When I Returned to Farming, National-level Big Juniors Flock - Chapter 18



Only Krnovel

18. Inescapable Fate

A loud noise heard in the middle of the night.

Oh Hyun-seong opened his eyes wide and got up to leave the room.

“What is this… huh?”

As soon as he came out into the living room and saw the kitchen with the lights on, he froze in place.

The kitchen was already a mess.

Han Soo-yeon, who appeared out of nowhere, was standing there, with Joo Ji-hye lying unconscious.

“Ah… Senior, hello?”

Han Soo-yeon waving her hand with an awkward smile.

I rubbed my eyes once, but I was not seeing things wrong.

“…What are you guys doing there?”

***

“So… you barged into our house without saying anything, and this guy was rummaging through the kitchen, and you thought he was a thief and caught him?”

“Sorry, it was too late and I didn’t want to wake you up. So I just parked the car and tried to sleep, but I felt a clumsy, hidden presence inside. And it wasn’t so much a catch as a counterattack.”

Han Soo-yeon speaks as if making excuses.

Oh Hyeon-seong immediately looked to the side.

Joo Ji-hye, who was moved to the living room, is still lying there, not yet conscious.

“What happened to our house when you didn’t even contact me in the first place? Didn’t you say you wouldn’t be able to come for a while because you were going to be busy?”

“That’s… I suddenly had some free time in my schedule. I didn’t have any plans in advance, but I just happened to think of you, senior, so I came here right away.”

“So, at this hour of the morning?”

“It was a bit late to call you in advance. It was my first vacation in a while and I couldn’t sleep, so I felt it was a waste to just waste time. I’m sorry for making a fuss.”

Han Soo-yeon scratched her head and apologized.

Even though she thought it was a lame excuse, she couldn’t help it.

The process of getting to this point was so irrational that it was hard to come up with a plausible excuse.

She didn’t just have a gap in her schedule; she just suddenly cancelled.

After the potatoes that Oh Hyun-seong had given me ran out, I tried to hold out somehow for a few days, but my patience didn’t last long.

Of course, it wasn’t just that I wanted to eat potatoes.

For some reason, I felt like I couldn’t breathe in the middle of the night, so I ended up impulsively coming down here in the early morning.

It was to the point where I wondered if I was really that impulsive of a person.

It’s something she would never have done under normal circumstances.

“You said you could come visit me one more time last time. Can I stay with you for a few more days?”

“Well… I don’t mind. How long will it be?”

“Well, about a week?”

“Do that.”

Oh Hyun-seong nodded, his mouth watering.

It didn’t matter since the house was big anyway.

“But who is this?”

“My name is Joo Ji-hye, and I’m from Aegis.”

“Joo Ji-hye? Oh, the hunter that Choi Jeong-il raised?”

Han Soo-yeon looked at Joo Ji-hye in surprise.

Now that I look closely, it really was her.

Even people who aren’t interested in this field can’t help but know this celebrity because he is active in so many different fields.

But apart from that, Han Su-yeon, as the de facto head of the management bureau, regularly received reports on hunters of rank 10 or higher.

At first I didn’t recognize it because it was dark.

“By the way, what was she doing in the kitchen?”

“Are you eating stew?”

“…Stew? Already?”

Oh Hyeon-seong looked at Han Su-yeon with bewildered eyes at her testimony.

Now that I look at it, there is a small trace left on the corner of my mouth.

“It’s a bit disappointing that you can’t even last a day.”

“Did you starve yourself?”

“Would that be so?”

Man Oh Hyeon-seong is not a mean man who doesn’t even give food.

You have to treat your guests well.

“I can’t believe I ended up like this after secretly eating stew. I’m going to kick the blanket when I wake up.”

“…What should I do, should I wake him up?”

Han Soo-yeon looks at Joo Ji-hye as if she is troubled.

But Oh Hyun-seong shook his head.

“There’s no way the Hunter would’ve been hurt this badly anyway, and he’s been having insomnia lately, so just let him sleep. He’s sleeping soundly.”

The appearance of Joo Ji-hye with her eyes tightly closed.

He had fainted from the impact so strong that even a 10th-rank hunter couldn’t withstand it, but if you didn’t know, he seemed to be sleeping peacefully.

Haam.

Oh Hyun-seong let out a yawn.

I guess it’s because I woke up suddenly in the middle of the night and I’m still tired.

In the past, working all night was a normal cycle, but since moving to the countryside, I’ve been sleeping a lot more.

