GM Ch51

“Yes, guild leader.”

―You don’t have any plans today, right?

“No, I don’t.”

―Let’s go to the dungeon.

“Aren’t we supposed to rest today?”

―It’s a waste of time. We got a nasty leftover yesterday. The internal scouting is done.

Soohyuk had to visit the National Security Agency today, so they had planned to skip the dungeon raid. But when Soohyuk insisted, Minjun couldn’t refuse. When an S-rank hunter offers to carry you, you follow quietly.

“Alright. When are we going?”

―Come out now. We’ll leave immediately.

“Yep.”

After ending the call, Minjun threw on a coat and left his room without much preparation. When he got downstairs, Soohyuk was already waiting in front of the dormitory.

“Hello.”

He greeted him and quickly got into the car. As he fastened his seatbelt, Soohyuk reached into the back seat instead of starting the car.

“Take this.”

“Huh?”

Soohyuk handed him a flat, fairly heavy box. The black box with a red ribbon was striking.

“It’s chocolate.”

“Uh… Why all of a sudden?”

“I realized we missed Valentine’s Day.”

“Valentine’s Day is just an excuse, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Is it really chocolate?”

“That’s right. It’s delicious.”

With a voice full of laughter, Soohyuk finally started the car. Minjun glanced back and forth between the other man and the chocolate box, tilting his head in confusion.

“Why all of a sudden?”

“It’s my way of reciprocating. I received something precious.”

“It’s nothing special.”

“Then I just wanted to give it to you. I thought you liked sweets, so I bought it. Do you not like chocolate?”

“No, I like it.”

“Then that’s good enough. Try it.”

Soohyuk offered the chocolate to Minjun. Originally, he had thought about buying a nice watch to put on Minjun’s wrist. But like cars, watches are a matter of personal taste. If he bought just any watch, it would likely end up unused in a drawer.

He could always let Minjun try on a few of his own watches back at the dorm and pick one he liked later. Or they could take a trip to the department store.

At that thought, Soohyuk decided he needed to take Minjun shopping for clothes later. Minjun, who had no interest in fashion, always wore black T-shirts and black pants. Despite having a face that could pass for a celebrity, he seemed to have no interest in dressing up.

“Here, have this.”

Minjun, who had been rustling with the packaging, offered a piece of chocolate to Soohyuk. The dark chocolate was bite-sized. Without thinking, Soohyuk opened his mouth and bit down on Minjun’s fingers holding the chocolate.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“Just felt like it?”

“Did you wash your hands?”

“Tasted a bit salty.”

“Well, the chocolate is sweet, so it balances out.”

“Hahaha.”

It was only after making a light joke that Soohyuk realized he had acted strangely. Biting someone’s fingers was something you did with a close friend as a joke, or with a lover. But he had never done that with either close friends or lovers before.

Minjun and Soohyuk had sex three times. Yesterday, he even sucked his cock. He had never imagined putting a man’s cock in his mouth, but once he did, he found it incredibly arousing. They had rolled around in bed, skin to skin, so they were definitely close. Maybe that was why he kept acting on impulse.

At a red light, Soohyuk glanced at Minjun sitting next to him. Minjun, no longer bothered by having his fingers bitten, was chewing on a piece of chocolate.

Minjun had declared he wouldn’t put his mouth on Soohyuk’s cock. Maybe that was why Soohyuk’s eyes kept drifting to Minjun’s lips as he chewed the chocolate. As memories of last night surfaced, Soohyuk cleared his throat and tried to focus. Just then, Minjun offered him another piece of chocolate.

“Want another one?”

“Uh-huh.”

He had intended to decline, but looking into Minjun’s eyes, he found himself nodding.

“Don’t bite my fingers this time.”

“Okay.”

Following Minjun’s request, Soohyuk obediently took the chocolate and looked ahead. The light was still red.

And then a random thought popped into his head.

Do I like him?

Soohyuk frowned. It seemed possible, but also not.

“Guild leader, the light’s green.”

“Right.”

Snapping back to reality, Soohyuk hurriedly started the car. His hands and feet moved naturally as he drove, but his mind was preoccupied with the question that had just arisen.

***

Dungeon raids were the core of the hunter industry.

