.
Today, Ha-chan would forgive her for anything she did.
Because he would feel sorry for the Si-ho who had just said goodbye to her mother.
So Si-ho knew this would be cheating.
This was something she wanted Ha-chan to do, not her.
“…Si-ho?”
As if her fidgeting had woken him, Ha-chan's eyelids fluttered open.
Facing his drowsy form, Si-ho smiled and lifted her head.
And then, her lips touched his cheek.
The sound of lips meeting cheek echoed softly.
When Ha-chan belatedly realized what had happened and his eyes widened, Si-ho kissed his cheek again, as if to prove it wasn't a dream.
Then, with a face flushed bright red, she said to him.
“…Si-ho held back. So please don't count this as cheating.”
After saying that, Si-ho buried her face in Ha-chan's neck.
She couldn't bring herself to lift her blushing face.
Seeing this, Ha-chan had no choice but to raise a hand and stroke the back of her head.
His touch was so warm and blissful that Si-ho silently wished this moment could last forever.
11
The next day, I was getting ready to go out with Si-ho.
First, Si-ho decided to go to school.
I was worried because of yesterday, but she was being brave.
Still, she seemed to be having trouble adjusting to mornings without her mother waking her up, as she stared blankly into her mother's empty room.
Saying goodbye wasn't something you could get over in a single day.
It would take Si-ho a lot of time to get used to this.
“Si-ho.”
“I'm okay. Because I have you, Manager.”
At my call, Si-ho came over and squeezed my hand tightly.
It was a poignant sight, but I couldn't help but smile.
After all, her mother had entrusted Si-ho to me.
For the sake of the promise I made to her mother, I had to take responsibility for Si-ho.
But there was one part of that which worried me.
I intended to take responsibility for Si-ho as her manager and as an older brother figure, but that wasn't what Si-ho wanted from me.
The eyes of the Si-ho who had kissed my cheek last night were filled with affection.
And I was now all too aware that this affection was the romantic love one feels for the opposite sex.
What should I do?
Si-ho is still only nineteen.
Later, when she becomes an adult and fully wields her regained S-rank hunter powers, she'll meet countless people.
Wouldn't her feelings change then?
But Si-ho's feelings right now were too intense for me to entertain such thoughts.
“Thank you for staying with me yesterday.”
But my doubts didn't reach her.
“I'm so glad I met you, Manager. I like you.”
I like you.
Hearing her words, which carried a confession, I was at a loss for what to say.
Because the way Si-ho clung tightly to my hand made it seem like she would never change, no matter what happened.
Looking at Si-ho, I thought of Seol-hyang and Ahyu.
Seol-hyang, my childhood friend, who had feelings for me since long ago and has carried them all this time to offer them to me now.
Ahyu, who may have started as just a gaming friend, but who played with me for five years and always rushed to my side first whenever I had a problem.
The feelings those two had for me were certainly no less intense than Si-ho's.
With these three people, what was I supposed to do?
I used to think it'd be nice to be the protagonist of a harem manga.
Now that it was my problem, there were more things to worry about than I could have imagined.
“Si-ho's going to school now.”
“Okay, see you later.”
The moment she said goodbye, Si-ho used her spatial ability to teleport to school.
The plan was for her to come to Seol-hyang's house after school to test the dimensional rift.
As for me…
I should probably head to work first.
As I stepped out of the building, a silver fox trotted toward me from a distance.
The fox saw me and bowed its head once.
It was Eunhyeon, who had returned to act as my bodyguard after letting Asura escape.
I approached her and asked cautiously.
“Eunhyeon, are you hurt?”
“There was a skirmish, but Asura was focused on escaping. I am uninjured.”
Hearing that was a relief.
After all, the fight between Eunhyeon and Hyeok-seo had happened because of me.
“…What happened to Hyeok-seo?”
“Geumgangho and I pursued him to the end, but… he was injured but is otherwise fine. I suspect he will appear again soon.”
“He'll be after Si-ho.”
“Yes.”
I let out a sigh at her words.
“Ahyu is with Si-ho now, right?”
“She went to the school ahead of time to wait for her.”
Si-ho was currently under the strict protection of the World Returnee Association.
As Si-ho was Girasung's primary target, the Association was on high alert.
In fact, last night, returnees like Ahyu had been watching over Si-ho's house the entire time.
Their purpose was not only to protect Si-ho but also to lure out Hyeok-seo.
It was better to draw him out and capture him than to let him remain at large.
I'll have to buy Ahyu a meal later.
I'm not much help when it comes to protecting Si-ho.
As a glass cannon with only two shots and an output of 0.5%, I'd clearly just get in the way.
That fact filled me with regret once again.
“Don't get impatient.”
Baeksan, sensing my thoughts, spoke up.
“You've got me by your side. Once you get a complete handle on controlling your aura, you'll become just as strong as them in no time. That's what I'm here for.”
Baeksan's confident declaration finally brought a small smile to my face.
Lately, I'd been thinking how lucky I was to have this guy, Baeksan, around.
If he weren't here, I would have definitely dug myself into a hole of self-pity.
I headed to the office, truly understanding for the first time what it meant to say that having one good friend is a great help in life.
The operation to retrieve Eva's body from the dimensional rift was today.
My plan was to finish my work at the company before then.
Seol-hyang didn't want my daily life to be ruined by the World Returnee Association's affairs.
She felt the same way, just as I didn't want Si-ho's daily life to be disrupted.
But still, probably…
The more involved I get with returnees, the harder it will be to maintain my normal life.
Thinking that made me feel sorry for Ji-eun.
From her perspective, not knowing the situation, she must resent me quite a bit.
When I get the chance…
It might not be a bad idea to tell Ji-eun about it someday.
After all, she's the first hunter I was ever assigned to manage.
So, following Seol-hyang's wishes, I headed off to work.
And there, at the company, I was met by someone completely unexpected.
“It's been a while, Ha-chan.”
It was none other than Eunnamu.