IH Ch 49

Chapter 49

They returned home.

Dohwa followed closely behind Jae-i, who opened the front door and stepped inside, holding a box in both hands. Glancing briefly at him, Jae-i took the box with one hand as if snatching it and headed straight for the storage room. He dropped the box unceremoniously right in front of the entrance and turned to leave, only to find Dohwa standing firmly in his way.

“What?”

Even with Jae-i’s gruff expression and tone, Dohwa remained unfazed and pointed at the box with his fingertip.

“Isn’t that box full of gifts?”

“…Yeah.”

They were gifts and letters that arrived quarterly. Someone from the guild would come at regular intervals to deliver new ones and take the previous batch, but the schedule had gotten messed up this time.

Jae-i scratched the back of his head as he looked around the neatly arranged room. Dohwa, who had been watching his retreating figure intently, asked,

“Can I organize them?”

“….”

Jae-i’s shoulders visibly shook as he came to an abrupt stop. Dohwa wondered if he was about to get angry, but he didn’t.

“Do whatever you want.”

Spoken curtly, Jae-i then walked off even faster. Seeing that, Dohwa hurried into the room. He crouched in front of the box and carefully opened it, revealing a wide space filled with neatly arranged gifts and letters. Dohwa blinked at the sight.

So many people really liked him.

If he just fixed that temper of his, he’d gain even more.

“…I can’t be the only one thinking this.”

People around Hwang Jae-i—Ahn Yuna and Johan—must be thinking the same thing.

S-rank Hunters didn’t just explore gates. Their public presence and activity held significant weight. They were, in essence, walking conglomerates. When they did something right, they were worshipped endlessly. But if not, they ended up like Hwang Jae-i.

Jae-i was extremely guarded toward others. It made him seem awkward in social situations. There were people far worse than him, more worthless, who lived comfortably and carefree. Having dealt with that kind of person countless times, Dohwa stared down at his toes with subdued eyes.

Jae-i had sealed the leftover twisted donuts he’d received as a gift and stored them in the fridge. After taking a shower and changing clothes, he headed to the living room. He glanced briefly toward the storage room but deliberately didn’t go in. Sorting things out was something that had to be done anyway. It wasn’t a problem for someone else to do it—especially since the person who was originally supposed to take care of that room hadn’t been able to come because of that guy.

With a heavy thud, Jae-i flopped onto the sofa, suddenly uncomfortable with the fact that he had brought Dohwa back again. Not that there weren’t still things he wanted to ask him.

Why had he visited Dohwa every night? Given their differences in strength and ability, Dohwa couldn’t possibly have done anything to him. Which meant he had gone there entirely of his own volition.

Jae-i bit down on his lower lip with a stiff expression and reached for the remote to turn on the TV.

The simplest way to satisfy his curiosity was to ask directly: “Why do I wake up every morning holding you?” But saying it aloud wasn’t easy. He was afraid he might discover something strange about himself that he hadn’t known.

Leaning back on the sofa with half-lidded eyes, Jae-i watched the TV. When his mind was cluttered, the best thing was to watch something that required no thought. Nature documentaries, animals, or mindless gameplay footage. But then, from the casually playing channel, he heard his own name—“Hwang Jae-i.”

“…”

His name came up all the time on TV, no matter when he turned it on. Most of the time, it wasn’t in a good context, so he rarely paid attention. But today was different.

He raised the volume and checked the screen. A chubby little kid in a hospital gown was surrounded by people.

[-Do you really think this will work?]

[Yes, I think Guildmaster Hwang Jae-i is kind to sick children, so he’ll come visit me too. My stomach’s been hurting, and I’ve been feeling down for days. My mom noticed my symptoms and helped me get admitted to my grandfather’s hospital. After getting examined, they said my immune system’s a bit weak. So I’m going to stay hospitalized for a few days and wait for Guildmaster Hwang Jae-i.]

Despite the bold expression, the words coming out of his mouth were absolute nonsense. Jae-i frowned in disbelief, and even the reporters seemed to share that reaction—someone let out a dry chuckle.

[So you’re saying this is all because you saw Hwang Jae-i visit a child in the hospital? And you think just feeling under the weather is enough? For your information, the child Hwang Jae-i visited had a failing kidney and only a few years left to live.]

