Hunter Kindergarten, Dolphin Class! - Chapter 127

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 127

 

The moment to decide has come.

 

I looked at the Status Window that appeared before my eyes.

 

『 Unregistered Target Subject : Lee Seo-hyeok

 

Ability : Ability Nullification

 

Grade : A(S-)

 

*Detailed Description : Nullifies all of the opponent’s abilities.

 

Ritual Condition : Whistling

 

Status Abnormality : Obsessive sense of responsibility, experiencing the past as if it were the present.

 

NEW! STORY 0. Regret

 

STORY 1. First Society 』

 

A NEW chapter.

 

Another ability I realized through Kwon Hae-seong and Yu Jin-chae.

 

This chapter, which is related to status abnormalities, has the effect of increasing the target’s mental stability when I view it.

 

And this chapter tends to appear at ‘decisive moments’.

 

…Just like now.

 

Usually it doesn’t show itself in the Status Window, but it appears at moments like this with uncanny timing.

 

‘Like the only lifeline.’

 

So now… what should I do?

 

Naturally, I want to press it right away and check it out.

 

If I can provide mental stability to someone suffering from nightmares, even if I can’t wake Lee Seo-hyeok right away, wouldn’t it still help him?

 

‘But if I interfere carelessly and something goes wrong…’

 

It was a moment when my contemplation was growing longer.

 

Someone opened the hospital room door and entered.

 

“Oh….”

 

“…Grandfather stepped out for a moment.”

 

“Yes…. You came again today.”

 

Kang Ho-won, whose face had grown gaunt since I last saw him, glanced at me nervously as he entered the hospital room.

 

I glanced at him briefly before turning my gaze back to Lee Seo-hyeok, who was still sleeping.

 

Kang Ho-won also didn’t deliberately try to start a conversation with me.

 

After listening to the occasional noise coming from outside the hospital corridor, I was the first to speak.

 

“You said it would be dangerous if things continue like this.”

 

“Yes, I’m saying this because Grandfather isn’t here, but the situation isn’t good. The antidote development is slow, and more than anything, we have too little information….”

 

I guess he can’t bring himself to say what comes after that.

 

I nodded slowly as if I understood. Then I asked again.

 

“If there was a way to help Seo-hyeok, even just a little bit, would you do it?”

 

“Yes.”

 

He could have been flustered by such a question, but there wasn’t even a second of hesitation.

 

“It might be reckless, and even if we try, there might be no change at all.”

 

“Yes, I’ll still do it.”

 

…Right.

 

That was the answer I wanted too.

 

There’s a clear reason why I hesitated to use my ability on Lee Seo-hyeok.

 

‘This is different from Kwon Hae-seong and Yu Jin-chae’s cases.’

 

Back then, both of them were conscious, and even if I used my ability, I didn’t need to worry about things going wrong afterward.

 

‘At best, it would have just maintained the status quo.’

 

However, using an ability on someone who can’t even open their eyes requires a completely different mindset.

 

What if I make a mistake and it becomes completely beyond help?

 

…Could I endure that?

 

“There’s no time. They said that place usually processes people as dead starting from the third day of unconsciousness. If that’s true, then from the third day onward, there’s virtually no hope…”

 

Each word that Kang Ho-won spoke quietly reached me with unusual clarity.

 

I turned my gaze away from Lee Seo-hyeok, where it had been fixed the entire time, and looked at Kang Ho-won.

 

And finally, I made my decision.

 

“I guess it’s better to try and regret than not try at all. If I can do something but don’t, I think I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”

 

“What do you mean by that…?”

 

“I might be quiet for a moment, so please understand.”

 

Come to think of it, this guy had raised his hands and even knelt down at my Command.

 

This time too, just think that I’m acting suspiciously like the suspicious person I am.

 

『-Lee Seo-hyeok (Unregistered Target Subject)』

 

『 Formal registration of the target will enable greater access! 』

 

『 Would you like to register? 』

 

‘Yes. I understand.’

 

『 Lee Seo-hyeok (A) has been formally registered. 』

 

『 Formally registered Target Subject Lee Seo-hyeok (A)’s favorability is currently 79%. 』

 

『 Lee Seo-hyeok (A) – Status Window Access/Permitted 』

 

『 NEW! STORY 0. Regret 』

 

As I brought my finger toward it, I unconsciously glanced sideways at Kang Ho-won.

