Translator: Vine
Translated At: Nyx Scans
Chapter: 104
#104. The Monkey King's Proposal
2022.11.12.
Beep, beep, beep...
While Eunha was at the Immortal Guild headquarters, Ayeon was squatting under the shade of a nearby tree, playing a mobile game.
"Ah."
With a short groan, the character on the screen died.
Game Over.
Ayeon, staring blankly at the bright red letters filling the screen, averted her gaze and looked up at the sky vacantly.
'It's urgent. Let's watch the movie next time.'
To think that the urgent matter Unnie mentioned was coming here.
Ayeon turned her head with a dejected face.
The headquarters entrance was visible in the distance.
Near it, a group of people who looked like Immortal Guild members were gathered.
Dressed in doboks, they were wiping their faces or necks with towels hung around their necks, and it felt as if the smell of sweat was wafting all the way here.
Ayeon frowned and looked away.
However.
"Huh?"
One of them from the dobok group spotted Ayeon and strode over.
It was Heo Jaemin, the second-in-command of Immortal, who had just returned from a nearby training ground.
As if to prove he was an Immortal Guild member, his massive build completely obscured Ayeon's vision.
"What brings you here? You said you wouldn't even set foot in a place reeking of sweat."
Unlike Jaemin, who approached with a pleased face, Ayeon's face hardened.
"..."
Ayeon, without any reply, sharply turned her head away.
Complete disregard.
The two had grown up in the same orphanage, but there was a staggering 11-year age gap.
When Jaemin became an adult and left the orphanage, Ayeon was just a 9-year-old kid.
But 9 years old wasn't an age so young as to forget completely.
Ayeon still remembered the events of that time vividly.
"Don't tell me you came because you missed me?"
Jaemin narrowed his eyes and smiled.
Ayeon shot up from her seat and shrieked.
"Are you crazy?! Why would I?"
"Oof, that startled me. Kid, your voice is still as loud as ever."
Jaemin smiled slyly and pretended to cover his ears.
Ayeon stared blankly at him.
A scar had formed on his left cheek since she last saw him.
"That..."
Ayeon, who was about to speak, quickly fell silent again.
Asking about it was a matter of pride for Ayeon.
Jaemin was the tallest and strongest oppa in the orphanage.
He was also a brave person who would readily catch cockroaches barehanded and toss them far away.
Nine-year-old Ayeon had liked Jaemin very much.
A time when her future aspiration was to marry Jaemin oppa when she grew up.
'A dark past.'
What was most annoying, above all, was Jaemin's attitude, as if he still mistakenly believed Ayeon liked him.
Jaemin, watching Ayeon shake her head vigorously, pointed towards the headquarters entrance and said.
"Don't just stand there, why don't you come in."
"No thanks."
"Tough act. There are bugs there. The kind you hate."
"Ah, I said it's fine. Just go, mister. I'm waiting for someone."
"Waiting?"
Jaemin tilted his head.
"Did you know anyone else in Immortal besides me?"
"What are you talking about. It's not an Immortal person."
Ayeon, muttering sullenly, suddenly snapped her gaze up.
No, wait a minute.
Perhaps Jaemin knew.
"...By any chance, do you know why my unnie came here?"
"Your unnie?"
"Princess of Dark Flare. I mean, Yura unnie."
At the mention of 'Princess of Dark Flare' from Ayeon's lips, Jaemin's expression changed.
"...You knew her?"
"It's more than just knowing. We have a very, very special relationship, you know?"
For some reason, Ayeon crossed her arms and began to swagger.
In front of her, Jaemin fell into thought.
Did the kid who insisted on being a lone wolf, not even joining a guild, let alone making hunter comrades, suddenly make a friend?
Moreover, not just anyone, but that black woman?
"Since when?"
"No, just answer my question, you old fogey. Why did my unnie come to such a smelly place?"
"..."
Jaemin stared blankly at Ayeon.
Hmm.
His narrowed eyes curved mischievously.
"You must not have heard the news, since you just snorted at the Association's summons."
"Association summons?"
Ayeon stopped moving abruptly and quickly racked her brain.
The conclusion she reached was this.
"...Don't tell me Unnie came here because of that gate thing, on the South Coast or East Coast, or whatever?"
"Who knows. Why don't you ask 'your' unnie directly."
Then I'm off.
Jaemin, seemingly having no intention of explaining further, sharply turned around.
