Chapter 21: With Yuayeon at home…(2)

“Ayeon-ssi… Shall we do iTube properly?”

I thought the combination of Yu Ayeon and me was a combination that could work.

A newbie hunter who appeared like a comet, slaying an Ogre.

Moreover, that hunter is a man, and even a close-combat hunter, on his first day of awakening.

Most male hunters in this world awakened mental skills, so close-combat male hunters were quite rare.

Of course, it’s not like I really awakened a close-combat skill.

The skill registered with the association would be the Inventory skill, which is classified as a special Awakened.

But to them, it would look like I awakened a close-combat skill or awakened multiple skills.

Moreover, Yu Ayeon.

The videos she filmed with her photography skill provided an overwhelming sense of immersion that was incomparable to the many videos uploaded to iTube.

The reactions of the community and iTube were also explosive, so it seemed worth challenging.

“… Th-Suhyeon-ssi…”

But it seemed that Yu Ayeon’s thoughts were different.

“… Th-These kinds of videos… aren’t easily filmed… This time too, it was possible because of the special situation of a backflow… In a normal situation… We have to go inside the gate… Th-Then… Monsters too…”

Come to think of it, that’s right.

The reason this video was possible was because of the combination of two special situations: a gate backflow and inside a shelter.

If it weren’t for such special circumstances, we would have to go inside the gate and film, like the videos other hunters upload to iTube.

But Yu Ayeon is not a hunter, and until recently, she was an ordinary office worker.

And most ordinary people have a fear of gates and monsters.

Especially Yu Ayeon, who has various traumas due to her photography skill.

Didn’t she even encounter an Ogre directly just a few days ago?

And not just encountered, but almost died.

Various factors combined would make Yu Ayeon feel more anxious about gates and monsters than other ordinary people.

… I was only thinking of myself.

“…… I’m sorry……”

Yu Ayeon said with an apologetic expression, and her eyes were wet.

“Hey. It’s nothing. There’s nothing for Ayeon-ssi to be sorry about. Don’t worry about it too much.”

Han Suhyeon said so and went to the kitchen to check on the food.

Yu Ayeon watched him and pulled the blanket on the bed to cover her face.

She didn’t want to show him this side of herself.

She couldn’t stand the fact that she was so pathetic, cowardly, and loathsome.

If she was with him, and thanks to him, if she demonstrated the true value of her photography skill, iTube would surely succeed.

Yu Ayeon could tell that much.

However.

Yu Ayeon recalled the memory of a few days ago.

A deformed monster rushing towards her with a bizarre appearance.

The Ogre.

The image of the monster, which seemed to embody all the fear that a person can feel, with its mouth open, was not easily forgotten.

If she went into the gate and encountered such a monster again.

Maybe this is the last time she can see Han Suhyeon.

Unlike Han Suhyeon’s thoughts, Yu Ayeon was not afraid of dying.

However.

Han Suhyeon, who collapsed coughing up blood, filled her mind.

The image of Han Suhyeon confronting the Ogre in front of her weighed on her heart.

What Yu Ayeon feared most was Han Suhyeon’s death.

Yu Ayeon feared that more than anything else.

The fear that if things went wrong, even if it was a one in a million chance, she would no longer be able to see him.

If he died, she felt like she would think of him every day and throw herself into hell.

“… Yeon-ssi, Ayeon-ssi? Are you okay?”
“Huh? Yes, yes…”
“You look very pale. Is there something wrong?”

Han Suhyeon asked her with a worried expression.

Yu Ayeon looked at his expression and recalled the memory of a few days ago.

Certainly, it was like this then too.

No one helped.

Even the will to solve it on her own disappeared.

The moment when she was immersed in the abyss of emotion, sunk in extreme self-loathing and despair.

He approached her with a worried expression and spoke a kind word that no one else had ever given her.

“It’s nothing. I’m really okay.”

Yu Ayeon said so and smiled faintly.

Just one word.

Just one word, and all the anxious worries and troubles that she had been thinking about until just now disappeared as if they had been washed away.

“Then that’s good. Ah, right. I didn’t turn off the heat.”

When Han Suhyeon headed back to the kitchen, Yu Ayeon looked at his back.

The image of Han Suhyeon protecting her from the rushing Ogre and the image of Han Suhyeon cooking in a small kitchen wearing an apron overlap.

The back of Han Suhyeon, which she looked up at that day, seemed infinitely wide.

Like the shield of a hero who appears in a moment of crisis and protects people.

But his back, which she sees now, was so different from then.

Yu Ayeon approached Han Suhyeon and looked down at him.

Small.

