By Zephyria “Did you hear everything?”
In a brief moment, countless thoughts raced through my mind. Should I pretend I didn’t hear and just bolt? But I had already made proper eye contact with Lee Sa-young. Lee Sa-young was now even resting his chin on his hand, openly staring at Eui-jae. His brazen attitude, completely ignoring Jung-bin sitting right in front of him, made me want to put a Gas mask on him backward. So he couldn’t see anything.
Since I was the one who intruded on the Shield separated with an item, I was the uninvited guest this time. Acting rashly could draw Jung-bin’s attention even more.
Fortunately, I had an excellent excuse… Hangover Soup! I had momentarily forgotten while eavesdropping on the exciting conversation, but as a part-timer at the Hanover Soup Restaurant, Eui-jae had a duty to serve Hangover Soup to his arch-enemy customers.
Eui-jae cautiously glanced at Jung-bin and slowly rose from his seat. He raised his middle fingers at Lee Sa-young and mouthed silently.
‘Fuck you.’
Then, he naturally turned and headed to the kitchen. Kek, a very small chuckle was heard, along with Jung-bin’s voice sounding puzzled.
“Lee Sa-young?”
“No, nothing. What’s the possibility of another Unregistered Person?”
“Since Hong Ye-seong’s equipment auction is coming up soon, a few might have entered the country. But someone with that kind of skill wouldn’t cause such a disturbance. They’d come and go quietly.”
Jung-bin answered firmly. He seemed to think the culprit behind this incident was an amateur who had Awakened recently, a newbie, some clueless weirdo. Eui-jae, who had suddenly become an ‘amateur, newbie, clueless weirdo,’ felt wronged. When he was active, information didn’t spread this quickly. A languid voice suggested another possibility.
“There’s that S-class who Awakened a few months ago. What about him?”
There are already three S-classes in this place, and another one Awakened? Why are there so many S-classes in this small country of Korea? As expected, the safety of the nation was being maintained just fine without him. After a moment of silence, Jung-bin replied with a gloomy expression.
“That person… as you know, is still a minor, and it’s an important time for him, so he wouldn’t have time for this. He’s not a combat-type Hunter either.”
“Ah, he’s a high school senior, right?”
“Yes. He’ll be taking the college entrance exam soon. He’d be looking at a question from the college entrance exam prep book instead of entering a Rift.”
“Well…. Let’s say so.”
There was a rustling sound as he seemed to adjust his posture. Eui-jae, while placing the fully boiled Hangover Soup in a earthenware pot on a tray, strained his ears. Would Lee Sa-young reveal everything? A corner of his heart began to feel anxious.
If he admits that the Master of the Mana Stone is the same Unregistered Person he met. And if he reveals that the Unregistered Person is Cha Eui-jae.
If he loses this peaceful life he barely obtained.
The hand holding the tray gradually tightened. Then, Sa-young spoke slowly.
“I haven’t found him yet either.”
It was a light remark that made his tension seem pointless. Eui-jae widened his eyes and looked at the hall. Jung-bin’s voice, tinged with disappointment, followed.
“If even Lee Sa-young hasn’t found him yet….”
“Well…. It could be bait set by some shady bastards.”
“…I can’t rule out that possibility either.”
As Jung-bin nodded in agreement, Sa-young gestured with his chin once in the air.
“If you’re done talking, how about dispelling this first?”
“Sure. Even if we talk more… this doesn’t seem like a conversation for a Hanover Soup Restaurant.”
Clack, the sound of fingers snapping together was heard. In sync with that, Eui-jae also carried the tray and left the kitchen. Seeing the surrounding Hunters whispering and glancing at them, it seemed they had dispelled the item. Eui-jae approached with a pace that was neither too slow nor too fast and placed the earthenware pot on the table.
“Here are two Hangover Soups.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Jung-bin politely greeted and picked up his spoon. Eui-jae glanced at Sa-young. Lee Sa-young was completely ignoring Cha Eui-jae, as if he had never spoken to him.
“Thank you for the delicious meal.”
