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As an incredible mage of Alphauri, maintaining perfect health was second nature to Kim Kiryeo. But ever since he had possessed this weak, human shell, even breathing - the most important function for a mage, has become difficult. However, he never wasted his time worrying like an underdeveloped primate, since he only had to worry about his physical burdens rather than possible curses, because of his advanced brain.
It was the middle of winter, and Kim Kiryeo has resorted to his last measures, making a quick trip to the convenience store. He had decided that the optimal way to survive this cruel season was to hibernate like other mammals, though clearly humans haven’t discovered this, seeing as there are still idiots outside. ‘Though that would also include me’, he thought.
Anyways, this tactical exhibition was almost finished, and Kim Kiryeo was making his way back home with a month’s worth of cup noodles (the equivalent to his entire fortune).
Opening his small apartment’s door, Kim Kiryeo felt a horrendous feeling building in his throat. Before he could find and mitigate the cause, a loud, crude sound escaped from his mouth.
Standing in shock, he held his head and put the bag of rations on the bench. What was this strange phenomenon? It was similar to the sound humans occasionally made, what did Ahn Yooseung call it? Coffin? Coughing?
Did Kim Kiryeo, the most intelligent life-form on this planet, go so low as to make the same noise he’d always discourage. No, he’s staying in this vessel too long. He must get back to his original strength, or he’ll continue with these primitive habits.
Anyways, this cough was just a once of thing, and since no one heard it, his pride as an Alphauri-born is entact.
Seriously, even Kim Kiryeo was sometimes shocked at his own brilliance. To celebrate the cause of his ‘cough’, he ate a cup noodles and went to bed, just like a hibernating mammal would.
-
Upon awakening, Kim Kiryeo has already realised something was wrong. His body was heavier, his head felt hot, and he was drenched in sweat. Was this a curse? Even Seo Esther couldn’t curse him, so who did? He opened his eyes, and looked around his empty apartment. ‘A hit and run style attack, huh.’
Seeing as even opening his eyes was painful, this must be a curse that’s intended to kill people. There were a lot of people that would want him dead, but not any strong enough to affect his mind.
Being alone in this state was grounds for assassins to easily kill him, so Kim Kiryeo mustered up his little strength to dial a number on his phone.
“Hello… Kang Changho?”
He would’ve called Ahn Yoonseung, but if his opponent was strong enough to curse him, Kim Kiryeo would need someone of S-rank, and Kang Changho said he’d protect him once.
“Do you need something, Kim Kiryeo?”
The S-rank hunter’s clear, deep voice made Kim Kiryeo just realise how rough his sounded. He cupped his hand over his mouth to try dulling his voice, he spoke, “I believe I’ve been cursed. Please come over to my apartment.”
“You sound sick.”
Sick? Yes, that’s what a primate would think. Kim Kiryeo was second guessing choosing this mammal to help him - he might have better luck with Seo Esther.
“Never mind, I’m fine now. Goodbye,” he hung up on Kang Changho without letting him respond, and dialed another number.
“Hello, Seo Esther, I may have been cursed, can you look at it at my apartment?”
“Oh! Hunter Kim Kiryeo, you’ve been cursed? I’ll come over now. Hunter Jeong Haseong is with me, do you mind if he’s also there? I’ll go now.”
She then hung up as abruptly as Kim Kiryeo did to Kang Changho, maybe that’s karma.
Wait, what did she say? Jeong Haseong’s coming too?
He must’ve misheard, anyways, all this thinking has made Kim Kiryeo’s head burn up. ‘I’ll go back to sleep, I’ll wake up once they ring the doorbell.”
-
Stepping out of his flamboyant sports car, a man began walking to the dingy apartment. As he brushed his hand through his purple hair, Kang Changho looked at the phone in his hand again. Receiving requests from the mysterious Kim Kiryeo was no common event, especially those regarding curses. Kang Changho chuckled as he began walking up the stairs, replaying the conversation repeatedly in his head.
He stubbornly said it was a curse, but judging from his course voice and sniffles, it obviously was a cold. Kang Changho hasn’t had any colds since he became a hunter, however it was impossibly easy to spot one. Though to think that Kim Kiryeo chose to call him first, before an esteemed curse-expert like Seo Esther - it boosted his confidence to astronomical levels.