Han Suhyeon, who is taller than the average male height, was by no means short, but to Yu Ayeon, who is over 190 in stature, Han Suhyeon was small.

Yu Ayeon felt ashamed that she was protected by that small back, and at the same time, she made a resolution deep in her heart.

I want to protect this man.

I want to protect this man.

I want to make this man, who pulled me out of the abyss of despair, happy.

Not anyone else, but me.

Feeling something boiling up in her heart, Yu Ayeon impulsively hugged him tightly.

“Ah, Ayeon-ssi…?! What are you doing…?”
“Suhyeon-ssi.”

Yu Ayeon held her trembling heart and expressed her will.

“Even if I’m not there. You’re going into the gate, right?”

Unlike her usual self, her voice was not trembling, and Han Suhyeon also looked back at Yu Ayeon.

“Yes. I’m a hunter now.”
“… Then. I’m going too. Gate. Let’s do iTube together.”

And.

He turned serious.

“Ayeon-ssi.”
“Yes, yes?”
“If you’re doing it just because of me, just don’t. I was rash to make that suggestion earlier. I’m sorry.”

Yu Ayeon was also taken aback by the completely different reaction from what she expected.

“… Ah, no! I, I! Really want to do it myself…!”
“Do you really think so? That Ayeon-ssi wants to do it herself?”
“Yes…! I, with Suhyeon-ssi…!”

Han Suhyeon pushed Yu Ayeon away, grabbed her shoulders, and looked into her eyes.

Yu Ayeon looked into his eyes and trembled.

His inorganic gaze, which she had never seen before, pierced Yu Ayeon’s heart like a dagger.

“Ayeon-ssi. Gates are much more dangerous than Ayeon-ssi thinks.”
“…”
“Monster attacks can happen anytime, anywhere, and the living conditions inside the gate are not good.”
“… Yes.”
“And above all, the hunters you work with are not people you can easily trust. There will be many stressful things because of people.”
“… Yes. I know.”
“Gates are a place where even skilled veteran hunters die in vain if they let their guard down for a moment.”
“…”
“… Even so, are you going to do it?”

Even so.

Yu Ayeon looked at Han Suhyeon with a consistent gaze.

The reason he was saying this was because he truly cared for her and was looking out for her.

Things that other ordinary people wouldn’t even try.

The various conflicts that occur inside the gate, where you can die anytime, anywhere, he was asking if she could handle it.

Therefore, Yu Ayeon put as much will as she could express into.

Just looking at him.

Seeing Yu Ayeon’s eyes filled with strong will and determination, Han Suhyeon lowered his head.

Yu Ayeon was not as weak a person as Han Suhyeon thought.

Come to think of it, it was like that then too.

Yu Ayeon persisted in persuading him to take him with her on the subway where everyone had left.

She ran desperately from the fiercely chasing monster and eventually took him to the shelter.

… If she shows this much will, I have no choice but to go with her.

After a while, Han Suhyeon’s expression, who raised his head, returned to his original gentle expression.

“Wait a minute. I’ll be right back.”

Han Suhyeon sat Yu Ayeon down and brought kimchi stew and a few bottles of soju.

“Shall we talk?”

He opened the soju bottle and poured soju into the glass.

“It’s a shame it’s not Dwarven alcohol, but anyway.”

The two emptied their glasses and talked to each other.

The story that started with hobbies and favorite things gradually deepened.

Before they knew it, Yu Ayeon was talking about her life in a calm voice.

“I, when I met Suhyeon-ssi… I felt like I was saved.”

Suffering alone every day, in this painful and stuffy world, she couldn’t tell anyone.

Her story.

Han Suhyeon silently listened to her story.

Looking at her, who sometimes laughed, sometimes despaired, and sometimes saddened while talking about her life.

Han Suhyeon also listened, laughing together, sighing together, and being sad together.

Emptying another glass.

Han Suhyeon told his story.

He didn’t talk about his life in Grandia.

But, before that.

He talked about the things before being transferred to Grandia.

His deceased parents, whose faces he can no longer remember.

His school life, which he never enjoyed even once.

The days when he worked as a porter and lived hand-to-mouth.

Just.

He talked about those things.

Stories that have been weathered by time and are now nothing more than memories.

But for some reason, Han Suhyeon felt like something was filling the empty part of his heart while talking about such things.

Every day was a battlefield, and it was hell.

The people who accompanied him on his journey all returned to the soil.

At the end of the journey, when he slew the Demon King, there was no one left by his side.

How long has it been since he talked to someone like this for so long?

Han Suhyeon laughed foolishly.

It was fun.

Is this feeling he’s feeling now, the feeling of being happy?

After midnight, while the moon was waning.

They emptied their glasses while talking to each other.