Ch.40Aquamarine 3

Could it be from swinging it countless times?

The longsword’s handle is worn and tattered.

Sticky beads of sweat that had formed on my shoulders drip down one by one.

Each fallen droplet is absorbed into the training room floor.

This is the Hunter Association’s fitness center.

Since becoming an S-rank hunter, I always train here.

If I practice outside, strange people always come up to me asking for autographs and photos, which is annoying.

“—.”

My phone rings.

I take it out of my jacket and check the message.

“Come to the bar at midnight tonight.”

It’s Seon-ye.

I wonder why she wants to meet at midnight.

I wipe my forehead with the back of my hand and finish my training.

Then I walk through the Association’s hallway to get to the shower room.

Amusingly, this organization has different shower rooms based on hunters’ ranks.

In an attempt at differentiation, the S-rank shower room is located on the top floor of the Association building.

Well, thanks to that, I can enjoy the spectacular view of Seoul while showering, which is nice.

But having to take the elevator to go up the building is very annoying.

“Fourth floor.”

The elevator stops at the fourth floor.

Soon, a woman with her hair tied to one side and a bald man enter the elevator.

Between their legs stands a small boy.

The pale-faced, gloomy child stares up at me.

Then, intimidated by my murky eyes, he quickly lowers his head.

“Looks like you’ve been training, Anna.”

The woman says while staring straight ahead.

I don’t respond to her words.

It’s because I’ve never seen this woman before, and she was speaking to the air, not to me.

“…”

“I’m a council member of the Association.”

A subtle floral scent emanates from the woman.

It’s a rich, non-artificial smell.

It irritates my nose, so I briefly cover it with the back of my hand.

“And these days, I run a guild as a hobby.”

The woman glances at me with her hands behind her back.

And that’s when I realize why she deliberately avoids facing me.

Like mine, her black pupils have spilled over, mixing with the whites of her eyes.

Like those of a dead person.

“You recently entered the S-rank and immediately settled at 30th place. That’s an impressive achievement.”

“Just a numbers game. I don’t care.”

“I know. You’re cold-blooded about everything. That’s why I like you even more.”

Her bangs sway gently.

Her murky eyes stare at me as if seeing through me.

I stared back at her, refusing to back down.

A bead of sweat slides down my abs.

Until it completely drips down and is absorbed into my waistband, we stare at each other in silence.

“Tenth floor.”

The elevator opens.

I promptly ignore her and exit the elevator.

The woman and her companions leisurely follow me out.

She even approaches the entrance to the shower room.

“Only S-ranks can enter here.”

I point to the alphabet letter drawn on the wall.

“Oh my, what should I do? I’m not a hunter…”

She smiles regretfully.

But I know better.

This woman, like me, doesn’t care about ranks at all.

“What benefit would I get from going there?”

“Benefit?”

The woman, who had been speaking formally, reflexively asks.

“Yes, what matters most to me is benefit.”

“There certainly is one. Everyone who follows me sticks around because of that ‘benefit.'”

She says this while patting the shoulders of the bald man and the child standing beside her.

“If you help me, you can know about the terrible future that’s coming before others do.”

The future…?

My eyebrow twitches.

I involuntarily frown at her unexpected words.

I’ve never heard of such a reward in my life.

“I never believe in such vague talk. If you’ve heard rumors about me, you should have known that much before coming.”

“I know—you handle things decisively and only invest in clear-cut matters.”

She pinches the chest area of her shirt as if it feels tight.

Then, loosening her collar, she says:

“But isn’t preparing for the future essential, especially for someone like you?”

The woman’s tight shirt loosens a bit.

But my heart tightens even more as I turn away from her.

“Save that nonsensical talk for the kid clinging to your legs.”

She’s not a gypsy fortune-teller; this is ridiculous.

I head straight into the shower room without looking back.

If I’m going to see Seon-ye later, I’d better clean up properly.

“…”

Even after I enter, the woman doesn’t immediately leave.

Her murky eyes remain fixed on the direction of the shower room.

The man accompanying her asks:

“Why are you so fixated on that skinny girl?”

He folds his arms and holds the elevator.

During their conversation, the elevator has already gone back down to the first floor.

“Number Six, that child is a rare talent that might appear once in a lifetime.”

The woman murmurs with her eyes half-closed.

“Even ten people with your level of talent wouldn’t be a match for her.”

“Come on, that’s ridiculous.”

The man shouts loudly, seemingly angered by his superior’s words.

As if to appease him, the woman changes the topic.

“So, did you kill all the unaffiliated hunters? I told you to sweep through from Sindorim.”

“I haven’t gone there yet. There’s a wyvern nest in that area. I’m waiting for people to come hunt it.”

“Planning to pick off the exhausted ones after they’re done?”

The man nods with a smirk.

The woman raises her finger, seemingly impressed by her guild member’s strategy.

“That’s a great idea. You’re learning quickly with proper guidance.”

The bald man clears his throat, seemingly embarrassed by his superior’s praise.

To him, the woman suggests:

“Next time, take Number Eight here with you.”

“This little kid? That’s annoying…”

The woman gently pushes the child clinging to her leg toward the man.

The child slowly approaches him.

“More hands make the work easier, don’t they?”

The woman smiles sweetly.

At her smile, the man reluctantly answers:

“Fine…”

The woman’s braided hair dances.