If I were my past self, I would have felt a sense of guilt at this lethargy.

But the current Oh Hyun-seong accepted it as a pleasant change.

“Let’s stop here for today. It’s late at night. You must be tired from coming all the way here. Go sleep in any of the spare rooms.”

“Thank you, senior.”

Oh Hyun-seong quickly lifted Joo Ji-hye and moved her to the annex before entering the room.

Han Su-yeon, who was watching the scene, headed to the room where she slept the last time she came.

I took out the blanket, spread it out, and lay down.

It’s objectively a poor bed compared to the one I have at home.

However, even in my current home and bed where I have been sleeping for almost ten years, I felt a comfort I had never felt before.

Why is it so comfortable? It feels like I’ve come down to my hometown.

Han Su-yeon fell into a very pleasant sleep.

***

The next morning.

The warm sunlight streaming in through the window tickled her eyes, and Joo Ji-hye woke up with a start and raised her upper body.

“Huh…! What, what is it?”

Joo Ji-hye got up as if something was going wrong.

She looked around quickly and instinctively flinched.

My head and arms were starting to throbbed slightly.

I vaguely remember being knocked unconscious by something.

Click.

She left the room, barely making a sound, and just slightly sticking her head out of the annex.

Joo Ji-hye opened the door carefully.

“You’re awake.”

“Oh, that’s a surprise.”

Oh Hyun-seong, who noticed her right away, waved his hand.

She muttered that it was bad luck, thinking that it happened just as she was turning around.

But then a woman was seen standing together with Oh Hyun-seong.

“Are you awake?”

“…uh?”

She had just woken up and was out of her mind when she suddenly woke up.

It was the same woman who suddenly appeared and exchanged blows at dawn yesterday.

But the problem is that the woman’s face is one she knows all too well.

“Ha… Han Soo-yeon?!”

Joo Ji-hye, startled, looked at her blankly.

Oh Hyun-seong opened his mouth.

“I recognize you right away. Come on, you two say hello.”

“Ah! I’m sorry, Vice President.”

“Please call me by my name. Are you Aegis’s Wisdom? I’ve heard your story often.”

“It’s an honor…”

When Han Su-yeon extended her hand, she quickly shook it.

Then Joo Ji-hye’s cheeks turned bright red.

I’ve been to countless locations all this time, but I’ve never been able to see the legend of the Hunter world before. I’m going to see it here.

I felt a bit dizzy.

‘Is that really Han Soo-yeon?’

Joo Ji-hye glanced at Oh Hyeon-seong.

He must be a conman who kidnapped me with lies, but what is this big shot in front of me?

What on earth is going on that has brought you to a country house yard like this, which is not even a public place.

“I’m really sorry about yesterday. The attack was stronger than I expected, so I just had to take it.”

“Oh, no.”

Joo Ji-hye’s head bowed deeply.

I have never experienced such a blatant defeat in my entire journey to this point.

They say there is room for leniency since the opponent is the opponent, but I didn’t think I would be able to do anything and suffer to that extent.

“Excuse me, what is your relationship with the two of you?”

“I saw your face often while working at the management office. When I first came in, you told me about this and that, and we became close…”

“You don’t have to lie.”

“ah.”

She nodded at Oh Hyeon-seong’s sharp words.

“Because he was my direct senior. He was also my superior, and we worked on the same team.”

“Yes? That person is the deputy director… no, he couldn’t have been more superior than Sooyeon…”

“That aside, why were you eating stew so early in the morning yesterday?”

Oh Hyun-seong interjected and said.

Joo Ji-hye looked puzzled for a moment.

But thanks to the words he threw, all the memories from yesterday came back to her.

I’m talking about the moment when the world’s best Ji-Hye Joo sneaked into the kitchen like a thief and was caught eating soybean paste stew.

Gulp!

“Huh? That… That…”

Finally, Joo Ji-hye’s face turned bright red as if she was going to burst at the sound coming from the boat.

***

Joo Ji-hye sat down in front of the same table as yesterday evening.

Just rice, soybean paste stew, and a few basic side dishes.

But the reaction is the exact opposite of yesterday.

She was so focused on eating that she almost had her head on the table.

“Whoa…”

Joo Ji-hye’s expression, melting away.

It still tastes ridiculous.

No, unlike the cold stew I used to eat at dawn, the freshly made soybean paste stew was warm and much more delicious.