That child had been in a children’s hospital in a small provincial city because he couldn’t get treated in Seoul. You, lounging in your grandfather’s hospital smack in the middle of Seoul, are a completely different case.

Even though the reporter tried to phrase it politely, the boy clearly didn’t understand, and his eyes sparkled.

[I’m a patient too. I want to meet Guildmaster Hwang Jae-i. My dad said just being near an S-rank Hunter can help trigger awakening—]

The one who finally stopped the obliviously babbling boy was the adult standing behind him. She covered his mouth with one hand and firmly said, “That’s enough.” Then she told the reporters that the child was tired and the interview would be ending. But contrary to her words, the boy looked frustrated at being silenced and kicked his feet in protest.

[Hey, why won’t you let me talk! I’m the star today—]

[Please, just take the child inside.]

Panicked, they tried to wrap things up quickly, but the boy wouldn’t give up and shouted,

[Guildmaster Hwang Jae-i, come visit me! Don’t go to that crappy place again—come to my grandpa’s hospital, mmph! Mmph mmph!]

The boy’s mouth was eventually covered and he was hurriedly whisked away. Taking his place was an elderly man who stepped forward. Adjusting his glasses, he began speaking in a composed tone.

[As you can see, this child, who should be running around, is confined to a wheelchair. Isn’t that tragic? If Guildmaster Hwang Jae-i sees this, I hope he’ll think of it as saving one poor child and kindly pay us a visit…]

[But he looks pretty healthy. Is he really sick?]

[I heard some wealthy families are trying to force awakenings in their children lately. Are we to believe that a respected hospital director like yourself actually buys into that unproven theory that proximity to high-ranking Hunters aids awakening?]

[The child Hwang Jae-i visited was genuinely sick. And yet, after seeing that, you put your perfectly healthy grandson in a wheelchair? What the hell is this? Do you think we reporters have nothing better to do?]

[I never thought I’d find myself defending Hunter Hwang Jae-i, but this is just absurd.]

Even reporters who weren’t usually friendly toward Hwang Jae-i were shaking their heads. Gathering reporters and staging something like this—it was bound to be poorly received.

Jae-i thought of the child he had actually visited.

A body smaller than half the bed. Thin arms. Eyes that lit up the moment they saw him, barely able to breathe from excitement. Those damp eyes, overflowing with pure joy—now there were people trying to exploit that expression. People who had everything and still wanted to steal more. It made him sick.

Jae-i’s gaze on the TV screen turned dark and heavy. As he clenched his hands on his stomach, a voice called out—“Um.”

Startled, Jae-i turned his head to see Dohwa standing there, holding a sheet of paper. Realizing it was a bad time, Dohwa rolled his eyes anxiously before quietly extending the paper toward him.

“…”

Jae-i didn’t feel like dealing with anyone, and he certainly didn’t want to take or look at whatever was being offered. But as he stared into those quiet black eyes, the thing boiling to his throat gradually receded.

He slowly sat up and leaned back against the sofa, jerking his chin. It was a halfhearted gesture, but Dohwa understood what it meant and stepped forward, holding the paper out.

“I thought this should be kept somewhere safe, so it doesn’t get lost… It might get mixed in while sorting the recyclables.”

It was true—the single sheet of paper could easily have gotten tossed with the trash while cleaning. So what if it had? Jae-i had never cared about anything piled up in that room. He was about to tell Dohwa not to hand him crap like this and to deal with it himself, but for some reason, he reached out his hand. He pulled the sheet toward his face carefully, making sure not to crumple it.

It was a drawing. A goofy figure with blond hair and red eyes, flashing a wide grin and giving a thumbs-up. It looked like a cool character you’d see in a cartoon ad—and Jae-i knew instantly who it was meant to be. At the top, written neatly, were the words “Hwang Jae-i is the Best.”

“…”

Jae-i’s gaze moved down the page. On one corner, there was a letter.

“Hello, Guildmaster Hwang Jae-i. I live in Pohang. Our school is having a sports day, and I want to invite you. This place can be kind of dangerous, but you’re super strong, so I think you’ll be fine no matter what happens. Please come and eat some tteokbokki. We have fish cakes too. You have to come. Please, please!”

The repeated pleas made it obvious—they knew Jae-i probably wouldn’t come, even as they wrote it. Then why keep sending things like this? And why, of all things, did Dohwa feel the need to show it to him?