Delusive Fate

#065

Seo Hee-ju and Ham Yun-ah were the first to react to Moon Kyung-chan’s out-of-nowhere question.

“Honey, what nonsense are you talking about? Why have you been acting like this for a while now? Don’t embarrass me, are you ignorant? What’s wrong with you?”

“Mr. Moon Kyung-chan, I’ve been keeping quiet because you’re Hee-ju’s boyfriend, but are you always this bad at reading the room?”

Moon Kyung-chan defended himself with an embarrassed face.

“Hey, why are you both acting like this? I’m asking because I’ve seen something. And this is actually quite a serious issue.”

“What.”

I leaned back in my chair, crossed my arms, and asked.

“Excuse me?”

“What did you see that makes you spout nonsense about imprisonment? Why the hell would I imprison that guy?”

“Well, that’s… because you love him to the point of insanity?”

At Moon Kyung-chan’s ridiculous answer, I picked up the tonkatsu knife I had put down. I wanted to stab this guy’s carotid artery with it. I wanted to mince his bleeding blood vessels into tiny pieces so that no miracle of modern medicine could ever happen. My hand holding the knife trembled as I tried to suppress the urge to murder. Seeing this, Moon Kyung-chan waved his hands in panic.

“No, no no. Calm down, sir. But that’s the rumor going around! That you’re obsessed with Hunter Ki and have imprisoned him. I didn’t start the rumor!”

“So why did such a ridiculous rumor start? Now they’re making me out to be some kind of kidnapper? Why would I imprison him? What’s so great about him that I’d keep him tied up at home? Is everyone crazy?”

“It, it’s because Hunter Ki Baek-woo hasn’t been seen much lately!”

“What?”

“Hunter Ki Baek-woo has been repeatedly not showing up for gates without permission, and the center can’t contact him either… It probably started with that gate last week, or was it the week before? Anyway, that’s when Hunter Ki Baek-woo first went AWOL.”

“Unauthorized absence from gates…?”

“Yes. If you count the ones he’s missed since then, it’s already… been about four times? Hunter Ki is an S-class, so he’s an important asset, and his absence without notice is causing problems with raids…. So people are saying this doesn’t make sense unless it’s imprisonment, that you’ve chained Hunter Ki’s feet and locked him up because of your obsession, anyway, that’s what everyone is saying…”

Gates….

Gates…?

Ah! I finally remember! This bastard Moon Kyung-chan is that bastard! The infamous asshole caught in a paparazzi shot with his octopus legs!

When I heard about the gates, suddenly an incident flashed through my mind.

It happened after the likability event where Ki Baek-woo and Jung Yi-dam were swept into a double dungeon. About a week after that incident, Ki Baek-woo once again goes on a raid with Jung Yi-dam. In fact, since there aren’t many S-class hunters, they usually end up on the same team anyway, but still.

And that raid becomes the occasion for Ki Baek-woo and Jung Yi-dam’s budding romance to be officially and properly revealed to the world.

Before entering the gate, and after coming out after destroying the gate core. Their tender moments secretly captured then spread beyond the community and even made it into an article in the Hunter Daily. Even for S-class hunters, is two hunters having a fling really newsworthy? They’ve become proper celebrities. Damn, it’s ridiculous.

Anyway, while it had been just a rumor circulating until then, after that incident, the two became completely official as a couple in people’s minds. And I, who was caught in between, ended up becoming everyone’s enemy.

Not knowing any of this, I stupidly wonder why such an incorrect article was published while reading the scandal article about the two. I naturally believe it’s a mistaken article. Although Ki Baek-woo’s strange behaviors that had started recently come to mind, I ignore them and smile. I spend all day thinking about how to humor the changed Ki Baek-woo. To love more earnestly, to trust Ki Baek-woo absolutely, to try only for Ki Baek-woo’s sake. While focusing only on the distant Ki Baek-woo, I couldn’t pay attention to what was happening around me.

While I was busy acting like an idiot, outside there was a minor commotion over another incident that broke out in connection with that paparazzi shot. It was a side issue that branched out from the main incident, known as the “Octopus-chan incident”. The not-so-funny fact that A-class Hunter Mr. Moon had been two-timing with a total of eight women across A, B, and C districts was revealed, and the way it came to light was absurdly pathetic.

The heart-wrenching paparazzi shot of Ki Baek-woo and Jung Yi-dam. In that photo that caused a stir when it was uploaded to Hunter Daily, there was actually another couple captured besides the Ki Baek-woo and Jung Yi-dam couple. Because the presence of the two S-class hunters was so overwhelming, most people didn’t notice, but in the corner of the photo, Mr. Moon was caught kissing another hunter in a very small frame.

