By Zephyria The next day, the Wave Guild had a meeting to decide on the Jongno 3-ga Dungeon raid team. Lee Sa-young had no intention of participating, but as the decision-maker, he had to sit in the meeting room.
With the consent of all Guild members, the raid team was decided to be Bae Won-woo’s team. As soon as the meeting results were announced, Sa-young was the first to leave the meeting room. Even before it was over, his mind was elsewhere. As he opened the chocolate-colored meeting room door, Seo Min-gi, who had been waiting outside, greeted him.
“Guild Leader.”
He was about to speak first, presenting a tired face, but Lee Sa-young cut him off.
“Speak.”
At the abrupt entry into the main point, Seo Min-gi swallowed hard, while other Guild members buzzed and approached the doorway.
“What is it? Why are you blocking the way?”
“What’s with this traffic jam?”
“Are you really going to say it?”
“Hurry up. The kids behind are waiting.”
Sa-young was blocking the entrance, causing an uproar among the people in the meeting room, but the person responsible for the problem didn’t even pretend to hear. Seo Min-gi just wanted to cry. The words, ‘If the Guild Leader would just step aside for a moment, would something fall off?’ rose to his throat, but he had no choice but to hold back for his own safety.
He glanced at the Guild members and finally followed Sa-young’s command.
“Yes… Park Ha-eun, 8 years old by Korean age, parents are victims of the Anyang Dungeon. She survived alone at the age of three and was almost sent to an orphanage, but her paternal Grandmother took her in and raised her.”
“That’s enough. The uncle.”
“That’s… there is no uncle.”
Lee Sa-young’s eyebrows twitched as if to say, ‘What does that mean?’ Seo Min-gi scratched his head and said.
“Both of Park Ha-eun’s parents’ families have no relatives who could be called an uncle. Her mother is an only child, and her father only had female siblings.”
“Then… where did this uncle come from?”
“Um…”
Min-gi rolled his eyes and said.
“I can’t rule out the possibility that he’s just a complete stranger who is called uncle. If he doesn’t show up even after searching like this, I don’t think he’s a blood relative. First, please receive these documents.”
Seo Min-gi handed over a thick file. Sa-young took the file and flipped through it quickly.
“Her only family member, her Grandmother, runs a Hanover Soup Restaurant in this neighborhood. It’s been around for quite a while.”
Before Sa-young could respond to Seo Min-gi’s words, someone’s voice was heard from inside the meeting room.
“Hanover Soup Restaurant? The one in the alley?”
“You know it?”
At Lee Sa-young’s question, Kang Ji-soo answered with a blatantly disgusted face.
“That’s the Vice Guild Leader’s second job.”
“Huh?”
“Vice Guild Leader eats there every~day! Doesn’t he get tired of it? He only comes to the company once a day, but he goes to the Hanover Soup Restaurant twice for lunch and dinner… If you think about it, that’s his first job.”
Sa-young also knew that Bae Won-woo went to the same restaurant every day. It was such a common sight in Wave Guild that Guild members would run away when he asked them to have lunch together. But to think that the restaurant was Park Ha-eun’s Grandmother’s Hanover Soup Restaurant.
Inside the Gas mask, the corners of Sa-young’s lips slightly lifted. He had a good feeling about this.
“Huh? Hanover Soup Restaurant? Why there?”
Just in time, Bae Won-woo, who had given up on leaving the meeting room and was cleaning the floor, joined the conversation.
“Bae Won-woo, do you know this Hanover Soup Restaurant?”
When Sa-young called out the address written in the file, Won-woo, who had been listening quietly, nodded. Bae Won-woo’s voice was a little excited just from hearing about the Hanover Soup Restaurant.
“Ah, it’s my regular place. My autograph is hanging there. Why? Are you going to try eating there?”
“Ugh, that sounds ominous. Guild Leader, please step aside for a moment.”
Kang Ji-soo, sensing danger, gestured urgently, and Sa-young, who had been blocking the way until just now, stepped back slightly. In that gap, the red crown of her head quickly escaped the meeting room, and Bae Won-woo slowly moved this way as if making a substitution. Seo Min-gi bowed his head, thinking this was his chance.
“That’s all for the special remarks. I’ll be on my way now.”
Sa-young didn’t stop Seo Min-gi. There was no need to anymore. As the two Hunters left and the new target finally approached, Lee Sa-young said suspiciously.
“Are you going to the Hanover Soup Restaurant today too?”
“Huh? Yeah. How did you know?”
“That’s good. Take me with you when you go.”
Beyond the Gas mask lens, Sa-young’s eyes curved. It was as if the indoor temperature had dropped by about 3 degrees Celsius in an instant, and Bae Won-woo felt goosebumps all over his arms without realizing it. Was there a Guild member on this floor who still couldn’t control their ability properly? He looked around, but there were only two of them in the hallway after everyone else had left.
“Why are you suddenly doing this?”
“I’m going to eat out for lunch for once.”
