Chapter 36: A Life Debt and a Wish

Tears welled in my eyes as I endured the icy reprimand. I couldn’t tell if it was from the pain of pressing on my injured wound, or because Joo Yi-won, who had just saved me, was now tormenting me.

Yi-won clicked his tongue, then activated a skill. A healing skill, whose origin I didn’t recognize, manifested under Yi-won’s hand, thanks to his copy ability.

As the initial shock subsided, my surroundings finally came into view.

Against the backdrop of an unfamiliar room, Yi-won still stared down at Shin Ji-ho with cold eyes. His gaze remained golden, like the fierce glow of a beast’s.

A wave of profound sorrow surged through me.

“Am I really that annoying to you? Enough to press on someone’s painful spot, enough to want to embed something into my flesh?”

At Ji-ho’s words, Yi-won’s eyes, wide and blinking for a moment, let out a short sigh.

“You’re foolish, Shin Ji-ho.”

“What?”

“I thought I would never hurt you again, but…”

Before Ji-ho could retort, Yi-won’s heavy words cut him off.

“I wonder if I made a pointless effort. I should have just done whatever I wanted, since I’m back anyway.”

“……”

“I don’t know what to do with you. Of all things…”

Yi-won’s self-reproaching words faded, grew softer, then stopped. The choked-back words turned into a sigh that filled him, yet Yi-won said nothing, simply gazing at Ji-ho before extending a hand.

His hand, once slightly smaller than Ji-ho’s, but now much larger, lightly nudged Ji-ho’s leg. Before Ji-ho could ask what he was doing, his ankle was seized. The unpleasantly thin ankle felt lighter than any weapon in Yi-won’s grip.

“W-what is it?”

A flustered Ji-ho tried to pull away, but Yi-won’s strength was overwhelming. For a while, Yi-won merely fiddled with the ankle, saying nothing. Then, as if resigned, he sighed and released his hold.

His gaze, however, lingered on the ankle, then swept over Ji-ho’s arms and legs. It was an utterly inexplicable action.

His silence was more unsettling than his usual obnoxious chatter. Even Ji-ho, who typically dismissed Yi-won’s strange words and actions, couldn’t deny that Yi-won’s face was now filled with worry and self-reproach.

‘Why is he blaming himself so much? I’m the only one who got hurt.’

But somehow, Ji-ho felt that saying so would only hurt Yi-won more. So, after a moment of silence, Ji-ho subtly tugged at Yi-won’s clothes.

“Hey… Joo Yi-won.”

Yi-won silently stared back at Ji-ho. His golden eyes, which seemed to suffocate a person, gleamed. They were eyes that, in some way, made one afraid. Ji-ho’s body stiffened.

‘Afraid? Of Joo Yi-won?’

Ji-ho immediately dismissed the thought as absurd.

‘No, what’s there to be scared of with this guy? Whether he’s an SS-class Hunter or Cheongram’s Guild Master… Joo Yi-won is just Joo Yi-won. He’s my childhood friend, the one with the terrible personality I’ve known since we were kids, difficult to get attached to.’

The moment he clearly recognized who his opponent was, the fear receded. Ji-ho let out a deep breath that had been caught in his throat.

“Thank you for your help.”

Yi-won’s eyes widened slightly. His face showed he hadn’t expected a word of gratitude at that moment. After a brief stunned pause, Yi-won narrowed his eyes and smiled.

“…Alright.”

Only after Yi-won’s faint smile did Ji-ho realize that the pressure of Yi-won’s magic had been suppressing everything around them.

Simultaneously, Yi-won, who had been acting as if he could kill someone, returned to his usual self.

“Our Ji-ho almost got into big trouble today, didn’t he?”

“Yes, I did…”

“No more overdoing it, okay?”

“Alright. I promise I won’t overdo it. So…”

Ji-ho hesitated, wondering if this was the right time to speak, and Yi-won’s expression darkened. Fearing he might be misunderstood, Ji-ho quickly blurted out what he wanted to say.

“No, I wasn’t going to say something else. Shouldn’t you hurry and go to Australia now?”

“Oh, I thought it was something serious.”

It was clearly an important matter, yet Yi-won let out a deflated laugh.

“It’s fine. That’s not what’s important.”

“It’s not important… !”

“Ji-ho.”

Yi-won cut Ji-ho off abruptly, a smile gracing his lips. His usually emotionless eyes narrowed with what seemed like amusement, and the corners of his mouth stretched into a smile that looked decidedly ominous.

Ji-ho flinched, stepping back, but Yi-won swiftly grabbed him.

“I wonder what the Chairman and Madam will say if they find out our Ji-ho was attacked by a monster and nearly died. First, I should probably inform our Vice Guild Master, shouldn’t I?”

