The Chicken Legend's Game Becomes Reality - Chapter 31

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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 31
* * *
As Baek Hee-an rode the hotel elevator upward, he couldn’t stop checking his face and attire in the reflective surfaces.
Black trousers paired with a crisp white shirt.
‘…Is it alright to meet him?’
His hands trembled slightly as he adjusted his clothing for the second time.
To Baek Hee-an, this man was his savior—but to him, Baek Hee-an might be nothing but a summoning of nightmares.
Anxiety gnawed at him, yet hesitation never crossed his mind.
‘I need to see for myself how he’s doing.’
His greatest objective for this meeting was to confirm how Joo Hyun-soo was living—the man who had rescued him, then withdrawn from School and disappeared from sight.
Gulp.
Baek Hee-an’s expression hardened with tension.
‘Please let Hyun-soo be living well enough that he doesn’t even remember what happened that day….’
He arrived at the Lounge.
Upon reaching the VVIP Room on the Hotel’s highest floor, a male staff member greeted him with a beaming smile and escorted him inside.
“This way, please.”
Clean glass windows framed an elegant view of the night cityscape.
Before them sat a spacious table, simply yet luxuriously appointed with two chairs.
‘I never thought we’d meet like this. How many years has it been?’
About five years ago.
The incident that prompted Joo Hyun-soo to withdraw from School occurred during a retreat at the location where the entire athletic department had gathered.
Everyone was outside at a drinking party, so no one realized the Dormitory was burning until it was too late.
‘I was sleeping alone.’
Back when he was a College Student, Baek Hee-an had never fit in well with others.
After the fire broke out, Joo Hyun-soo realized someone was still inside the Dormitory and rushed in to save him.
Though Baek Hee-an had been unconscious, he remembered that moment with vivid clarity.
Because through his dreams, the events of the past replayed infinitely even now.
‘I can’t even tell what’s real anymore.’
He’d already lost consciousness by the time the ambulance arrived.
Yet the images kept surfacing.
Joo Hyun-soo’s trembling hands and urgent voice, the Dormitory blazing like an inferno through acrid smoke, the debris of the Building crashing down.
Hyun-soo, get out quickly!
The voices of people calling out as Joo Hyun-soo carried him toward them—and then the rubble cascading down upon the woman who was running toward them.
Jolt.
“…Hah.”
Baek Hee-an stood abruptly and paced around the Room.
Beyond the windows stretched the dazzling night cityscape.
Now Baek Hee-an was successful enough to use this famous Hotel’s VVIP Room—a place frequented only by Hunters and high-ranking Guild officials.
‘If I have enough money now, I should be able to compensate him somehow….’
He sharpened his senses with a Hunter’s keen instinct, repeatedly glancing at the Room’s door before finally sitting back down.
His legs crossed nervously, trembling with agitation.
Tap, tap.
“….”
Joo Hyun-soo withdrew from school after that incident.
Baek Hee-an, who had been counting down the days until his hero’s discharge from the hospital, fell into profound shock and endured relentless attacks throughout his remaining school years.
‘Those bastards. If anyone’s going to insult him, it should be Joo Hyun-soo himself, not these idiots insulting me.’
Being a loner, Baek Hee-an had never been particularly close with his seniors and juniors.
But he understood their feelings.
At that time, Joo Hyun-soo had been selected as a national taekwondo representative and was preparing for the Olympics—a prodigy who commanded the expectations of not only his peers but also his professors.
Crunch.
‘…Why hasn’t he come? Could he have figured it out and run away?’
Having barely managed to lure out Joo Hyun-soo, who seemed impossible to meet otherwise, Baek Hee-an felt oddly uneasy about many things.
He hadn’t exactly lied, but he’d pretended not to recognize Hyun-soo’s name.
‘I might get punched. Judging from how he plays, his skills are still sharp. Since he hasn’t heard the name, he’s probably not a Hunter but a civilian. Yet he’s a ranker—that’s so like Joo Hyun-soo.’
Then.
Thump, thump, thump….
Baek Hee-an, sensitive to vibrations and presence like any true Hunter, detected something and froze.
Beyond the door of the VVIP Room, renowned for its superior soundproofing to guarantee anonymity, a massive presence approached from a distance.
Thud.
“…?”
Thud.
‘…Ground, tremor?’
