Do-gyul's condition was unusual; his whole body trembled as he mumbled incoherently.
"Do-gyul-a, wake up!"
“No… Ugh, go away…!”
“Han Do-gyul!”
“No…!”
What’s happening to him all of a sudden?
I glanced around, confused. Kang Yoo-hyun and Yeon Seung-won had already moved farther away.
Kang Yoo-hyun was supporting Yeon Seung-won, who looked like he was about to collapse.
That’s when I realized Do-gyul had lost control of his ability.
“Shh, it’s okay. I’m right here with you.”
“Heuk…”
I did my best to comfort Do-gyul as we walked. Since Yeon Seung-won wasn’t well enough to guide us to Do-gyul’s room, we headed to my room instead.
Thud.
Once we were alone in the room, Do-gyul hugged tightly and trembled. He didn’t say anything more, but he looked terrified for so reason. I chose not to ask and gently stroked his back. Soon, his sobs began to subside.
“Do-gyul-a, are you feeling a bit better now?”
“…Mm.”
I suddenly rembered the first ti I t Do-gyul. He had been crying so hard back then, and his face was just as ssy as it is now.
"Now, blow your nose."
“Heungg.”
I wiped Do-gyul's face, as I was now quite accustod to it, and turned around. Then, I heard a familiar cry from a corner of the room.
“Ppiik!”
“…Yong-sun?”
I heard that Yong-sun had also fallen into a deep sleep after fighting the boss monster in the Muspelheim dungeon, but she woke up before and Yong-sik and was moved to the accommodation.
Unlike Yong-sik who threw a fit, Yong-sun waited patiently and maturely for . I reached out to her with a touched expression.
“Are all your injuries healed?”
“Ppik! Ppiik!”
"I made you my summon and had you fight a dangerous boss monster right away… I’m not worthy to be your master."
“Ppiiik!”
As I let out a deep sigh, Yong-sun excitedly hopped around in my palm. It felt like she was screaming with her whole body in disagreent with my words.
Like Yong-sik, Yong-sun was a terrifying dragon hybrid who could have easily beco a dungeon boss monster, so it felt strange to see her so docile as a summoned creature.
But what does it matter? She's so gentle. I should spoil her as much as I can. I raised my hand and scratched Yong-sun's head and chin, and she let out a joyful noise: ‘Ppii, ppik!'
"…Who is it?"
"Ah."
Before I knew it, Do-gyul had cald down and was staring at Yong-sun and with wide eyes. I quickly approached him and held out Yong-sun, who was in my palm.
"I t her in the dungeon this ti. She's my summon. Her na is Yong-sun."
"Yong-sun… Is she a girl?"
"I guess so."
Although I'm not certain, I suppose it's right since Yong-sun nodded at that ti.
Now that I think about it, it seems like I gave her a na without much thought. Maybe I should rena her now…
"Wow, she’s a dragon but looks like a lizard. She’s so cute! It seems like Yong-sik has a sibling now. And the na suits her perfectly!"
"…"
I think it’s fine to keep her na as it is. I nodded along while listening to Do-gyul talk excitedly.
“Ppiik! Ppiiik! Ppik!”
“Hm? What?”
“Ppii!”
Yong-sun seed much friendlier than Yong-sik. She acted coldly toward Baek Si-hoo, but that was because of him. Essentially, she appeared to be friendly to those who liked her. Even now, the small and young Yong-sun couldn't hide her excitent at Do-gyul's attention.
"She's a dragon hybrid, but she seems eager to get along with people."
“Is it because she’s still young?”
“Hmm…”
I let out a groan at Do-gyul’s question. Yong-sik had definitely hatched from an egg, and I’d t Yong-sun in the Realm of Fire right after she erged from hers.
However, it wasn’t long before Yong-sik evolved into his adult form, and Yong-sun followed suit with her own sudden transformation. Is it normal for dragonlings to do that?
I tilted my head and watched Do-gyul playing with Yong-sun.
“Hahaha, that tickles!”
“Ppiiik!”
Well, what's good is good, anyway. I watched Do-gyul and Yong-sun play for a while with a smile on my face. Eventually, both of them grew exhausted, and Yong-sun started to doze off with a soft hum.
I set up a bed for Yong-sun next to Yong-sik’s cage. I offered orange juice to Do-gyul, whose face was flushed, and asked him a question.
“Do-gyul-a, what happened earlier?”
“…”
"Can you tell Hyung?"
Do-gyul hesitated for a mont before finally opening his mouth.
"That's…”
Do-gyul hesitated before ntioning soone.
“Seeing that person was really scary.”
“That person?”