At Yi-won’s words, Ji-ho froze.

‘I’m finally being welcomed by my family, and now they’ll find out I was attacked by a monster and nearly died?’

Absolutely not.

His father and mother, who had reluctantly given their permission because it was what their son wanted, would not back down any further. Even if he continued as a Hunter, they would undoubtedly prevent him from participating in dungeon raids as originally planned.

Of course, if he insisted, they might eventually agree, but after causing them enough worry, he didn’t want to push his family any further.

“What do you think, Ji-ho? They should know, right?”

“D-don’t tell them.”

Yi-won flashed a victor’s smile at the pleading Ji-ho. “What should I do?” he murmured, making Ji-ho’s heart pound, before leaning in.

Ji-ho and Yi-won’s faces drew closer.

“You owe me your life, too, don’t you?”

“Th-that’s right…”

“Your life debt, plus the cost of my silence. For all of it, grant me one wish.”

“No.”

He didn’t know what it was, but it felt ominous. Ji-ho immediately refused. Yet, Joo Yi-won still held the upper hand.

‘This petty bastard…’

As Yi-won gazed down at him with a smiling face, saying nothing, Ji-ho felt like Antonio, compelled to give Shylock a pound of flesh, and nervously nodded.

“First, let me hear it…”

“If I hadn’t come, and you’d died, you wouldn’t have even heard what the favor was.”

“But I didn’t die, so it’s fine.”

“Right. And whose fault is that?”

“I survived because of a skill…”

“They say the conditions are difficult and the cooldown is long. It’s unlikely such a skill would activate twice.”

“……”

“Whose doing was it, Ji-ho?”

‘Of course, it’s thanks to the great Lord Joo Yi-won…’

“Alright, I’ll listen, just tell me…”

Ji-ho grimaced. Towards him, Yi-won smiled contentedly, like someone who held all the cards.

“Then, let’s live together.”

“Are you crazy?”

‘That’s definitely a no.’

****

Hunter Space

Title: Where did Joo Yi-won go?

??

Comments

– Australia

– No, he didn’t go into the Australian dungeon; he went somewhere else.

– ?? If not Australia, where did he go?

– I don’t know either;

– Then what about the Australian dungeon?

– They’re preparing to enter after recruiting another S-class on vacation in Australia.

– WTF, what’s going on?

Hunter Space

Title: Australian Rumor Mill

Rumor has it Joo Yi-won eloped with Hwang Hye-rim.

Comments

– Joo Yi-won belongs to Shin Ji-ho!

– Don’t make gay jokes on a serious post.

– A serious post about rumors LOLOLOLOLOL

– Seriously, if it’s true, we wouldn’t know where they went, right? Hwang Hye-rim can travel anywhere.

– Yeah, it’s impossible to know if they’re in the Amazon or on Shin Ji-ho’s bed.

– Even so, would Hwang Hye-rim really be a love shuttle?

Hunter Space

Title: It’s a bit scary to think about why he disappeared.

Joo Yi-won would never disappear suddenly for no reason, would he?

There must have been some emergency.

Comments

– Haha, Joo Yi-won is a complete psycho; he could totally do that.

– Why are there so many Joo Yi-won haters on Hunter Space? What do you mean psycho?

– —_— You nobodies who haven’t even spoken to Joo Yi-won, shut up. He’s just good at managing his image; his true personality should be revealed to the whole nation.

– Yeah, yeah, I heard your jealousy. Whatever you say, it’s a fact that Joo Yi-won is diligent.

– He’s kind to other Hunters, so what nonsense are you spouting? I’m C-class, and I had a chance to see Joo Yi-won, and he was super kind.

– (Joo Yi-won’s heartwarming stories compilation.jpg)

– You’re even bringing up footage from the Awakening Dream, LOLOLOLOL

– It’s already gone viral and circulated through all communities, so what’s the big deal? I purposely brought up an interview with a Hunter.

– You jealous D-class, aren’t you?

– No, I’m betting on an A-class who thinks they should be S-class but got a lower rating due to Hunter Association corruption.

– Exactly.

Hunter Space

Title: Honestly, I think Hunter Space idolizes S-class too much.

They’re only one rank different from A-class; they’re not that special.

Comments

– The guy saying this is definitely not A-class LOLOL. You’d know if you saw them. A-class are amazing, but S-class are just a different league.

– Exactly. There’s a reason S-class undergo such strict evaluations.

– I got an A-class rating and thought I could contend with S-class, but after seeing them fight once, I immediately shut up.

– Hunter Space is mild compared to general communities where there’s at least one post fawning over Hunters every day.

