MLCAI 19

Chapter 19

Kang Suho, who had been slightly moving his lips as if about to speak, suddenly bent his head and clutched it, which startled Saebyeok instead.

“Wh-what’s wrong? Does it hurt?”

Seeing him grimace as if suffering from a severe headache, even letting out a low groan, Saebyeok hurriedly opened her inventory.

“It could be a side effect of that pseudo-cultist’s hypnosis skill. Even though it was a low-level skill, you’re still a non-awakened, so you might not be able to fully handle it…”

Muttering to herself, she pulled out all the medicines she had, but they were all useless.

“Ah, damn it. What do we do? There’s no medicine that can help with status ailments…”

She had potions that could reattach shattered bones or restore ripped flesh, but nothing for a simple headache.

She even had vitamin-containing supplements, but no medicine for removing status effects.

She hadn’t bothered preparing any because her passive, Heaven’s Care, made them unnecessary.

“Ah! There should be headache medicine in Saejin’s room! At least that…”

As Saebyeok jumped up, Kang Suho grabbed her wrist.

When she looked back at him with wide eyes, he was still clutching his head and staring at her.

“You… how do you know my name?”

His voice was cut off, and his eyes were bloodshot.

“Huh? That’s what’s important right now…!”

“I never told you.”

The ringing in his ears made him tense.

But for some reason, more than the pain pressing on his brain, he became obsessed with how she knew his name.

Perhaps it was because the voice in the ringing had been calling his name.

Meanwhile, Saebyeok realized something.

Come to think of it, the two of them hadn’t even introduced themselves properly.

They had fought the cult leader, tumbled around together, talked with Kim Ihan, and somehow ended up home. Even at home, they just put Sihoo to bed and sat side by side watching the news.

They had neither told nor heard each other’s names.

It was embarrassing, but Saebyeok didn’t show it.

“I heard it from Sihoo. Otherwise, how would I know your name?”

It was a lie, but she said it boldly with a shameless expression, and Kang Suho’s grip on her wrist loosened slightly.

“Wait a moment. I’ll get the medicine.”

Taking the chance, Saebyeok freed her hand and ran to Saejin’s room. She closed the door and took a breath.

‘That was close.’

He was already a man who distrusted the world, and she almost caused a huge misunderstanding.

‘I need to be careful.’

She quietly promised herself and started rummaging through Saejin’s drawers.

Meanwhile, Kang Suho, staring at the closed door, felt the ringing in his head slowly fade. His headache also gradually disappeared, as if it had never troubled him.

‘What was that just now?’

It was a strange experience.

His brain trusted her, but his heart doubted, and his soul resisted her, screaming that his instincts wouldn’t accept it.

It felt as if his heart, soul, instincts, and brain couldn’t reach an agreement and were fighting among themselves.

How could a woman he had only seen twice turn his mind upside down like this…?

‘Is it really the side effect of the hypnosis skill she mentioned?’

It was entirely possible.

The magician who cast the hypnosis was an F-rank awakened.

Aside from slightly stronger punches and a useless skill, an F-rank awakened wasn’t much different from a non-awakened, so they didn’t even qualify for a hunter license.

If such a person used a hypnosis skill, an average, strong-minded non-awakened like Kang Suho could easily withstand it.

Yet, awakened or not, experiencing some aftereffects was inevitable.

Feeling extremely unpleasant, Kang Suho exhaled deeply, trying to shake off the discomfort.

At that moment, the door opened, and Saebyeok came out.

“Take this for now. I’ll stop by the exchange and get some status effect-removing medicine later.”

Saebyeok exchanged the beer in his hand for a first-aid kit and brought a cup of water from the kitchen.

Kang Suho stared at her as she offered the water.

When he looked silently at her, she met his gaze without a word.

Her slightly raised eyebrows, as if asking why he was staring, seemed far from the enraged shouts he had been hearing in his ringing ears.

Perhaps it had really been auditory hallucinations.

“…Why are you helping me?”

Having experienced a headache once, he couldn’t hold back any longer.

Kang Suho gripped the first-aid kit tightly and asked.

It was the question he had wanted to ask since Seoul Station.

“What… do you want from me?”

Afraid of the answer, he had postponed it, but now he finally asked.

“I don’t have the means to repay you for what you’ve done for me.”

He lowered his head, speaking with a complicated voice.

“I live day to day.”