 

…His face shows he doesn’t understand why I said such things, while simultaneously being distorted with guilt and regret.

 

I looked at him and chuckled softly.

 

‘Straighten your face.’

 

Right after, I experienced the familiar sensation of my vision flipping.

 

Like a screen switching, my vision changes.

 

When I open my eyes again, a new world.

 

No, I arrive in the past of someone I didn’t know.

 

“Hey! Lee Seo-hyeok. Hurry up!”

 

***

 

‘I’ve suddenly become a high school student too.’

 

I see a high school student dressed in typical teenage attire, wearing a thick hoodie with a padding jacket over it.

 

The youthful face reflected in the bus window looked even more innocent than the Lee Seo-hyeok that Na Hwi-yeon remembered.

 

Completely bright and comfortable-looking… appearing his actual age, I suppose.

 

‘More importantly, where are we going?’

 

Now familiar with the process, I rolled my eyes around diligently to assess the situation first.

 

Around Lee Seo-hyeok, I could see several students of similar age, and the atmosphere looked noticeably excited.

 

‘Are they going on a trip or something?’

 

As questions arose in my mind one by one, information soon began flowing in helpfully, like a chain reaction.

 

Of course, this time too, not only information but also Lee Seo-hyeok’s memories and emotions were seeping in and being felt.

 

Two days after taking the college entrance exam, the day came to leave for a trip that had been planned in advance with friends.

 

His parents had gone down to a provincial area to attend a seminar, and the twins decided to stay home with their grandmother and grandfather.

 

Lee Seo-hyeok was traveling by bus with his friends from the morning to a glamping site located an hour away from his house.

 

He had already been accepted to his desired university through early admission, so his mind was at ease as well.

 

The freedom and comfort he felt after so long made him feel like he could fly with joy.

 

Good.

 

At the Glamping Site they quickly arrived at, he played and ate all day long.

 

He cooled his head that had become sensitive due to college entrance exams, and laughed while having conversations with friends that they hadn’t finished.

 

“Do you remember when you got locked in the Gymnasium Storage in first year? There was chaos because you were trapped for half a day, but this crazy guy was just waiting there solving problems from his Problem Book.”

 

“Me? Did I do that…?”

 

“Lee Seo-hyeok, you’re really crazy too. Who sits there peacefully solving problems from a Problem Book in that situation?”

 

“I only remember falling asleep while solving problems halfway through.”

 

Time passed well just by laughing, chatting, and eating.

 

It’s already become night.

 

However, instead of going to sleep, he had no choice but to join his friends who were gathering to do fireworks.

 

Until then, he had shoved his mobile phone deep into his Bag and hadn’t even looked at it.

 

Then, something happened.

 

When he belatedly realized he hadn’t even contacted his Parents to let them know he had arrived safely and hurriedly picked up his mobile phone… it was already too late.

 

A screen showing dozens of missed calls.

 

What is this?

 

Seeing that missed calls had been left alternately from Grandmother and Grandfather’s contact numbers, Lee Seo-hyeok realized the seriousness of the situation and hurriedly made a call.

 

And.

 

“Seo-hyeok, don’t be shocked and listen. Come to XX Hospital right now.”

 

The news of Mom and Dad’s accident that he heard.

 

After that, he frantically caught a Taxi and headed to the hospital.

 

It didn’t feel real at all.

 

Just this morning, we had greeted each other, telling Seo-ro to have a safe trip. What was this?

 

What kind of situation was this?

 

Even after arriving at the hospital, it was the same.

 

Grandmother and Grandfather who had fainted.

 

The twins who were too busy crying to think straight.

 

In between, a Relative Elder who explained the situation to him with a relatively calm face.

 

“There was an accident while they were rushing back after the Seminar ended. They got caught up with an overturned Large Truck, and Fire broke out, so both of them are already…”

 

“…”

 

“Seo-hyeok.”

 

“…”

 

“Seo-hyeok.”

 

“Yes…?”

