Gun-hwa (Gun Flower) (1)
“Huh, it's already this late?”
“Yeah, when did the time fly by like this?”
I turned at Yoo Seo-ah's words, and outside the window, it was already dark. The clock pointed to 9 p.m. What the hell? She'd come over around 1 p.m., so eight whole hours had passed? We'd just sat around listening to her gate raid stories and chatting about life, but damn, time had vanished.
Yoo Seo-ah's tales weren't anything special. But watching her tell them? That was the fun part. Time just whooshed by. Nothing beats staring at a pretty face for entertainment.
“Sorry for dropping by out of the blue today...”
“Huh?”
“You couldn't even go out because of me...”
I'd been totally satisfied with the quality time, but Yoo Seo-ah was peeking at me apologetically, like she'd ruined my plans.
“Nah, no worries. It's fine.”
“Still...”
“Wasn't it fun hanging out with me like this, Seo-ah? I had a blast—lost track of time completely.”
“Ah, I, I had fun too!”
She jolted at my sudden question, shaking her head frantically. Look at that reaction. Adorable. I smiled at her to ease her guilt and kept going.
“There you go, then. I can go out tomorrow. Honestly, I'm glad we hung out today.”
“Really?”
“Plus, you posted that support post for me. For just a one-day delay in my hunter comeback? I'm way ahead.”
“...So, did I actually help you out today, Jinseong?”
“Yep. You helped a ton.”
“Ehehe...”
With my firm confirmation, she finally relaxed, her face blooming into a smile.
“Then I should head out. This was really fun today.”
After about five minutes of chit-chat wrapping up the day, she finally got ready to leave. I followed her from the sofa as she slipped on her outer coat, heading to see her off at the door.
As I watched her put on her shoes at the entrance, it suddenly hit me—something I'd totally forgotten.
Wait, why the hell did she come over so suddenly anyway?
The texts, the call, the house visit—it had all hit like a storm, and I'd spaced on asking. We'd spent eight hours together, and I still had no clue why she'd shown up.
“Come to think of it... why'd you come to my place today?”
I asked awkwardly, and she flushed red.
“Huh? Oh, well... I saw your text and got so happy. I wanted to see you, Jinseong...”
That was the text I'd sent her. And she'd gotten so thrilled by that she rushed over to see me? Tastes are wild...
Thinking about it, Yoo Seo-ah didn't seem to have many friends. Back in her team, we never did group dinners or anything—dungeon clears ended with everyone splitting. She'd just joined Cheongmyeong Guild, but after that mess, no real chance to make new pals.
So maybe it wasn't weird that she saw me as a comfy friend-type. Getting a desperate text like that from a friend? Yeah, it'd make anyone happy.
I nodded inwardly at her answer and said,
“Glad it made you happy. I had a good time with you today too.”
This was sincere. Sure, her sudden visit threw me, but I'd enjoyed it.
“Really? Then... we can hang out more often?”
“That's up to you, right? You're Cheongmyeong Guild's mighty Geom-hwa.”
“Ehehehe, thanks. Then I'll text you next free day on my schedule! See you soon!”
She beamed at my words, promising the next meetup.
“Yeah, see you.”
I echoed her, looking forward to it. And with that, our surprise hangout wrapped up.
Clack.
Clack-clack-clack...
The front door shut, and the sound of her heels faded. My house, buzzing with warmth and chatter moments ago, plunged into silence.
That hollow feeling after seeing off a guest—only solo livers know it. But I had no time to wallow.
“Time to start customizing!”
Yoo Seo-ah was gone, but work remained. Time to engrave the name Gun-hwa—her gift—onto my new hunter auto-pistol.
Can't wait!
Customization of House Owner Exclusive Auto-Pistol ‘Gun-hwa (Gun Flower)’ is complete.
Auto-Pistol ‘Gun-hwa (Gun Flower)’ binds with Unique Ability – Man-gae-hwa (Custom ver.).
You can now summon the bound ‘Gun-hwa (Gun Flower)’ by calling its name.
After thirty minutes of customizing my auto-pistol Gun-hwa, system windows popped up in front of me. The matte black finish with white floral embroidery looked sleek as hell.
But right now, I wasn't even glancing at the looks.
“S... summon?”
The third window's text left me speechless. Calling the name she'd given it summons Gun-hwa?
“It summons? So no matter where this gun is, if I just say ‘Gun-hwa’...”
Startup command recognized.
Summoning Auto-Pistol ‘Gun-hwa (Gun Flower)’.
Shoo.
Thud.
“...It actually summons.”
Just saying the name drops the weapon right into my hand? This random OP ability had me shaking with excitement.
“Why hand out something this broken? What's the deal with this cheat skill popping up outta nowhere?”
My Safe House (EX-rank) unique ability wasn't for combat. It was support—rescuing, healing, protecting members.
Service evaluation incentives were just extensions of that core. But weapon summoning? Totally different.
A name as startup command, speak it and boom—weapon in empty hands. Way off from what I knew of Safe House.
The system windows answered flatly.
The newly added weapon summon is an essential ability for the House Owner to perfectly provide Safe House services to valued members.
“My services are just healing and protection, right?”
I recalled Yoo Seo-ah tumbling through the front door on death's door.
Safe House auto-rescues endangered members, then I heal and protect. That was the flow, yeah?
No.
Safe House Emergency Rescue is limited to once for the first member.
From now on, House Owner Kang Jinseong must provide rescue services personally.
The new weapon summon enables this.
“...Holy shit.”
That auto-rescue for Yoo Seo-ah? One-time only?
Now that I thought back, there'd been a notice like that. But shit was so frantic, I hadn't clocked it. She was half-dead—who has time for fine print?
“So now, if a member—like Seo-ah—gets in danger, I have to go rescue her myself.”
Yes.
“What if she's in deep shit far away? By the time I get there, it'll be too late.”
Rescue function activates for endangered members, allowing travel through the front door to nearby areas.
“If that's possible, why not just auto-rescue like last time?”
Impossible.
“...Sigh.”
No point arguing with “impossible.” Systems don't lie—especially not my own ability.
I glanced down at the auto-pistol in my hand—Gun-hwa (Gun Flower).
“Fine. Just means one more reason to get strong.”
I was aiming for the top anyway. Extra motivation? Bonus.
“Let's do this.”
She'd even posted support for me. Time to run on that cheer.
But back then, I had no idea just how massive Yoo Seo-ah's standing was in Korea's hunter world. Geom-hwa's influence? Huge.