And one of Mr. Moon’s eight women who recognized this became furious. Of course. Because cheating bastards should all be killed. Anyway, this woman was so enraged that she went ahead and publicly exposed this bastard for two-timing on the community forum. But then a shocking truth is revealed. It wasn’t two-timing, but eight-timing…! The truth was revealed as the remaining seven women of Mr. Moon appeared one after another in the comments of that post. And one of them was Seo Hee-ju.

Seo Hee-ju goes ballistic, saying he’ll kill that Octopus-chan (bastard). Of course. Because cheating bastards are trash that deserve worse than quartering. Anyway, Seo Hee-ju, who experienced painful betrayal because of Octopus-chan, ends up developing a phobia of high-ranking hunters.

That’s why I had been feeling like I’d been interrupted mid-shit ever since I received Moon Kyung-chan’s greeting. The reason why Seo Hee-ju bringing an A-class guy I’d never heard of as his boyfriend felt awkward. The reason why I was irritated by Moon Kyung-chan’s sudden asshole behavior.

Right, this bastard was that Octopus-chan bastard! I finally remembered. Wow, what a relief!

As soon as I figured out who Moon Kyung-chan was, I felt instantly refreshed. And naturally, questions followed.

‘But why is Seo Hee-ju still dating Octopus-chan? The incident broke out not long after Seo Hee-ju started dating that bastard, so they should have broken up already. Wait a minute.’

Moon Kyung-chan said something about gates… What was it about Ki Baek-woo just now?

Just 5 seconds after feeling clear-headed, I felt stuffy again like I’d eaten a sweet potato. Unable to trust that I’d heard correctly, I asked Moon Kyung-chan again.

“What did you say Ki Baek-woo did with the gates?”

“Hunter Ki has been not showing up for gates without permission!”

“You’re saying Ki Baek-woo is skipping gates?”

“Yes. It’s been almost two weeks now. A District already has a shortage of hunters with all the gates… Anyway, Hunter Ki isn’t showing up for any of the substitute raids he’s been assigned either. We just can’t reach him.”

“Damn, fuck.”

Why on earth didn’t I think of it? Ki Baek-woo has been holed up at home all this time, why didn’t I think that was strange? Why? Because everything about Ki Baek-woo this time has been weird, from his breathing to his blinking, so I didn’t have the leisure to think that far…!

My head was buzzing. The reason why Moon Kyung-chan, who should be treated as the hunter community’s biggest player nicknamed Octopus-chan (bastard), is still walking around with his ugly face intact, the reason why Seo Hee-ju is still keeping by his side the filthy octopus he should have spit out long ago, the reason why I’m feeling incredulous and even disillusioned every day because of Ki Baek-woo who won’t leave my side for a moment…!

It was all… because Ki Baek-woo was holed up at home. Because Ki Baek-woo, who should have been out causing incidents, wasn’t going around, the incidents that should have happened couldn’t occur either…!

***

“Han-sol, take this.”

“……”

“Han-sol.”

After finishing our meal, Ham Yun-ah, Seo Hee-ju, Octopus-chan, and I stumbled out onto the busy street. Since realizing that Ki Baek-woo had been arbitrarily not showing up for gates, I had been in a daze as if I’d been hit on the head. It couldn’t be helped. How could I not be shocked by the fact that Ki Baek-woo was not just being weird, but was even ruining the main events of this game?

What the hell is Ki Baek-woo doing? What on earth is the system doing? Is it okay for the game to go on like this? Ah, I don’t know. I don’t care if the game falls apart or not, whether this round turns out to be frustratingly unique or not, it’s not my concern. I’m just a supporting character who’s going to die soon anyway, why should I care about this crap? I don’t even want to think about it, fuck.

My thoughts continued to wander aimlessly. It was hard to make sense of anything.

Forget it all, I need to send Ki Baek-woo to the gates right away. Then the system will start moving, even if belatedly. Even though the timing has gotten messed up, there’s a set story, so the main events might somehow continue. And when the raid starts, Ki Baek-woo won’t come home for a few days, and I can just move out during that time.

Right now, Ki Baek-woo seems to be oddly obsessed with me… but this must all be happening because he’s not going outside. He needs to go out to see Jung Yi-dam, and he needs to see Jung Yi-dam to think about kicking Lee Han-sol to the curb. The guy who should be doing that is holed up at home like a hikikomori, only seeing Lee Han-sol all day, so he might have ended up going crazy like this. Once he starts living apart from me, the story will somehow get back on track. So when I get home, I’ll call Ki Baek-woo first and discipline him a bit while…

“Hey, Lee Han-sol!”

“Ah!”