Chapter 39: The Hundred-Year Contract

A cacophony of shattering sounds erupted, followed by a frantic scream from the speakerphone.

At that very instant, camera shutters began to fire endlessly from every direction.

When the barrage of clicks finally ceased, the initial whimpers had escalated into desperate cries.

[They keep trying to force a lifelong passion-pay contract, demanding a master-servant relationship, ahhh! Taeseongyeon, please save me! There are many other hunters trapped here besides me!]

[Hey, you damn bastards! Why aren’t you catching them faster?! Get rid of those punks first! What makes them think they can stand in the way and cause such a ruckus?!]

Utter pandemonium reigned in that place.

No Daesik switched on his recorder, capturing the unfolding chaos.

Indeed, some had already started recording the moment the speakerphone blared to life.

Until now, Taeseongyeon had remained silently composed.

He began to tap his fingertips rhythmically on the desk, then finally spoke.

His deep voice, languid yet captivating, was soothingly calm.

“Dokyeom, where did you leave that Dagon bastard?”

[Ah, they didn’t come with me.]

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a loud, guttural growl echoed from somewhere.

No Daesik’s eyes widened in alarm.

‘What was that growling? What on earth does he have with him?’

At the response, Taeseongyeon let out a low chuckle.

Many reporters captured his expression through their camera lenses.

[Taeseongyeon, your laugh right now… Ugh, I was so startled! No, don’t throw the chair! Just put it down… Ha, they’re not listening at all.]

Immediately after, a whooshing sound was followed by something loudly crashing and breaking.

The voice on the line then fell silent for a moment.

Only belatedly did gasping breaths resume through the speakerphone.

[Haaah, haaah… No, Taeseongyeon! I’m going to die! Everyone here is trying to grab me. They’re trying to make me put my thumbprint on something, you know?]

‘Is he talking about a thumbprint seal? An illegal contract, then?’

Reporters, quick to catch on, swiftly began publishing internet articles, pairing the news with sensational headlines and press releases.

It was precisely then that someone smiled contentedly, watching the rapidly climbing view counts.

Taeseongyeon slowly called out to the person, his voice a lingering whisper.

“So, Dokyeom.”

A gentle, crescent-moon smile curved on Taeseongyeon’s face, his eyes crinkling.

Reporters swallowed hard, tenaciously awaiting his next words.

A moment later, as his tapping fingertips shattered the glass, Taeseongyeon softly whispered within the briefing room, now filled with the explosion of camera shutters:

“You have to tell me where it is, so I can go, right?”

His eyes, usually sharp, were curved in a tender expression.

****

For a while, the news cycle had been saturated with the “Red Gate” incident.

Then, a fresh topic of conversation appeared like a comet, bursting onto the scene.

It was a godsend for news agencies, akin to a ray of light, appearing just as public interest in “Red Gate” articles began to wane.

The articles shifted their focus, not on the Sahyeon Guild’s “Red Gate” briefing, but on the “Guerrilla Incident” that unfolded like a broadcast mishap.

As a result, the main news sections of portal sites were inundated with a flood of articles, each sporting provocative headlines.

[‘Taeseongyeon’]

[‘Briefing’]

[‘To Taeseongyeon’]

Articles featuring videos with recorded transcripts garnered over a thousand comments.

Remarkably, these videos achieved viral status, being randomly re-uploaded to ‘NewTube,’ the largest video-sharing platform.

The continuous stream of comments also became a significant talking point.

[Comments]

[Recommended/Newest]

EFG***: What was that growling sound? lol

dd23***: Alright, Dokyeom. Grandma will play along. lololol

허니***: No, he was sobbing, then suddenly, “Ah, they didn’t come with me.” Why was that one line so clear? lololol

나가리***: He was crying, then suddenly?

사아***: LOL Taeseongyeon with the sudden speakerphone? And he made it work again lol

hh1***: Nope, not a coincidence. It was staged~

멸멸***: Are you crazy lololol Dokyeom, let’s not try acting again lolololol

기레기멸종***: Worry about yourselves, you trash reporters.

비나이다***: Don’t you all have anything better to do than seek attention here?

순수***: Wow, that person pulled off an undercover investigation that neither the police nor the Association could manage lololol. Shouldn’t the government give them something?

dkfhd***: Seriously, what was the Association doing while that one delinquent guild was running wild? This is messed up.

다다룩***: Did you see Taeseongyeon’s laugh lololol? It was like he found it adorably pathetic lololol. Who are you?! lol

사ee***: Why does the desperation disappear towards the end? lol Are you really in danger? lolol

길RLF***: That person’s E-rank hunter ID was leaked from the Association, so why is everyone rushing him like a pack of dogs? lol

왈왈***: lololol Trash reporters, is the sound of a dog barking important to you right now? As if you weren’t trash reporters already, look at your headline quality. ‘Dog barking ringtone’ – wow, are you guys having a boring competition?

