BRH 10

Away from the people gathered around the bonfire, cheering, Moon Tae-yi watched them, a cigarette in his mouth. He lightly blew smoke into the air, then took off his wristwatch and held it in his hand. Turning the metal watch over, a person’s face appeared on the round surface.

Moon Tae-yi sucked on the cigarette until his cheeks were hollow, then flicked off the ash. Then he smiled faintly.

“…It can’t capture the real thing.”

Engraved on the back of the expensive watch was Ha Do-heon’s face. Moon Tae-yi often took off the watch like this and admired it. The photo, taken slightly at an angle rather than head-on, captured someone looking at something with surprised eyes.

Naturally parted lips, gently lowered eyebrows, surprised eyes opened wider than usual. Hair softly brushing against his eyebrows.

It was a photo obtained by sending people out, and Moon Tae-yi was quite satisfied when he received it.

Ha Do-heon is usually indifferent and strangely oblivious, lacking emotional expression. But seeing his occasional surprised face or flustered, helpless appearance was like watching a small animal.

Like a rabbit, Ha Do-heon-ssi.

Secretly timid, he would widen his eyes at the slightest loud noise and quickly turn his head to identify the source. On the other hand, he had great courage and went to Dungeons without hesitation, as if on a picnic. Without any sense of crisis.

“Come to think of it… he said he went into a rank 2 Dungeon.”

It was almost time to receive news… Moon Tae-yi received news of Ha Do-heon regularly. Moon Tae-yi had people around Ha Do-heon and received reports on his activities every three days. He had heard about Ha Do-heon’s rank 2 Dungeon raid when he entered the Dungeon, so it was about time he received news today.

“Oh, is that… your lover?”

It was when the cigarette was half-burned. Someone approached, making a sound. The slurred, gravelly voice and the swaggering gait were characteristic of a common thug. He was a Hunter from an external partner company hired as a security Hunter for this raid.

His rank was A, wasn’t it? When Moon Tae-yi didn’t say anything, the man smiled and gestured at the watch.

“To have a photo engraved on such an expensive watch, wow… you must really like him.”

“Gyeong-tae, let’s go…”

Kim Gyeong-tae, who seemed to have come out after taking care of business nearby, reeking of alcohol as he adjusted his waist. A colleague who seemed to be the same security Hunter tried to dissuade him, but Kim Gyeong-tae was excited by the anticipation of working with Moon Tae-yi for the first time.

“Wow, just by looking at him, he’s just… so pretty, isn’t he? Please introduce me next time.”

“This friend seems quite drunk, please take him away.”

Moon Tae-yi said, smiling at the fellow Hunter. The colleague repeatedly bowed, apologizing, but the man, interpreting Moon Tae-yi’s smile differently, kept pushing his face closer, asking to see the watch.

“So… it was true what was in the news, right? That, what was it. He confessed to a man, and articles were all over the place. Men can’t give up that aftertaste once they’ve tasted it, haha…”

Instantly, the smile vanished from Moon Tae-yi’s face. With the cigarette in his mouth, Moon Tae-yi put on the watch and tilted his head, taking a deep drag. His eyes had already turned fierce.

“Ah, everyone’s the same in bed. Even if they say it’s not good, once they do it… they go even crazier.”

“Hey Kim Gyeong-tae, what are you saying!”

“Huh? Why… I thought Hunter Tae-yi didn’t know…”

“Hey, stop it! I’m, I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. Let’s, let’s go!”

The fellow Hunter grabbed Kim Gyeong-tae’s shoulder and pulled him back. He shook off his colleague’s hand, grinning foolishly from the alcohol.

“Let go, please… I know a little about physiognomy, and looking at Tae-yi-ssi’s lover, you two must be a great match. He looks like he’s head over heels for you…”

The Taerang Guild Hunters, who had been drinking with other Raiders, belatedly heard the noise and turned pale. The drinking party had become silent.

Moon Tae-yi, raising a hand to stop the Taerang Guild Hunters rushing to separate Kim Gyeong-tae, gave a sweet smile.

“Why, are you looking for a hole to stick it in? You’re the one who seems horny.”

“Me? Haha… thanks, but no thanks. Ah, I’m tired of that now. Hunter Tae-yi, you have that person, don’t you, that person. The one engraved on the watch.”

“Monsters have holes too.”

The Taerang Guild Hunters stamped their feet, unable to do anything, then squeezed their eyes shut. Even those who had known Moon Tae-yi for a long time could only roughly wipe their faces.

Moon Tae-yi was definitely a good colleague and superior. But that was only when the ‘line’ was not crossed, and anyone who crossed the line set by Moon Tae-yi would turn cold-hearted. There were no exceptions.

“I’ll find one for you, so you can stick it in or get stuck.”

“Yes…?”

The chilling words pierced his skin. Sensing something was wrong, Kim Gyeong-tae blinked his unfocused eyes. But he waved his hands and laughed.

“Ah… you’re joking. How can you stick it in a monster… it’s not fun.”

“Is that so?”

