Party
Party
I scratched my head while looking at the mountain of empty plates piled on the table.
Steak, risotto, gambas, salad, soup.
Including the pasta I stole from Lee Yul after she couldn't finish half of it, that made seven plates total.
"...Sorry. I'll pay next time."
At my words, Lee Yul shook her head with an unperturbed expression.
"Huh? Why are you making a big deal out of this?"
Then with that same unbothered face, she took out her card from her wallet and handed it to the staff.
I suspected as much, but is she really some rich family's daughter...?
Are her parents going to come after me asking if I scammed their gullible daughter?
While I was internally burning with guilt, Lee Yul collected the receipt and looked up at me.
"Then... shall we go now?"
"Uh, yeah let's go."
As we left the restaurant, I glanced down at Lee Yul.
A small frame wearing what looked like an expensive white robe.
"Why are you staring at me like that?"
"It's nothing."
I'm taking this kid into a dungeon?
...Will this work?
***
As we passed through the Gate, the familiar grassland spread out before us.
"Stay close behind me.
And never step in front of me."
"Yes, yes!"
Lee Yul nodded while tightly gripping her staff with both hands.
Her fingertips had turned pale.
...She's way too nervous.
But I guess we'll have to learn by doing?
I turned my gaze to the opposite side of the entrance.
A fishy smell wafted from beyond the bushes.
One in the left bushes.
One behind the right boulder.
"Going left first!"
I stomped the ground. My charge flushed out the wolf hiding in the bushes.
I grabbed its jaw with my left hand and slammed it straight into the ground, smashing its skull.
"Kyaaak!"
Blood splattered onto my forearm.
At that moment, I sensed the right one charging toward Lee Yul.
Damn!
I threw the wolf I was still holding.
With a sound of cutting wind, both wolves crashed into the boulder.
The pulverized wolf twitched its mouth before gradually stopping all movement.
"..."
When I looked back, Lee Yul was standing there with her mouth hanging open.
Her hands gripping the staff were trembling like leaves.
"What are you doing? Let's go get the Cores.
Never done this before?"
"Huh? ...No."
"...Then I'll teach you."
I dragged the frozen Lee Yul toward the pulverized wolf.
***
We were in the middle of taking down the third pack.
A wolf's claw grazed my forearm.
"Ugh."
The duct-taped leather scrap had torn like paper.
Blood seeped through, stinging slightly.
"Yunha-ssi! B-blood!"
Startled, Lee Yul hurried over and pointed her staff at me.
Light blossomed from her fingertips and flowed along the staff.
The warm light covered my wound, and the torn skin instantly fused together as new flesh grew.
Not stopping there, the warm light traveled down my arm all the way to my abdomen.
When I lifted my shirt slightly, even yesterday's scar on my stomach had disappeared, leaving smooth skin.
"...Are you okay now?"
A recovery potion half as effective would cost at least 50,000 won, but with this kid it's free...?
"Thanks."
"It's nothing, this much is..."
Lee Yul blushed and lowered her head.
...Shouldn't I be the one begging to party with her?
***
Trusting Lee Yul, I started hunting more aggressively.
We took down the fourth and fifth packs in quick succession.
At first she made mistakes like healing me when I wasn't even hurt,
but gradually the light came at just the right moments.
Plus, when Lee Yul used her Trait, my physical abilities seemed to get even stronger.
However.
"Huff, huff, huff."
She was too focused on using her Trait on me to pay attention to herself - that was the only flaw.
But we'd already gotten 13 Cores in just over an hour.
That's nearly three times more efficient than when I was alone...
Is this the power of a party?
"Yu-Yunha-ssi, can we rest for just a bit?"
"Don't just use your Trait on me, use it on yourself too..."
"Ah, is that allowed? Those guys always told me to only use it on them..."
...Those bastards really taught her whatever suited them.
"Forget everything those assholes taught you."
"Yes!"
***
But the smooth sailing didn't last long.
After quickly dispatching another three wolves, Lee Yul ran to collect the Cores.
At that moment, an ominous sensation struck me.
"Wait!"
"Huh?"
A half-dead wolf was mustering its last strength to swing its front paw.
But Lee Yul froze up completely, unable to even scream.
I immediately threw myself in front of her.
Grabbing the wolf's incoming paw, I slammed it into the ground again.
Hot blood splattered.
"You okay― what's wrong with you?"
Lee Yul had collapsed to the ground, clutching her throat while making choking sounds.
"Huk, huk... sob...!"
A seizure?!
"Snap out of it!"
I approached and shouted, but her focus was completely gone.
Damn, what do I do?
With no other choice, I knelt down and pulled her into a hug.
Her small shoulders fit entirely in my palms.
"Calm down, look at me.
Look at me and breathe."
I moved her head to face me.
Her trembling pupils gradually fixed on my eyes.
Did it help somewhat?
Her wildly pounding heart began to slow down.
"Huuuuk... haa... haa..."
Her breathing was returning.
Lee Yul's hands gripped my forearms.
Her nails dug into my flesh, but I ignored it.
When Lee Yul's trembling stopped, I slowly released the hug.
"...That was my mistake for letting it slip past. Sorry."
"Ah, no it was my fault..."
Lee Yul bowed her head deeply, her cheeks slightly red.
"...You're right, you're part of the problem too."
Lee Yul flinched.
"We can't go to the 2nd Floor in this state.
Let's practice using your Trait more."
At my words, Lee Yul raised her head.
Though tear stains remained on her face, she bit her lip firmly and nodded.
"...Yes. I'll work hard as you say, Yunha-ssi."
Getting up, I roughly wiped the blood from my palm onto my pants.
***
We continued hunting afterward.
But it wasn't as smooth as before.
Lee Yul kept shrinking into herself.
"..."
