Holy B-Class Life

#072

“……”

It sounds just like something Yoon Pa-ran would say.

A chuckle escaped through his teeth. The subtle sensation he had felt before kept making the back of his neck tingle.

Right. There’s no reason for him to ask me about anything related to Yoon Pa-ran.

Even knowing this, why does it make me feel so uncomfortable?

He lowered his head and rubbed his brow. After composing himself, Dan Joo-hyuk continued with a bright smile, as if this had been his intention all along.

“Then, should I just give out other people’s numbers without their consent?”

“Hmm… I suppose not.”

“Just tell me what this is about.”

“Never mind. I’ll figure it out on my own. It probably doesn’t concern Dan Hunter anyway, right?”

“……”

Shrugging his shoulders, Heo Sang-yeon turned around without hesitation and entered the government building. As far as he knew, he had other business in a different part of the building today.

Dan Joo-hyuk watched his retreating figure with a somber gaze.

Perhaps due to the cryptic words Heo Sang-yeon had left behind, his instincts were warning him.

What is he up to?

He couldn’t think of any reason why he would be interested in Yoon Pa-ran. If it was about information regarding the stone, he would have confronted Dan Joo-hyuk directly instead of seeking out Yoon Pa-ran.

His eyes narrowed. After standing in the lobby for a while, Dan Joo-hyuk slowly began to move.

Minister Byeon’s office on the upper floor seemed quiet, without even a secretary present.

“Dan Hunter! You’re here!”

His mind was in turmoil. As he naturally calculated how to investigate Heo Sang-yeon’s actions, he suddenly felt something odd.

Why was he so concerned about Yoon Pa-ran?

“The Tsar has approved the negotiation proposal, they say.”

“Is that so?”

Dan Joo-hyuk plopped down on the sofa, barely listening to Minister Byeon’s words. At that moment, realization dawned on him.

He didn’t want anyone else to know about the secrets related to Yoon Pa-ran.

And to begin with, there was even a quest popping up related to Yoon Pa-ran. He had enough reasons to pay attention to him.

Right. That’s reason enough.

“They’ve agreed to give us priority selection rights for two items. However, if there are more than two SS-grade items, we can only choose one SS-grade with the priority selection right.”

Having made a somewhat rational judgment, he finally started paying attention to Minister Byeon’s words.

“What about the Korean government?”

“We’ve sorted out all the ownership issues in your favor, Dan Hunter. However, they’re requesting to borrow it five times later for research purposes…”

“Once. For one day.”

“Three, how about three times… Ugh, alright.”

Seeing Dan Joo-hyuk’s unyielding gaze, Minister Byeon adjusted the terms on his own. Although the government had taken charge of the negotiations this time, it wasn’t Dan Joo-hyuk’s concern.

“We’ve arranged for Sergei Hunter to go out briefly with an escort. We’ve created some confusion to make him think you’re in front of an A-grade gate.”

The information Minister Byeon was sharing wasn’t Dan Joo-hyuk’s concern either.

However, the Minister’s judgment was timely. He wasn’t in the mood to tolerate seeing that Russian guy strutting around in front of him right now.

He had drawn a somewhat rational conclusion about Yoon Pa-ran. Nevertheless, an inexplicable anxiety continued to overwhelm Dan Joo-hyuk.

Was it because of what Heo Sang-yeon had said?

The fingertips resting on one of his thighs kept tapping.

“The Tsar also sent a message hoping you’d come quickly. Hmm…”

Minister Byeon hummed, seemingly finding something suspicious. After all, the Tsar had been quite urgently pressuring Dan Joo-hyuk for the past week.

As he began to suspect even the Tsar’s behavior, Dan Joo-hyuk impulsively thought.

Perhaps there’s no need to go to the Russian gate after all.

[Trial of the Disciple]

“Ah.”

“What’s wrong, Dan Hunter?”

Just then, a bright status window obscured his vision.

[Trial of the Disciple]

Defeat the boss of the gate that has appeared in front of the Kremlin in Russia.

Time limit: 6 days 12 hours

Reward upon success: Completion of the Apostle Set Item, ■■■ ■■■ ■■.

Penalty for failure: ■■■

“Ha.”

Of all times, to receive such a quest now.

Dan Joo-hyuk’s expression twisted. His sunken eyes stared at the status window for a while.

“Dan Hunter…?”

When we face it, we’ll surely understand why they’re so blatantly pushing us.

He then blurted out.

“Tell them I’ll go.”

As expected, Yoon Pa-ran’s pale face kept lingering in his mind.

❖ ❖ ❖

Around the same time.

Yoon Pa-ran lay on the bed in the orphanage room he shared with Min-woong, blankly staring at the ceiling.

It had been two days since he hurriedly came to the orphanage in his pajamas, not returning to his studio apartment. Even though there was no way Dan Joo-hyuk would still be there.

“Pa-ran, are you going to sleep now too?”

“Yeah. I want to sleep with you, big brother.”

Yoon Seul, who had just returned from bathing Min-woong, asked. Only then did Yoon Pa-ran sit up and nod.

“Oh, let’s sleep early then. Min-woong, come here. I’ll help you put on your pajamas.”

