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S Hospital in Seoul, 7:59 p.m.
The single room that was concealed by blinds was very spacious.
“The child.”
“I’m sorry, Master. I’m trying to call him, but…”
The man in a black suit lowered his gaze in shame.
“…Is that so.”
The man in a white hospital gown was Gwihoon. He was an S-Class hunter who was once called the best hunter in Korea and Wolf’s old master.
He beckoned slowly, and the man standing next to him hurriedly pulled the blinds open.
As it was a hospital room on the top floor, the sparkling night view of Seoul was spread like a carpet outside the window. It was like a sea at night, studded with stars.
“So Siwoo is raising a hunter these days.”
“Yes.”
When Gwihoon asked, a man standing next to him presented a picture that he had printed in advance, as if he had been waiting.
It was an ordinary woman, except for her black dress and black parasol.
“…A concept hunter?”
“That seems to be the case.”
“What’s wrong with that kid, raising a concept hunter? She’s even said to be an F-Class hunter.”
“…That…”
Behind the speechless man, another man suddenly appeared. He was an executive of the Wolf Guild, Lee Hagyun.
“She doesn’t seem like an ordinary F-Class. We are investigating, so please wait a little longer.”
“Wait a little longer?”
Gwihoon’s eyes changed. At the same time, he pulled the IV drip out of his arm and threw it on the floor.
Crash!
“Did you just tell me to wait a little longer?”
He got up from bed. Those who stood around tried to support him, but he pushed them away and scrambled to get up and stand on his feet.
Although he grew old and weak, he was still the first, or maybe the second, S-Class hunter in Korea and used to be called the strongest.
He had an appearance that was not dampened by the white and plain hospital gown, and the aura of his piercing eyes still radiated sharply.
“Everyone knows I don’t have much time left.”
“Yes, Master.”
“You must not waste a second or minute.”
His blue eyes turned to the photo that suddenly fell to the ground. Dark hair and black eyes. She was a woman who seemed uncomfortable, wearing her strange dress.
That was the reason.
He had to keep an eye on her.
* * *
Eunha got up early in the morning, changed clothes, and was ready to go out.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve worn this outfit.’
She rarely wore the ‘Princess of Dark Flare Set’ because she had been at home without participating in any hunter activities lately.
She packed them in a paper bag, and Eunha deeply admired the dark designs.
As Siwoo had said, the Princess of Dark Flare was cast in <2031, A Star Hunter Hotter than Summer>, which was planned as a summer special by the TV station On Hunt. Today was the recording day. For the recording, she had to become the ‘Princess of Dark Flare’.
Ding dong—
“Good morning.”
Her manager came in wearing a suit. It was quite strange to see him dressed differently than usual, but it was because it was the day they had to go to the broadcasting station.
However, it was not only Jehwi who had an unfamiliar appearance.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Ah, sorry. It’s the first time I’ve seen Ms. Hunter not wearing a dress, haha.”
Jehwi scratched the nape of his neck and smiled.
“This appearance is definitely less flashy.”
“That’s good.”
She would need to change into the dress when they arrived at the recording site, but it was more comfortable to wear a white tee and jeans during the trip there and back.
The two headed for the underground parking lot and got into the car.
The commute to Seoul was complicated. On the way to the station, Jehwi told a funny story so that Eunha wouldn’t get bored whenever there was traffic or when the car stopped.
It wasn’t actually a particularly interesting story. However, after she would obligingly nod and respond, they were able to arrive at the On Hunt broadcasting station.
“Ah, Ms. Hunter. This is it.”
Jehwi waved from the opposite side to Eunha, who was about to get out of the car and head straight to the entrance of the station.
He took Eunha to an indoor studio located behind the station.
“They said that there’s going to be a small fan signing event for the audience before the recording begins.”
“A fan signing event?”
Eunha indifferently moved her lips.
“There’s no way I can have fans.”
It wasn’t modesty or self-depreciation.
No matter how old she was, Eunha knew about the responses from the internet’s comments. To have a fan when the words ‘concept bug’ and ‘extremely disgusting’ were thrown all over the place…
“Why not?”
Jehwi was walking a few steps ahead and glanced back.
“It’s here.”
Jehwi smiled a little shyly, and Eunha looked at him with dry eyes.
“…Why are you making that face?”
“Because you’re making a lame joke.”
“I’m not kidding. It’s real.”
Jehwi walked over to Eunha.
“Can I get an autograph in advance?”
“Are you serious?”
“Of course.”
Jehwi really brought a paper and pen from somewhere.
Ding.
[The divine beast ‘Cat Wandering in Darkness’ says that she’s the first fan of Unnie’s. Not him, it’s me, me! She shouts.]
[Looking around, it starts searching for a paper and pen from somewhere.]
e/n: for those who don’t know yet, the cat is a female cat and she’s referring to eunha as ‘unnie’ which is used by a younger woman to address an older woman, not necessarily blood related. from now on we’ll use ‘she/her’ for the cat as well to avoid confusion. that’ll also be the only korean word that i won’t translate to english since it makes more sense
“It’ll be over in an hour or so because there aren’t that many people in the audience.”
In the end, Jehwi was successful in receiving Eunha’s signature and held it to his chest, smiling pleasantly.
She was a hunter who the manager considered special. He was sure that someday she’d become a celebrity who would make her name known in Korea! And he was the one who got her first autograph. That fact made him happy.
