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mykidisthebest) wrote2023-06-18 12:49 pm
canon memories
"Yoohyun, I wanted to ask. What's that red, cat-like monster over there?"
At my words, my little brother looked towards the greenhouse where the monster was eying us with suspicion.
“It’s a baby Horned Flame Lion. It’s your first time hearing about one, right? We took it out of an S-Rank dungeon that we cleared two months ago. I was hoping to use it as a mount, but...it hasn't grown at all."
As soon as he said that I couldn't help but think it was obvious. Of course it wouldn’t grow. Even if it was a magic beast, it couldn’t grow without the help of a parent.
“The beast tamer we have on staff said that they think it can only grow under special conditions. There’s no way to know what the conditions are, and it’s useless like this, so I’m planning on getting rid of it.”
“Get rid of it? Are you going to put it up for auction?”
“No. I have to kill it. I can't just let some other Guild get their hands on it in case they have someone who can raise it."
Wait, wait, wait, that was too cold-hearted. Even though it was a monster, after raising it for two months wouldn't you feel some kind of affection for it? I thought it was pretty cute too. And I knew I could train it; my skill said I could.
I protested. “It’s a waste to kill it, so can’t I raise it instead? Even as a baby monster it's stronger than me. I can have it protect me in an emergency when Yerim is in school and you aren't around."
“It’ll be too hard for you to raise."
Yoohyun was unconvinced, but I kept pestering him until he agreed to let me try and calm it down. The little guy had resumed jumping all over the greenhouse while we were talking, but stopped leaping around as soon as we entered; it really was super cute when it was docile.
"Does it have a name?" I asked Yoohyun while I crouched down and tried to coax it over.
"No."
You didn't even name it? You heartless guy.
"You're a good little monster, aren't you, kiddo? Why don't you come over here?"
My gaze flickered to the stat window that I saw pop up as it approached and closed out of it as soon as I confirmed it had fire resistance. There'd be time to read the rest later. The little Horned Lion opened its mouth slightly and gave an adorable little meow. It flopped down on the ground after rubbing its cheek on my hand. Ahhhhh, what is this cutie pie!! It waved its chubby little feet at me and purred; its tail wagged happily like a dog's, and it's fur was crazy soft. It's warm, cute, and well-behaved!
"How could you think of killing such a cute little guy..." I gave Yoohyun a disapproving look as I scooped up the Horned Lion. My brother was looking at my strangely.
"It didn't act this cute for me."
"Even though you fed it for two months?"
"Yeah. No one else got it to behave this much."
Maybe if you didn't threaten to kill it, it would like you a little more, Yoohyun. I looked down at the little Horned Flame Lion purring in my arms.
"From now on your name is Peace."
The world could use a little more love and peace in it.
Longing ✓
One moment I was sitting comfortably on my cold metal chair in the middle of the interrogation room. Then, in an instant, too fast for me to see, a hand grabbed my collar and pulled me forward. Suddenly I found myself dragged halfway on top of the table. The chair I had been sitting on skittered out from under me. I blinked up at Song Taewon's stoic, imposing face.
“What is it that you want?” he asked.
“World peace?” The glint in his eyes seemed to say he'd choke me to death if I kept spouting nonsense, so I opted for being more truthful. “I have plenty of things I want, but they’re all things that can't be obtained.”
“Exactly how great of a greed do you have that you cannot attain them even with your position?”
“They’re pretty small things, though.”
“Then please tell me what they are.” His tone didn't leave room for argument.
“...Like I said. There’s a variety of things. But what I want recently is for Yoohyun to go to school normally. For him to make friends and try dating. Maybe sometimes he could drink too much and stumble home late. Even though he’s at the age where he would normally be doing stuff like that, he's never had the chance to have stupid drunken antics."
The day when I would go ‘Why did you drink so much?!’ and slap his back probably wouldn’t ever come.
Song Taewon’s expression, which had been chilly the entire time, crumbled slightly.
“That is......”
