Retire 411
by Cristae411 Butterflies of Memory (1)
‘No!!!!’
A scream, sharp enough to tear the air.
‘No, no, no… Why? This is all my…’
A voice trembling with tears.
‘I’ll fix it, I’ll fix everything.’
A sobbing that didn’t know where to turn.
‘I’ll fix it all…’
A murmur, disturbingly resolute.
‘So just hold on a little longer.’
Darkness, so thick you couldn’t see your own hand.
Even in pain, the grip that held my hand never let go. Warm, burning, and above all, so gentle.
‘I’ll take care of it…’
Whatever they were trying to do, it couldn’t be allowed. The promise to fix everything brought no comfort, only a rising dread. Because I knew what was happening to them.
But even the gesture to say, “You don’t have to,” was swallowed by the blood that welled up and burst forth.
‘I’ll fix everything… Han.’
An unbreakable silence fell, as if it would last forever.
Han Taekyung was acting strange.
Not in the sense of doing something crazy all of a sudden. Just… strange. There was no better way to put it.
No matter how much of a character Han Taekyung was, even he wouldn’t be cracking jokes in the face of an unprecedented situation—a C-rank dungeon that turned out to be S-rank, with at least four types of monsters inside.
“……”
I looked at Han Taekyung.
Whether he was trying to ease Robinson’s nerves or reassure her, his tone remained bright… In terms of behavior, it was the same old Han Taekyung. Light, sometimes silly, but unexpectedly capable and occasionally serious.
“To last long as a hunter, it’s good to be a little crazy! Actually, it’s better to be crazy in several ways. But you still need to know your life is precious!”
But I’d known Han Taekyung for a long time.
Not just the Han Taekyung who wasn’t yet thirty, but the one who’d taught at the Hunter Academy, the one who’d led the Number One Team at the Bureau.
Han Taekyung was, for better or worse, a consistent person. After seeing that same man for over twenty years, you can’t help but pick up on certain things.
Right now, Han Taekyung was not in a good mood.
Why?
I didn’t know.
I couldn’t even guess, which made it even harder to talk to him.
“No, I know my life is precious too…”
“Think about why you want to go into dungeons.”
“…Dungeons?”
“Don’t just say it’s because your dad told you to!”
“Han-saem.”
“Yes?”
I called Han Taekyung, who was acting more like a teacher than usual with Robinson.
As he’d said, getting out through the gate was our first priority. Only after we’d dealt with the persistent pterosaurs could we calmly discuss the fairy by the gate.
“Got any good ideas?”
“To be honest?”
Han Taekyung glanced at Robinson, then continued in French.
Robinson needed to know, too. The mention of a new monster had finally calmed her excitement.
“You probably thought of it too, sunbae.”
Han Taekyung pointed at my sister’s sword hanging at my hip.
“Let’s burn it all.”
“…That’s probably the fastest way.”
“We don’t have a magician with us… And we don’t even know what those butterflies are. The best bet is to attack from as far away as possible, and nothing’s as effective as setting a fire.”
He was right. That was why I’d drawn my sword in the first place.
Han Taekyung turned back to Robinson to explain.
“Watch closely. Hunters always need a trump card.”
“A trump card?”
“A finishing move!”
He mimed launching a blast of energy. When Robinson didn’t react, he just shrugged.
“And in this kind of terrain, burning things is a valid strategy. Right, sunbae?”
“…Yes. There aren’t any other obstacles blocking the gate.”
“But, won’t the fire… be dangerous for us too?”
Han Taekyung pointed at the cliff.
“We can take shelter over there.”
“But, that’s…”
“Because of the giant eel? Just set up a rope at a safe height and sit tight.”
“…What about the smoke? Isn’t that dangerous too?”
“Luckily, there are people in the world who invent great things!”
Han Taekyung excitedly pulled a pen from his pocket. Robinson, confused at first, quickly recognized it.
“A mana pen!”
“A new-age hunter has to adapt to new tech fast. Practice your runes a lot when you get out of the dungeon.”
Still… something was off.
If you asked me what, I couldn’t say exactly. I just knew Han Taekyung was still in a bad mood.
