Chapter 10 : On the Way to Return the License

He clearly remembered the situation right before his memory cut off.

His friend, whom he had previously thought of as just a tomboyish girl with a big chest.

The moment she said, "So... what are you going to do now?" as her clothes were stripped off by his hands... she was incredibly beautiful.

Beautiful enough that he lost his reason and pounced on her immediately.

Usually, whenever she made dirty jokes, he would recall the days when she was a man and recoil in disgust. But perhaps now, he harbored the thought that he couldn't easily brush it off anymore.

Jin-wook and I sat on the bed, naked, without saying a word for a long time.

Only a tremendously awkward silence hung in the motel room.

I was still a virgin... considering how much we went at it in a drunken frenzy yesterday, my lower body still felt like it was burning.

"Jin-wook-ah."

Usually, in situations like this, Jin-wook would step up first to break the ice.

But perhaps this incident was extremely flustering for him too; he couldn't speak to me easily.

So, I had no choice but to cautiously speak first.

"Th-That... let's just pretend what happened last night never happened."

It was just... a slightly large catastrophe fueled by alcohol...

Anyway, isn't a one-night stand between a man and a woman something that can happen when drunk?

...Is it not?

"It was just an accident yesterday. An accident. Yeah."

Actually, this was more like self-suggestion because if I didn't say it like this, I felt like I wouldn't be able to face Jin-wook properly.

Fortunately, Jin-wook blacked out and said he couldn't remember what happened last night.

But I remembered everything. From his face lusting after me last night... to how he ravaged my chest a bit too skillfully for a first-timer... to the moment he put it inside me and sent me over the edge.

'Crazy bitch. No matter how drunk you were, you don't do that to a friend.'

Shit, doesn't this just make me look like a totally horny bitch?

Thinking about last night made my face heat up again.

To purposely hide that heat, I stood up confidently and spoke loudly on purpose. "Well, accidents happen between friends, right?!"

"Right?"

"Uh, yeah. Well, right."

"We are a man and a wom— Ha, right. Since I'm a woman, I guess an accident like this can happen once."

Jin-wook probably wants to erase what happened yesterday too.

Right, an accident.

He nodded, murmuring what I said involuntarily as if agreeing.

O-Of course, we'll have to be a bit careful from now on.

"Also, it'll be fine. Yesterday was my safe day."

"Pfft!"

As soon as I mentioned "safe day," Jin-wook started coughing as if he choked on his saliva.

But this is a very important issue.

If I get pregnant, Jin-wook doesn't have the ability to take responsibility yet, and my family wouldn't stay still either.

Crucially, I have absolutely no desire to give myself away yet, so I didn't want to become a mother already.

I hadn't even realistically considered the concept of me carrying a child before this.

"Well, we should stop by a pharmacy though."

"Is that so..."

"I'll wash up first. Even after sleeping, I'm still burning down there."

Saying that, I got up and quickly headed to the bathroom.

The lingering feeling from yesterday hadn't faded yet.

If I showed my face to Jin-wook right now, I felt like I wouldn't be able to go back to being friends with him anymore.

Because I wasn't ready yet.

Ready to accept myself not as "Human Hwang Eun-ha," but as "Woman Hwang Eun-ha."

"Phew."

I deliberately turned on cold water instead of warm water. The flinch-inducing coldness hit me.

As the heat from my body washed away with the flowing water, I felt my reason slowly returning.

Usually, drinking that amount would turn anyone's stomach inside out.

But perhaps because the telekinesis I had pushed away during sleep returned to my body, my condition was surprisingly fine.

"This should be enough."

After washing roughly, I looked in the mirror. My face had regained its composure, different from when I entered the bathroom.

I'll have to wash thoroughly again when I get home later, but this is better than going home smelling like that.

"I'm done washing."

"W-Wait a minute."

"What, why now?"

I finished washing, came out, and was about to tell Jin-wook to go wash.

But Jin-wook had his back to me, adopting a posture as if trying to hide himself from me.

Normally, I might have waited a bit.

But checkout time was approaching, and we had to go home quickly. Just as I grabbed his arm to pull him...

Jin-wook resisted fiercely and shouted at me, "Wait a minute!"

"J-Just wait a little bit."

"What crazy nonsense is that. It's already 10 AM. We have to leave soon."

"No, just one minute..."

But when I ignored him and pulled, his lower body, which was still angry, came into my view.

I wondered if it was morning wood, but that definitely didn't seem to be the case. It had been quite a while since we woke up.

That natural phenomenon probably happened because he was surprised to see me naked in the morning.

Or because of me.

Since I wasn't wearing anything when I went into the bathroom earlier.

"I told you I'd wait a bit."

