Chapter 31: The Price of Disturbance

The driver performed a maneuver of a lifetime, expertly steadying the wobbling vehicle. Lee Hyun-su pressed a hand to his wildly beating heart and cried out.

“Are you insane?!”

‘Why is he having a fit all of a sudden?!’

Sagyeol covered his mouth with his hand.

“Yes. I really am insane….”

The cheek visible above his hand was slightly flushed. However, his complexion was hardly the most pressing concern. He had asked if Sagyeol was insane, and Sagyeol had readily admitted it.

This man must have truly lost his mind. Lee Hyun-su was aghast. More flustered than ever before, he asked.

“Wh-what’s wrong? You’re not, perhaps, suffering from a terminal illness, are you?!”

“What nonsense.”

Sagyeol retorted coolly, then sharply turned his head. Still covering his mouth with his hand, he stared intently at the scenery outside the window.

Then, as if remembering something, he reactivated his device, captured a screen, and propped his chin against the window, feigning indifference. Beside him, as he dramatically posed, the inner wall of the car was caved in, shaped like a fist.

“Hah.”

Lee Hyun-su’s lungs finally let out a hollow puff of air.

“Hey! Everyone, let’s eat first!”

“Yes!”

“Cheol-su, convenience store lunchbox again today?”

Yeowon nodded at Park Myeong-seok’s question. Two convenience store lunchboxes. Unless something unusual occurred, Yeowon’s meals, both lunch and dinner, were always the same.

“Let’s go eat together. I’ll treat you.”

“Oh, then buy me one too!”

The most senior worker after Park Myeong-seok eagerly raised his hand.

“You inconsiderate fool!”

“Ah, just be quiet.”

Other laborers rushed in from both sides, each seizing an arm of the senior worker and dragging him away.

“But what did I do wrong—”

The man protested, but no one listened.

“It’s fine.”

Yeowon politely declined, bowed his head, and walked away. He bought a lunchbox from a nearby convenience store and settled at one of the plastic tables outside.

With just a few movements of his chopsticks, the lunchbox was empty. He tidied his spot without hesitation and stood up.

Yeowon was the first to return to the site. During the remaining time, he looked at his device.

Unlike most people these days, he rarely touched his device. The laborers, returning with full bellies, witnessed the scene and began to whisper.

“Didn’t he finally do it?”

“Do what?”

“Oh, you know. *Him*! The new Section Chief!”

“True. With that sly fox as an opponent… he lasted quite a while.”

Park Myeong-seok flared up in anger.

“Our Cheol-su wouldn’t do such a thing!”

“Whoa, you scared me. Almost had a heart attack.”

“…More importantly, since when was Cheol-su Foreman Park’s kid?”

Park Myeong-seok raged like a dwarf gorilla. The terrified laborers scattered in all directions, like a school of fish encountering a whale. The commotion reached Yeowon as well.

Normally, he would have at least glanced over. Now, however, his entire attention was fixed on his device.

‘No reply yet.’

While Sagyeol sent over 200 messages, Yeowon never once replied. ‘It would be shameless to feel hurt about it now.’

In truth, it didn’t matter if a reply never came. He raised a hand to cover his ear. A fingernail-sized tattoo appeared on his earlobe.

From a distance, it could easily be mistaken for a piercing. Simultaneously, two voices alternated in his ear.

[I’ve summarized today’s meeting agenda here, so please take a look beforehand.]

[Just open your eyes and skim it, I’m telling you.]

[Sagyeol-nim. Guild Master-nim. Excuse me. …Hey.]

[Hey?]

[No. Why only at ‘hey’… I apologize. My mistake.]

The sounds echoed as if heard underwater, but he had no trouble understanding. The conversation on the other end didn’t last long.

Beyond the subtle vibrations of the car and the engine’s hum, nothing else was audible. It was strangely similar to a movie theater.

“……”

Yeowon’s heart, recalling that moment, fluttered wildly again. He knew what that act was.

No, he *only* knew it. He had never even seen anyone else do it; his knowledge was purely theoretical. Experiencing it firsthand, however, was entirely different.

It was sticky, hot, and strangely pulled at his lower abdomen.

[Welcome, Credit Guild Master. I will guide you to the conference room.]

A prim female voice cut through his thoughts. Given the considerable murmuring around, it seemed like a crowded place. But ‘Credit Guild Master’?

‘His words back then weren’t a joke.’

He tried to suppress the chill that settled in his chest. ‘There must be some reason. It can’t be because of me.’

Yeowon repeated this to himself. He wanted to believe it. Throughout the ‘movie’, the magic stone tumbled around in his pocket.

He had kept touching it, unable to settle down for some reason. Even when Sagyeol had lunged in for a kiss, he was clutching the magic stone.

The unfamiliar sexual stimulation had left him utterly disoriented. When he finally came to his senses, he realized he had instinctively wrapped his arms around Sagyeol’s neck.

The magic stone, which he had been holding the entire time, had seeped into the collar of Sagyeol’s coat. Now, if he wished, he could hear Sagyeol’s voice and all the sounds around him.

‘If it wasn’t, I should just be honest and apologize.’

As Yeowon thought this, his body suddenly stiffened.

‘What if he says he doesn’t like people who do such things anymore?’

*Beep-beep.*

His body, which had been creaking as if broken, shook violently. He reflexively pressed his device.

It was only after pressing it that he realized it wasn’t a text notification.

[To pick up so quickly. That’s unusual.]

“……”

It was the informant. As he immediately fell silent, the informant, who was uncannily perceptive, chuckled.

