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The nearest gate to the guild was a mere ten-minute walk away. Han Dokyeom recalled the information printed on the sheet and navigated the streets accordingly.
“I really must acquire a phone soon; continually postponing it is truly insufferable.”
The two days without a phone felt, experientially, like an eternity. During that time, Dokyeom had been rising and acting almost purely on instinct, much like a chicken.
The ease of accessing news at will via his phone was now replaced by the rigid schedule of television broadcasts, an inconvenience that grated on him immensely. Not being able to contact Beom Yeonhu was an added frustration.
He secretly hoped that neither Han Yuseong nor Beom Yeonhu had tried to reach him in the interim. If he had known this would happen, he would have memorized Beom Yeonhu’s number somehow.
As Dokyeom clicked his tongue in exasperation, a vacant lot suddenly entered the periphery of his vision. A crowd, busy packing mobilized equipment, filled the space, reminiscent of a gate operation site.
It was the first gate.
Dokyeom glanced around, then approached the post-operation workers. He presented his Sahyeon Guild Hunter ID, explaining casually that he was there for supervision and inspection.
Under that pretense, he discreetly reviewed the roster of attackers.
‘Not here,’ he thought.
Low-level gates required frequent clearing, at least twice a week due to their short attack cycle. Today, three gates were scheduled for attack.
Now, only two remained. One wouldn’t be accessible until the day after tomorrow, meaning if he didn’t find what he sought at the remaining gate today, his efforts would be in vain.
“Well then, keep up the good work.”
“You too, please come in,” the post-operation workers replied, returning his greeting.
Turning his back on them, Dokyeom, accompanied by Dal and Agon, diligently walked on. Approximately twenty minutes later, the second gate appeared.
However, Beom Yeonhu’s name was absent from that list as well.
“…Had he perhaps overreached?”
A thought began to gnaw at him. A nagging suspicion that he might have viewed Lee Sanghyeon with excessive malice.
Dokyeom pulled a bottle of water from his inventory and gulped it down. Just as he felt his throat adequately moistened, the third and final gate materialized before him.
Unlike the others, this one had already been cleared, and post-operation workers were actively loading items into the gate.
The surroundings buzzed with activity. Dokyeom stood nearby, scanning the area around the gate. What appeared to be the attack team sat slumped in a corner, sweating profusely, exhausted.
Their builds were all remarkably similar, and, as expected, none bore any resemblance to Beom Yeonhu.
‘Should I just go ask Instructor Lee Sanghyeon directly?’
Gulp, gulp—
Dokyeom drained the remaining half of his water bottle, tossed the empty into a nearby trash can, and wiped the water from his lips with the back of his hand. He was on the verge of turning away, a profound sense of futility settling over him.
“So, are we going home empty-handed again today? Hey, are you kidding me?!”
Suddenly, a volley of enraged shouts erupted from somewhere nearby. Dokyeom’s gaze drifted to a tree’s shadow stretching across one side. Three figures stood there, seemingly rooted to the spot within the shadow, engaged in what appeared to be a heated three-way confrontation.
“Hmph, this one’s quite something. There’s just no reasoning with them.”
“There’s no point in talking when your words lack all reason. How many times has this happened? I think it’s high time you stopped your schemes of siphoning off our hard-earned money. What exactly gives you such audacity? Sir, don’t you understand that treating people like expendable tools, without even a single word of appreciation, is the behavior of curs? You’re truly making us feel utterly worthless.”
“What, you brat, calling me a cur? I took pity on your plight and gave you work, and now you’re spewing curses and flaunting your lack of upbringing?! But what can I do? Do you truly believe I haven’t dealt with types like you before? Do you think I’m unaware of your schemes to leech off the Sahyeon Guild? You think you’re destined for greatness just by waiting for scraps?”
Dokyeom’s mind reeled, struggling to comprehend the unfolding scene. For a moment, he could only stare blankly at the people exchanging insults, their argument escalating.
It was because, of all people, Beom Yeonhu was there.
He stood with a grim expression, a look of distress on his face, trying to restrain his friend.
“Seongyun, I’ll handle it… Just stop.”
“Handle what, you naive idiot! If you actually intended to handle it, would we be suffering like this for weeks? You’re starving because you haven’t earned a penny, yet you have the pride to act tough? What did I tell you? I clearly told you to properly investigate the Sahyeon Guild before taking work from them!
But what did you say? You dismissed my nagging, saying it wouldn’t be like that this time! Is this the result? How can you always…!”
“Seongyun, stop. Just stop. I told you it’s not like that.”
Beom Yeonhu, who had once appeared as a flawless, vibrant being, now looked gaunt and withered, as if sculpted by a cruel blade.
The work clothes he donned for each gate expedition were shabbier than ever, and his friend’s gaze, observing him, was filled with a profound sense of his wretched state.
