MBTJ 15

Chapter 15

Everything that made up a dungeon—even the air itself—naturally radiated wariness and hostility toward intruders.

So anyone who entered a dungeon couldn’t help but feel a sense of alienness. The higher the Awakener’s rank, the stronger that feeling became.

But now was different.

All living things were sending goodwill toward Kang Morae. Even Suho could feel it.

It must be because of the aura flowing out from her right now.

Kang Morae’s aura was weak—infinitely gentle and kind, with not a shred of aggression to be felt.

Compared to the oppressive, burning aura the tamers had given off when they tried to tame creatures a few days ago, the difference was almost embarrassing.

So it’s like how warmth, not a storm, makes a traveler take off their coat.

Feeling the aura brush lightly past his body, Suho slowly closed his eyes.

The intense headache he’d had was gradually subsiding, just from being enveloped in her aura.

His throat felt dry. He wanted to seize this paltry power right away.

Just then, Morae suddenly opened her eyes wide and stared in one direction. Suho’s gaze followed.

What is she looking at?

As Suho tilted his head in confusion, Morae spoke into the empty air.

“Further in there? Do we have to go in a lot? Um… I’m a little scared. Could you come with me?”

The things floating around in front of her face began to glow in response to her question, as if answering.

Is she really communicating with them?

Before Suho could dwell on the thought, Morae started walking. Amazingly, the lights flew around her as if escorting her.

Guided by the lights, she went deep into the forest, rummaging through everything.

She was so busy that she didn’t spare Suho a single glance, as if she’d forgotten entirely that someone else was with her.

After scurrying around like a squirrel preparing for winter, she crouched down in front of a thick patch of weeds.

She pulled a palm-sized hand hoe out of her bag and carefully dug into the ground.

Why is she collecting something like that?

This dungeon had already been drained dry; there was nothing left to take. After the seventh run, there wouldn’t be any gathering team notices for a while.

So there was no way anything valuable would still be here. The weeds she was collecting were basically trash.

Even so, Suho just watched. Whether Morae came up empty-handed or collected garbage was none of his business.

He didn’t give her any information, simply fixing his gaze on her crouched back.

She’s small.

Kang Morae was small—her build, her face, her hands, her feet.

And she’d been walking around just fine on feet like that.

She really is like a rabbit.

Just as he was thinking that—

“Oh? I see it!”

She exclaimed. In the shallow hole, about half of a weed’s root was exposed.

The root looked uncannily human. With a scraggly tuft of grass attached where the head would be, its appearance was all the more bizarre. Morae tilted her head.

“But what is this?”

“It’s a mandrake.”

“Huh?”

Suho, who’d been watching from behind, stepped up beside her.

“A mandrake. You don’t know it?”

Morae’s eyes widened to the size of fists.

“I mean, I know what it is, but… I mean, this is…”

“Congratulations, Ms. Morae. You’ve found an elixir ingredient.”

Mandrakes looked similar to weeds, varied widely in shape, and appeared in all kinds of places.

Because of those traits, they were incredibly hard to obtain, and mandrakes were considered S-rank items.

And as was typical of S-rank items, their price was astronomical.

Among them, mandrakes—the main ingredient for elixirs that instantly healed all injuries—were worth whatever the seller demanded.

…Or so she’d only heard.

For an E-rank Awakener like Morae, S-rank items belonged to another world. To be honest, she’d never even browsed an item shop.

If a single bottle of elixir cost hundreds of millions, then a mandrake…

The hands of small-time citizen Morae began to tremble. She felt rich already, even though she hadn’t sold it yet.

How do I even store this?

You’d have to have owned something this precious to know.

After a moment’s thought, Morae took out a ziplock bag. She dumped out the cookies inside and put the mandrake in.

Geon Suho stared intently at her as she handled it with utmost care, afraid of even the slightest scratch.

“You must have done a lot of gathering,” he said.

“No, this is only my third time.”

“Then how did you find a mandrake? It doesn’t even show up on detection skills.”

“I just moved the way they told me to. I got lucky.”