– That’s why I left my old community. They were promoting our Guild Master’s personality; damn it. I almost wrote an exposé and left the guild, but he’s the kind of guy who’d follow me to hell, so I gave up.

– LOLOLOLOLOL As expected, you have to acknowledge the character of high-ranking individuals. S-class are the same.

– Don’t bandwagon.

– Honestly, aren’t they worth admiring, LOL? I awakened as C-class, and ordinary people are nothing to me, so S-class must see us as nothing. Plus, they’re all handsome.

– The handsome part is undeniable.

Hunter Space

Title: Posts slandering S-class and above are always popping up.

Just enjoy the national pride.

I dislike excessive nationalism, but we’re allowed to feel it.

Countries with similar populations to ours only have one or two S-class, LOL. Japan has only three, and China has many due to its large population, but only Korea has SS-class…

Moreover, the crack prediction machine used worldwide? Oh, a Korean, Joo Ha-eun, created it! And it was Joo Yi-won who discovered and fully supported Joo Ha-eun, whom everyone else ignored at the time, providing development support. Without the crack prediction machine, the internet? Oh, it would have been shattered long ago. Earth would have already become an apocalypse. LOLOLOLOL. Just for discovering Joo Ha-eun, Joo Yi-won gets a century-long immunity from criticism.

Comments

– But is it true they’re relatives? Their surnames are the same.

– No, Joo Yi-won is an orphan, so it’s irrelevant.

– But he could be related to his biological parents.

– ?? Did you just crawl out of a cave? How do you not know this? Is your internet working?

– What is it;;

– You really don’t know, do you? Joo Yi-won’s parents when he was little were also adoptive parents, LOL. They say they raised the abandoned Joo Yi-won… Thanks to that, after Joo Yi-won became famous, a lot of people came forward claiming to be his biological parents, LOLOL. So Joo Yi-won drew a line, saying his only parents were the two who had already passed away.

– I’d draw a line too, damn it. Disgusting.

– Joo Yi-won, though, doesn’t he look mixed-race? His features don’t look Korean.

– Well, he doesn’t know his parents, so that could be it.

– What if his parents were criminals?

– You guys, stop it. Many people have crossed the line discussing this topic.

– Why did my post get ruined by comments,ㅠㅠ

– I recommend deleting it and re-uploading.

– ㅠㅠ I guess I have to. They’re spreading all sorts of slander.

This post has been deleted.

Confirm

Hunter Space

Title: S-class are all good-looking, so it’s no wonder they have fans.

If you’re ugly, you can’t even be S-class?

It’s true.

Comments

– Honestly, I think Shin Ji-ho is the most handsome.

– Not at all… He looks gay.

– Stop being jealous, LOL.

– In real life, he’s so handsome you can’t even speak… His face is pale, thin, pretty, and his eyes sparkle. He’s completely innocent and fairy-like. I want to kidnap him.

– Joo Yi-won is coming for you.

– Oh, come kill me, Joo Yi-won.

– You crazy bastard LOLOLOLOLOLOL

– Plus, they all have different types of beauty, so it’s fun to look at, LOL.

Joo Yi-won: A handsome man with strong features, slightly exotic, and exudes alpha energy.

Kim Tae-yong: A mysterious and innocent-looking pretty boy. Kind of like he popped out of a traditional Korean village… He even wears hanbok;; So he promotes hanbok a lot.

Seo Min-jeong: Hip. Looks like someone you’d see passing by in Hongdae… Actually, she’s the one who started a similar fashion trend, making all middle and high school students wear the Seo Min-jeong look these days.

Hwang Hye-rim: Exudes wealth and an elegant vibe. If teenagers wear the Seo Min-jeong look, those in their twenties and thirties wear the Hwang Hye-rim look, LOLOL.

Kang Tae-ju: A handsome delinquent bastard.

– What’s with the sudden change in tone for Kang Tae-ju?

– Damn it, this Korean Hunter only works overseas. Doesn’t that piss you off?

– Agreed. But thanks to him, A-class jobs increased, LOL.

– You optimistic bastard…

Hunter Space

Title: Breaking News Regarding Joo Yi-won’s Absence

An S-class estimated monster appeared in a spontaneously generated crack in the Jirisan area.

It has now been dealt with, and the crack has closed.

He couldn’t participate in the dungeon raid because he was on standby while the crack was closing.

Comments

– If it was an S-class crack, it makes sense he came back;

– Seriously, Korea comes before Australia.

– But Australia was contracted first?

– Other Cheongram guild members are providing support as planned, so what’s the issue? They brought in our S-class because their own S-class were playing it safe. They should expect this much.

