Chapter 77

When two men sit around tilting their glasses of liquor, all kinds of topics are bound to come spilling out. Money, people, the future…

Of all those topics, the one Jinho hyung preferred was women.

Whenever he got drunk, he became the saddest man in the world and reminisced about his first love.

I first met her when I was a high school sophomore.

This guy’s drunk again.

It was March, the start of a new school year, with flowers in full bloom. She opened the classroom door and walked in, and then…

You must have been dazzled. The bells of heaven must have started ringing in your ears—ding, ding, ding?

Huh? How did you know?

Because I’ve heard this story more than a hundred times. The bells of heaven, my ass. Go write a novel.

That’s because you don’t understand love, you punk. Then again, what would a lifelong single know?

It’s not that I couldn’t date. I chose not to.

You lifelong-single bastards always say that. Is there some kind of guidebook? You’ve never even liked anyone, have you?

……I think I have.

Oh, forget it. What good is it to tell you a hundred or a thousand times? You have to experience it yourself to understand. Pour me another drink.

The reason I suddenly remembered that drinking session from a few months ago was simple.

Hyung was right.

Ding—ding—

I could hear them. The bells.

Miss Song.

She had a slender figure and a tiny face. An angel with grocery bags hanging from both hands spotted me and stopped short.

“Who are you?”

Her captivating yet refreshing voice made my mind go blank, while her delicate, doll-like features made my heart pound.

My God.

I swallowed dryly. It felt as though I had spent the past twenty-seven years as a lifelong single just for this day.

A simulation was already running in my head.

Our home will be a country house with a yard. Two children and one cat. Perfect.

The dating cells that had never budged, even while I circulated my qi, were springing to life.

I opened my mouth to speak in the lowest voice I could manage. Jinho hyung, a self-proclaimed master of romance, had always stressed that I should use a deep, resonant voice with a woman I liked.

“I’m…”

“This is Jin Taekyung. You’ve heard about him too, right, Miss Song? You know, the one I told you about last time. I said my beloved little brother had reawakened as a C-rank Hunter.”

“Oh, you’re that person? You’re younger than I expected.”

“……”

I gently stepped on Im Kkeokjeong’s foot, who had interrupted me out of nowhere, and opened my mouth again.

“Yes. I’m the very…”

“Why did you buy so much? We have a restaurant reserved.”

“It’s expensive and the portions are tiny. Why go there? We can just grill some meat inside.”

“……”

Team Leader Choi. I’m going to kill you with my own hands. I really am.

I glared at the meddlers one after another. Butler Kim had been about to say something, but he quietly closed his mouth under my murderous stare.

This is my only chance.

It was the perfect moment. No one was interrupting, and Miss Song was looking right at me. I spoke in an attractive, deep voice.

“Hello. My name is Jin Taekyung. I’m twenty-seven years old and recently became a C-rank Hunter. My birthday is April 22. I’m a Taurus, and my blood type is RH-positive, type A. My hobbies are reading and film criticism. I hope we get along.”

“……”

“……”

“……”

In the still silence, no one said a word. At last, her red lips parted.

“Oh, yes.”

Miss Song stared straight at me with her deerlike eyes. Her expression suggested that she had been utterly enchanted by my cavernous voice. And I had even highlighted my intellectual side by mentioning reading and film criticism. This was a hundred-percent success.

Thank you, Jinho hyung. If this works out, drinks are on me.

Just as I was cheering inside, Team Leader Choi interrupted in a stammering voice.

“W, why don’t we talk over a meal? Miss Song must be tired from grocery shopping.”

My anger at being interrupted again vanished without a trace the moment I heard her name.

“Song is your first name?”

“Song Song. Song Song is my name.”

Miss Song—or rather, Song Song—answered in a calm voice before slipping inside the store. I stood there blankly, repeating her name to myself.

“Song Song…”

My God, even her name was beautiful. So charming. So dazzling.

She was my type from head to toe. I was half out of my mind at the thought that I had met my fated partner when Team Leader Choi’s voice snapped me out of it.

“Mr. Jin.”

“Yes, yes?”

