R1 Chapter 25

Chapter 25

 

Caw, caw.

The emerald waves sparkled as they rolled in, their rhythm disrupted by seabirds gliding through the crisp blue sky.

Under the shade of swaying palm trees lay a patch of grass, while laughter echoed from a group of people surfing in the distance.

I stared blankly at the scene before me.

So this is Hawaii…

It was surreal. I never imagined I’d see this place—not on a honeymoon, and certainly not like this.

 

[<Sub-quest> “Let’s Enjoy the Hot Springs!” Completed.

▸ Reward: ‘Frosty Shikhye’ will be stored in the cabin’s kimchi refrigerator!]

 

Oh, great. Now I can drink frosty shikhye in the subspace. Yay~.

 

[<Quest> “We’re bored, shall we go for a walk?” has been completed.

▸ Reward: Leg muscles strengthened. Stamina increased by 15!]

 

Sure, stamina boost. Awesome.

Since leaving the dungeon, the quest rewards had been flowing in one after another. I responded with zero enthusiasm.

I lazily dismissed the notification windows, none of which offered any immediate solutions to my current predicament.

I took another sip of the half-finished sweet rice punch from earlier, then popped a hot spring-boiled egg into my mouth.

The softly cooked yolk melted on my tongue, slightly dry but heavenly when chased down with the cool sweetness of the rice punch.

Delicious. Absolutely amazing. But… what now?

I glanced over at my companions in silence.

Baek Hwan was sprawled out, snoring peacefully. Shin Yeoul, on the other hand, seemed to be dreaming, smacking his lips as if savoring an imaginary feast.

Both of them were, unfortunately, nearly naked.

It was a sight I wished I could unsee—barely covered, with just enough fabric to protect their modesty.

I had already tried every conceivable method to wake them, but the situation remained unchanged.

I rummaged through my inventory.

The only clothing I had was the pajama set I had lent Shin Yeoul before. Nothing else—just towels and cleaning supplies.

Should I go out and buy something? But the thought of leaving these two in this state made me hesitate.

I shook my head.

There were, at most, ten S-rank hunters in any given country—sometimes none at all.

Being among the few counted S-ranks, their faces had been known worldwide for a long time.

While there weren’t many people around, there weren’t none either.

If anyone recognized them like this, it would be an international scandal.

And don’t even get me started on the illegal entry issue.

In an attempt to preserve some semblance of anonymity, I draped towels over Shin Yeoul and Baek Hwan’s faces.

The result? They looked eerily like I was preparing them for a funeral.

Their exposed muscles and abs made the scene even more awkward.

I grabbed more towels and covered their bodies entirely. While it looked ridiculous, it was better than before.

Although…. I still felt like I should say a little prayer for them.

 

[<Guest1 ���>

Status: How long has it been since I slept like this….. (Fallen asleep)]

 

[<Guest2> Baek Hwan (Angel)

Status: Feels like someone pulled my hair. Must be my imagination? (Fallen asleep)]

 

I checked their status windows.

The good news was that their “Deep Sleep” status had changed to just “Asleep.” With a bit of luck, they might wake up soon.

“Excuse me, are you Seojin-nim?”

While fiddling with my phone, a voice called out in accented Korean.

I looked up to see a blonde man with an impressive tan. Recognizing him, I greeted him quickly.

“Oh! Hello! Thank you so much for coming!”

“No problem. It’s what I’m here for. Haha!”

He laughed heartily.

The sun was setting. Thinking we couldn’t spend the night here, I had contacted this AirBnB host about an hour ago after much deliberation.

He was a Korean-American I’d found among countless listings on the house rental app. His ability to speak Korean had been my last hope.

After all, I wasn’t confident explaining this mess in English.

“These, these are your friends?”

I had roughly explained to him that my friends had drunk too much and passed out, asking him to come pick us up.

He finally noticed Shin Yeoul and Baek Hwan, still buried under towels. His voice faltered as he asked.

I nodded with an embarrassed smile.

“….Shall we move them first?”

There was a van nearby that the house owner had driven.

The man was surprisingly strong, and with my awakened abilities, we managed to move them without too much trouble—though it wasn’t exactly effortless.

I did receive suspicious looks about why they were naked, but.

Well, we managed to move them anyway.

Meanwhile, I was busy wrapping their faces tightly with towels, saying my friends would be embarrassed.

✦✦✦

“Huff huff. There. Now, huff, huh. Done!”

After much effort, we transported them to a cozy house just five minutes away by car.

“Really, really thank you. I’ll definitely leave a generous tip when we leave!”

The man, still catching his breath after dumping Shin Yeoul and Baek Hwan onto a sofa, gave me a playful grin.

“Huff huff. I won’t decline.”

