GM Ch55

Soohyuk, the youngest in a large family with a significant age gap between siblings, once wished for a kind, obedient younger sibling who would play with him. He begged his mom and even wished for a sibling as a Christmas present, but it never happened. As he went to school and made friends, he completely forgot about wanting a younger sibling.

Reflecting on this, Soohyuk thought he might understand why he felt the need to look after Minjun.

No, that alone didn’t explain it.

Soohyuk recalled the emotions he felt in the car earlier. For some reason, his heart had skipped a beat when he saw Minjun’s face. He was sure it wasn’t romantic feelings. If it were, he would have asked Minjun out instead of acting so lukewarm.

“What about when you said you’d carry your sibling around on your back?”

“I don’t know. I don’t remember.”

“That was when we were kids. Anyway, I’m leaving now. See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.”

Jung Seongwon waved and left the guild leader’s office after finishing their conversation. Left alone, Soohyuk lightly tapped the desk with his fingertips and smiled.

He didn’t have a clear answer, but that was okay. It didn’t matter if he couldn’t name the emotion right away. He could figure out what to do once his feelings became clearer.

“This is going to be interesting.”

Soohyuk whispered to himself, feeling excited. The process of understanding this emotion was sure to be fun.

***

The next day.

Soohyuk was having a typical day. He woke up early, handled his tasks, and then met Minjun to explore a dungeon. They had Chinese food for lunch, then went to a nearby café for coffee and snacks.

Soohyuk carefully observed Minjun, who was sitting across from him. Despite his strange realization the night before, facing Minjun felt normal. Instead, he started noticing things about Minjun that he had previously overlooked.

Shockingly, Minjun was an “ice Americano even in winter” kind of guy. No matter how cold it was, he always had an iced Americano after meals. He only ordered snacks when he felt like it, and he wasn’t picky about the type. Though not particularly sociable, he was polite. He preferred listening over talking and had a decent sense of awareness. As a hunter, he had a good appetite and ate just about anything, especially meat. His combat sense was quite sharp; he never trembled or panicked in front of monsters. And he had no interest in fashion.

“Hmm…”

Soohyuk frowned slightly as he realized what had been bothering him. From the first time they met until now, Minjun had always worn the same outfit. His standard attire was a black T-shirt, slacks, and sneakers, topped with a black padded jacket. When entering dungeons, he wore a black bear-skin jacket, but recently, he had switched to simple techwear.

While his good looks made everything suit him well, Soohyuk was bothered by Minjun wearing the same clothes every day for a month. Normally, Soohyuk wasn’t one to comment on others’ tastes. He didn’t care when Shin Youngjae wore a blue tracksuit to the dungeon. But he felt a sudden urge to dress Minjun up stylishly.

It was an unusual meddling for him. However, since he had already become aware of it, he wasn’t too surprised. At times like this, it was best to just go with his instincts.

“Do you have something to say?”

Soohyuk’s intense gaze made Minjun, who was chewing on ice, ask.

“Let’s go shopping for clothes.”

“What?”

“I said, let’s go shopping for clothes.”

“Uh… You mean for me?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

Minjun’s eyes widened in confusion, and Soohyuk laughed. Maybe it was because Minjun looked so cute when he was puzzled that Soohyuk felt so conflicted.

But if something’s cute, you should say it’s cute. Objectively speaking, Minjun was cute and handsome.

“I want to turn our little chick into a stylish rooster.”

“A rooster?”

“Let’s go while I’m thinking about it.”

“Right now?”

“Yeah. First, let’s get you a black suit. It’s essential for social life.”

“A suit is necessary, I guess.”

Seeing Minjun nod in agreement, Soohyuk smiled. Once Minjun agreed to something, he rarely argued and just went along with it.

“I know a good shop. Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

Soohyuk took Minjun to his favorite boutique. Since Minjun didn’t have any particular preferences, Soohyuk picked out a black suit, shirt, tie, shoes, and even a coat for him. With his long limbs and model-like physique, Minjun looked good in anything. When he put on the black suit and coat, he exuded a maturity beyond his years.

Soohyuk had often wondered about Minjun’s past. As he pondered whether to investigate, he handed Minjun some clothes he had prepared in advance.

“And try this on too.”

“What?”

“We need to get you other clothes as well.”

“I’m fine, really.”

