This is the Kind of Person I Am (6)

A few days after the Mutant Chimera dungeon was cleared.

Kim Se-hyun—who had been showing up at the Hunter Department every single day like he was punching a time card and staying until nearly clock-out—had finally left the moment lunch was over.

“Haaaah.”

I couldn’t have been happier. The sense of liberation I felt after such a long time was pure bliss.

As I slumped back into my chair, my teammates started chiming in from all directions, telling me how hard I’d worked. I gave them a weary smile.

“That guy… he’s definitely coming back tomorrow, isn’t he?”

“Didn’t you hear him before he left? Of course he is.”

“Well, still, he’s been pretty useful lately, hasn’t he?”

“Right? It’s not just any hunter; it’s the Kim Se-hyun actually being helpful to us.”

“I’ll give you that. Though, the ‘chick’ who managed to move Kim Se-hyun is the more impressive one.”

I, the person with the least experience in this room, was nothing special. When I met their eyes, which were filled with genuine pride, I quickly waved my hands in dismissal.

“Impressive? Not at all! I feel more like I’m causing you all trouble, so I’m just sorry.”

If I hadn’t made that initial invitation for him to come for coffee, Kim Se-hyun wouldn’t be treating the Hunter Department like his own living room right now. Honestly, except for collecting cooperation fees, he wouldn’t have had any contact with us at all. Thinking about the tension between him and the rest of the team made my guilt flare up again. I apologized once more.

“Stop it. Apologizing like that isn’t going to change the past.”

“Even if our youngest hadn’t given him an opening, that guy would have found some way to coil himself around the Hunter Department eventually.”

“Exactly! He’s the type to show up even if you tell him not to. Don’t sweat it.”

“Kim Se-hyun is a guy who has to do whatever he sets his mind to, or he won’t be satisfied. Everyone here knows that. He’d come even if you told him to get lost, so don’t feel so bad.”

“…It might be a bit much to say this suddenly, but I really wish an S-rank dungeon would just pop up in some uninhabited foreign country,” Officer Kim muttered.

Startled by the sudden mention of a dungeon, I blinked and listened as the conversation naturally shifted in that direction.

“That’s true.”

“If one’s going to manifest, I hope it’s somewhere far away. A place where people won’t get hurt.”

“Somewhere where airplanes don’t fly over too often would be great!”

“Somewhere with a low number of S-rank hunters, a vast landmass, and relatively close to Korea… Australia comes to mind.”

“…But looking at Kim Se-hyun right now, don’t you think he’d find a way to clear it and be back within a day anyway?”

“Well… you’re not wrong about that.”

The team members looked at me and chuckled, shaking their heads. The guilt that had briefly subsided surged back up. In times like this, the priority was to encourage Se-hyun to go home early. I made a silent vow that if he showed up tomorrow, I’d send him back as soon as possible.

“…….”

Indeed, quite some time had passed since Kim Se-hyun started nesting in the Hunter Department. Even though the Association was right next door, if he continued to hang around our office, rumors were bound to start flying. People from both the Association and the Hunter Department would start looking at him—and likely us—with increasingly unfavorable eyes.

“Man, if his rank were just a little lower, I would’ve asked the Team Leader to give him a real earful!”

“I would’ve already done it! If he were A-rank, I could handle it, but he just had to be S-rank, an S-rank!”

“…….”

Well, it seemed the people in the Hunter Department were already looking at him with sharp eyes anyway.

“Is everyone finished with their programs?”

“Yes, all set!”

“Then let’s head out.”

As the Team Leader stood up, the rest of the team packed their things. I followed them out of the office.

“Anyone want to grab a drink with me today?”

“Go home and drink by yourself.”

“Wow, isn’t that a bit harsh?”

“Drinking on a weekday? Absolutely not. Go home and rest. Officer Han is taking leave next week, so we need to be well-rested to handle the field work this week! Especially you, Officer Park—shouldn’t you be resting even harder?”

The Team Leader shut down Officer Park’s suggestion instantly, revealing his plan to send Park into the field to cover for Han. My gaze shifted to Officer Park. His shoulders, which had looked so light just a moment ago, were now slumped so low it was pitiful.

“Does it really make a difference if a civilian goes there?”

“You’re going there to take command!”

“Take… command.”

Muttering the words to himself, Officer Park suddenly straightened his back and squared his shoulders. He looked around at the team with an expression more dignified than I’d ever seen before. His lips twitched as if he were about to say something important. I stared at him.

“Well, I am the world’s best at taking command!”

“I am the world’s best at the control tower.”

“I’m the best at sending hand-written cooperation requests to the Association!”

“Pffft—hahaha!”

They were all imitating Kim Se-hyun, who had been boasting about being the “world’s best hunter” ever since he returned from the dungeon. Seeing them so full of mischief made it impossible to stop laughing.