With Kim Kiryeo's doorway just around the corner, Kang Changho fantasized about Kim Kiryeo's state. Would he be curled up in bed in pain? Stubbornly still being active despite in a bad condition? Either way, he was most excited to see Kim Kiryeo's expression, hopefully different from the consistent nonchalance.
A smile formed at his own luck, to have the opportunity to see some emotion in the man's face, but it immediately dropped upon opening his door.
His unlocked door.
Kang Changho fully opened the door, his mana circulating rapidly to detect any threats. But all he could sense was Kim Kiryeo sleeping on the floor. 'Does this idiot seriously not lock his door?' Kang Changho closed and locked the front door to prevent any (further) break-ins. He sat beside the unconscious man, resting his elbow on his knee, and looked at him. Kim Kiryeo's chest slowly rising and falling was the only indicator that he wasn't a corpse, since his stoic expression lacked any emotion, aside from his slight frown.
He hesitantly brought his fingers to Kim Kiryeo's face, stopping for a second before finally reaching him. His skin was hot - burning, and brought a relieved hum out of the sleeping man's face, which startled the s-class. Kim Kiryeo's head unconsciously pressed into the cold hand, and Kang Changho felt his frown flattening underneath his fingers.
The nice moment was soon interrupted by a loud knocking on the door - causing Kim Kiryeo to stir. Kang Changho irritably walked over to the source of his frustration and swung the door open, and locked eyes with a woman's cheerful face, and a man behind her.
He closed the door immediately.
"Hey! Kang Changho! Open up. We're here to see Kim Kiryeo!" Seo Esther continued her loud knocking, which Kang Changho would've ignored if not for the shitty soundproofing in the apartment and the man that he didn't want to wake.
He opened the door with a smaller gap this time, and this time was met with Jeong Haseong looking around through the sliver, trying to find the f-class.
Seo Esther, started pushing through, "Kim Kiryeo called me, saying he was cursed. I can't ignore such a desperate plea, can I?" So Kim Kiryeo called her too, huh? Kang Changho looked back to see Kim Kiryeo slowly raising his head, giving the two hunters the opportunity to simultaneously push their way in.
"Er... huh..?"
"Hunter Kim Kiryeo! I brought you a cloth and some porridge, where's your microwave?" Seo Esther rushed up to the 'cursed' man, eager to aid him. Jeon Haseong followed close behind with the enthusiasm of a loyal dog upon seeing his owner after a while. Kang Changho just grimaced at the sight and the missed opportunity of being alone with Kim Kiryeo.
And Kim Kiryeo just looked at the three with confused eyes above his dark eyebags, and tilted his head, "how did you get in?"
"Your door was unlocked. You are lucky it was me that came."
Kim Kiryeo merely nodded at Kang Changho's aggravated response, while Jeong Haseong looked mortified. "Your door was unlocked? Are you okay, Kim Kiryeo? Did someone break in?"
Kim Kiryeo looked at the one uninvited s-classed guest, 'yeah, you broke in,' but he just sighed and turned slightly to Seo Esther, who was navigating his small kitchen with a strangely excited expression. "Ms Seo Esther, can you treat this curse? I cannot identify it, so it seems well crafted."
The three powerhouses looked at him amused, as though they were surprised that he was serious. "What curse? you have a cold. Just tell me where your pots are so I can make something for you."
A... cold..? No way. Absolutely not. Kim Kiryeo suddenly started panicking so much that he didn't even remember to warn her of the contents in his mini fridge.
"Ack!! Why is there roadkill in here? And why is one stuffed with herbs?"
Crap! Kim Kiryeo can't let them - especially Seo Esther - know about his mana potions and reanimation projects. Burdened with the sharp ringing in his head, he quickly thought of an excuse so Seo Esther wouldn't try to recruit him for his excellent abilities once more. Think, why would a human have dead animals in his fridge...
"It's my dinner."
Kim Kiryeo began to compliment his wonderous rapid answer, but stopped upon looking at their horrified faces. Except for Kang Changho, however, who looked curiously at the corpses and then at Kim Kiryeo.
"I mean... the pots are in that cupboard."
