Chapter 87 – The New Lodger

Kang Jin-hyun, who had suddenly entered Hee-na’s house and become a lodger, naturally blended into the household atmosphere.

Before they knew it, setting three sets of cutlery on the dining table became natural, and Hee-won, who had once huffed about how letting a strange man into the house made no sense, was now speaking informally with Kang Jin-hyun, calling him brother.

The explanation that he had moved into the house temporarily for Hee-na’s safety worked very well.

Osaek-i also seemed to like Kang Jin-hyun, as he was active in conversations.

Positive impact on the improvement of the residential aesthetic environment.

……Perhaps Osaek-i was extremely superficial about looks.

However, Badugi, who had witnessed his terrifying fight, seemed to be somewhat afraid of him, which was a problem… but in the end, Badugi was still Badugi.

After eating a few monsters that Kang Jin-hyun caught and fed him, his heart was completely won over, and now he spun his leaves like a propeller just by looking at him.

‘I knew he was a good person, but he’s more down-to-earth than I thought.’

Hee-na glanced at Kang Jin-hyun while chewing her food. He was eating diligently, with the tips of his hair still damp.

Kang Jin-hyun’s initial impression on Hee-na was that he was an extremely clumsy person.

‘He couldn’t even carry a cup of coffee properly and spilled half of it, and he tore the blanket while shaking it out…’

But as she took Kang Jin-hyun in as a lodger, that image gradually diluted.

As he began to eat well and sleep well under Hee-na’s proper care, those minor mistakes decreased one by one.

Before, with long-term accumulated fatigue stacking up, he couldn’t control his strength properly, making him look as if a screw was loose in daily life.

Of course, his natural touch was not very dextrous, so there were still times when he showed a clumsy side.

‘But that’s not the important part.’

He possessed important qualities as a housemate: a tolerant personality and quick adaptability.

Like an uninvited guest who had suddenly appeared, he behaved very carefully.

Kang Jin-hyun quickly grasped the rules of Hee-na’s house. And he faithfully acted according to those rules. He was a model lodger who didn’t need a single nagging.

Just a week after he moved in, Hee-na even nudged her brother’s side.

‘Oppa, try to be even half as good as Mr. Jin-hyun, please!’

Whenever Hee-na needed help, he appeared silently. And he helped with the tasks smoothly.

These were mostly situations like taking something out of the cupboard, lifting something heavy, or struggling because she couldn’t open a bottle cap.

‘I will help you.’

‘Ah, you don’t really have to do this…’

‘Things like this are meant to be done by the stronger person.’

‘Haha, there is no such law in the world, Mr. Jin-hyun.’

‘I was taught that way by my parents.’

In this way, he naturally shared daily life with Hee-na.

Perhaps because he was someone who lived in a practically empty house, his luggage was small and his living habits were clean. There was nothing to complain about.

Was it because he was someone who frequented all sorts of dungeons? His adaptability was remarkable. It was as natural as if he had lived with the Hee-na siblings from the very beginning.

He was also so respectful to Hee-na and Hee-won… Hee-won, who used to look at Kang Jin-hyun with suspicious eyes, clicked his tongue and threw up his hands in surrender.

Saying that almost all the high-rank Hunters he had seen were obnoxious, and they all needed to look at S-class Kang Jin-hyun and learn.

“You said you’re starting a dungeon conquest today, right?”

Hee-won, who was emptying his rice bowl, raised his head as if he had suddenly remembered.

“Yes. It will take about three days at the shortest, and a week at the longest.”

“Take care of yourself.”

It was the first dungeon conquest he was entering after moving into Hee-na’s house.

‘And it’s also the last day Jin-hyun is staying at our house.’

Hee-na opened and checked the quest window.

Before she knew it, this was the final Badugi dungeon walk quest.

This meant that today would be the last day of walking the dungeon with Kang Jin-hyun, and also the last day of him renting a room in Hee-na’s ‘Home Sweet Home.’

This was because the residence period Hee-na had proposed was only until the walk quest was completed.

‘Time has already flown like this.’

They had lived together for about a fortnight.

A fortnight was not a long time, but it wasn’t short either. It was enough time for someone to seep in. At least, it was so for the warm-hearted Hee-na siblings.

‘I feel like it might be empty without him…’

Thinking that she wouldn’t be able to see Kang Jin-hyun in this house in the future made her feel strange.

She felt relieved, but on the other hand, it was a bittersweet feeling of regret.

“Are you finished with your meal, Ms. Hee-na?”

Kang Jin-hyun glanced at the rice bowl of Hee-na, who was staring blankly, lost in thought.

