This is the Kind of Person I Am (3)

“Call me Se-hyun, Hyung.”

“…Pardon?”

“Drop the last name. Just Se-hyun.”

“…….”

I never imagined he’d make a wish like that. While I was relieved my bank balance was safe, the request felt strangely intimate—it wasn’t going to be easy to get those words out. I hesitated before opening my mouth.

“Se-hyun… ssi.”

“Se-hyun-ah. Call me that.”

“…Se-hyun-a… ssi.”

I should have been able to call him like a friend or a younger brother, but I didn’t know why it was so hard to drop the ‘Ssi.’ Despite several attempts, the honorific stuck to my tongue. I stood there with my eyes cast down until a hand lightly tapped my cheek, making me look up.

“Hyung, do you have any idea how cute you’re being right now?”

“…….”

“It’s a miracle no one’s kidnapped you yet.”

I didn’t understand why he kept calling a grown man cute. And that expression of his—what was that about?

Unlike his lips, which wore a deeply satisfied smile, his gaze was incredibly intense. Then, suddenly, he flicked his tongue to lick his lower lip. It was an incredibly provocative gesture.

“…….”

Just when I’d let my guard down, he’d make me nervous again.

A strange tremor blossomed in my chest, and the sound of my heartbeat grew louder. Every time his lips parted, I saw a glimpse of his red tongue before it vanished, making my fingertips tremble of their own accord. I hurriedly balled my hands into fists.

Showing emotion wasn’t a bad thing. But I didn’t want him to catch me having such a visceral reaction just because I saw his tongue. I tightened my fists, pretending to be unfazed as I looked at him.

“It’s a bit disappointing, but let’s settle for ‘Se-hyun-ssi’ for now. We can switch once we get closer.”

“I’ll… do that.”

I was worried he’d keep insisting on ‘Se-hyun-ah,’ so this was a relief. I was also glad my trembling hadn’t been noticed.

Tense, fearing another wave of whatever this feeling was, I offered a final parting word.

“Please be careful.”

“…….”

“Kim Se-hyun-ssi?”

I had said goodbye, but there was no response. He was busy staring at me blankly, as if time had frozen. If he delayed any longer, there was no telling how the dungeon situation might change. I called him once more.

“Son—Se-hyun-ssi?”

I almost made a mistake after we’d just agreed to use names. I quickly corrected myself and met his eyes.

“Hearing someone tell me to ‘come back safely’… it sounds really nice.”

“…….”

If I were a creature made of emotions, I would have melted right then and there. He wore a smile so soft and warm it felt impossible; I found myself wishing there was a word higher than ‘perfect’ to describe him. I stared at him dazed until the touch on my cheek snapped me back.

“Then, Hyung, I’m off.”

Leaving those words behind, Kim Se-hyun walked briskly down the hallway. It was only after he had completely disappeared from sight that I was able to return to the office.

“Is he gone?”

“Yes.”

“…….”

The Team Leader watched me silently before grabbing the doorknob to check the hallway. The moment I sat down, he walked over to my desk rather than back to the control tower. I looked up at him.

“Team Leader?”

It was obvious he had something to say. He was sending a stern look my way, making me instinctively shrink back.

“…From now on, don’t just go around promising to grant wishes. Got it? You don’t know what kind of guy he is! Don’t act so recklessly!”

“…I’ll be careful.”

“’Being careful’ doesn’t solve it! Never let your guard down!”

“Yes!”

“From now on, no matter what he whispers to you, the answer is ‘No’!”

“Yes!”

“If things get weird, you scream ‘No! Don’t do that!’ immediately! Understood?”

“Yes, p-pardon?”

Those lines sounded like something I’d heard in a safety PSA.

I tilted my head, trying to recall where I’d heard that, but nothing came to mind. I glanced around before nodding at the Team Leader’s insistent look.

“Do you understand or not?!”

“I understand!”

“Sigh.”

Once I gave my answer, the Team Leader let out a deep sigh and headed toward the control tower. I quickly called out to stop him.

“Something else to say?”

“That is….”

I took a deep breath, stood up, and bowed at the waist.

“I’m sorry about earlier. You told me to contact the Association, but I interfered on my own.”

What had happened earlier was essentially ignoring the Team Leader’s orders. It was an overstep of my authority. I waited for a response with my head bowed, only for his hand to ruffle my hair, pushing my head down even further.

“If you know you messed up, be careful next time. Got it?”

“Yes!”