“It's not much, really. But who could grant me that?”
The world would have to change again, so wouldn't they have to be something like a god to give me what I wanted? It really wasn't much to wish for. I only wanted things that would all naturally occur just by living diligently in a normal world. So, it was out of reach.
Indulgence ✓
With the exception of Peace all of the kids had jumped into the pool and were splashing around. Except one more.
"Yoohyun, aren't you going to go in the water?" I asked my brother. He was just standing next to me. Why was he just watching?
"I don't know how to swim."
"Really? I thought you could. You were floating fine in the ocean."
"That's because floating is easy."
That made sense; I also learned how to float first. I stepped into the pool and waded out until I was waist-deep before holding out my hands to him.
"If you know how to float, you'll learn fast. Come on in. I'll hold your hands."
"Okay, thanks." Yoohyun entered the water, smiling brightly. Before he could take my hands, though Yerim swam over and jumped between us.
"Ahjussi, don't be fooled! As if S-Class Hunters can't swim."
Even Moon Hyuna gave her opinion. "She's right, you know. Forget S-Classes, even someone with B-Class stats could be thrown into the water and figure out how to swim in three minutes or less. The young master is just acting spoiled in front of you."
"Exactly! So stop being coy and come play with me!" Yerim splashed at Yoohyun, trying to antagonize him into fighting her, but he didn't so much as blink.
It was true that as an S-Class there was nothing he could possibly fail at, but there was also no reason to feel bad for not knowing how to swim.
"It's still faster to ask and learn rather than have to figure it out on your own." I held out my hand to Yoohyun once more.
Chwaaaaaak, the water swirled around me and I was yanked back before I could react. The water wrapped around me drew me all the way to the other end of the pool, and then shifted into a chair-like form. If it was ordinary water, I'd have fallen right through, but Yerim had somehow adjusted it to hold up my weight instead. It felt a bit like a floatie filled with water.
"Park Yerim!" Yoohyun yelled at her. She stood on the water in front of me and laughed triumphantly.
"You're lying about not being able to swim, aren't you? Even if you deny it, it doesn't matter. You'll have to swim to get ahjussi back!"
"Don't fight in the pool!" I tried to say, but they were already going at it, with fire and water flying everywhere.
...As long as they had a nice pool day, it was probably fine every once in a while.
Shock/Surprise (Club Soda)
Being kidnapped really wasn't so bad. Sure, I couldn't leave my hotel room without an escort, but we did have the whole hotel to ourselves. The only other people there besides the staff was Mr. Sketchy Slaver and his distinguished and equally sketchy guests. None of them bothered me at all so long as I kept quiet and didn't make a fuss. And the view of the bay was fantastic! I didn't actually know which bay it was; Hong Kong had so many that it was hard to know just by looking out a window. But the sky was mostly clear and the ocean was sparkling blue and that was all that mattered. I could never afford to stay in a fancy place like this on my own. Maybe I should get kidnapped more often.
I kept thinking that until the next morning, after I had slept well in a comfortable and very expensive hotel room that was locked from the outside, and a guest came to find me. I opened my room door to a stupidly handsome, familiar face that I didn’t know I would be seeing so soon.
“...Why are you here?”
“I’m a guest staying here,” Sung Hyunjae said without an ounce of shame. What was he talking about, what the heck. His self-satisfied smile seemed to say 'I came to buy you, aren't you happy?'
I closed the door in his face.
Comfort (Milk)
For a moment I couldn't move, couldn't think, could barely breathe. My world had narrowed to this plain concrete room, to the intricate sprawl of glowing runes on the floor and the unconscious person that lay bound there.
"One of my skills is mentality-related," I said with a strange, casual sort of calm that I didn't feel.
"Pardon?" I couldn't remember the man's name until my brain kicked itself back on. Mindiba. I wouldn't need to remember it for long.
"It's a pretty simple skill. It just calms down the target, but it even works on SS-Ranks. It's the only reason I was able to make it all the way here without the monsters outside giving me trouble."
