It wasn’t that he was frightened by the partial nudity of a handsome man, who was incomparable to his skinny self. No, that was surprising enough. It wasn’t just because Hyeon Gyu-ha trained at the gym yet his muscles weren’t bulging, or because he was as elegant and handsome as a statue. Even the large and small scars left all over his body were not unsightly and look great, like tattoos.
However, what surprised In Yoo-shin even more than that were the two characters engraved on Hyeon Gyu-ha’s left chest, where his heart would be.
YOO-SHIN 唯信.
Even if he closed his eyes and reopened them, rubbed them and stared at the hanja characters again, they were clearly his name. They were even kindly written down alongside the hangul, so that he might not be mistaken for someone else of the same name.
“Ho-ho-how could my name get there……”
“Don’t point at people.”
In Yoo-shin was startled and hurriedly lowered his pointing hand, which had come up without his even realizing it.
“Ho-how did this happen?”
“I came home the day I saw you at the bank and it looked like this.”
“It’s not like i-it’s a tattoo or sticker, is it?
In Yoo-shin, who fell into a panic, didn’t realize that Hyeon Gyu-ha remembered briefly meeting him at the bank. Hyeon Gyu-ha’s eyes narrowed.
“Are you saying that I got a tattoo of your name on purpose and then accused you? Why would I do that?”
“I-I guess?”
Glancing at In Yoo-shin, who spat out anything in embarrassment, Hyeon Gyu-ha grabbed his wrist.
“Then touch it.”
In Yoo-shin didn’t even have time to understand what he meant. In the blink of an eye, In Yoo-shin’s palm was touching the tattoo. A tattoo, on the bare chest of a man, who was a stranger to me.
[Current Status: Murderous. Petulant.]
“Ahh……”
Just before he could scream at the sensation of Hyeon Gyu-ha’s firm chest against his palm, the door burst open.
“It’s better to smoke on the roof than in the smoking room, but coming up is annoying…… Gasp!”
“Why did you suddenly…… Hiik.”
Hyeon Gyu-ha calmly spoke to them, who were wide-eyed at the sight of a man touching the chest of another man standing half-naked.’
“I’m a bit busy.”
“Sorry to interrupt, Hunter-nim!”
“Have a good time!”
The people hurriedly slammed the doors and fled from the rooftops. Interrupt…… What did they mean by, ‘to interrupt’……? Again, what was the meaning behind ‘have a good time’……? Tears welled up in Yoo-shin’s eyes.
“Can I take my hand off now……?”
“I hope you understand that it is not a tattoo.”
“I understand……”
When Hyeon Gyu-ha let go of his wrist, In Yoo-shin quickly removed his hand, looking tearful. The feeling left on my palm was so vivid. It felt as if I had touched steel, not a human body, but his skin was exceptionally smooth……
‘Calm down, you madman! What’s so significant about the feeling of someone else’s chest!?’
In Yoo-shin desperately tried to distract himself from the sensation of Hyeon Gyu-ha’s chest. It was the first time that a Master’s name was engraved on an opponent’s body during taming.
Although, it’s absurd to be able to tame people in the first place.
Fully clothed, Hyeon Gyu-ha watched the face of In Yoo-shin change every moment according to his inner monologue, and then moved his lips.
“First, let me explain my situation. Ever since I was at the bank that day, I felt like someone was calling me.”
“……”
I called him. Calling 7-seya, 7-seya, on and on.
In Yoo-shin recalled how Hyeon Gyu-ha had repeatedly looked back at him and wanted to slap his mouth.
“Even after I handed over the robbery to the detectives, I continued to feel strange. It’s hard to express exactly, but just being away from something made me feel uneasy and nervous—feeling like my consciousness was buried because I couldn’t stop thinking about it.”
“……”
“In other words, I felt separation anxiety like a dog that was tamed by its Master.”
“……”
“I suffered from uneasiness all day for no reason, and when I came home, I saw a word engraved here. Just like a person’s name.”
“……”
No words for excuses. Even if I had a mouth, it’s useless, so I had no choice but to shut up.
Hyeon Gyu-ha put his hands in his pants pocket and continued his words as usual.
“At first, I didn’t even think of it as a human name. Think about it. What kind of lunatic just carves his name on someone else’s body? And on ‘me’ too? Not even a stalker would do that, don’t you think?”
“.……”
“Don’t you think so?”
“W-well, that’s true.”
In Yoo-shin, who had been beaten by his conscience, shrank even more. It wasn’t intentional, but it was definitely my fault for not checking closely.
Each time the flashbacks continued, the surrounding air dropped by one degree.
“I wondered if it was a curse, so I mobilized all my connections and visited both the healing and purification magicians. But it’s not a curse. No matter what I did, it wouldn’t work. Do you know what everyone was saying when I talked about my symptoms?”
“……”
“‘You should go to a mental hospital.’”
“……”
“How do you think I must have felt when I was suddenly treated like a madman?”
“……I think you must have been very, very frustrated and upset……”
“And also?”
“And I think you must have been angry……”
“So you know.”
A small smile clung to Hyeon Gyu-ha’s lips, but the rapidly cooled air did not relax at all.
“I thought I met the culprit at the bank. So, after checking the robbers one by one, I obtained and looked at the data of that day’s incident. What do you think I saw there?”
