* * *
Seong Shi-hyun doubted whether the scene he was witnessing was real.
Why was his friend naked? Why was there a man trying to take off his pants?
When he realized that the unbelievable situation was real, his reason flew away.
Rage that exceeded his limits awakened his talent, and the magic power within him surged.
At the same time, a status window popped up, indicating that some stats had increased, but he didn't recognize it. Because he had something more important to do.
His body shot out, his fist swung.
The man who was trying to climb on top of her while taking off his pants was slammed into the wall.
He, who had punched the man, couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"What a crazy bastard."
A Gate crime was happening. And the target was his friend, of all people.
"Shibal. I'm dead."
The man, who couldn't even put on his pants, reached out to him. He didn't move at the man's attack.
"What!?"
The surprised man shot a wind blade with high lethality, but it only managed to tear his clothes.
Overwhelming durability. There wasn't even a trace of a wound on his body revealed through the torn clothes.
He approached the man and kicked him in the abdomen without hesitation.
He heard a *kwajik* sound of bones breaking, but he didn't care.
He, who had lost his reason, had no mercy to spare for a criminal.
"Ku-eok."
As the limp man began to vomit blood, his reason returned, and he fell into 고민 (gomin - deep contemplation).
He 고민 (gomin - contemplated) whether to leave this man as he was or kill him.
And after deciding, he dressed his naked friend. He ended up touching her soft body and chest while putting on her underwear, but he didn't really feel it.
"That criminal bastard. I really want to kill him."
He thought about killing him to eliminate the evidence.
But even if he survived, there was no evidence of the violence he had inflicted, so he wondered if it was necessary to commit murder.
He wouldn't kill him. He wouldn't impose any further sanctions.
He would survive unless the broken bones pierced his internal organs.
Even if he was attacked by a monster, it wouldn't be his fault.
He picked up his friend, who was roughly dressed, and began to leave the place. He heard a hissing sound of wind from behind, but he ignored it.
He ignored the sounds of begging for help that continued until he left the cave.
He 고민 (gomin - contemplated) about going back to where they were originally resting.
He was worried that she might wake up and be shocked by what he had done.
Would she feel guilty because it was something he did to save her? Or would she be scared to see the man alive? He had many thoughts, but his 고민 (gomin - contemplation) didn't last long.
He packed his things and decided to change locations.
Anyway, even if he checked the ant cave in detail, it would be difficult to easily find the changed location.
After finding a safe place, he took out a blanket and laid her down.
There were traces of blood flowing from the small wounds on her face,
and there were reddish marks on her body as well.
That fucking bastard must have done it. He wanted to smash that bastard again.
He took out ointment from his backpack and applied it to the wounds on her face.
He thought it would be a waste if a scar formed on her pretty face.
"She really has no luck."
To think she would run into such a criminal.
As time passed, the reddish parts of her body began to turn blue.
"Shibal."
He could tell at a glance that she was bruised.
That criminal must have done that to subdue his friend.
Anger began to rise, and he felt the power surging within him accordingly.
He didn't know it because he was excited earlier, but now he could clearly feel it. It was magic power.
"Ha! Did I get this power to protect my friend or something?"
His rage exploded when he saw his friend in danger, and he learned how to handle magic power.
He felt the power that had become stronger than before, but he also thought that he didn't need this kind of power.
If this kind of power had been with his friend instead of him, his friend wouldn't have had to go through this.
He nursed her while she was unconscious for several hours. Ants attacked, but they were not enough to be his opponent.
They were just the target of his rage-filled stress relief.
As he nursed his friend, all sorts of random thoughts began to fill his head.
Monsters were easy opponents for him. Compared to his level, the D-Rank Gate was low in difficulty.
He remembered what happened before entering the Gate.
When he tried to move his friend's belongings into his backpack, he accidentally saw her panties.
Looking back, he shouldn't have done that. His friend was a woman now, and rummaging through a woman's bag was crazy. He had even lectured his friend the day before to be careful with her words because she was a woman, so he had done something stupid.
The day before yesterday, he was mistaken for a couple by a passerby. It was an event that made him realize that society's view of him and his friend was different now.
What also came to mind was her words from several hours ago.
"It seems better to just abandon me and be a Hunter alone."
His friend said those words as if she was discouraged.
That might be true, but he had no intention of being a Hunter unless he was with his friend.
The reason he started being a Hunter was because he wanted to go back to the old days.
To the days when he laughed and played with his friend.
He was worried about his friend who didn't come out of the house after graduating from high school, but he regretted not being able to help because he was working as a civil servant. In such times, it was an opportunity for both him and his friend to become Awakeners.
After deciding to become a Hunter with his friend, they met often, shared stories, and spent time together, and his friend began to regain her bright self from the old days. There were happenings and things that were difficult to say in the process, but he was happy because he felt like he was going back to the old days too.
He clearly started his Hunter life to have such a happy life.
Why did this incident happen?
Why couldn't he have woken up sooner?
His guilt grew as he looked at her body, which was starting to turn blue, and her face, which was covered in wounds.
Please, let nothing have happened....
* * *
It hurts. It's painful.