[View More]

People were captivated by the comet-like topic, reacting with excitement, bewilderment, mockery, and shared indignation.

This uproar also paved the way for the illegal contract scandal, which the Association had handled indifferently, to finally surface.

Consequently, excessive attention was showered upon the E-rank hunter who had inadvertently exposed it all.

Naturally, the E-rank hunter himself had no way of knowing any of this.

The first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was Taeseongyeon.

“Dokyeom, time to sign, isn’t it?”

“……”

‘This feels like… a s*ave contract.’

Inside a serene, sun-drenched office that exuded a midday tranquility, Taeseongyeon rested his chin languidly in his hand, facing Dokyeom.

On the impeccably smooth, dust-free table lay a pristine white sheet of paper.

It was a guild membership contract.

Just ten minutes prior, Dokyeom had been dragged by guild staff directly from his hotel bed, without even a chance to properly wash.

Upon arriving at the representative’s office, Taeseongyeon had offered him a dark, coffee-like drink, along with the crisp white paper.

“We made a promise when we had dinner, so there shouldn’t be any issues. All the conditions you wanted, Han Dokyeom, have been accommodated, so just sign it. If you have any objections, speak now.”

A favor, naturally, came with a price.

On the day Dokyeom had treated Taeseongyeon to a meal, Taeseongyeon had proposed a payment for Dokyeom’s request to expedite the briefing.

That payment for the transaction was precisely this ‘guild contract.’

Since it was already a promise, there was no backing out.

Even looking at the details rather than the whole picture, Taeseongyeon’s offer felt less like a transaction and more like ‘convenience and special treatment.’

That was why Dokyeom had so boldly agreed at the time…

The contract period was one hundred years.

‘Is he insane?’

“No, Taeseongyeon. The contract period is…”

“Han Dokyeom, I told you I couldn’t compromise on that part.”

Dokyeom ultimately let out a fading sigh, running his hands over his face.

As fate would have it, during that private moment when they were accepting each other’s terms, Taeseongyeon had said something with a smiling face.

Looking back now, that very statement had been a trap.

‘Instead, let’s just add one clause that I want to the contract. It won’t particularly harm you, Han Dokyeom.’

‘Yes… well, alright. As long as it’s not something like fishing.’

It was too late to retract anything now; every aspect of the situation had already been finalized by Taeseongyeon.

Not only had he raided the scene of the incident, but Taeseongyeon had also successfully leveraged his guild’s influence to ignite public interest in the illegal contract case.

His boast that he could create a sensation was no idle claim.

‘…Did they say I woke up after two days?’

Dokyeom had opened his eyes this very morning, two days after the incident.

The reason was simple: he had violated a clause in the contract he signed with the ‘Gwangmyeong Guild.’

That day, when Dokyeom had examined the laminated paper with ‘specific words’ written on it in the Gwangmyeong Guild office, a sentence had already formed in his mind, devoid of the ‘instant death words.’

There were clear limits to the words the middle-aged man could use to inflict ‘punishment’ for contract non-compliance.

These included ‘tribute, membership fees, contract, penalty, fraud, report, coercion, threat, murder,’ and even the name ‘Gwangmyeong Guild’ itself.

These were words that carried an instant death penalty if written or spoken.

Furthermore, if one subtly alluded to the contract or exposed the true nature of the Gwangmyeong Guild to others, a ‘price’ would be exacted: one’s toes would slowly rot away, leading to death.

This stipulation seemed to be aimed directly at Dokyeom.

Even though he had anticipated the agony, the moment Dokyeom hung up the phone with Taeseongyeon, he had to gasp for breath, clutching his rotting toes.

It was horrific.

Cold sweat poured down him like rain, and his vision flickered, repeatedly showing him scenes that made him wonder if he was staring at the River Styx.

The office had long been reduced to a ruin, thanks to Agon and the frantic struggles of three lower-rank hunters.

All the furniture was overturned and shattered, while objects and papers flew wildly through the air.

Of course, Dokyeom’s words had significantly contributed to this outcome.

What he had told the lower-rank hunters before leaving the hotel had undoubtedly incited them.

‘When I start the call, protect me no matter what. The moment that call ends, everything will have changed.’

The hunters had realized that this meant a breach of contract.

Even as they left the hotel and made their way to the office, they deliberated, trying to ascertain the truth of his words.

Ultimately, despite their unease about the impending repercussions, they solidified their resolve to fight back.

This was the situation that had been created as a result.