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When Jiho sluggishly stumbled out of the room, a pungent smell assaulted his nose. Jiho hurriedly covered his nose from the smell, which was many times more agonizing than before thanks to his newly-heightened senses.

“What is this smell?”

“This? Tada.”

With an uncharacteristic pink apron tied around his waist, Yiwon presented something to Jiho. On a wide tray was a pretty cup sloshing at the brim with a liquid that looked like sewage water. Reminded of the hanyak he used to take as a kid, Jiho immediately made a face.

“What is this?”

“An elixir to revitalize your body arrived, Honey.”

“Is this what Hunter Lee Chae Hui made yesterday?”

“Eung~ that one.”

How can that gaudy display of money turn into such a horrid liquid? Jiho recoiled from the elixir and glared.

“…Stop spending so much money.”

“But I didn’t. I only used ingredients that were left over.”

“…”

Though Jiho knew that was a lie, since there’s no way to explain how he knows where all the ingredients had come from, all Jiho could do was keep silent.

Fine, it’s not like the elixir’s going to harm his body, and Yiwon did it for him….

But the smell is truly revolting. He’d rather die than drink that…. Will it really help him if he drinks that?

Jiho quietly opened his system window and checked the elixir.

Information

Really F*cking Expensive Elixir
Rank	S
Description	Lee Chae Hui’s special ace elixir. She put her heart and soul into making this so that she could receive a bonus. Because this elixir was stuffed with ingredients so rare that it cannot be made again, the effect is doubled! When drunk, this elixir supplements energy and alleviates mana depletion. Raises max stats. However, this effect only works on Shin Jiho. HP +100, MP +???
Creator	Lee Chae Hui

It was a somewhat… messy system window. Just how much will it increase his MP by?

However, if the elixir is going to increase his max HP stat by 100, then he has to drink it.

‘My HP right now is a little over 500.’

But is it okay for him to drink such a good thing all by himself? Isn’t there a person who needs it more than him? Jiho glanced at Yiwon, who was nodding his head in encouragement.

Jiho stared at the tempting–if not for the taste nor smell–elixir before sighing.

“I don’t want to drink it.”

“…This was specifically made for Jiho. If you don’t drink it, I’ll have to throw it away.”

Jiho knew Yiwon would say something like that. He frowned and glared at the elixir.

“If this is that good, then it should still have some effect on other people. You take it. I feel like you’ve been overworking yourself these days.”

“I’m not overworking myself.”

“Still, take it. You look tired.”

Although the item window says that the elixir only works on Jiho, Jiho pretended not to know this as he insisted that Yiwon take it. On the other hand, Joo Yiwon looked like he had no idea why Jiho was being so stubborn.

“You want me to drink it? I’m much much more vigorous than Honey though.”

“…”

It’s true that he looks more vigorous than Jiho. Yet….

Jiho pulled the [Ambrosia] out of his inventory.

Because he hadn’t fed Joo Yiwon, who had a ghastly wound by his heart, all of the [Ambrosia] last night, there was exactly half left. 

Jiho observed the remaining half of the [Ambrosia] with a complicated expression. Yesterday wasn’t a dream. The weight of this [Ambrosia] in his hand is proof of that.

Though Lee Chae Hui described Shin Jiho’s body as trash, the real person with the trash body is Joo Yiwon. The person who needs an elixir right now is Joo Yiwon, not Shin Jiho.

Jiho narrowed his eyes and glared at Yiwon.

“Why are you looking at me like that, Honey?”

There was no change in Yiwon’s attitude.

Does he not remember what happened last night? Or maybe he does remember and is just keeping silent. Maybe he doesn’t remember because he was unconscious when he ate the [Ambrosia]….

Jiho thought for a bit before handing the remaining half of the [Ambrosia] to Yiwon.

“Ha…. Eat this then.”

“Me? You should keep it. This is [Ambrosia]. It’ll probably come in handy later, even if it’s only half.”

“I know, that’s why you should eat it. If you eat this, I’ll drink the elixir.”

“…Alright.”

Yiwon took the [Ambrosia] like he had no choice. Since Jiho didn’t see much of an effect last night, it’s not like he thinks Yiwon’s condition will drastically improve, but Jiho feels like he has to do something in order to stop worrying.

Under Jiho’s burning eyes, Yiwon took a bite of the [Ambrosia]. Only after confirming that Yiwon had chewed and swallowed the fruit did Jiho accept the elixir.

Jiho stuck his tongue out and tasted a bit of the elixir. Its taste was even scarier than its smell.

“Ha…. You could’ve paid a bit more attention to the taste.”

“Medicine good for your body is supposed to be bitter. Now, swallow it down.”

Yiwon sounded like a mom. Jiho glared at the dark-colored elixir, thinking that poison would probably be the same color as this. Jiho took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut before downing the elixir at once. 

