By Zephyria Sa-young looked for Eui-jae first. His gaze, which had been wandering in the air, turned downwards. And then he frowned deeply.
Cha Eui-jae was half-lying on a plush beanbag, looking at Sa-young. The low table was full of snacks. The black mask gleamed slickly in the light of the screen.
‘What is this?’
He thought he would be disciplining the Mackerels?
Sa-young stopped dead in his tracks. Eui-jae pulled another beanbag next to him and patted it.
“Come and sit down.”
Why does he look so carefree?
“Hyung~nim~”
Just then, a Mackerel with slicked-back hair came flying in. He was holding a bag of popcorn with steam rising from it. The Mackerel smiled brightly, knelt on one knee, and presented the popcorn like a rose. Sa-young’s face crumpled even more.
“Hyungnim, I fried some popcorn for you. Huh? The Guild Leader is here. Are you happy to see me?”
The younger Mackerel waved his hand in greeting. But the greeting didn’t even register. The shocking title filled his head!
‘Hyungnim?’
He’s doing all sorts of things. The corner of his lips twisted. Judging by the younger Mackerel’s attitude, the disciplining was already over. Did he want to be called Hyung that badly? Sa-young crossed his arms. Eui-jae looked away from Sa-young and shook his head.
“No, I told you I don’t want any.”
“Hey, don’t worry. I’ll leave the area when you eat.”
“What makes you think I’ll take off my mask?”
“Should we write a contract? With you as the Hyungnim.”
“Forget it.”
“Th, there….”
This time, a gloomy Mackerel appeared and held out a tray. On the tray was a cup of Sweet Rice Drink with ice floating in it. Ah, so he’s met both Mackerels. Sa-young tilted his head.
He knew the Mackerels would reach out to J, but he didn’t expect both of them to show up. That means J is that important to them too….
“H, how about th, this….”
“Why Sweet Rice Drink all of a sudden?”
“Th, the Artisan made it.”
“Why is that crazy brat’s stuff here?”
“I, I got it in a trade.”
“Oh, come on. Hyung, popcorn goes with soda.”
“Ah…. Sh, should I get cola?”
The absurd conversation dragged on and on. Looking at him now, Cha Eui-jae was sitting there in his suit like some dissolute emperor. If he had a red blanket draped over him, he would be no different from an emperor. The two Mackerels fawning over him were like eunuchs or officials. Sa-young crossed his arms and watched the scene. He was curious to see how far it would go.
He tapped his arm with his finger. More than anything….
‘I’m jealous….’
Of course, he’s happy if Cha Eui-jae is happy. But still.
Sa-young, who had been quietly watching Cha Eui-jae, called him in a mechanical tone.
“Hunter J.”
Eui-jae, who had been having a boring conversation with the Mackerels, turned his head sharply as soon as he heard his Hunter name. He pointed to himself and asked back with a sullen look.
“…M, me? No, me?”
Lee Sa-young leaned one shoulder against the doorway and stared at him, then smiled. This time, he called out each word with more emphasis.
“Yes, Hunter J.”
“…Huh?”
Eui-jae put down the remote control he was holding. He seemed tense, and his shoulders and arms tightened slightly. The younger Mackerel whispered in the older Mackerel Hyung’s ear.
“I don’t think this is our kind of atmosphere.”
“Sh, should we get out of here?”
“Let’s run.”
“Y, yeah.”
Perhaps it was because of his long experience as an informant. The younger Mackerel winked at Sa-young and led his Hyung away.
Left alone in the dim room, Sa-young closed the door behind him. Thud. Click. He didn’t forget to lock the door either. He was still under the Mackerel’s influence, so he couldn’t completely avoid their gaze….
‘If they have any sense, they won’t peek for a while.’
Sa-young put his hand in his coat pocket and slowly approached. Cha Eui-jae looked up at Sa-young in an awkward posture.
He could imagine the expression behind the black mask. What’s this crazy brat doing, what did I do wrong, that kind of bewildered expression. Only then was he a little satisfied. His nervous appearance was also cute.
‘Seriously…. He doesn’t have much social skills.’
Why do so many strange guys keep sticking around him?
If he takes his eyes off him for a moment, he’s befriended some strange guy. Does he have any sense of caution or not? He was huffing and puffing about disciplining them, but he quickly let his guard down and followed them to this remote place. Is he so lonely for human interaction? Even if he is, does he have to be so unguarded?
Lee Sa-young, forgetting his own past as a strange guy, began to deduce Cha Eui-jae’s inner thoughts. Not knowing that he was driving his Hyung to his death.
Meanwhile, Eui-jae was also dying.
‘What’s with this crazy brat?’
Hunter J. In fact, it was a title he had heard a lot from other people. At some point, he was only called J without the Hunter part. But from the past to now, since they reunited, this was the first time Lee Sa-young had called him that. Shit.
