Holy B-Class Life

#059

“Sigh.”

Reluctantly, Yoon Pa-ran started to move.

He had realized over the past few days of quietly guarding the orphanage that there was a real chance of being blindsided in the gates right now.

He couldn’t understand why this land was causing such a fuss. That’s why, even though it was due to the contract, Dan Joo-hyuk’s promise to look into the situation was so reassuring.

This time, he really owed Dan Joo-hyuk a lot. Besides, it was a bit late to back out now.

Surprisingly, Dan Joo-hyuk’s house wasn’t far from Yoon Pa-ran’s orphanage. No matter how much he dragged his feet, the destination slowly approached. Upon arrival, Yoon Pa-ran frowned as he looked up at Dan Joo-hyuk’s tall residence.

Would they do that again if he went in there?

He shook his head, forcibly pushing away the thought that had unconsciously arisen. Sadly, his hesitation was brief, as the gaze of the building security guard watching the suspiciously standing Yoon Pa-ran grew increasingly sharp.

Fortunately, when he stated his destination, the guard let Yoon Pa-ran pass easily. It seemed Dan Joo-hyuk had unnecessarily but diligently given notice.

The elevator the guard pointed to moved automatically before he could even press the button. Inside the elevator going straight to the top floor, Yoon Pa-ran stood awkwardly.

As soon as the doors opened, Dan Joo-hyuk’s gentle voice was heard.

“You’re here.”

Yoon Pa-ran hesitated as soon as he saw him.

“…”

Because he was dressed casually today.

The black sweatpants and plain white t-shirt weren’t particularly unusual attire. However, having only seen outfits suitable for entering gates before, Yoon Pa-ran observed his appearance anew.

As soon as he saw that handsome face, his unsettled feelings surged again.

“Sigh…”

The feeling escaped as a deep sigh without him realizing it.

“That’s an interesting way to greet someone.”

Dan Joo-hyuk picked up on that and mocked him. Come on, can’t a person sigh?

Yoon Pa-ran was about to glare at him out of sudden anger but let out another faint sigh instead. He was about to take a step to enter when—

“Hoo.”

“Ugh…!”

Startled by the sudden wind in his ear, Yoon Pa-ran jumped.

Goosebumps rose from his nape and quickly spread down his back.

Turning his head sharply, he found Dan Joo-hyuk standing right next to him. Surprised by the sudden proximity, Yoon Pa-ran instinctively leaped back.

“Don’t scare me like that!”

A loud clattering sound echoed as he bumped into the elevator. To make matters worse, the elevator doors chose that moment to start closing.

Dan Joo-hyuk blocked the doors with one hand.

“…”

“…”

After silently looking at Yoon Pa-ran for a while, he eventually smiled as usual.

“I’ll try my best.”

Why did that brief silence feel so ominous?

“Come in.”

Dan Joo-hyuk stepped back and gestured inside with his chin. Having already made enough of a spectacle, Yoon Pa-ran quickly stepped out of the elevator.

His ear still felt itchy. He rubbed it vigorously, trying to shake off this unsettling feeling.

Why did his senses feel so heightened today?

He needed to pull himself together. It seemed too many things beyond his comprehension had been happening lately.

However, despite his resolve, Yoon Pa-ran soon had to forcibly close his mouth, which had opened of its own accord.

He also barely managed to hold back an exclamation that almost escaped.

“…”

Wow. This place is amazing.

It was unexpected to see a spacious living room right after stepping out of the elevator. He had wondered why Dan Joo-hyuk had come out to the hallway to greet him, but it seemed the elevator connected directly to the house.

Taking off his shoes, he entered the living room. Through the open windows, he could see the Han River. And on the balcony, which was exaggeratingly almost as large as the orphanage playground, there was even a spacious swimming pool.

A private swimming pool. It was a space Yoon Pa-ran had always wanted.

Though he tried to maintain a blank expression, he apparently couldn’t hide his curious glances around. Dan Joo-hyuk tilted his head and asked kindly:

“Would you like to look around more?”

“No, I’m fine.”

Yoon Pa-ran, who had been staring blankly at the pool area, snapped back to reality and answered.

“…”

For some reason, Dan Joo-hyuk wasn’t satisfied with that clear expression.

The tips of Yoon Pa-ran’s ears were still flushed red. As he glanced at them, Dan Joo-hyuk naturally noticed his outfit as well.

Today too, Yoon Pa-ran was in complete civilian clothes. His appearance, looking even younger than usual, was still unfamiliar.

Strangely, it was hard to look at him for long. Feeling his nerves tighten, Dan Joo-hyuk reflexively shifted his gaze to where Yoon Pa-ran had been staring blankly.

The pool was a place that the management company diligently maintained even in this weather. Even though he never used it himself.

Does he like swimming?

Dismissing this useless information, Dan Joo-hyuk gestured towards the sofa. This time, Yoon Pa-ran walked over with a stiff face and plopped down with an almost solemn posture, then said:

“If you’re going to do it, do it quickly.”

