WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ I Returned as a God ◈

Chapter 70: The Boy Dreams (4)

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Suhyun rolled up his sleeve and showed off the all-access wristband.

"You can't come to an amusement park and not ride at least one or two rides, right? So, when are you two getting married... ow, ow."

"What's your problem?"

Park Siyu nearly clamped a hand over Suhyun's mouth, irritation flashing across his face.

Unlike Suhyun, who'd shown up in nothing but sunglasses, Park Siyu had come practically armored. Sunglasses, a mask, and a cap pulled low, layered so thick that unless you got close, you'd never recognize him as Park Siyu.

"I told you, I'm here to have fun! Hey, let me play too. If you were gonna come somewhere this fun, you should've called me! So stingy, coming just the two of you. Oh, wait, was I interrupting a date?"

"Ugh, do whatever you want."

Park Siyu turned his back, half giving up.

The three of them fell naturally into line for the nearest ride. From the outside, they looked no different from any other group of visitors out for a day of fun. And in practice, nothing out of the ordinary happened either. They waited in line, rode the rides, grabbed lunch when they got tired, bought snacks from carts while waiting in the long queues.

The sunset faded, the sun disappeared, and indoor lighting took over. Loud music blared as performers in flashy costumes danced their way through the crowd.

"We're both suffering here, huh."

"What are you talking about? I said I came to have fun."

Suhyun, a lollipop stick in his mouth, glanced toward the Layer 4 floor where the Gate stood.

Old Residence, the Dungeon spawning kobolds as monsters, could be cleared in half a day. If anything, it was a little early, but they should be coming out soon.

"Holding Song Eunyoung's Dungeon entry, recommending her for the temporary project, and now surveillance disguised as a date. There's such a thing as doing too many things at once."

Eunyoung entering the Dungeon inside the amusement park hadn't been a coincidence. Not remotely. The one who'd picked the date and the Dungeon while recommending Eunyoung as a project Hunter was none other than Park Siyu.

"I was just doing my job. You're the one who seems a little too invested in Song Eunyoung, if you ask me."

"What are you even saying to someone who's been having a blast all day?"

"There's something I wanted to ask..."

"Suhyun-ah! Siyu-ya! Look, look over there!"

Choa, thrilled out of her mind, pointed toward the stage. She pushed through the crowd to get closer.

"About what I was saying earlier... something wrong?"

Park Siyu tilted his head, noting how the conversation kept getting cut off.

"No, it's nothing. So, what were you saying?"

Suhyun bit down on his lollipop with a crunch and turned his eyes toward the stage. Park Siyu followed his gaze but found nothing unusual, just ordinary people out for a fun evening.

"What happened to that guy from last time?"

"Ah. The one who called himself Yu Jihan?"

"I don't think that's the name I remember."

"Fake name. What I just said is his real one. I heard it from Kang Hangyeol myself."

"Someone's got no naming sense."

Suhyun didn't push back against Siyu's muttered comment. Even after hearing Kim Yuhan's real name from Hangyeol, nothing had actually changed.

There's just nothing to find.

He'd used his authority through the Hunter Association to search nationwide, not just among Hunters but ordinary citizens too, for anyone named Yu Jihan. All that turned up were people who happened to share the name. Nobody remotely plausible.

There was a chance Kang Hangyeol had fed him false information, but given the current situation, the odds of that felt low.

No reason for him to lie about it, either. So what the hell is that guy?

A Hunter who existed, yet left no trace. Basically a living ghost. Unless the guy had literally dropped out of the sky one day, none of it made any real-world sense.

Of course my imagination goes straight for that.

Side effect of watching too much manga and reading too many novels at work lately.

"He bolted."

"Bolted?"

"Yeah. Whatever happens after an arrest is out of my hands, nothing I can do about it. Management's supposedly looking for him, but I honestly don't know what happened after that. I mean, being a Black Hunter isn't a crime by itself, right?"

