When I opened my eyes, I saw a white ceiling. The room smelled faintly of disinfectant and medicine.
A hospital… huh.
As I noticed the glowing blue panel floating in front of me, I couldn't stop myself from smiling.
A soft voice cut through my thoughts.
"Brother, you just woke up and you're smirking weirdly. Did you hit your head or something?"
It was Jinah.
She was still in her school uniform a blue jacket over her white shirt and a black skirt, which suited her perfectly. But her eyes were red and swollen. From the corners of her eyes, I could tell she had cried a lot.
I slowly sat up and patted her head gently.
"I'm okay. I was just remembering something…"
Before I could finish, Jinah suddenly crashed into my chest, clutching my shirt tightly as tears spilled again.
"Stupid brother! Why do you even go into those dungeons and risk your life? Do you even think about what I would do if something happened to you? You were unconscious for two days!"
Two days… it was a lot.
I wrapped my arms around her and patted her back softly.
"It's okay. I'm safe now. That's all that matters. Just forget about this one dungeon. I promise I'll be more careful from now on. Just forgive me this once… and don't cry."
Before I could finish—
Smack.
"Jinah is right, you know. You should be more careful."
Clutching my head in pain, I turned to the right.
Standing there was Cha Hae-In — expressionless as ever — wearing a white shirt, blue jeans, and a pink cap. Even dressed casually, the S-Rank hunter carried a quiet, suffocating presence.
"You didn't have to hit me for that. I already apologized," I muttered.
"That wasn't for the dungeon," Cha replied calmly. "That was for making Jinah cry. You should be grateful I held back."
"Ah yes, thank you very much for holding back, Miss Cha Hae-In," I said with a snicker.
Jinah, still clinging to me, laughed a little at our bickering and tightened her grip.
I smiled faintly and patted her head again.
Before I could say anything—
Knock. Knock.
The door opened, and two men in black business suits stepped inside.
"We apologize for interrupting," one of them said formally. "This is an important matter concerning the Association. May we speak with Mr. Jinwoo in private?"
I gently patted Jinah's head again.
"Jinah, we'll talk later, okay? Wait outside for a bit."
She nodded reluctantly and left.
I looked at Cha, but before I could speak, she said flatly,
"I'm not leaving. I hope the Association doesn't mind."
The two men immediately forced polite smiles.
"Of course, Miss Cha. Please stay."
Though from their eyes, I could tell they were thinking:
Why is Miss Cha here? I thought this Jinwoo was just an ordinary E-Rank hunter…
After Jinah left, one of the men stepped forward and extended a card.
"I am Woo Jin-Cheol from the Hunter's Association. We're here regarding the double dungeon incident."
"Yes, please go ahead."
Jin-Cheol nodded.
"First, we would like to thank you on behalf of the Association and the hunters who survived. From the testimonies we gathered, it was your quick thinking and willingness to sacrifice yourself that ensured their survival. The Association will reward you appropriately."
He paused.
"Now, do you remember what happened before you lost consciousness? If so, please tell us everything."
I sighed and recounted the events from beginning to end — leaving out certain… important details.
"…and after I threw Mr. Song out, I lost consciousness and woke up here."
Jin-Cheol nodded.
"Your statement matches the others. When the White Tiger Guild entered afterward, they found you alone on the altar. There was no trace of the statues."
He adjusted his glasses.
"Given that no one else entered the dungeon, we strongly suspect you experienced a reawakening and eliminated the monsters before collapsing."
Ah.
So we're at that part.
The second man brought out a magical measuring device.
"Mr. Jinwoo, please pour your mana into this."
Here comes the embarrassing moment, I thought. The part where it's revealed I didn't reawaken at all. I wonder what Cha will think.
I placed my hand on the device and poured mana into it, glancing at Cha from the corner of my eye.
The device pulsed.
The number appeared.
The room fell silent.
"Only… 40?" the subordinate muttered. "That's even lower than the average E-R—"
He stopped.
The air turned cold.
When he looked up, he saw Cha smiling at him.
It wasn't a warm smile.
"Were you saying something?" she asked softly.
The man began stuttering immediately.
"N-No, Miss Cha! I wasn't saying anything!"
I thought I might die just now… Women are scary, he screamed internally.
Woo Jin-Cheol quickly stepped between them.
"My apologies for my subordinate's words. It appears we were mistaken about the reawakening. We will take our leave."
They packed up the device and left quickly.
Why was Miss Cha so protective of him? they wondered as they exited.
Through all of this, I hadn't reacted.
Why 40?
It used to be 10.
Even in the original timeline…
Did the shadow energy Ashborn gave me affect it?
I'll check the System after Cha leaves.
Cha must have misunderstood my silence.
She gently patted my back.
"It's okay. Even if you stay E-Rank forever… I don't mind."
I looked at her.
"Cha… if you try to comfort anyone else with those words, they would probably hate you."
She tilted her head slightly.
"But Jinwoo doesn't hate me. He understands what I mean."
"…Yeah. I do."
I smiled.
And this time, she smiled too.
[A/N: am i dragging this out ahh i am so confused i like to add slice of life parts but what do you guys think]