CH 72

31. Structure

“Choi Ye-Hyeon. Wake up”.

“Well……”

Ye-Hyeon curled up and crouched down. His back was cold.

Ye-Hyeon was half asleep, groping along the warmth from his wrist, and hugging tightly.

“……what are you doing?”

Shin Do-Gyeom’s voice was heard from the top of his head.

Ye-Hyeon slowly rubbed his eyes, wondering why he couldn’t see. He remembered that he was trapped underground.

Ye-Hyeon also realized that he was hugging Shin Do-Gyeom’s arm because he slept on his shoulder.

As if covered in cold water, Ye-Hyeon’s sleep went away at once.

“……sorry. Without me knowing I hugged you.”

Ye-Hyeon apologized awkwardly and stood upright, leaning on Shin Do-Gyeom.

‘How long did I sleep?’

Ye-Hyeon hurriedly checked the quest window. Not only did he fill an hour of physical contact, but the quest was completely over. As far as Ye-Hyeon remembered, he had about four hours left, so he really did slept soundly.

It was beyond belief.

But it’s unexpected. Ye-Hyeon thought Do-Gyeom would just push him away if he lean on him.

It was really unexpected that Shin Do-Gyeom gave up his shoulders in good condition. Shin Do-Gyeom was still holding onto Ye-Hyeon’s wrist.

“Wake up. Something is coming close.”

“What? Where? Is it a monster?”

At Shin Do-Gyeom’s words, Ye-Hyeon looked around in the dark and swallowed his dry saliva. He couldn’t let his guard down because the message of completion did not appear even though the event for the quest time was over.

Shin Do-Gyeom’s bow is broken. He was talking as much as he could during the argument, but Ye-Hyeom was nervous to think that h might have to run in with a real sword in case of emergency.

“No.”

Shin Do-Gyeom made a clean affirmation.

The higher the Ability level, the more developed the five senses, and Shin Do-Gyeom was especially sensitive to sound and smell.

If Shin Do-Gyeom is so sure, it means that it is not a monster.

“Well…”

“Be quiet.”

Ye-Hyeon, who was a little relieved, tried to ask in detail, but Shin Do-Gyeom pulled Ye-Hyeon’s arm to stop him. Ye-Hyeon closed his mouth and rolled his eyes.

“…Ye-Hyeon, Do-Gyeom…”

Soon after, the sound of searching for Ye-Hyeon and Shin Do-Gyeom rang as quietly as an echo. It was Baek Hae-Won’s voice.

“Hunter Baek Hae-Won! We are here!”

Ye-Hyeon jumped up and walked a few steps forward and shouted. He couldn’t have been happier.

“Ye-Hyeon? Are you with Do-Gyeom?”

“Yes!”

Baek Hae-Won called Ye-Hyeon in an unprecedentedly urgent voice. At the same time as Ye-Hyeon answered happily, a small flame rose in the air.

“Ugh……”

It was a dim light that was barely recognizable, but it was too stimulating for the eyes adapted to the darkness. Ye-Hyeon stepped back, covering his eyes with his hand.

“Sigh. That’s a relief.”

Baek Hae-Won breathed a sigh of relief only after confirming with his eyes that Ye-Hyeon and Shin Do-Gyeom were fin.

Baek Hae-Won was riding in the shadow with Kwon Joo-Ho.

“Shin DogGyeom, now we…….”

Ye-Hyeon, who was looking back with a big smile, could not finish his words. It was because Shin Do-Gyeom was looking down at his hand and casually passed by Ye-Hyeon.

Shin Do-Gyeom jumped and climbed onto the shadow.

The shadow, which was slowly coming down, stopped at a height that Ye-Hyeon would reach if he stretched out his hand. It seemed to have reached its limit as it was no longer moving.

“Hold it.”

At the same time as Baek Hae-Won reached out his hand, Kwon Joo-ho also reached out his hand.

Ye-Hyeon paused for a while and slowly raised his arms.

Ye-Hyeon suspected that Kwon Joo-Ho would be the target but did not bother to confirm. He gave one reason and another, but looking back now, it was also an extension of complacency.

‘Let’s do our best, Choi Ye-Hyeon.’

Ye-Hyeon held Baek Hae-Won’s hand firmly. Then he grabbed Kwon Joo-Ho with the other hand.

Regardless of Kwon Joo-Ho’s intimacy, it was something Ye-Hyeon had to bear someday. It wasn’t just a matter that could no longer be delayed.

If Kwon Joo-ho is the target, there may be an opportunity to increase intimacy through quests like this time.

He would like to decline being alone with Kwon Joo-Ho, but…….

[system] Found ‘Target 1: Kwon Joo-Ho’.

The message came up as if it had been waiting. Ye-Hyeon was not very surprised because he had expected it.

……we’ll check the intimacy later.’

Shin Do-Gyeom, whose intimacy is minus 40 points, is also in such a mess, Ye-Hyeon is worried what it would be like for Kwon Joo-Ho.

“Uh……”

Ye-Hyeon’s body was dragged straight up. Baek Hae-Won and Kwon Joo-Ho showed no signs of hardship even though they lifted the adult man up.

When Baek Hae-Won tapped the shadow and put out the fire that had floated in the air, the shadow began to rise.

“Are you okay? There was no sign of monsters, was everything okay?””

“Yes, we were just stuck there.”

“I was very worried.”

“Thank you for coming to my rescue.”

Ye-Hyeon shrugged shoulders while calmly answering Baek Hae-Won’s worries.