The next moment, a bright red ember appeared before Kim Gyeong-tae’s eyes. He instinctively raised his arms to block it. His hands trembled. In the empty air, a burning red ember, as if burning from the end of a cigarette, was heading towards his eyes, as if to crush them.

“Ah… ah!”

“But why can’t you tell the difference yourself and spew out words that you don’t know are jokes or serious?”

It was just an ember that had suddenly appeared in the air. Each time Kim Gyeong-tae desperately blocked it, dark burn marks were left on his hands and arms. Knees buckled painfully under Moon Tae-yi’s pressure. Kim Gyeong-tae’s whole body was drenched in sweat as the alcohol wore off.

Moon Tae-yi calmly smoked a cigarette next to him. As ash flicked into the air, the hot ember approached Kim Gyeong-tae’s cornea, who had finally lowered his arm due to the pain of the burns. It was just about to touch him. The man screamed.

“Do you have a criminal record? Violence, fraud, or playing with your lower body without consent?”

“No, no… I don’t, I don’t!”

“Why are you crying? You should laugh when you hear a joke. Isn’t it funny?”

“It’s… it’s funny. Haha… haha!”

Tears streamed down his face uncontrollably from the fear of losing his eyes. Even as Kim Gyeong-tae laughed out loud, he struggled to survive the threat to his life.

“And I don’t like other bastards talking about my people. How about it, can I tear your mouth a little?”

“No, no! I’m, I’m sorry… I’m sorry. I’ll never! Sob, I won’t bring it up again! Haha!”

“Don’t laugh, because this isn’t a joke, okay?”

“Yes… yes, I’m sorry, sob… please save me. Ah! Please save me!”

“I don’t kill friends without criminal records, so why are you saying such things? Tearing your mouth a little and eating some potions would heal it. Or… do you want to be stuck so hard your asshole tears? I’ll have to find a monster.”

The man trembled. His face, shaking his head wildly as he dragged his butt backward, was filled with terror.

“Tae-yi-nim! That, Mei! Mei has arrived!”

At that moment, a Taerang Guild Hunter pushed through the crowd and rushed to Moon Tae-yi with news.

Mei.

In the man’s hand, a small, fluttering creature was huddled. As soon as it saw Moon Tae-yi, it opened its mouth and cried, “Kkiak, kkiak!”

It was ‘Mei’, Moon Tae-yi’s personal messenger bird. Although it was a monster from the Dungeon, there were occasionally individuals that Hunters tamed and used. Small monsters were like that. Slimes and burrowing monsters. Flying creatures like this belonged to this category, and the prices were astronomically high.

Mei was a bat-type monster with the ability to move quickly and communicate, so it was often used as a messenger bird.

“I’m busy right now, I’ll check later.”

“That’s…!”

“Kkiak! Mei! Kkiak!”

-Moon Tae-yiiiiii!

It was the moment when a sharp light settled in the innocent eyes of the fluttering beast. A human voice leaked from its screeching mouth.

-Moon Tae-yiiii! Outside! Huk, chaos, hueok! Damn it, Moon Tae-yi, you’re there, right?! Hey, hey! It’s chaos outside right now!

The voice, with occasional mechanical sounds mixed in, was noisy, as if the transmission was buzzing. But it was easy to understand. Someone was panting and urgently looking for Moon Tae-yi.

Moon Tae-yi looked at the man, then threw the cigarette with the burnt filter to the ground and stomped on it. At the same time, the ember that had been piercing Kim Gyeong-tae’s eyes disappeared without a trace.

“Hueok… hueok…”

Thinking he was alive, Kim Gyeong-tae collapsed on the floor, panting. As the fellow Hunter quickly helped him up and moved him away, people quickly sent him to the back.

The person who had shouted through the bat, as if burning inside, was pounding his chest.

-Moon Tae-yi, you bastard! You left that, Hunter Ha Do-heon! That friend with me, and you’re happily going into a Dungeon! Aigo, my blood pressure!

Gwak Chan-uk. The person communicating with Moon Tae-yi was the A-rank Hunter who founded the Taerang Guild and is now the guild leader of the company, which has become a veritable conglomerate in South Korea.

“What’s going on that you’re shouting without any context?”

-Huk, you’re there? You’re there, right? Hey, hey! I’m right now-!

“How’s the work I asked you to look into going? I wonder if Ha Do-heon-ssi is spinning in a Dungeon again. I like that he’s working hard, but I’m worried about whether he’s eating properly.”

-You son of a bitch! That’s why I’m calling! Ha… you bastard, this isn’t the time for this. Get out of there right now. Let’s talk after you get out.

“The guild leader is telling me to give up the raid and come out? What are you going to tell the Hunter Management Bureau this time…”

Gwak Chan-uk and Moon Tae-yi are comrades who have rolled together on the battlefield for the past three years. Although Gwak Chan-uk is now a pot-bellied office worker Hunter, no one in the Taerang Guild was unaware that their positions were equal.

No, maybe Moon Tae-yi is much higher in the food chain?

-You bastard, no. Tae-yi. There’s a problem outside right now. The Dungeon has been upgraded!