“My name……?”
“You’re smart—maybe because you passed the civil service exam.”
“Well, I’m a contract worker……”
“Only answer what I ask.”
“Yes.”
“Well, whatever, so.”
In Yoo-shin’s shoulders trembled. The amber eyes staring down at him from a body leaning down were very frightening.
“I came all the way here to find you and tear them to you, since it’s a hunter-related circumstance.”
“Hiik.”
“As soon as I saw you on that side, lightning flashed in my head.”
Ah, that man is my Master.
In Yoo-shin, who read a single sentence made by Hyeon Gyu-ha’s silently moving lips, was even more terrified. He came here desperate to kill the culprit, not knowing if it were a curse or a case of stalking, but he even found out that he’d been forcibly tamed.
As he remembered how he felt, the shock made him dizzy. I would’ve wanted to strangle myself if I were especially in Hyeon Gyu-ha’s position.
Furthermore, Hyeon Guy-ha had sufficient ability to kill me, as well as the ability to conceal the act.
Hyeon Gyu-ha relaxed and gave a few words to In Yoo-shin, who was now visibly trembling.
“Then you can explain yourself now. If it’s for an acceptable reason, I’ll kill you right away, painlessly, instead of torturing you to death in the dungeon.”
So you were going to torture me to death……
In Yoo-shin struggled to move his quivering lips.
“I-I’m a tamer. I’m an F-class…… Somehow, I ended up taming Hunter Hye-Hyeon Gyu-ha-nim.”
He explained from the moment when there was an error in his system window. Although he tried hard to express that he had absolutely no intention of taming people, Hyeon Gyu-ha didn’t seem to be listening.
“Hmm, it’s called taming.”
His attention seemed to be focused only on the word ‘taming’.
“It’s the first time I’ve heard that you can tame people, but well, even so. Can you cancel taming? I know it’s not possible.”
There were only two ways to cancel taming. One was the death of the tamed one. The other was the death of the person who cast taming.
And of course, Hyeon Gyu-ha, who has gone through all the hardships as a hunter, would know. He stroked his chin and narrowed his eyes.
“Have you ever been in the position of the tamed one?”
“No……”
“It’s quite unpleasant. The feeling when I don’t go the way my heart wants is really fucked up. Even now, just looking at you, my reason wants to kill you, but I have an instinct to feel relieved because I’m talking to you without separation. Can you guess what this feels like?”
“……”
I couldn’t even guess.
How did it feel to be forcibly swayed by others without being able to set one’s will straight? All the more, while being dominated by emotions contrary to the will.
In the past, when I touched the system window without much thought, I felt pathetic and resentful of myself. The system’s puns should not be easily dismissed as errors.
“As expected, this is the only way to cancel taming.”
When In Yoo-shin saw the languid smile on Hyeon Gyu-ha’s face glistening in the sunlight, his body was floating in the air. He was caught by the collar. And thrown over the railing on the roof. Going down, down. Down.
The moment he realized he was falling, he recognized the situation in an instant, as if the moving world around him had stopped.
I’m falling.
Earth’s gravity pulled fast. Air resistance beat his body fiercely like a headwind. His cheeks felt sore. His hair fluttered in a mess. The blue sky with white clouds rushed away. Someone’s astonished gaze passed through a window. People’s screams could be heard in the distance. He kept falling.
Orphanage. Adoption. Abandonment. Orphanage again. Adoption again. Abandonment again. Orphanage again. Like a kaleidoscope that shifted quickly.
Human lives were not equal. There was a difference in the value of life. My own value was at the bottom. Even if Hyeon Gyu-ha killed me, it was reasonable. I would have died 14 years ago anyway. It’s not scary. It’s okay. It’s okay.
In Yoo-shin closed his eyes tightly.
And then.
HM: I felt like laughing throughout this chapter…. Until it hit the end. Btw, why were the chinese characters written…. Is there a chance that the MC is a mix….?
Editor M: Hangul is the Korean alphabet. Meanwhile, Chinese characters in Korean are known as hanja, similar to how Japanese uses them as kanji. One use of hanja is to differentiate homophones by specifying the meaning. In English, this would look something like: bat (🦇) vs bat (🏏).
Summary: In Yoo-shin, an F-class tamer, accidentally tamed Hunter Hyeon Gyu-ha. Hyeon Gyu-ha, discovering In Yoo-shin's name engraved on his chest, confronted him. Despite In Yoo-shin's explanations and apologies, Hyeon Gyu-ha, feeling violated and controlled by the taming, threw In Yoo-shin off the roof. As he fell, In Yoo-shin reflected on his difficult life and accepted his fate.
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Credits:
Translator: Hoshi Miya
Editor/Proofreader: Stallion, Editor M
that was so mean in the end > <
Thanks for the translation! Btw, the Chinese characters are 한자, they're read the korean way. So you have 唯 who's called 오직 (=meaning) 유 (=pronunciation) and 信 who's called 믿을 신. Since a same word can have multiple meanings, Korean sometimes refer to the 한자 version to make sure which one it is. For example you have 통화 (通貨) meaning currency and 통화 (通話) meaning phone call lol. You can still find them in law texts or scientific text where there should be no doubt about the meaning.
And yeah that's a real cliffhanger, in all of the meanings lol.