It hadn’t been long since I heard the word ‘family,’ and I had almost caused a rift with the team. At the Team Leader’s reassurance that he wouldn’t mention it again, I straightened up with a bright answer and looked at him as he broke into a grin.

“…But still, our chick showed quite a bit of grit. I was surprised.”

“I was surprised too.”

“Haha. Well, you won’t get pushed around anywhere. Let’s just keep an eye on that parasite!”

“Yes!”

Once again, the warning to watch out for Kim Se-hyun. I gave an immediate affirmation and listened to the conversation between the Team Leader and the Deputy.

“…It’s a relief he isn’t a total shameless jerk, but in a way, that makes me more worried.”

“A crazy guy like that is prone to losing his mind in an instant.”

“We’ll have to keep a close watch.”

“Yes, sir.”

I watched the two of them discuss the situation with grim faces before sitting down to closely monitor the CCTV feeds I had pulled up.

“If there are Mutant Chimeras, the dungeon rank might have changed already. Check it!”

“Yes, understood!”

Usually, once a dungeon manifested, there was no time for idle chatter. But today was different. It was amazing how much the atmosphere changed just because Kim Se-hyun had stepped in.

As I monitored the site, soaking in the unusually calm office air, one of the CCTV feeds suddenly cut out. I hurriedly checked the status of the entire network.

“The dungeon scale has changed! All CCTVs within a 300m radius to the southeast of the dungeon are down! Signals from other locations within a 200m radius have also been cut!”

Since being assigned to the Hunter Department, I had never seen a dungeon expand this rapidly. I looked at the Team Leader in alarm, but he remained silent with his arms crossed. I grew anxious.

“…….”

I wanted him to say something, but he showed no sign of speaking. I went back to monitoring the situation. My ears were tuned to the Team Leader, while my eyes scanned the trends—until I spotted someone walking toward the dungeon amidst the crowds of evacuating people. I zoomed in immediately and saw a person in familiar clothing. His name left my lips involuntarily.

“Kim… Se-hyun?”

“He’s there?”

It was as if the Team Leader had been timing Kim Se-hyun’s arrival. I answered honestly.

“I see someone who appears to be him.”

It was just a guess based on the clothing; I couldn’t be certain yet.

I followed the figure with my eyes until he vanished from that frame, then zoomed in on the next CCTV. After switching views several times, I finally found the scene where the person and the monsters were clashing.

“Gasp.”

My breath caught. The person I assumed was Kim Se-hyun reached out a hand, and the monster was sliced in half, collapsing to the side. I was speechless.

“…….”

Usually, a fight between a hunter and a monster involves physical, body-to-body combat. While some fought from a distance depending on their abilities, no one handled them as effortlessly as the person on the screen.

Looking at that overwhelming power—power that seemed to be several dimensions higher than anything I’d seen—I couldn’t tell if I was dreaming or awake. As I gasped in admiration, the person who had cleared all the monsters in the CCTV’s view suddenly walked toward the camera. My eyes widened.

“It—it really is Kim Se-hyun!”

As he got closer to the lens, his face became clear. He seemed to stare directly into the camera for a moment, then looked around and held up a peace sign with his fingers. I sucked in a breath.

“…….”

Only Kim Se-hyun could flash a mischievous V-sign in a place that dangerous.

He then pointed to the left of the frame and moved in that direction. I immediately clicked the next CCTV feed.

“…….”

No monsters were visible on this camera. Kim Se-hyun, who appeared to be scouting the area, approached the camera again—and this time, he crossed his thumb and index finger to make a ‘finger heart’ while smiling. He seemed to be saying something, but there was no way to hear audio through the feed. Plus, I couldn’t quite read his lips.

Thinking maybe I could figure it out, I tried to mimic the lip movements myself, but it was impossible to grasp the content. Giving up on the interpretation, he moved to the next CCTV location, effortlessly suppressed a monster, and pointed left again. I naturally opened the next screen.

“…….”

Despite B-rank monsters swarming the area, seeing Kim Se-hyun so relaxed made me wonder if that really was the border of a dungeon. Once again, after dealing with a monster, he approached the camera. I expected him to point toward the next one, but his behavior was different this time.

“…….”

He slumped his shoulders several times, then pointed back in the direction he had been heading. I was puzzled by the gesture, wondering what he was trying to convey, but a moment later, the situation made his meaning clear.

I immediately relayed the situation to the Team Leader.

“Hunter Kim Se-hyun has entered the dungeon!”