And after walking a few steps, he paused for a moment and tapped his left shoulder.
"Ah. For your information, you have a bug on you right here."
Kyaaaaaaah──!
At the piercing scream, the birds perched on the trees fluttered and took off.
Meanwhile, inside the Immortal headquarters at that time...
"Oh, younger brother, you've arrived."
Guild Master Yoo Hwan personally came out to welcome the Princess of Dark Flare's second visit.
Eunha hesitated before sitting down on the reception room chair.
"...Younger brother?"
"Isn't there a saying that those who share a drink are all brothers? It's also our guild's slogan. What are you doing? Hurry up and sit down."
A much friendlier attitude than before.
Eunha thought it was because she had accepted his proposal, but perhaps he was purely happy to have finally found a proper drinking buddy.
"Did you get home alright that day?"
At Yoo Hwan's question, Eunha nodded and said.
"Thanks to you. They say good alcohol gives less of a hangover, and it seems to be true."
"Haha, well, that's true to some extent."
Yoo Hwan laughed heartily and nodded, but inwardly, he was surprised.
'She was fine even after chugging that much?'
Even Yoo Hwan, famous for his drinking prowess, had suffered from an intense hangover the next day, to the point of being unable to get out of bed.
Could this person be bluffing?
Though he had such a thought, he dismissed it.
Even up to the moment his memory cut off, the Eunha Yoo Hwan saw was surprisingly composed.
According to Sungyoon, she had even walked back on her own two feet.
Yoo Hwan's expression turned serious upon thinking that far.
Yoo Hwan stared blankly at Eunha with unsmiling eyes.
This kid...
'...Incredible.'
Rather than feeling his pride hurt, he was purely amazed.
It also stimulated his competitive spirit.
He was even looking forward to the day he would have another fistfight, no, a drinking contest with this person.
However, unfortunately, instead of alcohol, a special drink containing protein was prepared on the reception room table today.
Yoo Hwan, staring at it with a lukewarm gaze, pouted and said.
"It's a shame, but I couldn't prepare any alcohol today. That Do Sungyoon fellow was being so noisy."
Yoo Hwan grumbled unfittingly, arms crossed.
Anyway, alcohol is the enemy, blah blah blah.
There were only two people in this world who could nag Yoo Hwan like that.
Keum Roje and Do Sungyoon.
Well, anyway...
"I apologize for making you come twice."
Yoo Hwan, placing his hands firmly on both knees, bowed his head briefly.
Whether she was an F-Class hunter or a concept hunter, she was a guest formally invited to Immortal.
As Sungyoon said, it was his own fault for sending her back after getting drunk and not even starting the important conversation.
"It doesn't matter. I was treated to good alcohol the day before yesterday too."
She drank incredibly expensive alcohol, which she thought she'd never get to taste in her lifetime, almost like water.
At Eunha's bland reply, Yoo Hwan grinned and spoke.
"I'm glad to hear you say that. Then shall we get straight to the point?"
Laughing lowly, he adjusted his posture and changed his expression.
"First... right. Shall I start by telling you about the carrier pigeon sent by GIA that arrived at the Korean Association on the 8th?"
"I've roughly heard about that."
She had already heard from Junhwan about the prophecy that a massive gate might appear near the South Coast, and that the Association was looking for hunters with dark and fire attributes.
"Really? It's good that the conversation is progressing quickly."
Grinning, showing his canines, Yoo Hwan leaned back in his chair and tapped the armrest.
"Even at this moment, the Association is gathering not only dark and fire attribute hunters from all over the country, but also any useful hunters they can find. However, since you're Korean, you probably know roughly. That most of the few S-Classes in this small country are self-willed."
His fingers, tapping the armrest, suddenly stopped.
"...Since you were in Wolf, there's no need to talk about Baekya's physical condition, and Trickster is also hospitalized. I don't even know what the other two are doing, and I don't trust Maestro at all."
Frowning, Yoo Hwan added in a heavy voice.
"Well, to put it simply, we're severely lacking in high-level personnel. So."
Yoo Hwan's upper body leaned slightly towards Eunha.
His red eyes, devoid of any hint of jest, squarely met Eunha's.
"Younger brother. If you're alright with it, I, and Doctor Plant, intend to use our authority to recommend you to the Association as a combatant."
—As expected.
However, there was something that needed to be clarified here.