“Mmm…”

Ju-hee had already fallen asleep. Both of them had been so excited to have Yoon Pa-ran around for two days straight that they had been running around all day, forgetting even to nap.

Min-woong’s chubby cheeks kept moving as he mumbled. His eyelids were heavy with sleepiness.

Yoon Pa-ran slowly dressed Min-woong in his pajamas as he obediently approached. He was used to taking care of his younger siblings when Yoon Seul was busy.

“Pa-ran, mom bought you some clothes. They were selling them cheap at the market.”

Yoon Seul, sitting nearby, suddenly spoke as she was organizing the clothes Yoon Pa-ran had folded. She then took out a few pieces of clothing from the dresser.

“Oh.”

As he turned his gaze while putting on Min-woong’s pants, he noticed a picture of a dog barking enthusiastically.

Since becoming a hunter, he didn’t feel the cold much and had been wearing clothes carelessly. Yoon Seul must have bought a thick hoodie on purpose, concerned about this.

She really likes dogs, huh.

Thinking this absent-mindedly, Yoon Pa-ran nodded readily. He was used to just wearing whatever was bought for him, as he had little interest in clothes that weren’t equipment.

“This one, Ju-hee picked it out. If it’s too much, I can exchange it.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s just pajamas anyway.”

Next to it was a pair of pajamas with some characters drawn all over it.

It was a character that Ju-hee liked. Since all of Yoon Pa-ran’s pajamas were already like this, he nodded readily again.

“Alright, let’s sleep now.”

“I wanna play more…”

“We’ll play again tomorrow. Let’s sleep early tonight.”

“Big brother stay?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll go check on Ju-hee. Both of you sleep well.”

Yoon Seul turned off the lights as she left the room. In the silent darkness, Yoon Pa-ran laid Min-woong down and lay beside him.

He hugged the warmth that snuggled into his arms as if by habit. Despite his earlier whining about wanting to play more, Min-woong fell asleep instantly.

“……”

As the silence continued, thoughts flooded in again to fill the space.

The bewilderment still hadn’t subsided. He was finally realizing that something strange had entered his life, which had been relatively simple until now.

The unexpected and strange status window, and Dan Joo-hyuk, who was even stranger than that.

Perhaps the uneasiness he felt when first making the contract was a premonition of this. Thinking this, Yoon Pa-ran tried to soothe his turbulent feelings somehow.

But the status window aside, the matter with Dan Joo-hyuk doesn’t seem like something to think about for so long. If Dan Joo-hyuk knew about this, he would surely mock him.

To begin with, Dan Joo-hyuk probably wouldn’t think much of these things. That’s why he so easily suggested having sex again.

At this thought, a hasty conclusion suddenly came to mind.

If this is nothing to Dan Joo-hyuk, shouldn’t it be the same for me?

‘Between adults, just think of it as enjoying ourselves.’

Dan Joo-hyuk had told him from the beginning that he should take it lightly. As soon as he recalled this, the unnecessarily long train of thought was cut off.

What? There was no need to worry about this at all.

It must have been because the new sensation was too stimulating and perplexing. This too might subside after experiencing it a few more times. Just like how entering gates was terrifying at first, but now it’s nothing.

Having reached his own conclusion, his mind seemed to clear a bit. He felt foolish for not even returning to his studio apartment, as if he had been afraid of something.

“Phew.”

His mind felt much more at peace.

Thanks to this, Yoon Pa-ran slept soundly that night for the first time in a while.

❖ ❖ ❖

The next evening.

Dan Joo-hyuk sat in the living room, looking down at the table. A memo and a key card that he needed to give to Yoon Pa-ran were placed there.

He had decided to leave for Russia tomorrow.

“……”

After making the decision, he postponed the schedule for two days, which led to strong opposition from the Tsar, but he ignored it. The quest’s time limit occasionally flickered before his eyes, but he disregarded that as well.

What was bothering him so much that he didn’t want to move?

The only thing that occasionally came to mind was Yoon Pa-ran’s pale face.

He knew he was acting quite irrationally, but he had an excuse this time too.

After all, both that quest and the time-limited life are related to Yoon Pa-ran. Isn’t it natural that he keeps coming to mind?

He also needed to prepare before going to the gate. The more suspicious the Tsar’s behavior seemed, the more he felt it would be good to charge Yoon Pa-ran’s skill before going.

Right. For various reasons, thinking about Yoon Pa-ran was unavoidable. Although he made this judgment, Dan Joo-hyuk still hesitated.

Yoon Pa-ran seemed uncomfortable with their relationship.

It was an uncharacteristic worry for him. Firstly, this situation was new to him, and secondly, if he needed the skill, he should use any means necessary.

However, for some reason, he didn’t want to force Yoon Pa-ran to come.

After much deliberation, Dan Joo-hyuk simply left a text message asking Yoon Pa-ran to come to his house. If he saw this message and came, he planned to try to persuade him. If not, then there was nothing he could do.

This ambiguous approach wasn’t his style. But he couldn’t think of a better way.

“……”

So Dan Joo-hyuk was silently wasting precious time. Even though it was likely to be futile, as Yoon Pa-ran hadn’t even replied to his text message.

“Ah…”

Just then, the elevator connected to this place moved.

Unexpectedly, Yoon Pa-ran had come to his house.