Presence of an S-Rank Hunter (5)

Perhaps because it had been a while since a disaster of this magnitude occurred, the media was relentlessly churning out stories related to the dungeon and hunters.

“…….”

I was scrolling through provocative headlines that clearly showed the Association’s attempts to exert influence when I heard a pained groan and shifted my gaze.

“This time really feels like the worst of all time.”

“I agree.”

“Do you have the massager on full blast?”

“Of course! But it’s still not working out the knots.”

“Tsk!”

Officer Kim and Officer Park, who had surrendered their bodies to the massagers placed between the round table and the breakroom, groaned continuously.

Outside, the press was busy bashing the Hunter Department, but the team members themselves didn’t seem to care. They looked like exhausted green onions after the last dungeon, completely unable to recover their energy.

“Chick, you said the Slacker is currently handling a schedule abroad, right?”

“Yes.”

“Did he say anything about when he’s coming back?”

“He just said he’d be back soon. He didn’t mention a specific date or time.”

After that message saying he’d be back soon, no further words had come from Kim Se-hyun.

“He won’t just burst in today, will he?”

“…There’s no guarantee that a leaky gourd inside won’t leak outside too.”

Comparing Kim Se-hyun to a leaky gourd was a bit much, but I figured the team members must have gone through a lot to say such a thing. Honestly, I did think the comparison suited him quite well, even if just a little.

“Whew. I hate to admit it, but there’s a huge difference between having an S-Rank hunter and not.”

“Especially since the fused Centipede entity in this dungeon possessed much stronger power than previous ones.”

“Ah, right. If the Association had been even a little bit later, I would have been in danger too.”

Since the Team Leader wasn’t one to show weakness, his words were likely the honest truth.

“We’ll have to adjust the dungeon rank, right?”

“…I suppose we should.”

Even though several days had passed since the dungeon was cleared, the dust refused to settle. Only yesterday, it had been so thick it was hard to grasp the range or the state of the damage. Fortunately, after the night passed, the dust in the affected areas of Sector F-6 subsided, and it was finally time for the ranking adjustment.

Unlike other times, the team members remained silent instead of immediately adjusting the rank. Though they didn’t speak, I felt I knew what they were thinking. I followed suit, putting on a serious expression.

“Isn’t this the first time an A-Rank dungeon has been generated so soon after another?”

Officer Park asked, as if he had read my thoughts. I watched the Team Leader, who nodded and rubbed his chin with a grave face.

“I just hope this dungeon was an outlier.”

“If it weren’t for the Slacker, A-Rank dungeons would have been generated three times in a short period.”

“…I’ll check the global dungeon situation immediately.”

“Yeah. Please do. Chick, you track the trends on what’s being said about the dungeon that was generated yesterday. I need to send the report to modify the dungeon rank to A-Rank.”

“Yes!”

Tracking trends wasn’t difficult. I switched the already-on TV to a news channel and began browsing search sites to look into the situation more thoroughly.

Knock, knock.

“The door is open!”

While I was gathering information, the sound of a knock echoed through the office. I looked up as Officer Kim called out, and my eyes widened as something multi-colored appeared the moment the door opened.

“Is there a Mr. Yeon Ha-neul here?”

“…….”

A delivery man wearing a navy hat and vest walked in holding something enormous. When I spotted the words ‘Florist of Love’ written on his hat, my vision began to swim.

This pattern was familiar because I had experienced it a few times before. Memories of past events flashed vividly before my eyes. I stared blankly at the flower basket.

“Mr. Yeon Ha-neul?”

“Who sent that kind of thing?”

Just as I was about to answer the delivery man, the Team Leader stepped ahead of me and asked who sent it. I watched the situation play out in silence.

“I was told to deliver this to… Mr. Yeon Ha-neul himself. Are you the one?”

“I asked who sent it.”

The Team Leader, with his arms crossed, asked the delivery man in an imposing manner. Noticing the delivery man’s confused expression, I slowly stood up.

“Sit down.”

Officer Park gestured for me to sit back down. I had no choice but to comply.

“Who is it?”

“Well, they said they are the… the world’s best man….”

The delivery man’s voice trailed off. My face burned with embarrassment and shame, all because of Kim Se-hyun. Of all the things he could have written as the sender, I didn’t know why he chose that.

I eventually dropped my head at the comments coming from all sides.

“Wow.”

“He’s truly shameless.”

“I thought the only thing in this country covered in iron armor was the pine tree in the national anthem!”

The more the team members clicked their tongues at Kim Se-hyun, the hotter my face became. I glanced at the flower basket and noticed that the delivery man was looking extremely anxious.

“…….”

It was only natural to be anxious with the Team Leader standing in front of him and people pouring out comments all around. I stood up and went to the Team Leader’s side.

“Ahem! Is that all you have to deliver?”

“Oh, they also asked me to deliver this letter.”

“…….”

I didn’t expect him to send a letter. At the mention of a letter, which was an upgrade from a postcard, my eyes naturally drifted sideways. I briefly made eye contact with the Team Leader. He took the flower basket and the letter.

“You’ve delivered it, so you may go now!”

“Safe travels.”

At the prompt to leave, the delivery man quickly exited, but paused before he reached the door. I was puzzled for a moment as he turned back as if he’d forgotten something. I froze at his next words.

“And… and they also asked me to tell you that he misses Ha-neul Hyung. I’ll be going now!”

Having quickly blurted out the message, the delivery man vanished like a ghost.

“…….”

“…….”

Even after the office door closed, no one spoke. After rustling through papers a few times while pretending to be unfazed, I noticed the four of them moving a beat late, as if they were exchanging signals.

“What kind of delusional nonsense did he write this time?”

“Seeing the way the delivery man spoke, he looked incredibly embarrassed.”