“OOK…!”

The taste makes him want to throw up. The elixir tastes and feels bitter, fishy, and sticky, lingering in his mouth, and finally greasy. It was so disgusting that Jiho felt like the world was spinning.

“Eu….” 

It wasn’t just his imagination, his body was actually swaying. Yiwon easily reached out to support Jiho. Yiwon’s body, which is usually warmer than Jiho’s, felt cool today.

“It looks like the medicine is working.”

“…Is this poison?”

“Would I feed you poison?”

Even though Jiho was joking, Yiwon answered him in a grave voice.

“Potions that suddenly increase your stats result in sudden changes to your body as well. That’s why there’s going to be some side-effects.”

“Tell me that earlier….”

“If I did, you would’ve drunk it later. Maybe when you’re free or at night.”

“Of course. Why would I take it during working hours?”

“It’s your guild, it’s not like it’s going to run away. Let it run by itself. It won’t die just because you took the day off. I’ll let them know.”

“…”

This must be why Yiwon pushed him to take the elixir in the morning.

Yiwon lifted Jiho, who was stumbling from the fever, and carried him back to the bed. After gently laying Jiho onto the bed, Yiwon lay next to him and let Jiho use his arm as a pillow.

Being in the same bed like this reminds Jiho of the past. 

When they were younger, Yiwon would often find his way over to Jiho whenever Jiho was sick and lie down with him. Whenever Jiho cried in pain, Yiwon held his hand and talked to him until Jiho fell asleep.

Remembering those past memories, Jiho whispered to Yiwon.

“It hurts….”

“Eung, you’ll feel better soon.”

“Are you not in pain?”

“Why would I be in pain?”

Yiwon responded calmly as he placed his hand on top of Jiho’s forehead. He must’ve used a skill as his hand was cool to the touch, making Jiho feel comfortable. Jiho rubbed his forehead against Yiwon’s hand and sighed.

“Ha….”

“Does it hurt a lot?”

“A little….”

Looking at Jiho, who answered weakly as if he was really feeling exhausted, Yiwon worriedly leaned his body over Jiho.

“It hurts that much?”

“Eung. It hurts.”

“What should I do for you?”

Jiho grabbed Yiwon’s hand and played with it. While the gears in his head were turning quickly, because he actually was feeling hot and tired, Jiho pulled the lower hem of his pajama shirt down and looked pitifully up at Yiwon.

“It hurts to suffer alone when you feel pain. I don’t want to be alone….”

“…Right. I know.”

“Yiwon-ah, help me…. I feel so hot, and weird…. Ah, I’m so tired….”

“Um….”

Jiho was asking Yiwon for help. But instead of comforting him like he used to do, Yiwon took a step back.

While Jiho was in a state of dumbfoundment, Yiwon pulled out a doll that was in his inventory for some reason and handed it to Jiho. The doll was nice because Yiwon probably used a skill to make it feel cool like Yiwon’s hand was but….

“Joo Yiwon?”

When Jiho stretched his hand out and called his name, Yiwon shook his head.

“You can hug that. Then, I’ll….”

Is he going to leave? Jiho pushed the doll to the side and hurriedly grabbed Yiwon.

“Where are you going? Don’t leave. I like your touch better….”

“…I, just a second, need to use the restroom. I’ll come back after I use the restroom real quick.”

Yiwon hurried out as if he was making an excuse before he closed the door and left. 

“But there’s a restroom in this room too….”

Suddenly left alone, Jiho let out a feverish sigh.

Joo Yiwon, that bastard. He ran away.

‘That bastard, he must’ve found out I was going to interrogate him.’

As Jiho showed his vulnerable side less and less as he grew older, it wasn’t a coincidence that Jiho made it so obvious that he was in pain just now. If Yiwon hides the fact that he’s in pain and suffers on his own, all it does is hurt himself.

Of course, as someone who was a frequent visitor of hospitals, Jiho understands the sentiment of not wanting to be a burden. Still, Jiho expressed his pain honestly with the hope that Yiwon would feel comfortable to let go and not have to suffer alone.

However, Yiwon ran away. Does that mean he doesn’t want to let it out to him? Jiho isn’t planning to force him if Yiwon insists on being stubborn, but….

“Euk, Joo Yiwon….”

Jiho buried his head in the doll in frustration. He recalled what had happened last night.

Though there was no real effect, it’s a relief that he had only fed Yiwon half of the [Ambrosia]. If it wasn’t for the half of the [Ambrosia] left in his inventory, Jiho might’ve brushed everything off as a dream.

Jiho is still confused if everything that happened last night was real. Maybe he passed out and it was all a hallucination. Truthfully, Yiwon’s intimidating appearance feels like a dream.

Of course, on the other hand, everything could have actually happened too.

