Few Days After the Jeju Island Raid
The Hunter Association held a commemorative ceremony for the victims of the Jeju Island dungeon and the previous three raids, as well as for those who had lost their lives to this monstrous dungeon.
Many people were in attendance—the Hunter Association Chairman, all S-Rank hunters, other hunters, and many citizens who had lost someone close or were simply there to commemorate the souls who had given their lives for the peace and safety of others.
Like everyone else, Min-Jae was in attendance, wearing all black clothes. He stood beside Cha Hae-In.
Everyone placed flowers at the graves of those who had lost their lives to this catastrophic dungeon.
With that, finally, the curse of Jeju Island was lifted from the country.
"You did well, Hunter Cha Min-Jae," Sung Jin-Woo said. He was also among the attendees and had come to stand beside Min-Jae.
"No. Everyone did well. But it would have been better if you had joined. Though, I respect your personal decision," Min-Jae replied.
"Thanks."
After saying this, Sung Jin-Woo tilted his head slightly to the side. His eyes met Cha Hae-In's for a brief moment. She immediately looked away, her face turning a deep shade of red.
Min-Jae noticed it too but chose to ignore it. He already knew she had a crush on Sung Jin-Woo.
---
During the Drive Back
Min-Jae sat in the driver's seat while Hae-In took the passenger seat beside him.
"The catastrophe finally came to an end," she said, leaning back against her seat.
"Yeah. Everyone's really relieved after that."
"I just wish all the gates, monsters, and dungeons would end like this. That would be more peaceful," she said, closing her eyes.
"Well, then I'd be jobless. I don't have any talent other than being a hunter."
"Then you would have studied and gotten a normal job. Don't forget you're still very good at studying," Hae-In said with a chuckle.
"Yeah. I would have become a translator. I'm good at a few languages," Min-Jae replied.
"Translator? That's a very specific choice. But I guess you should do what your heart says, right?"
"Yeah. And since we're on this topic, what about you? If you weren't a hunter, what would you have become or chosen to become?"
Hae-In took a deep breath, as if pondering her thoughts to answer the question. "Dancer. I think I would have become a dancer."
Min-Jae nodded, not surprised at all.
"You won't ask why ?"
"Nope. I already know."
The elegance and gracefulness in her movement of her sword use during taking down the ants, and just the way she fights is a given proof that she would have been a great dancer. So it came as no surprise that she would choose to become a Dancer.
"But as that's not the reality at the moment and gates and dungeons are still here, being hunters and clearing gates is our only job now," Cha Hae-In said.
"About that, I was thinking of asking Guild Master Choi Jong-In about making a special raid team for me."
"Special raid team? What do you mean by that?" Cha Hae-In straightened in her seat and looked at Min-Jae with a serious expression.
"Well, the Hunters Guild already has two squads, right?"
"Yes. You're in Squad B now."
"Right. But what I'm saying is, create a new squad for me. Because if I join the B Team, I'll end up doing most of the work. Or even if I try to do less and let them handle things, it would just be a waste of resources, in simple words. They won't be able to utilize their full potential, and neither will I." He explained.
"That's a good assessment. So you want to have a special team?"
"Yes. It doesn't matter what rank. Even C or D ranks will be fine."
"I see. Then we'll have to discuss this tomorrow with the Guild Master. After what you did in the Jeju Island raid, it won't be a big ask to be honest." She leaned back against the seat once again. "By the way, are you still having migraines when you keep the glasses or blindfold off?"
"Well, I think it won't be gone anytime soon. It'll be here for a long time," he replied. At the moment, he was wearing black sunglasses while driving the car.
"Yeah, but still, wearing glasses indoors in the dark or wearing a blindfold gives off a weird vibe."
"Maybe. But on social media, everyone's saying it's cool."
With that, the conversation almost ended as Min-Jae drove through the road. Soon they reached their destination—home.
---
The Same Day, Evening
Min-Jae, as always, was sitting in front of his setup. Currently, he was watching Bleach. He'd already switched from watching Hunter × Hunter because he'd gotten bored.
'Come on, I thought we were going to see a lot of cool Captains. Why did they have to deal with Aizen so early?' he questioned. As he was thinking, his phone rang with a call. He paused the anime to see who it was and found the name: *Han Semi*.
He answered the call.
"Hello. What's up?" Min-Jae spoke before she could.
"I'm good. But were you doing anything? Like, I'm not disturbing you, right?" She sounded a bit hesitant, making sure her phone call wasn't interrupting any important work.
"Come on, stop with these formalities. You said the same thing last time too."
"Yeah, it's just..."
"We're friends, right? And the only friend I have, so no formalities needed."
Han Semi didn't respond for a moment. Then she let out a small chuckle, the kind that slips out before you even realize you're smiling.
"Heh... okay, okay. No formalities then," she said, her tone lighter now. "But still, I didn't want to interrupt your game time."
"Well, you're not," Min-Jae replied with a smirk, leaning back in his chair. "By the way, I didn't see you at today's ceremony, though I could tell you were there."
"I was, of course. But obviously much further back in the line than the S-Ranks, which you're one of." She paused. "But what did you mean by you could tell I was there?"
"I'm a mage type, you know. I have very keen senses when it comes to magical energy flow and presence."
"Thanks for reminding me you're a mage-type hunter. Because after watching countless videos of your fights in the Jeju Island raid, I was thinking otherwise."
"Well, that's normal I'd say..." Min-Jae said as he stood up and walked over to the bed. "You were watching countless videos of my fights?" He said with a smirk.
She was taken aback by the question and a bit flustered as she tried to respond but stammered. "Of... of course, it's all over the internet. It's not like I was searching for it specifically or anything."
"Aww, and here I was thinking you wanted to watch me fight. I guess you weren't."
"Well, I was. But that doesn't mean I went searching for it," she responded in one breath, stammering once in between, clearly flustered.
"Okay, okay. I believe you." Min-Jae paused. "On a serious note, I was thinking about asking Guild Master Choi Jong-In for a third team tomorrow. So let's say I recommend your name for that team. Would you prefer to join or not?"
"I mean, I would. But I don't know how much help I'd be. Because if an S-Rank dungeon couldn't damage you, nothing below that could possibly do better. And if you don't get injured, then what's the point of having a healer?"
"Well, it'd be better to have my friend by my side at least."
Semi laughed quietly. "Yeah, yeah. Sure. Then I'll join if I need to."
Their conversation continued for another half hour, about everything they could possibly talk about.