Seo Su-Hee’s shadow felt very strange. That cool aura was very dark.

“Uh……”

Ye-Hyeon was a little disgusted without realizing it.

“Choi Ye-Hyeon.”

Shin Do-Gyeom stood behind Ye-Hyeon and touched Ye-Hyeon’s arm with the back of his hand. It was as if he was allowing him to hold it.

It was a strange feeling when Shin Do-Gyeom, who was always sarcastic, reached out his hand first.

‘Do I really have no credibility?’

Ye-Hyeon gently hung his finger on Shin Do-Gyeom’s pinky, pressing down on the tickling corners of his mouth.

Shin Do-Gyeom clicked his tongue quietly, as if he didn’t like it when he actually caught it. ‘I should really thank Shin Do-Gyeom before going back home.’ Ye-Hyeon glanced at Shin Do-Gyeom.

After going up for a long time, he finally saw the entrance.

The sky, seen as a round hole, was dim. It wasn’t time for the sun to set yet, but the sun seemed to fall quickly in this dungeon.

When he saw the outside, Ye-Hyeon felt like he was finally breathing. The feeling of reluctance is gone, too. Ye-Hyeon let go of Shin Do-Gyeom’s hand.

“Be careful.”

The shadow shook a little as he was passing through the entrance. Baek Hae-Won grabbed Ye-Hyeon by the shoulder.

“Healer!”

Kim Jae-Hyung rushed over. Kim Jae-Hyung sighed loudly after confirming that Ye-Hyeon and Shin Do-Gyeom were safe.

Ye-Hyeon carefully stepped out of the shadow. A pile of soil was piled up next to the collapsed entrance of the cave, as if it was dug again.

“Are you not hurt?”

“Hey, if he got hurt, Healer would have treated himself. I’m so glad you’re okay. How can the ground collapse there?”

“I know. If it weren’t for you, I would have been in big trouble. He said that he had to stop it from regenerating, and then he finished the boss right away.”

“That’s right. Class A hunters are different as expected. Kerberos in one shot……! Wow, I thought it was a mob, not a boss.”

“It was Hunter Baek Hae-Won’s idea to go down the shadow. I never thought I could use it like that.”

Perhaps because the tension was relieved when the two returned safely, the people of the first party made a fuss over Ye-Hyeon.

“Thank you, Hunter Baek Hae-Won.”

Ye-Hyeon thanked Baek Hae-Won once again and smiled. Seo Soo-Hee couldn’t come near, and also gave a light greeting.

Seo Soo-Hee was flustered and restless and hid behind Kim Jae-Hyung.

“Ye-Hyeon keeps getting involved in accidents.”

Baek Hae-Won said while looking at Ye-Hyeon.

“I know. I’m so unlucky.”

“Unlucky?”

To be exact, most of the mishaps Ye-Hyepn experienced were due to the System. Ye-Hyeon looked around, forcing himself to have a straight face.

Ye-Hyeon it was strangely quiet, Yoon Seung-Jae, who usually ran first, stood tall with his head down from a distance.

“Yoon Seung-Jae?”

Ye-Hyeon approached, and wondered at his unusual appearance.

Yoon Seung-Jae looked up very slowly only after Ye-Hyeon arrived right in front of him. His lively face was pale.

For some reason, it seemed like Yoon Seung-Jae would break. Ye-Hyeon felt embarrassed

“……I thought Hyung was really dead.”

He seemed very surprised by the sudden accident.

“What do you mean, dead? I told you I’ll live longer than you? Look. It’s nothing.” Ye-Hyeon tapped Yoon Seung-Jae’s shoulder with an exaggerated smile to relieve his mood.

He felt Yoon Seung-Jae shaking through the palm of his hand.

“Hey, Yoon Seung-Jae…….”

Ye-Hyeon couldn’t play any more pranks.

Ye-Hyeon knew it was an intimacy event, so he didn’t think it was dangerous. Though from the point of view of someone who doesn’t know what is going on, as Yoon Seung-Jae said, it was not strange to die.

Yoon Seung-Jae stared at Ye-Hyeon. Yoon Seung-Jae held back his tears until the end with a face that seemed to burst into tears.

“Let’s get out of here. Because there’s still a monster left.”

Ye-Hyeon was stuttering because he didn’t know how to soothe him.

Yoon Seung-Jae caught Ye-Hyeon in his eyes for a while and walked silently.

No matter how much he pushed him away, Yoon Seung-Jae, who is usually clinging to the side and babbling, was quiet, so it bothered him. Contrary to usual, Ye-Hyeon hovered around Yoon Seung-Jae. However, Yoon Seung-Jae remained silent with his lips tightly closed.

“Three in front.”

On the way to the boss room, he encountered a group of Grave poison several times, but as soon as the long range dealer of the first party sensed it, Baek Hae-Won quickly eliminated it.

“Wow……”

Ye-Hyeon entered the boss room through the portal and exclaimed when he saw Kerberos’ body. No, it was more like a black mound of mud than a corpse.

In the event of a battle, there is bound to be a trace on the ground, but the boss room was as clean as it had just been opened. It seemed to be no exaggeration that Hunter Baek Hae-Won defeated it in one shot.

Ye-Hyeon glanced at Baek Hae-Won. He was curious how the hell he did it, but it was not the right atmosphere to ask.

[system] ‘Unexpected Quest: Intimacy Event’ has ended. The settlement will begin.

As soon as Ye-Hyeon came out of the gate, a notification window appeared.