For a moment, he wondered if some large guest had arrived on this floor, but the world was vast and the wealthy were plentiful.
Baek Hee-an quickly dismissed it from his mind.
But the footsteps were approaching directly toward him.
Thump, thump—
The table began to vibrate faintly.
Gulp.
As the heavy footsteps he’d assumed were heading elsewhere grew steadily closer, deep tension etched itself across Baek Hee-an’s face.
‘No, surely not?’
Baek Hee-an drank his water calmly.
His heart pounded rapidly in sync with the footsteps.
‘Joo Hyun-soo is tall, but considering his lean, muscular build, it’s absolutely not him. And judging by his skill, he doesn’t seem to have neglected his training.’
Even as he thought this, the heavy vibrations resonating clearly through his sensitive Hunter senses drew ever closer, reaching just a few steps away.
Creak.
“….”
“….”
Their eyes met.
Even the staff member at the door seemed to forget their greeting, staring blankly inside.
A questioning gaze: Is this really the right person?
“…Cough!”
The moment my eyes met those of the figure limping through the doorway with heavy footsteps, I had no choice but to accept reality.
“Cough! Cough!”
Water I’d swallowed long ago suddenly went down the wrong pipe, choking me.
“So you’re the one with white eyes.”
Joo Hyun-soo stood before me, grotesquely swollen like a mountain of filth compared to the bright, cheerful figure I remembered, looking down at me with an expression twisted in disgust.
* * *
The moment I saw White Eyes’ real face, I nearly turned around and walked straight back out.
Skin as pale and blank as white paper.
Unlike the face meticulously drawn by the gods of pure romance comics, an otherworldly outsider of an entirely different genre—utterly incomprehensible in character.
“Damn, it’s him.”
Baek Hee-an, who’d been staring up at me with his mind practically gone, flinched.
I wanted to pretend I didn’t know him and bolt right then, but the moment our eyes locked, this bastard definitely recognized me.
I didn’t want anyone from back then to know what I look like now, my situation, any of it.
“That damn famous Hunter bastard.”
Baek Hee-an—this asshole was the reason my legs are ruined.
I wanted to scream at him, throw a punch first and ask questions later, the urge burning like a furnace.
‘I’m starving.’
But I was genuinely too hungry to cause a scene and leave, so I sat down and opened the menu.
My insides were churning.
I gulped down cold water first.
Thunk!
The moment I set the glass down, the staff member who’d been fidgeting near the door rushed over.
“W-would you like to order?”
“This, this, this, this, and this.”
I’d skipped eating thinking about hotel food, so my hunger was absolutely maddening. I ordered five items in quick succession, focusing on the most expensive options and steaks.
Baek Hee-an was still staring at me, dazed.
The door to the room closed.
“You… your legs….”
It was the first thing Baek Hee-an managed to stammer out.
I fired off TMI to preempt his pointless questions.
“Yeah, that’s right. While you were getting rescued, my legs got crippled. After that, my parents divorced and I dropped out, just barely scraping by.”
“….”
Thump-thump.
His pupils were going haywire.
Baek Hee-an raised his trembling hands and rubbed his face dry.
With an expression like he was having some damn nightmare right in front of me, my already foul mood became even fouler.
‘This bastard?’
Was I that hideous to look at—some glasses-wearing, acne-covered pig?
Curses spilled out naturally.
“You bastard. I saved you with a broken leg, and then you go and awaken as a Hunter out of the blue? If you were going to awaken, you should have done it then! Now my leg, what the—?! Damn it!”
Furious, I poured water into a cup.
I was trying to hold back considering all the money I’d sponsored over the years, but with the source of my ruined life standing right in front of me, controlling my anger was nearly impossible.
Gulp, gulp, gulp!
“…I’m sorry.”
Clunk.
At the sound of that voice I hated, I set the water cup down carelessly.
I wanted to demand why he pretended not to know my name when he clearly did, but if I’d known it was Baek Hee-an, I would have blocked him outright.
I might have even abandoned my Game account just to cut him out of my life.
“Sorry? Are you really sorry?!”
“Desperately.”
“…”
His earnest answer made me pause.
After calming down a bit and looking at him again, it seemed Baek Hee-an wasn’t suffering because I despised the sight of him, but because he was genuinely tormented by remorse.