She sniffs the steam coming from the shower room.

“It smells nice. A fragrant soap scent.”

Soon feeling warm, she shakes out her collar.

As she does, a tattoo on her collarbone is revealed.

“01.”

As midnight approaches,

I leave the Association building and head to the bar where Seon-ye will be.

At night, people usually stay home for safety reasons.

So just by looking at whether lights are on in windows, you can tell if someone is there or not.

But the bar of the old man who asked me to come out late at night was dark.

Finding it strange, I carefully pull the entrance handle.

As expected, the inside of the bar was very dark.

It was dead silent, definitely not the atmosphere where the usually loud and energetic Seon-ye would be.

I place my hand on my waist.

And I move my steps so quietly that not even footsteps can be heard.

“Seon-ye?”

I ask in a small voice.

But there’s no response.

I eventually reach the counter.

Still not seeing her, I take out my phone.

Only the small light from the screen illuminates the dark bar hall.

I slowly dial Seon-ye’s phone number.

“010…”

It was around when I was entering the fifth digit.

“Boo!”

Someone suddenly appears from behind the counter.

I almost reached for my waist.

But I stopped myself from drawing the blade.

The girl I had been looking for suddenly appeared from under the counter.

“Surprised you?”

Her face is eerily illuminated by the phone screen.

But my expression remains unchanged.

“Yeah. I almost cut you in half.”

Despite my grim comment, Seon-ye doesn’t seem bothered.

Instead, she speaks confidently.

“But you wouldn’t have done that.”

She smiles broadly, as if she already knows everything about me.

Does she have ten lives or something…

“So, why did you call me to the bar at this late hour?”

“Just because. It’s been a while since we spent time alone together.”

When I ask, Seon-ye fidgets and murmurs.

“I have been busy.”

I deliberately avoid her gaze.

But her face moves like a puppy, following my line of sight.

“How was your day today?”

“Just the same as usual. Training, hunting monsters when they appear, and going home after.”

“That sounds tough.”

She makes a tired expression, as if imagining my daily routine in her head.

In response, I ask a formal question.

“How about you? Isn’t it tiring to just pour drinks at the bar every day?”

I can’t believe that someone who was an ace at the facility is doing this kind of job.

Having survived there for four years, she could definitely reach around S-rank if she became a hunter.

Why choose a job serving people like this?

“Tiring? I like where I am now.”

Seon-ye gazes at me intently with her chin resting on her hand.

Unlike mine, her eyes are clear and sparkling.

“I’m happy to pour a drink for people and see them comforted by it.”

Happiness…

I roll that word around in my mouth.

“And today, I plan to serve the best customer of my life.”

While I’m trying to understand the concept of happiness, she brings out a hidden glass.

It’s a long, transparent glass.

Illuminated by moonlight, it sparkles like a mystical elixir.

“I told you I don’t drink alcohol.”

“But… I prepared this especially for you today…”

Seon-ye looks up at me with a pitiful expression.

Shorter than me, she often makes this face whenever things don’t go her way.

“Hah…”

I shake my head as if resigned.

If I refuse, she’ll probably act sulky all day.

Not wanting to see that, I gesture for her to do as she pleases.

“You can look forward to it.”

Soon she starts taking out cocktail ingredients she had prepared in advance.

As if predicting that I would drink, everything was already set up.

What a cunning puppy.

That puppy now focuses on the ingredients in her hands.

Into a shaker filled with ice…

1 ounce of clear vodka.

1 ounce of fragrant peach tree.

5ml of blue curaçao.

And golden apple juice is poured in.

Then, she shakes it lightly, as if following a rhythm.

She places the frosty shaker on the glass.

Eventually, the blue moonlight slowly flows down the glass.

<Aquamarine>

Rank: ★★★★☆ (???)

Effect: Increases all abilities of the target by 2.

Information: A flawless aquamarine.

Beautiful like the blue-colored sea.

Anna, who has never swum before, finds this sea color very familiar.

It has a taste so impressive it could recover something lost.

“Aquamarine is the birthstone of March.”

Seon-ye says softly as she pushes the glass toward me.

“And we escaped the facility on March 14th.”

Blue waves slowly ripple inside the glass.

“I think that’s when we were truly reborn.”

Seon-ye gazes at the aquamarine like me, with her hands respectfully folded.

“You said you don’t even remember when your birthday is. So how about we set our birthday to March from now on?”

The moment I hear those words, I take my eyes off the aquamarine.

And I stare at Seon-ye.

She was definitely smiling.

But somehow, I find that smile sad.

That sadness somehow made me agree to her proposal.

“Okay.”

I slowly pick up the glass.

And carefully take a sip of the blue sea.

The sweet apple scent lingers in my mouth.

It’s a calm and fragrant taste that goes well with the late night.

After emptying half the glass…

Seon-ye slowly approaches me.

Her eyes ripple gently like the aquamarine.

Perhaps because of that rippling, my heart seems to flutter a bit too.

I try to attribute that vibration to the strong alcohol.

But soon that wave grows uncontrollably large.

Because…

Seon-ye kisses me.

“…”

The aquamarine that was on my lips now stains Seon-ye as well.

The beautiful young woman who just turned twenty says to me with her eyes half-closed:

“Happy birthday, Anna.”