Chapter 29: Could You Look at This Too?

"Haa."

Yu Ha-young let out a deep sigh after closing the door to the Association President's office.

Hwang Eun-ha.

During her active years, she was the woman who ignored almost every request from the Association, causing Ha-young to get chewed out from above.

And she was also the woman who provided Ha-young with the opportunity to be promoted to Section Chief thanks to successfully managing her license return.

That woman was starting to give her a headache again.

'How on earth am I supposed to bring a woman who quit being a Hunter back as an instructor? She’s a weirdo who attends college despite being an S-Class...'

Do you know how hard I worked, you damn old man?!

Ha-young cursed the Association President inwardly, but knowing nothing would change, she started walking away.

She walked while pondering how many bottles she should drink today.

The Association President's secretary looked at her retreating figure with pitying eyes.

"...?"

Jin-wook looked at me with a puzzled expression.

But before he could hold my hand, I quickly shoved both of my hands into my jumper pockets.

I glanced sideways at a group of students coming out of the building.

"Why."

"Nothing."

You seem disappointed, but it can't be helped, Jin-wook-ah.

I don't want to get involved in useless gossip yet.

"It's here."

Hearing Jin-wook say we had arrived at the Design Department building, I followed him inside.

In the center of the hall, a statue of a person sitting on a chair holding a brush occupied the space.

Not only that, but the walls seemed to be used as sketchbooks for students' pranks, covered in various drawings. Above them hung various paintings indicating that students had drawn them.

"Wow, there are so many drawings."

"Someone might be drawing somewhere even now, so we shouldn't be loud. There are quite a few fights because of that."

"Really?"

"Let's go in for now. I really don't have time."

Jin-wook said his major was Digital-Something-Or-Other.

I remembered hearing that he had to draw and submit a total of two pieces before finishing the grade.

I might know the human Jung Jin-wook best in this school, but I know almost nothing about the student Jung Jin-wook.

Wondering how he does it, I followed closely behind him with interest.

"Entry to the studio is prohibited for other majors, so you really can't be loud."

I nodded at him as he stopped to warn me.

I quietly slipped in through the opening door.

But contrary to my expectation that the studio would be cluttered with sketchbooks and paints, the desks were unexpectedly filled only with electronic devices like computers.

'That must be a tablet.'

Since the work Jin-wook had to do was digital art, he headed to the seat labeled 'Jung Jin-wook', moved the mouse, and woke up the screen.

I pulled up an empty chair and started watching Jin-wook draw blankly.

'He draws well.'

I didn't know how long he had been working on it.

It depicted various vehicles and city structures floating in the air within a crumbling city.

Looking at the scene capturing a part of a destroyed city, I recalled a dungeon I had cleared once.

The dungeon where the monster 'Ghost Steel Frame', which I hunted for my S-Class test, appeared as the boss.

The dungeon where the guild Kang Tae-woo belonged to at the time failed the raid, causing a Dungeon Break.

'So that place was there.'

According to the testimony of Kang Tae-woo, a survivor at the time, what they saw when they entered the dungeon was a peaceful city from the past, without any Gates.

A world where people lived their daily lives diligently, unaware of the danger of Gates.

Since they had experience clearing such trick-type dungeons before, the first thing they did was look for the dungeon's trick.

A clue to break the false scene of the seemingly happy city.

Of course, Kang Tae-woo's guild couldn't find the trick to clear the dungeon.

Personally, I think if they had attacked that seemingly happy city, they would have found the condition more easily.

But fearing the risk of turning the entire city into an enemy, and not being as strong as me, they couldn't rule out that danger and took the long way around instead of the easy path.

'And even if they found it, Kang Tae-woo wouldn't be alive right now, right?'

It wasn't a dungeon they could clear anyway.

The biggest factor for the Association to determine a dungeon's rank is the amount of mana flowing out through the Gate.

But at that time, that dungeon was consuming a lot of mana to maintain the city's illusion.

Because of that, they made the error of measuring the dungeon's rank as low-tier A-Class.

This was a fatal mistake.

Kang Tae-woo's guild planned the clear based on wrong information, so the plan itself was wrong from the start.

In a dungeon, wrong information and plans lead directly to death.

Against an opponent like the Ghost Steel Frame, it was perhaps a destined sequence that Kang Tae-woo's guild would be torn apart back then.

Even Kang Tae-woo, who was evaluated to have good skills enough to be the guild's sub-tank...

Was a much weaker Hunter back then, only around mid-B-Class.

So, even if they broke the city's illusion and cleared the trick to face the boss, Kang Tae-woo would have been torn apart by the Ghost Steel Frame's legs just the same.

'It was a truly ridiculous mistake. Was the Advance Scout system introduced because of that?'

Later, I, who lived nearby, stepped up and stopped the Break.

No matter how much I think about it, it was a dizzying memory.

If I had been even a little further away at that time, the neighborhood I lived in would have been torn apart by the S-Class Dungeon Break.

And not only my family, but Jin-wook and his family would have died too.

"Eun-ha-ya."

"Huh?"

"What are you thinking?"

The time I was briefly submerged in memories was stopped by Jin-wook, who turned to his side, perhaps because I was too quiet while he was working hard.

My consciousness, escaping from memories and returning to reality, recognized that this place was totally different from back then—the safe Digital Drawing Studio of Cheoeum University's Design Department. I scratched the back of my head lightly.

"Just, looking at your drawing reminded me of old memories."

"Old memories?"

