SMFC | Chapter 9

“Me? No way.”

As soon as Lee Soo brought it up, Yoo Haeon’s face, which had briefly softened, turned chilly again. He then removed his hand from Lee Soo’s wrist and walked into a room in the corner of the office with purposeful steps, coming back with something in his hands.

It looked like Yoo Haeon was about to dash out of the office. Someone watching from a distance, who seemed to pity Lee Soo acting like a pet sulking after its master leaves in a hurry, tentatively started a conversation.

“That, lately there’s a hunter looking for a healer named Yoo Haeon-”

“Oh, that guy. He’s looking for me again?”

“No, it’s not that he-”

“I’m not interested.”

At that cold response, the healer who barely managed a reply looked deflated, while Lee Soo, passing by Yoo Haeon, casually greeted him.

Though it was a small voice that seemed to say it was fine if he didn’t hear it, Yoo Haeon didn’t stop his stride but turned to look at Lee Soo once before leaving the office.

Lee Soo watched him leave, having only achieved his own purpose, and then lightly chuckled and stood up. He responded with a smile to those cautiously bidding him goodbye, and left the office without making a sound.

It seems like resting for a while after reporting to Eve will solve the overload issue…

Yoo Haeon had mentioned getting a detailed check-up later. But if that healer asks why I am feeling like this, I won’t have an answer unless Yoo Haeon decides to take a special interest in himself, so it’s better to put it off as much as possible.

Lee Soo suddenly stopped walking, lost in his plans. If someone were chasing me as conspicuously as I chase Yoo Haeon, normally, they would give it a thought. But the complete lack of interest is almost amusing and cute in its own way.

After it became well-known that Lee Soo was fervently pursuing Yoo Haeon, comments like ‘Ryu Leesoo must be out of his mind’ often reached his ears, and he took them seriously as he got on the elevator.

Lee Soo hummed a little tune, contemplating how Yoo Haeon had shown no inclination to get friendly with anyone. Today, in terms of indifference, Yoo Haeon could outdo anyone, he thought, as someone at the office had mentioned that someone was indeed chasing him.

Lately, Lee Soo was living with that kind of mindset. He wondered if there really were trees that wouldn’t fall no matter how many times they were chopped at. Maintaining a smile, Lee Soo started his usual game of hide and seek with Yoo Haeon, disguised as a guild tour.

Even after asking Eve to just let me see him, and saying a little chat would suffice, Yoo Haeon consistently ignored me. So, Lee Soo was quite heated up these days. Knowing his favorite had serious issues with communication was one thing, but experiencing it was frustrating. However, he couldn’t really dislike him for it, so he just thought it was funny and moved on lightly.

No one announced the start or the end, but Lee Soo called these two weeks of strange hide and seek almost embarrassingly a break.

Since joining the Hawa Guild, Yoo Haeon had been completely invisible to Lee Soo for two weeks. Even those initially baffled by Lee Soo’s antics started pitying him after hearing Yoo Haeon complain, ‘I didn’t even check his profile, and he keeps bothering me.’

Every time Lee Soo inadvertently got dragged into a high-level dungeon or underwent intense training, those around him were even more perplexed. And even during those moments, Lee Soo kept chasing Yoo Haeon, regardless of where it led.

If I go this way, he’s gone that way. And if I go that way, he’s gone this way. Lee Soo could have been angry, but instead, after seeing Yoo Haeon’s face once, he seemed to find the whole thing amusing, or typical of Yoo Haeon, leaving cryptic comments that others found hard to understand while diligently exploring the guild.

After a day of visiting the guild, Lee Soo had not had a substantial conversation with Yoo Haeon, but he had become familiar with most people inside.

While collecting scattered bits of information about Yoo Haeon’s whereabouts, Lee Soo was busy walking around when his smartwatch loudly alerted him. The script indicated that a dungeon managed by the Hawa Guild was on the verge of breaking.

“30 minutes until the dungeon breaks… Do I need to rush to raid a dungeon that’s about to blow in 30 minutes?”