"I'd at least like him to pay for the buildings he wrecked before disappearing."

He hadn't mentioned it separately to Hangyeol, but with Jihan gone, the property damage claims for the wrecked buildings had all landed on Aria Guild. There was no way to prove the circumstances, and it wasn't like Yu Jihan alone had wrecked every single building involved.

Suhyun's phone buzzed.

"Ah, sounds like the kids are out. Well, enjoy the rest of your night. I'm heading off."

"Suhyun-ah, leaving already?"

"Yeah. Believe it or not I'm technically on duty right now. Closing time's coming up soon anyway, you two should head out too. They say every man turns into a wolf once night falls..."

"Choi Suhyun. Don't say something stupid and just get lost already..."

Suhyun and Siyu both went silent at the same moment, turning to look in the same direction.

A few seconds later, the whole amusement park shook like an earthquake had hit.

The Hunters coming out after clearing the Dungeon looked like a wreck. Their appearance being a mess wasn't the issue, though. It was the mood radiating off them. Unlike the other Hunters, who were visibly shaking, Eunyoung's expression looked far brighter than it had before she went in.

A Hunter Association staff member, unable to stand it any longer, asked Eunyoung, who was whistling to herself.

"What in the world happened in that Dungeon?"

"Nothing happened. Just a tiny little accident?"

"That doesn't look like a tiny accident to me."

Eunyoung quickly threw an arm over his shoulder and whispered something in his ear.

"I'll write it all up in the report. We made it out alive, didn't we? That's what matters."

"That's..... alright, fine."

Faced with Eunyoung's firm attitude, he nodded reluctantly.

Eunyoung had no idea that Choi Suhyun had already told the staff he'd personally take responsibility if anything went wrong inside the Dungeon.

"Well, I'm clocking out now. Good work, everyone! Ugh, the whole day's gone. Guess I'll just go home and soak in a half-body bath."

Eunyoung ignored the sharp glare she could feel from Chae Seolha behind her back and headed down the stairs.

Looking for the exit, her eyes landed on a café.

"I should grab a coffee before I go."

Being so close to closing time, the place was nearly empty, and the café itself looked about ready to shut down too.

"You still taking orders?"

"One Americano...... wait, huh?"

The bag slung over her shoulder was open.

"My wallet!!"

"Ma'am? Excuse me..."

"Oh, just charge me first, please!"

Eunyoung finished paying for the coffee on her phone. Coffee in hand, she hurried back the way she'd come, retracing her path all the way to the Layer 4 floor where the Dungeon had been.

Her bag had a habit of popping open on her sometimes, which had caused trouble before, but she never imagined she'd actually drop her wallet.

"Do you know how much that wallet cost?"

A designer piece she'd bought to celebrate quitting her old job!

Along with the song announcing closing time, the lights lining the interior were switching off one by one.

Just in case, she retraced her steps back toward Layer 4.

[The number you have dialed is currently unavailable...]

She tried calling the Hunter Association staff member, but he didn't pick up.

Thud, thud.

Footsteps sounded from the entrance of a ride that wasn't running.

Thinking it might be the Hunter Association staff member, Eunyoung turned her head. She quickly realized it was a stranger and went on guard as the man approached.

Layer 4 was closed off because of the Dungeon, and this close to closing time, there was no reason for anyone to be up here unless they were a Hunter or Hunter Association personnel.

Neon light slipped through a gap in a window, spilling across Layer 4's interior as Jihan stepped into view.

In jeans, a loose shirt, and sneakers, Jihan looked, at a glance, like any ordinary guy in his twenties out for the day.

Even so, Eunyoung was certain he had to be a Hunter. There wasn't a single opening anywhere on him.

"You Song Eunyoung?"

"You know me?"

Eunyoung swung the hand holding her phone behind her back.

Purely a gut feeling, but.

That guy's dangerous.

Don't fight him.

Didn't he say he was off having fun somewhere?