Jiho pushed aside the things he didn’t really want to think about and returned to the fact that the [Ambrosia] is concrete evidence.

Of the terrible wound on Yiwon’s body.

Jiho suspects that Yiwon probably didn’t get that wound that day or the day before. Based on Yiwon’s personality, if he really had the urge to hide it, he wouldn’t have shown up in front of Jiho. At the very least, he wouldn’t have been so vulnerable as to fall asleep in front of Jiho.

That means that enough time had probably passed that the wound was no longer inconvenient in his daily functions.

Then the point at which Joo Yiwon got hurt is most likely within the two weeks he didn’t come home or perhaps even before that.

If so, then where did he get hurt from?

Most wounds can be healed instantly with a recovery skill or potion. The fact that it hasn’t been healed yet means that Joo Yiwon was hit by an abnormally strong skill that he can’t recover from.

Had Yiwon been a normal person, Jiho might’ve just assumed that he was hit by an S-rank dungeon’s boss monster, but as someone who treats S-rank dungeons as mere walks in the park, there’s no way Yiwon would’ve received such a huge injury from an S-rank monster.

There’s two possibilities.

The first is that the wound is an effect of raiding that [Great Dungeon] that the system mentioned. The second is that he was attacked by another hunter.

The chance of it being the former is low. According to the system, it’s been a while since the [Great Dungeon] was raided. If Yiwon had been hurt since then, he would’ve been searching for a way to recover, but Jiho didn’t notice such movement.

Then the probability that he was attacked by another hunter is higher.

Before, Jiho would’ve brushed that off as impossible, but….

“Kim Tae Yong….”

There are hunters other than Yiwon who are at least SS-ranked. To the system, Tae Yong might be ranked SSS or even EX.

If it is possible to trick the association’s evaluation system, then Jiho can’t deny the possibility that other hunters ranked SS or higher exist besides Kim Tae Yong.

Jiho’s heard that Yiwon has been getting targeted from multiple fronts because of the position he’s in. However, because Joo Yiwon is so ridiculously strong, Jiho never thought that they would pose any real threat. Yiwon’s situation might be a lot more complicated than he thought.

Thinking this way, Jiho felt distressed. Jiho worried over how much Yiwon must’ve suffered alone and if something like this would happen again.

Jiho doesn’t know whether the wound truly healed or if Yiwon’s just pretending that it doesn’t hurt. Since Jiho’s never smelled any hint of blood or seen any trace of the wound until last night, there’s a chance Yiwon’s hiding it again.

Jiho forced down his desire to grab Yiwon by the neck and shake out what had happened to him.

Not even Chungram’s two vice-guildmasters, the people perhaps closest to Yiwon, probably know of Yiwon’s wound. There’s no way Shin Jihye, who values long-term efficiency, and Yoo Gyung Woo, who insists that injured people rest, would allow Joo Yiwon to walk around with a wound like that.

Joo Yiwon is much further ahead than others, and he stands at a high position. In such a lonely position, if Yiwon is carrying a heavy burden and has no one to confide in….

‘I have to get stronger.’

Jiho has to get stronger so that Joo Yiwon can depend on him.

Though Jiho is weak right now, if he continues to get stronger, there will be a day in which he can catch up to Joo Yiwon.

Will… there be a day he surpasses Joo Yiwon?

‘No, I will beat him.’

Strengthening his resolve, Jiho wrapped his body around the large doll Yiwon left and squeezed. Not only did it feel cool, but Jiho also felt a lot lighter after torturing a doll.

“Haa, Joo Yiwon….”

That a**hole…. Jiho swallowed down this curse, but the door had, at some point, opened.

“…”

Jiho saw Yiwon open the door and step inside, but he stopped. For some reason, Yiwon stood rooted in place instead of coming in.

“What are you doing?”

“Give me a second.”

“What?”

Yiwon slammed the door back shut in a hurry. Seeing such an unusual reaction from him, Jiho was also quite shocked.

Jiho thought Yiwon was just making an excuse, but maybe he really does need to use the bathroom. Then… what if Yiwon was not only pierced through the chest but also cursed to have diarrhea.

‘I’m going to kill it.’

Such a dirty curse doesn’t fit Joo Yiwon. Jiho vowed to separate the bones from the skin of that bastard that hurt Yiwon like this one day.

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LaZ Bird Corner

Poor Yiwon…. A Korean commenter said it best: Jiho’s mind is complicated while Yiwon’s lower body is very complicated….

Has anyone figured out where Yiwon’s wound came from? Hint: It has been mentioned!

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Ahaha… it’s almost been two months since I’ve last updated…. Sorry for taking such a long break ｡ﾟ( ﾟஇ‸இﾟ)ﾟ｡. Next chapter will be up next week! This is a particularly long section. It is also fairly important plot-wise. See you guys next week!

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