 

“You need to be strong from now on. I think it would be better if you don’t see your Parents. Their condition is too bad…”

 

I had the illusion that the mobile phone vibration sound, which wasn’t even ringing in my ears, was ringing so loudly it felt like it would burst.

 

Among all the sounds I was hearing, there wasn’t a single word I could understand.

 

Mom and Dad had passed away?

 

Why?

 

…What about me and the twins?

 

My head became endlessly dazed, and when I barely came to my senses, I found myself crouched against the Wall.

 

Every time I closed and opened my eyes, the background and the people around me changed.

 

Once it was the hospital.

 

Once at the funeral home.

 

And once at the columbarium.

 

Each time, Lee Seo-hyeok could do nothing but desperately hold onto his younger siblings’ hands, thinking of them as his last thread of sanity.

 

Everything became regret.

 

I should have stopped them from going to the seminar.

 

I shouldn’t have gone on that trip.

 

I should have checked my mobile phone sooner.

 

I should have confirmed my parents’ final moments.

 

Yes, at the very least, I shouldn’t have been laughing and chatting while my parents were dying…

 

After the farewell filled with regret ended, what began again was guilt and heavy responsibility.

 

Lee Seo-hyeok returned home with his younger siblings.

 

In that short time, the house where the boiler hadn’t been running had become freezing cold.

 

Two younger siblings who would soon turn five years old.

 

Since neither parent had any close siblings, there was no one to help us except for grandmother and grandfather.

 

As for the relatives, they only helped because it was urgent for now, and they’d soon be busy returning to their own daily lives.

 

Uncle also returned to America yesterday, so now there’s really no one.

 

…The reality he was thrown into without knowing anything was too harsh to dwell on the pain of separation.

 

Lee Seo-hyeok didn’t even have time to properly shed tears.

 

And fortunately, or perhaps somewhat cruelly, after his high school graduation ceremony ended, he awakened as an Awakener.

 

And so, his dream changed.

 

From following his parents to become a Sociology Department professor.

 

To living as a hunter and raising his two remaining younger siblings without want.

 

“Hello. My name is Lee Seo-hyeok. Please take care of me.”

 

Having given up on university admission, he started commuting to BOND from the next day.

 

In the rapidly unfolding past, Na Hwi-yeon felt that he had reached his limits time and again.

 

Breathlessness that reached up to his chin, and tears that blurred his vision with despair.

 

Even so, Lee Seo-hyeok neither cried quietly nor even cried at all.

 

Na Hwi-yeon could understand the reason because he was sharing deep emotions with him.

 

‘Giving up university and going to the company was probably more because he couldn’t endure it rather than money problems.’

 

He simply didn’t have the confidence to go to university and sit there studying while laughing and chatting.

 

There was so much weighing down on his shoulders.

 

Guilt and an overwhelming sense of responsibility gave him the strength to live again while simultaneously keeping him submerged in a muddy swamp.

 

All while unconsciously pushing himself to his limits.

 

‘In the long run, this is poison.’

 

He knew this well from similar experiences.

 

In the end, the answer to these emotional problems is to face them and shake them off.

 

But how easy is that?

 

To face them, you have to revisit past events, and doing so becomes unbearably painful.

 

Cautiously predicting, this must be Lee Seo-hyeok’s past and his nightmare.

 

Na Hwi-yeon watched Lee Seo-hyeok’s face change as time gradually passed.

 

The process of a purely young and immature child maturing and becoming an adult was completely melted into his face.

 

‘He became an adult too quickly.’

 

The moment he thought that, his vision flipped once again.

 

***

 

I blinked my eyes.

 

I staggered for a moment, then grabbed the hospital bed rail and stood up.

 

On the opposite side, Kang Ho-won was shouting something.

 

However, that was a cry directed at someone lying on the bed, not at me.

 

“Lee Seo-hyeok! Seo-hyeok! Are you coming to your senses?”

 

When I turned my head, I could see Lee Seo-hyeok.

 

『 NEW! STORY 0. Regret Reading Complete! 』

 

『 Sharing your worries makes you feel better! 』

 

『 Through chapter reading, official Target Subject ‘Lee Seo-hyeok’s’ mental stability automatically increases. 』

 

Lee Seo-hyeok, who had awakened with bloodshot eyes streaming tears, was looking at me.

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