By Zephyria 
〈Hyung, did you sleep well? I couldn’t sleep much because I wanted to have sex with you…〉
That was Tae-un’s first greeting this morning. He quieted down once I pinched his lips with my fingers, but I was deeply concerned about what kind of tricks he would try again if I answered the phone.
Hyung, what are you doing right now?
Fortunately, his voice was as cute as usual.
“I was watching YouTube. I heard the footage of you right after coming out of the portal yesterday was broadcast. Did you see it too?”
I did.
The sound of a small laugh traveled through the airwaves.
I’m thinking of taking a high-quality screen capture of the moment you held me and putting it in a frame.
“A frame sounds nice…”
The thought made my heart flutter a bit.
And right now, Section Chief Gwak has come to the office to deliver your hunter license.
As if waiting for those words, a new message appeared before my eyes.
[Quest 02. CLEAR]
[The issuance of a trivial hunter license took unnecessarily long. Let’s work harder in the future! ^^)9]
I had prevented the end of the world once again.
“….”
No, I have no idea how this has anything to do with the end of the world or what it even means. Even the system said it was a trivial matter.
If you’re not busy, let’s have a date at the office.
“Now? With Section Chief Gwak?”
Yes. Well, there is one nuisance by that name tagging along. Tsk.
From behind, I could hear Gwak Yun-sang’s timid protest: “For your information, this is a name my grandfather paid a fortune to a naming center for.”
It seemed Gwak Yun-sang had more business to attend to. In the meantime, Kim Si-baek carefully hugged the cushion where the sleeping Biyendwe lay and stepped out the front door.
It was no secret within the 7777 Guild that Kim Si-baek frequently traveled between the top-floor penthouse and the CEO’s office via the elevator. The sight of Tae-un fawning over the ‘One Whose Name Cannot Be Spoken’—who was 120% certainly living with him based on the circumstances—floated eerily across the company bulletin board like a ghost story sighting.
The company bulletin board was flipped upside down again when the ‘One Whose Name Cannot Be Spoken,’ whom every member of the 7777 Guild knew but desperately pretended not to, was exposed on a live broadcast. Because of that, the glances directed at Kim Si-baek as he stepped off the direct elevator toward the CEO’s office were more blatant than ever.
‘As expected, you have to be at least S-class to tame our house’s mad dog…’
‘He was unusual from the start, even talking to a pet bird like it was a person.’
‘It’s a boon that another S-class has joined the guild… but fuck, why do I feel like the stock price will actually drop?’
‘That’s because the Guild Master will act like a pretty younger brother even more blatantly than he does now…’
‘I want to quit.’
Regardless, Kim Si-baek paid no mind, walking slowly while holding the cushion in his left arm and tapping the keypad of his phone with his right hand.
By the time he arrived at the CEO’s office, he had just sent a text to the HG Guild Master thanking him for the information, ending it with a ‘^^’ emoticon. The secretary, who had become completely accustomed to him, opened the door immediately without even checking with Tae-un.
“You’ve arrived!”
Gwak Yun-sang jumped up from the sofa to greet him. Biyendwe stirred at the loud voice, so Kim Si-baek quickly covered the bird’s mouth. However, separate from the consideration of not waking the baby crow, Gwak Yun-sang seemed quite skeptical that it was a god’s avatar.
Since the god of Earth does not manifest, it was unavoidable if he couldn’t believe it. Kim Si-baek didn’t mind much and gently placed the cushion on an empty spot on the sofa.
“The machine for printing hunter licenses hasn’t been restored yet, so I’ve brought the issuance certificate for now. I will send the actual license as soon as the restoration is complete.”
From what he heard, it seemed he had been registered as a hunter as soon as the network was restored this morning. Having a connection like the Director was reliable.
‘Hmm? But why did the system only show the clear notification now?’
Since it interferes with human perception, knowing the fact that he was registered as a hunter should have been a piece of cake.
‘Is it only recognized as a quest clear once I perceive it myself?’
Another ambiguous question arose.
“There were some twists and turns, but you’re finally registered. Hyung, did it go well?”
He was likely asking about the quest clear. When Kim Si-baek nodded, Tae-un, who had been sitting at the desk, stood up and sat next to Kim Si-baek as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“….”
It was truly difficult to describe. The emotion of realizing that a child he had cherished like a younger brother his whole life harbored sexual desires for him.
Kim Si-baek tried his best to ignore the feeling of the sofa tilting slightly under Tae-un’s weight and the distinct sense of presence closing in. However, the very act of trying to escape was proof that he was already swept away.
