243 – HGL 243

243

The speed of the rattling Damas decreased rapidly. Mackerel, who had parked the car close to the sidewalk on the road in front of a tall high-rise building, whistled and stared at the building.

“Ah~ Actually, it’s my first time visiting here too.”

Mackerel rubbed his palms together and smacked his lips.

“Since we’re here, I’d like to see this and that. I hope you stay for a long time if possible.”

Eui-jae glared at Mackerel, thinking he had followed him to get rid of his debt, but it seemed he had other additional purposes.

“Now that I see it, you came to fulfill your personal desires.”

“Aing, wouldn’t it be a free pass if I go in with Hyung? You’re J, after all.”

I don’t think so. He’s stubborn as hell, and once he makes up his mind, he’s like a ninja who doesn’t show even a single strand of hair. Eui-jae crossed his arms and leaned his head against the glass window.

“We’re not on good terms right now.”

“You can reconcile. Isn’t that why you came?”

His beaming face was infuriating. Eui-jae didn’t answer and carefully got out of the car. His whole body felt stiff, probably because he had been cramped in the narrow car. He stretched out his arms and yawned. Mackerel slammed the door of the Damas shut and looked up at the tall building.

“Well, anyway… it doesn’t seem like he’ll open the door quietly, right?”

“Absolutely not.”

“And you’re not planning to show me your bare face either.”

“Would I show you?”

“Usually, you need an employee ID or access card to get through the lobby. It’s a place that does all sorts of research, so security must be tight.”

Eui-jae stared silently at Mackerel. It was a sign that he was asking if he had any ideas. Mackerel made a gesture of shooting a gun into the air with a bright face.

“Well, let’s go in for now!”

‘Ah, I don’t want to work.’

The coffee ice clinks as it collides. The maknae of the Wave Guild laboratory, a man with a ferocious face like a mountain bandit wearing a white gown, walked unsteadily with a coffee carrier full in both hands. Staring at numbers on the monitor all day long was no different from a new kind of torture. Doing errands for his seniors too.

‘It’s a solid job, but…’

These days, it wasn’t so much. The maknae sighed deeply.

In fact, the people gathered in the laboratory had gathered with a kind of mission. It was to open the closed West Sea Rift and rescue the people trapped inside. It was known externally as Rift research, but they worked hard for their mission. And, just when the research was about to shine, the ranking was updated…

Suddenly J appeared…

People were shocked and the laboratory was turned upside down. J, wasn’t he the most famous Hunter among those who entered the West Sea Rift at that time, and a national hero? The very, very great J seemed to have escaped from the Rift alone with his own power.

No, it’s good that he came back, but what happens to our purpose then? Is our laboratory going to end like this? Lee Sa-young Hunter, the Master who paid their salaries, appeared before them as they were suffering from job insecurity.

One day, the Master who suddenly came to visit said abruptly.

“Keep doing what you were doing.”

“Yes? Yes…”

“But you’ll have to do other things in parallel.”

“Other things?”

“Start researching Invasion Dungeons. And this too, and that too.”

The black man who was attached to the Master’s back like a grim reaper flipped through the files with a snap, snap, snap. It was so thick that it was hard to hold in one’s hand. The senior who was quickly scanning the files opened his mouth wide. The maknae also hurriedly checked the contents. The locations, characteristics, and various information of all the Invasion Dungeons that had appeared so far were densely written. The Master, wearing a Gas mask, smiled softly.

“The figures may differ from the records… so you’ll have to go and measure them yourself, right?”

Masterrrrr. They swallowed the voices they couldn’t bring themselves to say out loud.

Anyway, since that day, the people in the laboratory started going on Dungeon business trips, so they were doing their jobs, but they had lost their driving force. In particular, Professor Jang, the head of the laboratory who had been the most passionate, was especially like that. He seemed to have had a burnout, and he would sit listlessly or curl up like a shrimp and just sleep in the corner. The most senior researcher who had worked with him for the longest time had to shake him to wake him up.

‘Is there a future in this job?’

Since the day some strange Monsters rained down from the sky, Dungeon business trips were scheduled again in droves. And the one who was assigned the most schedules was, of course, the maknae, he. The maknae sniffled and wiped his nose. The desire to quit his job grew stronger and stronger.

At that time, he heard a wrestling sound in the lobby. It was perfect timing. He should watch the fight at this damn workplace. How jealous he was when he saw the Blind post on the company bulletin board about witnessing J and the Master’s tag game. The maknae staggered towards the sound. And.

“Do you know who this person is?”

“Hey, be quiet…”

“If I were to tell you about this person, he cut off the neck of a level 3 Monster with an autumn leaf when he was five years old, and slaughtered eight level 1 Monsters with a single pine cone when he was eight years old!”

