That Face Is the Problem - vanish into fiction

“Here….”

Jae-gyeong came out with the iPad and showed it to Da-sol. His tears had already completely dried. Thankfully so.

Da-sol examined the iPad closely, never once imagining that Jae-gyeong had cried in the meantime. To begin with, there were not many people who would imagine a grown man crying over something like this. The shield drawn in the illustration app was designed quite properly.

There were notes about ideas such as padding the back of the shield so it could be worn comfortably on the arm without restricting hand movement, removing unnecessary decorations to reduce weight as much as possible, and proposing a deployable and retractable structure where the sharp tip could be adjusted with something like a button, since carrying a pointed shield could result in stabbing one’s own leg.

“It is decent.”

Da-sol muttered. Jae-gyeong’s expression immediately brightened.

“Is it…? I did think it through pretty carefully…. I am not sure how it would actually be implemented, though….”

“Namgeumson Hunter would be able to make a top-tier weapon even from a sketch much worse than this. From a user’s perspective, giving ideas like these would make him even more grateful.”

Da-sol gave praise that was generous by his standards. After hesitating briefly, Jae-gyeong asked,

“Da-sol… what kind of weapon were you thinking of…?”

“I think I should decide after going to the mock training field once with the new guard hunter. I am considering both attacker-type and defender-type options.”

“Ah… when is the mock training…?”

“The guild master gave me his number earlier, so we exchanged messages on HunterTalk. We decided to do it together tomorrow at eleven in the morning….”

As he said that, Da-sol glanced sideways at Jae-gyeong.

“Eat lunch by yourself tomorrow.”

“Ah… okay….”

They usually ate lunch separately anyway. Unless they were staying home together or had made plans in advance, like agreeing to go eat pork cutlets, eating separately was the norm. Still, seeing Da-sol look slightly apologetic, as if he had broken a promise, made Jae-gyeong’s chest warm again.

“Thank you….”

Overcome for a moment, Jae-gyeong quietly expressed his thanks. Da-sol rolled his eyes with a look that said he did not understand at all.

“For what now?”

“For telling me in advance….”

“I only said it because you might cook spicy pork again. Do not read anything else into it, or you are dead.”

“…Okay.”

It was not like he had misunderstood anything. Da-sol was sometimes overly on guard, worried that Jae-gyeong might fall for him. Well, he had said he had received countless confessions from men throughout his life. Not just confessions, but worse things too. Having strong defenses was only natural.

When his thoughts reached that point, Jae-gyeong suddenly felt angry. If he had ever witnessed those kinds of people, he would have confronted them directly, just as he had warned the people who had harassed Da-in.

Seeing Jae-gyeong’s expression rapidly turn grim, Da-sol frowned.

“What is it now?”

“Huh…? What do you mean…?”

“No, why are your emotions all over the place? I am sitting right next to you and you are laughing, then crying, then getting pissed off…. Hunter Jeong Jae-gyeong, do you know how scary that is for people?”

“M me…?”

Jae-gyeong rubbed his cheek with one hand. Embarrassed and flustered, heat quickly rushed to his face.

“See, again. Are your hormones completely messed up? Go to a hospital.”

Da-sol clicked his tongue, then stood up. He flicked Jae-gyeong on the forehead and said, “Heal,” before going into his room.

Did he just heal me? The discomfort that had been weighing on him until then eased. Da-sol really had healed him.

Jae-gyeong rubbed the spot on his forehead where Da-sol’s finger had touched. The rims of his ears turned red. His heart started acting up again.

Maybe my hormones really are messed up. Jae-gyeong squeezed his eyes shut and knocked his forehead against the armrest of the sofa. The spot where Da-sol had flicked him felt unbearably ticklish. There was a cracking sound from the armrest, but he did not pay it any mind.

‘I really might have to seriously think about changing jobs….’

***

The next day, just as he had said, Da-sol entered the mock training field with Lee Hyeon, who had come in for his first day of work. They spent about an hour matching their timing before coming back out.

Curious about how the two of them would train together, Jae-gyeong deliberately trained alone next to their mock training field. The soundproofing was thorough, so he could not hear much, but he could roughly estimate when their training would end.

Clatter. He heard the door to the adjacent room open. Jae-gyeong quickly finished off the boss monster, caught his breath, then hurriedly opened the door and went out.

Fortunately, Da-sol and Lee Hyeon were still standing in the hallway in front of the mock training field, talking.

“Uh… Da-sol…! And hello to you too, Hunter Yoon Yi-hyeon….”

Jae-gyeong greeted them awkwardly. Da-sol and Lee Hyeon both looked at him at the same time. Lee Hyeon looked surprised but pleased as he returned the greeting, while Da-sol glared at Jae-gyeong.