I looked over at Mindiba to see the shock on his face, the hungry look in his eye when he realized that he could use me to control any of his guards if they stepped out of line. I wanted to punch that stunned face of his. Putting a knife clean through his throat wouldn't be hard; it was difficult to suppress the urge. I needed to contain it, though, so I did.
"I think I can be of help; if it's alright, could I try using my skill on Alpha?"
"Uh, right now, you mean?"
"Yes. If I prove it works, the terms of my contract should change considerably."
I smiled. That bastard smiled, too.
"He's currently being drugged, so he won't be able to go wild, but it could still be dangerous," Mindiba told me like he was concerned for my safety.
"If I was that scared of a little risk I wouldn't have been able to come all the way here alone."
While he nodded in agreement with my words that jerk said he'd have preparations made right away. I didn't know how much time passed, but it couldn't have been long; soon there were more people in the room, opening up the controls for the contraption they'd set up. I took note of the two S-Rank guards that were mixed in with the staff. I would need to remember them later.
"I'll turn off the mana absorber. Stand by, please."
After they did some complicated manipulations of the controls that I couldn't follow, the light coming from the markings on the floor faded. The moment the markings went fully dark I tried to approach Alpha. At the same time his weak, limp form squirmed. He started twisting his whole body violently, doing anything he could to get free of his restraints.
"It's okay!" I shouted quickly.
In the same instant, Alpha's--no, Yoohyun's--movements came to a stop. I heard people murmuring 'It really worked!' admiringly. I hurried to Yoohyun and dropped down, my knees hitting the floor hard.
"...It's okay."
My hands were steady as I helped his weakly trembling body sit up; the sound of his agitated, uneven breaths was loud in my ears. I undid his blindfold, careful not to startle him at the sudden touch. His eyes opened and unfamiliar scarlet irises looked back at me. In an instant his drug-hazed eyes grew moist.
I stretched out my arms. And I pulled my baby brother into a hug.
Irritation (Fruit)
I was still stuck and unable to slip away, but Song Taewon came to visit us in the rooftop garden at lunchtime. There was a little cage in his hand where the Jeweled Snake was curled up; he offered it to me solemnly.
"Hunter Riette asked that I leave it with you, □□□ □□□□□□. The Haeyeon Guild Leader agreed."
At the mention of Haeyeon's Guild Leader I pestered him about where my brother was and what he was doing, but he was too tight-lipped and wouldn't say anything. Tch. I changed tactics.
"Would you like to save me?" I asked him.
"Sorry?" It was the exact kind of thing that would throw him off. I shot him a desperate look while he started at me with an expression that said 'what are you talking about.'
“I'm imprisoned right now, and they won't let me go home. Since this is illegal, please get me out, Chief Song.”
Two S-class Hunters were working together to trap a weak F-class Hunter. Even my cell phone had been confiscated. Surely this was a crime. At my words, Song Taewon looked at the snacks and refreshments on the table.
“...You seem to be doing fine, though. And I believe you need a bit of oppressive protection.”
“I can't go outside, watch television, or even make phone calls. How is this just 'a bit'? It's excessive. Besides, I have to stay with Sung Hyunjae all day long. If it was you, Chief Song, would you survive that?”
All day long with that man, for multiple days. A faintly troubled look came over Song Taewon's face. His gaze shifted to Sung Hyunjae, who was watching us with a faint smile. Sung Hyunjae clasped his hands together lightly and spoke.
"If you want to rescue the princess, I'd be happy to prepare a tall tower and a dragon for you. Oh, and he prefers dungeons and shackles to be involved in a rescue like this."
"I don't have any preference for those." I was a little concerned about where Sung Hyunjae thought he was going to get a dungeon, though. Or did he really already have one? Please spend your money on something more reasonable.
Song Taewon looked back at me after some consideration.
"Has the Seseong Guild Leader forced you to do anything unreasonable?"
