Side Story Chapter 3 – Inevitable Reunion

They say when a person is surprised, they lose their words.

I thought it had nothing to do with me until now.

But as soon as I saw the scene before me, I temporarily forgot my past self.

And no wonder.

‘Huh….’

[Are you surprised?]

There were just so many guests who had come here.

Of course, someone could harshly criticize me for this nonsense now.

I clearly said in the previous chapter that I would go meet the heroines.

Yet here I was, welcoming guests instead of meeting them.

But there was nothing I could do about it.

It didn’t seem like I had taken too long with the arrangements.

But just as I was about to meet her, my parents suddenly showed up.

What was the groom doing not welcoming the guests?

Thanks to that, the first person I met as soon as I put on my tuxedo was—

A bunch of unfamiliar people who had come to give wedding gifts.

They were complete strangers I had never seen before in my life.

“Your mom and dad have quite a wide network, huh?”

“I’m surprised. I thought you had no friends.”

Looking at how my parents greeted them, it had to be from my parents’ connections.

“You’re the only one.”

“F*ck.”

Well, you could say it was rather natural.

A wedding isn’t just a celebration of the couple.

It’s an event where different families come together.

So it’s not weird that my parents’ acquaintances would show up.

In the end, my job was to greet the unfamiliar faces with as much of a smile as possible.

After all, they all came to celebrate our wedding.

Was there really a need for me, the main character of the wedding, to trample on their goodwill?

However, amidst the family welcome, there was something I felt a bit disappointed about.

“Mom, where’s Choco Hyung?”

“He stopped answering. He’s not at home either.”

“Really?”

The fact that Choco Hyung wasn’t here weighed on me.

Given that my parents were here, Choco Hyung should have known about my wedding.

It was honestly a bit hurtful that I couldn’t reach him, and he hadn’t shown up.

Was it because I got married before him and he was feeling upset?

Anyway, there was nothing I could do at the moment, so I decided to not focus on it for a bit.

[Isn’t it possible he has something important that’s keeping him away?]

‘That must be it, right?’

Meanwhile, there were far too many flower baskets around, looking almost excessive.

There were so many that they seemed to be overlapping, disregarding aesthetics.

And the places that sent the flower baskets were embarrassingly diverse.

Of course, and thankfully, there were no flower baskets from hunters.

[Oh, there’s one.]

‘Where did it come from?’

Except for just that one.

[It’s from divorce counseling specialists, huh.]

“D*ckheads.”

It would have looked better if there were none at all, though.

On the other hand, a wedding is usually a celebration for parents.

So it was common for guests related to them to show up.

But that didn’t mean I had no connections myself.

“Shinwoo-chan, www congratulations on the wedding www!”

「Congratulations on your Master’s wedding!」

“Thanks for both of you coming.”

The first to arrive were Kyoukyou and the AI Ninja.

They came all the way from the distant land of Japan.

Just for the sole purpose of celebrating my wedding.

Though it must have been quite tiring for them, I was truly grateful they came.

「By the way, the decoration here is So So compared to what I expected.」

“Really? I thought it looked fine…”

「Then can Oresama display a Grandma here for Master?」

“Hey! Not here, you f*cker!”

If the AI Ninja hadn’t suddenly tried to connect a cable to the monitor, it wouldn’t have been worse.

“Kim Shinwoo, I honestly can’t believe you’re getting married…”

“Right? I can’t believe it either…”

Not to mention Spencer, dressed elegantly, showed up.

『…Congratulations on reaching the grave of life…』

“F*ck.”

There was also the red dragon, who had polymorphed into human form.

“Congratulations, Hunter Shinwoo.”

“Graaaah!”

“Roooooar!”

“Thanks. It’s great to see you all too.”

And there were the members of the Monster Rights Association along with the monsters they brought.

I didn’t necessarily need to accept the wedding gifts since I was living an abundant life.

Yet, they handed me hefty envelopes of cash as if it wasn’t a big deal.

I thought it was a bit too much at first and tried to refuse.

“Shaaaark!”

“Just take it…? Hey, it’s okay if you don’t give it. What are we even to each other?”

They insisted so aggressively that I decided to gratefully accept the cash.

“Shyaaak shyaaaaak!”