“Um… Never mind. Take your time coming in.”

Team Leader Choi let out a deep sigh and turned away. What was wrong with him?

“Did I do something wrong?”

At my question, Butler Kim, who was following Team Leader Choi, stopped short.

“Um… Stay strong.”

Once the two of them left, only Im Kkeokjeong and I remained.

“Hyung-nim. Did I make some kind of mistake?”

“A mistake? No. You committed a crime.”

“A crime?”

“Yes. A crime you could never be forgiven for.”

“Gasp.”

Had I really done something wrong? Just as my heart sank, Im Kkeokjeong continued with a solemn expression.

“The crime of stealing a woman’s heart.”

“……!”

“You little punk. Even I almost fell for you. Did you see Miss Song’s expression? She was completely smitten. It’s over. You won!”

“R-Really?”

“Congratulations, Taekyung! Let’s eat noodles!”¹

“Hyung-nim!”

I could not contain my emotion and threw myself into Im Kkeokjeong’s arms. He laughed heartily and patted me on the back.

“How many kids are you going to have? What? Two? Don’t stop there—make it three! Hahahaha!”

Inside the store.

Team Leader Choi and Butler Kim, who had been pressed right up against the door, turned to face each other.

“What do you think, Butler Kim?”

“I can only admire the Young Master’s wise decision to block out the sound with a magic item.”

“Right?”

“Precisely.”

As if they had planned it, the two men glanced over their shoulders. Song Song was busily preparing the meal.

“If Miss Song heard that conversation just now…”

“Even if Miss Song quit the Guild on the spot, we would have to pay the penalty.”

“Where did he learn lines like that? Could it be that you used to say things like that when you were young, Butler Kim?”

Butler Kim answered with a stern expression.

“Young Master, that remark was highly unpleasant to hear. Lines like that did not exist even before the Great Cataclysm.”

“Mr. Jin is a lifelong single, right?”

“If he is not, then starting today I am no longer Butler Kim. I am Butler Park.”

“Hunter Im seems to have problems too.”

“I hate to say this, but I wanted to put a muzzle on him.”

“Hunter Im is unmarried, right?”

“Unfortunately, yes. He even has two children.”

“How on earth…?”

“I wonder the same thing.”

The Guild’s future was bleak.

It was at that moment, while the two men shook their heads with gloomy expressions, that a voice came from behind them.

“Excuse me.”

Song Song stood there wearing an apron, one hand on her hip as she looked at the two men.

“What are you two whispering about? You haven’t lifted a finger to help while I was preparing everything.”

“Oh, Miss Song. It’s just…”

“We’ll clean up after the meal.”

“Never mind that. The food is ready, so come and eat. And call Mr. Im and…”

Song Song continued with a sigh.

“That… Taurus, too.”

In front of the grill, which had been heated to just the right temperature, I opened my mouth with a solemn expression.

“Miss Song.”

Song Song stopped just as she picked up the tongs and scissors.

“Yes?”

“Give them to me. I’ll grill the meat.”

“It’s okay. You can help clean up afterward.”

“My hobby is grilling meat, and my specialty is cutting it.”

“……I thought your hobbies were reading and film criticism?”

“That was only the tip of the iceberg.”

When I nudged Im Kkeokjeong’s foot under the table, immediate backup arrived.

“You wouldn’t know this, Miss Song, but this guy can grill meat like nobody’s business. One time, he was working five grills at once, just—huh? And when you bite into it, the juices flood your mouth. Fireworks start going off in your head!”

I added one more point in a dignified tone.

“I’m a Taurus.”

“That’s right! A Taurus man can grill meat, and he’s pure-hearted and honest and so steadfast…”

Crack.

Team Leader Choi set down the broken wooden chopsticks and muttered, “I’m sorry. I couldn’t control my strength.”

“Here.”

Song Song handed him a new pair of chopsticks as if she had been waiting for it. My heart sank.

I hated to admit it, but the beautiful woman and handsome man made a wonderful pair.

No way. It can’t be.

I tried to deny it, but my heart felt heavy.

With a gloomy expression, I placed the meat on the grill.

