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Chapter 14
“Do you wish it were a dream?”
“Gasp—!”
Morae barely managed to clamp a hand over her mouth before a scream burst out.
She really wished it had been a dream.
What would happen if people found out that Gyeon Suho was here? In an instant, a crowd would swarm in and chaos would erupt. Just imagining it made her want to go home.
Thankfully, it didn’t seem like anyone had noticed yet, but she could feel more and more glances flicking their way.
Even to her eyes, Gyeon Suho’s build was far from ordinary. Morae grabbed Suho’s arm and headed for a corner.
“P-please, come this way for now.”
Suho went along silently, letting himself be pulled. His pitch-black eyes lingered on the small white hand gripping his wrist, then slid away.
A man who usually spat curses at the slightest brush of another person’s breath was unusually calm today.
Strangely, it didn’t feel unpleasant. Was it because he knew this woman was the only one who could ease his pain?
‘Or maybe…’
Suho’s dark gaze shifted to Morae’s tiny face.
She looked around nervously, completely on guard, like a herbivore protecting its prey.
He felt like he’d seen something similar when he was young. White, small, soft, and insignificant—what was it again?
“Ah. A rabbit.”
“…What?”
Morae stared up at him with round eyes, then jolted and snatched her hand away.
“Oh my god!”
She’d been so worried someone might recognize Gyeon Suho that she hadn’t even realized she was holding his arm.
“Were you uncomfortable? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to grab you like that…”
As Morae stepped back, Suho moved his long legs and closed the distance in one stride. The space she’d barely managed to create vanished in an instant.
“Why did you turn me down?”
“I-if you mean the taming proposal, I didn’t exactly turn it down… I just had personal reasons.”
Morae deliberately looked away. If she met his eyes directly, she felt like her heart would explode.
“Were the conditions the Ability Administration offered shitty?”
The profanity was so natural that it took her a second to react. Morae hurriedly waved both hands.
“N-no! Not at all! I didn’t hear the details, but they said they’d treat you at the highest level.”
“I’ll pay you separately, regardless of the salary the Administration offered. Name your price.”
“It’s really not about the money. I turned it down because I’m genuinely busy. Please don’t misunderstand.”
“Busy?”
“Uh, y-yes. In my own way.”
Suho looked down at her with eyes gone cold.
It didn’t seem like a tactic to raise her price, but she turned him down claiming she was busy, while doing work like this?
He couldn’t figure out her angle.
Because he didn’t know her intentions, he couldn’t tell how to approach her. Suho tilted his head slightly.
“Are you scared of me?”
“…What?”
“Do you dislike me?”
Dislike him? Her heart felt like it was about to burst.
Morae barely managed to keep her expression in check.
Gyeon Suho was known for hating everything indiscriminately—but above all else, he hated his own fans.
The moment she admitted she was a fan, disgust would flicker across that beautiful face.
Seeing that directly would hurt, even her.
“I don’t… dislike you that much.”
“So you don’t dislike me, but you don’t like me either?”
“Well… I-I guess so?”
Suho bent at the waist and peered into Morae’s face. A fresh, clean scent brushed against the tip of her nose.
Even Gyeon Suho the hunter smells nice…
Zoning out, Morae forced her brain back into gear. If she let her guard down for even a moment, she felt like she’d say something ridiculous.
“What would it take for you to tame me?”
“……”
Wasn’t the nuance of that a little strange?
Morae ducked her head, feeling her face heat up.
“I’m only E-rank anyway. Other tamers would be much more helpful than me.”
She could feel his gaze on the crown of her head, sharp and prickly. She desperately wanted to dive straight into the dungeon.
“Everyone, please gather at the entrance! We’re about to enter!”
Right on cue, the voice of an Ability Administration employee rang out.
Saved! Morae’s face instantly brightened.
“Oh! Looks like it’s time. Well then, goodbye. Please take care.”
She bowed politely to Suho and hurried toward the dungeon entrance.
She’d actually had a conversation with Gyeon Suho.
Thinking about bragging to Songi when she got home made her smile.
Morae silently laughed as she pulled out her phone.
Phones didn’t work inside dungeons, so she was about to switch it to airplane mode when a notification popped up.
It said someone had replied to a comment she’d written earlier.
↳ Hunter Gyeon Suho needs far more stabilizers than other awakened individuals, so I think there was a misunderstanding. Hunter Gyeon Suho is absolutely not a dangerous person. He’s a hero who risks his life to protect the world.
↳ A hero my ass lololol
↳ No matter what you do, the bootlicker stench never goes away—truly magical
↳ Have some business ethics, you dog-mom. Why are you feeding dog food in someone else’s house?
“That’s weird. I even removed the period…”
“What is it.”
A low voice sounded, and a shadow fell over her head. Suppressing a sense of dread, Morae slowly lifted her gaze.
“…!”
Gyeon Suho—who she’d assumed had already left—was right behind her, like a ghost.
Peering shamelessly at someone else’s phone, he narrowed his long eyes.
“Morae, are you by any chance my fan—”
“No.”
The answer flew out faster than the question. It was quick enough to make even the famously short-tempered Gyeon Suho flinch.
“……”
“……”
Silence settled between them.
Fidgeting, Morae chose flight. She slipped straight into the dungeon entrance.
Footsteps echoed chaotically through the brightly lit corridor as people moved forward.
Walking near the back, she suddenly caught a familiar scent drifting toward her.
Morae turned her head instinctively and shuddered. Gyeon Suho stood behind her like a grim reaper.
She slowed her steps, checking the surroundings.
Once there was some distance between them and the other gathering team members ahead, she lowered her voice and asked,
“How did you even get in here?”
“I applied for gathering.”
“You’re saying they approved Gyeon Suho applying for the seventh gathering run of a C-rank dungeon?”
“Of course I applied under someone else’s name.”
“They would’ve checked the hunter number on the device.”
“Oh, this? It’s not mine.”
Suho casually lifted his hand. The device strapped to his wrist glinted under the lights.
…Isn’t wearing someone else’s device illegal?
As she stared blankly, Suho stepped closer.
“Why did you run away?”
“I-I didn’t run. It just happened to be time to enter…”
“Then we can go together, right?”
“…Yes.”
Should I just go home?
While she struggled to suppress the urge to turn back, they reached the end of the corridor.
As if two completely different scenes had been stitched together, an entirely new place unfolded before them. A forest of black trees—this was where the real dungeon began.
‘It’s night.’
Morae took out her lantern and checked the dungeon map on her device.
As she headed toward the marked area, Suho wandered along behind her.
‘Ugh, this is so distracting.’
Even when she tried to focus on gathering, all her senses kept gravitating toward the man behind her.
After holding it in for a while, Morae suddenly stopped.
When she glanced back with a look that said How long are you planning to follow me?, Suho smiled pleasantly.
“Don’t mind me. Just do your thing.”
“How am I not supposed to mind you…?”
“It’d be even better if you did.”
So he really was going to keep following her.
Morae let her shoulders slump and trudged on.
Soon, she entered her assigned area, found a suitable spot, and turned off her lantern. It was for the insects that wouldn’t approach if there was light.
Once the artificial light vanished, the surroundings grew rapidly darker.
Fortunately, it wasn’t pitch black thanks to unknown life-forms emitting a bluish glow as they drifted around.
“Huu…”
She took a long breath, and her mind settled. Soon, her wavelength rippled outward in waves.
After a moment, the bluish lights that used to flee at the slightest approach began gathering around Morae one by one.
Fluff- or dust-like creatures circled her body. A few gently perched on her shoulders or head.
Suho watched the mysterious sight with a flat, unreadable expression.
