Si-woo leaned down, turned her face toward him, and pressed a soft, brief kiss on her lips.
It was so brief that she was left leaning toward empty air, her brow furrowing when she realized he had pulled back already.
Hae-in turned to her side and saw him laying on the bed, resting his head on his palm while he looked at her in amusement.
She mirrored his pose, propping herself up to glare right back at him.
“Are you just going to bully me today?” she asked.
Si-woo’s smile turned gentler.
“Let’s go on a date today.” Hae-in’s glare vanished at the sudden suggestion.
She did not even take a moment to hesitate before agreeing.
“I’ll just call the Guild Master and tell him I won’t be coming in for the day.
He’ll probably be relieved,” she giggled softly.
She had been raiding non-stop for a whole week when Si-woo was missing, and Choi Jong-in had been constantly expressing his worry about it and was urging her to take some time to rest.
A sigh escaped Si-woo’s lips.
He opened his mouth to speak, but Hae-in cut him off immediately.
“Don’t say sorry again,” she said with surprising authority.
Si-woo smirked.
“I was just gonna say, I wish I was there when you were going all murder-crazy over me,” he said with a laugh, rolling onto his back.
Hae-in raised an eyebrow, lifting herself higher with the support of her hands.
She placed her right hand on Si-woo’s right side and her left hand on his left, leaning over him.
She lifted one hand and pointed a finger directly at his nose.
“You are the last person who should call anyone else crazy,” she said, poking his nose.
Si-woo stopped listening halfway through her sentence.
He was too busy observing her face, her expression, and the strands of her short hair falling forward because of how she was hovering over him.
‘Damn, she got hotter after getting the power up.’ he thought, swallowing hard.
“We should continue where we left off,” he whispered, raising his hand toward her face.
But Hae-in was already rolling back to her side.
A giggle escaped her lips as she tucked her hair behind her ear.
“Let’s go on the date you promised me just now.” Si-woo could see the clear blush on her face and the bright smile in her eyes.
“Well then, my lady.
This admirer of yours will be yours for the day,” Si-woo said, standing up from the bed and giving a mock bow.
He raised a finger before adding, “After I take a shower and change.” Hae-in got up from the bed and nodded.
“I’ll wait outside.” The moment she walked out of the room, she placed both hands over her burning face.
‘Oh my god, I was so bold in there!’ she screamed in her mind, leaning her back against the wall.
It took her a full minute to hype herself up before she slowly moved toward the couch in the living room, sitting down with one leg crossed over the other.
She looked up when she sensed Do-yoon exiting his room.
The old man paused when he saw her sitting on the couch, giving her a kind smile as he walked toward the kitchen.
“I hope you will be having breakfast with us, Hunter Cha,” the old man said gently.
Hae-in stood up immediately, scratching her cheek in embarrassment.
“S-sir.
We are going on a d-date.
So…” She could not even finish her sentence.
Do-yoon nodded understandingly.
“Well, please take care of him then.
And you don’t need to call me sir.” He glanced briefly toward Si-woo’s closed door with a smile.
“Y-yes.
Please just call me Hae-in, and I will call you grandpa if you don’t mind,” Hae-in said with a shy bow, a soft smile gracing her lips.
A/n: harabeoji (grandpa/grandfather) is a polite and most acceptable way to address old people in korea.
It took Si-woo five more minutes to exit his room, now wearing a black turtleneck, white pants, a belt, and clean shoes.
He spread his arms wide with a grin, tilting his head.
“Don’t I look just ravishing?” Hae-in rolled her eyes, walking straight over to him.
Taking the initiative, she grabbed his hand in hers.
“I now know where we need to go first,” she said, guiding him toward the front door.
“You do?” Si-woo muttered, confused.
“Let me tell grandpa I’ll be out today, first.” he urged, pointing his thumb behind him.
“I-I told him,” Hae-in stuttered in a low voice.
Si-woo caught her words clearly, and a sly grin spread across his face.
He opened his mouth to make a remark, but Hae-in looked back and threw him a sharp glare that shut him up instantly.
After they exited the apartment building, Hae-in pulled a hat onto her head while fetching a mask from her pocket to hand to Si-woo.
He just stared at her with thinned lips and a completely deadpan expression, pointing a finger at his own face and moving it in a circle.
“A mask?” he asked.
“Oh!” Hae-in realized the mistake.
His unique eyes and hair would give him away to the public in no time anyway.
Si-woo chuckled at her realization.
Stepping closer, he gently took the hat from her head and put it away.
“Let’s just take the more direct route.” He grinned and flickered away, appearing instantly on top of a nearby house roof.
Hae-in appeared right beside him the next second.
“I’ll just get an appointment for us,” she said, pulling her phone from her pocket to send a quick text.
She received a reply in mere seconds, and the two began leaping from building to building at a leisurely pace.
Si-woo was curious about their destination but refrained from asking, not wanting to spoil the surprise.
When they arrived, Si-woo dug his heels in, pointing a finger at the building.
“No, I am not going in there.” Hae-in answered by grabbing his arm, trying to push him forward into the salon.
“You know how long it took to grow this hair?” Si-woo asked in pure indignation, refusing to budge an inch.