"A Dungeon Break happened in our neighborhood a long time ago, remember? When the Association made a measurement error and a guild got wiped out."

"Right. That happened."

"The scenery of that dungeon was quite similar to your drawing right now. So I unknowingly recalled those old memories."

Since it was an event we went through together.

Perhaps remembering that I ran out urgently while being with him back then, Jin-wook nodded and asked.

"This drawing must be similar to that dungeon."

"Yeah. According to the survivor's testimony back then, it overlaid an illusion of a happy city on top of a desolate city. Like a dream."

Since Jin-wook was a civilian, he was blocked from approaching anywhere near the S-Class Dungeon Break because his body could have melted from the high concentration of mana. So he spoke to me as if fascinated.

However, even so, there weren't things like cars floating in the air like that back then.

'Well, this drawing itself is Jin-wook's imagination anyway.'

Still, it was the first time I recalled my feelings upon seeing a drawing.

Just as I was feeling fascinated, Jin-wook laughed, "Could you look at this too?" put down his pen, and moved his hand to the mouse.

"Uh?"

He clicked the mouse for a moment.

With that crumbling background behind her...

A woman with bobbed hair fluttering in a devastated appearance appeared on the screen.

Dressed in black clothes, holding a piece of broken scrap metal in her hand, as if floating by telekinesis.

"This is me?"

"Sorry for using you as a model without permission. But I didn't have many chances to draw freely without being bound by a subject like in freshman year."

"No, well, I don't mind, but..."

Not the current, somewhat stabilized me.

Looking at my appearance in the drawing that seemed to model the past, significantly unstable me, I felt something strange and indescribable.

Usually, such creations follow the creator's psychological state at the time of making.

Perhaps Jin-wook's current psychology is also this devastated?

'Well, he has been extremely busy with assignments and exams lately.'

Still, isn't this a bit too devastated?

He should know.

How unstable my psychological state was back then, living like a bomb about to explode.

"Jin-wook-ah."

"Huh?"

"Do you have to work more?"

"I... guess so? Since there are about three days left?"

Jin-wook said that and tried to grab the pen again.

But I held his hand and shook my head left and right.

I stood up, organized the chair, and pointed outside the door with my thumb.

"You want to go out?"

"Yeah."

"I'm busy."

"Can't you just listen to me for today? You can finish the work within two days."

At my words, Jin-wook made a "Hmm" face, pondering for a moment, then nodded. He shut down the computer he was working on and stood up.

At my signal pulling his sleeve to come out, he put the items he brought into his bag as if he had no choice and left the studio.

"By the way, isn't that computer yours?"

"No. Only the tablet is mine, that one belongs to the school."

"Must have a lot of money. In the Hunter Department, professors always look gloomy saying there's no money."

Since it hadn't been long since he started working, it wasn't time for sunset or anything.

Coming out of the building, I led Jin-wook to a corner of the campus park that people didn't visit often.

To his question of why we came here, I patted the bench next to me and told him, "Just sit for now."

"Okay, I sat."

"Something's going on with you these days, right."

"What are you talking about."

"Quickly. They say an artwork contains the creator's imagery to some extent. If you drew me from that time, there must be something wrong. Right?"

"What a strange theory. I just drew whatever came to mind."

But Jin-wook denied my words.

I stared at his face blankly.

He must know that I wouldn't say anything no matter what he drew if he was going to draw me anyway.

So why did he draw me from that time of all times?

"If you don't like it, shall I change the subject?"

"Why bother? It's not that I don't like it or anything."

"For example, you getting shy at the words 'let's hold hands'."

"What are you saying. Why would I be shy? What's the big deal about holding hands?"

"Really?"

At that moment.

Jin-wook suddenly grabbed my hand and leaned his face close to mine.

Close enough that if he got just a little closer, he could kiss me again like that time.

"B-Better move away before I blow you away."

"Using an ability on a civilian is a crime."

"You, since you awakened an ability, you aren't a civilian."

Saying that, I pushed Jin-wook away slightly and looked forward again.

"What ability."

"The ability to keep saying weird things and flustering me..."

"Is that considered an ability too?"

"Of course. You seem to see S-Class Hunters as pushovers, but I'm not an easy existence you can wrap around your finger as you please, you know?"

"I never said I could wrap you around my finger."

At his tone, smirking and daring me to try more, I felt like I was being teased, and heat rose to my face.

"And since you returned your Hunter license, 'S-Class Hunter' is old news."

"Eeek..."

"Hey, Civilian Hwang Eun-ha-ssi."

But is it not over yet?

Jin-wook grabbed both my arms with his hands, pulled my body toward him, and hugged me.

At the sudden attack, I tried to manifest telekinesis quickly to push him away, but his grinning voice was heard again.

"You said we could go further than friends, so you're not going to push me away, are you?"

"I'll report you to the police for sexual harassment."

"Against a former S-Class? A civilian?"

I can't win with words at all.

Even though he used to panic and tell me to stop whenever I played pranks.

A mere civilian playing pranks on a former Hunter.

...Cheeky.

"If you keep doing this, I'll can­..." (cancel that statement)

Just as I was about to launch a final counterattack.

My phone in my pocket vibrated and started ringing at the same time.

Startled, I slipped out of his embrace and hurriedly took out my phone. The three syllables [ Yu Ha-young ] were displayed largely on the screen along with the number.

[ Eun-ha-nim... ]

And, whatever happened.

Ha-young's voice sounded like a wasted person on the brink of death.