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“And, you all. Our Yeonhu hyung is just a good person, so he meets you all as friends. Normally, he’s not someone you’d get to meet like this. As you know, hyung is now S-rank, right?”
“…No, well… So what? The guild is holding back promising rookies. From what I see, because of the China incident, the guild’s image has worsened, and the guild is busy managing the media. They say it’s resolved, but can we believe that?”
“Seems you don’t know that these days, when you mention Sahyeon Guild, everyone shakes their heads, that friend.”
At that, Baek Jiwun made a surprised face. He briefly covered his mouth with an “Oh my,” then blinked as if looking at cavemen, scanning the men up and down.
“Oh my… No, hyung-nims. Didn’t you see the news that broke an hour ago? We’re not a sinking ship anymore, you know?”
Baek Jiwun looked at the men who frowned as if asking what he meant, then took out his phone and opened the news section. He held the phone in front of them, showing the headlines displayed in large letters.
“Look, breaking news is up.”
The men fixed their eyes on the series of articles.
“See, public opinion has completely turned.”
Baek Jiwun, taking back his phone from the men who stared at the screen with dazed expressions, clicked on the top article and scrolled down, kindly showing the comment section in heated debate.
[By likes/Latest]
FTT***: Look at the flip-flop ㅋㅋㅋㅋ What a pathetic excuse for whatever they got caught on ㅋㅋㅋ Let’s get this highlighted ㅋㅋㅋ
kkk***: What the hell are they saying now?
349K***: Didn’t I tell you? ㅋㅋ Clearly Han*gyeom had something and dropped it! Those who didn’t believe me and laughed, get down and take your beating.
DI81***: No ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ They were just stomping on Sahyeon Guild and now this? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ If they’re this eager to admit fault, what did Han Do* bring? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
VENT***: I knew it… If we let them off, Korea becomes a pushover. Don’t let them off at all.
kte568***: So Sahyeon Guild was just a bodhisattva… Wow….
└ Keu Taeseongyeon
└ I know… That we didn’t even know this and the whole country insulted them, how unfairly treated they must have felt
soet99***: ? What nonsense is that? They barked and now they got scared and whimpered? Wow… How much did they look down on us to mess with Korea’s top 3 guilds?
As they watched, the men’s eyes wavered. At first they seemed lost for words, then their expressions turned bewildered. Just from the comments, it was clear that public opinion toward Sahyeon Guild had reversed. The men, who had been frowning and narrowing their eyes, realized that Beom Yeonhu was paying no attention to the topic, as if he had no interest. They let out hollow laughs.
“Uh, okay… Hey, cheer up. You’re going to a good guild and get a nice house, so what can we say? But don’t rely too much on your rank just because you’re S-rank. I don’t know how great S-rank is, but I’m saying this as a friend worrying about you, so don’t take it too badly.”
“Let’s go smoke a cigarette. I’m craving one since the alcohol kicked in… Ah, Yeonhu. Order some more drinks? You’ve got plenty of money, you’re not going to be stingy about ordering this, right?”
“Hey, but for old times’ sake, run a gate with us once in a while. I saw the snowy mountain video; boulders were popping out. I want to see that too.”
The men dawdled and got up, patting their pockets as they left the room. Only Kang Taesan, Beom Yeonhu, and Kim Seongyun remained.
Baek Jiwun cheered “Nice,” while Kim Seongyun glared at him with sharp eyes, as if asking why he was stirring up trouble. At that moment, a heavy remark passed over the table.
“Hunter Han Dokyeom.”
It was Kang Taesan. His gently curved, affectionate eyes looked at Dokyeom, who was chewing on raw fish. Dokyeom glanced at Kang Taesan and only answered after his mouth was empty.
“Please, speak.”
“Are you planning to live with Yeonhu?”
“We already live together.”
“Hmm… I see.”
Kang Taesan muttered to himself and then let out a low laugh again.
“I told you earlier that I wanted to meet you, Hunter Han. As it happens, I’ve been struggling with a terrible dilemma lately, but I had no one appropriate to confide in.”
“You seem to have many friends; you could grab one and talk it out. Why not?”
“I’d like to, but… it’s a problem concerning you, Hunter.”
