Ch.477Daily Life (2)

“Hyunseo?”

Someone calls out to wake me from my sleep. As soon as I wake up, the familiar scent of coffee rushes into my nostrils.

“You said it’s been over two weeks since you’ve had hallucinations? At this rate, you’ll be completely cured soon. Congratulations.”

The counselor sitting across the mahogany table gives me a kind smile.

‘Ah.’

It’s my weekly counseling session. I must have dozed off for a moment.

“I heard your relationship with your family has improved as well. How is it going?”

“Family…”

The word family reminds me.

Last week, we all gathered at my father’s house for dinner. It was the first time since my parents separated. It wasn’t as comfortable as before, but I was satisfied. I think they felt the same way.

‘Sharing meals together is indeed pleasant.’

I know this because I ate food together with the kids.

‘Huh?’

A memory that doesn’t exist just flashed through my mind. Since I started living alone, I’ve never had a meal with anyone else.

‘But why…?’

“By the way, you mentioned last week that you were preparing to return to school. How is that going?”

“What? Oh, yes.”

Just as I was about to notice something strange, the counselor asked a question.

“I’ve decided to return next month. I’ve already completed course registration.”

“That’s a good idea. Oh, if you have any friends, it might be helpful to get their support.”

“Friends?”

How could I have any? No one likes a man with half his face disfigured. I’d be lucky not to be ostracized.

‘Though that hasn’t happened since I started university.’

I don’t want to get close to others only to end up like before.

“Hmm.”

The counselor sighs and interlocks his fingers.

“Alright. Let me give you an assignment.”

“An assignment?”

“By next month, find someone to have a meal with. Excluding family.”

“What?”

“It could be a friend, or just someone to share a meal with. Just tell me about your experience spending time with that person.”

The session ended before I could say anything.

As usual, I picked up my medication and returned to my studio apartment.

‘Suddenly telling me to make a friend.’

I’ll have completed all the credits needed for graduation after this semester. It seems ridiculous to look for someone to eat with at this point.

‘I’ll tell him I can’t do it next time.’

Thinking this, I got into the elevator.

Just before the doors closed, I heard footsteps outside.

“Hold the door, please!”

As I held the elevator, a young woman ran in. I moved to the corner so my burn scars wouldn’t be visible.

“Thank you!”

The woman who entered the elevator bowed her head in gratitude. I silently nodded in response.

‘Huh?’

Her face seems familiar somehow. She turned away right after greeting me, but I’m certain. I’ve definitely seen her somewhere before, and relatively recently.

‘Is she a nurse from the hospital?’

“Excuse me?”

The woman called out to me.

“Do you live in unit 701?”

“Yes? Why?”

“Ah, I thought so! Are you feeling better?”

She’s acting like she knows me. Her tone suggests she’s familiar with me.

‘She even knows where I live… oh.’

“Are you… from 702?”

“That’s right. I moved in last year.”

Now I remember. I heard that I was rescued from my comatose state thanks to a neighbor. She heard the sound of me collapsing and found it suspicious enough to report it.

Just then, the elevator stopped at the 7th floor. We both got out.

“Thank you for helping me back then.”

“Oh, it was nothing. I was actually going to introduce myself after moving in when that happened by chance. So you’re doing better now?”

“Well, yes. I suppose so.”

“That’s good! I was worried you might still be unwell.”

The woman next door had a friendly personality. Otherwise, she couldn’t have kept chatting during our short walk down the hallway.

“Well, take care.”

“Um, excuse me.”

“Yes?”

Just as we were about to enter our respective apartments, my mouth moved on its own.

“I’d like to treat you to a meal as thanks. Would that be okay?”

I regretted it as soon as I said it.

The woman and I have only met twice now. The total time we’ve spent together probably doesn’t even add up to 10 minutes.

“Of course! When were you thinking?”

I expected her to refuse, but her response was unexpected.

“Um, how about lunch tomorrow?”

“Sure. Oh! Can I choose the restaurant? There’s a place I really like.”

“Yes. Yes. That’s fine.”

“And give me your phone number!”

While I was still in a daze, we exchanged phone numbers.

“Your name is Lee Hyunseo, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I’m Yu Sihyeon. Yu Sihyeon.”

“Sihyeon?”

This name sounds familiar too.

‘Well, it’s not an unusual name.’

“See you tomorrow then!”

With that, she went into her apartment.

“…What just happened?”

Only after her door closed did I realize what had just occurred. A situation that seemed straight out of a drama or novel had happened to me.

Even after returning home, I was still in a daze when my smartphone rang.

The neighbor had sent me a message. It contained the name of a restaurant near my university.