Still, we somehow finished hunting and exited the Dungeon.
I immediately opened my Status Window.
[Trait: Yin-Yang Person]
"...!"
The Sun was still there,
but it had clearly shrunk compared to when I saw it this morning.
Yesterday I wasn't sure, but today the difference felt more distinct.
When this completely disappears...
Can I return to Wolha?
"Did something good happen?"
Lee Yul looked up at me with curious eyes.
"Ah, no. Just... today's earnings seem good."
Lee Yul tilted her head but didn't ask further.
***
At the Settlement Office counter, I poured out the Cores.
There was no boss Core, but the quantity was much greater than yesterday.
"Total is 420,000 won.
Should I deposit it to your account?
Or would you like cash here?"
"...Cash please."
Taking the wad of cash the clerk handed me,
I glanced at Lee Yul who was looking around the Settlement Office behind me.
I should split the profits with her... right?
But how much should I give?
50-50?
...But I did teach her how to hunt
and I'm taking care of this kid who has nowhere to go, so I should take a bit more, right?
80-20 seems... too shameless,
let's do 70-30!
Suppressing my guilty conscience with effort, I cleared my throat.
"Ahem. Lee Yul. About the party earnings."
"Ah, yes!"
"Since I did all the hunting, 70 for me, 30 for you. Okay? No complaints?"
Lee Yul's eyes widened. Then she waved both hands.
"What?! I-I don't need any."
"...Huh?"
"Yunha-ssi is my life's savior, and today I just kept being a burden...
Honestly I want to give you money."
Faced with those pure, clear violet eyes,
my money-grubbing soul felt like it was being purified in real time to the point of burning away.
...I'm trash.
"Just kidding. This kind of thing should always be 50-50.
No, with a Trait as good as yours, you could get even more.
But! You still need to learn more, so let's do 50-50."
"Yu-Yunha-ssi..."
Lee Yul gripped the money I forcibly gave her as if it were some treasure, holding it tightly with both hands.
Seeing that, an inexplicable irritation mixed with laughter leaked out.
***
The sun was setting as we left the Settlement Office.
We walked out together along the roadside.
Lee Yul naturally took out her phone and called a taxi.
"Yunha-ssi, what time will you come tomorrow?"
"Uh... morning?"
At my clueless answer, Lee Yul smiled slightly.
"Text me when you leave home.
Then I'll get ready and come out right away."
Ah.
At that moment, I remembered crumpling up the note she gave me and stuffing it in the trash.
Not to mention the pile of tissues soaked with my cum stacked on top of it.
"Uh, yeah. I'll text you."
My voice trembled on its own.
"Did you lose the note I gave you?"
Lee Yul looked up at me with a tilted head.
"No! I have it! I'm keeping it safe!"
A reflexive lie came out.
Ah, I should've just said I lost it.
Lee Yul looked at me with doubtful eyes but fortunately didn't ask further.
The taxi arrived during this.
"Then see you tomorrow, Yunha-ssi."
As the taxi carrying Lee Yul disappeared from view,
I turned toward the bus stop.
But then I thought of my increasingly empty bank account.
"1,500 won for bus fare is too expensive..."
I twisted my body to face home.
And started sprinting full speed under the streetlights.
"Wha-what's with that person!"
"Is he crazy?"
Pedestrians scrambled out of the way in shock.
One of the many advantages of this beast-like body was never getting tired no matter how much I ran.
***
The moment I got home, I immediately overturned the trash can.
"Ugh, the smell..."
After digging through the sticky pile of tissues with bare hands, I found the note lying on the floor.
The edges were damp, but fortunately the writing was still legible.
Lee Yul. And a phone number.
I took out my phone and saved the number.
I put the note back in the trash and swept the tissue pile in after it.
Washing my hands, a sigh escaped on its own.
"...From now on, save important things immediately."
***
Lying on the bed, I turned on my phone.
Notifications from Pazijik and Gom TV greeted me.
[Is Wolha alive? Turn on your stream.]
[At least post a notice please ㅠㅠ]
"Ah, damn it."
I grabbed my head.
I can't exactly stream looking like this.
...I should post something.
But these huge fingers couldn't properly press the keyboard.
After struggling for a while, I put down the phone and turned on my computer for the first time in ages.
[Keunson Gom: When are you coming back?]
[Bamui Jewang: I'm watching other female streamers but they're boring, come back already]
As soon as I logged into SNS, DMs from the two big spenders flew in.
"Get a life, seriously."
But I couldn't ignore them either.
I dug through my gallery and picked out some old selfies.
Placing my hands on the keyboard:
[Sorry everyoneㅠㅠ Need to rest a few more days...]
[Even writing this notice is hard right now...]
[Didn't want to just post a notice so here are some selfies♡]
[Please wait while looking at these~ Hic...]
Hic...?
My face reflected on the monitor.
I wanted to break my fingers.
Having to write this crap with this face...
In the midst of extreme self-loathing, I barely finished the notice and turned off the computer.
---
[Dungeon Gallery]
Title: Forming a Caveman Party
The Pingchang* who ran during the boss fight.
LMAOOOOOO
Anon: LMAOOOO
Anon: Pink hair? That blacklisted one?
Anon: Yeah saw them holding hands entering the dungeon today
Anon: What a crazy comboㅋㅋㅋ Caveman + Deserter
Anon: But with caveman around, nobody dared pick fights with pink hair
Anon: Who'd mess with that hulkㅋㅋ
Anon: Lowkey jealous... I want a healer too
Anon: Even a blacklisted one?
Anon: ...I'll think about it
---
TN: "Pingchang" (핑챙) is a derogatory community nickname for the pink-haired healer, derived from "핑크" (pink) combined with a mocking suffix. Used as online slang to refer to her dismissively.