Welcome to Dungeon Hotel

Uncle’s eyes moved slowly up and down as he looked at Han Woohyun.

It was a moment when the surrounding temperature seemed to drop by about 5 degrees.

Han Woohyun bowed his head and greeted him. I also shook off the feeling of being caught and said. 

“U, Uncle. Woohyun gave me a ride because it was getting late.” 

As soon as I finished my words, Uncle, who looked like he was about to drag out Han Woohyun at any moment, smiled slightly and said something kind.

“Thank you for driving our Junghyo. Then go home safely.”

‘What was the chill I just felt?… I must be mistaken, right?’

I walked towards my Uncle, thinking the chill was an illusion.

Ah, I forgot something.

“Oh, right. I don’t know your number.”

I walked back to Han Woohyun and held out my cell phone.

Then another cold air reached me coldly from somewhere.

I guess it’s because of the weather.

Han Woohyun asked quietly as I shivered.

“Are you cold?”

“A little bit.”

Han Woohyun took off his jacket and put it on my shoulder. I heard the sound of something crumpling behind me.

But I didn’t think to look back. It was because Han Woohyun smiled and even buttoned his jacket.

“It’s like a blanket because you’re wearing it.”

I somehow stared blankly at Han Woohyun’s smile.

I’ve thought about it before, but this guy seems to become a different person whenever he smiles.

“Are you going… to call me?”

Han Woohyun asked with a strange face.

Why are you asking such an obvious thing? 

“I’ll do it next week.”

Because you agreed to give me a bus ride next week.

Even though it was an obvious answer, Han Woohyun smiled again. 

“Why are you smiling?” 

“No, just… you’re like a cat wary of all directions.” 

He slowly released the sleeves of his jacket as if regretting it.

“But I don’t need this jacket. I’m going home now, anyway?” 

“Give it to me next week. Then.” 

Why do you have to do such a hassle…? Before I could even ask, he went back to the driver’s seat. 

* * *

The next day’s lunch.

I was fully prepared and headed to Uncle Junsoo’s house. 

What am I preparing for?

“Surprise!”

 It’s a preparation to make a surprised look at the surprise party I already know.

“…Look! She’s not surprised at all! Dad ruined it!”

“I hate you Dad!”

Of course, the result was a miserable failure.

I had quite a hard time soothing the crying twins.

Eventually, Aunt Mikyung, who woke up later, lured the twins with snacks and took them to the second floor. 

Aunt Mikyung, a famous painter, was Uncle Junsoo’s first love and the mother of twins.

“Eating quietly next to mother’s painting? Hmm?” 

I had no idea how Aunt Mikyung, who was always calm and quiet, ended up marrying Uncle Junsoo.

Anyway, I looked at the twins with surprised looks, who became quiet at Aunt Mikyung’s words. This is the trainer level.

That’s it for the admiration. 

I gave my Uncle a present that I had prepared.

Uncle, who saw the smartwatch, looked happy.

“How do you know I broke this, Junghyo~ Our pretty Junghyo~.”

Uncle finished pairing instantly and put the watch on his wrist with a happy face.

“Uncle is really good at handling electronics.”

“That’s right. These days, there are a lot of places to contact, so it’s even more so. Starting with Porter Hong Sungoh—”

Uncle told me urgently as if he remembered it only then.

“Did you hear the news about the porter? He’s back!”

“Yes, I know. It’s all thanks to Uncle.”

“What did I do? To be honest, I didn’t expect that person to stay inside the dungeon for so long. I thought it would be a relief if even a corpse was found.”

Uncle glanced at me while saying “corpse” and closed his mouth.

Well, it didn’t matter.

The important thing is, how far does Uncle know?

“He said he met an S-Class Paladin in an interview.”

“That’s why you get a lot of calls these days. A lot of people are coming. Huh?”

Uncle showed me the alarms that piled up as soon as he paired them.

“Everyone likes~me so much.”

Uncle smiled playfully.

It wouldn’t really be a playful situation. Looking at the screen, there seemed to be a lot of calls from the government.

“I will have him undergo a mental evaluation, but it is likely to be true that there was someone who helped the porter Hong Sungoh in the dungeon. Porter Hong Sungoh told me a similar story last night. He said he met a paladin, and it’s hard to tell more about it.” 

Uncle Junsoo’s eyes became somehow meaningful. 

“Until yesterday morning, it seemed like he was going to say everything… The timing of the sudden silence is suspicious, but….” 

I put down the cocoa glass that Uncle Junsoo made for me. 

The timing. 

Probably because I went there yesterday.

It must mean that Doyoon delivered my message to Hong Sungoh well. 

“Well. It is difficult to find an S-Class Paladin hidden in domestic guilds, so you could have met an S-Class Paladin in an overseas dungeon through a dimensional rift … Even so, it still takes some time.”

“Takes time?” 

I asked, pretending to be as calm as possible.

