🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 31
The crisp scent came from him, who was neatly dressed in his uniform. The raw and tense energy he had shown in the underground bunker of the lab was completely gone.
Shin Ji-yul glared at Kwon Su-ho as if suspicious of some scheme.
The Kwon Su-ho he knew was not the type of person who would take someone all the way home.
“What are you thinking?”
“If we’re close, isn’t it natural to take someone home? Morae, isn’t that right?”
Hearing this for the first time ever, Morae blinked her eyes.
“W-when did we… become close?”
“Don’t you remember? The last time, we slept on the same bed—”
Morae jumped out of the bed like a bullet and covered Kwon Su-ho’s mouth with her hand.
“W-what are you saying!”
Su-ho’s gaze landed on her face, flushed bright red like a ripe apple. Startled, Morae quickly removed her hand, and he gave a gentle smile.
“We are close, right?”
“… Now that I think about it, I guess we are.”
“How close are we? Close enough to take you home?”
“Y-yeah, definitely…”
Morae seemed to give up and followed Su-ho.
Watching her back, sad and pitiful like an animal being led to a slaughterhouse, Shin Ji-yul adjusted his glasses.
“What’s wrong with that guy?”
It was one thing for someone with no friends to claim they were close, but to allow someone to touch their face without permission and just stay still?
He wasn’t pretending to be calm — he really seemed unaffected, which made it even stranger.
No matter how desperately Morae needed taming, Kwon Su-ho was not the type to endure something he disliked.
Why would someone who hated others so much be different with Morae?
Of course, in the lab bunker, he held onto Morae as if unwilling to lose her, but that was because he wasn’t in his right mind then…
“Hmm, I don’t know.”
It was a somewhat difficult question for someone from the science department.
“How’s your body… feeling?”
“Good. Very good.”
“But I still think you should rest for a while. Your PV levels are too unstable.”
“My PV levels are low. Want me to show you?”
Su-ho began operating his device as if he was about to immediately show his PV levels. Morae waved her hands and refused.
“No, no, don’t do that. It’s a state secret.”
“You’re an exception, Morae.”
“…Why?”
“Because you’re the most important person to me.”
The most important person…
He probably said it because she was his tamer, but as a fan, she couldn’t help but feel excited. She had to try hard not to cheer.
Hoping her face wouldn’t turn red, Morae stopped walking. Before she knew it, they were in front of the elevator.
Researchers passing by noticed Su-ho and flinched. Some even turned around as if they had spotted something scary.
Morae kept her head down low and stayed away from Su-ho.
Being with her favorite person was extremely joyful, but she didn’t want to attract unnecessary attention by appearing as his companion.
Just then, the elevator arrived. The people already inside flinched when they saw Su-ho.
Su-ho calmly stepped into the quiet elevator and looked at Morae.
“Not getting on?”
Hesitating, Morae entered the elevator, and Su-ho stood close beside her, as if protecting her.
Though there were many people, they didn’t need to be that close.
Thanks to everyone else keeping their distance, there was plenty of space for them.
If someone else saw this, they might think Su-ho was bullying Morae, but she thought differently.
‘Kwon Su-ho the hunter is surprisingly considerate.’
Su-ho didn’t know his own trauma. So it wasn’t intentional, but blocking others’ gazes was indeed comfortable.
Morae quietly took a deep breath.
The fragrant scent from Su-ho filled her lungs. Her pale cheeks turned faintly pink.
Since it was past rush hour, the parking lot was empty. Su-ho opened the car door himself and said,
“Get in.”
“I’ll just go alone…”
“Get in.”
“Yes.”
Morae carefully fastened her seatbelt as she got in the car. Su-ho, who went to the driver’s seat, chuckled softly at the sight.
The car pulled out of the parking lot.
“Where should we do the taming?”
“I’ll come to the kindergarten.”
“I can’t leave my post during work. Also, it’d be a bit awkward if someone saw Kwon Su-ho the hunter.”
“I’ll come secretly.”
“Are you okay with meeting the kids? There are quite a few puppies.”
“Is that a problem?”
“You don’t like animals.”
“I’m neither fond nor against them. If I had to say, I’m indifferent.”
“I see…”
Su-ho glanced at the rearview mirror and changed lanes. After a moment of silence, he asked casually,
“Shall we raise one?”
“Huh?”
