By Zephyria A leader in the concept of the Hunter era. The advertising model for CyC, a Hunter-exclusive dye made from Dungeon byproducts, Honeybee, Korea’s 5th-ranked Hunter. She was at a Hanover Soup Restaurant, fluttering her glossy, bleached blonde hair while providing fan service.
Eui-jae, possessed by an ordinary person who met a star Hunter, responded with sincerity, and other Hunters who were watching also followed him and applauded.
Honeybee withdrew her fierce aura and bowed politely.
“You were a fan of mine. I’m so sorry. Were you surprised by my sudden intrusion?”
“No, it’s okay.”
“No, I’m really sorry. I lost control of my temper for a moment….”
Her face, smiling and laughing while facing Eui-jae, clearly had an elegant smile, but the Hunters’ spooning speed was gradually increasing. An familiar voice squeezed in through the clattering noise.
“Who parked their motorcycle like this? Ugh.”
Everyone’s attention turned to the newly appeared person. Bae Won-woo was blinking, holding Honeybee’s motorcycle high above his head. Honeybee was shocked.
“Crazy, put that down now!”
“Honeybee? What are you doing here?”
“First, put my baby down and then we’ll talk.”
“Is this your precious horse? If you’re going to park, you should do it properly. How can you block the door?”
Bae Won-woo grumbled and gently placed the motorcycle to the side. Honeybee, who was holding her forehead and sighing in relief, suddenly raised her head.
“Hey, Shield Guy. Are you alone? Where’s Lee Sa-young.”
Shield Guy Bae Won-woo, who became the manliest of men and the guyest of guys after getting his Hunter name wrong, shuddered.
“Ah, don’t call me by my Hunter name. Please, just call me by my name.”
“Where’s Sa-young? Didn’t he come with you?”
“Huh? Sa-young? I don’t know. Why are you looking for him?”
Bae Won-woo asked with a bewildered expression. Instead of answering, Honeybee quickly looked around. It was rare to witness the conversation of top 10 Hunters, so the other Hunters were perking up their ears and eavesdropping on the conversation. However, when Honeybee scattered a sharp look, they began to pretend to be doing other things.
At that moment, a thunderous rumbling sound echoed through the store. Bae Won-woo rubbed his stomach and muttered pitifully.
“I’m curious about your story, but can’t we order first and then talk?”
“…Ha, okay. I need to cool down a bit first.”
Honeybee fanned herself. Just in time, two Hunters who had finished their Hangover Soup threw 30,000 won on the counter and hurriedly ran out. Bae Won-woo skillfully took the dishcloth on the counter and shook it at Eui-jae.
“I’ll clean up and sit down. One Hangover Soup with lots of Cheongyang chili peppers. Honeybee, what do you want to eat?”
“What do you have here?”
“Hangover Soup.”
“…Is there only Hangover Soup?”
“Yeah. But it’s delicious.”
Bae Won-woo gave a bright smile and gave a thumbs up. Honeybee, holding her forehead and shaking her head, answered as if she couldn’t help it.
“Then I’ll have Hangover Soup too.”
“Okay.”
Bae Won-woo made a V sign towards Eui-jae. Eui-jae also made an okay sign with his hand and then filled the empty bowl with kimchi and radish kimchi. Bae Won-woo, who diligently set the spoons and even brought water, clapped his hands.
“Now, tell me. Why are you looking for Sa-young? What did he do this time?”
Honeybee looked around once again and then gestured for Bae Won-woo to come closer. He lowered his head and put his ear close. Honeybee cupped her hands and whispered.
“You know about the Mana Stone that was posted on Tomato Market, right?”
Of course, Eui-jae could hear everything. Another Mana Stone. He was getting sick and tired of hearing about Mana Stones from everyone who came. Eui-jae lit the fire under the earthenware pot. Bae Won-woo also whispered quietly.
“Yeah. I know.”
“I really, really need that Mana Stone, okay?”
“Huh? That much?”
“Hong Ye-seong will make a weapon if you bring it to him. I really need an S-Class Weapon.”
“Ah… right. Your old weapon broke, didn’t it?”
“Yeah. Besides, the System rankings are about to be updated. Find the Mana Stone for Hong Ye-seong, commission him to make my exclusive S-Class Weapon, and beat Gyu-Gyu during the ranking update. That’s my perfect plan.”
Gyu-Gyu was the Ranker right above her. She, too, had come to this Hanover Soup Restaurant with the same grand ambitions as everyone else. Eui-jae resolved to punch Hong Ye-seong one day when he met him in person. For reference, Hong Ye-seong was still uploading posts on Inhart once a day, longing for the Mana Stone.
Bae Won-woo nodded with a dubious look.
“Well, let’s say that’s all true. But why are you looking for Lee Sa-young?”
“Because that crazy bastard blocked all the sources where information could come out!”
Bang! Honeybee slammed her fist down. Fortunately, just before her hand hit the table, Bae Won-woo quickly stretched out his palm and took the punch instead. Eui-jae, who was startled by the bang and looked outside, confirmed that Bae Won-woo had saved the table. Bae Won-woo gave Eui-jae a thumbs up.