On the other hand, the venue where the fan signing event was held was not very wide. As Jehwi had said, it looked fairly simple. It seemed to be like that because it was an event that was held with an audience selected through a raffle.
Eunha changed into her Princess of Dark Flare outfit at a booth installed nearby and headed to the center of the fan signing event, following the guidance of the person in charge.
“You can sit here.”
<Concept Hunter – Princess of Dark Flare>
Looking at the name tag displayed on the reserved seat, she realized that she was really branded as a ‘concept hunter’.
Eunha sat down, picked up a bottle of water that had been placed in advance, and looked around.
A total of ten hunters, including herself, were divided into groups of five at two tables and sat in their respective seats.
“Then, I’ll be watching from nearby.”
Jehwi, who bowed his head briefly, quickly disappeared among the staff. And not long after, the audience, who had been lining up outside the venue, began to enter the venue one by one following the guidelines.
“Wahhh…!”
It felt like the whole venue was warming up from the heat of the driven fans. They started lining up in front of each hunter.
A hunter who sat on the far right seemed to be quite popular, although Eunha didn’t know who they were. There was already a long line in front of them.
“I’m a huge fan…!”
“Thank you, what’s your name?”
“I’m Seoyoon. Kim Seoyoon.”
“Ms. Seoyoon, you came today even after getting stuck in a traffic jam? Thank you for coming.”
The hunter skillfully treated the fan and scribbled their autograph with graceful hand gestures.
“Th-thank you!”
The fan in line waved their hands with an overwhelmed face and disappeared.
This time, she turned her head to the left. The hunter sitting just to the left of Eunha was a middle-aged man dressed as a clown.
“Hello! Thank you for coming today!”
“Ahaha, way to go today, Mister!”
e/n: 아저씨 was used here, meaning middle-aged man. usually you’ll find it translated as ‘uncle’, but ‘mister’ works just as well, especially when they don’t exactly know each other.
…Maybe he was a concept hunter.
The line wasn’t as long compared to the hunter who sat on the far right, but he seemed to be quite popular, as fans continued to come and get autographs.
“…”
Eunha let go of the pen she was holding because she didn’t have a reason to hold it. Then, a yellow message window popped up in front of her.
[The divine beast ‘Cat Wandering in Darkness’ says that all these people have no eyes.]
[Don’t be discouraged. Because in terms of fame, among the hunters gathered here, the Princess of Dark Flare beats them all.]
The cat seemed to have misunderstood her. Eunha wasn’t particularly hurt or disappointed. She never thought that the Princess of Dark Flare would have fans in the first place.
[The divine beast ‘Cat Wandering in Darkness’ says that to a hunter, what use is a fan? She snorts, saying it’s all useless.]
[I strongly curse everyone here, for one day they’ll regret not getting an autograph from you!]
Ding, ding, ding…
Rather, it seemed that the cat was more hurt and disappointed.
How could she kill time? Eunha unscrewed the cap of the bottle of water she had placed next to her and wet her throat. He had said it would be about an hour, so it’d be over like nothing if she could pass the time.
“U-unnie.”
Suddenly, she heard a child’s voice from somewhere. Eunha, who was drinking her bottled water, turned around and saw that no one was there.
“Here, here.”
Chubby hands that peeped up from behind the desk waved. As she looked down, Eunha saw a little girl looking up at her on her tiptoes.
‘…This child.’
She looked familiar. The paper the child was holding came into Eunha’s field of vision. The child swallowed nervously, and she carefully held it out.
“Please sign it.”
“…Me?”
Nod, nod.
Her expectant round eyes shone like stars.
Eunha then checked the clothes the girl was wearing.
It was a black dress with a large ribbon. A dainty crown sprung up from a snap pin and was tucked on her head.
Finally, she saw a black umbrella that the child was clutching in her right hand. The flower pattern printed on it was a different design, but it was obviously—
“…”
Eunha’s gaze turned downward. An elegant parasol placed over the desk came into view.
Ding.
[The divine beast ‘Cat Wandering in Darkness’ says that it’s a fan! A fan is finally here! It bounces in the air and does a somersault.]
The cat said that she didn’t need a fan before. Eunha smirked. Then, the little child standing in front of her said “Wow…!” and her eyes twinkled.
“Mummy, mummy! The princess laughed!”
The girl’s voice was so loud that even the hunters around her and the fans lined up in front of them turned their heads all at once.
Eunha looked at her child with her eyes wide open. She was surprised enough that it showed on her face.
“Hello. Long time no see?”
At the same time, a woman standing behind the child approached Eunha.
‘This person is…’
The moment she faced her, a memory that she had forgotten resurfaced in Eunha’s mind. The gate that had occurred at the aquarium the other day. At that time, she was the woman in the red dress who was saved by Eunha.
“I was really grateful then. After that day, the child insisted on wearing a black dress… I was excited after hearing that Ms. Hunter was coming here today, so I brought my daughter.”
The woman smiled at the child in her arms.
“No, I was just doing what I was supposed to do.”
Eunha looked down at the paper held out by the child with a puzzled expression on her face, then slowly grabbed her pen.
“Yeri… Was it?”
“Yes!”
In front of the child who answered vigorously, Eunha slowly moved the hand that was holding her pen.
“…Here you go.”
“Wow!”
The excited child started running around in place.
“Thank you!”
The child and her mother thanked her several times before leaving. Eunha waved her hand without taking her eyes off them until the child left the fan signing venue.
“—Thank you too.”
As she slowly said her farewell, she smiled.
It was unbelievably bright compared to her dark clothes.