Being A Full-Time Employee C54

Chapter 54

“I see. I understand. Besides, you used a lot of your ability. That’s amazing. Even among those of the same rank, you’re clearly in a different league. If it were me, I would’ve collapsed after using that much energy.”
Park Seokho and his partner quietly stepped aside. They knew exactly what that meant. I cupped Chae Wonu’s cheek and met his eyes. The blood vessels in his left eye had burst slightly—he must have been exhausted.
I looked from his left to right eye, frowning. Were his eye colors slightly different…? Maybe it was just the emergency light.
Wonu made a low groan as he pulled me closer. When he parted his lips, his tongue slipped out first—an image that was painfully erotic. I gave an awkward smile, but inwardly welcomed it, meeting his lips.
“Good…”
He murmured like someone talking in their sleep while having a sweet dream. I gently pulled back and asked if he liked it. He nodded, then turned slightly and stuck his head forward again.
I pressed my palm against his lips and instead trailed mine down the smooth line of his exposed neck. I sucked deeply and licked carefully, delicate and soft—like tasting ice cream. Then I felt Wonu’s hands gripping my clothes so tight it nearly tore.
“Stop…! I can’t hold back anymore.”
In a rough voice, Wonu pushed me away. I placed my forehead against his and checked his temperature. It had gone down a bit. We had another thirty minutes to keep fighting—assuming it was a normal battle.
“Let’s go. I want to get out of here fast.”
Honestly, I was exhausted too. But I also wanted to stay close to him. Strangely, though I was the hunter and he was the guide, just touching him somehow gave me strength.
Wonu interlocked his fingers with mine as we slowly walked out. When I looked down, I saw blood on the floor slowly shifting aside, pushed away in small waves. Wonu was clearing my path for me—even though his own boots were sinking into the muck.
I’d never been treated like this before. I’d never felt a feeling like this before. For a second, I couldn’t breathe.
Not in a bad way. What I’d thought was something small turned out to be like a sponge—soaking everything up until, when I came to my senses, it felt huge and heavy.
“Wonu, you grow fast,” I murmured, my words carrying several meanings. Maybe misunderstanding the sigh in my voice, Wonu looked at me with worry.
“So… you don’t like it?”
“No. I do. I prefer people my own age to younger ones.”
“That’s mean. I can’t do anything about my age.”
“Then think positively. It’s beyond preference now—I just like you.”
At that, Wonu finally smiled.
Maybe it was because we weren’t walking over a sea of blood anymore, but the situation suddenly felt like a calm stroll. Walking through a quiet station that usually buzzed with crowds—it had its own kind of specialness.
Or maybe I could pretend this was the usual City Hall Station. Then we’d seem like an ordinary couple, completely normal. You’re not a monster, and I’m not a half-monster living off one, and there are no such things as dungeons in this world…
But that peaceful fantasy didn’t last long.