Do-gyul had t only a few people today. The ones he encountered while I was with him were Yeon Seung-won, Eden, Kang Soo-hyun, and… Kang Yoo-hyun. The last person he t was definitely Kang Yoo-hyun. I asked out of curiosity.
“What did you see in that person?”
“That is…”
Do-gyul's face went pale again, and he fell silent. I couldn’t help but reassure him that he didn’t need to say anything more.
There was no way Kang Yoo-hyun would have hard him on purpose, but sothing unexpected must have occurred when they t. It was then that the details of the original story ca to mind.
Kang Yoo-hyun wasn’t as sane as he seed on the outside. He had been wandering through a hellish place for over three hundred years. A normal person would have lost their sanity long ago; he was able to cope thanks to his protagonist's buff.
Do-gyul must have caught a glimpse of those mories through his ability. The horrific mories must have been too much for him to handle, which explained why Do-gyul couldn’t respond and looked so pale.
In the original work, Kang Yoo-hyun and Do-gyul never crossed paths, and Do-gyul didn’t even know he was an awakener…
"I need to check your room, but it can't be helped. Since it has co to this, why don’t you play in Hyung’s room instead?"
“Okay.”
I said in a cheerful voice, trying to brighten his gloomy mood. It was only then that Do-gyul, who had been sipping his orange juice, began to look around.
“Do you want to play a ga?”
“Yes!”
In addition to the ga centre in the basent and Kang Soo-hyun's room, I also had a few ga consoles in my room.
Most of them were borrowed, but I was glad to have sothing for Do-gyul to play with. As soon as we started the ga, his eyes sparkled with excitent as he focused on the screen.
“Phew…”
Do-gyul, completely absorbed in the ga, had fallen asleep with Yong-sun, likely exhausted from the dayti training. I planned to wake him up later for dinner and then send him back to his room.
With that in mind, I left the room for a while. As I walked toward the living room, Yeon Seung-won, who had been sitting on the sofa, stood up and approached .
“Are you feeling better now?”
“Yes, I apologise for the trouble.”
“No, I should be the one apologising, especially since you must be busy.”
It seed that Yeon Seung-won had been resting here after experiencing shock from the skill Do-gyul had used during his panic.
Yeon Seung-won still looked unwell, and since ntal issues couldn’t be cured by potions or healing spells, it seed there was little that could be done for him.
“I was supposed to guide Hunter Han Do-gyul to his room…”
“If you let know where it is, I can take him there.”
“Well then, I’ll have to trouble you…”
Fortunately, Do-gyul's room wasn’t far from mine, so it wasn’t difficult to rember its location. In fact, it was right next to my room. As I saw Yeon Seung-won off, I thought Do-gyul would really like the room.
Yeon Seung-won kept apologizing to , but I felt even more sorry for him when I saw his still, corpse-like face. This news would soon reach Park Yoon-sung's ears. I closed the door to the accommodation and sighed.
“Haa…”
“…Is it because of ?”
“Gasp, you scared .”
I closed the door and turned around, startled to see Kang Yoo-hyun standing there without a sound. But what did Kang Yoo-hyun just say? Did he really say, ‘Is it because of ?'…Is that what he said? I looked at him with doubt before hesitantly speaking up.
“Oh, that's…”
Was Do-gyul’s collapse really because of Kang Yoo-hyun? But to bla it solely on Kang Yoo-hyun… The issue was more complex, to be honest.
Kang Yoo-hyun had no intention of impacting Do-gyul. In the original story, Kang Yoo-hyun's problems didn’t surface until around the middle of the novel.
At the part I was reading, his ntal state had taken a serious downturn, forcing him to seek counselling from Director Oh Seo-hyun.
“…”
If Do-gyul keeps getting scared every ti he sees Kang Yoo-hyun, it will beco difficult for them to stay in the sa accommodation.
Since Kang Yoo-hyun, the owner of the place, is unlikely to leave, Do-gyul will probably have to find a different place to stay.
It’s a sha because Do-gyul was so happy to be here with . For so reason, that thought made feel bitter.
"Don't worry. I'll take care of it."
"…What?"
I frowned at Kang Yoo-hyun’s words. Resolve it? How? He had never encountered a ntal-type hunter as sensitive as Do-gyul, and such events didn’t happen in the novel either.
He tried to act as if nothing was wrong while suppressing his already fragile ntal state. Ultimately, he experienced a breakdown, and that was when the other characters beca aware of his circumstances.
In the novel, he had to seek help from Director Oh Seo-hyun as a last resort. So how exactly does he plan to solve it? I couldn’t help but ask him out of suspicion.
“How…?”
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