Anyway, I followed his lead and pulled out my mana pen to start drawing runes. If we covered our noses and mouths, we’d be fine in the smoke for a while.
“Han-saem.”
After hesitating, I finally called him quietly. Robinson wouldn’t be much help with the runes anyway. I’d told her to stay back so she wouldn’t get in the way, and now she was poking at a pterosaur corpse with her knife.
She wasn’t paying attention to us, which was perfect.
“Yes, sunbae.”
He answered without looking up. With his sunglasses on, I couldn’t read his face.
“Are you all right?”
“Hm?”
“I’m asking if you’re okay.”
“Of course. This Han Taekyung doesn’t fold under hardship.”
“……”
Han Taekyung gave a crooked grin.
“Are you worried about me, sunbae?”
“Of course.”
“…What?”
“I don’t know what it is, but I can tell you’re not feeling well. That’s why I’m asking if you’re all right.”
People often can’t handle a direct question. Especially those who usually have nothing to hide.
Han Taekyung was like that. So was the uncle who used to scold me to call him uncle.
Knowing someone for a long time means you learn how to handle them.
“Uh, um. Yes. I’m fine. Really. I just remembered something unpleasant, that’s all.”
As expected, Han Taekyung was briefly flustered, but he answered honestly.
“Unpleasant? Can I ask what it is?”
“Uh, uh…”
Han Taekyung groaned. I was worried, but I didn’t want to force it. As long as he was aware of his own state, that was enough.
“You don’t have to say.”
“No! Actually, sunbae, you should know. Especially our junior, Alex. He… he’s not human, you know.”
Han Taekyung always seemed to live life with a smile.
Always laughing, joking, doing whatever he pleased.
But here, I realized that the uncle I’d seen wasn’t the whole story.
“I don’t want to know, but he keeps making it obvious in front of me… I don’t know the details, but I get that it’s related to fairies.”
Han Taekyung’s breathing quickened. Right. I’d never hidden anything from him, so it would be stranger if he hadn’t noticed anything until now.
“So… I’ll tell you, sunbae, and you can decide whether to tell anyone else. I never even told our principal this.”
“Are you sure?”
“Sandra and Kim-saem keep asking me… You tell them. I don’t want to say it twice.”
“All right.”
He always joked around, loved that ridiculous pink cat, and refused to do anything he didn’t want to… but I’d come to see he was surprisingly fond of kids, liked taking care of people, and took dungeon raids seriously.
And that Han Taekyung, too, had a hell he’d rather not remember.
“I hate bugs.”
“…I don’t like them either.”
“I really hate them. I wish they’d all disappear. Especially the flying ones.”
Han Taekyung reached under his sunglasses and started rubbing his eyes. The sunglasses slipped off, leaving red marks on his thin eyelids.
“Han-saem? You’ll hurt yourself.”
“When I see them, I remember that time.”
“Han-saem!”
“They ate my eyes…”
Just before his fingers could dig into his eyes, I grabbed his hand.
Han Taekyung focused on steadying his breathing until Robinson finally noticed something was wrong and looked over at us.
At last, he calmed down, and waved at Robinson with a smile. She tilted her head, then waved back.
“Our junior told me… to use it for good. I was already doing that, even without saying it. The principal said so too. Just killing monsters can save people.”
Did Hong Seokyoung con him?
No, it wasn’t a lie. Not exactly. But knowing the real story, I couldn’t help but feel conflicted.
“That’s why I like going into dungeons.”
But maybe Han Taekyung needed those words.
“As much as I hate bugs, I hate these eyes too… but since things turned out this way, I might as well use them well.”
“Right.”
“So… yeah. That’s it!”
Han Taekyung waved the finished rune in the air.
…Do those eyes somehow help with rune drawing? He definitely started practicing later than the kids, but why is he so good at it?
“Better make plenty, just in case, right? Sunbae, your sword needs a lot of firepower.”
“Well… you think those butterflies could be like that too?”
“Can’t hurt to be careful, right?”
“Then we’d better burn them as thoroughly as possible.”
“Knew you’d get it, sunbae!”
Han Taekyung put his sunglasses back on and grinned, just like always.