"...Actually, he's treated me very well," I was very, very, very, very grudgingly forced to admit.
"Then in that case, please bear with it."
Tch. Song Taewon left without saving me.
Hurt/Pain
We both stood in the spacious courtyard of the Hunter's Association building and watched Song Taewon give Songie his exercise. As I had thought, Chief Song had endless patience for the energetic lamb.
"Sung Hyunjae." He inclined his head towards me to show he was listening. "Chainling. It's the little pink fairy dragon I have."
"You mean my child."
"...No, don't say weird things like that. Anyways, he asked for me to give him a name. So please recommend one name only. For reference."
"A name." The words came out of his mouth slow and hesitant. What. Surprisingly, did he have no talent for naming things?
"...Should the name be related to 'dragon' or 'pink'?"
OMG.
"Well, that's it. Your response was no different from mine. You can keep your recommendations to yourself."
It seemed to me like Yerim's naming sense was excellent and mine was average. I gave myself a mental pat on the back for being average at naming things after all.
But Sung Hyunjae wasn't finished just yet.
"Since it's also your child I'm trying to think of what you would name it."
"...Me?"
"Something like Pinkie or Cherry."
Had he been looking into my head? He came up with the exact same names I had suggested yesterday. I stepped sideways, away from him.
"I never came up with a name like that!"
"Didn't you just say that our naming sense was similar?"
This guy was clearly useless. I stepped further away from him and headed towards Song Taewon. At that moment, Songie was being cradled in his arms, wiggling around and trying to jump into the pool. Songie, if you jump in there then your wool will clog the drains and your dad will have more work to do.
"Chief Song! You can help me inst--"
BANG!
In the exact same moment that I heard a loud noise, a great pain erupted on my left shoulder. Even though I'd left him at the edge of the courtyard, Sung Hyunjae was at my side and caught me as the force of whatever had hit me propelled me forward. He grabbed the wrist that had Grace on it and activated it with a strong pulse of mana. I felt something else hit my right shoulder and bounce off.
Sung Hyunjae's eyes went straight to a building behind us. "Sniper."
Song Taewon put Songie down and immediately leapt up to the wall and disappeared from view. Sniper? What? I looked at my left shoulder and saw that it was a bloody mess. My brain was trying to make sense of what had just happened. In broad daylight. In the courtyard of the Hunter's Association building. With two S-Classes--
"There were two S-Classes right here. You were right here."
"Well, it doesn't seem like they were trying to kill you." Sung Hyunjae pulled out a potion from his inventory and, after waiting for my nod, poured it on the injury. "It seems like someone was trying to play a bad joke."
"...What a bad sense of humor."
Conflict/Destruction
Sung Hyunjae spread his hands slightly. Then he folded one arm in and bowed his head, like a perfect gentleman. Dressed up like he was, in a pristine white suit, it looked like a scene from a classic old movie.
"How could a mere S-class like me dare to harm you, □□□ □□□□□□?"
I watched him, still somewhat wary. "...Aren't you tired of acting like this with me by now?"
"I can't help it. Playing around like this with you always feels refreshing."
With an unexpectedly bright smile, Sung Hyunjae raised his head and took a few steps backwards.
"Your skill cooldown. You should still have another day left before it's finished, right?"
"You're right. I must've seen it wrong," I shamelessly said in reply.
He started for a moment at my answering carelessly; he was uselessly perceptive, so he probably realized I had something else up my sleeve if I needed it. Han Yoohyun's presence right at my shoulder was too obvious to ignore. Then, the corners of his lips rose.
"I've never really bowed down to anyone else before."
"This has been a nice and novel experience for you, then. Besides, if you change your mind and decide you aren't interested in playing nicely, won't you just wring my neck right away?"
I knew I was still walking on a tightrope with him. It was just that I'd managed to make it a little further along the line; I could fall off at any time.
"Even so. Right now I need to relieve some stress since I've done something that doesn't suit me."