Before they responded, Kim Kiryeo uncontrollably had a coughing fit. Each cough felt like a punch to his lungs, and a stab to his throat. Once it subsided, Kim Kiryeo realized the humiliation he just put himself through. He turned over embarrassed in the bed and pretended to sleep in pain, which wasn't that difficult since he already fit that criterion. Feeling their eyes on him made him sweat, so he began to pull his blanket over his reddening face, but it was caught by a weight that sat next to him. "Are you feeling alright?" Jeong Haseong looked down at Kim Kiryeo with a face full of worry, which strangely comforted the latter, who groaned as a response. Another weight landed near his chest this time, as a familiar hand rested over his eyes once more. "Sleep."
-
Kim Kiryeo reawakened, hazy and disorientated, with the only distinguishable proof of this being reality being the bubbling of porridge and the soft warmth over his head and hand. He opened his eyes, this time the pain was more pressure than needles, which he could handle. He looked around, only seeing fleeting specks of purple, black and pink - a colour combo that had never looked so beautiful and comforting before now. For the first time in a while, Kim Kiryeo went back to sleep, this time without any worries nor goals.
-
To any passer-by, Kim Kiryeo was the epitome of apathy. Through any situation - danger, eating good food, exhilaration - the only expression to grace his face was underwhelming. To acquaintances, Kim Kiryeo showed his interest in communication through unsuccessful ways, by sporting such a creepy, unnatural grin that could startle the coolest of minds. Very few got to see the true expressions of Kim Kiryeo. Although they were fleeting and small, by paying close enough attention to his responses could reward others with a soft grin, a twitching in one eye, and scrunched nose. Such people were all gathered in one small room, silently observing the sleeping Kim Kiryeo with compassion. They didn't need to mention the occasional grunt as he turned his head, they all took in each moment as a treasured memory.
Seo Esther looked down at the bowl of cooling porridge, debating whether or not to wake him up. She looked at the other two s-rank hunters for their considerations, but they didn't give a strong enough response. Luckily for her, Kim Kiryeo slowly opened his eyes once more. She scooped a small portion of the rice and held it in front of the half-awake Kim Kiryeo, who began leaning towards the delicious meal subconsciously.
'How cute'
The curse-expert didn't hesitate to feed him - slowly pouring it into his mouth. Kim Kiryeo gulped quickly and opened his mouth again with a content expression - causing Seo Esther to resist the urge to shove more down his throat out of cuteness aggression. Her trembling hand scooped more, but it was taken from her by Jeong Haseong, who carefully offered the porridge to the sleepy Kim Kiryeo with a glimmer in his eyes. They could basically hear his joy when the spoonful was accepted. He practically fainted when Kim Kiryeo gulped again and drowsily opened his mouth again, but couldn't feed him since the utensil was snatched away.
"Say ah," Kang Changho scooped an excessive amount of porridge with a giddy grin and began towards his mouth. The other two looked at the spoon with hesitancy as it approached at lightning speed. In a blink of an eye, the large spoonful was gone, with the neck of the spoon poking through Kim Kiryeo's lips. He chewed for a while with full cheeks ('like a chipmunk', Jeong Haseong though) and eventually slowed down his chewing. He opened his mouth for a few seconds, and then opened his eyes as well, with a hint of annoyance that only smitten people like Kang Changho, Jeong Haseong and Seo Esther could notice, "more, I'm still hungry."
He was met with Seo Esther's patience breaking as she began shoveling food down his throat, gushing over his with adored expression while the two men looked at her with concern.
They didn't step in as Kim Kiryeo seemed to be enjoying it. He would never believe them if they said that the permanently nonchalant man had a grin on his face while sick.
The three stayed there for the full night, all sleeping beside the sick man in peace.
-
Kim Kiryeo opened his eyes painlessly, his hand immediately went to his forehead. It was a lot cooler, because of both a lack of pathogens in his body and company beside it. Kim Kiryeo wasn't cursed anymore! Seo Esther must've done something to the delicious porridge he ate, seeing as it went away so quickly. He should begin researching the cause right away.
Satisfied with his current condition and the slight increase in temperature, Kim Kiryeo sat up and stretched, looking around at his small apartment that looked a lot cozier than usual. He stood up slowly and made his way to the kitchen, looking into the trash at the remains of the delicious meal. To start his experiments regarding the curse he was faced with, he began collecting supplies. A pot (the same that cooked the porridge and his mana potions), some glass tubes, and subjects to experiment on. He opened the fridge, preparing to be hit by the harsh stench of mana and flesh, but it was a lot duller than usual. Confused, he opened his eyes which captured the only thing in the small, cool space: a sticky note reading, 'we'll make you a tastier dinner than that.'