NAPE - 97

★.Side Story 8

“Hey, keep in formation! Don’t fall behind. You’re making me fall behind too.”

Even for purebloods, the heat was unbearable. Bibi, who had initially been walking in a single file, began to sway, tracing a zig-zag path. Nam-won, who had been watching silently, chastised him.

“It’s because of the heat. I want to walk in the shade.”

Bibi sighed and frowned.

“Do you think I like walking in the sun like this? This area is crawling with hunting dogs. If even one of us falls behind or breaks formation, we could be attacked.”

“Even hunting dogs would be asleep in this weather.”

“Carelessness is forbidden during hunter activities. I’m your senior, so listen to me.”

Bibi felt like his ears were bleeding. Nam-won’s nagging had started when they were packing their bags, continued on the plane where they were mixed with tourists, and was still going strong even now, walking under the scorching sun. He had said “I understand” once or twice, but it was just too much.

“Doyoon, Nam-won keeps bothering me.”

“Huh. Did I say anything wrong? I really only said things that were absolutely true.”

Doyoon, who was walking ahead, subtly turned around at the complaints erupting from behind him. He gazed at Bibi, who was red-faced and panting under the blazing sun.

“Lee Nam-won is right.”

“...Huh?”

“Bibi. You came here because you wanted to follow me. As a provisional hunter. Nam-won is your senior. Listen to him.”

“See!”

Nam-won’s shoulders puffed up. Bibi’s eyes widened in shock. He had never dreamed that Doyoon would take Lee Nam-won’s side. And he never expected Doyoon to look at him with such indifferent and dry eyes. It was like when they first met.

“...Cold.”

Bibi mumbled, unconsciously disheartened. Doyoon had good hearing. His striding legs stopped in their tracks. A sound like escaping air came from his mouth, then he slowly approached, bent down, and met Bibi’s eyes.

“How can you say that already when you said you were ready for anything?”

“......”

“It hasn’t even started yet.”

“......”

“You haven’t forgotten what I said yesterday, have you?”

Of course, Bibi hadn’t forgotten what Doyoon had said to him in bed last night. And Bibi knew well, having heard it from Nam-won, that “Hunter Kwon Doyoon has a terrible reputation for being eccentric, self-centered, and utterly obnoxious.” Nevertheless, Bibi had held a glimmer of hope.

Regardless, the two had a bond thicker than blood, and since the moment they realized their love for each other, they had never been cold to one another. He had believed that he would be an exception... he had been too complacent.

“I... I remember.”

Bibi mumbled dejectedly. As he cowered, Doyoon said no more and took the lead again. Watching his back, Bibi recalled the first time he met Doyoon.

Doyoon’s cold and merciless demeanor was still vivid in his mind. He had casually pointed a gun and didn’t hesitate to say he’d kill him because he was annoying. That must be Kwon Doyoon as a hunter. He needed to stay sharp so he wouldn’t become a burden.

Walking in the humid and hot weather was truly difficult, but thankfully, Bibi was quite used to the training process of enduring and persevering. Thanks to enduring the heat and walking in a straight line, he arrived at the lodging without falling behind.

________________________________________

The lodging was a two-story traditional house. Despite its humble exterior, the interior was neatly organized. After showering with cold water and sitting in front of the air conditioner, the heat significantly subsided.

Doyoon, who finished showering last, roughly dried his hair with a towel and came out. He was only wearing short shorts, leaving his still-damp upper body exposed. Sparkling water droplets from his dark brown hair dripped onto his chest and neck.

Seeing that, Bibi smacked his lips. A desire arose to spray mango juice on his pale skin and neck under the air conditioner, then lick it with his tongue. Normally, he would have rushed over and licked his neck right away, but given the situation, he had to hold back.

“Bibi, if you’re rested, let’s train.”

Whether he knew Bibi’s feelings or not, Doyoon casually pointed to the back door.

“Training? We did that in Korea.”

After the Thailand trip was decided at the guild master’s and Nam-won’s housewarming party, Doyoon had Bibi practice disassembling and reassembling a hunter’s gun whenever he had free time to get used to it. It was, in a word, stress-adaptation training. Bibi, who used to freeze whenever he saw a hunter’s gun, had overcome his aversion to guns by repeatedly disassembling and reassembling them.

“That’s not enough.”

Doyoon picked up a large box placed near the entrance and headed to the backyard through the living room veranda. The box contained guns, silver bullets, and various other tools, some of which resembled a fireworks set. Bibi immediately showed aversion and subtly stepped back. Doyoon, who would normally have soothed and coaxed him, raised an eyebrow as if to warn him.