We found a fallen figure, and the half-functional GPS signal confirmed it was one of the people who had entered the dungeon with us. As soon as repairs were done, we ran toward the location.
Park Seokho and Min Eesoo supported from behind, while Wonu and I took the lead. I knew Wonu’s quick reflexes could block any incoming attack, but in moments like this, I wished his control over water also gave him detection abilities.
We got close but didn’t approach immediately. Dungeons were like random boxes—you never knew what might pop out. If that figure turned out to be a monster…?
“It’s not a monster,” Min Eesoo whispered, pointing ahead. At her fingertip was an identification necklace, like a dog tag. It had a name and birth date engraved. No matter how clever a monster was, it couldn’t fake a detail like that.
Knowing that, we couldn’t waste time. A ticking bomb like this one could go off any second.
That’s when Park Seokho confessed—too late.
“The truth is… the four of us were close.”
I spun toward him so fast that the air rushed. Damn it, you’re telling me that now…?!
“We were classmates. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, but…! But I couldn’t just leave him!”
The air turned razor-sharp. I was so furious my head spun. Just as I was about to shout, the collapsed hunter groaned. All of us turned toward the sound, our eyes widening.
“Hyung!*”
Hyung: a Korean term used by a younger male to address an older brother or older close male friend.
At the same time, Seokho yelled, “Eesoo!”
I instinctively ducked, grabbing anything nearby and throwing it. Right on cue, Wonu released the water stored in his staff into the air, and Seokho spun around, reaching forward.
The water mixed with debris and spread wide, wrapping around the fallen hunter like a cocoon. Everything happened in an instant, and then a tremendous burst of light and shockwave erupted from the hunter’s body.
The water was clear, so we could see everything. The hunter was overdosing on his own power—literally addicted to it. His ability was imploding within him. His fingernails loosened and regenerated over and over, grotesquely fast.
“No…”
Panic twisted in my gut. Time was running out. We had to act before he regained consciousness. Because regaining it didn’t mean returning to reason.
“We have to kill him,” I said painfully. That’s what the manual said.
If you face a hunter on the verge of rampage, neutralize them immediately to prevent casualties.
It was the only method I knew—and the only one known to work.
My voice probably sounded calm, almost rational, but inside, I was just as torn as everyone else.
Outside—and even within the Hunter Bureau—people debated whether hunters should even be considered human. But to us, they were simply coworkers. Ending a teammate’s life wasn’t easy.
Besides, the nightmare of a hunter’s rampage was something we’d only heard about, not witnessed. Preventing it before it erupted was even rarer—no, unheard of.
We also had civilians to think of—people still trapped inside. To save them, I had to make a decision.
Yet at the same time… our sense of kinship wasn’t with civilians, but with other hunters and guides. We were all outsiders, all anomalies, freaks, half-monsters. And deep down, none of us could be sure we wouldn’t end up the same way someday.
“W-wait! There must be another way. He’s the smartest among us—he’ll get a hold of himself…”
It was Park Seokho speaking. And maybe he really did know, deep down, what it meant when a hunter lost their partner guide. No matter how rational or intelligent they’d been before, despair consumed them all the same.
“Please, just wait… Yeah. Let’s take him to the Bureau, okay?”
“…You know it’s a miracle we even contained this much of the blast. Even if a psychic came who could control people’s minds and destroy brains, they couldn’t stop a rampaging hunter.”
Not that such a psychic even existed.
Seokho turned toward me instead of Wonu. Min Eesoo looked conflicted. She must have wanted to stop us at first—but seeing it in person, she probably realized that this wasn’t a situation that could be solved by pleading. Still, she clearly didn’t want to agree to killing him either.
The weight of their hesitation pinned me in place. Maybe I just didn’t want to move.
“I’ll do it.”
But there was one person among us who didn’t falter.
Wonu drew his gun from the holster on his thigh and released the safety. Flipping his wrist, he loaded it effortlessly and strode forward without hesitation.
“Wait—wait! He’s a fellow hunter! How can you be so heartless toward one of your own?”
“Then tell me, right now, how we can get him out safely without any of us getting hurt.”
“…We could end up like him one day, and you still want to kill him?!”
“I won’t. Because I won’t let my partner die.”
Wonu’s tone was almost bored—like he was tired of arguing. Inside the watery cocoon, the man kept breaking down and regenerating, over and over, about to explode any second.
I covered my face and wished I could just fall asleep. Call it cowardice if you want—anything to escape this.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Min Eesoo biting her lip so hard it turned white, fists trembling. Seokho stood before Wonu, blocking him.
“He’s stable for now! If we just take him up to the surface—”
“Water can’t stop it,” Wonu said, tilting his head, as if wondering why we were even arguing the obvious. Seokho was momentarily speechless.
I had to move—there was no time left to argue. I was just about to stand, though I hadn’t truly decided in my heart, when Seokho’s expression changed completely.
“When I first heard you killed six hunters at fourteen, I thought it was just a rumor.”
The words hit me like a blow. Did I just hear that right?
Wonu turned to me, eyes violently trembling. I knew instantly—that was the secret he’d been trying to hide.