Chapter 13: 13

“I apologize. I’ll release your hand, but please keep your voice as low as possible … can you?”

I nodded. Then, the man slowly lifted his hand from my mouth.

“People … mmph, hmmp!”

“Haha … Actually, I’m being chased right now. If you let me hide for a moment, I’ll let you go.”

Wow, it couldn’t be more suspicious. Is there any reason to hide on the wall in front of this store in broad daylight and avoid people?

A spy? Or a criminal?

“I’m not a criminal.”

Did you read my mind?

“I think it’s harder to not know when all your thoughts are revealed on your face like that.”

It was a perfect poker face, he was a quick-witted man.

“Anyway, you know what I mean, right?”

I nodded, again.

Of course, I was going to kick him out as soon as he took his hand off….

….until I realised one thing.

While my mouth was closed with his palm, I naturally took a closer look into the man’s face.

Although his face is covered by thick glasses, the face line is quite fine. His eyebrows fell well, and his long eyelashes cast a shadow over his dark, twinkling eyes. His skin, which I had initially thought was pale, up close was a lively milky color.

In short, this man is … handsome. It was enough to say that he’s pretty.

My reasoning told me I need to scream right away, but my emotions blocked it.

Do you know how hard it is to see a handsome man in real life? That’s enough to brag to a friend through KakaoTalk for an hour when I happen to meet a man like this on the street.

I hate getting involved in troublesome things.

He didn’t seem like a criminal, but he was being chased, and for some reason, the man was like a bunch of troublesome things.

This is my motto after I returned from death, “Let’s avoid troublesome things“.

It’s a motto that I just set up a while ago, nevertheless….

I really need to kick him out, but I need to….

Slowly, the man removed his hand from my mouth. His eyes met mine.

It was an incredible beauty.

“….come inside for now.”

In the end, it was the emotional side that won.

Yes, a person doesn’t have to live so rationally every time.

***

“Mieum, a guest has arrived.”

“Meooong (what are you talking about all of a sudden)?”

“There is such a thing.”

The man came in and sat down at an empty seat in front of the table. He was an intriguingly flawless man.

I posed a question to such a man.

“So, why was someone from Cheongna Guild hiding there?”

To avoid misunderstanding, I didn’t just bring him in because of the man’s rare and shiny appearance.

This is because when he blocked my mouth, after his appearance, I also noticed a mark engraved on the collar of the man’s coat.

Hearing my words, the man stopped moving. I could feel him looking at me with careful eyes.

“Why are you surprised? On your clothes … that’s the logo of Cheongna, right?”

I pointed to the blue embroidery on the coat. The blue vine shape was definitely the logo of Cheongna Guild.

The guild you belong to is the most reliable proof of your identity. This is because the guild is responsible for managing and supervising its hunters. Minor disputes were dealt with as soon as they were reported to their guild.

In other words, he is a man with a solid identity.

“You recognize it. This … I just put anything on and went out.”

“What, is it an impersonation?”

I sneakily grabbed my cell phone in my pocket. Impersonating a Hunter Guild is a felony. If it was an impersonation, I was planning to report it to the police immediately.

“Ah, that’s right. Right. It’s not an impersonation.”

The bewildered man waved his hand and introduced himself.

“My name is Ki Yoohyun. As you said, I’m a Hunter from the Cheongna Guild.”

“Then why were you hiding there?”

“That … haha, there are several reasons. Since there are so many people looking for me, let’s say I just tried to avoid them for a moment….”

In a word, he’s currently slacking off.

I stared at Ki Yoohyun. Compared to his sparkling appearance, he is dressed in a modest way and looks somewhat shabby. I can’t imagine him killing monsters in the dungeon with such a wretched appearance.

Yeah, I get it. He might be a hunter from Cheongna, but he’s a very weak hunter who ranked last.

Moreover, the low-ranking hunter has its own difficulties. He will have to take on chores and be abused by high-ranking hunters, and he must have a lot of trouble.

Even though they are Hunters, not all Hunters are the same.

As I was once a corporate slave, Ki Yoohyun’s situation was clearly portrayed.

In such a situation, you might just want to hide from people’s eyes. When I felt like I was going to die from sleepiness, I used to go to the bathroom and locked myself there.

While I felt sorry for him, Ki Yoohyun looked around the store and talked to me.

“I didn’t know there was a cafe in this place.”

“…”

“…”

Only silence continued.

If it’s a natural and social flow of conversation, I’d offer a cup of coffee here.

‘That’s right. Can I get you a cup of coffee?’

‘Oh, you don’t have to worry about it.‘

‘No. I should treat you some coffee.‘

‘Thank you. I’ll drink it well.’

Like this.

But I just returned from the hotel to the store this morning. Naturally, the refrigerator is empty as it has just been repaired.

The only thing here now was the 100th coffee mix that I was going to drink before.

Should I give him this?

But the 100th coffee was meant to be savored as I celebrated the completion of the quest!

It’s not just a waste of coffee mix. I’m not such a petty person. However, it was sad that I could not fully enjoy this historical moment ahead of the completion of the quest.

It’s like having the boss mob’s HP cut down to 99%, but losing the last hit.

“…”

Ki Yoohyun looked at me with a sparkling face.

It was a sad look asking me to give a cup of coffee to poor low-ranking Hunter who had been struggling with chores for a while.

He may have just stared at me, but when I saw his finely stretched eyes and deep eyes, my mind made up such a story at will.

Ugh, those eyes are unbearable. Isn’t that beautiful enough to be called a Gyeonggukji?

