Chapter 24
Hong Mangi calmly continued.
“There’s one thing I wanted to make absolutely clear. He truly loved you. From the bottom of his heart.”
At that moment, the candlelight inside the funeral room flickered.
“He… said something like that?”
“Yes. He did. And if I think back on everything he told me before he left, his feelings were obvious. He was willing to risk everything for his fiancée.”
This time, the woman’s lips trembled.
“Do you know what the last thing I said to him was?”
“No.”
“I asked him, ‘So when are we finally going to be able to get a house?’ If I hadn’t said that… if I hadn’t pressured him… maybe none of this would have happened, right? That thought is what hurts me the most.”
Hong Mangi lowered his head without saying anything.
She continued.
“That keeps staying in my mind. I keep repeating the same things to myself. Why did I say that? Why couldn’t I wait just a little longer? Why was I so harsh? Why did I do that?”
She swallowed her tears.
Her voice gradually grew more emotional.
“He was always quiet. He didn’t talk much, and he never really showed what was going on inside him. Sometimes I complained, compared him to other people, and acted spoiled… but he never, not even once, blamed me for it. He would just keep quietly working hard at whatever he had to do. That makes me feel even worse. I’m so… sorry.”
At that moment, someone carefully pushed open the door at the entrance of the funeral hall.
“Chef!”
It was Kang Jaemin.
“Is this the right place?”
Hong Mangi quietly nodded.
Kang Jaemin lowered his head slightly and approached them.
“I’m Kang Jaemin. I’ve also participated in raids with Hunter Jeong Yongbin before. Right now, I work at Hunter Hong Mangi’s food stall.”
Jeong Yongbin’s fiancée gave him a slight bow.
“Ah… so you both work at the food stall….”
Her eyes were filled with tears.
“Do you think… he left peacefully? He wouldn’t resent me, would he?”
Hong Mangi closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again.
“No. I don’t think he would. He loved you too much for that.”
At those words, she remained silent for a long time before covering her mouth with both hands.
Watching her shoulders tremble, Hong Mangi carefully picked up a chrysanthemum and placed it beside Jeong Yongbin’s memorial portrait.
Then, after silently lowering his head, he spoke to her.
“The ones left behind are probably the ones who have to carry the pain. I just hope that, at least for him, he was able to leave in peace.”
“Thank… you. Really….”
Her sobs quietly spread through the room.
On the way out of the funeral hall,
Kang Jaemin quietly asked,
“Chef. Does this mean Jeong Yongbin-nim’s lingering regret has been resolved now?”
Hong Mangi slowly stopped walking.
The sad, gentle music drifting from somewhere inside the funeral hall continued for a moment before finally fading away.
“I think so.”
“You’ve been through a lot.”
“I wouldn’t really call it hardship. It’s just something I had to do.”
Hong Mangi quietly lifted his head and looked up at the sky once more.
It was a clear blue sky, as though it were trying to soothe the complicated feelings in his heart.
Then—
[The lingering regret of C-rank Hunter ‘Jeong Yongbin’ has been resolved.]
[The traces of his patience and love are being passed on to you.]
[Ability Acquired: Designated Guardian]
― You may designate one person of your choosing as a ‘Protected Target.’
― A certain percentage of direct damage dealt to the Protected Target will be absorbed by you.
― When the Protected Target is attacked, your defense and evasion temporarily increase.
― If the Protected Target is placed in mortal danger, the ‘Deploy Shield’ state will automatically activate once, reducing physical damage from all directions by 70% for 10 seconds.
Hmm….
Hong Mangi bit down firmly on his lip, as though making a resolution.
Kang Jaemin noticed that he had received something.
But he didn’t bother asking.
I’ll probably see it for myself in battle soon enough anyway.
A Hunter funeral hall in southeastern Seoul.
On the basement level, chrysanthemums and lilies were lined up beneath a sign that read:
Kim Gijeong — Age 38
The funeral room was quiet.
Even quieter than Jeong Yongbin’s.
There were no people wailing loudly.
No voices crying out in grief.
Hong Mangi stepped inside wearing a suit slightly more formal and solemn than usual.
In his hand was a small insulated lunch bag.
Even his footsteps seemed more respectful than usual.
Then he saw her.
A young girl sat quietly with her knees together at one side of the chief mourner’s seats.
Her eyes were badly swollen.
It was obvious that she had been forcing herself to hold back her tears.
That must be her.
The daughter Kim Gijeong worried about so much.
Hong Mangi approached her and bowed.
The girl calmly returned the greeting.
After offering a silent bow, Hong Mangi lit a stick of incense.
He placed his hands neatly together and lowered his head.
“I’m someone who entered the dungeon with Mr. Kim Gijeong.”
The girl looked at Hong Mangi in surprise.
That surprise quickly turned into caution.
“You were?”
“Yes.”
Hong Mangi carefully opened the lunch bag.
“One of the last things he mentioned was that he had burned the side dish for his daughter’s lunchbox.”
The girl’s eyes trembled, as though she suddenly didn’t know where to look.
“That’s right. That morning… I had a field trip, and he was making me a lunchbox to eat as a snack. Dad burned the rolled omelet. He just stood there smiling awkwardly about it… and that was the last time I saw him.”
She couldn’t continue.
She lowered her head as a single tear fell.
Hong Mangi gently spoke to her.
“So I made that rolled omelet in his place.”
“In his place?”
“Yes. It was his request.”
“Ah… should I bring my mother here?”
“No. I already said goodbye to him on his way out. I only came to give this to you.”
“Thank you….”
Hong Mangi opened the lunchbox.
Inside was a beautifully golden rolled omelet.
Small pieces of carrot were evenly mixed throughout it.