Clear traces of excitement remained on Morae’s blushing cheeks as she spoke shyly. Suho propped his chin on the back of his hand and asked,

“Are you that happy?”

“Yes. This is the most valuable thing I’ve ever gathered.”

“What about me?”

“Huh?”

“How much do you like me?”

Morae’s smile froze.

“…I don’t like you.”

“You’re my fan, Ms. Morae.”

“No, I’m not.”

“You are.”

“…….”

It happened when Suho was nineteen, when his already thin fanbase was at its thickest.

An SS-rank Awakener, Suho only began joint raids with other countries after turning nineteen. That was when he truly started getting media attention.

Every outlet followed him. Every item he owned sold out, and even his yawns made the news.

That was when the incident happened.

After returning from a ten-day overseas assignment, Geon Suho encountered a stalker fan in his own home.

At the time, the stalker—reportedly in her forties—had greeted him while lying naked on his bed, wearing nothing but one of his T-shirts.

“Welcome home, honey,” she’d said—to a nineteen-year-old boy.

To make matters worse, a wedding photo with their faces photoshopped together had apparently been hanging in the living room.

After that, Geon Suho came to hate his fans more than anything.

It was sad, as one of his fans, but completely understandable.

“Well, actually, I am a fan of Hunter Geon Suho, but… not in any irrational or abnormal way. It’s more like camaraderie—like fellow professionals in the same line of work.”

“If I died, would you be sad?”

Startled, Morae raised her voice.

“What are you saying? Die? Why would Hunter Geon Suho die? That’s ridiculous! Don’t ever think like that! I’d rather die instead—”

“…….”

Oops.

A sweet smile spread across Geon Suho’s lips as he stared at Morae in silence.

“You must like me a lot.”

“…….”

I’m screwed.

When Suho pulled his mask down to rest on his chin, his striking features were revealed.

Long, sharp eyes heavy with shadow, a perfectly angled nose that drew admiration, and lips that gave off a subtle, sensual impression.

How could someone look like this? Seeing him in person was overwhelmingly shocking.

As Morae unconsciously traced his features with her gaze, her eyes stopped at a small mole beside his smooth lips.

Sexy.

She was spacing out with that thought when his full lower lip curved into an elegant smile. Caught staring, Morae quickly averted her eyes.

“Done looking?”

“Yes—thank you—ah, no, sorry.”

“You can look more.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah, really.”

Suho took a step closer. As the distance between them closed, her heart began to pound like it might burst.

I’m going to get arrhythmia at this rate.

“I-I’m fine. I need to… work now.”

Pretending to carefully tuck the mandrake into an inner pocket of her bag, Morae subtly put more distance between herself and Suho.

That’s strange…

She’d expected him to look down on her once he found out she was a fan, but his attitude hadn’t changed.

At the very least, he wasn’t showing his usual blatant disgust.

Doesn’t he seem to like it, actually?

Judging by the faintly satisfied smile at the corner of his mouth, he almost looked pleased. Or was that how he expressed revulsion?

Ah, that’s it.

Suho needed Morae’s ability.

She didn’t know why he was bothering an E-rank instead of a high-ranking tamer, but he clearly wanted to recruit her.

So even if he found it revolting, he must be enduring it.

With that in mind, Morae widened the distance between them even more—for his sake.

I may be your fan, but I have absolutely no intention of breaking into your house.

All of a sudden, the smile vanished from Suho’s lips. He returned to an expressionless face and stared at her.

Is he offended?

But speaking up would probably make him dislike her more, so she stayed quiet.

Crouching down, Morae resumed gathering.

She’d meant it as a way to stop being conscious of Suho, but once she started, she found herself getting quite absorbed. Every plant looked fascinating, making gathering surprisingly enjoyable.

Would these grow if I planted them in a garden?

She pulled up a cloud-shaped flower by the roots and put it in her bag, then dug up a lightning-shaped grass beside it.

Watching Morae in silence, Suho suddenly asked,

“You said you like me.”

“Huh?”

“Then why do you keep running away?”

“…….”

“It makes me want to chase you.”