CH 12

Hara had to maintain contact with Seheon because of her skill. She also had to avoid the monsters that swarmed forest dungeons.

As such, what can she do? She didn’t ponder about it for long. In the first place, there was no other option. 

“Are your stats really being enhanced?”

“Oh, yes.”

Does she look like she’s lying? Hara felt slightly embarrassed. Why would she lie about that in this situation?

Seheon waved his hand when he looked at Hara’s expression.  

“I’m not thinking that you’re lying.” 

“Then…”

Seheon spoke awkwardly. 

“I weigh more than 80 kilograms.”

Only then did Hara realise why Seheon absolutely hated it. She’d thought that it’s because it’s embarrassing to be hugged by a woman, but that wasn’t the case. 

Seheon was 187cm. He was so tall that she had to look up at him while bending her head. Additionally, he was large and lean.

In comparison, Hara barely reached 160cm. Therefore, from Seheon’s point of view, he’s bound to feel averse to it. Normally, she’d be crushed under him, much less being able to lift him up. 

[The constellation, ‘Cupid’ joins in on the fun eagerly, saying that there’s a good height difference]

“Ah, seriously, you’re noisy!”

Hara couldn’t help but scream at the system window. Seheon, who was standing in front of her then, became startled.

“……What?”

“N, no. The constellation is speaking nonsense…….”

Hara mumbled embarrassedly before closing her mouth and opening her arms in Seheon’s direction again.

As Seheon pressed his lips together so tightly that his jaw became as wrinkled as a walnut, he looked at Hara’s thin arms and let out a short sigh. 

“Please look after me.”

Hara went straight up to Seheon and supported his back with an arm.

“Please leave it…” 

However, even before Hara finished speaking, Seheon reached out with his arms and wrapped them around her neck. As such, Seheon’s adaptable and cooperative nature was displayed in such a situation.

As a result, Hara was being embraced by an adult male that was much taller than her. It made her rather embarrassed. This is because of the man’s long and firm arms that reached towards her, and the body temperature that is stuck to the back of her neck.

Subsequently, Hara was struck by the scents, such as the sweaty scent from half a day’s suffering in the dungeon, and the lingering fragrance of a perfume that’s used by men. 

For Hara, who had never been in a relationship, it gave her an overly unfamiliar sensation.

“Kang Hara-ssi?”

“Uwack, yes!”

Seheon tried calling Hara, who looked up at him dazedly immediately after he hugged her, once more. Hara answered unknowingly with a shriek. But he tried his best to ignore it.

“Can I lean my weight on you now?”

Instead, he asked while looking downwards at the face of the civil servant that he was hugging with both hands. An ordinary woman that didn’t have any special characteristics, other than the old horn-rimmed glasses that she seemed to have worn for a few years, and some dirt that got on her through her struggle in the dungeon.

Even now, she would immediately fall down and be crushed by Seheon if he exerts his strength, but she’s still a hunter. And according to her, she’s also a hunter that has just become an S-class. 

Yoon Seheon wasn’t a fool. There’s no way a handsome man wouldn’t know about that face in Korea. It’s because ever since he was young, the people around him never left it alone. As such, he immediately noticed why this ‘civil servant lady aka his lifesaver’ was acting like this.

But he didn’t want to react one by one. It’s because they couldn’t afford to waste time feeling embarrassed and disgraced because of each other when they were in a situation where threats to their life were everywhere.

Hara seemed to be thinking of the same thing.  Her embarrassment only lasted momentarily, and she soon came to her senses.

“Yes, yes! Please leave it to me!”

“Alright, then.”

When he was young, when was the last time his father hugged him?

Seheon’s arms held onto her tightly as he moved into a posture that he had never done before in his entire life. When he lifted both of his legs, nervousness crept up his entire body, causing it to stiffen. If Seheon uses all his strength, even a normal man wouldn’t be able to withstand it easily.

However, to his surprise, those soft shoulders held out like stones.

“Oof.”

He thought that she’d make a loud grunt. But the woman just lifted Seheon up with an exhale that held absolutely no tension at all. 

“There!”

Then, she smiled.

“How do you feel? Does it feel reassuring?”

It’s strange. Seheon looked through the horn-rimmed glasses of the woman that was smiling at him dazedly. 