Before I could tell him to hold on to that thought for just a second, feeling a sudden, overwhelming sense of foreboding--
Kwagwagwang!!
There was a terrible explosion from the bottom of the ship. I knew because I was still connected to Sung Hyunjae through the Teacher skill. This smug asshole had picked up some bits of the mana-flow electrolysis ability before I passed out earlier. The cruise ship shook like a tiny sailboat in a storm. I felt relieved that I had made everyone evacuate already. For a moment I was so indignant I could barely speak. But somebody needed to chew him out at least a little.
"How many birthday presents did you get?! You'll get none next year!"
"It didn't even work properly. I'll need to practice a lot more to get it right next time."
"Why is there a next time?!"
It was true that the power behind the explosion was weaker than it was supposed to be. But, you know, it was still enough to sink a cruise ship! A series of explosions began engulfing the hull in flames. The deck cracked wide open. Fear resistance didn't activate once, so I wasn't worried, but I felt a twinge of regret for all of the poor people who had put together this massive party on this massive ship.
Han Yoohyun tugged on my arm. "Hyung, we have to get away. The explosive power is manageable to deal with, but it won't be good if we're swept away in the blast."
"Ah, okay."
"Ahjussi!" A familiar voice came from overhead and I looked up in alarm. It was Yerim, casually sitting on her ice spear about fifty feet above us.
"I told you to evacuate with the others!"
"I figured it would be alright if I was in the air in advance. I was really high up. Hey, Han Yoohyun! I'll catch you."
"No need." With barely a glance at Yerim, Yoohyun activated Azure Willow Leaves, wrapped an arm around me, and leapt up into the air. Sung Hyunjae also activated some kind of single-use item to float himself leisurely up into the air. Those kind of items were really expensive, but he had a lot of money.
...Enough money to destroy a cruise ship in a fit of anger. I was so sorry I thought I might cry. Before I could scold him more about his poor impulse control, a mass of hot air rushed upwards. It was a whirlwind that caught the four of us up in a flash.
When I came to my senses all I could see was black water all around us. Even though there were three S-Classes in the party, they'd all had a hard time dealing with the gusts from the explosion. Thanks to that we'd been pushed out into the ocean.
It was impossible to tell left from right in the middle of the sea, and of course our phones had died when a certain Mister Sung's electricity had run wild. In the end we had no choice but to look up at the stars and use them as rough directions for heading towards land. Sung Hyunjae didn't have any flight skills, Han Yoohyun's Azure Willow Leaves consumed too much mana, and of course I had nothing. So we passed all of our mana potions over to Yerim along with a rope, and let her tow us towards land.
"I'm so tired. Hey, Mister Sung, did you have to make such a fuss?"
"It was the perfect environment to test out the birthday present you gave to me."
Mister Sung, whose name I didn't want to think or say out loud, spoke with a shameless expression. We should've left him in the middle of the sea.
Greed/Love
“It does seem like Liette holds Noah-ssi near and dear. I suppose there are cases where one’s expectations rise, the more precious they hold someone.”
“Why not–there’re those parents that go to the extreme when it comes to studies, after all, right. The ones that’re like, if it’s our kid, then they should be able to achieve this much as a minimum.”
Yerimie said, nodding her head. And if the parent possessed exceptional ability themself, much like Liette, then the backlash probably would’ve been even worse, huh. Since, even if the child were to simply turn out to be ‘ordinary’, they would still feel as though they’d fallen short regardless. The child should only be judged by their own ‘standards’, but such a thing wouldn’t be easy. People ultimately tended to gravitate towards their own standards, even subconsciously, and parents were people before they were parents, first and foremost.
Additionally, being the adult, it fell to the person who was acting as the guardian to put forth a greater amount of effort, as the adult. Sometimes ignorance was inevitable, and you could make mistakes, but a wrong was a wrong. And even if Noah-ssi were to bounce back completely, it still remained that Liette needed to change.
“Yerim-ah, you, and Yoohyunie too–sometimes I worry because you’re too well-behaved. Whether you might just be going along with what I want, even though you’re opposed to it.”
