Chapter 262 – First Day at Work (6)

Somehow the first day of work is over, and it’s time to go home.

“Everyone worked hard today too.”

“Good work, sisters!”

“Yeah, good job.”

After exploring the dungeon, we came out and had a brief talk before parting ways in front of the company building.

“Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Yuri, and senior Chun Ji-hee. Hyeeun and Minah also suffered.”

“Ah, what a hardship! Seong Tae-kyung, who first came in today, suffered the most, dude!”

“Okay. Thanks to Taekyung, Jihee, Yuri, and Minah’s burdens were alleviated.”

“Huh. Taekyung too… No, thanks to Seongcheol, I was able to use magic for a longer time without exhausting my magic power.”

Hye-eun’s eyes narrowed at the sight of Cha Yoo-ri changing her title from Goo Tae-yeo Tae-kyung to Seong-cheol.

“… Mr. Yuri?”

“Have you been off work? What are you going to say about calling Seongcheol outside?”

“… It is.”

“Can’t we both stop soon? If I’m just going to continue fighting with the conclusion that I’m already in the middle of the day…”

“Huh? Oh no! I didn’t fight with Yuri!”

“… Yes. Well, it was just a normal conversation…”

As soon as I said something, they immediately looked at each other and made excuses.

Apparently, if I didn’t step out myself, this atmosphere would continue for a while.

I guess I’ll have to do something soon…

“… Hmm.”

Seeing us like this, Cheon Ji-hee sunbaenim also sighed once, probably not liking the situation of the two of us.

With a farewell to the party leader, we moved first.

“I’ll go first, Hye-eun be careful.”

“Ji-hee, are you going?”

“… A little busy.”

“Do you know the date for the next group hunt?”

“Huh. I know.”

“Goodbye, unnie Jihee!”

She coolly waved her palms back and disappeared among the crowd of people leaving work.

While we were walking quietly in front of the company and having a conversation, this time Cha Yu-ri took a step in the opposite direction from us.

“I’ll leave here too.”

“Please enter carefully, Mr. Cha Yu-ri.”

“See you next time, Unnie Yuri!”

“Yeah, you guys too.”

The remaining members of the Azure Shield returned to three, just like when they went to work in the morning.

We went to the same school in the same neighborhood, so the direction we went home was bound to be the same.

On the way home from work, which would last a little longer, we continued the conversation we couldn’t finish.

“Come to think of it, there’s actually something I’ve been curious about since before.”

“Huh? What?”

“Is it about the Azure Shield?”

“Because I was curious about the company as a whole rather than the Azure Shield.”

“Yes?”

I asked the two people who tilted their heads toward me with expressions wondering what I would say about the questions I had felt since entering the company today.

“This is the Gangdong-gu branch of Eun and Ok Co., Ltd.”

“Yeah, it is.”

“Why?”

“For some reason, I don’t think I’ve seen a single person besides you today, maybe it’s just my mood.”

“Can’t you see who?”

“Who are they, our Hunter Professional High School alumni?”

“…”

“…”

Upon hearing my last words, the two of them immediately shut up.

I, who did not expect such a reaction, had no choice but to show a bewildered reaction.

“Why suddenly? Did I say something wrong?”

“Uh, huh?! No! There is no such thing!”

“Well… ? Perhaps you are promoting in a different area, or maybe Taekyung retired before you started promoting in earnest… ?”

“Not just one or two, but all of them? And it seems that the timing is a bit early for retirement…”

“Woah, the lifespan of a hunter is really short! Hyeeun and I are only in our 3rd year this year, but we are treated as middle-aged! The seniors who have been active for over 10 years are out of the question in the first place!”

“Hmm… Is it?”

“Dah, it’s not particularly important, Tae-kyung, right? It’s not like I want to see those kids then… ?”

“Of course not.”

In many ways, I don’t think I want to see the girls who covered my school days with bad memories again.

Still, I was wondering if I would run into one or two people as I was active in the branch near my house, but it was a little unexpected that I couldn’t find any alumni of the same grade other than Hye-eun and Min-ah.

Maybe everyone’s face has changed from when they were in school, so you don’t recognize them.

If three years is short, it’s a short time, but conversely, if it’s long, it’s a long time.

In any case, it was good news for me that I would never have to meet my high school classmates again, so I felt like I didn’t have to mention the subject.

“Me, I’m splitting from this side! I’ll go first, guys! Hyeeun Bye! Taekyung Bye!”

“Mina bye!”

“Look ahead and walk, dangerously.”

As if in a bit of a hurry, I said goodbye to Minah, who had parted at the crossroads, and in the end, Hyeeun and I looked like we were leaving work side by side.