“Oh, you’re all so terribly privileged. If you find it so distasteful, then just sever ties, won’t you? Do you truly believe everyone here secured their position with preferential treatment from the outset? We are the ones who started from the very bottom, first accumulating experience and enduring all manner of bullying to ascend to this very spot.”
“No, but you force us to lead the attacks, then you just lurk in the background, enjoying yourselves, only to emerge later to collect the profits. Why on earth are you masquerading as victims? I fail to understand why you insist on shifting your own grievances and unfair treatment onto us!”
Beom Yeonhu’s friend, who had seemed to be retreating, now stepped forward again, his eyes bloodshot and veins bulging in his neck. Yet, the manager remained utterly unfazed by his outburst.
“If you’re so unjustly treated, then go whine to the Association. Do you truly believe they’ll take your side after hearing your story? If I’d encountered any problems doing this for years, I would have already washed my hands of it, you brats. I wonder if you even comprehend that this is a long-standing custom of the Sahyeon Guild?”
“That’s the first I’m hearing of it being a Sahyeon Guild custom.”
At the sound of a voice from an unexpected direction, the three men instinctively turned their heads. Beom Yeonhu’s eyes, witnessing the figure stepping over the grass and descending from the flowerbed, wavered with a profound sense of disorientation.
Conversely, Beom Yeonhu’s friend immediately glared upon recognizing Dokyeom, while the manager raised an eyebrow, scrutinizing Dokyeom from head to toe as if to ask, ‘Who is this person?’
“And who are you to interfere in our business here?”
“I’m a Sahyeon Guild Hunter, here for supervision.”
In response to the manager’s question, Dokyeom pulled his Guild Hunter ID from his pocket and stated. The manager’s face instantly stiffened.
“Please, continue what you were saying. I believe I just heard some nonsense about a ‘custom’ within the Sahyeon Guild.”
The manager’s face hardened, then gradually contorted into a grimace, as if he had just stepped in something utterly foul.
“It’s not ‘nonsense.’ It’s a common rite of passage for new attackers. Is there a problem?”
“Trainees who undergo instruction receive a proportionate share of the daily wage after completing a raid. Yet, you’re asserting it’s a ‘custom’ to appropriate the wages of new hunters who are here for actual raids, not mere training. From what twisted logic does such an assertion spring? Or perhaps,” Dokyeom mused, “I am simply failing to grasp your peculiar understanding.”
The manager, who had been forcing out strained chuckles with a furrowed brow, scratched the back of his head with an exasperated gesture. After a moment, his gaze sharpened as he looked at Dokyeom.
His expression was precisely that of someone looking down on a young upstart, or a soft, newly arrived recruit.
“Listen, you clearly haven’t been a Sahyeon Guild Hunter for long, have you? Don’t you know you shouldn’t meddle in gates managed by other supervisors?
Each supervisor has different methods and rules. Is it really your place to argue about them? Despite appearances, I’m just doing what I was ordered to do by those above me.”
“Oh, really? I was under the impression that Instructor Lee Sanghyeon supervises here. Is he the one who ordered this? To exploit new hunters?”
“I don’t know why you keep using the word ‘exploit,’ but it’s not like that, so let’s not drag this out. Ah, we were actually planning to pay them starting next week.
Initially, everyone hires and trains new hunters this way, and once they’re proficient, they get paid.”
“Is that so?”
“Since we’re on the subject, do you know of any place on earth that immediately pays daily wages to newly recruited hunters? Even if they don’t say it outright, all other places operate this way to make a living. Even the low-level gates managed by instructors do this, so I don’t understand why you’re making such a fuss here.”
Dokyeom wondered why the manager was so arrogant. Despite his malpractice being exposed, he showed no remorse, instead puffing out his chest and attacking as if to devour them. The reason for this could be inferred from his words.
It was because Lee Sanghyeon was backing him. And because, despite this evil practice being repeated countless times, it had never once become a controversy.
Perhaps Lee Sanghyeon had preemptively nipped any potential controversies in the bud. The powerless hunters’ only recourse was to report to the Association, but even if an investigation were launched, flashing the Sahyeon Guild’s name and handing out some money would make investigators cough awkwardly and turn away, every single time.
Thus, this deeply entrenched problem persisted, unbroken. In essence, even the Association couldn’t be trusted.
“It seems you don’t quite understand this ecosystem yet, but everyone endures like this to establish themselves and make a living. Regardless of who has what backing, I took these greenhorns in, thinking they might amount to something, but it’s clear as day that these punks will never succeed anywhere.”
“No, but how can this old man be so brazen after exploiting these fresh faces…!”
Beom Yeonhu’s friend, unable to bear it any longer, pointed his finger again and unleashed a torrent of curses.
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