episode_0370

A long day comes to an end.

“Yang… Yaaang…”

Late at night. The hour when one day spills into the next. Tomorrow will come to collect the price for today’s deeds.

“Yaaang…”

Those who moved tirelessly under the sun now lie in bed, stirring not their bodies but their minds. The deep midnight is a time to inhale the quiet air and sort through one’s thoughts.

Fluffy, fluffy…

Someone who had died and come back dragged their heavy body to bed. Someone drank with friends, reminiscing about the day. Someone faced a mirror and hugged themselves.

Each one’s nightly escapade.

“Yaaang… Yaaang…”

And then, there was someone else— Sprawled face-down in a living room where green glass bottles rolled about, letting out pitiful sobs.

Fluffy, fluffy…

Pink hair that cascaded down to her thighs was as soft as sheep’s wool. The petite woman grabbed a soju bottle from the table and brought it straight to her lips—no glass needed. Because sleep wouldn’t come. Was it guilt? Or belated regret?

Gulp… Fluff…!

“Bleeeh…!”

Bitter. She immediately set the bottle down. Next, she chugged a cider straight from the bottle. The carbonation burned her throat, but she needed even that pain.

Roll, roll…

Yang So-ah, A-rank Hunter of Team 4, [Rare Hunter Protection-Elimination Division]. A woman with a full stomach, unable to finish even half the soju she had mustered the courage to buy, leaving only empty cider bottles rolling on the floor…

“Sunbae Hanrin…”

Yang So-ah rubbed her onyx-black sheep horns against the table. Metal horns deeply embedded over the stumps of her original ones. Crimson blood seeped from the gaps.

…….

(……If you could’ve handled it alone, why the hell were you sleeping at home when we were hunting the ‘Rat’?)

Crrack!

At [Euncheon Park], she had snapped Ban Harin’s neck and returned to the office with a heavy heart. What awaited Yang So-ah was swollen cheeks and her teammates’ scorn.

(Half of them died! Over one damn ‘Rat’!) (…….) (Two A-ranks and seven B-ranks went, and five came back dead! And it got away! Without a trace!) (Hey. Calm down. With those wounds, even if it ran, it’s done for. The team leader pierced its heart.) (You expect me to calm down?! Look at this bitch! She says she took down that monster, but not a scratch on her!)

The office felt emptier than usual. A teammate missing an arm lashed out. Was this the wound the ‘Rat’ had left behind? Looking closely, no one was unharmed. Except Yang So-ah. She was the only one unscathed.

(Enough. Yang So-ah was protecting the ‘Rare Hunter’ at the time. The team leader trusted her and pulled all combat personnel to ambush Team 1.) (……Tch.)

Then it dawned on her. The order for Yang So-ah to “handle Ban Harin alone.” They had sent her to die. Or return crippled. They hadn’t expected her to come back unharmed after killing Ban Harin. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have exploded like that.

“……Why…”

She picked up the bottle, thinking of today’s events. Too full from the cider to drink, she just swirled the bottle’s mouth. Why. Why did she have to kill someone from the Association who was just living their life? Why must Hunters kill people, not monsters? She didn’t know. Wasn’t this department just supposed to protect the ‘Rare Hunter’?

(Alright. I’ll die for you.)

Ban Harin’s smiling face surfaced in her mind. Her body, stretched by Harin’s teasing, felt lighter than usual. She drank to forget, but Harin’s smile only grew clearer. Strange.

“……Pointless…”

Being alone was better. Others’ stares always hurt. …But Ban Harin’s gaze, it was rather warm.

She touched her swollen, bruised cheek. Gulp… Fluff… She drank. Her stomach churned. Fluff…

Yang So-ah lay flat on the table. Her sheep-like pink hair, fluffy and shifting, covered her small frame like a pill bug protecting itself from the world.

‘If I had met Ban Harin sunbaenim first, not the team leader… would things have been different?’

Regret piled up. Yang So-ah swirled the soju bottle.

(With this, Team 1 is gone. Yang So-ah. You’ll get close to the ‘Rare Hunter’.)

Ban Harin’s smiling face was drowned out by the team leader’s voice. Like the sun hidden behind dark clouds, Yang So-ah’s world grew dim.

(Whether you recruit her or find her weakness… separate her from the [Everheaven Swordmaster]. Make her easier for us to ‘manage’.)

Tap. Tap.

The team leader’s fingers drummed the desk. Missing a few digits, his face was colder than usual.

‘The person Ban Harin sunbaenim tried to protect… in the end, I…’

There was no choice. Even if she said she’d taken down Ban Harin—the so-called monster—without a scratch, her teammates still cursed her.

Grrind…

Yang So-ah clutched her head as another headache began. The metal horns in her skull twisted like screws.

‘Ah… I don’t want to die.’

A life lived out of fear of death. Which path would give her life meaning? The road behind had crumbled, and ahead lay only cliffs.

‘Still… I’ll definitely protect the person Ban Harin sunbaenim wanted to protect.’