[You wouldn’t be worried about me… Ah, could it be you were waiting for a call? From whom? A lover?]

“We’re not dating.”

The man had confessed, but he hadn’t accepted. So, they weren’t dating. His already unsteady heart pounded even harder.

Yeowon added, almost without thinking.

“Not yet.”

The informant, understanding his meaning, burst into loud laughter.

[Hahaha! I didn’t take you for the type, but you’re quite something.]

“……”

[Ahem, let’s continue from where we left off. About that son, it’s actually quite a famous story. Have you ever heard of the Credit Guild?]

In most cities, the Hunter Association was located in the city center. There were two reasons for this. One was to respond swiftly no matter where a Gate opened in the city, and the other was its symbolic meaning.

It conveyed the message that as long as this tall, imposing building stood, the city would remain peaceful. Grisha’s Hunter Association, however, was skewed towards the western part of the city.

It wasn’t that they were rebels who built such a massive structure in a city corner. Twenty years ago, this very spot had been the heart of Grisha.

The catastrophe of that day was beyond human control. Half of the metropolis was helplessly swept away. The Association was powerless.

No matter how hard they tried, protecting merely half the city was their limit. Even that meager achievement came with countless sacrifices.

For their survival, they cut off the encroached parts. Instead, after the tide of monsters subsided, they erected another circular barrier beyond the eastern bulkhead, furthest from the monster-infested zone.

Calling it a bulkhead was an understatement; it was the construction of an entirely new city. Upon its completion, the middle section of the adjoining bulkheads was opened, connecting it to the original city.

Thus, Grisha transformed from a beautiful, massive circular city into a ‘city shaped like a distorted gourd’. All because of that damned monster zone.

“No matter how many times I see those trees, they always disgust me. I just want to burn them all down.”

“I usually want to object out of habit, but I agree with that sentiment.”

“What? How unpleasant.”

“……”

‘No. Even when I agree with you.’

The glass elevator swiftly ascended. Beyond the slums, shaded by the Association building, lay the colossal bulkhead, and beyond that, the monster-infested zone teeming with creatures.

Groooowl.

A long-necked, dinosaur-like monster surged from amidst the dark blue-green foliage. It held a beast-type monster clamped in its jaws.

The dying monster, spraying blood, vanished down the beast’s gullet. Having finished its meal, the creature submerged itself once more among the dense trees.

Tens of thousands of leaves rustled. It was as if waves were crashing. The dark blue-green, shimmering sea of trees writhed like a living organism.

He witnessed this sight almost daily. Each time he saw it, Sagyeol was reminded of the purpose that lay dormant deep within him.

Thanks to the monster-infested zone, which had remained unchanged for twenty years, his memories neither faded nor were forgotten.

Ding.

The elevator stopped on the designated floor. As the doors opened, a short hallway appeared. White walls lined both sides.

There was only one door, directly opposite. Two hulking figures guarding the entrance bowed at the sight of Sagyeol.

Sagyeol, ignoring them, strode down the corridor with long steps. A bodyguard opened the door. Inside was a massive conference room.

A sprawling, circular conference table was densely packed with seats. Sagyeol surveyed the room and took an empty seat. Lee Hyun-su sat beside him.

To put it kindly, he was a secretary and bodyguard; in truth, he was an annoying hanger-on, following Sagyeol everywhere like a goldfish’s waste. Yet, his official title within the guild was Vice Guild Master.

Sagyeol chuckled at Lee Hyun-su, who wore an uncharacteristically serious expression, then cast his gaze upon several people. As soon as their eyes met, they recoiled in fright, either bowing their heads or looking away into the distance.

These were clearly the ones who either knew about Hestia’s foolish schemes or at least suspected them. Sagyeol smiled brightly—

“You’re all quite insane, aren’t you?”

—and then proceeded to cause a ruckus.

“What do you think you’ve done right, sitting there all important? Where’s Bae Gil-su! Tell Bae Gil-su to come out right now!!”

“Aargh!”

“That crazy bastard!”

“Hey! Grab him! Stop him!”

The floor and walls froze, and dozens of ice blades shot up into the air. Those who belatedly regained their senses and tried to intervene were seized by their collars and flung against the walls.

Lee Hyun-su, with a look of enlightenment, maintained his calm, upright posture. Around him, the Association’s executives and the masters of major guilds were sent flying.

As Sagyeol snarled and rampaged like a beast, his eyes caught sight of Hestia Guild’s Vice Guild Master, who was trying to escape by crawling low.

Flames sparked in his frozen eyes.

“The Guild Master himself should be here bowing his head, and instead, the Vice Guild Master crawls out for such a trivial matter?!”

‘Perhaps he knew you’d be like this and didn’t come.’

Though unspoken, everyone shared the same thought. The targeted Vice Guild Master frantically waved his hands.

“W-wait.”

“Wait for nothing. Get over here, you bastard!”

Crash!

Thud!

A burly man, nearly forty, tried to resist belatedly, but it was futile. Sagyeol swung his hand.

The Hestia Vice Guild Master, who had charged forward wreathed in flames, was flung to the opposite side and slammed into the wall. His slumped form remained motionless.

Even seeing the man disgracefully unconscious, Sagyeol’s anger did not subside. To think he had to come all the way here, leaving his returnee, who was sending him adorable messages, for such insignificant matters.

Ice was practically erupting from the top of his head. Sagyeol looked around at the faces present and warned them with genuine sincerity.

“If you interrupt me again with such trivialities.”

‘It won’t end like this next time.’

Blood drained from the faces of the now-tattered executives.