Holy B-Class Life

#013

Min-woong cheerfully repeated that Dan Joo-hyuk seemed like a nice older brother. At that innocent, clear voice, Yoon Pa-ran felt his mind going blank.

Has the orphanage’s address been exposed to Dan Joo-hyuk now? How on earth did the kids end up in contact with that bastard instead of the director?

Unaware of his troubled expression, Min-woong slowly held out a bottle that was placed to one side. The bottle, larger than Min-woong’s leaf-like hand, was half-filled with a red liquid that sloshed around.

[Successful Creation A by a Skilled Magician]

Effectively heals injuries.

Reuse cooldown: 5 hours

Surprisingly, it was a fairly expensive healing potion. He had thought it was supplies given by the Gate Management Office when he heard a potion was left behind, but this was a proper potion.

Yoon Pa-ran, who had been frozen while briefly looking at the status window, quickly came to his senses. Had there been some change causing the supplies to be upgraded?

He hurriedly organized his thoughts. Then he firmly gripped Min-woong’s chubby cheeks with his palms, which he had been vigorously wiping.

Suddenly his blood pressure rose, and he felt strength in his body.

“That’s not a good person.”

“But still…”

He needed to ask the director what exactly had happened. The urgent matter now was to prevent Min-woong from developing any unnecessary friendliness towards that man.

Min-woong was very gentle and soft-hearted by nature, always causing Yoon Pa-ran to worry. While it was also unfortunate for Ju-hee to be too wary of people, at least they could prevent accidents caused by blindly trusting people.

Especially since Min-woong had a tendency to follow strangers without caution from an even younger age, Yoon Pa-ran felt a sense of crisis. Knowing it was because of the environment of this orphanage where many strangers came and went, he had been educating him whenever the opportunity arose.

It was dangerous as it was, not yet knowing what Dan Joo-hyuk’s intentions were.

By the way, what exactly did that guy do to make the child react like this? It was strange enough that he brought himself here in the first place.

“What did I say about what kind of people hunters are?”

“Scary people.”

“What if a stranger offers you something delicious and asks you to go with them?”

“Delicious things…”

“Remember what I told you? I can buy you as many delicious things as you want, so you must never go with strangers.”

“Mmm.”

While answering obediently, Min-woong stared down at the potion in his hand.

It was maddening to clearly see the expression of doubt on his face, wondering if someone who gave such a nice thing could really be a scary person.

The potion bottle was covered with children’s fingerprints. Ordinary people could only see the status window when holding such special items. It seemed they had looked at it several times out of curiosity.

Surely they must have felt intimidated when they encountered Dan Joo-hyuk, but it seems that potion had a big influence.

Guessing this, Yoon Pa-ran firmly instructed Min-woong once again, thinking he should tell Ju-hee later as well.

“Everyone outside our family is a son of a bitch.”

“Isn’t a puppy good, brother?”

Realizing he had accidentally cursed, Yoon Pa-ran hesitated. Without correcting it, he chose his words again.

“…They’re wolf cubs. Understand?”

“Mm-hmm…”

Faced with Min-woong’s expression that seemed to think wolves and puppies were the same thing, he was momentarily at a loss for words. How should he explain it better? For some reason, Yoon Pa-ran felt strangely anxious, as if foreseeing something.

As if the anomaly that started with this gate would suddenly engulf him and his surroundings like a tidal wave.

“Pa-ran!”

However, his thoughts were abruptly cut off. The director, whom Ju-hee had gone to call, rushed into the room urgently.

Seeing the director’s pale face, Yoon Pa-ran tried hard to compose his expression. He couldn’t worry his family more.

Anyway, as he was embraced in his mother’s arms, a sense of relief welled up again.

Still, it was fortunate that he had returned alive.

❖ ❖ ❖

“Hmm…”

Lying on the roof of the orphanage, Yoon Pa-ran looked up at the sky and wiggled his toes.

The laundry hung on the roof fluttered gently in the warm breeze. Although warm, it was already October. It was a cold season to lie on the bare cement floor, but Yoon Pa-ran didn’t mind. His body could withstand this much for a while, and he needed to organize his thoughts.

When he woke up earlier and checked, two days had passed since he came out of the gate. It meant he had been asleep for two full days. No wonder his siblings cried so much.

The gate had escalated to S-rank or higher at the end. Such an anomaly was observed from the outside with gate measuring devices, they said.

Because of that, while he was struggling, the world had been in an uproar. A wide-ranging evacuation order had been issued until the gate was cleared and turned gray, they said.

Yet, when Yoon Pa-ran woke up, his body was fine without any aftereffects, making him feel dazed. Because there wasn’t even any pain left, the events inside the gate felt like a dream.