Hunters closed or cleared dungeons to secure a stable supply of magic stones and prevent dungeon breaks, contributing to humanity’s peace and prosperity. Of course, there were various other reasons hunters entered dungeons: to get used to hunting monsters, to obtain specific materials for crafting magical items, to aim for a second awakening, or simply because dungeon raids were more fun than hiking.

Due to these reasons, dungeon bids were highly competitive. However, dungeons with poor internal environments and high risk-to-reward ratios became unwanted inventory, often assigned to guilds just days before a dungeon break.

Today, the June Guild had received such an unwanted dungeon, a B-class desert with no shade.

“Wow, our guild leader is ruthless. He doesn’t look it, though.”

“Making us work right after our break.”

“Bad timing to visit the guild, I guess.”

“All for a meal.”

“I need to write a report.”

“Me too.”

“My face is going to get sunburned.”

“I already am.”

It was break time during the raid. While sipping water and snacking, Kim Nayeon and Shin Youngjae took turns complaining about Soohyuk. They had visited the guild for a meal and ended up roped into the unwanted dungeon raid by Soohyuk.

“Our guild leader is a bit ruthless,” Minjun joined in, echoing Kim Nayeon and Shin Youngjae’s grumbling. Complaining about the guild leader was a tradition among the June Guild members.

Soohyuk didn’t join their conversation and instead focused on Minjun. The topic had shifted to the sand shade Minjun’s spirit had created. In the middle of the scorching desert, he had erected sand pillars and made a canopy to provide shade. Normally, it would collapse, but the earth spirit was maintaining its form.

“You are truly an all-rounder. Can you make anything?”

“Not anything too big. The spirit can’t handle it.”

“Really?”

Soohyuk half-listened to the ongoing tales of hardship. He was more preoccupied with the question that had come to mind before they arrived here.

I think I like him.

He had a lot of affection for Minjun as a person. But if asked whether it was romantic, it was unclear. He wanted to treat him well, but beyond that, there wasn’t much else. He wondered if he was just confused because of the sex.

After mulling over it for a while, Soohyuk looked at Minjun, who was smiling. He no longer felt guilty about having sex with someone eight years younger, a twenty-year-old. Still, developing romantic feelings was a matter of conscience.

Pretending he didn’t know he lacked a conscience, Soohyuk watched Minjun’s cheeks flush red. The heat from the B-rank dungeon’s desert was getting to him.

“You’re really useful, hunter Kim Minjun. Let’s go to the Half and Half Dungeon. The heat there is bearable, but the sun is brutal. Even with sunscreen, your face burns. I’ll protect you with my life in the jungle. Guild leader, we’re going to the Half and Half Dungeon, right?”

“I’m not sure yet.”

Soohyuk didn’t give a definite answer to Kim Nayeon’s question. Minjun, who had been quietly listening, spoke up.

“I’m okay with it.”

“No, you’re not. Don’t say you’re okay.”

Soohyuk cut Minjun off. Both Kim Nayeon and Minjun looked at him with frustrated expressions, but Soohyuk remained firm. Unlike Kim Nayeon, who wasn’t sweating at all, Minjun’s hair was slightly damp. Unless they found fire-resistant items, Soohyuk had no intention of taking Minjun to the Half and Half Dungeon.

“We can decide after we check it out.”

“No.”

“Can’t we at least try?”

“No. We don’t have fire-resistant items. The desert in the Half and Half Dungeon is hotter than here. And it’s hard to find fire-resistant items that can withstand an A-class dungeon.”

“Okay, I understand.”

Both Minjun and Soohyuk ended the conversation there. Since they didn’t argue or clash, they both let it go. Minjun even offered to refill Soohyuk’s empty cup.

Watching this, Kim Nayeon and Shin Youngjae exchanged puzzled looks. Are they flirting? Doesn’t seem like it. Just stay quiet. Yeah. They quickly communicated through glances and gestures. Meanwhile, Soohyuk knew they were having a secret conversation but pretended not to notice and grabbed his cup.

“Let’s get going.”

“Oh, wait a moment, guild leader. I need to take care of something first.”

Shin Youngjae suddenly stood up, claiming it was urgent, and disappeared over the opposite sand dune. Kim Nayeon, who had also stood up, shouted after him.

“Don’t go too far!”

“You can hear me, right?”

“How far are you going?!”

“Just wait a bit.”

As Shin Youngjae’s voice faded into the distance beyond the sand dune, Soohyuk expanded his senses.

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