By Zephyria “Hyung is….”
“…….”
“I really need to tie Hyung up somewhere.”
‘Coming from the guy who’s tied up himself….’
Whether Eui-jae looked at Sa-young with a dubious expression or not, Sa-young was still murmuring ominously.
“The moment I take my eyes off him, something happens, and he suddenly disappears….”
Crack, the Gas mask crumpled messily in his black hand as if it were paper. Cluck trembled, perhaps because of the fierce energy. When Eui-jae stroked its smooth head, its purple eyes became even sharper. Its head tilted slightly, and its wavy hair flowed down softly.
“So….”
“…….”
“Are you planning to explain why you suddenly disappeared and then reappeared all friendly with that crazy brat?”
“Is that crazy brat… by any chance me?”
Hong Ye-seong tilted his head, pointing at himself, oblivious to the atmosphere. Shut up. Eui-jae barely managed to suppress the urge to shut Ye-seong’s mouth. Even in this situation, Lee Sa-young was looking only at Cha Eui-jae, not even glancing at Hong Ye-seong. Eui-jae blinked his eyes several times, trying to send a message with his gaze.
“Um, Guild Master. I was going to tell you everything anyway.”
“Uh-huh…. Go ahead.”
Lee Sa-young seemed to be in a terribly twisted mood, pretending not to notice even though he was clearly making eye contact through the lenses. He even blinked along with Eui-jae!
‘Shit, I can’t say everything with Hong Ye-seong here, you crazy brat.’
“Should I just say it? Lee Sa-young! Secretary! Can I talk?”
“You shut up.”
“…….”
Hong Ye-seong lowered his head dejectedly.
“Take your arm off his shoulder too.”
The arm that had been around his shoulder slowly went down. Sa-young, who had silenced Hong Ye-seong with a single word, leaned back on the sofa and nodded his head towards Eui-jae. It seemed like he intended to ease his mood by hearing something.
“Well… you see.”
It was the moment Eui-jae gritted his teeth and opened his mouth.
“Hm? Hong Ye-seong, you’ve come out of the waiting room?”
A familiar voice was heard. Jung-bin with a puzzled face, Bae Won-woo with a clearly exhausted look, and Honeybee with a sulky expression were entering the hall side by side. It was a combination of people who had stuck something on the Hanover Soup Restaurant wall, gathered together as if by fate.
Eui-jae summoned the persona he had used in the morning and began to cower slightly, acting like a timid new member of the secretary team.
Honeybee swept back her hair with a frustrated expression after spotting Hong Ye-seong.
“You! Ugh… if you were going to postpone the Artisan Exhibition, you should have just said so. Why did you have to spread powder and cause a mess? Thanks to you, another incident happened.”
“Incident? What incident?”
“Listen to Jung-bin!”
Jung-bin, who had approached the three people who were subtly confronting each other, rubbed his chin.
“Um, I left a message for Ye-seong not to come out, but it seems he didn’t see it?”
“He looks perfectly fine for someone who was told not to come out, though? Nothing’s broken. I even brought an antidote item, thinking Lee Sa-young might have spread Poison or something.”
“Yes, fortunately, we caught him right before he used the Poison. It was thanks to Honeybee quickly ringing the alarm bell.”
Jung-bin shrugged with a smiling face.
“Although Gyu-Gyu’s shoulder was broken… I suppose it’s within acceptable limits since the building wasn’t destroyed?”
“I, I’m truly sorry. This is, well, our Guild Master…. He’s usually like this, but still. Yes…. Please contact the Wave Guild for the treatment costs.”
Bae Won-woo bowed deeply. Sa-young, who had been watching them with a frustrated face, spat out.
“That crazy brat attacked first.”
“Aigo, Sa-young-ah. Please keep your mouth shut!”
“Haha, yes. Considering that Gyu-Gyu attacked first, we only tied up his wrists, didn’t we?”
Jung-bin’s gaze, who had smiled gently, passed Hong Ye-seong and went to another Gas mask standing next to him, cowering.
“Um, next to Hong Ye-seong is….”