Lee Soo seriously considered whether to participate, given the sudden severity of the situation. Then he remembered that it was customary to take at least one high-level healer into a dungeon, and Yoo Haeon was among the high-level healers of Hawa.

Checking the list of healers currently in the guild, only two high-level healers were left, including Yoo Haeon. The others were either dispatched elsewhere or off duty.

Lee Soo, hmming to himself, thought it best to delay any action.

Despite his usual disdain for people, Yoo Haeon, driven by a sense of justice, would likely accept an invitation to participate in the dungeon break. Once volunteered, one couldn’t back out if it was a time-sensitive dungeon break.

So, if Yoo Haeon signs up anticipating someone might be chasing him, then I might actually get to meet him, Lee Soo thought, his smile ambiguous. It felt a bit wrong to take advantage of Yoo Haeon’s good nature. His personality might be bad, but that’s more like a defensive mechanism, and he is surprisingly predictable in his actions.

“I might actually get to meet him.”

With an excited face, Lee Soo pressed the dungeon participation acceptance button and rushed to the guild lobby following the announcement.

In the lobby, familiar faces were gathered in various groups, all conspicuously avoiding one person.

Seeing this, Lee Soo clicked his tongue inwardly, casually responding to those calling his name and approached the one person everyone was avoiding or being avoided by.

As he neared, a refreshing yet gloomy aura tingled his sensitive senses. Lee Soo shivered slightly and, with a bright smile, stealthily moved next to Yoo Haeon. The certainty in Yoo Haeon’s face, as if he had finally met the person he had been trying to avoid all along, was unmistakably grim.

Not expecting such aversion, Lee Soo briefly furrowed his brows then cautiously widened the distance he had just closed.

Lee Soo stood exactly 120cm away to make Yoo Haeon feel secure, feeling sorry for being so clingy yet also unable to contain his joy. At least until the raid was over, Yoo Haeon couldn’t casually avoid him or leave the spot. With a wry smile, Lee Soo pressed his lips together with his hands.

Even then, he couldn’t bring himself to lower his hands that covered his mouth, lest an unwitting silly smile spill out. Regardless of whether someone approached him with laughter or not. Yoo Haeon, resolutely looking forward, finally turned to look at Lee Soo when he realized that someone’s gaze would not leave him.

Far from feeling at ease knowing he had seen this person before, Yoo Haeon’s eyes narrowed even more warily.

“What exactly is this?”

Recovering his wits, Lee Soo lowered his hands from his mouth and fidgeted with his long fingers before smoothly smiling and rummaging through his uniform pocket to produce a small packet of candies and jellies wrapped in plastic.

“I just want to get along with Healer Yoo Haeon. It’s natural for a hunter to want to be friends with the healer who holds his life in a dungeon! Oh, this. I heard Healer Yoo Haeon likes sweet things. Don’t worry, it’s nothing shady, so feel free to eat them.”

Lee Soo, who had been carrying around snacks he didn’t even like, filled his pockets just to give them to Yoo Haeon. It might look strange to others, like a hamster gathering food, but that wasn’t important to him.

Only Yoo Haeon mattered to Lee Soo.

Lee Soo grinned as he handed over the snack-filled plastic bag, which a bewildered Yoo Haeon accepted. Only after receiving it did he begin to comprehend the situation and furrowed his brows, lifting his gaze. But by then, Lee Soo had already disappeared.

Though surprised, since there’s no crime in liking sweets, Yoo Haeon reluctantly began eating one piece after another from the snack bag. Each time, his expression softened just enough that others might not notice.

Lee Soo, who had been secretly observing Yoo Haeon with all his presence toned down, easily noticed this.

He wasn’t sure what his first impression was supposed to be, but it didn’t seem all that bad, he thought, clenching and then releasing his fist secretly as he responded to someone calling his name with his usual face.

The one who had called Lee Soo was Kim Woohan, the leader of this dungeon raid. Yoo Haeon watched Lee Soo’s retreating figure with a complex gaze.

It was hard to understand what kind of person he was.