These Lunatics are Obsessed With Me-Chapter 183

“Oh… then congratulations…?”

Now that I thought about it, Kang Soo-hyun had just turned twenty. Had time really passed that quickly? It went by so fast. It felt like just yesterday that I first met Kang Soo-hyun in his school uniform. Of course, the current Kang Soo-hyun hadn’t changed much since then. Even at twenty, he was still young. I was a little surprised, but then I laughed.

“Thanks for congratulating me.”

“Of course I had to—even if it’s inside a dungeon.”

I had entered a dungeon on the last day of the year and made it through a life-or-death situation. I was so exhausted that I hadn’t even realized the new year had come. Despite the chaos, it was only right to congratulate Kang Soo-hyun on becoming an adult.

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Then… there’s something I want from you, Hyung.”

“Something you want from me?”

“Yes.”

I tilted my head at Kang Soo-hyun’s words. I’d heard that when someone comes of age, family or acquaintances sometimes give money or gifts to celebrate—though I had never received anything myself.

In any case, Kang Soo-hyun’s only family was his older brother, Kang Yoo-hyun, and expecting congratulations or a gift from him would be nearly impossible. Maybe Kang Soo-hyun knew that, which was why he was asking me instead.

Since I understood the situation between the brothers better than anyone, I couldn’t bring myself to refuse his request.

“What do you want?”

If he wanted money, I could easily give him some—I’d become rich thanks to my items. But Kang Soo-hyun had probably earned more than enough clearing high-level dungeons, so I doubted he would ask for cash.

Then… maybe he wanted an item crafted by Sim Dante? Or one of Lee Chae-jin’s potions? I had no way of knowing what Kang Soo-hyun might want. As I was wondering about it, he stepped closer to me.

“When morning comes, you’ll have to use your auxiliary skill on me, hyung.”

“Ah… right.”

Before the raid team set out, Kang Soo-hyun would need to use his detection skill to locate the boss monster. But he said he still couldn’t detect the path. Even Andrew Bailey, an A-rank, was having the same trouble.

So on the second day of the raid, I planned to cast my auxiliary skill on Kang Soo-hyun at dawn. That might help trace the path.

But why? I wondered as Kang Soo-hyun looked down at me with a smile.

“You’re not just going to hold my hand this time, Hyung, right?”

“…!”

“I’m not a kid anymore.”

Kang Soo-hyun’s subtle expression made him seem a little unfamiliar to me. For some reason, I felt awkward. The image of Kang Yoo-hyun I had seen before entering the dungeon suddenly came to mind, even though they didn’t really look alike. It was a truly strange feeling.

“What are you talking about? You are still a kid.”

I tried not to show any sign of embarrassment as I put some distance between Kang Soo-hyun and me. But with his tall frame, he easily closed the gap again.

He really did seem like a high-ranking hunter, just because of his height. As I muttered to myself, Kang Soo-hyun moved even closer. Our bodies were almost touching, and I let out a startled shout.

“Aren’t you going to move aside?”

“Hyung, do you still think I’m a kid?”

“Cause you are!”

“Hmmph.”

Kang Soo-hyun let out a snort, as if displeased, and frowned as he looked down at me in silence. At that moment, I remembered that he was also a stubborn type—someone who does the opposite of what they’re told. Realizing it a bit too late, I frowned.

“Kids don’t do stuff like this.”

“Hey…!”

Kang Soo-hyun reached out and wrapped his arms around my waist. Startled, I tried to pull away, but it wasn’t easy. As I struggled helplessly, he only held me tighter.

“Ugh, I said move!”

“No.”

“Kang Soo-hyun…!”

Thump, thump—my heart pounded anxiously. Kang Soo-hyun, usually so mild-mannered, could be surprisingly headstrong at times like this—like a racehorse that had slipped its reins. I shouted his name, but that was all I could do.

Kang Soo-hyun’s face gradually came closer. One hand still held my waist, while the other held my face. His large hand covered nearly half of it, holding me firmly in place so I couldn’t move.

Only then did I realize what he intended to do. After telling me not to treat him like a kid, it seemed he actually meant to kiss me—a grown man.

These crazy bastards… not a single one of them was sane. Because of the auxiliary skill, they were constantly getting physically close to me, and it was clear they weren’t thinking straight. I couldn’t bear to look at Kang Soo-hyun’s face as it drew closer, so I squeezed my eyes shut. And that was when—

Whoosh!

“Ugh…!”

A massive gust of wind came from somewhere and instantly blew Kang Soo-hyun away. The force threw me off balance as well, but I didn’t fall—probably thanks to their precise control over their ability.

