By Zephyria “Secretary, are you ready? Are you done preparing your mind?”
“…….”
The blaring alarm seemed to announce Lee Sa-young’s arrival, his presence was so overwhelming. The self-proclaimed secretary, crawling out of the bathroom in a Gas mask, was instantly overshadowed!
Eui-jae, who had been bowing his head, let out a silent sigh of relief at the sight of the shiny Walker tips.
‘There’s no way he wouldn’t come with this much noise.’
It was a gamble Eui-jae took, anticipating that Lee Sa-young would come to the bathroom. He had that much faith now. That he would at least show his face if something happened on this side. Of course, he would have managed somehow with his acting skills even if he hadn’t come.
Eui-jae subtly positioned himself to be shielded by Sa-young, his voice still trembling.
“I, I’m sorry, Guild Leader.”
“…….”
Sa-young blinked. He seemed a little puzzled, not having fully grasped the situation yet. Eui-jae nudged Sa-young’s stomach with his finger, out of sight of the Hunters standing opposite, signaling him to play along.
But the sensation he felt at his fingertip was not a poke, but a thud.
‘Why is he so solid? Is he made of stone?’
The two stared at each other with wide eyes for different reasons. One meant, ‘Why is this guy’s stomach so hard?’ and the other meant, ‘You’re the first person besides a Monster to poke my stomach.’
Just before Sa-young’s posture became even more askew, Eui-jae snapped to his senses, glanced sideways, and quickly added a word.
“I, I took a calming pill. I’m okay now! I was just nervous because it’s my first time…”
“…Hah.”
Lee Sa-young let out something that was either a laugh or a sigh. His slightly narrowed eyes scanned Eui-jae from head to toe. They seemed to linger on the loosely loosened tie for a long time, but the gaze disappeared quickly, so it wasn’t certain.
“I see….”
Sa-young, dragging out the end of his words, leisurely crossed his arms.
“I hope you won’t make me regret bringing you as my secretary.”
‘Nice.’
Fortunately, Lee Sa-young had a talent for acting. Who wouldn’t think he was an evil boss! Eui-jae bowed his head deeply, taking the pass that Lee Sa-young had given him to score a goal.
“I understand! I’ll work hard!”
“It’s not enough to just work hard, you have to do well.”
It was a sudden remark. But Eui-jae didn’t panic and retorted in a trembling voice.
“I’ll work hard and do well!”
The Hunters were silent, perhaps having missed the timing to interject. But the gazes that peeked out from behind broad shoulders looked as excited as if they were watching a drama. Sa-young tapped his arm with his fingers, still with his arms crossed.
“Secretary, how long has it been since you joined the company?”
“It’s been a month.”
“Ah, a month.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“It’s been a month, but you haven’t changed much…. You need to do better today, don’t you?”
“Ah, yes.”
“The secretary team should be paying attention to me. Just because you’re not feeling well…”
Wait, what is this crazy brat doing? Eui-jae’s eyes widened in anger. Lee Sa-young was putting on a fiery method acting performance without being asked.
Of course, thanks to that, he looked like ‘a pitiful new employee of the secretary team who barely got into the Wave Guild, went outside alone with Guild Leader Lee Sa-young, got extremely nervous, and ended up throwing up in the bathroom’ to anyone who saw him….
He was already unusually skilled at turning people inside out. Each word he uttered with intention was a work of art. To the point where even Eui-jae, who wasn’t actually a secretary, felt his insides being scratched!
‘No, is this not method acting?’
Is he just originally like this? Eui-jae gritted his teeth and replied.
“I’ll do well… I’m really sorry.”
“Mmm. From now on, finish preparing your mind in advance. At this rate, I’ll be waiting for you forever, Secretary.”
‘Seriously, this crazy brat holds grudges like crazy.’
Their eyes met again. Sa-young was smiling with his eyes narrowed. But after a moment, the smile disappeared in an instant, as if swept away by a wave. He unfolded his arms and tilted his chin towards the bathroom entrance.
“Let’s go.”
“Ah, yes. I understand.”
As Sa-young turned around, the faces of the Hunters who had been watching their conversation with great interest tensed up again. Only Hong Ye-seong vigorously raised both hands.
“Lee Sa-young! Can I say hello now?”
The Hong Ye-seong he actually saw was a fairly handsome young man. Except for the strangely eerie gleam in his round eyes that was almost overwhelming. He was so clear that he could be mistaken for a madman if you looked at him wrong. Sa-young nodded in greeting, as if they weren’t on bad terms.
“I was wondering why it was so noisy….”
His gaze turned to the machine in Hong Ye-seong’s hand. The bathroom was still repeatedly turning red like a butcher shop and then white.
“It’s loud. Can’t you turn it off?”
“I don’t know. I barely got it working, but it keeps ringing, whether it’s malfunctioning or something.”
“What is it?”
“An unregistered ticket detector!”
Hong Ye-seong proudly puffed out his chest.
“This is the ultimate item that even detects unregistered tickets hidden in the Inventory. It’s my masterpiece.”
“Hmm….”
Sa-young, staring blankly at the machine, said as if muttering to himself.
“Judging by how it’s ringing like that… doesn’t that mean there’s someone with an unregistered ticket?”
“That’s usually the case, but….”
Ye-seong quickly became sullen and grumbled.