Fearing what kind of bomb Tae-un might drop next, he lightly bit his lower lip. Whether he knew his feelings or not, Tae-un leaned back comfortably on the sofa.
The sensation of Tae-un resting his arm on the backrest of the sofa in the direction he was sitting, and the sound of long fingers loosely tapping the backrest, were exceptionally vivid. The steady, rhythmic beat reminded him of the fingers that had caressed his waist while kissing last night. He felt a ticklish sensation brush against his waist.
Gwak Yun-sang, clearing his throat at the strangely subtle atmosphere, brought up his business.
“Thank you for your hard work yesterday. Now that you are officially a hunter recognized by the government of the Republic of Korea, Hunter-nim, we would like to discuss your future direction along with the Seven Guild. It would be rash to call it luck, but the situation is quite coincidental.”
“What?”
Because he was preoccupied with Tae-un’s presence, he hadn’t fully understood Gwak Yun-sang’s words. Tae-un smiled faintly and provided a further explanation.
“The fact that humans and magical beasts can collude was revealed for the first time in 21 years. Since many people are anxious, they want to divert attention toward a new S-class. It’s similar to breaking a celebrity scandal to cover up a political issue.”
“Ah, no. When you put it that way, it sounds like we’re plotting something terribly evil, so please don’t misunderstand. It’s never a good thing for anxiety to take root in society.”
He understood, but a new question emerged. What exactly was a hunter? In mak slecht, Awakened were simply people who hunted magical beasts, nothing more and nothing less.
When he mentioned this, Tae-un rubbed his chin and nodded.
“Since magical beasts have existed for a very long time there, I guess people who hunt them are seen as natural. If a few hundred years pass like this, Earth might become similar. But here, it’s only been 21 years since the Great Cataclysm occurred, so the presence of hunters is significant, and above all, there are Id Portals. The government played a few tricks to hype up hunters like idols so that people would cheer, thereby diluting the fear. Having a trustworthy existence can help with mental stability even in dangerous situations.”
“Ah, that makes sense.”
The more people exposed to fear or dread, the higher the probability of an Id Portal appearing. The Supernatural Phenomenon Response Agency’s attempt to manage public anxiety was likely in the same vein.
Once the conversation was roughly settled, Gwak Yun-sang cleared his throat and pulled up a PPT on his laptop screen. Analysis data followed in a stream: the trend of viewership increase when Kim Si-baek was exposed, evidence of related search terms trending in real-time on various portals and SNS, the frequency of mentions in internet communities, and so on.
For Kim Si-baek, who possessed neither a liberal arts brain nor a science brain, but rather an athletic brain, he could only think of vague impressions like, ‘The white part is paper and the black part is text.’
On the other hand, Gwak Yun-sang, the self-proclaimed and others-proclaimed manager of Kim Si-baek, was in the middle of a passionate sales pitch.
“Wouldn’t it be perfect to announce things about Hunter-nim at this timing? Including the fact that you possess unprecedented healing abilities!”
Unlike Gwak Yun-sang’s sales mindset, Kim Si-baek remained calm.
“Oh, I plan to announce that the healing ability is not a result of awakening, but a manifestation of the power of faith.”
“…Excuse me? What power?”
“The power of faith. It’s the truth, isn’t it?”
“….”
Gwak Yun-sang groaned at the word, which sounded like a cult even upon hearing it again. However, as Kim Si-baek said, it was the truth, and more importantly, there had been a prior agreement with Director Noh.
〈What do you plan to do moving forward? Will you affiliate yourself with the Seven Guild?〉
〈Ah, before that, there is something I would like to ask for the Director’s understanding on.〉
When they met in the Director’s office, Kim Si-baek had asked if he could be allowed to proselytize depending on the situation, and after some thought, Director Noh had given practical permission, stating he would overlook it as long as it did not violate social ethics.
Gwak Yun-sang’s gaze flickered toward the baby crow fast asleep. Power of faith…
‘If things go south, the entire guild might be branded as a cult; is that okay?’
Turning his worried eyes toward Tae-un, Gwak Yun-sang immediately dropped his concerns upon seeing Tae-un’s fingers creeping closer to fiddle with Kim Si-baek’s hair, regardless of what conversation was happening. The mad dog would probably handle it on his own.
“Yes. In that case, since we cannot make statements biased toward a specific religion, we will not officially mention the healing ability separately. Also, there is one more thing I’m curious about.”
“Is there something else you wish to say?”
“It’s not something that will be included in our announcement, but I feel I need to know for sure so we can coordinate our stories.”
Gwak Yun-sang gazed at Kim Si-baek and Tae-un with a renewed look.
“What exactly is the relationship between the two of you?”