Chapter 84 – Telling the Truth

Kang Jin-hyun glanced at Hee-na’s gaping mouth, opened his inventory, and quickly pulled out some clothes to put on.

It was a thin but quite tough-looking black T-shirt. Whether it was techwear or whatever material, it clung tightly to his body, revealing his physique clearly. It was good to look at.

‘Ah!’

Hee-na realized belatedly that she was staring intently at Kang Jin-hyun’s body.

He was someone who had just come from a dangerous battle. She felt that her gaze toward him was too blatant, causing her face to redden on its own.

“Ms. Hee-na.”

Had Kang Jin-hyun also felt that gaze?

He shook his wet hair to dry it and called Hee-na’s name. His voice was more serious than ever.

“Yes? Y-Yes… Mr. Jin-hyun, please go ahead.”

Hee-na, feeling guilty on her own, straightened her posture.

She had thought she was familiar enough with his face since she saw it daily, but that must not be the case. His lips, firmly shut in a straight line as if angry, looked particularly unfamiliar.

He let out a low sigh as if displeased.

“I have a lot to hear. I must hear everything about how you, Ms. Hee-na, entered this dungeon that I clearly entered alone, and how you can have close interactions with a monster.”

Kang Jin-hyun interrogated Hee-na sharply. He seemed determined not to overlook it any longer.

Her mouth went dry under his strict gaze.

His pitch-black eyes stared intently at Hee-na. She swallowed hard.

“…Is that everything?”

“Yes. I told you everything. I have nothing more hidden from you, Mr. Jin-hyun.”

“Is that true? There are no other parts you are hiding, right?”

“I’ve even confessed things that Min-ah Unni doesn’t know…”

When she fluttered her hands as if she had been completely emptied, Kang Jin-hyun uncrossed his arms in satisfaction. At the part where she said ‘Even Woo Min-ah doesn’t know,’ he relaxed his stiffened expression and even showed a small smile.

“Is that so?”

“It is true.”

Hee-na thoroughly confessed all her secrets to Kang Jin-hyun.

From how she had awakened, to what skills she had, what the effects of the skills were, what Badugi’s true identity was, and why she was walking in this dungeon, and so on…

She had thought there would be a lot to explain since it had occurred over about half a year, but once she organized and spoke, it was not that long of a story.

Kang Jin-hyun listened to the story seriously, throwing questions to Hee-na from time to time.

It was unimaginable that he was the same person who, at their first meeting, had coldly advised Hee-na, ‘You must not carelessly tell others about your class or skills.’

“So, according to your words, Ms. Hee-na, you have a space-related skill called ‘Home Sweet Home’?”

“Yes. It is my home.”

“And this monster…”

“It’s not a monster, it’s Badugi. He’s a bit hyper, but he’s good and doesn’t hurt people. Look at that. See how gentle he is in front of you, Mr. Jin-hyun.”

Hee-na gestured toward Badugi.

Perhaps pressed down by the S-class Hunter’s momentum, Badugi sat quietly next to Hee-na, kneeling his knees… no, his roots.

Kang Jin-hyun let out a small sigh.

“…I see. Yes. So this creature named Badugi is the pet plant of your brother, Mr. Lee Hee-won.”

“Yes. Badugi’s seed was obtained from the B-class mushroom dungeon we fell into together in the past. When Oppa planted it, a pet plant raising quest appeared, and that’s how Badugi became part of our family.”

Hee-na emphasized over and over that Badugi was not a dangerous monster but her family. Having come to this situation, she could not lose Badugi.

“So you were in the middle of conducting a pet plant walk quest as a cooperative quest, and that’s how you ran into me. Moreover, because that plant accidentally dragged the boss monster along, the situation became complicated.”

Kang Jin-hyun organized and spoke of the remaining situation. Hee-na carefully raised her hand to express her opinion.

“Phrasing it like that makes it sound like Badugi did something dangerous on purpose, but that’s absolutely not… probably not the case… right, Badugi?”

When she cast a glance at Badugi to give him a hint, Badugi shook his flower bud hard. Meanwhile, he showed his leaf that had melted in the boss monster’s acidic solution.

It was to elicit sympathy.

Hee-na chimed in as well.

“Badugi was also hurt badly like this… Look at this. How painful must it be?”

No matter how close she had become with Kang Jin-hyun, blood was thicker than water. It was inevitable that she would subtly take the side of her family member, Badugi.