His grin was lighthearted, but his eyes suggested he was very serious.

Haha.

He then gave me a brief tour of the house.

It was small, with a kitchen, bathroom, and a single bedroom. Not spacious, but clean and well-maintained.

“Well, I’ll be going now. Have a great stay!”

“Thank you!”

He was halfway out the door when he added a final piece of advice:

“Oh, and one thing.”

“Yes?”

“No drugs in the house, okay? I hate it when the smell lingers.”

“Ahaha… of course.”

I forced an awkward laugh and a smile.

I wasn’t doing anything shady. Seriously.

But no explanation was needed. It wasn’t like I could explain it anyway.

The door closed, and the host left. Finally, I could relax.

I trudged over to the sofa where Shin Yeoul and Baek Hwan were lying.

I removed the towels covering their faces and plopped down nearby.

Wow. I’m really exhausted.

What kind of ordeal was this?

These fools. Both of them were sleeping peacefully, their heads covered in sand. I brushed off the sand with my hands, watching it fall away.

I’d have to vacuum later.

But first, I needed a shower myself.

Ugh. When I went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror, I couldn’t help but gasp.

Thanks to the chaos in the dungeon, I looked like a total mess.

I knew I looked rough, but I hadn’t realized it was this bad. My hair was disheveled, my clothes torn in multiple places, and I was absolutely covered in dirt.

No wonder the host kept looking at me with pity. Ugh.

Shhaaa….

But whatever. It was all in the past. I turned on the shower and quickly washed my hair.

By the time I came out, the sun had almost completely set, casting a faint glow of twilight.

I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the view beyond the wide window.

Even in this mess, I couldn’t help but feel excited. It was still abroad, after all. The ocean in full view and the fact that I was in Hawaii hit me all at once.

The sky was breathtaking.

…Maybe I should go out for a bit. I needed to get some food anyway.

The thought struck me that since I was already overseas, I might as well enjoy it a little.

I couldn’t just sit here waiting for those two to wake up. Honestly, I’d done enough by finding us a place to stay.

And I needed to find a pen to write a note.

But just as I turned to look for one, something felt off.

I stopped in my tracks. 

I didn’t like this feeling.

Ever since my awakening, things always went south when I had a hunch like this—

Crash!

Someone shattered the window and entered the room. Shards of glass sparkled midair as they flew.

A woman with long blue hair landed gracefully on the floor.

It was a dramatic entrance.

I stared, mouth agape. What…. What was this?

Behind her, I caught a glimpse of a large winged emblem on her back. I knew that emblem.

The <Guardian> Guild.

The very first guild Shin Yeoul and Baek Hwan had created together.

Were they here to pick those two up? But why smash the window?

My brain couldn’t keep up.

And then it happened.

The woman swung a flail at me.

A, a mace?!

Boom!

 

[‘Blue Fairy’s Ring (S-Rank)’ has activated a protective barrier!

▸ The barrier’s durability is now at 7%.]

 

Thanks to the ring Shin Yeoul had given me, I narrowly avoided death once again.

The chilling situation left me pale as a ghost.

The dungeon had left me battered and worn. The barrier’s durability was down to just 7%.

I didn’t know how many more hits it could take. All I could think was that I needed to escape.

“Oh? You blocked it? Then how about this?!”

Another mace flew toward my back as I tried to escape.

Blue ripples were emanating from the mace. There wasn’t even time to dodge.

Clang—!

 

[‘Blue Fairy’s Ring (S-rank)’ barrier has broken!]

 

Just one hit.

The barrier I thought would block two or three more hits shattered hopelessly with that single strike.

I forced my trembling legs to move, trying to avoid the woman.

But it was already too late to escape.

“Huff.”

Thud! The woman was faster in catching me. My head hit the floor.

As she bound my hands, I could only feel an ominous premonition.

Crackle— I heard the sound of a radio. I lifted my head as much as I could to hear the conversation.

Although the sound was broken and I couldn’t hear exactly what was being said, I could clearly hear what the woman was saying into the radio.

“Yes~ Kidnapper has been apprehended~!”

Her tone was casual as if it was nothing.

“I’ll move them to temporary holding for now.”

From that, I could sufficiently deduce my situation.

That’s right. They thought I had kidnapped Shin Yeoul-nim and Baek Hwan.

It was starting again.

This insufferable misunderstanding.

I could hear footsteps of others approaching.

Thud. I let my neck go limp in despair. My forehead touched the floor.

Haha.

Shin Yeoul, Baek Hwan. Just you wait until you wake up!

🌱

Thank you for reading! ♡

Also, I’ve picked up a new novel!

When the Main Bottom Becomes an Obsessive Top [NEW] BL, Fantasy, Romance, School Life, Slice of Life “Let’s be together forever.”

🌱