“Oh? It’s the Wave Guild’s secretary.”
“Ah, I see.”
Jung-bin’s soft eyes narrowed slightly.
“But… why are you two together? Even if you were present when entering, I don’t think I saw you when I checked the hall immediately after the black powder disappeared.”
“Because I kidnapped the secretary!”
“Yes?”
“Huh?”
Jung-bin and Bae Won-woo simultaneously widened their eyes at the sudden confession of the kidnapper. The gaze of Lee Sa-young, who was reaching out, became even more intense, but Eui-jae tried to ignore it. In the meantime, Hong Ye-seong, who had turned his head slightly, began to chatter excitedly as they had agreed.
“No, I was originally going to kidnap Lee Sa-young, you see? But this powder was the first time I’d used it, so I couldn’t really tell what was what. So I told Cluck to kidnap a Gas mask, but it brought the secretary instead. You see, it’s still young.”
“Cluck?”
Gradually, Cluck’s cries began to be distinguished. This cry meant it was wronged. However, Cluck’s Master Hong Ye-seong shamelessly continued to speak.
“But I couldn’t just kick it out right after it brought him, could I? That would be heartless! And I couldn’t kidnap Lee Sa-young again. He works for such a terrible boss, and if he went outside like that, he’d be scolded for sure. So I was treating him to a cup of tea. He looked like he was having a hard time.”
“…….”
Jung-bin’s gaze, who had been listening quietly, reached Eui-jae.
“May I ask your name?”
Eui-jae deliberately trembled his voice like a goat, answering in the highest and thinnest voice possible.
“Kim Seung-bin… is my name.”
“Yes, Secretary Kim Seung-bin. Is everything Hong Ye-seong said true? Were you threatened or intimidated in any way?”
“Yes, yes! The Artisan… apologized for bringing me by mistake and served me green tea. He said he couldn’t just send me out right away, so he told me to stay here for a while… and he introduced me to Cluck, too.”
Eui-jae shyly held out Cluck, which he had been holding in his arms. Cluck tilted its smooth head and cried, “Cluck.” Jung-bin’s gaze softened a little after confirming the porcelain chicken. He poked Cluck’s blunt beak with his index finger and asked.
“I see. May I ask you one question?”
“Yes? Yes! Of course.”
“What was the place you were kidnapped to like?”
“Oh, it was a completely different place from here. It was a traditional Korean house… with a yard… Ah! And a kiln, too.”
“I see….”
“Cluck-cluck!”
Jung-bin’s gaze, which had been observing Eui-jae, turned to Cluck, who had drawn out a long song from his arms. Soon, Jung-bin, who had stroked Cluck’s smooth chin, smiled gently.
“Yes, thank you for telling me. So, Hong Ye-seong, why did you try to kidnap Lee Sa-young?”
“Huh? Of course, it’s because I had something to say to Lee Sa-young separately!”
“Couldn’t you have done it after the Artisan Exhibition was over?”
“I did it because it was something that couldn’t be done. Anyway, I’ve explained my side, so explain your side too. So what was the matter, huh? What was the matter.”
As Hong Ye-seong urged, glossing over the words, Honeybee crossed her arms and let out a deep sigh.
“Ah, well, you see….”
After the black powder that had obscured everyone’s vision disappeared, the Hunters who had participated in the Artisan Exhibition faced the stage with only Hong Ye-seong’s poster left, instead of Hong Ye-seong and the S+ grade weapon he had created.
“What, where did he go?”
“Is this terrorism?”
“Could it be a kidnapping?”
“It can’t be, Hong Ye-seong spread the powder himself.”
“Are we really starting again in two hours?”
The sound of Hunters buzzing filled the hall. Without any benefit from the partitions, curious and sensitive super hamsters were leaving their booths one by one, looking around.
Jung-bin, who was holding his forehead and groaning, instructed the Management Bureau Hunters around him.
“I would like half of the personnel on site to check the tickets of the Hunters in the hall and guide them to wait in the waiting room. The other half will search the center with me for Hong Ye-seong.”