‘Crazy, these days tankers even protect property.’
Eui-jae put another bone with plenty of meat on Bae Won-woo’s earthenware pot.
Honeybee took a deep breath and asked.
“Is the table broken?”
“No, I blocked it well.”
“Thank you. Anyway, until a few days ago, information was circulating discreetly, you know?”
To summarize Honeybee’s rambling words that followed:
EZ suddenly posted a Mana Stone on Tomato Market and deleted it before running away. If it had ended there, it would have been a simple happening, but the best Artisan Hong Ye-seong offered a commission for equipment production as a reward, and the matter grew like a mountain.
Hong Ye-seong’s equipment production commission! Isn’t that a non-sale item that you can’t get even if you pay tens of billions?
Hunters aiming for a fortune gathered like ants and began to track EZ, and Honeybee, who had recently lost her precious weapon, also joined the anonymous tracking team, aiming for the commission. That’s how they formed a tracking team, sharing information and working together.
Honeybee tore at her golden hair.
“After enlarging and correcting that Mana Stone, we checked if there was anything reflected in it, commissioned a photo analysis to find out the phone model, compared the newspaper content in the background of the Mana Stone to find out which newspaper it was, and we were really tearing that one photo apart in nano units and tracking it through all sorts of routes.”
‘…That much?’
Eui-jae, who had been listening quietly, was unknowingly sweating. It was the first time he had been so scared of the dazzling development of technology. And he was also scared of the Hunters’ obsession. Bae Won-woo also looked a bit tired.
“…That much?”
He said what Eui-jae was about to say. Honeybee groaned and collapsed on the table with a thud. This time, before her head hit the table, Bae Won-woo quickly reached out and supported her head. Not to protect her head, but to protect the table.
Eui-jae decided to give Bae Won-woo an extra bowl of rice as a service.
“But! From a few days ago, that kind of talk completely stopped. It’s not like they all went into a Dungeon together! The tracking team also became quiet one by one. So I asked. If anything happened recently.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you know what they said? They said they would withdraw from this matter. Those kids who were so passionate!”
“Oh dear.”
“So I kept asking what happened. Then they barely said that the Wave Guild’s legal team had contacted them. To stop tracking EZ.”
“What? Our Guild?”
Bae Won-woo seemed to be hearing this for the first time. Honeybee messed up her hair and muttered gloomily.
“I kept poking at them, but they only talked up to that point. Whether they were silenced or something…. But you wouldn’t do that kind of thing. Then the only one left is Lee Sa-young.”
“That’s… true.”
“Lee Sa-young doesn’t meet people easily…. So I can’t ask him.”
He wanted to get more information from their story, but if he waited any longer, the Hangover Soup broth would all dry up. Eui-jae put two hot earthenware pots, two bowls of rice, kimchi, radish kimchi, and chopped Cheongyang chili peppers on a tray and went out.
Just in time, Honeybee was burying her head, and Bae Won-woo was staring blankly into the air.
“No, what’s the connection between EZ and our Guild?”
Eui-jae answered inwardly to Bae Won-woo’s dazed muttering. It’s not related to the Guild, it’s a bit related to Lee Sa-young…. Eui-jae quickly put down the Hangover Soup so that Bae Won-woo’s thoughts wouldn’t go any further.
“Hangover Soup is here.”
“Ah! Thank you. …Huh? We didn’t order rice.”
Bae Won-woo looked at Eui-jae with a dazed expression. Eui-jae put the tray under his arm and replied nonchalantly.
“It’s on the house.”
Dazed face filled with gratitude, emotion, and stuff like that. Honeybee, who had been burying her head and groaning, also quickly raised her head. Eui-jae coolly turned around and returned to the kitchen.
After giving them the Hangover Soup, only small murmurs could be heard now. Get information and regain peace with just a small service. It’s so easy. Eui-jae finished the piled-up dishes and skillfully handled Bae Won-woo and Honeybee’s additional orders.
A little later, Bae Won-woo waved his hand at the counter.
“Part-timer! Check, please!”
“Yes. 90,000 won.”
After finishing the calculation and returning the card, Honeybee suddenly handed over something rolled up.
“What… is this?”
“Open it.”
Eui-jae carefully unfolded the paper he received so that it wouldn’t be crumpled. It was Honeybee’s poster. A signed poster with a large signature on one corner. It would be the best merchandise for her fans. However, Eui-jae’s expression changed subtly for a moment.
‘Why are you giving me this?’
And where did she suddenly get this poster from? She definitely didn’t have it when she appeared so flamboyantly. She cleared her throat with a somehow pleased face.
“I saw earlier that everyone had signatures on the wall, right?”
“Ah, yes.”
“It’s a gift. Put mine up too.”
Eui-jae almost stared at Honeybee with a sullen face, but realizing that he wasn’t wearing a poker face right now, he had to raise the corners of his mouth and smile as much as possible.