Chapter 1

Chapter 1. Prologue, Falling Leaves Do Not Resent the Autumn Wind

Mine was a pretty unremarkable life, I think. That thought came to me now that it was time to die.

S-rank Hunter. Ranked 9th in Korea, 50th in the world. All manner of official events, popularity surpassing celebrities, fan signings, TV appearances.

Glamorous on the outside, but rotten within, you could say. I know what the reason was.

There was never a woman in my life I could trust with my other half. For a full 28 years. The side dish for my solo beers was anchovies garnished with loneliness. They didn't even taste good.

- Mister, seriously, enough with the pity act. Just sign up for a matchmaking service or something.

That was what Jeong Chaerin, a middle school girl and S-rank Hunter, said to me. But I answered her proudly.

- I'm a natural-meeter.

- What a load of shit.

- What kind of language is that to an adult?

- What kind of adult has less dating experience than me?

That was probably the first fight I ever lost one-on-one. I had nothing to say back then. Chaerin really did go around meeting any guy at all. She had what it took.

Then what about me? Honestly, being an S-rank Hunter meant no shortage of offers came my way. But I was a 'natural-meeter.' I just didn't know that pursuing natural encounters wouldn't pan out for 28 years.

There were even rumors like this going around:

- S-rank Hunter 'Phantom Slayer' Ju Hwanyeong Rumored to Be Gay?

- Spotted in Couple Tees with S-rank Hunter 'Iron Fortress' Gu Gonghwan…….

Seriously, there's a limit to how much bullshit people can make up. Gu Gonghwan was over forty and even a married man. We just happened to buy similar clothes while shopping together at Dongmyo, and they wrote that kind of article about it. Trash journalists, drop dead.

- You actually gay?

Gu Gonghwan actually asked me that once. It was when we were having a beer together in Euljiro.

I slammed my beer glass down.

- Drop it, please. That article's been stressing me out.

- Or are you impotent?

- Shut up.

- No, I mean, it doesn't make sense. What could an S-rank Hunter possibly be lacking that he can't date for 28 years? But if you were a sexual minority, then it'd make sense.

- I'm just a natural-meeter, I told you.

- What the hell is a natural-meeter?

As expected of an old man—he was hopeless with shorthand like that.

- Ah, come on. Mister, just drink your beer, will you?

- If you want to meet a woman, quit those damn romance fantasy novels first. You get your fix from those, so your romance cells keep dying off.

- Say what you want about me, but don't badmouth 「The Bed Strewn with Rose Petals」, all right?

- You're going to croak as a born bachelor.

Mister, you watching? This is the moment your prophecy comes true. All the mana I had to block Leviathan's attack is gone, and Leviathan is gaping its stinking mouth wide open right in front of me.

I just closed my eyes.

Pathetically, the last thing that came to mind wasn't my life flashing before my eyes, but the ending of the romance fantasy novel I never finished—「The Bed Strewn with Rose Petals」.

What happened to Marina and Gatess? They probably lived happily ever after—unlike me. Who could I blame? I'd been hiding my cowardly self behind the word 'natural-meeter,' so it was nothing if not self-inflicted.

CRUNCH—!

With that sound, half of my body fell into Leviathan's stomach.