She set the soju bottle down. Put the cider bottle to her lips. The fizzy sting cleared her head.

“Sunbaenim… I’ll protect her…”

Drowsiness closed her eyes. Yang So-ah sprawled on the table amid rolling glass bottles and fell asleep in an uncomfortable position.

…….

…….

……Snatch.

Then, from Yang So-ah’s fluffy, sleeping hair, a pale white hand reached out and grabbed the soju bottle.

Gulp. Gulp.

The half-empty bottle. The gulping sounds from the back of Yang So-ah’s head.

Clang!

Soon, the ‘pale white hand’ that had chugged the soju smashed the bottle against the living room wall. The shattering glass made Yang So-ah twitch.

『…….』

A brief silence. Then, the ‘thing’ holding the broken bottle adjusted its grip…

Swish!

And brought it down on Yang So-ah’s sleeping head.

Fluff…!!

The jagged glass… sank harmlessly into her wool-like hair.

『…….』

A pill bug… no, a caterpillar? Yang So-ah, face-down on the table, was buried under her voluminous hair. Her seated posture left only her knees peeking out beneath the fluff.

Fluff… Fluff…

No matter how many times the bottle came down, her cotton-candy hair shielded her scalp from being torn apart.

『……What the hell is this.』

Blocked. Just what is she?

Stab! Stab! Stab!

Frustrating.

In the end, the ‘pale white hand’ gave up and stabbed Yang So-ah’s knee with the bottle before retreating into her hair with a grudge.

“Ugh… Yaaang…?”

Yang So-ah woke up, clutching her bloodied knee.

…….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

…….

『Good. Don’t forget our promise.』 “Understood.”

Time passed.

The 9th-floor hallway of ‘Morning Star Apartments’. Ban Harin and the ‘rabbit doll’, leaning against the door of [Unit 904], drank canned beer. The time spent drinking with rice cakes—brought as a housewarming gift—was coming to an end.

Ban Harin, packing the empty cans into a plastic bag, looked up at the night sky.

『What will you do now?』 “Since Eunha-nim died in my place, the ‘Rat’ and I will lay low for a few days and see how things unfold. If we act now, Eunha-nim’s sacrifice would be for nothing.”

『A vacation, then. And?』 “And… this incident confirmed that the Hunter Association can’t be Eunha-nim’s shield, so…”

She trailed off. Swallowing her words, she opened another beer.

The ‘rabbit doll’, watching her, twitched its white ears. It’s Ban Harin. She’ll handle it.

Click-clack!

Then, as they prepared to leave late at night, mischievous castanet sounds echoed from the stairwell.

Tap! Clack!

Ban Harin, mid-sip, turned her expressionless face toward the tiny figure running at them.

Click-clack!

A baby hornet. Two yellow stripes, like a bumblebee, adorned its jet-black hair. Long bangs covered its eyes.

Bzzzt!

Wearing Eunha’s box tee like a dress, the baby—’Fly’—puffed up threateningly upon spotting Ban Harin and the ‘rabbit doll’ drinking outside Eunha’s door.

“……Can I bite her?” 『Eunha unnie will scold you. Seriously.』

Ban Harin, observing the baby hornet with a blank face, fidgeted her fingers.

Click-clack!

Meanwhile, ‘Fly’ bravely squeezed between them, wiggling its way behind Ban Harin, who leaned against Eunha’s door.

What was it planning?

Ban Harin, watching the squirming rear with a deadpan expression, covered her mouth with one hand and moved aside.

As she stepped away, ‘Fly’ spread its tiny arms wide, blocking the door to [Unit 904]. Its lips pressed firmly in determination.

Was it trying to protect Eunha from these unfamiliar ‘monsters’?

Ban Harin, still expressionless, hid the corner of her mouth with a hand and glanced down the dark hallway.

『You just smiled.』 “I did not.” 『Your cheekbones moved.』 “I must’ve looked suspicious.”

One second. Two.

Ban Harin composed herself and lowered her hand. Her usual blank slate.

……Squeak…

Then, fiddling with her beer can, she quietly knelt on one knee and offered it to the baby hornet guarding [Unit 904].

『Why are you giving alcohol to a child?』 “I concede. I’ll leave today, so please accept this trophy.”

Click-clack.

‘Fly’, holding the can, smacked its lips. A puzzled gesture.

Ban Harin kindly explained. “It’s magic water.”

Clack? “For example… coffee makes people perky.”

Coffee. ‘Fly’ thought of Eunha. Coffee. Good.

“Warm milk makes people sleepy.”

Click-clack.

Warm milk. Again, ‘Fly’ thought of Eunha. Milk. Better.

“And… this beer, it makes people.”

…Clack? “That’s the power of alcohol.”

What did that mean? Anyway, it sounded good.

‘Fly’ hugged the can obediently. It also accepted the rice cakes offered as a housewarming gift. A present for Eunha later.

“……When I say it makes people, I mean…” 『Don’t explain. It’s boring.』

Anyway,

Ban Harin, chased off by the terrifying hornet now occupying Eunha’s doorstep, parted ways with the ‘rabbit girl’ and headed home.