“…Yes, thank you.”
If you’re done eating, leave quickly. While counting the bills he received as he watched the Hunters who had swarmed in and out, Eui-jae, who swallowed his unspoken words, was asked by Jung-bin, who was looking at the autograph papers on the wall.
“Are those autographs from your regulars?”
“Yes? Ah, yes.”
“Hmm….”
Most of them were people who stamped their attendance every day, so they could be considered regulars. As Eui-jae nodded, Jung-bin smiled brightly.
“Haha, how many times do I have to come to get my autograph up? I’ll have to come often.”
No, don’t come. Don’t ever come again.
It seemed like a polite empty gesture, but I just hoped he wouldn’t come. Eui-jae earnestly prayed as he saw Jung-bin off. Lee Sa-young, who had arrived silently, had also disappeared at some point. Only after the two S-classes left did peace return to the store and Eui-jae’s heart.
After finishing business and putting on pink rubber gloves, he was filling the dishwashing tub with water. Leaning his weary body against the sink, he was quietly listening to the sound of the water when he heard a tok sound from somewhere. It was a sound so small that even Eui-jae could barely hear it. Soon, the tok, tok, tok sound began to be heard regularly. He turned off the faucet and cautiously craned his neck to look for the source of the sound.
The Gas mask was tapping on the sliding door glass with its fingertips.
If this were a B-grade disaster movie or a horror movie, it would have been a scene where the protagonist screamed, but to Eui-jae, it looked like a demon-possessed troublemaker visitor disturbing his closing time. Instead of screaming, he replied in a voice loud enough to be heard outside the door.
“We’re closed―”
The Gas mask also put its forehead against the glass door and replied briefly.
“I came because I have something to say.”
“I said we’re closed.”
“You’d better listen… unless you want to see Jung-bin again tomorrow.”
At the half-threatening words, Eui-jae, who had dashed to the door as if flying, grabbed the doorknob with his gloved hand. Since it was just the two of them now, there was nothing to hold back. His eyes burning fiercely towards the Gas mask.
“Was it you?”
It meant, were you the one who called Jung-bin?* A nonchalant voice leaked through the crack in the door.
“Would it be me?”
“…….”
“If we’re being precise, Hyung is the one who called him here.”
“I clearly heard you say you came to find me, what are you talking about?”
As Eui-jae tried to argue with a dumbfounded expression, Sa-young retorted as if asking if he really didn’t know.
“If Hyung hadn’t thrown a nuclear bomb into the Tomato Market, that guy wouldn’t have come all the way here.”
“What are you talking about, what does the Tomato Market have to do with me?”
The Gas mask beyond the glass stared intently at Eui-jae.
“Don’t you understand the seriousness of the situation yet?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Cha Eui-jae decided to continue acting shamelessly. The black-gloved hand that had been tapping on the glass stopped moving.
“Okay. Keep pretending you don’t know, no matter who comes. You’ll have to.”
“…….”
“If you’re not going to open the door, can I just melt this?”
“Go ahead. I’ll report you to the Bureau of Rift Management right away.”
“It’s disappointing that you keep looking for Jung-bin…. I’m right in front of Hyung.”
It was a classy threat to call Jung-bin right away if he missed him that much. Eui-jae eventually opened the door. He couldn’t bring Jung-bin, whom he had barely managed to feed and send away, back here. As soon as Sa-young came in, he took off the Gas mask and swept back his hair.
“They’ll keep coming. Guys like that.”
Sa-young, who casually dismissed Jung-bin, the 4th-ranked Hunter in Korea and an S-class government official, as ‘guys like that,’ threw a peppermint candy into his mouth from the counter. His pale cheeks bulged out following the shape of the candy. Sa-young had a particularly outstanding talent for saying terrible things nonchalantly. Eui-jae shuddered.
“Don’t say such terrible things.”
“I know, if you were going to post it, you should have posted it on Used World or Thunder Market.”
Sa-young continued his nagging disguised as advice as he straddled a chair.
“It’s quite a feat to cause this mess by posting it on the Tomato Market, where the region is specifically identified.”