“Isn’t it the opposite, though? Ahjussi is way too accepting when it comes to Han Yoohy–Guild Leader-nim, I mean.”
“Ehh, if I’d actually given into everything Yoohyunie wanted, I…….”
Probably wouldn’t be here now, huh. Hmm. Well, since Yoohyunie was a special case. The reason he’d lived this far, like a human, was because of me, after all; and the reason he was living now, was owing to me as well. So shouldn’t it only follow, then, that I should concede to my dongsaeng.
Since Yoohyunie had given me everything first. To the point that he’d even balked at it, without leaving any piece of himself behind, all of him.
…thinking about it from that perspective, if he really couldn’t bear it, I could probably easily part with a measly arm, if it came to it.
“Yerim-ah, I hope you’ll always put yourself first. First place should always be reserved for ‘Bak Yerim’.”
“I will, of course.”
Yerimie was quiet for a moment, before continuing.
“Since I’d been the last one left. If I stopped existing, then the people I hold precious would disappear with me as well, I was told. But that, so long as I remembered them, they wouldn’t fade away.”
“…who told you that?”
“My sunsaeng-nim. While I was an elementary schooler.”
“…they were a good person, huh. Let’s have a hug, shall we.”
“Here, ahjussi.”
Yerimie threw her arms open wide. Hugging me back, she clung on tightly. Gyeolie had also latched onto my neck. Though the Hunters around us threw odd looks in our direction, what did I care. For Yerimie, as well as Yoohyunie. I really needed to make sure I’d be able to live on for a long while yet.
Chaos
As Peace appeared, rubbing up against my ankles, Yoohyunie touched down on the scorched patch of blackened earth.
“Is it fine to kill him now?”
“Not while in front of Section Chief Song-nim.”
Huanglim, who had retreated to a position far away, let out a soundless laugh in my direction. Since there was no way he was actually here to just sell cigarettes. Just what was that bastard really up to.
“…let’s go check out the monster instead for now. Section Chief Song-nim, would you like to accompany us as well?”
“I will opt to remain stationed here, at this juncture.”
There were several Hunters still milling about, true–and more importantly, Sung Hyunjae for him to still consider. Peace grew to his full size. Yoohyunie settled in behind me on his back, and Yerimie floated up to hover alongside us as well.
“It’s huge.”
About a hundred meters from shore, the rounded form of a monster could be seen looming above the sea’s surface. It appeared to be a turtle-esque type, after all, and the exposed portion of the monster resembled a massive shell. Glinting tarnished gold below the rays of the setting sun, it certainly looked to be a formidable foe.
“Are all of you ready!”
Moon Hyuna roared, having been the first one to arrive on the beach. A stopwatch was held in her hand. As an S-rank Hunter who was sitting out of the raid attempts, she had been asked to help track the run times for the event.
The first team, a raid team comprising two S-rank Hunters and five A-rank Hunters, all took hold of their respective weapons.
“Without using your Skills yet, line up at the start line! And–go!”
쿵! As Moon Hyuna slammed the end of her spear into the ground, the raid party surged forward towards the monster. Instead of using a flying Skill–촤아악, disk-like constructs floated up above the water’s surface. As they quickly hopped across on the path of disks, the supports began to cast all of their Skills as well. Yoohyunie opened the lid of the lunchbox he had brought over.
“I’ll warm it up for you.”
“Me too, Han Yoohyun, do mine too. I’ll trade you ice for drinks, yeah?”
“No. It’s cold out.”
“Even if it’s chilly, sodas definitely need ice.”
“Hyung can have milk.”
But, I’d wanted something carbonated too……. Just then, the S-rank Hunter who’d managed to reach the monster first, swung their hammer in a powerful arc. The battle hammer, cloaked in a Skill, slammed into the shell of the monster and–
텅!
“Ugh!I”
The Hunter was sent flying high, alongside their hammer. Hmm, significant resilience properties. Most likely a Skill. Tricky, very tricky.