…….

…….

Bzzzt!

She walked down the dark hallway. Under the baby monster’s sharp glare, she reached the end of the 9th floor.

At the hallway’s end, where a familiar ‘clay doll’ stood, Ban Harin opened the door to [Unit 906].

Eunha’s next-door neighbor.

Click.

With a strangely light heart, she stepped inside. A bedroom with a familiar atmosphere welcomed her.

“……Huu.”

Her studio apartment.

Ban Harin, removing her shoes, glanced back. Beyond the ‘closet’ she had entered through… lay the hallway of ‘Morning Star Apartments’, where she’d just been drinking with the rabbit.

‘Who knew my bedroom closet connected to the apartment… Is this the power of monsters?’

What had she become? Still, no regrets.

Creak…

She closed the ‘closet’ door.

Then, from her desk drawer, she took out a lock labeled ‘For Eunha-nim’, secured the ‘closet’, and stepped into the living room.

Through the window, the distant ‘Morning Star Apartments’. She’d chosen this place specifically for its view of Eunha’s window.

“…….”

Every light on the ’10th floor’ was on. There was a rule against looking into windows.

Ban Harin turned away quietly, habitually brushing her face.

She was satisfied. If something happened, if she missed Eunha, she now had a shortcut to reach her. For now, this was enough. For now.

“Then… see you tomorrow, Eunha-nim.”

With a faint upturn of her lips, Ban Harin returned to her bedroom. Time to sleep.

Creeeak…

She opened the bedroom door.

A room filled with memories greeted her. Game consoles bought to play with Eunha and Eunbyeol lined the shelves. A double-sized bed, just in case.

“…….”

And the bed’s blanket, bulging as if someone hid beneath it.

“…….”

After silently ‘observing’ these, Ban Harin quietly closed the door and returned to the living room.

Tap! Bang! Bang!!

The moment she shut the door, the ‘something’ hiding under the blanket rushed to pound on it.

“Deep breaths…”

After a long exhale, Ban Harin sat on the living room sofa… and stared at the pitch-black TV screen.

“…….”

Reflected in the screen was her own blank face. Sharp eyes, and a left pupil teeming with tiny, shifting dots. Her usual all-black suit.

“…….”

She touched her bangs. The ‘cross hairpin’ Eunha had given her… was missing.

Saaa…

She recalled [Euncheon Park]. The bathroom monster that had appeared for revenge.

‘Guide to a Safe Hunter Life… Indeed, it’s literal. Eunha-nim isn’t the only Hunter.’

The lying spider.

The price for blocking another monster’s grudge and saving Eunha: Survive without the cross until the ‘Wise Bell’ tolls thrice.

“Good thing it’s easy.”

Fzzzt!

Using her [Observation] skill, Ban Harin picked up the TV remote. Her golden pupils began to ‘observe’ what needed to be seen.

“Though I’ll have to cut back on sleep.”

While others rested, her long night had just begun.

…….

…….

Diiing──

Morning arrived. October 5th. Promotion exam results still pending.

“……Ugh…”

Swooosh…

Eunha, awakened by the dawn bell, forced her heavy eyelids open. Her body felt light.

Cradling her chest—larger than her head—with one hand, she looked around.

Swooosh…

The sound of warm water pouring from the tap. Water overflowed from the bathtub, draining away.

“…….”

Had she fallen asleep bathing?

Naked in the tub, Eunha shifted. Her waist felt weak, maybe from waking mid-sleep.

“…….”

Creak… creak…

Draining the water, she stepped out. Brushing back her dripping hair, she faced the mirror.

“…….”

A beautiful face. Two dots under her left eye. Hair like the night sky, streaked with dawn-colored strands. A black ‘leather choker’ with a yellow tag around her neck.

“…….”

Eunha studied her reflection impassively. Curiously, she touched her face, blinked, and gave her ample chest a light squeeze.

“……Hm.”

Then, a smile practice. Her usual languid smile surfaced, and she nodded.

“…Ban Harin, one point. Kang Nari, one point.”

A meaningful murmur. Speaking to the mirror:

“Rest until the moon rises twice… you amateur.”

Time to pay their respective prices.

‘Eunha’ left the bathroom smiling.

…….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

6. Prolonged bathing may harm your health. – Bathing aids fatigue recovery and blood circulation. – However, baths exceeding 30 minutes should be avoided.

6-1. We have swapped roles. – The mirror, melted by your warmth, reflects only ‘me’. – Now, I covet not your place, but your side.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

…….

Time to pay their respective prices. Another day began.

“…….”

Rrrr…

The sound of a rolling suitcase.

Yang So-ah, limping on one leg and hidden by a wall, peeked at the woman walking toward a café.

“That person…”

The woman walked with a blank expression. D-rank Hunter Eunha.

“……So big.”

What kind of person was she? Was she warm, like Ban Harin?

Fluff…

Quietly, Yang So-ah limped after ‘Eunha’.