Choi Suhyun had been nowhere in sight when she came out of the Dungeon. No way to know if he'd already gone home or was still around somewhere.

Eunyoung hurriedly dialed Choi Suhyun's number.

Right as the ringing started.

Jihan closed the distance to her in an instant.

Confident in her dynamic vision if nothing else, Eunyoung was genuinely stunned to realize she'd lost track of him. She swung a kick at him almost on pure instinct.

Jihan caught her ankle with one hand.

Eunyoung, already calculating her next move under the assumption he'd dodge, spun her leg in a full rotation to break free and stepped back. She managed to pull away in a hurry, but the impact from a second ago had left her ankle slightly twisted.

"Too bad. I was going to break it."

"You crazy bastard, hey! What the hell is wrong with you?"

Eunyoung stumbled back up off the ground. Only then did she notice the phone in her hand was gone.

"My phone......!"

"Ah, this?"

Jihan dangled the phone by its strap, looped around his finger, a fake gemstone catching the light.

If he'd stolen the phone, it could only have happened just now.

Losing track of his movements wasn't bad enough, now he's taken my phone too?

Eunyoung took a slow, deep breath.

Jihan pressed the end-call button on the still-unconnected call, then dropped the phone.

Crunch.

"You son of a......"

Eunyoung bit her lip, swallowing her fury as she watched her phone get crushed under Jihan's foot, shattered beyond saving. Losing her wallet wasn't enough, now her phone too. Truly the worst day imaginable.

An unexpected name came out of Yu Jihan's mouth.

"Where's Kang Hangyeol?"

"You. Don't tell me you're the one who attacked Hangyeol?"

Hangyeol had recently been attacked by an unfamiliar Hunter. The fallout had wrecked his home, and he'd been staying at a hotel Park Siyu had arranged for him since. Eunyoung had heard the rough outline of what happened from Hangyeol and Choi Suhyun. But she didn't know who had attacked him, or why. Hangyeol had only said it was a personal matter.

Eunyoung slowly let the tension out of her body and tried to talk Jihan down.

"I don't know what your business is, but Hangyeol's in the Dungeon right now. If you've got a problem, take it up with him after he gets out."

"You're a follower of the god Soter, same as Kang Hangyeol, right?"

"And?"

"Ever thought about quitting?"

Yu Jihan stepped forward once, and Eunyoung stepped back to match.

Her ankle, still throbbing where he'd grabbed it earlier.

He was going to break it?

Eunyoung was a Hunter whose Strength stat sat at A. Someone actually intending to break a leg like hers, that was crazy on a whole other level.

"Guess you've got room to be thinking about other things right now."

Hands in his pockets, Jihan walked toward her calmly. Eunyoung's back hit the wall, and she realized there was nowhere left to retreat.

Please, please notice, you idiot.

The call had connected. Since Jihan had ended the call, technically Eunyoung had called Suhyun and hung up on him herself.

Eunyoung wiped the sweat trickling down her neck with the back of her hand and settled into a stance.

Thought about quitting being a follower of the god Soter?

As if.

Not even a question worth answering.

Eunyoung bolted for the railing, aiming to get down to a lower floor. Even this close to closing time, there were still a few people around. Jihan blocked her path before she could get far.

Realizing she couldn't outrun him, Eunyoung shifted her stance and attacked instead.

Jihan dipped his body slightly, dodging her kick with ease. His fist slammed into her body.

"Guh......!!"

Pain sharp enough to steal her breath sent Eunyoung crumpling forward. While she fought to hold onto consciousness through ragged breaths, Jihan looked utterly unbothered, like he'd just stepped out for a casual walk.

"Kang Hangyeol, and now you too. I don't get why you people are so obsessed with that god. Would be so much easier if you just gave up."

"Ugh, what are you talking about? You're the one who's obsessed here, not me!"

Buy time, no matter what!

Eunyoung slammed Jihan's body to the ground and climbed on top of him.

Worried he might fight back, her hand shot toward his throat.

Footnotes:

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