Chapter 149:
We kindly ask for your understanding regarding the inconsistency of character pronouns, particularly for the Entities (ex. The Greedy Predator). In Korean, pronouns are rarely used, making it challenging to ascertain a character's gender or identity until later narratives unfold. Update twice a week [SUN] & [THURS] starting August 2024! Also please check out our new Hunter series!
“Embarrassing?”
“Yes. At that moment, I was separated from Si-eun and so disoriented that I unknowingly had those thoughts… But as my head cooled down and my heart calmed, I truly felt embarrassed. What was I thinking about someone who had just barely crossed their twenties?”
Lee Yunjae held Seora’s hand. Her hand was as calloused as hers, developed through years of exercise striving for her dream of being a national representative in taekwondo. Yunjae’s gaze became misty.
“Hunters operate regardless of age. However, I don’t believe it’s right for young people to carry the burden of everyone’s lives, even though they’re Hunters. Yet, driven by our desire to live, we burdened them with a hefty load. So, I’m sorry and ashamed, but I’m also grateful.” Gently holding Seora’s hand, Yunjae bowed her head. “So, Yun Seora, if danger approaches, don’t endure it recklessly. The same goes for Kang Sejun. Both of you are still very young, and I hope you choose to dream of the future rather than bear the heavy burden of safeguarding the world. I wonder if I have the right to say this, considering I was saved and felt embarrassed, but nonetheless, this is my sincere sentiment.”
Seora and Kang Sejun looked at each other, unable to hide their confusion.
Yun Seora was now twenty-three, and Kang Sejun was twenty-five. Both were still very young, and although their ages were not much, they had not heard such words as Hunters. Kang Sejun, who had become strong only when he was twenty-eight, seemed to be the most shaken.
His first regression happened when he was twenty-eight. If he had lived an ordinary life without becoming an Awakened, he would have graduated from college and just started working. At such a young age, he faced death, and only then did he regress with a resolution to bring hope to the world next time.
And then he died again. He regressed again, died again, regressed again, died again, and regressed until his sixth life. He didn’t live for over a hundred years like Seong Jarim, but he also grew older.
So Lee Yunjae’s words struck a chord. After living for who knows how many years, now, in his sixth life, he heard words encouraging him to live according to his age. The heaviness in his chest was as palpable as when he heard Seora’s words urging him not to regress.
“Don’t worry. I’m really good at that sort of thing.” Seora warmly smiled, tightly holding Lee Yunjae’s hand in place of the speechless Kang Sejun. “I’ll make sure we don’t do anything reckless. As you said, we’re too young to leave the world early.”