It must have been thanks to drinking a good potion.

“…”

Thinking about the potion, Yoon Pa-ran’s head became even more complicated.

He had immediately contacted the Gate Management Office when he woke up. The civil servant who answered the phone seemed very relieved, which was puzzling, but the question was soon answered.

Because too many hunters had died.

The civil servant asked if there was anything wrong with his physical condition. Adding that they were really sorry they couldn’t give him a better potion. Yoon Pa-ran, who already had a sufficiently good potion, could only ask what he meant out of curiosity.

However, thinking he was angry, the civil servant trembled and explained the situation.

Many had died, but a few hunters who stubbornly clung to life were rescued. Most of them had injuries incomparable to Yoon Pa-ran’s. The high-grade potions the government had stockpiled had to be used primarily for the seriously injured.

He thought it was a natural thing. So Yoon Pa-ran calmly asked about the potion he had, to avoid misunderstanding. Then the civil servant, contrary to his intention, became more nervous and began explaining the situation. Apparently, that potion seemed to have been left personally by Hunter Dan Joo-hyuk.

Surprisingly, it was really Dan Joo-hyuk who had brought him unconscious to his address. He had met the director who came to the studio apartment after hearing about Yoon Pa-ran entering the gate, and moved him to the orphanage.

The civil servant tried to make a long excuse again, saying they had to ask for help because things were so hectic. He seemed to seriously recognize that they had entrusted the unconscious Yoon Pa-ran to Dan Joo-hyuk’s hands.

In fact, an unconscious hunter should not be handed over to anyone other than a pre-designated person. It was a system that arose because hunters often got caught up in life-and-death grudges due to circumstances inside the gate.

So in principle, it was the Gate Management Office that should have taken care of Yoon Pa-ran. Yoon Pa-ran didn’t have any hunter specifically designated for identity handover. Moreover, the fact that they had entrusted him to Dan Joo-hyuk, with whom there had been friction several times, must have made them realize their mistake belatedly.

However, after some consideration, Yoon Pa-ran wrapped up the call, saying they would talk properly later.

The entire Gate Management Office was in an uproar trying to deal with the results of this gate, so it was an awkward time to argue. Also, he didn’t want to show that he was actually greatly wary of Dan Joo-hyuk by needlessly arguing.

The less information revealed, the better, as long as Dan Joo-hyuk’s intentions were unknown. From the start, the Gate Management Office was not a trustworthy place, given that they had so easily handed Yoon Pa-ran over to Dan Joo-hyuk in such a situation.

“Sigh…”

What should he do now?

Surprisingly, Dan Joo-hyuk hadn’t killed Yoon Pa-ran. He had thought he would fake his death inside the gate.

He thought maybe he was planning to silence him in a secluded place after taking him out, but then shook his head. If that were the case, there would be no reason to leave such a good potion.

Seeing that he left a message to contact him, it doesn’t seem like he intends to let it go…

Moreover, he had properly handed over his identity in his own way. When he asked the director, he heard that Dan Joo-hyuk had collected all of Yoon Pa-ran’s dangerous equipment and also explained the potion in detail.

In particular, he also left advice not to approach the unconscious Yoon Pa-ran carelessly. Because unlike when he was conscious, he couldn’t control his strength, so ordinary people could get hurt.

These were all things he hadn’t thought to tell his family, assuming the Gate Management Office would take care of it if he lost consciousness. Despite the advice, he found his siblings’ faces as soon as he opened his eyes.

When he scolded them for dangerously placing the children next to his unconscious self, the director apologized with a troubled face. Even though she had told them absolutely not to enter, it seems his siblings didn’t listen when Yoon Pa-ran didn’t wake up for two days. He needed to firmly warn them again later.

Anyway, even the director praised Dan Joo-hyuk, saying he was a reliable colleague unlike what was seen in the media, which gave him goosebumps a little.

These were all things he hadn’t expected from Dan Joo-hyuk. He was worried rather than simply grateful, knowing Dan Joo-hyuk’s nature too well.

Staying still didn’t suit Yoon Pa-ran’s temperament. However, when he thought about confronting him directly, a vivid memory came to mind, making him clutch his head in agony.

Why did he clearly remember the hot sensation that invaded his mouth, even though he had fainted?

Why the hell did that bastard do such a thing? It must be a condition for activating a skill, but that didn’t subdue his irritation.

“What now.”

Just then, his phone rang. Thinking it might be the Gate Management Office, he looked, but it was an unknown number, so Yoon Pa-ran immediately rejected the call.

Then, as if it had been waiting, a text message came in.

I heard you woke up.

It was a somewhat familiar tone.