“If you keep visiting the animal kindergarten for that reason, it’ll seem natural.”
“What if a day comes when I don’t need it? What happens to that kid then?”
“…”
“Even if you want to raise it sincerely, you have to think a hundred times. And once it becomes family, you must be responsible till the end. Raising one without interest just because it’s necessary… I’m against that.”
“Are you angry?”
Rather than angry, she was sad.
She knew how desperate abandoned children were, yet they never lost hope that their owner would come back.
Su-ho stopped the car in front of a crosswalk and asked,
“But why would a day come when you don’t need Morae?”
“Well…”
Morae’s time with Su-ho was three months.
Of course, if a suitable tamer appeared before then, she’d have to give up the place. But after three months, Su-ho would no longer seek her.
“Are you going to abandon me?”
“Huh? No, no?”
“You said once you tame, you have to be responsible until the end.”
He didn’t say it exactly like that…
Watching Morae open her mouth but say nothing, Su-ho sighed dramatically.
“Sigh, if you get abandoned, I don’t know what I might do. I’m not exactly easygoing.”
“…”
Morae slowly closed her mouth.
Su-ho’s gaze was too fierce to reveal the promise to tame her for only three months.
‘Team Leader Shin Ji-yul will tell him.’
Though it felt like passing on a time bomb, there was no choice.
Sorry, team leader, she murmured silently as the car entered a familiar alley.
Climbing a steep hill, they saw a gate with chipped paint here and there. Su-ho stopped the car and waited.
He’d probably offer a drink at least.
“Thank you for taking me home. Please be careful.”
But Morae just bowed her head and got out of the car, as if she had only been waiting to arrive.
Su-ho followed out with a dry laugh.
“That’s it?”
“Huh?”
“I thought you might have something to say to me.”
“Um, drive safely?”
“…”
After a moment of silence, Su-ho stepped back.
“Alright, go in.”
“Okay, see you next time.”
Morae entered the gate and climbed the stairs.
Watching her, Su-ho got back in the car.
He shifted gears and pressed the accelerator, but oddly felt uneasy. Slamming the brake, the car jolted and stopped.
“Why am I so pissed off?”
Morae was not the type to break promises lightly.
Once she promised to tame, she would keep her word no matter what happened.
So there was no need to spend time with Morae or try to tempt her.
Yet, he didn’t know why he felt so disappointed.
Above all, he found it ridiculous that he was feeling this way.
Didn’t this mean he wanted to be with her? But she had no such intention.
“Ha…”
Trying to erase his frustrated feelings, he turned the wheel and saw an old foreign car speeding from the opposite direction.
The rough car stopped in front of the rooftop gate. Then a well-built man got out of the car.
“Ah, I told you to wait, didn’t I?”
The man spat on the ground, talking loudly enough to echo down the street.
“I told you, that woman is so damn timid. Just scare her a little, and she’ll cough up all the money she has and doesn’t have.”
Su-ho’s expression vanished.
He had to endure terrible pain and conquer dungeons for the sake of such people. This was where his hatred for humanity originated.
“Hey, hey, don’t be scared. Even if you call yourself an awakened, you’re just a pathetic E-rank.”
The man swaggered as he climbed the rooftop stairs. His footsteps rang loudly.
Su-ho quietly released the steering wheel and turned off the engine.
As soon as Morae arrived home, she looked for her phone.
It seemed to be dead; the screen was unresponsive. Being an old model, the battery couldn’t last half a day.
After connecting the charger, the screen turned on after a while. Soon, notifications of missed calls and unread messages popped up endlessly.
While checking the call history, Morae’s hand stopped at one place.
talk_icon2
Aunt (23)
Missed calls
The reason her aunt, whom she hadn’t called even once since becoming independent, called 23 times was obvious.
Because Morae hadn’t sent the allowance she usually remitted every month for the first time.
If she was calling this much, she must have really fallen into gambling. Good thing she didn’t give her money.
There were only five missed calls from Kang Min-wook. Instead, there were over thirty messages full of curses.
While reading the messages covered in every curse with a blank expression, she heard footsteps coming up the stairs.
It seemed Song-yi had come looking because she couldn’t reach Morae. Morae put down the phone and stood up.
“Song-yi? I was just about to call you…”
“Im Song-yi? Are you still hanging out with that woman?”