As an awkward silence settled between us again at Jin-wook's words...

I quietly knelt in front of him and spoke in a low voice.

"I'll relieve you just this one last time, so let's go home quickly. You have to go to your afternoon lecture. If you want to touch my chest... you can touch it for a bit."

"No, hey...!"

"What? Or do you want to wait like this until the owner comes up?"

"...No."

Eventually, I could only leave the motel after washing my face again.

The fresh blood remaining on the bed.

Only that slight bloodstain told the story of what happened during the night.

"Jin-wook-ah, wait a second."

"Why."

"I just need to take a pill."

We returned home, washed up to get ready for afternoon lectures, and finished preparing.

Before heading out, I grabbed his arm briefly.

Jin-wook remembered what I had bought at the pharmacy earlier and nodded.

I went to the kitchen, poured water into a cup, held the morning-after pill in my hand, and sighed softly.

'To think the day would come when I take this.'

It feels kinda shitty.

I heard this is really bad for a woman's body.

Plus, when we stopped by the OB-GYN clinic earlier...

I recalled the nurses' gazes that seemed to say, "Kids these days are so promiscuous," and irritation surged from within.

"Phew."

Also, since that day... maybe due to my psychological anxiety or the trauma from back then...

As if my body hadn't matured yet, my cycle tended to jump around wildly, from 3 days to a week.

Although the numbers were much better than before...

Anyway, because of that, even though I said it was a safe day...

Considering Jin-wook's seed that must be plentiful inside me, the possibility wasn't zero.

It was a pill I had to take inevitably, so I just closed my eyes and swallowed it.

"Let's go."

"Yeah."

Well, an accident like this ends today.

Still, considering it was his first time, he did pretty well. Jin-wook might get a girlfriend soon.

"But, are you really going to return your license?"

"Yeah."

"Society might still need you. Even if you say you hate Hunter work, S-Class Hunters are scarce in our country."

"That is true, but."

I recalled the words Jin-wook said to me last night.

Right, as Jin-wook said, our country has relatively few S-Class Hunters compared to the population. The Association and the government might not welcome my retirement.

But I had already made up my mind.

Before, I kept the Hunter license thinking I should have it for psychological reasons.

But Jin-wook's words—that he likes human Hwang Eun-ha better than Hunter Hwang Eun-ha—helped me break that psychological constraint myself.

"I feel like I've done enough."

"Is that so."

"Anyway, I'm going to the Association first. What about you?"

"Well, since I skipped all the morning lectures anyway, it doesn't matter if I go to the Association with you first."

"Then I'll grab a taxi."

We walked to a nearby taxi stand, caught a taxi, and I asked to be taken to the Hunter Association.

Then the driver suddenly acted like he knew me. "Oh, Agassi is?"

I ended up thinking the world is truly small.

"It's that Mister from back then."

"The world is truly small. Isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Going to the Association for some business?"

"Well, something like that?"

It was the taxi driver I met on the day of the incident that caused me to drink yesterday. The one I rode to get home.

Jin-wook tilted his head, not understanding the situation.

When I briefly explained, he sighed softly, pulled my cheek, and started nagging, "Do you get in without checking if you have money?"

"Ah-ah! I said it hurt!"

"Sigh, what are we going to do with you walking around absentmindedly like that?"

"Anyway, I talked to the Mister and paid the price fairly. Right, Mister?"

"Of course. You don't know how happy my grandson was thanks to Agassi. He said his wish was to receive an S-Class Hunter's autograph. As a grandfather, I can't tell you how happy I was to fulfill my grandson's wish, haha."

Of course, Jin-wook let go of my cheek at the driver's words.

But the stinging sensation on my cheek didn't disappear quickly.

"I'm glad he liked it..."

I spoke with a slightly self-deprecating tone.

Noticing the change in atmosphere from my words, the taxi driver cautiously asked if something was wrong.

Well, if there's something wrong, there are many things.

But they weren't things to confide in someone I just met through a taxi ride.

"I'm on my way to return my Hunter License right now."

In that sense, maybe this is the best answer for now.

"Must have been a lot going on."

"Well..."

"Did you say you were twenty back then, Agassi?"

"Yes."

"Suffering to protect the country at such a flowery age... You've worked hard."

S-Class Hunter.

A term representing the pinnacle among Hunters.

A realm that neither hard workers nor geniuses can reach even if they want to.

But people don't know well.

Behind the glamorous exterior of S-Class Hunters lie hardships painful enough to die from, countless brushes with death...

It is a title only obtained by those who have endured things ordinary people can't even imagine.

A title obtained even if one didn't want it.

"I guess so."

After my words, silence filled the taxi.

In that space, only the low sound of the radio the driver had turned on could be heard.