D-Rank Constellation Hunter… Stuck Without Internet! - Chapter 88

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 88
There’s something romantic about sitting side by side on the rooftop railing, holding each other close.
When Ha Gyuhyuk returned to Earth with his divine form, he was here gazing blankly up at The Sky.
As if looking at that spot would make me appear.
And even if he stared at the stars that way, if I couldn’t see him, what difference did it make?
Yet the longing etched across Ha Gyuhyuk’s face as he examined the stars in The Sky was so profound I couldn’t bring myself to tease him.
Nestled against my chest, he called my name again and again. Se-um, Se-um, he whispered.
So I answered with a soft yes, repeating this exchange until I decided to shift the subject slightly.
“I heard someone showed up and claimed I’d abandoned you.”
I spoke bluntly while holding Ha Gyuhyuk close.
The moment those words left my lips, I felt his body stiffen against me.
He seemed both embarrassed and anxious about my reaction.
“Yes….”
“Did that bother you so much?”
I’d originally planned to tell him it was simply something I did to keep him fed, and he should accept that.
But seeing his dejected expression, those words wouldn’t come.
More precisely, I couldn’t shake the image of his face as he gazed blankly at The Sky before recognizing me.
“Of course I don’t think you were wrong or angry about it, Se-um. So you don’t need to explain why you did it.”
What was this? Had he read my mind?
Perhaps he genuinely believed he had neither the right to ask nor any reason to hear the answer.
As I studied his face intently, Ha Gyuhyuk laughed awkwardly.
“What worried me was whether you preferred your other clients to me and wouldn’t come back.”
“How could that be? I’ve had so many clients I couldn’t manage them all even using every ounce of my strength, and you’re the best among them.”
“I’m the best?”
“Yes, there’s no one like you. I’ve never asked anyone to become a Constellation until you.”
And you’ll be the last person to hear such words from me.
I didn’t voice the second part, but Ha Gyuhyuk’s face brightened.
I could never be like him.
I would have thrown a tantrum, demanding he take no other clients besides me.
“Don’t you ever think about monopolizing me?”
He’d never even learned how to speak indirectly in the first place.
When I asked with genuine curiosity, his eyes wavered.
He was someone who thought deeply about “worthiness.”
He worried whether he had the right to say such things to me, whether he deserved to take such actions.
In truth, by choosing him, I’d already absolved him of all accountability.
While he pondered in silence, I stroked his head gently.
“I do want to monopolize you, Se-um. I wish you’d only care about me. Honestly, regardless of the reason, I’d be happy if you always let me hear your voice and smiled for me.”
“Yes, I like it when you say things like that.”
“But if you’re only paying attention to me out of obligation or reading my mood, then that’s not what I want.”
I blinked.
I couldn’t quite distinguish between caring for someone and feeling obligated to care for them.
“Everything Se-um does for me is a gift, and if you wish, you should be able to stop whenever you want.”
“I told you to just receive from me. The rest is what I’m giving you.”
“Yes, so… my role is to struggle so that Se-um can become someone who wants to do anything for me.”
Now I understood.
Whether through charm or beauty, he was saying he’d create his own reasons to be cherished.
In other words, he didn’t want me caring for him or protecting him out of obligation.
I burst out laughing.
Franson, here’s a client trying to strip obligation from a Constellation.
“D-did I say something funny?”
“No, you’re just admirable and adorable.”
It’s true that I habitually look after my clients.
But that all stems from genuine affection for them.
When I’m with my clients, I always cherish them, love them, and wish for their happiness.
The moment their lives move in a better direction, I feel happiness too, if only briefly.
“Though, if you become a Constellation, just receiving might not be enough.”
“Pardon?”
“You’ll have other clients too, won’t you? So you need to learn how to give as well.”
If he wanted to end his existence as a human, receiving only what I give would be fine.
But the situation is different now.
I’ve resolved to genuinely make him a Constellation.
“Stop just receiving and learn how to give back to me too.”
“Does that mean it’s okay for me to do things for Se-um now?”
I was essentially saying I could legitimately exploit what he had to offer.
And he was accepting it with such joy—was that really appropriate?
Not bothering to hide my bewildered expression, Ha Gyuhyuk laughed sheepishly.
“But you always tell me to just receive, no matter what I want to give.”
“It would be difficult to find something you could give that I don’t already have.”
For a moment his expression fell, but then he quickly added in a flustered tone.
“I’ll search for something you don’t have starting now. So you have to accept it.”
“Fine, but I can give you things I already have too. What you give will be different.”
“Yes.”
He smiled with a strangely overwhelming emotion.
Was the idea of being able to do something for me really that precious to him?
“At first, you’d meticulously write down what you did each day and what you’d do next, sending it all to me. But at some point, you just started saying you wanted to see me.”
“Ah, well, that…”
“Weren’t you neglecting your duties as Guild Master and Hunter? If you keep this up, you won’t become a Constellation.”
Of course, I’d already seen how diligently he’d worked while I was away.
If he were the type to slack off cleverly while I was gone, I wouldn’t have worried in the first place.
The problem is that no one acknowledges his efforts, yet he works alone with such dedication, always giving more than necessary.
While I was preoccupied with other clients and sparring with the Constellation, Ha Gyuhyuk had rescued far more people than I could count.
After becoming an A-rank Hunter, I was astounded watching him venture into dungeons alone and pull people out of danger.
“I did my best, but it might not meet your expectations, Se-um….”
“In those cases, just saying ‘I did my best’ is enough.”
“Next time, I’ll faithfully report what I did today, ah, no wait. That….”
“I understand. I won’t let my attention wander elsewhere so you won’t need to report.”
As I reassured his hesitant form, his expression brightened instantly.
From ‘I want to be beside you’ to ‘please stay beside me’—he still had a long way to go.
Ha Gyuhyuk chatted about this and that for roughly two hours, as if to confirm I was lying beside him, before falling asleep.
He must have been exhausted, yet he stubbornly held on to spend more time with me.
Whether to call it admirable or absurd, I wasn’t sure.
Taking advantage of his sleep, I moved to the Guild Master’s Office.
[Franson: Did you go to Earth? Let’s go together ㅠ ㅠ ]
[ Se-um: Why would we need to go together when I can just come down? ]
[ Franson: My grandmother likes that sort of thing… ]
[ Se-um: My apologies ]
[ Se-um: Sory ]
[ Se-um: You said your grandmother passed away before Franson was born ]
Franson: Ah, heh.
[ Franson: Humans on Earth get flustered by this, so I tried it, and it’s true ]
Is there no way to block a Constellation?
I closed the chat window and examined Ha Gyuhyuk’s desk instead.
I was simply checking how he’d been managing in my absence—nothing more than that.
I absolutely wasn’t curious about what he’d been absorbed in investigating recently.
Since he habitually kept his desk organized, I found the file folders containing his research without difficulty.
I sat on the edge of the desk, crossed my legs, and examined the files.
〔Standards Report on Hunter Rank Demotion〕
〔Analysis of Common Traits Among Demoted Hunters_Focused on Initial A-rank Hunter Statistics〕
Why had he looked into rank demotion? There was no one in Touch One at risk of falling.
As I searched my memory, a small scrawl caught my eye in that corner.
〔Did I become too strong…??〕

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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