“You need to get used to it now. You want to be a hunter, don’t you? Then you shouldn’t be afraid of silver bullets and fire; you should embrace them.”

Bibi sweated and forced himself to nod. Having to touch a fireworks set and a gun under the scorching sun. It was a triple torment.

“See that coconut on the tree over there?”

“Yeah, I see it.”

“Shoot it.”

“......”

“What are you doing? Hurry up.”

Bibi made a reluctant face and reached for the hunter’s gun. He still hated touching this cold metal object. Goosebumps rose all over his skin. For a human, it was like being told to touch a live cockroach.

“Remember. From now on, this will not be a tool to harm you, but the best tool to protect you.”

Doyoon said in a monotone voice. Bibi nodded and bit his lip tightly. Yes, forget the past when he was hurt by the trainer with a gun. He had to do it. He had to succeed.

Bibi closed his eyes tightly, gripped the gun, and aimed at the coconut. His body shivered uncontrollably as the burning wound kept coming to mind, but he didn’t back down.

When he pulled the trigger, the bullet flew and burst the coconut.

“Good job.”

Doyoon nodded and gave a short compliment. Bibi felt a sense of accomplishment, as if he had passed a difficult test.

“Okay, then let’s shoot that one now. That coconut over there.”

“I’m confident. Can I change my position?”

“Instead, I’ll add one more obstacle.”

“What is it?”

“Fire.”

“......”

“I won’t tell you to be friends with fire. Just don’t run away.”

Before Bibi could answer, sparks flew from the ground. Startled by the smell of gunpowder and the sudden flames, Bibi shrieked in a high-pitched voice and jumped. Doyoon’s arm reached out and grabbed him just as he was about to fall backward. Panicked, Bibi instinctively burrowed into Doyoon’s safe embrace. But Doyoon, instead of hugging Bibi, forcibly stood him up.

“Bibi, listen to me carefully. In stressful situations, your vision becomes extremely narrow and the sounds you hear are limited. It’s a natural reaction, but in such times, you need to remember what you have.”

Bibi panted and pulled the gun from his pocket.

As his hands couldn’t grip properly due to shock, Doyoon directly guided his fingers to the grip. He turned Bibi around and held him from behind, lifting his arm to help him aim. He could hear the slow thumping of Doyoon’s heart against his back.

“In this situation, you must remember these three things: Breathe, Aim, Pull.”

Thanks to his calm voice, a sense of stability gradually returned.

“Breathe, Aim, Pull...”

Clutching his pounding heart, he looked at the muzzle of the gun. Bibi, who had gotten the hang of it, cautiously pulled the trigger.

With the sharp ringing unique to a silenced gun, the coconut fell.

“37 seconds.”

By now, Doyoon was looking at his phone’s stopwatch with a businesslike expression.

“You pulled the trigger 37 seconds after the flames appeared. In a real situation, that’s enough time for you to have already been hit.”

“......”

“And no high-pitched screaming.”

Bibi felt intimidated by Doyoon’s strict demeanor and felt a distance between them. The passionate warmth they had shared last night felt incredibly distant.

“Understood.”

He answered, his eyes welling up and glancing nervously. Doyoon’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly. He gazed at Bibi for a moment, then bit his lip and slowly turned his head.

“Senior. We have a visitor.”

Nam-won poked his head through the back door. He, too, looked tense, likely affected by the unexpectedly cold and firm atmosphere. Doyoon nodded, temporarily stopping the training. He instructed Bibi to do image training, then went to meet the visitor.

“Hey, eat some mango. Mango. You’ve never had anything like this, have you?”

Nam-won approached Bibi, who was fiddling with the gun and tidying up. He offered a yellow, sweet-smelling fruit that he had gotten from somewhere. Bibi glared at him with a look of skepticism. He had to be careful when eating food recommended by Nam-won. Hadn’t his tongue been numb all day after eating the “Ambulance Tteokbokki” that Nam-won claimed was delicious?

“Seriously. Trust me. You don’t know how delicious Southeast Asian fruits are?”

“......”

“If you don’t eat it, I’ll eat it all myself?”

Nam-won made a gesture of putting the mango in his hand into his own mouth.

“I... I’ll eat it.”

Bibi, deciding to take a chance, snatched the mango from Nam-won’s hand. The yellow, soft fruit emitted a rather appetizing aroma, and when he put it in his mouth, it melted away. Bibi’s eyes widened at the new taste.