“I got a job so it’s fine…? Thanks a lot, I’ll use it well.”

“Shaaaark!!!”

It’s not really a good thing to completely refuse someone’s goodwill.

“Gotta gacha it.”

“You son of a b*tch.”

Meanwhile, the Cheonma, whom I thought I’d never see here, showed up too.

“Congratulations on your wedding.”

“Thank you, Cheonma.”

Honestly, it was pretty surprising that Cheonma came.

Not because a top-tier hunter was visiting.

But because they must be monitoring the guild’s construction sites in real-time.

Especially since there’s a lot of risk involved during times like these.

“Oh, when are you getting married, Cheonma?”

“Getting married is a luxury on the path of a martial artist.”

“People who say that usually get married early.”

“What do you mean, I’m already at the first cycle of the zodiac, why would I hurry?”

Seeing that made me feel a little relieved that I’d lived a decent life.

“To the underworld.”

“Come outside, you d*ckhead.”

Right after Cheonma left, someone rushed over and banged their head against me.

“Shinwoo hyung! Congratulations on the f*cking wedding!”

“Yeah.”

That person was none other than Ryu Kang-hyuk.

He looked like he was panting heavily, probably having rushed over.

Still, it was a relief he wasn’t too late and wore a suit unlike usual.

Finally, he looked somewhat human.

The only odd thing about Kang-hyuk was that he seemed to be very conscious of Yerim’s eyes from a distance.

Yerim was glaring at him with pitying eyes.

She simply nodded at me and quickly headed towards the bride’s waiting room.

While it was true she had come to celebrate, it seemed like there was some serious problem between them.

As soon as Yerim left, I hastily engaged Kang-hyuk in conversation.

What in the world happened between those two?

“Did something happen between you and Yerim?”

“I got kicked out of the house… I just met her here today after being homeless for a while…”

What on earth did this d*ckhead do to get kicked out of the house?

“Why did you get kicked out again?”

“I bought a game console without permission ’cause there’s a new one coming out.”

That was a surprisingly unexpected answer.

Getting kicked out over a game console seemed a bit extreme to me personally.

Even if it’s a bit poorly perceived, it’s just a hobby of staying at home.

Of course, given Kang-hyuk’s past deeds, this must’ve been another outburst.

“Fishing isn’t even a hobby but Yerim must be a bit sensitive, huh?”

Compared to other hobbies, it seemed quite healthy.

It didn’t seem like it would escalate into a conflict.

Honestly, siding with Kang-hyuk here felt right.

“Of course, I bought a fishing rod too.”

“Should’ve mentioned that first, you d*ckhead.”

No, this insane f*cker deserved a beating.

“I got a discount too…”

“Just go live outside.”

Buying a game console without permission is outrageous enough.

But then he went and bought a fishing rod too?

At this point, Yerim must be a saint for still keeping him around.

[Isn’t he going to get a divorce at this rate?]

‘If that guy just turns things around, his married life will be just fine.’

I wondered how many guests I had welcomed by this point.

When it felt like the flow of people had slightly weakened,

A thought suddenly popped into my head.

Were the heroines welcoming their guests well too?

Of course, quite a number of guests had come to congratulate me.

But the number of people crowding the bride’s waiting room was simply overwhelming.

Unlike my case, the scale was continuously growing.

[Are you curious?]

‘Yes.’

At that moment, Piece subtly spoke to me.

[Then I’ll let you hear it.]

‘What?’

As soon as I expressed my confusion, strange sounds began to emerge.

Actually, it was slightly misleading to call it unfamiliar.

The sounds were mixed with the voices of the people and the heroines.

It felt almost like I was right next to them.

[I’ve only connected your hearing.]

‘No way. F*ck. Is this possible?’

[I told you, my body and you are already connected.]

I never imagined I could use Piece this way.

And they say people are easily dissatisfied with the present.

If I’m going to connect, I’d rather connect my sight too.

I was curious how beautiful they would look in their wedding dresses, something I’ve never seen.

[I’ll leave that for later fun.]

‘Sigh, what a waste.’

Of course, Piece crushed my wish with a chuckle.

But still, being able to understand their situation just through sound is something, right?

Satisfied with that fact, I decided to quietly concentrate on those voices.

Wishing that there were no major problems.

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