‘Is this really happening?’

This is the first time I’ve made plans with someone of the opposite sex since being invited to a classmate’s birthday party in middle school. Back then, I was directed to a strange location, waited for a long time, and eventually went home.

But this neighbor feels different. Though our conversation was brief, I could sense genuine goodwill from her.

Maybe that’s why? Having never experienced this before, I feel quite perplexed.

‘Actually, maybe it’s not the first time. Recently with those kids…’

For a moment, images of a monster with pink eyes and a large red snake flashed through my mind.

“Ugh?!”

Suddenly, a headache washes over me. At the same time, my breath catches as if I’m submerged underwater.

“Cough, hack, hack!”

I hurriedly popped a purple pill into my mouth.

“Phew…”

The pain squeezing my head disappeared instantly, and my consciousness cleared. A sigh of relief escapes me.

I thought I was completely healed, but I’m still like this.

The counselor is right. To adapt to reality, I need help from others.

‘I must complete this assignment.’

I thought to myself, feeling the drowsiness induced by the medication.

–

In a restaurant surrounded by metal walls.

Only two people were sitting in a dining hall large enough to accommodate hundreds.

One was an elderly man with a height approaching 2 meters and impressive muscles. If not for his white hair and wrinkled face, no one would have thought him elderly.

The middle-aged man sitting opposite him presented a completely different image. Dressed in a black suit, it was difficult to gauge his exact age just by looking at his face.

“Don’t like meat?”

Asked the old man, who was tearing meat from bones like a carnivore eating prey.

“It’s quite a delicacy, made from the sirloin of a Horned Gigant.”

“Thank you for the offer, Mr. Walter. However, I find it difficult to consume anything outside my prescribed diet as it could disrupt my balance.”

The man said this while waving his hand. His ordinary hand transformed into a beast’s paw before returning to normal.

Seeing this, the old man, Walter Saintkay, clicked his tongue.

“Tsk, tsk, what’s the point of genetic modification if you can’t even properly tear into meat?”

“The procedure I received was solely for combat purposes. Other services provided by House Yugin aren’t like this.”

“Ha. Services provided by House Yugin. You speak well.”

Walter snorted.

“Since we’re on the topic, let me ask about your master. He seems to be struggling lately. Are you sure it’s okay not to return?”

The current state of the Megacorp was extremely chaotic.

Though the Outspacer mass attack had ended, a new crisis loomed immediately: war with the Cult Empire.

After the CEO kidnapping incident a month ago, relations between the two powers were at their worst. Everyone expected war to break out soon. Naturally, the CEO’s workload had increased dramatically.

“The head of the house instructed me to support Walter until you catch ‘the ultimate prey.’ I cannot return until this is accomplished.”

“Hmm. I see.”

Walter had known Akira for a long time. He was well aware that Akira considered this butler a useful tool.

In fact, the butler’s combat ability surpassed even the Shadow, House Yugin’s elite agent. His body was modified to the limit, and he had extensive combat experience.

There was only one reason such a capable subordinate was entrusted to Walter: as the butler said, to help catch the ultimate prey.

“Certainly, capturing that monster will require various forms of assistance.”

Walter chewed his meat while recalling that terrifying monster.

The monster had suddenly appeared during the recent NEO-3 battle. This was the first time he had seen it in person since Akira commissioned him to hunt it.

The creature’s power, recorded on video, was absolutely overwhelming. The Cult members called it the “Three-Headed Demon,” and the name fit perfectly.

The Three-Headed Demon was the second prey, after Voltex One, to instill trembling fear in him.

“This might be my last hunt.”

He had enjoyed hunting all his life. Dying while struggling against prey stronger than himself wouldn’t be a bad end.

‘Not that I plan to go down easily.’

The creature was as strong as Voltex One but not immortal.

Contrary to what he’d heard, the creature that appeared at NEO-3 had only two heads instead of three. It had been wounded during battle and even fled the battlefield.

‘Bleeding means it can be killed.’

The hunt wouldn’t be easy, but that didn’t matter. As always, thorough preparation was key.

And Walter had already mostly completed his hunting preparations.

As the meal was ending, Walter’s aide approached him.

“Sir, we’ve discovered traces believed to have been left by the Three-Headed Demon.”

“Oh?”

“Based on this, we’ve narrowed down seven locations that the target might use as a hideout.”

The aide manipulated a terminal to display holograms of planets. Seeing this, Walter wiped his mouth with a napkin and stood up.

“Good. Let’s begin then.”

The old hunter’s gaze turned toward the seven small planetary projections.

Among them was an ocean-type planet where House Yugin harvested research samples.