At that, Beom Yeonhu’s eyes grew sharp. Like a hunting dog that had been sitting docilely by its master suddenly transforming before a beast, Yeonhu silently stared straight at Kang Taesan.
“Ah, me? If it’s about me… well, go ahead and say it. I’ll listen.”
“I’d like to, but it’s too lengthy to tell you everything. I wanted to hear your thoughts. How should I put it… When you can’t obtain something you want, what would you do, Hunter?”
“Hey, Taesan. Aren’t you being too serious here? You’re making a big deal. Stop that and let’s drink.”
Unable to watch, Kim Seongyun tried to intervene by thrusting a drink glass forward, but both Kang Taesan and Beom Yeonhu were immovable. Dokyeom had already encountered once before the twisted nature stuffed inside Kang Taesan’s core.
What Kang Taesan, who had witnessed Beom Yeonhu’s awakening with his own eyes, desired was nothing other than to become stronger himself. He was still living under the illusion that Dokyeom had the ability to make others grow.
“It seems you’re still misunderstanding my ability, Mr. Kang Taesan. Or maybe you’re jealous because someone else has something you don’t. But in that case, there’s usually no cure.”
“Hunter.”
“When I can’t have something I want? If it’s beyond my ability, I give up and let go. If it’s within my ability, I struggle for it no matter what. But even so…”
“…”
“It wouldn’t be you, Mr. Kang Taesan, would it?”
Kang Taesan was already an excellent hunter in his own right. It was just that there was something too huge in front of him, so he failed to see himself. If one looked only at him, he was an A-rank hunter with clear distinction from others, enough to earn fame.
He just couldn’t be satisfied. Because his eyes had been opened to envy, he had experienced too great a thrill and felt loss, evaluating himself shabbily, and that eventually became poison.
There was nothing Dokyeom could do for him here. Unfortunately, he had no intention of carrying that burden. Kang Taesan and Beom Yeonhu were like oil and water that should not be together.
For now, separating the two was the only measure Dokyeom could take for him.
“Hearing that makes me a bit disappointed.”
His eyes, stripped of laughter, felt all the more vivid. Kang Taesan stared at Dokyeom for a while, his lips pressed together without expression. But then he clenched his molars once and spoke again.
“Still, Hunter. It probably won’t go as you think.”
Suddenly, voices rose from outside the door. It seemed those who had left were returning. The door slid open and people stepped into the room.
While the friends returned to their seats, Kang Taesan merely smiled, pale and thin.
“I didn’t know myself, but it turns out I’m more greedy than I thought.”
His eyes were like a wildcat’s. Pure malice that seemed ready to break whatever it held lurked within. Dokyeom stared at him, picked up a drink, and poured it into a glass.
“Yes, then I’ll have to take it to heart. It’s advice you personally gave me, after all.”
The drink went down his throat in one go. Cool. And stinging.
***
When Baek Jiwun opened his eyes, the sun was already high in the sky. Scratching his messy hair, he looked down at his ridiculous state. He was still in yesterday’s clothes, sprawled on the floor instead of the sofa, looking just like a homeless person.
What time had he come in yesterday? He remembered drinking heavily, but nothing after that. His stomach was sour, and his head was ringing and throbbing as if someone was beating a gong.
“I must have been crazy. Why did I insist on opening that whiskey there…!”
He couldn’t even remember what time he came in. He had freeloaded until his arms were tired, and even blacked out. But the maddening thing was,
“You awake?”
This was the hotel where Dokyeom was staying.
Baek Jiwun snapped his head toward the voice. Beom Yeonhu, who had been preparing food in the kitchen, looked back at him with a clear face. Only then did Baek Jiwun let out a sigh.
“Hyung, really… You drank that much, why are you the only one fine? What about Dokyeom hyung? Is he okay?”
“Dokyeom is still sleeping. He was groaning, so I gave him a hangover remedy and put him back to sleep… But looking at the time, he should be waking up soon.”
Checking the clock, it was 2 PM. He must have slept like a log. Baek Jiwun rubbed his stiff shoulders, picked up his phone, and headed toward the table. As he poured cold water into a cup, he unlocked his phone to check the notifications that had been buzzing all night.
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