– Australia said it was fine too. Actually, what would they do if it wasn’t fine, LOL? Are they not going to use the Joo Yi-won card anymore?

– I hope Joo Yi-won isn’t working with that mindset… No matter how great an S-class he is, I hope he takes responsibility for his work.

– That bastard will work with that mindset, so break your illusion. I told you he has a terrible personality! I bet this is fabricated, LOL.

– Oh, this guy’s back again.

– Anyway, Joo Yi-won’s support for other countries always included a clause that it could be suddenly canceled in case of an emergency in Korea, so there’s no contractual problem.

– The people complaining probably never traveled abroad for work.

– Exactly. Some countries even completely ignore requests for support from other nations, LOL. It’s funny that there’s such an uproar just because Joo Yi-won missed one.

– Actually, the uproar is only here… Everywhere else, they just assumed Joo Yi-won had a reason.

– Because of trolls like the one above, ㅠㅠ

Hunter Space

Title: Supporting him is just for his own good; why are you sucking up so much?

Do you know how much money that bastard makes from his support activities before you suck up to him?

Comments

– Yeah, he has tons of money, pays tons of taxes, and donates tons.

– His donations are all just tax evasion.

– Because of people like you, he transparently disclosed all his assets before, including taxes, everything, LOL.

– Joo Yi-won really has a lot of money. Is it possible to have that much cash, not gold? He could just buy Cheongram.

– All his stocks and investments hit it big, they say.

– This guy, isn’t he seriously a regressor, LOL? It’s a web novel cliché.

Hunter Space

Title: What’s wrong with criticizing Joo Yi-won?

I came here after seeing a trending post… I don’t use other communities and only come to Hunter Space for info and gossip, so I don’t know the reason for the criticism.

I don’t agree with criticizing Shin Ji-ho or Night Bloom, but I understand why they’re criticized separately.

But I don’t understand the psychology of those who criticize Joo Yi-won.

It might be because I’m a Joo Yi-won fan, but even objectively, I don’t get it.

Are they just twisted from jealousy?

Comments

– Yes.

– Their class is completely different, so why would they be jealous? That’s strange…

– That, and because he’s rich.

– They criticize him for doing other things, obsessed with money.

– Exactly. Joo Yi-won is incredibly active in external affairs. He does commercials, general field work, gives lectures, and all sorts of things, so they pick on that. Their main argument is that an S-class Hunter should contribute to society, not waste time on useless things, LOL.

– ?? Are they crazy? Even A-class do commercials, LOLOLOL. Do they really criticize him for things like that?

– Yeah. And Joo Yi-won’s stocks and investments all hit it big, so they criticize him for that too. But those who criticize Joo Yi-won are a real minority; it’s mostly praise, so don’t worry about it, LOLOL.

Hunter Space

Title: Joo Yi-won’s skill isn’t Copy; it’s actually this:

He has a Regression skill, LOL. At least 10 lifetimes.

Super cheat skill + amazing combat sense from the start + figuring out the difference between cracks and gates and being the first to clear a dungeon + discovering Joo Ha-eun whom everyone else ignored + stock market success + investment success.

Are these abilities possible for someone who’s only lived once? He’s definitely regressed at least 10 times.

Comments

– Seriously, this is it.

– I know it’s a joke, but sometimes I genuinely suspect it.

– Honestly, it’s absurd that he’s the same human but so much stronger alone, LOLOL. It’s much more plausible that he regressed once.

– Since his combat abilities can’t be replicated even if shown, I’d at least like to take an investment lecture. Open one up!

Hunter Space

Title: Hunter Space Supports Joo Yi-won

Joo Yi-won, you are Korea.

Huzzah!

Comments

– Huzzah!

– You are Pyeongchang.

– Do you know Joo Yi-won?

– There’s no way not to, so no need to ask, LOL.

Hunter Space

Title: Joo Yi-won is human scum and trash, so stop praising him.

I can’t say it because I’m scared of getting sued, but you’re all being deceived. That bastard has a truly terrible personality.

Comments

– If you can’t speak, don’t start speaking.

– ~~~~~~Do not feed the troll~~~~~~

Hunter Space

Title: Noname Building Half-Destroyed

Reported to have been attacked by a monster.

Suppression is now complete.

Noname was closed today, so everyone had left, resulting in 0 casualties.

Comments

– That’s a relief.

– Isn’t it true Joo Yi-won went to save Shin Ji-ho because he was in danger, LOL?

– It’s nonsense, but it sounds plausible.

– What will they do if it’s so damaged? They can’t even go to work, can they?

– Maybe they’ll temporarily relocate? I heard talk of moving near Cheongram.

– So, are they really merging guilds and getting married now?