It was a natural story since the house was next door.

“…”

“…”

Unlike the morning when I went to work energetically, the atmosphere on my way home from work in the evening was somehow awkward.

… There was something I wanted to say clearly when I entered the Azure Shield, but it was hard to say anything when the atmosphere was right.

Glancing at her eyes and examining Hye-eun’s expression, it seemed that she also had something to say to me.

While I was contemplating whether I should speak first, the two of them opened their mouths almost simultaneously.

“Tae Kyung.”

“Hye Eun-ah.”

“Ah… Womb. Taekyung, you say it first…”

“… No, Hyeeun, you say it first. Because I want to tell you later.”

“Yes…”

My childhood friend, who hesitated for a moment and answered timidly at my consideration, quietly avoided my gaze and let out a slightly trembling voice.

“Actually I… Taekyung has something to confess to you.”

“… Should I confess?”

“Huh…”

She quietly opened her lips, which seemed to never come off, and began to confess to me in a slightly sad voice.

“I’m sorry, Tae Kyung.”

“… Are you sorry?”

“Me, actually. Taekyung said you could awaken… I hadn’t even thought about it for quite some time…”

“… Since when?”

“… I guess it’s from when I realized that men can’t become Awoken. Probably around middle school.”

Since middle school

Come to think of it, it was around the time she was in her third year of middle school that she realized that Hyeeun didn’t trust me.

Rather, because I came to know that fact, my goal became even more obsessed with male hunters.

It may seem like a strange story that a guy who is going through a second life changes his course with just a word, but at that time I was really focused in many ways.

At that time, no one around me knew that I was dreaming of becoming a hunter, but no one expected or believed that I would become that way.

None of the teachers at school, Eunyoung noona, Minah or other friends had any expectations of me becoming a hunter.

In the meantime, Hye-eun, who I thought was the only one who believed in me, was really special to me, and for that reason, I felt her sense of betrayal even greater.

As a result, it seems to have been the cause of pushing myself to overcome her distrust.

As a result, he has now become a decent B-class hunter and has become skilled enough to wield a sword next to Hye-eun.

It seemed that she had long harbored a sense of guilt for not thinking I would ever become an Awoken.

“Taekyung doesn’t believe in his dreams… Ah, pretending to trust me in front of me, trembling with hypocrisy… Heeup, Tae, I don’t want to be hated by Taekyung, so I’m just saying that it’s really good, cow, and hehe…”

“Hye Eun-ah.”

“I-I was able to become such a great Hunter… ! Hehe, I, I, trash… Uhhhhh…”

Hye-eun, standing in the middle of the street without apologizing and crying loudly, drew the attention of several people around her.

Thinking that the first step is to stop my childhood friend from crying, I blocked her crying lips with my lips.

“Huh… Hmm.”

My face overlapped with Hye-eun, who had been crying with sad tears, and she, who had been crying like a child, hid and slowly calmed down her emotions.

A deep yet shallow kiss, sharing breath but not exchanging saliva.

After sharing such a half-hearted kiss for a few seconds, the feelings of Hye-eun, who had been blessed with her, began to subside to some extent.

“Are you calm?”

“… Yes.”

Embarrassed that she had kissed her in the middle of the street, the childhood friend blushed and nodded her head silently.

I wiped her tears off Hyeeun’s cheeks with her hand, wiped her turn, and met her eyes.

“… Actually, I knew.”

“Uh?”

“Hye-eun thought that I couldn’t wake up as a hunter since you were in middle school, and I’ve known for quite some time.”

“… Really?”

Hyeeun’s eyes widened as if she hadn’t expected the answer to come out of my mouth.

“At that time, I also felt betrayed by Hye-eun, but as time passed, that kind of thing became dull.”

“…”

“And just because she said Hye-eun didn’t trust you a little bit, it didn’t mean that all the feelings she had from you and Eun-yeong noona were all lies.”

In fact, at that time, the person who doubted me the most was not anyone else, but myself, so it may be that I longed for the trust of others who could believe in my own goals.

The saying that a man is a child no matter how old he gets was just right. If you put it into my second life, it was just right.

And even though Hye-eun once didn’t believe in my dream, she felt more deeply grateful to her now in a different way.

“Whether Hyeeun believed in my dream or not, the important thing is that you were by my side when I needed you the most.”

“Taekyung-ah…”

“That’s enough. So don’t feel sorry for me with this anymore.”

“Yes…”

“Thank you for waiting until I wake up, Hyeeun. I wanted to say this.”

“Me too, thank you too, Taekyung… Ugh…”

On a residential street where people were a little less crowded, Hyeeun and I kissed one more time quietly.

This time, it was a slightly deeper kiss.