“Shut up! I’m sorry.”

Hair close to silver swayed. The young man who had gagged the blue-haired young man turned his head. The first thing that caught his eye was his tall height and body, and the second thing was the black mask that completely covered his face. It seemed like his gaze briefly touched the maknae and then fell away. A distorted voice pierced his ears.

“I came to see Lee Sa-young Guild Master. Is he here by any chance?”

“Ah, the Guild Master is not here right now…”

“Ew, don’t lie to me. We know everything.”

“Je, Je, Jejeje.”

Thud, the strength in his hand was gone. Coffee poured out in droves. The thought of being scolded by his seniors had long since evaporated. The cold air was slowly approaching the slippers he was wearing haphazardly, and the smell of coffee was strong, but that wasn’t important now.

“J!!”

The maknae took a powerful step,

Sliiiip—

The world tilted.

Everything seemed to be in slow motion. The blue-haired young man with a dumbfounded face, the surprised employee’s face, and J too. He could see the ceiling. The faces of his parents, who had been with him from kindergarten graduation to university graduation, and the face of Ppoppi, who would be waiting for him, flashed by. Is this a panoramic view of one’s life? Mom, the maknae is going. The maknae closed his eyes.

At that moment.

“…Hey.”

Could a distorted voice be sweet? The maknae could confidently say yes. The world shook violently. Ugh, cough, the maknae coughed and slowly opened his eyes. The black mask was right in front of him.

“Are you okay?”

“…Ugh!”

The maknae flapped his arms in a hurry to get up, but it was in vain. Because a firm hand was holding his shoulder and waist. J, who had run like the wind, had saved him. The maknae pressed his cheeks with both hands and screamed.

“Aaaagh! I’m sorry! Thank you! J, J!”

“That’s right… are you really okay? I caught you right away.”

“Did you hit your head? Or is he just a strange person from the start?”

“I, I, I’m a fan. I’m a fan… and, our team members are also fans, and, the professor is also a fan…”

“Professor?”

The blue-haired young man’s eyes flashed. He whispered something in J’s ear with a mischievous face. J’s face, which had turned to him for a moment, turned to the maknae. The maknae was holding his hands together like a shy adolescent student. J, who had taken a moment to catch his breath, leaned his face in a little closer.

“Hey, do you work here?”

“Ugh, yes, yes! That’s right!”

“Ah… I see. Do you work in the laboratory by any chance?”

“How… how did you know? Can you see it?”

“I can tell at a glance. You look intellectual.”

“Really?”

He had only heard that he looked like a mountain bandit since puberty. A red blush rose on his face, which looked like a ferocious mountain bandit. Pfft, he thought he heard someone holding their breath for a moment, and then J said softly.

“I came to see Lee Sa-young Guild Master.”

“Yes, yes!”

“Do you think he came here?”

“I, I haven’t heard anything… but I can find out!”

“How? I’m curious.”

“I, I can ask my seniors… or there’s a training facility in the basement! You can find out by looking at the access records there! Even if it’s the Guild Master, he’ll leave a record!”

“Ah… can you show me? I have to meet him today.”

“Th, that’s…”

Is this okay? His last reason asked. However.

“Please, I’m begging you. Okay?”

The soft distorted voice blew away his last remaining reason. The maknae nodded frantically until his head almost fell off.

“O, of course! If it’s for J!”

The maknae hurriedly got up and immediately took out his cell phone. Haa, he thought he heard a sigh.

The researcher who looked like a mountain bandit managed to confirm that Lee Sa-young, Bae Won-woo, and a mysterious person existed in the access records. And he even guided them to the elevator to the basement, and even lent them his access card. He clung to J’s pants leg until the end.

“Please visit our laboratory once! There are many people who want to meet J!”

It was so hard to get him off. It was as sticky as a Kraken’s sucker. Mackerel, who had been choking until now, wiped away his tears.

“Ah… I thought I was going to die laughing. No, now that I see it, you also have a talent for honey traps? I was surprised because it was so natural.”

Eui-jae gritted his teeth and retorted.

“Be quiet.”

“Well, anyway, it worked out, right? If you make a loud noise, anyone will come out. And there will be ardent followers of Hyung among them.”

Mackerel, who was excited, started chattering. Eui-jae leaned against the corner of the elevator, which was blocked on all sides, and sighed. The elevator had been going down for a long time. The complex noise gradually decreases. Instead,

Squeak…

An ominous sound filled the space. Thump, thump, a small vibration is felt. The smile disappeared from Mackerel’s face. Just as he was about to say something, Eui-jae gagged him. And he focused on the sound.

Thwack, thwack, thwack.

The sound of piercing flesh and bone. Mixed in with that…

A small moan.

The veins in Eui-jae’s hand stood out.