We said goodbye to Officer Kim, who took public transport, and the rest of us headed toward the outdoor parking lot. I turned to look at the Deputy Team Leader at Officer Park’s next comment.

“By the way, you two are still commuting together?”

“Well, the route isn’t that different. It’s a win-win: I save on fuel costs through carpooling, and Ha-neul-ssi gets a comfortable ride to work.”

“Did you suggest the carpool, Deputy?”

“No. Ha-neul-ssi suggested it. I think he felt bad about constantly getting a ride for free.”

“The Deputy was kind enough to agree, so I’ve been traveling very comfortably.”

He had said my house was on his way, but technically, it wasn’t on his direct route. It was in the adjacent district, so it wasn’t a huge detour, but my conscience wouldn’t let me accept his “don’t worry about it” forever.

I’d worried that I might have brought it up too early—only three days after I started catching rides—but seeing that he took it well made me happy. I pretended to touch my nose to hide the corners of my mouth curving upward. When the Team Leader and Officer Park stopped at their cars, I stopped too.

“See you tomorrow, then.”

“Good work today, everyone.”

“See you tomorrow.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, sir.”

The Team Leader and Officer Park headed to their cars. I got into the passenger seat of the Deputy’s car.

“Today was quite eventful, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“I’m glad Kim Se-hyun left early. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have even had time to catch our breath.”

“…….”

“Ah—as I said in the office, Kim Se-hyun is the problem. I’m not saying this to blame you, Ha-neul-ssi.”

“I know.”

Hearing that confirmation from the Deputy one more time finally set my mind at ease. I buckled my seatbelt as the car pulled out.

“The roads are unusually empty today.”

“They are.”

I didn’t know why there was so little traffic. It was rare to be able to maintain this kind of speed at this hour on such a major road.

After chatting about the day’s events and listening to the news on the radio, the car soon turned into the alleyway leading to my house. I got ready to hop out.

“Here we are.”

“Thank you for the ride. You worked hard today.”

“See you tomorrow.”

“Get home safe.”

Once the Deputy’s car disappeared from sight, I opened the gate and stepped inside.

“…I really need to pull some weeds.”

The small vegetable patch was overgrown. Since I had this weekend off, I figured I’d have to spend some time tidying it up. As I was looking around and gauging the amount of work, I heard something hit the ground nearby.

“…What was that?”

It was a fairly loud thud, so I expected to see something immediately. But there was nothing unusual in the yard. I gave up looking.

I didn’t want to waste time searching for something invisible. If I couldn’t see it after looking this much, it was probably just a small stone rolling off the wall or a branch falling from a tree.

I went straight inside, tossed my clothes into the laundry basket, and stepped into the bathroom.

“Hmm-hmm-hmm.”

I don’t know why I always feel so good after a shower. Humming to myself, I finished up and flopped onto my bed.

“Haaaa.”

The feel of the blankets against my skin couldn’t have been better. I lay there for a long time before slowly getting up.

“I should at least put some clothes on.”

Even if I lived alone, I couldn’t just wander around undressed forever. As I stood up to put on my pajamas, I caught a small sound from the window and looked over.

“Gasp!”

I hadn’t realized the window was open. I hurriedly pulled on my pants, rushed to the window, and checked outside.

I was terrified someone might have been passing by, but thankfully, the coast was clear. It was my house, so dressing or undressing was my business, but doing it with the window wide open was another story. After making sure the window was latched and checking the locks throughout the house, I dove back into bed.

On any other day, I would have taken the opportunity to grab a meal, but not today. I still felt full from the Bossam we had at lunch. Just rubbing my stomach brought back memories of that meal, and I shook my head in disbelief.

“…….”

As if eating twenty servings of Bossam and five bowls of cold noodles for dessert wasn’t enough, Kim Se-hyun had even eyed the leftover noodles I couldn’t finish.

“Phew.”

I knew he had a healthy appetite, but I never expected him to try and eat someone else’s leftovers. Not only that, but after the meal, he’d been perfectly content just sitting there, happily drinking coffee after coffee. Between the endless sound of his camera shutter and the constant self-proclaimed titles of “world’s best hunter,” I hadn’t realized how draining the day had been.

But thinking back, it wasn’t all bad. He’d get this triumphant look whenever I called him the “best hunter,” and he was surprisingly good at making coffee whenever I looked like I needed a caffeine hit—claiming it was coffee made by the “world’s best hunter,” of course.

Even when he was leaving, he was busy trying to bait me into calling him the best one more time. His intentions were so transparent that I eventually gave in and said it.

“…….”

The first time was one thing, but the way he kept fishing for compliments made him seem like a child. He was just like a little kid who, upon being praised, wanted to brag and show off as much as possible.

The fact that the legendary Kim Se-hyun acted like a child made me smile. Tossing and turning to find a comfortable position, I soon felt sleep washing over me. I buried my face in the pillow and drifted off.

Completely unaware of the massive event that would occur the very next day.