Freedom
We headed out to a clearing that appeared to have been a garden at one point. Then, with a slight apologetic bow towards Section Chief Song-nim.
“Holy shit, ahjussi.”
“…Han Yoojin-ssi.”
I brought the fighter plane out of the Drawer. Section Chief Song-nim let out a heavy sigh he’d been unable to suppress.
“That’s, it’s not anything expensive. It’s an old model, that fell off a looong time ago. It doesn’t even have any firepower capabilities. It’s only for flying! It’s just that, when I happened to ask the Seseung Guild Leader in passing, he’d mentioned he could pilot a fighter plane, so I thought maybe it might end up coming in handy. Since a helicopter would be too slow, and an airliner would be too big. It’s just a very speedy light aircraft, essentially.”
“……”
“…ahjussi, you should be nice to the Guild Leader, I’m guessing.”
“Uh, yeah. I’ll pay my due respects. I’ll give him a New Year’s card, and send him a gift on Seollal(3) too.”
I’d even written a Christmas card, too. I should be thankful to him for a number of things, I supposed. Section Chief Song–nim eventually pressed a hand to his forehead.
“Please make certain, to return it after the fact.”
“Yes, of course. But it’s perfect for the occasion, isn’t it. As long as we can operate it.”
Even an S-rank Hunter would be hard-pressed to overtake a fighter plane. On top of its smaller stature, it had an edge in speed. If only we could safely fly it, it was game over.
“To start, I have received fundamental instruction regarding operation.”
“I’m familiar with the basic controls, too.”
At Section Chief Song-nim’s and Samīr’s admissions, Yoohyunie looked towards the fighter pilot’s cockpit with a slightly anxious gaze. There was just enough room to barely squeeze in two people. Would riding in it while being held in my cat form work?
“However, I will need to depart the country through as formal a procedure as possible.”
“…I cannot send hyung away alone with someone I cannot trust.”
“Haeyeon’s Guild Leader-nim’s uptight, huh. Then, you wanna learn?”
Samīr asked Yoohyunie, giving a casual flick to the fighter plane’s wingtip.
“You piloted any planes before?”
“Only a helicopter, a bit.”
“So you’re not a complete novice. Since you’re only navigating, as an S-rank, you just need to be able to pick up the basics. As long as you manage to take off, all you’ll need in order to land is to avoid anywhere that might be populated.”
What an irresponsible demeanor. But he was right. Even if we crashed in an inconvenient spot, all we’d have to show for it would probably be just a spot of bruising.
“Only, if you’re heading towards Europe, there’s a chance that you’ll end up being shot down. Since it’s a fighter pilot of unknown origins–you might be better off flying it directly into the ocean.”
“That won’t be a concern, so long as I send word ahead.”
Noah spoke up. He looked between me and Yoohyunie.
“You should head straight to France, while avoiding other countries as much as possible. Please land in an unpopulated spot, if you can.”
“Will that be alright?”
“I am still a French Hunter, too, after all. As that region in particular is one that noonim holds significant influence over, they should be willing to overlook that much. And it’s a way of ending the terrorism that’s currently ongoing, as well.”
Noah-ssi felt immensely dependable, just then. A local’s connections were the best, all told.
“Then, Han Yoojin-ssi, along with Hunter Han Yoohyun, please head towards France. Since, once the fact Han Yoojin-ssi’s left Africa has spread, we should be able to leave the continent without incident as well.”
“Haeyeon’s Guild Leader-nim, come look at this.”
Section Chief Song-nim and Samīr began walking Yoohyunie through how to pilot the fighter plane. Since my dongsaeng was bright, he should pick it up in no time.
Gyeolie, who had managed to squeeze his way out of Yerimie’s arms, took a santa hat out of his inventory. Then, he brought out the cards that had been neatly decorated with ribbons.
- Gyeolie made these Christmas cards with appa.
