Archive of Our Own ^beta

Everyone knows Sung Jin-Woo is a very private person.

People try to contact him, to reach out for various reasons, despite knowing this fact.  It’s a little ridiculous, but you actually kind of find it funny.  It makes dating a little hard considering all the eyes on him, but you make do.  

Both of you have found the mutual decision to keep your relationship a secret.  Some knew of your relationship with E-Rank Sung Jin-Woo, but not S-Rank Sung Jin-Woo.  It helps that he went through a massive physical change.  

You’re nothing to sneeze at either.  Although you’re not S-Rank, you’re right up there with Jin-Chul, which is funny since both of you are not exactly combative Hunters.  You know he thinks you’re a saint, having the ability to reign in Jin-Woo when he’s being capricious.  

There are few who know of your relationship to Korea’s 10th S-Rank.  Other than Jin-Chul and Gun-Hee, for various practical reasons, only Jin-Woo’s family is aware of it.  When you’re out and about on raids, you wear a gumiho mask that disguises your mana and hair color, and you take different raids than Sung-Woo does.  

Funny enough though, Thomas Andre is aware of your relationship after the little run in with his out-of-line subordinate and Jin-Woo beating the shit out of him.  You were there to keep him from going any further.  He’s surprisingly tight-lipped about it, but you expect something will come back to bite you.  

In any case, it’s not to say you can’t have dates.  Even though you can’t exactly spend it with Jin-Woo with your face uncovered, you both find ways to get around it.

Jin-Woo often takes you flying on Kaisel, high enough that you’re never spotted.  Amusement parks don’t cut it anymore, not when you’ve both have quite literally toed the line of death.  Sometimes, Jin-Woo will book an entire restaurant, just for the two of you.  

You expect the secret to last for the entirety of the relationship since it benefits both of you.  Both of you agreed to it, not that it’s a contract, and both of you like your privacy.  

You did not expect Jin-Woo to be the one to break that agreement.  

It happens at an international conference in America, of all times.  You’ve attended a few international conferences for various reasons, but it’s usually to meditate and act as a translator.  While Jin-Chul is fluent in almost all Asian languages, you are fluent in other languages.  Plus, you get a tidy bonus for acting as a glorified babysitter.  

Whoever arranged this meeting has to be just as insane as the rest of them.  Shoving dozens of high ranking Hunters in one room and expecting them to get along is like asking for tteokbokki to rain from the sky.  

It’s a headache and a half to keep the peace, but at least there’s food and drinks here.  There’s phyllo shrimp cups, cranberry endive hors d'Oeuvres,  cheese-stuffed cherry tomatoes, and deviled eggs, all of which you try at least once.  If you’re going to suffer through the night with Jin-Woo and Jin-Chul, might as well eat some fun stuff.

It’s not a conference where you’re here as a Hunter, but as a translator and mediator.  You’re dressed nicely for tonight, no mask, taking on a part of Jin-Chul’s responsibilities.  He owes you at least seven favors after this.  That’s what he thinks, but in truth, you feel sorry for him so really he owes you one.

You’re not even surprised when Thomas Andre approaches you first.  You don’t bother to hide the sigh as you set down your canape.  Thomas snickers, obviously taking delight in your suffering.  Behind him, his secretary trots at his heels with a serene look.  

“You look like you sucked on a lemon,” Thomas smirks, plopping his large body in a chair.  It creaks dangerously underneath his weight, but holds up well enough.  “The food that bad?”

“The food is fine,” you snip, toying with the fork in your hand.  It’s made of solid metal, sturdy in your grip, but you feel the need to bend it.  Would be a shame to break an unused fork, so you set it down.  There’s more than a dozen gazes on you two now.  Sung-Woo’s gaze burns a hole in your back.  “Have you got no one else to bother?”

He guffaws, taking your quips in stride.  You don’t mean anything by it, really.  “Would you still call it bothering if I came to offer a gift?”

Your interest piques before you can squash the flicker in your mana.  Of course, Thomas catches a hold of it and grins smugly.  He hauls a square-ish case up to the table, rattling the glasses.  There’s more than three dozen eyes on you now.  You debate if this conversation is worth continuing in the open, but then he opens it and you’re hooked.  

Other than the odd shape, you can tell it’s imbued with a lot of power, easy enough to be an S-tier weapon.  It gleams under the chandeliers, obviously unused and unmarked.  It resembles a sword, but the blade is longer and much thinner, curled in a spiral in its satin-lined cushion.  

“Is that an urumi?”  