Hae-in gave up trying to physically force him inside.
Thankfully, there were not many people around since this salon specifically serviced hunters and was located in a quiet part of the city.
“Let’s just go inside and have a look,” she placated him, her voice soothing.
She held out her hand to him, giving him a soft, supportive smile.
Si-woo sighed after a long moment, finally taking her hand.
“We’ll just look,” he said firmly.
She smiled like an angel and guided him through the doors.
Five minutes later, Si-woo was sitting in a styling chair with a cape covering everything up to his neck.
“I thought we were here to just loo—” he started, but Hae-in cut him off.
“Shush.
This is for your own good.” She gave him a firm look before turning back to continue her discussion with the assigned barber.
They were in a private area of the salon.
Hae-in and the barber gestured all around his head, debating the options.
“I’m thinking short, slicked back, with two loose strands to emphasize his eyes,” Hae-in instructed.
Si-woo could only stare ahead into nothingness with dead eyes.
“Bangs?” Si-woo whispered furiously the moment the barber stepped away to retrieve specialty scissors made of magical metal meant for cutting hunters’ hair.
Hae-in nodded.
“They will look good on you.” “They will?” “Yep.
You’ll look cute.” “Cu-what?” Si-woo was entirely done with this conversation, but before he could stand up, the barber returned with the scissors in hand and a grin on her face.
For the next half hour, Si-woo mentally mourned every single strand of hair that fell to the floor to the sound of snipping blades.
When the work was finished, the barber circled him once, nodded to herself in satisfaction, and walked away humming a tune.
Si-woo felt two hands snake around his face from behind.
Hae-in gently tilted his head up, forcing him to finally look into the mirror.
‘Well, I do look good.’ he thought, observing her smiling face right next to his in the reflection.
“Let me take a picture,” she said, leaning over his shoulder from behind, her face right next to his as their cheeks touched.
Keeping one hand on his cheek to hold his face in place, she used her other hand to pull out her phone and snapped a quick picture of them in the mirror.
Si-woo was genuinely satisfied with the new look, but he kept his face blank to maintain the act.
He paid the salon and left a generous tip for the service.
Once they exited, the smiling Hae-in and a mock-sulking Si-woo boarded his chopper.
The helicopter took off, heading straight toward the South Jeolla Province, specifically targeting the Boseong Green Tea Fields.
Si-woo had previously helped resolve a dungeon break in this area and had become acquainted with a local restaurant owner whose terrace directly overlooked the sprawling green fields.
They were given a place to sit on the completely empty roof with only two waiters nearby to cater to their needs.
Si-woo and Hae-in ate their brunch while looking out over the luscious green rows, the soft, earthy aroma of the tea plants putting both of them completely at ease.
After eating, they laid out a blanket in the fields, spending the afternoon cloud-gazing until the evening arrived.
Hae-in mustered up the courage in her heart to turn onto her side, placing one hand flat against Si-woo’s chest as she gazed down at him.
“Today was amazing,” she whispered.
Before he could even formulate a reply, she leaned down.
Their lips met, lingering against each other in their first real, deep kiss.
Si-woo snaked his arms around her waist, slowly moving one palm up to the back of her neck, his fingers tracing soft, small circles against the nape.
Hae-in let out a soft gasp at the sensation, letting her entire physical weight rest fully on top of him.
Their tongues swirled together as they completely lost themselves in the passion of the moment.
When Hae-in finally leaned back, her breath came in short gasps, and it wasn’t from a lack of oxygen.
Si-woo reached up to gently caress her face.
She rested her head down against his chest, and they stayed like that in total silence for a few minutes.
The quiet moment was broken by the sharp chime of a notification from Hae-in’s phone.
She pulled it out of her pocket lazily, resting the device horizontally on Si-woo’s chest so she could read the screen.
“It’s Jin-ah,” she whispered.
“Is she okay?” “Yes.
She is going to a karaoke bar with her friends after school and she’s inviting me,” Hae-in muttered against his chest.
“She seems really comfortable with you,” Si-woo said, running his hand through her short hair.
“Well, we became fast friends when we met at your house.” Hae-in raised her head, turning her eyes upward to meet his.
Si-woo lifted his head slightly from the blanket.
“I don’t think she thought much before sending you this invitation.” He knew her well; Jin-ah had sent the text purely because she wanted to hang out, completely failing to consider Hae-in’s high-profile status as an S-rank hunter.
Another notification chimed on the screen.
“It’s her, her best friend, and a few other girls,” Hae-in read aloud.
“You should go if you want to.
Take care of her and the girls,” Si-woo said.
Hae-in got comfortable on top of him again, thinking it over.
She was twenty-three years old, and hanging out with a group of high school girls wasn’t exactly something she normally pictured doing.
But she had grown genuinely fond of Jin-ah and really liked her bubbly, funny personality.
“They will be going there in two hours.
We still have half an hour before we need to leave,” she muttered, draping one arm across Si-woo’s chest and wrapping one leg over his, hugging him tightly as they remained resting on the ground.
A/n: A fluffy chapter for today.
I’ll get back to the action as soon as possible because I have some cool things in mind.