“Could he have gone into the waiting room?”
“It would be fortunate if that were the case. But we must also prepare for the possibility that it is not. Securing Hong Ye-seong’s safety is our top priority.”
After Jung-bin led the Hunters and hurriedly disappeared, the remaining Hunters belonging to the Management Bureau began to search for each person and check their tickets. However, since they were moving in groups, the speed was inevitably slow, and unfortunately, they did not notice the meeting between the super hamsters that they had to avoid so much.
Gyu-Gyu swaggered up to Lee Sa-young, who seemed to be getting up from his seat and looking around. He leaned crookedly, resting his arm on the partition, and smiled brightly.
“Wow, you don’t seem to have any intention of buying anything? Our second place, Lee Sa-young. Honeybee was holding up the paddle a lot, saying he was going to get a weapon.”
“…….”
“You didn’t even touch the paddle, did you? It’s still in the same state as when it was first set up.”
Sa-young didn’t even glance at him, took out his cell phone, pressed a button, and put it to his ear. Gyu-Gyu, who had been watching the scene quietly, grabbed the hair tie that was only half tied and untied it. His disheveled hair scattered haphazardly.
“You know~ I have a job I’m doing right now? Well, I’m sure you know.”
“…….”
“It’s a bit of a hassle, but I took it because it looked interesting? It’s fun to hold onto just one thread and follow it precariously, too?”
The ringing tone continued endlessly in Sa-young’s ear.
“But…!”
Whoosh! The hair tie, transformed into a sharp dagger, cut through the air towards the pale neck under the Gas mask. However.
“…….”
Thud, Sa-young, without any sign of surprise, caught the knife with his hand, and only then did he glance at the owner of the dagger.
Gyu-Gyu shook his hand and raised the corners of his mouth with a smirk.
“No~ if I just try to dig something out, it doesn’t work because of this, it doesn’t work because of that. I was getting annoyed, so I looked into it, and the Wave Guild’s hands were reaching everywhere there was a blockage?”
“…….”
“At this point, I’m getting a little curious. Why is the former number one blocking everything when the country is trying to find a hero?”
Sa-young replied coldly.
“It must be because your skills are lacking.”
“Yeah, yeah. I have lacking skills, but I dared to think about it.”
Ban Gyu-min, who had been swaggering, completely erased his smiling face. His face became perfectly expressionless, and he moved his lips.
“You. Do you want J to stay dead?”
“…….”
For a moment, the surrounding air sank quietly. The Hunters who had been listening to their conversation also fell silent. Sa-young slowly turned his body and faced Ban Gyu-min. Only emotionless mechanical sounds were heard from the cell phone still held to his ear.
―The person you are calling is unavailable and has been directed to voicemail….
“You don’t want J to appear?”
“…….”
Ban Gyu-min, who had taken a step closer, stared into Lee Sa-young’s eyes through the lenses and opened his mouth.
“J is―”
“…After that, as you can imagine, Lee Sa-young and Gyu-Gyu fought like crazy. I thought one of them would die if I just left them alone, so I borrowed the call bell from the part-timer and pressed it.”
“Thank you for calling so quickly.”
“Hmph, of course.”
As Honeybee pouted and twisted her hair, Bae Won-woo covered his face with both hands and let out a long sigh.
“Aigo, I’m so sorry… I should have been next to him. Sa-young said he was going to move separately from the secretary this time.”
“Haha, what can we do about what’s already happened. I’m just trying to be grateful that the building wasn’t covered in Poison.”
“But I reacted quickly, so don’t I get a gift?”
“Um, should I buy you Hangover Soup?”
“I’ll think about it if it’s three bowls.”
“Then let’s meet at the Hanover Soup Restaurant after the Artisan Exhibition is over.”
“Oh, me too!”
Eui-jae, who had been listening to the banter of the Hanover Soup Restaurant regulars, involuntarily turned his head towards Lee Sa-young. Lee Sa-young, who was sitting diagonally on the sofa with his hands tied, was looking at Cha Eui-jae…
And smiling.