Sa-young still smiled innocently like a child, urging Bae Won-woo. Of course, it wasn’t easy to see because of the Gas mask, but Bae Won-woo could tell because he had seen Sa-young for years.
To Bae Won-woo, Lee Sa-young was like a younger brother whom he kept by his side whether he liked him or not. But this guy suddenly wants to eat out? And to go to my favorite restaurant?
As Sa-young said, it was very rare for Lee Sa-young to eat out. Poison was a deadly ability that didn’t distinguish between friend and foe, so it was a rule to prepare for the worst.
That’s why he always preferred to act alone and tended to conserve his ability as much as possible even in team battles. Bae Won-woo, who knew that, even felt a pang of emotion at Sa-young’s words that he wanted to eat lunch outside. It was because he was unconsciously concerned about Sa-young, who was cautious about keeping people by his side.
“Ah— okay, okay. You should go out and eat sometimes too.”
Bae Won-woo, who had quickly shaken off the chilling sensation that had enveloped his whole body until a second ago, looked at Lee Sa-young with an infinitely benevolent smile. Sa-young also smiled similarly and looked back at Bae Won-woo. Although Lee Sa-young’s smile was a sinister smile to hide his dark intentions.
Bae Won-woo thumped his sturdy chest.
“I’ll buy you lunch today!”
“Is it good there?”
“It’s delicious! Once you eat it, you’ll be stamping your attendance card every day!”
“Why don’t you just change jobs.”
“I’m thinking about it, you bastard.”
The two of them made plans for lunch and dispersed to their respective offices, completely unaware of the Hunters who didn’t want to get caught between the Guild Leader and the Vice Guild Leader and have to read their moods…
The long-awaited lunchtime. Bae Won-woo led Lee Sa-young to the front of the Hanover Soup Restaurant with a triumphant look on his face. It seemed even more crowded inside the restaurant, probably because they had arrived after the lunch rush had started. Lee Sa-young, who was scanning the shabby exterior of the restaurant, asked Bae Won-woo with suspicious eyes.
“Is this really a good restaurant?”
“Hey, don’t you trust me?”
“No.”
Sa-young’s suspicion was not entirely unfounded. The entrance to the restaurant was so low that it seemed like his nose would touch it, and the shabby exterior walls had a knack for making people feel uneasy as if they were about to collapse at any moment. The old and outdated restaurant was not at all to Lee Sa-young’s liking, who liked things clean.
“Even if you don’t trust me, you can trust my tongue.”
“What’s on the menu here?”
“Hanover Soup.”
“And?”
“A bowl of rice.”
“And?”
“Soju, Makgeolli.”
“That’s it?”
Bae Won-woo shook his head at his sullen face, saying that he didn’t know anything.
“Think about it. How delicious would it have to be to compete with just Hanover Soup? Have you been living a lie?”
“Yes.”
“You’re too suspicious, you idiot.”
He said that, but when he listened carefully, it seemed like he was right. If it was a restaurant that had been operating here for a long time, it meant that there were many customers who were looking for it. Only then did Sa-young slightly withdraw his suspicion and peek inside through the glass of the sliding door.
The inside of the Hanover Soup Restaurant, which he had peeked at like a meerkat, was… full of Hunters. It wasn’t just a lot, it was just a field of Hunters! It was as if a Dungeon auction was being held here. Lee Sa-young gently took his face away from the glass window and looked at Bae Won-woo suspiciously.
“Why are you looking at me like that again? What is it?”
“…Are you considering transferring Guilds?”
“What nonsense are you talking about? How much time and effort have I put into Wave?”
“But why are there so many Hunters here? Even the head of the HB Guild’s personnel team is here.”
Only then did Bae Won-woo realize the fact that he had been blinded by the Hanover Soup and had forgotten, thinking that he would give one more rice cake to the hateful guy.
This is a paradise for tired and hungry Hunters. A shelter for knights, like a knight’s restaurant. A Hunter-certified restaurant recognized by Hunters. And I brought this rude and disrespectful Guild Leader here with my own hands? An idiot who might spit out Poison while eating with a spoon if he gets upset?
I’m screwed.
A strong premonition rushed in and made him feel like he was being sent into space. If he got into a fight here, it wouldn’t just be screwed, but he would already be screwed and appearing on the 9 o’clock news.
Should I just go now? Should I go eat a one-pot lunch box?
Leaving the agonizing Bae Won-woo behind, Sa-young opened the sliding door and went straight into the Hanover Soup Restaurant as soon as the previous customer left and it was their turn. As expected of the number one ranked Hunter, his movements were agile without even giving him a chance to grab him.
Sa-young lowered his head slightly to avoid hitting the low ceiling, then raised his eyes and looked straight ahead. Then, before his eyes…
“Welcome…”
The face he had been looking for so much appeared. The face he had seen that night was half-covered by a mask, but Sa-young could be sure.
Soju brand apron. A young man holding a earthenware pot instead of a ladle.
“…Found you.”
The young man’s face crumpled in real time. Lee Sa-young raised his invisible mouth and greeted him quietly.
“Hello, Hyung.”