“I don’t know what the hell that is,” Thomas snorts, picking up a flute of champagne that Laura offers.  He downs it in one shot.  She attempts to offer you one too, but you politely decline.  It’s not that you feel the need to be sober (you can’t get drunk anyways), but you’re too engrossed in the gift to drink.  “But I know you favor a whip.”

Suspicion pushes to the front of your brain and you lean away from the urumi.  “What’s the catch?”

“Are you single?”

It’s not what you, or anyone else judging by the way more than one person chokes, imagines he was going to say.  He knows you’re taken, so why is he asking?  “What?  Why does that matter?”

“It’s a courting gift,” Thomas shrugs, leaning back in his chair.  There’s a gleam in his eyes that tells you he’s enjoying this far too much.  You hear a glass break as the shadows in the room quiver.  “It’s not much for an exceptional hunter like you, but I hope you can accept it.”

Someone leans over the case to take a peak.  Liu Zhigang whistles as he gives the weapon a good look, obviously impressed.  “Where the hell did you get that?”

While Laura translates for Thomas, you take a moment to run through the possibilities.  Would Thomas be angry if you declined, even knowing it was a joke?  It was a joke, right?  Right??

“She’s taken.”  A hand sets down on your shoulder.  You don’t need to turn your head to know it’s him.  There’s a curl of a wispy shadow on your cheek and you lean into it.  Jin-Woo bares his teeth in a mocking smile as Liu Zhigang raises an eyebrow.  “Stay away from her.”

Laura translates quickly, shaking her head minutely in disappointment.  You feel sorry for her too.

“And how do you know that?”  Thomas gives a toothy grin, leaning back in his chair.  You’re surprised it hasn’t cracked under his weight yet.  If it did, it would serve him right.  You can already see Liu Zhigang eyeing the leg like he’s willing to kick at it just for a good laugh.  “Do you have proof, Hunter Sung Jin-Woo?”

You grin lopsidedly and tilt your head upwards.  He put himself in this situation, he can get himself out of it.  “Yeah, Jin-Woo, you got any proof?”

Jin-Woo rolls his eyes (it’s the most expression most of the room has seen out of the Hunter), and bends down to land a quick, chaste kiss against your lips.  In English, he replies, “She’s mine.  Got a problem with that?”

Thomas laughs uproariously, slapping his thigh.  Laura gives a tiny sigh, but there’s a small smile on her face.  “Just checking.”  To you, he adds, “You can still keep the weapon, no strings attached.”

It’s not in Thomas’ personality to add strings after gifting, so you decline once out of politeness, then accept when he pushes.  You’ll take it as compensation for the shit show that’s happening now.  The cameras are flashing so fast, it’s almost one long light; the journalists are writing so fast, their hands are almost a blur.  It’s kind of interesting to watch considering they’re normal civilians and not Hunters.  

“You did this, just so you know,” you point out to Jin-Woo.  He has both hands on your shoulders as though to say he’s sorry.  He’s not the most vocal, but you’ve learned enough about him to read the signs.  You’re not really mad anyways.  Eventually, it was going to come out.  “You think Jin-Chul will let us go home?”

“Who says he can stop us?”  He asks darkly, eyes flashing violet.  The shadows pool at your feet as you take to your feet and stand close to Jin-Woo.  

You call out to Jin-Chul, throwing an apologetic look to him.  You’ll do some paperwork for him later since it’s partly your fault for stirring the pot.  “We’re leaving first.”

And you’re gone in a twist of ebony smoke before he can even open his mouth.

You’re barely in your apartment when Jin-Woo sets another kiss on your lips.  And then another, another, until you’re squirming in his hold.  “What brought this on?  Not that I’m complaining.”

“I don’t like it when others look at you like that,” Jin-Woo grumbles, dropping his head against the crook of your neck.  You lean into him, your solid, cold, unshakeable pillar of shadows.  “I love you.”

“I love you too,” you murmur earnestly, carding your fingers through his hair.  “Through thick and thin.”

The shadows, from the ones you can see, quiver and you can see some sets of eyes peer through.  You huff, amused.  “I love you all too.”

Jin-Woo breaths out a tiny sigh that tickles your neck.   He presses a gentle kiss there, leaning into your warmth.  You snicker at a sudden memory.  When he looks up at you warily, you grin.  “You know, I still have some pictures before your re-awakening.  We should look through them.”

“No.”

“You were pretty cute then.”

“I’m cute now.”

“No, you’re hot now, there’s a difference.”

Jin-Woo tosses you on the couch and the fight for your phone commences.  Too bad for him you changed your password.