"You know I received an F-Class rank assessment, right?"
"Of course, I know. And that you're the hunter who caught my fist barehanded."
Yoo Hwan, answering without hesitation, looked directly at Eunha with his red eyes.
"I want to hear it from your own mouth. Are you an F-Class hunter?"
"The machine said so. However."
Eunha too didn't avoid Yoo Hwan's gaze.
Her pitch-black eyes, so dark that even the boundary between pupil and iris was indistinguishable, turned towards him.
"That day, I didn't think I would lose to you."
"What...?"
Yoo Hwan, blinking blankly, suddenly clutched his stomach and began to laugh loudly.
Interesting. Really interesting.
Was there another hunter in Korea who thought they could beat the Monkey King in a fistfight?
At least, Yoo Hwan was encountering such a spirited hunter for the first time.
Yoo Hwan, laughing until he was out of breath, leaning back, wiped his forehead with his thick palm.
"Well, it's the same for this side, not thinking I'd lose, but certainly I, and Roje, are confident in your skills."
But the Association is different.
Adding that, Yoo Hwan rested his arm on the chair's armrest, cupped his chin, and tilted his head.
"The Association blindly trusts visible ranks. The public is the same."
If the Princess of Dark Flare were recommended to the Association, Daeyoon would first be suspicious.
That old-fashioned and conservative man would surely question the very act of including an F-Class concept hunter in such a grave matter.
"The Association side will undoubtedly be quite annoying. Even in a situation like this where every combatant is crucial, they're the type to fuss over conditions or ranks. Of course, Roje and I will try our best to persuade them, but there's no guarantee it'll be as easy as it sounds."
That damn 'principle'.
The Association's favorite word.
Yoo Hwan frowned and clicked his tongue.
In fact, it was something unavoidable.
Because on the surface, the Princess of Dark Flare was F-Class.
It was an era where the difficulty of gates one could enter varied according to rank.
It was hunter law that F-Class hunters couldn't even enter A-Class gates, let alone Unknown Gates.
No matter how much Yoo Hwan and Roje's guarantee followed, the Association would try to confirm her skills in some form or another.
"Considering such points, couldn't you help us? Princess of Dark Flare."
At Yoo Hwan's words, Eunha, who had been silent all along, slowly parted her lips.
"...That prophecy."
First, there was something to confirm.
"Is it certain that an Unknown Gate will occur at the South Coast gate?"
"I don't believe in GIA's prophecies or anything. The only thing I believe is the research results of Doctor Plant. She predicts that Unknown Gates will soon appear simultaneously in Korea."
Yoo Hwan spread out his right hand.
"Up to five."
A small crack appeared on Eunha's previously expressionless face.
A short silence.
Yoo Hwan sharply turned his head to the left.
A map of the Korean peninsula attached to the wall.
Staring at the red thumbtack stuck near the South Coast, he spoke.
"If the South Coast massive gate GIA talks about and the five Unknown Gates Roje predicted are referring to the same thing..."
Turning his eyes back to Eunha, Yoo Hwan added heavily.
"—The nightmare of the late 90s will repeat itself."
The late 90s.
Just those words vividly brought a scene to mind.
Someone's distant scream,
The thick smell of blood, so strong it made one's mind go blank,
Broken glass shards,
Dented cars,
Store signs rolling on the road.
Street trees, with torn clothes of unknown origin hanging like fallen leaves.
Passing them, Eunha ran home.
"..."
She habitually brought her hand to her left wrist.
The feel of the bracelet on her fingertips.
The afterimage of a shattered piano appears before her eyes.
Her mother's left arm, pinned underneath it.
A university acceptance letter, flying away in the wind.
"But if there's anything different from that time, it's that this time, we've been given time to prepare."
Yoo Hwan stood up from his seat.
And he silently looked down at Eunha, who seemed lost in thought.
"The summons is in a week. You have the right to decide. What will you do?"
Eunha, who had stopped caressing her bracelet, lifted her head.
The moment their eyes met, Yoo Hwan's eyebrows twitched slightly.
Centering on her pitch-black pupils, Eunha's black irises were gradually turning golden.
Yoo Hwan discovered something flickering within those unwavering eyes.
He felt he knew what it was.
He could predict it, however vaguely.
Perhaps it was conviction.
The corners of Yoo Hwan's lips slowly curled up as he extended his hand to Eunha.
"...It's decided."