Every spoonful of rice and every single side dish is perfect.

Since I couldn’t eat properly the day before, my hungry body accepted food like crazy.

“It’s so delicious!”

“…So, eat when I tell you to.”

Oh Hyun-seong, sitting on the outside veranda, shook his head.

When she looked embarrassed and blushed as if she was about to burst, he just set the table for her and left the table with Han Soo-yeon.

Judging from the sound coming from behind, it looks like they are eating deliciously.

“Haha, if it’s your first time tasting your senior’s meal, then that’s understandable.”

Han Su-yeon said with a smile.

But she’s hungry too.

I haven’t eaten a single meal yesterday or today, and the smell of soybean paste stew emanating from inside is so strong that my mouth is watering.

Although he didn’t show it on the outside, Oh Hyun-seong opened his mouth as if he had noticed it somehow.

“Are you hungry too? Let’s eat separately later. It seems like that guy will eat everything you prepared… So for now, just endure this.”

Oh Hyun-seong took out a basket.

As soon as the blanket is removed, a delicious smell and steam rises.

“…It’s a potato.”

A sudden color appears on Han Su-yeon’s face.

She said thank you without hesitation and immediately picked up the potatoes and began eating them with relish.

I received this potato as a gift and have been eating it all the time at home, but it still has the best taste and I never get tired of it.

“You guys, come out and eat.”

Oh Hyun-seong, who let out a sly laugh, suddenly thrust the basket down.

Then, the spirits hiding under the floor appeared one by one and took the potatoes and shared them.

The steamed potatoes were originally intended to be given to these guys, but Oh Hyun-seong also picked up a potato because he was hungry.

“I didn’t get to ask this yesterday, but Jihye, why are you here? It’s not like Choi Jeongil is staying here, and you don’t know him at all, right?”

Han Su-yeon, who was digging into the potatoes, asked.

For Oh Hyun-seong, who had been undergoing treatment and rehabilitation for five years, Joo Ji-hye, with whom he had no contact, came into the house out of nowhere.

She couldn’t help but wonder.

“It’s a long explanation… That guy suffered a mental problem due to an injury he sustained while conquering the gate. That’s why he came here to recuperate.”

“Nursing care?”

Han Su-yeon tilted her head.

“If it’s a mental illness caused by an injury… that’s not good.”

A hunter’s mental power is stronger than that of an ordinary person.

To be precise, it means that one has a strong tolerance to external stress, regardless of emotional regulation such as depression.

It is the driving force that allows you to enter the ‘Gate’, an environment completely different from Earth, without losing your mind and fighting monsters.

However, there were cases where severe physical injuries suffered from monsters, like Joo Ji-hye’s, led to mental aftereffects.

Of course, such cases are not common.

Even Oh Hyun-seong, who suffered multiple near-death injuries, is still alive and well, without going crazy.

But once a problem arises, things get dire.

“I don’t know what you mean by the treatment I just mentioned, but you know that, right, Senpai? A Hunter who suffers from mental aftereffects will ‘never’ get better.”

Unlike most cases, once a Hunter’s spirit begins to break down, it does not recover.

The longer a hunter worked, the more likely he or she was to suffer from these psychological aftereffects, a phenomenon for which even modern medicine could not pinpoint the exact cause.

There were many rumors, such as one that it was an alien virus that came from outside the dimension through the gate, and another that it was a microscopic parasite from another world that had infiltrated the brain.

But all of these are of low credibility.

There is only occurrence, result, and corresponding response, whether in the past or present.

The cause was left blank.

“I was hoping something would change while I was down.”

Oh Hyun-seong smiled bitterly.

A hunter with mental problems never stays in that state.

A human mind that cannot recover is like a human body that cannot regenerate cells, and thus inevitably and gradually collapses.

“How long has it been?”

“It’s been a year since I got the injury that caused the aftereffects. I guess I’m not very aggressive despite that.”

The biggest problem of all is that as the Hunter’s spirit decays, his aggressiveness gradually increases.

Then, when it completely collapses to the point where it cannot be sustained, aggression is maximized and all reason is lost.

Also known as awakened psychosis.

The official term for this is Awaken Psychosis.

An Awakened person who enters a state of psychosis like this becomes irreversible.

Moreover, their very existence can be a disaster, and the only fate they will ultimately face is ‘disposal’.

“… I guess it’ll take at least 6 months.”

Han Soo-yeon looked back and looked at Joo Ji-hye dryly.

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