Chapter 137: Unknown Trauma (2)

The two were filling out paperwork at a desk separated from the team members.

Every time someone passed nearby, Ion kept jerking his head up and then down again.

Finally, Ion spoke with a face full of resolve.

“Jin Seong-ha Hunter. Please put our Sanse in the inventory for a while.”

“…Well. I think it’d be better if you just kept holding it.”

“No. Please put it in. Safely.”

“Then are you saying this place isn’t safe?”

“There’s no truly safe place in the world to begin with. Just protect it until work ends. I’ll take it back when we leave.”

At Ion’s deadly serious voice, Jin Seong-ha placed Sanse into the inventory.

“Then in exchange, Danju…”

Jin Seong-ha handed over Ppuru, who had been sitting on his shoulder, to Ion.

Ppurung?

“Why are you giving me this?”

“Because your arms will feel empty without Sanse, so knead Ppuru instead.”

“…….”

Ion didn’t refuse.

Jin Seong-ha watched with a satisfied smile as Ion immediately started fiddling with Ppuru the moment he took it.

Some time passed with only the scratch-scratch sound of writing filling the air.

Jin Seong-ha opened his mouth.

“Danju, about my pets.”

“Nari, White Eyes, Choco, Candy?”

“Yeah. Nari and White Eyes were abandoned dogs, and Choco and Candy were stray cats with abuse histories. All four are very timid—they curl their tails and burrow into my arms the moment they see a stranger. They still get scared of middle-aged men sometimes.”

“Must be nice. That’s exactly your type.”

“Spot on. When small, pitiful animals act like I’m the only being they can rely on in this world… it really makes my fur stand on end, my heart pound, and I feel like this is what makes life worth living.”

Ugh, Ion frowned.

“You’re seriously weird. Why are you suddenly confessing your twisted tastes?”

“Hm. First off, I wanted to warn you.”

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

Jin Seong-ha chuckled briefly and closed his mouth.

That night.

[Ason] Our builds are kinda similar, huh

[Ason] Why are you asking this?

Jin Seong-ha also knew what Noishe D. Dave—the body Breeder had possessed—looked like.

He had encountered him once, after all.

Masculine features and a large build. Graying hair. Thick forearms revealed under rolled-up sleeves, with veins bulging blue.

Unfortunately, the description matched Squad Leader Ma quite closely.

He sent a photo of Squad Leader Ma to Dam Sa-on and asked if it resembled Breeder.

The reply confirmed it.

This gave Jin Seong-ha certainty.

“So Ion Danju has trauma.”

Ppurung?

Jin Seong-ha fiddled with Ppuru, who reacted to Ion’s name.

Woof woof!

The puppies wagged their tails, urging him to pet them too.

Jin Seong-ha fairly stroked not only the dogs but also the cats purring on his lap.

They would sulk if he didn’t treat them equally.

Meow.

Choco tapped Jin Seong-ha’s paused palm. It meant keep petting.

Choco had trauma too.

Jin Seong-ha hadn’t done anything special to heal Choco’s trauma. He just fed it, praised it, and loved it—so now it had become the most aloof cat in the world.

‘Animals with trauma are one thing… but how should I treat a human with trauma?’

It would be nice if people healed on their own just from being fed, praised, and loved, but it wouldn’t be that easy.

Yes, thinking about it, it was only natural for Ion to have trauma.

He had been abused for a long time since childhood.

Sa-on probably flinched when he got the text too—seeing a photo that resembled their teacher.

‘Ah… the orphans really are pitiful.’

All the orphans were tragic existences.

But among them, Ion was especially pitiful and heartbreaking.

If possible, he wanted to lock all six in a cage and take care of them himself.

Jin Seong-ha pressed down the corners of his mouth that kept trying to curl up.

Squad Leader Ma Seo-jin had originally been a mercenary.

Mercenaries earned less than official guild members of large guilds, but if they stayed busy, they could make big money.

After clearing a few low-rank dungeons and gaining confidence, he applied for an A-rank dungeon raid.

It was a raid organized by a small guild, mostly mercenaries—so teamwork was poor, a complete ragtag group.

That day, Ma Seo-jin felt the fear of death for the first time.

‘I can’t rely only on return stones. One wrong move and I could die without even time to use it.’

Barely surviving and returning, Ma Seo-jin developed dungeon phobia afterward. Just standing in front of a gate made his feet freeze in fear.

After much thought, Ma Seo-jin quit dungeon raids.

His skill traits meant plenty of jobs sought him even outside dungeons, and though less than mercenary days, he still earned well.

Once, while working at a stone quarry, an accident occurred. Two workers were buried under collapsing rebar.

Ma Seo-jin single-handedly moved the rebar and saved them.

The rescue team called by the workers arrived ten minutes later—all non-awakened.

Even if they had arrived one minute earlier, the rescue team alone couldn’t have saved the workers.

That was when he realized his calling.

‘Places that need awakeners aren’t just dungeons.’

He immediately applied to the 119 Rescue Headquarters’ life-saving hunter team, and the perpetually understaffed headquarters hired him right away.

It had now been exactly one year since he started working there.

“Danju, more and more stuff keeps getting added to the pot. Isn’t the plant starting to hate it?”

“If Sanse really hated it, it would show. You’re the one whose Ppuru is thumping its tail because it hates the lace right now.”