“Meooong (But the scale is too small for Gyeonggukji)?”

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“Be quiet, Mieum-ah.”

I glared at Mieum.

Even if it’s not a country, it’s enough to tilt this store.

“Um, Umh, I only have coffee mix right now … have a drink.”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry … thank you for the drink.”

For my sociability, the last coffee mix left my hand.

Ki Yoohyun received the paper cup and took a sip.

“This … It’s incredibly delicious.”

The grin from his mouth was lifted, and he took another sip with a slightly surprised expression.

“It’s really tasty.”

It has cooled a bit, but it is still a 4-star coffee mix that has [Status: Good]. I was a little proud to see him enjoying it. Ki Yoohyun quickly emptied the paper cup.

Now it’s time for the quest completion notification to appear….

What?

It’s strange. Even after waiting for a long time, the notification that the quest was completed did not appear.

Is it lagging? Is there lagging in the system? Was it connected to the internet?

Frustrated, I hurriedly opened the quest window.

‘Quest.’

It didn’t open.

‘Quest.’

Still nothing.

‘Open the quest window!’

“Is there something wrong?”

As I stared at the air without saying a word, Ki Yoohyun spoke to me.

“Mm, hmmm. It’s nothing. For a moment, I think there’s a bug.”

Let’s think about it later. The fact that I have awakened is a secret that I have not revealed to anyone yet. I want to avoid being considered as a strange person who looks into the air and mutters to herself.

“More than that, I have a question….”

I changed the subject by saying anything out of embarrassment.

“Ki Yoohyun-ssi … ah, right! Have you ever seen the real guild leader of Cheongna?”

“….yes?”

Oh, my. I said too much.

The words came out of my mouth out of bewilderment, but it’s true that I’m curious about that.

The guild leader of Cheongna is Muwon, the mysterious No. 1 Hunter.

The first and best S-class Hunter. A hunter who never came down after ascending to the top of the tower. There are only rumors floating around about him.

He is completely the protagonist of a fantasy novel. It is natural for people to ask questions.

“He has been hiding his identity. If you belong to Cheongna, I was wondering if you’ve ever seen him.”

The question was not asked in anticipation of an answer. Even if they were members of the same guild, the likelihood that this person at the bottom would have met such an important person would be low.

However, instead of answering, Ki Yoohyun said something out of the blue with a complex expression.

“You seem to be very interested in our guild leader.”

“Umh … no.”

“Then why do you ask?”

“It’s interesting that he just keeps hiding his identity. See, if it were me, I would be bragging about being the number one right here and there.”

“That … is that so?”

“It’s true. There were also rumors that he hid his identity because he was ugly, but that doesn’t seem to be the case….”

“…”

In an instant, Ki Yoohyun’s eyes, which twinkled like a deer, shook greatly.

Still, this is a pretty popular rumor.

How much media exposure was there for Kwon Jiwoon alone? He said that it would be cumbersome to refuse numerous requests for coverage and appearances on broadcasts one by one.

Furthermore, the Dungeon Management Office used to promote the top rankers for publicity in the name of reassuring the public.

Choi Cedric, a member of CNL Corporation, who is currently ranked second, is the same. He has appeared in public service advertisements, magazines, and broadcasting, plus his merchandise  products are enormous.

Therefore, there is a rumor that there is a reason why the No. 1 ranker hides his identity. Well, most of them seem to have been made up out of inferiority complex.

“If I were him, I’d pretend to check the time, pull up my sleeves and show them my number one wristwatch.”

“Ahahaha….”

Ki Yoohyun slightly covered his watch as he pulled on his sleeve. I don’t know why he cares when I talked about the wristwatch, which can be used as a proof of identity for the No. 1 ranker and S-class Hunter.

“I’m afraid I don’t know. I’ve never met him.”

“Is that so….”

In fact, Ki Yoohyun looks like a bottom-ranker, so there’s no way he would know such a top secret. I also asked a random person out of curiosity.

At that moment, Ki Yoohyun suddenly leaned under the table.

“Uh, what’s wrong?”

Soon after, I heard the same sound of words that I heard earlier outside the window.

“Where the hell is he hiding?”

“Hurry up and come out!”

“That way! Isn’t he hiding there?”

It was a great reaction speed. You really have to be this fast to be a slacker.

In my mind, I named Ki Yoohyun as the master of slacking off.

Ki Yoohyun crawled under the table and approached the opposite window.

“I’ll see you next time.”

As soon as Ki Yoohyun disappeared beyond the window, a system notification window appeared in front of me.

[Congratulations! You have completed ‘Tutorial Quest: Coffee is My Dream’.

Please receive the reward.]

Looks like the lag has finally been fixed.

***

A small cafe located at Dungeon Gate 3, 16th Street.

After walking without hesitation until the store became smaller, Ki Yoohyun took off his thick-rimmed glasses.

The grin has long been erased from his lips.

As he brushed away his disheveled hair, the hunter with the clumsy and clueless impression from earlier was no longer there. Rather, the black eyes that were exposed under the long eyelashes contained a cold light.

 

Translator’s Corner:

 

Gyeonggukji: It’s from 경국지색, a four-character idiom that means “a beauty that will tilt the country”. In the past, usually there’s a woman of great beauty that was given the title “경국지색” by the public, since she’s a very beautiful woman for whom the king neglects the nation’s affairs, risking the fate of the country.

and there are a lot of Korean names, why it’s a Yoohyun again. I’m weak for Yoohyuns T__T

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