For the first time, Minjun refused. But Soohyuk had no intention of backing down. The real purpose of coming here wasn’t just to buy a suit.

“If you don’t try this on, I’ll send every piece of clothing in this store that fits you to your dorm.”

“Guild leader, that’s blackmail.”

“Uh-huh, it is.”

Minjun looked at Soohyuk as if he were crazy, but Soohyuk just smiled brightly. He was serious about sending all the clothes to Minjun’s dorm if he didn’t comply.

In the end, Minjun took the clothes and disappeared into the fitting room. Not long after, he came out wearing a bright ivory sweater, black pants, and a jacket. Soohyuk smiled again. The bright color made Minjun’s face look more radiant.

“Bright colors suit you well.”

“Sweaters are hard to maintain. Light colors get dirty easily.”

“Take it to the dry cleaners. Next, try this.”

“Another one?”

Soohyuk handed Minjun another set of clothes.

“Just try on ten outfits.”

“Ten?”

“To become a stylish rooster, you have to go through some growing pains.”

“Why do you keep talking about roosters?”

“Don’t like roosters? How about an eagle? Not into birds? A tiger?”

“Please give me the clothes.”

Minjun took the hanger, ignoring Soohyuk’s nonsense. He had been thinking about getting new clothes anyway. Changing outfits wasn’t difficult. He figured he could pick a couple of sets he liked from what Soohyuk chose for him.

Minjun, heading to the fitting room, had no idea that he would end up carrying all the clothes Soohyuk had picked out back to his dorm. Nor did he imagine that he would sign a contract to buy an off-roader before returning to the dorm.

***

Minjun felt like he had been bewitched by a fox.

The day had started off normally. But suddenly, an unexpected event had occurred. He had received clothes as a gift and ended up buying a car.

After changing into the tenth outfit in the popup shop fitting room, he saw that all the clothes he had tried on were packed into paper bags and boxes. Soohyuk had paid for over twenty outfits, including tops, bottoms, and jackets.

Seeing Soohyuk smiling brightly, saying that the tags had been removed so there were no refunds, Minjun realized he had been had. Still, he decided to think of them as gifts since he liked the clothes.

As he looked at the paper bags and boxes filling the back seat of the car, Soohyuk suggested they go look at off-roaders. Minjun squinted at him, wondering what he was up to this time, but Soohyuk explained with a smile.

‘A car isn’t a toy you can take home as soon as you sign the contract; you have to wait at least a month, sometimes up to six months. So, it’s best to choose one you like first.’

Falling for his words, Minjun found himself visiting several car dealerships. While checking out his dream car, he suddenly realized he was signing a contract. After shaking hands with the dealership manager, he got into Soohyuk’s car and finally came to his senses when he saw the paper bags filling the back seat.

Minjun couldn’t tell if he was just easily swayed or if Soohyuk was exceptionally persuasive. Probably both.

At least he had managed to stop Soohyuk from buying him a car as a welcome gift. Otherwise, it would have been a real headache.

With a clearer mind, Minjun looked at Soohyuk, who was driving. In return for the clothes, Minjun had decided to treat Soohyuk to dinner. They were on their way to a restaurant Soohyuk knew well, where he wanted to eat beef.

Soohyuk, driving with a smile, seemed to be in a good mood. Minjun couldn’t tell if it was because they were going to eat beef or because he had managed to gift clothes and make Minjun buy a car.

Minjun wondered what Soohyuk would have done if he weren’t a hunter. He probably would have become a con artist.

Not only was he handsome, but he was also a smooth talker. He was skilled at pressuring people too. Not just anyone could smile and say they would send all the clothes to the dorm.

Minjun recalled the scene of examinees looking up at Soohyuk during the practical test for the hunter license. Maybe if Soohyuk hadn’t become a hunter, he would have become a cult leader.

Oddly enough, a cult leader seemed to suit Soohyuk better than a con artist.

“Why? Do you have something to say?”

“Ah, I feel like I’ll go bankrupt if I keep hanging out with you, guild leader.”

Minjun couldn’t bring himself to tell Soohyuk he had the talent to be a cult leader, so he changed the subject. The car he had impulsively bought this morning was all because of Soohyuk.

Thinking about the signing bonus he received from the June Guild, he knew he wouldn’t go bankrupt. Still, he had a feeling that if he kept hanging out with Soohyuk, he would keep making impulsive purchases.