The last thing I remembered was being attacked by that crazy bastard. What happened to me?
Fear began to dominate me. What if that bastard is still nearby?
I have to run away right now.
"Kkeueu...."
I tried to get up, but I couldn't move because my chest and stomach hurt so much.
"Su-hyun-ah!?"
The voice I heard was Shi-hyun's voice. Shi-hyun's voice.... I felt relieved when I realized that Shi-hyun was next to me.
"Heuk, where is this?"
"Don't move, it's a safe place, so don't worry."
Right..., if it's next to Shi-hyun, it's a safe place.
After confirming that it was a safe place, my tense body began to relax.
"Are you okay?"
"I don't know. It just all hurts. More than that, how did you know?"
"I woke up early and you weren't next to me."
I was lucky.
If Shi-hyun had kept sleeping... just thinking about it makes me scared.
"I, didn't anything happen to me?"
I was scared, but I asked.
"Yes."
Thank goodness. Thank goodness. I was relieved.
The fear that had been gripping me began to disappear.
"What about that bastard?"
"I don't know, I just beat him up and abandoned him."
Isn't that murder?
But wouldn't it be worth it for such a crazy criminal to get hurt?
"Thank you, Shi-hyun-ah."
"No. You must have been scared? Relax now."
I could feel Shi-hyun stroking my bangs.
He must have been really worried.
I rested for a while and then got up with my aching body.
"Su-hyun-ah?"
"Let's move. We have to go to the hospital to treat the wounds anyway."
We moved busily to leave the Gate.
But finding the exit was not easy. The location tracker only tells us the straight-line distance to the Gate.
While wandering through the ant cave, we defeated many ants and obtained magic stones.
"Are you really okay?"
Actually, I'm not okay. My body creaked every time I moved. But I endured it.
Actually, I was scared. If I stayed still and did nothing, that moment would come to mind. The lecherous and eerie eyes of that man at that time kept coming to mind, and I was scared.
The eyes filled with the desire to possess me and the pain of being unable to resist that power properly. I felt miserable when I thought of myself as helpless when I stayed still.
So I chose to move my body.
My body hurt every time I moved, but rather, thanks to that pain, I was able to forget the painful memories.
As a result of moving for several hours, I began to completely lose my energy.
"Haa..., haa...."
Shi-hyun was looking back at me worriedly. I cut him off before he could say anything.
"I'm, okay."
I could see Shi-hyun looking even more worried, but I ignored him and walked forward using the spear as a support.
In the end, I got tired before finding the Gate.
"I'm sorry."
I moved stubbornly, but it only got worse.
Whether it was because I moved while enduring the pain, my arms and legs were numb and trembling.
When I subtly checked the areas where I felt pain, there were blue bruises.
Shi-hyun was watching me worriedly as I leaned against the wall to rest.
"Would you rather have me carry you on my back?"
"I don't want to, it hurts."
I'm serious. I want to get out quickly, but it hurts. It's a pain just to breathe, so it's really a pain in the ass.
"I'm sorry."
Shi-hyun said that and then picked me up.
And he started running fast. That speed was twice as fast as when I ran at full speed.
Shi-hyun was being careful, but I felt pain because of the shaking and the headwind. I could see his firm muscles through the tattered clothes, and I was close to his body, but I didn't have time to care about that.
"Eu, eut."
Shi-hyun, whom I looked up at, looked anxious.
We moved like that for 30 minutes in Shi-hyun's arms.
Shi-hyun, who had encountered monsters along the way but ignored them and ran, found the Gate, which was his destination.
He came out of the Gate as it was, checked the entry and exit records appropriately, and went straight to the car. He didn't even care that his clothes were dirty and took me to the hospital as it was.
Shi-hyun, who arrived at a nearby general hospital, took me into the hospital. After that, my memory was vague due to the pain and fatigue.
I just vaguely remembered that I had some kind of examination.
*
When I opened my eyes, it was an unfamiliar ceiling.
I didn't understand the situation well, so I looked around and saw that I was on a bed and there was an IV needle in my left arm.
"Ah, it's a hospital."
I felt relieved after understanding the situation.
I must have been given painkillers because I didn't feel any pain when I moved my body.
"Su-hyun-ah!"
I was surprised when Shi-hyun rushed at me.
"What! You scared me."
"Thank goodness. Really."
"What happened?"
I was rather embarrassed by Shi-hyun's anxious appearance.
"No?"
"But why are you making such a fuss?"
"You seem to be really okay."
"So, what about the examination?"
"Just bruises. Fortunately, there are no fractures, and there may be scars on your face."
Scars on my face.... It can't be helped.
"Don't worry about it."
"What? How can I not worry about it? You're saying there will be scars on a woman's face."
"So, are you going to take responsibility for it?"
Shi-hyun was embarrassed by my words. It must be even more absurd because I, who was a man until recently, am saying this.
I laughed.
"I have no intention of doing that. I don't think about dating or marriage anyway. You know that, right?"
Right, you want me, who was a man, to date and marry a man? That's crazy.
"That's right. Still, I wish there were no scars."
Shi-hyun's expression as he stroked my cheek with his hand looked affectionate and sentimental.