But Kang Jin-hyun’s bomb of nagging was starting from now.

“First and foremost, the issue I want to point out is your safety, Ms. Hee-na.”

“Today was the fourth walk, and it has been safe without any incidents so far. Besides, I wore your Robe of Stealth and wore the Bracelet of Defense. Today, if I hadn’t run into you, I probably would have returned quietly…”

“Stop.”

“A dungeon is a dangerous space where one never knows what kind of emergency might occur. No matter how safe a dungeon looks to you, Ms. Hee-na, you do not know what kind of traps might be lurking behind it. This is even more so for a non-combat awakened person like you. No matter how good the items you guard yourself with, they cannot guarantee one hundred percent safety.”

Every single word was correct.

Honestly, if it hadn’t been for the ‘Home Sweet Home’ skill issue, Hee-na would never have taken such a risk. It was true that Hee-na had acted hastily.

“If you wanted to go for dungeon walks, you should have asked for help from me, or at least Hunter Woo Min-ah. You should have gone out accompanied by someone who could protect you.”

“Min-ah Unni is currently on a long-term subjugation…”

When she replied hesitantly, Kang Jin-hyun’s eyes grew sharp.

“Do not make excuses. Your judgment was complacent, Ms. Hee-na.”

At the same time, he scolded her enough to bring tears to her eyes.

“Just because you have the ability to easily go to and from dungeons doesn’t make the dungeons any safer. Your ability is miserably insufficient for that. Given your track record, I volunteered to stay by your side in case you ended up in danger, so it is truly troublesome if you take sudden actions first like this.”

“Yes…”

Until now, Kang Jin-hyun had only shown a soft side in front of Hee-na.

Perhaps because of that, the contrast in his current strict appearance felt even larger, making her feel intimidated.

‘He really was treating me very gently all this time.’

Anew, she felt she could see how exceptionally he had acted toward her.

Of course, he was only angry now out of concern for her, but…

‘Still, scary is scary.’

Dejected, Hee-na hung her head low. Then, a softened voice along with a low sigh was heard from above her head.

“Do you understand now how dangerous of a situation you were entangled in, Ms. Hee-na?”

“Yes… In the future, if such dangerous things occur, I will consult you or Min-ah Unni first.”

Kang Jin-hyun was extremely satisfied with the perfect answer.

“Good.”

“…Then you will keep my skills and Badugi’s existence a secret, right?”

When she asked cautiously, Kang Jin-hyun nodded readily.

“Of course. If your abilities are known to the outside world, it will only place you in danger, Ms. Hee-na. And I do not wish for such a situation at all.”

Hee-na was quite sure that this was not empty words.

Although Kang Jin-hyun kept a tight lip, above all, he was a person who absolutely needed Hee-na. Without Hee-na, he couldn’t eat properly or sleep comfortably.

He was even a person who, when completely drunk, would carry Hee-na off to his home like a precious bundle. There was no way such a person would put Hee-na in danger.

For some reason, Kang Jin-hyun scanned Hee-na up and down with darkened eyes. Somehow, she felt the fine hairs on her skin stand up under that gaze.

“…Actually, if possible, I would like to keep you separately in a safe place, Ms. Hee-na, but considering your skills, that would also be impossible. Since you would be able to open space and escape.”

Hee-na broke into a cold sweat.

“Ah. Well, escape?”

The expression of wanting to ‘keep her’ sounding like ‘lock her up’ must be just her imagination.

Before her ominous premonition could continue further, Kang Jin-hyun changed the subject.

“At any rate, I have heard your explanation well. By the way, was the lunchbox you prepared for me last time also due to your skill, Ms. Hee-na?”

He mentioned the incident where Hee-na had used Gourmet Realm to explain the disappearance of the piece of space, and the signing of the lunchbox contract to restore power to the blacked-out ‘Home Sweet Home.’

“It wasn’t a lie. It was truly because the snail at home snatched and used it that the piece of space disappeared… Some seed ended up appearing instead of the piece of space, so I couldn’t return it to you.”

“It is fine. I do not think you spoke a lie with malice, Ms. Hee-na. Was it not an unavoidable choice to protect yourself?”

Hearing him say that made her conscience prick for no reason. Hee-na made an excuse hesitantly.

“…At that time, I didn’t know what kind of person you were, Mr. Jin-hyun, so I had no choice but to hide it.”

The Homemaker of the Dungeon