Sizzle.

What kind of relationship did Song Song have with Team Leader Choi?

Sizzle.

It was obvious they had known each other for a long time. She wouldn’t be a founding member of the Guild for no reason.

Sizzle.

Come to think of it, that bastard Team Leader Choi was suspicious. He had been interrupting our conversation from the start. And why had he broken perfectly good chopsticks and ruined the mood?

Sizzle.

A B-rank Hunter claiming he could not control his strength? What kind of excuse was that? Was he showing off how strong he was in front of Song Song? I could tie a knot in metal chopsticks, too…

“Excuse me.”

I looked up with a start. Eyes as clear as a lake were staring straight at me.

“It’s burning.”

“Yes, yes?”

“The meat. It’s burning.”

“Gasp!”

Sizzle-sizzle-sizzle.

I hurriedly flipped the meat, but it was already too late.

“I’ll do it.”

“No. I will.”

“Come to think of it, since you’re here for the first time today, it’s only right that I grill the meat and serve you.”

My God. She wasn’t just an angel on the outside.

Oh, Miss Song. You’re an ethics textbook.²

I fell for her gentle nature all over again.

Slice. Slice.

Sizzle.

After taking the tongs from me, she grilled and cut the meat with practiced skill.

I watched her in a daze.

She even looks beautiful while grilling meat.

Her hair was loosely twisted into a bun, and her slender, pale hands moved busily. Every one of her movements seemed to shine.

“Hmm.”

How much time had passed? She had been watching the meat carefully when she spoke.

“It’s done. Could you hand me a plate?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She neatly placed the fully cooked meat into a disposable container. I had noticed it earlier, but this was clearly not something she had done only once or twice.

“You must have done this a lot.”

“Yes.”

“Did you work part-time at a barbecue restaurant?”

“Yes.”

“Wow. For how long?”

“Two years.”

“Wow, when?”

“When I was in high school.”

“Huh. Not many people worked part-time jobs back then.”

“Oh, yes.”

What am I going to do? Even her resourcefulness is exactly my type.

Her answers seemed strangely short, but that had to be my imagination. I showered her with plenty of little responses to keep the conversation going.

The conversation itself is going smoothly.

Jinho hyung had said that you had to start by finding common ground if you wanted someone to like you. I spoke passionately.

“We’re pretty similar. I used to work two or even three shifts in a day. One day, after I finished work and came home…”

“Oh, yes. But, um.”

“Yes?”

“You seem a little close. The grill is still hot…”

Without realizing it, I had leaned my entire body toward Song Song.

“It’s fine. I’ll just get a little burned. Hahaha!”

“You should still be careful.”

“I’m really fine. You don’t have to worry.”

“……”

Song Song’s expression seemed strangely dark. Could it be…?

Is she worried that I might get hurt?

It was shocking. She was thinking about me this much even though we had only met today.

And then I knew for certain. She was interested in me, too.

Jinho hyung’s voice reached me from somewhere, like a hallucination.

Do you know what the most important virtue is when it comes to becoming a couple? Courage.

Taekyung, remember this. A man with courage wins the beauty.

Hyung, I think I finally understand. And thank you.

That’s right. Let’s be brave.

I looked at her with a trembling heart. What I was about to say was something I had never once said in my entire twenty-seven years of life.

“Miss Song. Starting today, you and I are on day one…”

At that moment, Team Leader Choi jumped to his feet and shouted.

“Day one! Today is the first day Hunter Jin Taekyung has become part of our Guild family! Butler Kim?”

“Yes, Young Master! The soju is ready!”

The usually unhurried Butler Kim filled the shot glasses at lightning speed.

Glug-glug-glug!

Not a gentle trickle—it was pouring full blast.

Half of it spilled, while the other half was poured in with such force that I was left speechless. But there was something I absolutely had to say.

“Miss Song. Let me say it again. You and I…”

Team Leader Choi raised his glass high.

“To our Guild!”

“Miss Song. Ignore them and listen to me.”

Song Song answered.

“To our Guild!”

“……”

She didn’t hear me, right? Yes. She couldn’t have heard me.