“I’m telling you it wasn’t me.”
“Okay, then. The crazy bastard who posted the Mana Stone on the Tomato Market, not Hyung.”
“Watch your mouth. That person probably didn’t know any better.”
“All the Hunters I know have Tomato Market installed. There are also many who are trying to track down the Master of the Mana Stone.”
“…….”
“At a price that’s practically giving it away, posting on the Tomato Market with blatant regional authentication. It’s like he wanted to advertise that he was here.”
“…That person must be regretting it.”
“Really? He didn’t seem like it at all.”
Sa-young didn’t back down on a single word. He also seemed to be in a bad mood for some reason. But this incident was clearly Eui-jae’s fault, so he couldn’t tell Sa-young, whose face was bulging from eating candy, to shut up.
Eui-jae, who had been thinking countless ways to chase away the uninvited guest until just now, changed his mind.
Right now, Lee Sa-young is the only one who knows that Cha Eui-jae is hiding his power. In other words, Lee Sa-young is the only person who can help Eui-jae’s quiet life in this situation. Since things have already gone wrong, why not use the information power of the 1st-ranked? After all, this guy is a current Hunter.
Eui-jae clasped his hands together and called Sa-young more politely than ever.
“Lee Sa-young.”
“It’s rare for you to use honorifics, Hyung. You’ve eaten five thousand more meals than me.”
He held a grudge terribly long. Eui-jae decided to throw away the honorifics right away.
“Shut up. Anyway, I have something to discuss.”
“Hmm….”
“There’s a friend of mine who made a pretty big mistake….”
Lee Sa-young was looking up at him with a fairly serious face, listening to the story. Whether he was really listening or just pretending to listen, I didn’t know. Eui-jae added a few of the most important words.
“He didn’t know it was a big mistake.”
“Yes.”
“He didn’t know things would get this big either.”
“Oh dear.”
Sa-young sympathized in a tone that was not at all sympathetic.
“But Hyung, did Hyung have a friend?”
“I do, what do you know.”
As Eui-jae shook his fist in the air, Sa-young pretended to zip his mouth shut. Then, he put his hands together, rested his chin as if covering his mouth, and smiled with his eyes closed. His flamboyant face was full of playfulness, as if he were looking at an interesting toy.
It seemed like a gesture of pretending to believe an obvious lie. Eui-jae continued shamelessly, as if meeting his expectations.
“I guess the mistake is bigger than I thought. All sorts of gnats are swarming around him.”
“Oh, that’s too bad.”
“But that friend wants to clean up the mistake he made as quietly as possible. Without anyone knowing.”
“Why?”
Their eyes met. Eui-jae, who had been staring blankly at his playful face, replied.
“Because he wants to live quietly.”
“Ah….”
“…….”
“Because he wants to live quietly, huh.”
A brief silence flowed, and Sa-young, who had crunched down on the candy, laughed softly.
“I like that very much.”
Lee Sa-young silently got up from his seat and put his hands behind his back. His long shadow leaned as if it would engulf Eui-jae. A low voice whispered as if chanting a spell.
“Let’s make a deal, you and I.”
“…….”
“I’ll clean up the mistake Hyung made, neatly.”
By now, the subject had returned to Cha Eui-jae instead of his friend, but Eui-jae didn’t quibble any further.
“It won’t be free.”
“Of course. It’s a deal.”
“What do you want?”
From the reversed eye level, Eui-jae stared up at Sa-young’s face. There was no way to know what kind of conditions would come out of this crazy bastard’s head. He might ask for help with work, he might ask for help with Dungeon raids, or he might ask him to join the Guild.
The delicately crafted face seemed like it would present terrible deal conditions as much as its lack of error. Assuming the worst, he might ask him to kill someone. If he really made such a request, he would have to refuse and find another way.
However, Sa-young’s proposal was unexpected. He raised one index finger and said.
“An unknown person.”
“…….”
“Someone whose existence no one knows.”
Lee Sa-young smiled like an angel.
“I want Hyung.”