“Ppuru, how long are you going to act like a baby. Look how mature Sanse is.”

Ppururut!

“You’re the one who said not to compare, yet you compare just fine.”

“Sometimes comparison can be a catalyst for growth.”

Ma Seo-jin ground his teeth watching the hunters chat leisurely.

He had felt hostility toward them since hearing they were coming.

They say Jin Seong-ha isn’t harmed by fire—if he had been at the rescue headquarters, how many lives could he have saved at fire scenes?

He knew Jin Seong-ha was busy being called to S-rank dungeons, but he couldn’t help thinking it.

‘And that guy called Ion.’

Yesterday, while transporting an elderly person who fell on icy roads, the requester grew anxious seeing Ion with his face covered.

‘He makes people uneasy but refuses to reveal his identity. If it’s not celebrity disease, what is it.’

What bothered him most was exactly this.

When Ma Seo-jin stood up with a swipe.

“……!”

Ion flinched and looked up.

Round green eyes trembled.

‘F*ck. Did I hit him!? Why does he act like that only around me?’

Yes.

He gets that terrified just from a few scoldings!

‘No, even if I did hit him! That bastard is S-rank and I’m C-rank—he wouldn’t even feel pain if I hit him!’

Honestly, Ion Danju claimed to be an adult, so Ma Seo-jin accepted it, but his face looked like a pretty minor’s.

Seeing a kid act terrified only in front of him made it impossible for Ma Seo-jin to bully him further.

“Haha, you two fighting again?”

“I can’t tell if those two get along or not.”

The colleagues hadn’t noticed yet.

Only Jin Seong-ha, who stuck close, and Ma Seo-jin himself could detect the subtle flinches.

If they knew the guy reacted strangely only to him, they’d look at Ma Seo-jin like he was the worst trash.

Anyway, separate from wondering why an S-rank hunter feared him.

‘Damn bastards. Pretending to be friendly with people they’ll never see again after today. Those guys have no interest in saving lives.’

Ma Seo-jin still hated them.

Those bastards had no sense of duty toward saving lives. Just looking at their leisurely chat proved it. This schedule was probably just a vacation for them.

Still, they were better than those D-NATE guys from before.

‘Those bastards were the worst.’

Acting like they were on vacation, moving sluggishly. Even when dispatched, they took their time, just giggling among themselves at the scene.

They fought fiercely with Ma Seo-jin and ended up reassigned to another department before four days passed.

The law was created to remind hunters that their job is saving lives, not taking them…

‘It means nothing to psycho bastards.’

Monsters howling in madness. The terror of death approaching right before your eyes.

Now return stones can’t even be used, and terrifying giants are appearing.

Anyone who voluntarily enters such places… hunters are psychopaths who feel more fulfillment from taking lives than saving them.

Or perverts thrilled by life-or-death risks.

No need to worry about their psychology.

‘Just a few hours left. Once those bastards leave, I’ll suggest never sending hunters to our team again.’

Ma Seo-jin chewed on dried squid legs and sprawled on the sofa. Five hours remained until today’s shift ended.

“What? Ion Hunter, you haven’t seen this drama? My daughter says no one your age hasn’t seen it.”

“I haven’t.”

“Wait. You said you haven’t seen that movie either.”

“Yes.”

“And you haven’t heard this song?”

“Yes.”

“Last song you heard, last drama, last movie?”

“…….”

No answer came, so the team members made a huge fuss.

“They say after clearing an A-rank or higher dungeon you get 1-2 weeks vacation. What on earth do you do during that time? Go live alone in a primeval forest or something?”

“Something like that. I go into dungeons.”

“You go into dungeons even on vacation? Doesn’t it get boring?”

“Even if it’s boring, if it’s needed, I have to go. You don’t skip work just because coming to work is tiring, right?”

“No… it’s different. If we get weeks of vacation, we don’t go near the company. Danju is practically dungeon-addicted. Are all hunters like you? Mr. Jin Seong-ha barely rests and keeps going into dungeons too.”

“I’m not that bad. I go camping with the dogs and cats, play games with friends…. But even if I get vacation, I get called if an emergency happens. Hm, I don’t think I’ve ever had a vacation where I fully rested without entering a dungeon.”

“Wow… being a hunter really is tough.”

Sympathy filled the team members’ voices.

Salarymen pitying people who earn huge incentives every dungeon run.

‘They’re just dungeon addicts, yet they package it nicely.’

Ma Seo-jin snorted and turned over.

.

.

.

But he didn’t stay lying down for long.

Beeeeep—

The highest-level dispatch alarm rang.

“A cruise ship is sinking!?”

“A report said there was a loud explosion-like sound, then the ship started sinking. No other info yet.”

“Terrorism? Or monster surge?”

“No surge bell rang. Higher-ups lean toward terrorism. Put on defensive gear!”

It wasn’t a surge. Since the Moshi invention, no undetected gates exist.

With terrorism rising worldwide lately, it was likely terrorism… which meant more explosives might be present.

Besides his team, many rescue members—mixed awakened and non-awakened—rushed out.

Everyone wore defensive gear and flew using flight equipment since it was urgent.

“We’ll go first.”

Jin Seong-ha quickly overtook them.

Ion, with transparent wings, followed.

Not trusting the two, Ma Seo-jin flew with all his might.

And……

When Ma Seo-jin and his colleagues arrived at the scene, the situation was almost over.