“Ah, I’m almost done.”

Hee-na looked at the clock, scooped a large spoonful of rice, and stuffed it into her mouth. Chewing and swallowing the white rice, she placed the rice bowl and spoon in the sink.

Then, Kang Jin-hyun also cleared his own rice bowl, following behind Hee-na.

“Oppa, finish eating and please do the dishes too.”

Hee-na tapped the shoulder of Hee-won, who was still eating, and left with quick steps.

Thinking of where Badugi was, she opened the front door, and the familiar front yard came into view. It was the field Hee-won was hard at work cultivating these days.

Badugi was rolling around frantically, scattering golden dust onto the soil. Every time he fluttered his fairly grown leaves, gold dust like fairy dust fluttered about.

The golden dust fell onto the ground, shone a few times, and then melted away like snow.

Hee-na muttered internally.

‘It’s fascinating every time I see it.’

Hee-won explained that this dust was a kind of fertilizer for dungeon soil.

Plants that didn’t grow well in the dungeon fields all grew fresh and healthy once they were hit by Badugi’s golden dust.

It was all thanks to Badugi that the peanut farming was a bumper crop and that the dungeon crops came to possess special efficacy.

If Badugi hadn’t grown so large and blown gold dust lavishly, far from cultivating crops with special efficacy, the peanuts would surely have withered and died miserably like other crops.

“Badugi!”

She raised her voice to call Badugi.

Badugi, who was running around the field excitedly by himself, raised his head… no, his bud, and looked at Hee-na.

*Splat, splat, splat, splat, splat, splat!*

Then he ran to Hee-na in a single bound and waved his leaves. He seemed to know very well what Hee-na would make him do next.

“Shh. Sit, Badugi. Calm down.”

When she commanded in a rather strict voice, Badugi sat down with a plop, putting his roots to the ground.

Kang Jin-hyun, who had arrived by Hee-na’s side before she knew it, praised Badugi.

“Well done.”

Badugi lowered his body and rubbed his head on Kang Jin-hyun’s hand. These two matched surprisingly well.

It was Kang Jin-hyun who trained Badugi, who used to be wild and reckless because Hee-won raised him too softly.

He taught Badugi ‘sit,’ ‘wait,’ ‘down,’ and so on. Badugi had also learned ‘bang!’ recently, showing the spirit of performing the act of being shot and collapsing rather plausibly.

“Now, you’re going to go on a walk quietly, okay?”

Hee-na coaxed Badugi, gently touching his stem. Badugi nodded his bud, showing his will to behave quietly.

“Ms. Hee-na, this first.”

A thick robe covered the shoulders of Hee-na, who was about to set off bravely on a walk.

“Ah, thank you.”

Hee-na put on the Robe of Stealth that Kang Jin-hyun had covered her shoulders with. And sequentially, she put on all kinds of defensive gear he handed over.

“I’m walking with you, Mr. Jin-hyun. With an S-class Hunter by my side, is there a need to go this far…”

She grumbled slightly at the cumbersome preparation process, but Kang Jin-hyun did not budge.

“The most important thing to guard against when entering battle is carelessness. You must not let your guard down until the very last moment.”

He was so stubborn that he only backed off after Hee-na was dressed to the point where she wouldn’t injure a single finger even if struck by a B-class boss mob.

Hee-na clicked her tongue at the high-grade defensive gear dangling around her limbs and torso. It was just a walk in front of a dungeon with an S-class Hunter, yet to put in this much effort—the tail was wagging the dog.

“Sigh. You worry way too much, Mr. Jin-hyun.”

“Considering what happened to you over the past few months, everyone would agree that my worries are not unfounded.”

With that, Kang Jin-hyun silently fastened the guards onto Hee-na’s wrists. Hee-na looked into the air, feeling self-conscious at his meticulous touch.

“Well, at any rate… today is the last day for Badugi’s walk quest too.”

“I am glad we could finish it in time.”

“Indeed. We managed to finish everything before you went in for the dungeon conquest.”

Since taking Kang Jin-hyun in as a lodger, Hee-na and Badugi’s walk path had become much safer. It was because the walks were conducted under his strict management and supervision.

The two walked Badugi together before work or after work, like today.

Walking with someone was much less boring. Because Kang Jin-hyun controlled the wild Badugi well, her body was also at ease.

When she first ran into Kang Jin-hyun in the dungeon, she had thought nothing but ‘I’m ruined,’ but thinking about it now, that also seemed to have been a connection in its own way.

“Shall we go now?”

Hee-na opened the front door again, bringing Kang Jin-hyun and Badugi along.

The Homemaker of the Dungeon