“Are you okay, Yi-jin-ah?”

“Haa….”

The only one who could control a wind ability so precisely was Eden. I exhaled in relief as I saw him approaching. Even someone as unreliable as Eden could be unexpectedly dependable in moments like this.

“What did that bastard do?”

“He didn’t do anything.”

Thanks to Eden pushing him at just the right moment, nothing serious had happened. Still, an unsettling feeling lingered. It hadn’t felt like this when I had kissed Kang Yoo-hyun several times because of the auxiliary skill.

Maybe it was because, with Kang Yoo-hyun, even though I hadn’t liked it, I was the one initiating the kisses. It had been just as unpleasant, but it hadn’t triggered such a strong sense of rejection. I sighed and stared at Kang Soo-hyun as he got to his feet.

“I’m sorry, hyung. I guess I lost my mind for a moment.”

“…”

“Can you forgive me?”

“…”

Until just a moment ago, I had definitely been thinking of hitting Kang Soo-hyun. Even if it was meant as a joke, what he did was really unpleasant. But seeing his face all pitiful, like a puppy whining to its owner, made it impossible to remain angry.

Was I always this weak around people like him? Maybe it was because, before I was possessed, I had spent so much time just trying to survive that I hardly formed any real relationships and had lived almost entirely alone—leaving me feeling completely overwhelmed.

“Yi-jin-ah, do you want me to beat him up for you? Hm?”

“Why don’t you just stay out of it?”

“So you’re just going to let him be? He was about to do something shameless to you.”

“You saw the whole thing…? And isn’t that a bit rich coming from you?”

Eden, who had been so clingy with me all this time, was in no position to say that. After all, he caused me more stress than Kang Soo-hyun ever did. The difference was that, maybe because he was younger, Kang Soo-hyun’s intentions were easy to read, whereas Eden’s were impossible to figure out.

“What? I’ve always been faithful to you.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

I walked past Eden, who was annoyingly sniffling, and moved closer to Kang Soo-hyun. Looking into his teary eyes, I let out a deep sigh.

“Don’t do that again.”

“Okay, I understand.”

The dungeon raid would resume soon, and I couldn’t afford to get into a fight with Kang Soo-hyun right now. It would be better to scold him after we made it out alive. With that thought, I nodded to myself and returned to my sleeping bag with Eden.

***

As soon as dawn passed, we began preparing for the raid. By the time the morning sun rose, we were fully ready to set out. Morale had almost dropped after the crisis following the mid-boss fight, but since it was resolved without any casualties—unlike in the original story—no one showed it outwardly.

Even so, everyone was likely still uneasy inside. I, too, felt a bit on edge, perhaps because I couldn’t be completely confident in the raid’s outcome. We had clearly overcome the danger, yet an odd sense of unease lingered. Not knowing why, I furrowed my brow.

“Then, let’s start with the detection.”

“Ah.”

“…”

Kang Yoo-hyun, who had ordered me to use my auxiliary skill on Kang Soo-hyun to find the way, wore an unusually cold expression today. Maybe he was anxious with the boss fight coming up. He seemed to be in an unreasonably foul mood. I quickly went over to Kang Soo-hyun, careful not to get on Kang Yoo-hyun’s nerves.

“Hand.”

“…”

“…”

Was that too much, like I was giving an order to a dog? Kang Soo-hyun looked down at my outstretched hand, clearly displeased, and the faces of the other hunters nearby turned awkward as well. I felt flustered too and swallowed hard.

“Here.”

“…!”

But then Kang Soo-hyun lifted his head and, as if nothing had happened, smiled while placing his hand on mine. He was so cooperative that I almost patted his head without thinking. No—that’s not what I should be doing. I had to use my auxiliary skill first. Pulling myself together, I focused my energy and channeled it into Kang Soo-hyun’s hand, still clasped in mine.

“Urgh…!”

For some reason, my hand felt hotter than usual. When I pulled it back, a sharp tingling ran across my palm. What’s happening? Could my skill proficiency have increased, making its effect stronger than before? Thinking that, I looked up at Kang Soo-hyun, a little excited.

“Hmm.”

After using his skill, Kang Soo-hyun opened his eyes, and he looked slightly uncertain. That made me uneasy because a sign like that had never brought good news.

“I still can’t detect the path.”

“What?”

There was a commotion around us. Even with his S-rank detection skill and my auxiliary skill, he still couldn’t detect the path. No one had expected this. I looked at Kang Soo-hyun with a serious expression as well.