He couldn’t even buy his little brother a proper outfit.

A bum. Bottom. Low-class.

Any word meaning worthless or miserable would describe his life.

What he could offer her… was probably just his own body.

Was that what she wanted?

Damn it, he knew his looks were decent, inherited from his father.

Back when he and his brother lived on the streets, madams sometimes suggested “night work” jobs to him.

But no matter how dire his life was, he wasn’t shameless.

He couldn’t do that with his brother, and it wasn’t pride he lacked, only money.

But if this woman wanted that…?

‘Damn it. If that’s it…’

He remembered how his father had forced his mother under the pretext of “protection.”

If this woman claimed rights over the life he saved in the same way, what should he do?

Should he live like his mother—pitiful and powerless…?

Such a miserable life.

Kang Suho felt his stomach churn.

Yet, at the same time, he felt a contradictory thought that it might be better if it were that.

He wasn’t lusting after her.

That was just the world he knew.

The hunters he knew were trash, so perhaps if she were also one of those dirty types, he would feel at ease.

Then at least he wouldn’t have to worry like this.

“Whatever… I’ll do.”

He clenched his fists and said.

“I know it’s thanks to you that my brother and I are still alive.”

If he owed his life twice, it was only right to pay the corresponding price. That was the way of the world.

“So, if there’s anything I can do, I’ll do it. What… do you wish?”

He gripped his T-shirt tightly, stretching it almost to the point of tearing.

“Anything?”

“Yes.”

“Then…”

Watching Saebyeok move her lips and swallow dryly, Kang Suho clenched his shirt even tighter.

For a brief moment, a look of resigned frustration appeared in his eyes.

“Come to my guild.”

“…Huh?”

Kang Suho couldn’t immediately understand what she meant.

A guild?

Did she have a guild? Hadn’t she said she wasn’t registered as a hunter?

Or did “guild” have a different meaning than he knew?

Confused, he frowned, and Saebyeok suddenly knelt on one knee in front of him.

“Promise to join my guild.”

Saebyeok extended even her pinky finger firmly.

Kang Suho thought it was nonsense.

Reading his thoughts, Saebyeok explained further.

“When I get my hunter license, I plan to start a guild right away. Of course, since it’s not established yet, I can’t promise a salary or benefits…!”

She realized her proposal sounded too reckless and felt embarrassed.

Thinking of Kim Ihan’s flashy benefits like exchange discounts or agreements with the association, her own offer sounded meager.

“Y-you’ll be a founding member…!”

She tried to spin it positively.

“You know I’m S-rank, right? That means my guild becoming S-rank certified is just a matter of time. So, grab the opportunity! Becoming a founding member of an S-rank guild isn’t something anyone can do…!”

Speaking so hastily, she sounded a bit like a multi-level salesperson…

“I…”

Kang Suho frowned and opened his mouth.

Seeing him look like he was about to refuse, Saebyeok hurriedly added:

“Ah! Should we split the shares? 80/20? Too petty? 70/30?”

“….”

“Ah, fine! Let’s just do 50/50! There can be two guild masters, why not!”

She was babbling, but it showed how desperate she was.

Still, Kang Suho’s expression grew more serious.

“I’m not an awakened.”

He slowly lowered her pinky, which was waiting for him to hook it.

There are countless guilds in the world, varying in size and purpose.

Some massive guilds wield influence larger than corporations, while others are as small as local patrols.

But they all had one thing in common: they were for hunters.

And yet she was asking a non-awakened to join as a guild master.

“No matter how many types of guilds exist, putting a non-awakened as guild master is impossible. You’d just become a laughingstock.”

For a moment, he wondered if it was a trick.

But her eyes were too sincere to be mocking him.

“You need non-combat staff? If that’s it…”

That was the only possibility he could think of.

But even that was quickly dismissed.

“It would be better for the guild to hire someone more suitable than me.”

Even non-combat roles were usually done by awakened.

Whether scouting new hunters or managing media, someone with the right skill would naturally outperform an ordinary person.

Speaking this, Kang Suho felt his depressing reality more keenly.

This world belonged to the awakened.

“So I…”

He dropped his gaze, resignation evident.

“I’ll awaken.”

Saebyeok cut through his resignation.

Startled, Kang Suho raised his head, and she looked directly into his dark eyes.

“Kang Suho, I said awaken.”

Her expression showed absolute certainty, without the slightest hesitation.