“Hmm.”

Dan Joo-hyuk stroked his chin and smiled deeply. It was truly a fearless attitude.

Thinking you know what I’m going to do.

He pushed away the thought that arose unconsciously. The situation was becoming urgent due to the S-class gates. There was no time for unnecessary actions.

He hadn’t called Yoon Pa-ran today to receive a skill transfer in the first place. Nevertheless, Dan Joo-hyuk found his attitude amusing.

“I didn’t know you liked kissing me that much. I’ll have to step up my game.”

“Fuck. Stop talking nonsense.”

Yoon Pa-ran’s irritable responses to his provocations were indeed interesting. This time, perhaps due to anger, his earlobes turned red again. After observing this, Dan Joo-hyuk moved towards the kitchenette.

Right, it’s not needed right away.

It was being decided that another S-class hunter, not Dan Joo-hyuk, would enter the newly appeared S-class gate in Korea. It was better to conserve strength before going to the Russian gate anyway.

More importantly, there was something he needed to interrogate Yoon Pa-ran about before going to Russia.

“…”

After getting a glass of water from the kitchenette, Dan Joo-hyuk returned to Yoon Pa-ran. Even as he kindly placed a glass of water in front of him, Yoon Pa-ran remained completely on guard.

At this rate, one would think someone was going to eat him.

“Anyway, be patient. We don’t have time to leisurely do that right now.”

“What? Then why did you call me here?”

“Some interesting information came up, so I thought I’d kill two birds with one stone… But if you don’t want to, that’s fine too.”

While summarizing recent events, Dan Joo-hyuk had noticed one ambiguous discrepancy. Specifically, Yoon Pa-ran had shown a subtle reaction when talking about the stone Heo Sang-yeon had brought.

Strangely, he kept thinking about that face until he went to bed. Then Dan Joo-hyuk realized one thing. The status window of the stone that had caused changes in him as well.

Would Yoon Pa-ran have seen the same status window as him?

“Do you want to hear it?”

At first glance, it didn’t seem like particularly important information. After all, it wasn’t the first time Yoon Pa-ran had hidden information from him.

However, the fact that he kept thinking about Yoon Pa-ran’s face from that day made him feel like his instincts were warning him that he was missing something.

“Go ahead, tell me.”

Yoon Pa-ran, who had been contemplating, leaned back on the sofa and spoke abruptly. His gaze remained fixed on the table in front of the sofa, lost in thought.

Despite the somewhat chilly weather, Yoon Pa-ran wore only jeans and a hoodie. His casual attire still looked unfamiliar. Dan Joo-hyuk couldn’t understand why he kept noticing Yoon Pa-ran’s everyday clothes like this.

Perhaps it was also because he was sitting defenseless in his personal space.

Through the loose collar of the hoodie, his snow-white neck was visible. Dan Joo-hyuk, who had unconsciously focused his gaze there, reminded himself of his purpose again.

Should I dangle some bait first?

Based on his recent understanding of Yoon Pa-ran’s nature, he tended to become more docile when he felt indebted to someone. So he planned to share some information appropriately. After all, Yoon Pa-ran was quite tight-lipped.

Thinking this, Dan Joo-hyuk slowly approached Yoon Pa-ran. Pondering what to say first, his fingertips tapped the back of the sofa as he moved.

Eventually, he sat down next to Yoon Pa-ran without much thought and rested his elbow on the backrest. He propped his chin on his hand and gazed intently at the pale face.

Suddenly, Yoon Pa-ran’s face became angry. He had seemed strangely tense since the distance closed, but this was an unexpected change.

Wondering what was wrong, Dan Joo-hyuk continued to observe him. Yoon Pa-ran gritted his teeth and spat out:

“What. Are you asking for an information fee again?”

Ah, right. I did play that trick.

To be clear, it wasn’t something he had in mind right now. However, Dan Joo-hyuk suddenly felt playful and didn’t deny the assumption.

Instead, he leaned his chin-propped face towards Yoon Pa-ran and whispered intimately. A genuine smile kept creeping onto his lips.

“An S-class gate has appeared.”

“Are you trying to trick me again…”

“This time it’s really in Korea. It appeared four days ago.”

“What? …But there was no S-class gate on the Hunter intranet.”

Yoon Pa-ran’s wavering eyes were very visible at this close distance.

Though he clearly wanted to back away, Yoon Pa-ran stood his ground. Did he think retreating would hurt his pride?

Strangely, seeing this made Dan Joo-hyuk’s smile deepen.

“Where do you think it might be located?”

“F-fuck.”

As expected, a curse burst out. Would a hand fly this time?

As predicted, Yoon Pa-ran reached out roughly. However, some intuition made Dan Joo-hyuk just stare blankly at it.

Even though he could have easily dodged.

“…”

“Ugh.”

Eventually, his collar was grabbed, and their lips collided.