“I made it in a hurry in three hours, so I’m not sure if there’s a real unregistered ticket or if it’s malfunctioning. I’ve already registered everyone here, you know? You and your secretary would have done it too.”
“We did.”
The bodyguard, who had been listening to their conversation, cautiously asked.
“Excuse me, but could you show us your tickets?”
“…….”
“I’m sorry, but just a quick check…”
Without saying a word, Sa-young took out two tickets from his Inventory and showed them. Blue letters were floating on the surface of the tickets. The Hunters who checked the letters bowed their heads.
“Thank you for your cooperation.”
“Aish, did I input the settings wrong? I guess I set it to react to authentication tickets too….”
“…….”
Eui-jae, who had been watching this whole scene, quietly bit his lip. If it hadn’t been for Lee Sa-young’s timely appearance, things would have become quite troublesome. He might have had to perform Physical Memory Erasure on all the Hunters here….
Fortunately, there was no need for that. The Lee Sa-young ZONE was thankfully on a winning streak, except for the Hanover Soup Restaurant. Sa-young, who put the tickets back into his Inventory, muttered.
“If you apply the technology used there… you could scan everyone else’s Inventory.”
It was an evil idea that didn’t care about invading other people’s privacy. Hong Ye-seong also covered his mouth and muttered.
“That’s such a villainous idea….”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Well… it’s an interesting idea, but it’s impossible. This machine’s mechanism is… how should I explain it easily? Ah, it’s like tracking the chip I inserted into the item I made.”
“You can only use it on items you made?”
“That’s right.”
Hong Ye-seong, agreeing, separated the red Mana Stone from the detector with something like a curved knife. Only then did the alarm that had been ringing as if to tear his ears and the flashing red light disappear. Whew, Ye-seong, who let out a short sigh, put the tool in his pocket and scratched his fluffy hair.
“I need to fix it a bit to use it on everyone entering the venue. I need to test it thoroughly too.”
‘What.’
It was one mountain after another. Hong Ye-seong, who was fiddling with the Mana Stone, waved his hand with clear eyes.
“I’m going to fix this and go in, so let’s meet at the venue. And don’t torture your subordinates too much!”
“Torture?”
Sa-young retorted with a laughing voice.
“I’m serving him….”
* * *
The Hunters, far from suspecting the small Gas mask following the large Gas mask, looked at him with pity. Some Hunters even struck a small fighting pose as if to cheer him on. It seemed that Eui-jae’s acting and Lee Sa-young’s method acting, mixed with a bit of his true feelings, had worked well.
As they moved away from the bathroom and were left alone, Sa-young muttered in a displeased tone.
“Why do so many people keep gathering around me….”
Eui-jae strongly agreed. Eui-jae cleared his throat for no reason and poked Sa-young’s back.
“…Lee Sa-young Guild Leader?”
“…….”
“Can we talk for a moment?”
Of course, he didn’t wait for Sa-young’s answer. Time was of the essence. He quickly looked around to make sure there was no one around, and Eui-jae grabbed Sa-young’s arm and began to drag him somewhere.
Lee Sa-young obediently allowed himself to be dragged along by Eui-jae. The place they arrived at was a quiet place piled with luggage, with no sign of people.
“Hoo…….”
Cha Eui-jae took a long breath and took off his Gas mask. His slightly flushed cheeks and disheveled hair were revealed. He didn’t bother to fix his disheveled appearance and pushed Sa-young against the wall. And he placed both hands on either side of the Gas mask.
“Lee Sa-young Guild Leader.”
“Yeah.”
“There shouldn’t be any lies between us… right? We, we have a contract.”
“You’re taking too long to get to the point.”
Even though he was trapped between his arms, Sa-young was relaxed. He stared blankly at Eui-jae’s face and reached out his hand. A cautious touch reached his disheveled hair. Sa-young, who was toying with the ends of his hair as if playing a prank with his gloved hand, muttered.
“I was wondering when we became such honest and unreserved friends….”
“Uh, from now on.”
“Ah, from now on?”
“Yes. I’ll confess honestly before things get bigger.”
“…….”
Sa-young tilted his head as if telling him to speak. Eui-jae took a short breath and said, meeting Sa-young’s gaze.
“I have… an unregistered black ticket.”
“…….”
“…Two of them.”
A heavy silence filled the narrow space between the two. Eui-jae did not avoid the suspicious purple eyes and looked back at him. Only after a long time did Sa-young open his mouth.
“Mmm. I’m starting to understand.”
“…….”
“The fact that Hyung called my name first without me even asking…”
The black leather glove that had been toying with his hair touched Eui-jae’s neck. The hand that had been groping his straight neck as if to dig into the collar of his shirt came down and wrapped around the loosely tied tie like a snake. And he gently pulled it towards him. He could have resisted being pulled, or he could have pushed his hand away, but…
‘Tsk.’
I’ll give in. Eui-jae, who obediently allowed himself to be dragged along, slightly raised his gaze. The sweet scent still lingered on Sa-young’s neck.
“That means something’s wrong.”
The glove slowly pulled and loosened the tie. Sa-young, who was holding the completely loosened tie, slightly lowered his head. The filter part of the Gas mask and Eui-jae’s forehead touched. Sa-young whispered as if growling.
“And which crazy brat gave you that ticket?”