“Team Leader, aren’t you basically being used as a substitute for our Chick?”

“He’ll probably show up today!”

“Ayy, with Kim Se-hyun’s personality, do you think he’d stop at just once?”

At Officer Kim’s remark that it wasn’t likely, the Team Leader clicked his tongue and set the flower basket down on the round table.

“Chick, come here and open it quickly.”

“Yes.”

Moving to the round table, I received the letter while trying my best to ignore the flower basket, which was more colorful and fuller than the previous one.

“Aren’t you going to check it?”

“…I should.”

I had to check it, but my hands just wouldn’t move. Perhaps because of the contents of the card I received last time, my hands kept hesitating. Only after taking several deep breaths to compose myself did I slowly open the letter.

「To. Ha-neul Hyung

Hyung, the photo I received this morning was really pretty.

I know you must miss me a lot, but endure it while looking at the flowers. Because I’ll be there soon.

p.s.

And Hyung, next time, can I be the one to take the photo?」

“…….”

Compared to the last time, the contents were surprisingly sane, but I didn’t know why it made me feel so strange. No, it had to feel strange. After all, this letter wasn’t printed—it was handwritten.

Currently, Kim Se-hyun was abroad. Furthermore, the handwriting in the letter wasn’t his.

The thought that someone else had transcribed this incredibly embarrassing letter for him was mortifying. I squeezed my eyes shut and then opened them, looking at the ‘p.s.’ part. Just reading that made me feel like I was hearing his voice.

Even though it was just text, I felt like Kim Se-hyun was about to appear and shove a camera in my face. When the Deputy Team Leader asked if he could see the letter, I handed it to him immediately.

“…What’s this?”

“Why is this so normal?”

“It’s so ordinary that it’s suspicious.”

“What kind of photo did you send to make him act like this again?”

“It was just… an ordinary photo.”

It was just a messy photo taken right after waking up; there was nothing particularly strange about it.

“Where did you take it?”

“At home this morning.”

“…Whoa, look at this?”

“The Slacker doesn’t know the Chick’s house yet, does he?”

“He hasn’t followed him home so far.”

The Deputy Team Leader answered the Team Leader’s question. I immediately corrected him.

“I met him in front of my house last time.”

“What?”

“Say what?”

“Well…”

After I explained that we met when my friend who was on leave from the military came over, I looked around nervously at the worsening atmosphere.

“Yeon Ha-neul.”

“Yes, Team Leader.”

“Don’t ever let Kim Se-hyun into your house. Got it?”

“…….”

“Lock your doors! Even if he acts pitiful, you can’t let him in! Unless he’s literally on the verge of death, entry is absolutely forbidden!”

“Hmm.”

“Even if he’s rolling around saying his stomach hurts, no! Even if he says he needs to use the bathroom, no!”

“U-uh, yes.”

The Team Leader was speaking with a face more serious than ever. I wondered if letting Kim Se-hyun into my house was really that grave an issue, but there must be a reason why he was being this adamant. Only after I nodded several times to his repeated confirmations did I receive the letter and flower basket.

“For now, there don’t seem to be any big problems, so let’s all get back to work.”

“Yes, sir!”

The people who had been huddled together for a serious conversation returned to their original spots and started working as if nothing had happened. I took the flower basket to my seat, placed it on one side of the desk, and then moved it to the empty seat next to me.

“…….”

I was worried there might be something about being an ‘Angel’ written in it, so I was incredibly relieved that there wasn’t. Of course, I felt a little bad for the delivery man.

Fidgeting with the letter, I put it in my drawer to get back to work and began checking the stories related to the dungeon again.

*****************************

Foreign media, not just domestic, were showing immense interest in the Sector F-6 dungeon, which had been corrected to A-Rank.

I was enjoying a relaxing time after work while watching news that foreign media were also rushing to report that A-Rank dungeons had been generated twice in a short period. Suddenly, I looked at my phone as an alert rang out….

“Oh?”

I didn’t know why this person had sent a message. After reading the message from someone I had known while preparing for the civil service exam, a hollow laugh escaped me.

[Ha-neul, it’s been a while. It’s Choi Eun-jae.]

[It’s nothing else, but I heard you went to the Hunter Department. Do you happen to know anything about this dungeon?]

There couldn’t be a message with more transparent intentions. I remained silent at the message from someone who had suddenly pivoted from studying for the civil service to becoming a reporter, using their background in journalism school. When the next message arrived, I simply set my phone down on the sofa.

[We were pretty close, weren’t we? Share some info with me.]

I was occasionally part of a group that ate together, but we weren’t close. I briefly wondered if it would be better to give a short reply to this blatant question from someone I’d barely spoken to even after exchanging numbers, but I soon shook my head.

I had heard that because of this incident, many people would be desperate to contact people in the Hunter Department. I had to be careful because even saying ‘I don’t know’ could end up in an article. I looked back at the TV.

— Due to the A-Rank dungeon generated this time, academia as well as foreign media are paying close attention to Korea.

— That’s correct. This dungeon, unlike previous ones, can be described as a truly anomalous generation that doesn’t follow the laws of dungeon generation.

— It hasn’t been long since our hunter Kim Se-hyun went over to Australia and cleared an S-Rank dungeon, has it?

— It’s not just Australia. A-Rank and A-equivalent dungeons are appearing in various places around the world, including our country, leading to voices of concern that we may need to change our current response systems.

I already knew these facts through research, but hearing them on the news made them feel even more real. I watched the anchors and panelists discuss the dungeons with serious faces when my phone rang—not a message this time, but a call.

I was about to reject it, assuming it was Choi Eun-jae….

“Oh?”

I naturally assumed it was Choi Eun-jae, but the name appearing on the screen was none other than Kim Se-hyun.