‘…What is this?’
Suddenly, a strange disconnect washed over me.
For some reason, I had never once imagined that Baek Hee-an would be desperately sorry to me.
It made sense that I’d resent him—I’d gotten hurt saving him, after all.
But the fact that he’d been unconscious in that building, the fact that he hadn’t awakened then—objectively speaking, none of it could be called his fault.
So I’d never even conceived of the possibility that Baek Hee-an had been apologizing to me all this time.
‘I thought he’d forgotten about someone like me and just lived happily ever after.’
Looking closer, his face seemed slightly haggard.
World Ranking Number One.
The greatest ranker, revered and envied by every Hunter across the globe.
My Olympics never even started and ended in complete ruin, while this insufferably lucky bastard was soaring brilliantly through the sky.
“It seems you do think about me.”
The phrasing was unsettling, but Baek Hee-an understood perfectly.
“How could I forget you? Not once in five years. You dropped out because of that incident, and you took so much abuse from the entire student body. They said I ruined Joo Hyun-soo’s life.”
Wow.
I mean, it’s true though.
“…”
The fact that I’d dropped out and Baek Hee-an had taken the blame felt strange.
‘The seniors probably gave him hell.’
I’d thought I was the only one suffering, but seeing Baek Hee-an’s exhausted expression, it seemed this bastard had been through considerable emotional torment as well.
‘What is this? Relief? That’s pathetic.’
The fury that had been boiling inside me began to settle, just slightly.
Baek Hee-an asked again.
“What do you do for work? God Opal isn’t exactly an ordinary Game, so did you happen to awaken as a Hunter?”
“Awaken? I work part-time at a Convenience Store.”
“…”
My words had struck another blow—Baek Hee-an’s expression became quite worth observing.
And strangely, the more Baek Hee-an shrank before me and the more miserable he became, the higher my happiness index climbed.
‘Oh, I see.’
Now I could see it clearly.
That wasn’t contempt—it was unmistakable guilt.
Baek Hee-an’s voice came out strained.
“If you don’t mind, would you like me to look into a job opening at the Guild I belong to?”
“Don’t tell me it’s Cheongryeong?”
“Yeah.”
A hollow laugh escaped me at such an absurd proposal.
“With a face this conspicuous, you want me to get a nepotistic position at a Guild? Do my legs look broken to you? If you pity me that much, just focus on sponsoring me generously instead.”
“…I will.”
I wasn’t sure if he meant it sincerely, but I hoped he’d pour money at me long and hard and often.
My pride was utterly shattered, but since it was already broken, I might as well pocket the money.
‘The atmosphere’s like this, so I can’t even squeeze him harder.’
Despite his pale, aristocratic face, he’d apparently been known for being quite prickly, but the Baek Hee-an before me now was excessively docile.
He was truly a guilty man.
A long, melancholic silence hung over the table.
“….”
“….”
Damn it all.
‘If it weren’t for this Hotel food, I’d have left.’
Baek Hee-an, whom I’d met after so long, seemed to have many questions about what I was doing with my life.
He pressed on with another question.
“Where do you live? Nearby?”
“Who knows. I’m homeless at the moment.”
Baek Hee-an’s eyes widened in shock, wavering aimlessly.
“…What?”
I’d just thrown that out carelessly because I didn’t want to give him my home address.
Thinking it was true, Baek Hee-an’s expression turned gravely serious, and he quietly pressed his forehead with his interlaced hands, then wiped his face dry just like before.
‘Seriously.’
He seemed like he’d die from guilt, finding me so pitiful and pathetic.
‘His face is still incredible. He does look a bit haggard, but that guy who always wore the same clothes every day has completely changed his fortune.’
I felt envious and annoyed.
Knock, knock.
Just then the door opened and a tray arrived laden with delicacies.
I swallowed hard and immediately began cutting into the steak, but for some reason, Baek Hee-an’s appetite seemed to have vanished.
Meat right in front of him and he wouldn’t even pick up a knife.
“You’re not eating?”
“Look. If you have nowhere to go, come stay at my place. The house is unnecessarily spacious anyway. It’s a separate two-story, so you can use the Upper Floor.”
“…?”
I halted my spirited blade work at words I could never have imagined, fixing Baek Hee-an with a look that questioned whether this bastard had lost his mind.

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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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