Dishevelled hair and a sweat-soaked forehead. How bad were her eyes that they seemed as big as a buttonhole through her horn-rimmed glasses. Hehe, her smile was also rather clumsy.

But for some reason, he felt comfortable. How should he describe it, it’s like he’s seen it somewhere…

“Kang Hara-ssi.”

Words couldn’t help but appear from Seheon’s mouth. 

“Yes! Please let me know if you feel any discomfort anywhere!”

She was holding a man that’s twice her size and talking like she was riding on a bus. Seheon was dumbfounded by the disparity, and after chuckling, he asked. 

“Have we ever met before?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Hara’s hand weakened and dropped Seheon’s leg. 

“Ack! I’m sorry!”

If Hara came to her senses just a little later, Yoon Seheon’s life would have ended with a fall to his death. 

Hara, who barely managed to lift Seheon again, apologised several times with a cold face, which was remarkably different from the smile that was present a moment ago.

Thanks to that, she could avoid answering the question of have they ever met before. It’s unknown whether that’s a fortunate or unfortunate thing. 

* * *

“Where is the safe zone?”

Seheon surveyed their surroundings. They didn’t have much time until sunset. He felt rather anxious. Forest-type dungeons would turn into hell at night, so it would be nice if there was a cave-like place.

“I saw a place earlier…”

“When you say earlier, you’re talking about when you flew away?”

“Yes.”

As Hara soared towards the sky, she managed to observe the entire dungeon’s appearance briefly.

At that time, the thing that stood out the most was a particularly tall tree in the forest. The tree was almost the size of Namsan Tower. At the very top of it was a huge bird’s nest. 

“That’s probably the boss.”

“I see.”

“Afterwards, I spotted places like shelters.”

Usually, dungeons would occasionally have places that were considered shelters by the system. It’s a so-called safe zone.

It occurs randomly, but the boundaries are rather visible to hunters. Monsters can’t harm a hunter within those boundaries. Of course, the reverse also holds true.

“There was a small, yellow boundary.”

No one knows why such a thing existed. The system didn’t explain, so mankind could only be satisfied with using the safe zone to attack dungeons.

However, the safe zone wasn’t omnipotent. Sometimes, it disappears due to an unexplained phenomenon, and sometimes it’s such a narrow space that one person can barely stand within. 

Fortunately, the boundaries of the safe zone that Hara had her eye on was relatively wide. Seheon nodded immediately. 

“Let’s go there.”

“Alright.”

Growl, just then, a loud noise appeared from Hara’s stomach. Hara stole a glance at the face of the man she was carrying awkwardly. 

The man, who’d heard the same sound, looked at Hara naturally, but he didn’t laugh.

“You’re already so hungry, but I’m making you use your strength.”

On the contrary, he looked apologetic.

“Oh, no. What are you talking about?”

Hara shook her head and laughed again without feeling anxious.

“Every year, we’d train in the event that we’re isolated in dungeons, so it’s alright.”

“I don’t think you’ll be accustomed to starving yourself because of training.”

“Haha.”

Hara laughed awkwardly instead of answering.

“Anyways, catching a B-class boss is too much for my skills, but I also have the rabbit meat from earlier.”

She was talking about the meat obtained by catching the carnivorous rabbits. 

Seheon fell silent upon hearing Hara saying that at least there will be meat they can grill and eat after reaching the safe zone, before opening his mouth. 

“It’s a carnivorous rabbit, so it’ll have a weird taste…”

“Even so, I’m still quite famished, so what can I do? It’s better than starving.”

“How will you light a fire?”

“Don’t worry about that either! I have a method for that!”

“…Kang Hara-ssi seems to be a person that’s thoroughly prepared and reasonable.”

The man’s tone was as calm as when he was being a news anchor. As such, Hara smiled brightly without noticing anything.

“Thanks!”

Seheon, who had a weak stomach but managed facial expressions as part of his profession, did his best to return Hara’s smile. 

‘Monster meat, of all things?’

Of course, he was thankful to be alive, but he wouldn’t want to eat it under normal circumstances. 

But at the very next moment, something happened and the both of them forgot about the monster meat.

“It’s a person!”

“Help me! Help me!”

Their eyes grew bigger when they looked down. It’s because children in school uniforms jumped up and down, waving their hands wildly.