Cha Eui-jae pondered his actions. What did I do wrong again? I stayed still as he told me to, and I followed Jang Mi-sook-ssi here. Did he call me that on purpose because the Mackerels were here? No, but did he have to call me so coldly? A feeling of inexplicable sadness rose up, but it was soon crushed by resentment.
Lee Sa-young, who walked over like a murderer in a horror movie, was just watching Eui-jae. Eventually, Eui-jae opened his mouth first.
“…Why are you calling me that?”
“Huh? What are you talking about.”
“No, that… you said Hunter J.”
“Ah.”
Sa-young, who let out a small exclamation, laughed softly.
“You seemed to be getting along well with the Mackerels. You’re already calling each other Hyung….”
Was that the biggest problem? He couldn’t follow Lee Sa-young’s emotional line at all. Eui-jae clutched his head.
“I didn’t tell them to call me that. They called me that on their own.”
“I’m sure. Why aren’t you at Rose Seafood and here? What about the Gas mask?”
“I was originally at Rose Seafood. But they all knew I was J, you know?”
“Didn’t you say you were going to beat them up?”
“No, after talking to them, we got along a bit.”
Eui-jae recalled the memory from earlier.
At Rose Seafood, Cha Eui-jae, who had destroyed the light bulb with chopsticks, rushed at the Mackerels under the cover of darkness. They flapped and ran away like Mackerels, but Eui-jae was faster. He grabbed them and put them in a headlock, and after a while, the younger Mackerel coughed and shouted.
‘Why are you doing this!’
‘Hey, you crazy brats, who told you to write that kind of shitty article!’
‘But… if we didn’t write that kind of article, J-ssi wouldn’t even look at us!’
What kind of line is that from a cartoon? Eui-jae was dumbfounded. And he released the strength in his arms to hear what this crazy brat had to say. The younger Mackerel flapped.
‘Other Hunters even make reservations to meet us, but J-ssi hasn’t even come to see us even though he’s resumed his activities!’
Well…. Min-gi Seo finds all the information. There’s no reason to come to the Mackerels. Min-gi Seo, who was making a blank-faced V sign in the corner of his head, flickered in his mind. The younger Mackerel covered his face with both hands and pretended to cry.
‘We have so much information to give J-ssi, so much information we’ve been saving up in preparation for the day you come! You don’t even know our hearts. Idiot.’
‘Information? What information.’
‘W, would you like to go to the video room?’
‘Video room?’
‘That’s right. Please watch it and decide. I’ll fix the article right now and say it was a composite. It’ll be resolved by tomorrow morning.’
‘Can you bury it with that?’
‘Don’t worry. We’ll release other Hunters’ dating articles together. I don’t know if you know Lee Won-ho-ssi and Duchil Kang-ssi.’
I think I’ve heard those names somewhere. Were they customers at the Hangover Soup restaurant? Anyway, the way of thinking of a skilled wrecker was something that ordinary people could not dare to follow. Eui-jae ended up sitting in the video room waiting for Lee Sa-young.
‘If you do anything stupid, I’ll turn everything upside down.’
‘Is there any doubt, Hyungnim!’
If necessary, he could turn the seafood market upside down. It was a decision he made knowing his own strength.
“…….”
Lee Sa-young’s expression beyond the Gas mask was subtle. He had a look on his face that said, what should I do with this. Eui-jae patted the beanbag next to him again. Sa-young sat obediently on the beanbag and looked at the screen. The beam projector flickered on his right. Eui-jae picked up the remote control and dusted it off.
“No, look. They showed me this and that, and it was fun. It was informative.”
“…What did they show you?”
“What I saw earlier was a list of changes in the power structure of Rankers and Guilds after the Rift, and what I’m watching now is….”
Eui-jae pressed the play button. The screen that had been stopped on a black screen switched and what appeared was,
―You have become the new number one as soon as you Awakened. Which Guild are you thinking of joining?
Click, click, click, the flash goes off. The face of the young man standing alone on the podium in a suit had not yet shed his boyishness and still had a childish air.
His black hair was neatly combed back, and his long eyelashes fluttered every time he blinked. He didn’t look nervous at all, even though he was standing in front of so many reporters and cameras. Rather, he looked bored and languid. His plump lips moved.
―I have no intention of joining any Guild.
“The first interview video you did after becoming a Hunter.”
“…….”
“Wow, you’re young, so young. How old were you then? Eighteen?”
Thud! The hand that was about to smash the beam projector without hesitation was grabbed with great force.
“Hey, why are you trying to break it.”
“…….”
Sa-young clenched his fist. Crack, crack, crack, the sound of joints cracking in his hand. He could feel the strength in his wrist and arm that were being held. He looked like he was about to hit Cha Eui-jae.
Eui-jae, who grabbed him with more force and sat closer, reached out with his other hand. He had used it a few times, so he was now quite skilled at releasing the Gas mask’s fasteners. When he wedged his fingers between the straps, the Gas mask that had been covering his face was removed.
Under the disheveled black hair, his white face was flushed red.