As the card was proffered to her, Yerimie regarded Gyeolie with a deeply moved expression.
“Though auntie wasn’t able to prepare anything! Thanks, Gyeol-ah! When we get home, I’ll buy Gyeolie whatever you want!”
- No, that’s okay. Thanks for liking Gyeolie, auntie.
Taking the card, Yerimie read through its contents. With a supremely delighted light in her eye, she put the card away into her inventory before turning her head to look towards me.
“Ahjussi, thank you. Merry Christmas!”
“Mhn, merry Christmas to you too.”
- Here, uncle. I made this with appa.
A card was delivered to Yoohyunie as well. Telling Gyeolie thank you, Yoohyunie scanned the contents before carefully tucking it away into his inventory, as expected.
“Thanks, hyung. I love you too.”
“Sorry I wasn’t able to give you a proper gift. It’s not that I hadn’t prepared one, but just that it’s running late.”
“No, it’s alright. This much is plenty.”
“Hey, Han Yoohyun! My present to you is time together with ahjussi. Go to France, and spend your birthday with ahjussi. We’ll buy you time back here. How’s ‘bout it?”
“That’s alright with me. If you’d like a day or two extra, that would be fine as well. Thanks, Gyeol-ah.”
Receiving a card, Noah nodded his head. But, still…….
“For us to be the only ones resting comfortably, it’s…….”
“It only comes around once a year, right. And the situation right now, isn’t so bad. To be honest, it’s a bit, well, a lot of fun!”
Yerimie said, taking the hatchet out of her inventory.
“Since we can’t use our Skills for the most part, it’s been a good opportunity to build close-quarters combat experience. I’d been relying too much on my Skills, as a matter of fact.”
“Your Skills are part of your intrinsic strength too, Yerim-ah. But, what’s with the hatchet?”
“Some princess-nim had a lo~t to say about this lowly peasant’s ‘inability to synchronize’, y’see.”
“I’m right, though?”
“You were a mess, too.”
“Though that’s true as well.”
“It was also Section Chief Song-nim’s advice, that trying out different types of weapons ourselves would be a good experience. He said that it would increase flexibility in response, for dealing with opponents as well as teammates.”
As Yerimie spoke, her eyes sparkled brightly. They said that kids didn’t stop growing, even when you took your eyes off of them for a second. I felt a bit proud, somehow.
“As expected of Section Chief Song-nim.”
“I’ve been practicing how to coordinate with other Hunters, too. He’s a good teacher.”
Section Chief Song-nim stared off into the far distance for a moment. Ah, so he’d had his work cut out for him. Honestly. Shouldn’t Section Chief Song-nim also be awarded a Teacher Title, or something.
- Mister Songie’s-appa too, merry Christmas!
“Thank you very much.”
- And Peace as well, merry Christmas!
- 끼앙.
Isabella regarded the fairy cat delivering the cards with covetous eyes. Maybe we should’ve made ones for Isabella and Samīr, too. But we could have hardly foreseen that we’d end up moving together like this.
- Appa, there’s still cards left…….
“It’s alright if it runs a bit late. We’ll all meet up again, very soon.”
- Mhn. And Gyeolie will stay here, too. If Gyeolie uses his fairy dragon form, it’ll be easier to lure them away.
“That’s true, but we can stay together too.”
- Nah. Since I got to stay with appa for a long time! A little bit apart is okay. And this one is appa’s card! I made it while appa was asleep.
A card, decorated prettily with stars and hearts, was presented to me.
[ To appa, whom I love, merry Christmas! Thank you for loving Gyeolie. During Christmas, I’m going to wish to Santa Claus that appa will be healthy. And happy. And that we’ll all live together for a very very long time. I love you, appa! ]
The tip of my nose stung. Our kind Gyeolie.
“Thanks, Gyeol-ah. Though appa wasn’t able to prepare a present for Gyeolie.”
- I already got one! Since I got to enjoy time with appa! I was really happy.
I squeezed Gyeolie in a tight embrace.