“Yeah. As soon as the news of the porter Hong Sungoh broke through the news, a strange phone call came to the association. He said he seemed to know that S-Class Paladin. He wonders if that person is doing barrier magic.”

Ha… It’s Kang Sangchil.

Uncle said. 

“Yeah. It’s strange. But what’s even more strange is that the number was gone when I called again to confirm. Just in case, I sent a person to the location of the owner of the number, and the owner of the number was in contact with the attendants who worked at the Baekho Guild. So I dug into the Baekho Guild, but there was nothing special there either.”  

Baekho Guild? 

I frowned. What does the Baekho Guild have to do with Kang Sangchil?

I don’t know the details, but the conclusion is this.

“In a word, this is what the world is like. I don’t how it’s happened but… Well, it’s a relief that an F-Class porter is back.”

The fact that Uncle Junsoo doesn’t know anything about the hotel.

I smiled as I felt the tension release.

“Everyone says it’s thanks to the ability of our country’s Hunter Association.”

I thought that if I said this, Uncle would give me a bright answer, but for some reason, Uncle’s face got darker.

“I don’t know. How much the Hunter Association can do for the hunters…The tyranny of the guilds is getting worse, and F and E-Class Hunters are driven to more dangerous free raids… I don’t know if showing condescension like that is meaningful.” 

Uncle had a tired expression.

It was the first I saw Uncle with such a face. 

“But your job is to protect the rights of those hunters. I thought you liked that. Uncle.” 

At my words, Uncle laughed bitterly.

I remembered Aunt Misoon’s words.

‘He’s changed a lot after going through a lot of things in the Hunter Association. I know that Hunter is no longer a hero. Won’t he stop you if you Awakened?’

Is it true what Aunt said?

There is nothing I can know just by worrying.

Let’s just say it. 

“What would you do if I wanted to help the hunters like you did? What if… like helping a porter like Hong Sungoh.” 

Uncle crumpled his face.

“You?”

“Yes. You’ve always said that you want me to Awaken and become a good hunter.” 

“Did you ever get an offer? If they know that you’re Semyung’s daughters, maybe somewhere….” 

I hurriedly stopped Uncle’s brow from getting crumpled. 

“No. It’s not like that. Just in case I could have awakened and helped the Hunters, at least as a non-combat Hunter… I wonder if it would have been nice.”

“I am against it.”

Uncle’s voice was cold.

To the point where my heart drops.

“Yeah. At that time, honestly, I thought it would be nice if you became an S-Class Hunter like Semyung. It was a bit difficult without Semyung. But now Hunter is no longer a hero, Junghyo.  It’s different from when Semyung and we were promoting together. Now Hunter is just… a human. In a way, they are just an office worker. But the risks are high and the stakes are much more complex.”

I know.

Hunters are no longer heroes.

It’s different now than before when people clapped for them and called them heroes when they just fought monsters. 

Just looking at Han Woohyun, that’s true.

People don’t call him a hero, no matter how dangerous it is.

They think that the astronomical amount of money he earns already replaces the price of his life.

If S-Class Hunters are like that, what about other hunters? 

Yeah. 

I know. That Hunter is now just a human.

I clenched my fists.

“So… I like that better, Uncle. Because Hunter is just a human. Because Hunter is also a human being who misses warm rice and a warm bed. I don’t think it’s bad that people are getting to know more and more about it.”

But it can’t be helped.

Money is precious to Hunter, and life is also precious. What can Hunter do if he’s a human like that too?

That’s why we have a hotel.

I looked straight at Uncle. 

Then Uncle said something with a worried face. 

“Did you… really get an offer from somewhere?”

“It’s not… an offer, but I found something I can do, Uncle.” 

“What is that?”

I said, avoiding Uncle’s puzzled face.

“I’ll tell you later.” 

Later. I’ll tell you when I’m definitely stronger, not to make BJF fanclub worries. (t.n : B.J.F baby junghyo fanclub.) 

To all three of you.

* * *

Three days later, the video from Hong Sungoh’s documentary 24 o’clock aired.

From the perspective of the PD and the broadcasting company, it was a quick organization, probably because they didn’t want to miss the timeliness. 

Thanks to this, I could watch what Hong Sungoh said right away. 

[I can’t tell you any more information about the S-Class Paladin. She told me not to reveal anything I saw in the sanctuary. There was also a request from my son.]

[I keep my secrets well!]

I also saw Doyoon’s bright face well.

Such a cute boy. 

It looks like this is over now.

But. 

When I finally returned from working well in Seoul, a bigger problem occurred in Yeongchun-myeon.

Running with Geumdong on the beach, I stopped walking and shouted, panting.

“How… can you gain this much weight in just two days?”

That was…

“Kyung…(Because I am a spirit. If I eat dog food, I will gain weight soon….).”

It was Geumdong’s sudden weight change.

“Be honest! You ate something other than dog food, right!”