Chapter 84: If I Have to Stop You

“Huh?”

Yoo Heero’s face went pale at Seong Jiwoo’s sudden confession. Hoping he’d misheard, he asked again,

“A… dealer?”

“Yeah. You too—once the attack lands properly, you can handle gates and pretty much anything on your own. But with the skills I have right now, that’s not really possible.”

“……”

Yoo Heero couldn’t understand how the sentence I’ll handle gates on my own had even formed in Seong Jiwoo’s head. When Yoo Heero was standing right here beside him, why would he ever need to enter a gate alone?

Seong Jiwoo was undeniably an outstanding awakened. There was no one more proficient with their own skills than him, and unlike many reckless hunters, he knew how to move efficiently.

It wasn’t that Yoo Heero was trying to treat him as some mere support. It was simply that—there was no reason for him to do this.

“If I’d known this would happen… I shouldn’t have made a guild.”

He’d thought it was the perfect way to stay firmly by Seong Jiwoo’s side while also letting everyone know that Seong Jiwoo belonged to him…

Originally, his plan had been to forget about being a hunter altogether and cling to Seong Jiwoo for the rest of his life. Running a small general store together sounded nice. Living off his own money without lifting a finger sounded nice too.

But it was obvious that Seong Jiwoo kept trying to pull him deeper into the world of hunters, and there was no way around that.

He seemed to believe that Yoo Heero had to become a hunter—and live as one. Even in the letters he sent while Yoo Heero was inside gates, the same phrases always appeared: You’ll become an amazing hunter. I’m sure you’ll be a wonderful hunter.

So Yoo Heero had just wanted to play the hero the way Seong Jiwoo wished, and stand beside him as an equal…

“Why all of a sudden? You really did hear something weird from the Association, didn’t you?”

This oblivious man was guessing the cause of his own declaration by dragging in something completely unrelated.

“No. I heard something weird somewhere else. Totally unexpected, too…”

“What? Where? Who said something about your guild?”

Seong Jiwoo looked ready to march off and scold whoever it was, but Yoo Heero only felt heavier inside.

“The unfortunate thing is… I can’t beat that person.”

“……There’s someone you can’t beat? …Wow. They must be incredible.”

Seong Jiwoo asked with wide eyes, clearly surprised. Yoo Heero let out a deep sigh.

“Yes. Incredibly, incredibly incredible. And yet he’s trying to become even more incredible…”

“Huh?”

“So what are you planning to do?”

At least hear him out—that was Yoo Heero’s mindset.

“You can’t exactly test whether you have attack skills or not one by one.”

Normally, that’s what people would do. Since they didn’t know what skills they had, they’d repeat trial and error to figure out what they could and couldn’t use.

Of course, most people learned their role the moment they awakened their abilities. It was a very natural process.

Seong Jiwoo had never really questioned his position as a supporter either. He’d accepted it as something innate. At most, he’d felt it was unfair—but he’d never tried to change it.

On top of that, thanks to that strange system window, he already knew he didn’t have any particularly usable attack skills.

And yet, despite all that, he’d decided to become a dealer…

“Well… I don’t have a concrete plan yet, but I was thinking of trying weapons.”

“Weapons…?”

“Yeah. If I buff myself, I think I could use them decently.”

Seong Jiwoo chatted away as he laid out his plan. On the surface, it sounded reasonable.

His support abilities were famous for boosting hunters’ power by more than 200%, and if he applied that to himself, the efficiency would naturally skyrocket. He could judge and predict every movement, using his abilities at exactly the right moments and still have plenty to spare.

But that was all theoretical.

No supporter had ever simultaneously taken on the role of a dealer or a tank.

There were plenty of cases where a dealer doubled as a tank, or a tank doubled as a dealer, or a ranged dealer doubled as a melee dealer.

But not supporters.

That was why supporters positioned themselves far away from the battlefield inside gates—they lacked the means to protect themselves.

Seong Jiwoo, however, could at least protect himself. His ability was comparable to an S-rank. He wasn’t like the mediocre masses.

Still, that didn’t mean it was fine for him to become a dealer.

Normally, aggro rarely shifted to supporters, so it was uncommon for them to take a monster’s attack head-on.

But if he became a dealer—if he provoked monsters—he’d be prey at any moment.

What Seong Jiwoo was saying now was no different from telling Yoo Heero to stand by and watch that happen.

Yoo Heero was finding it harder and harder to control his expression.

“I really trust you, hyung… and I trust your abilities, but…”

He agonized over how to stop Seong Jiwoo without hurting his pride.

Without waiting for that silence to end, Seong Jiwoo quickly launched into specifics.

“You know Son Jihwan from our guild, right?”

The sudden mention of another man made Yoo Heero’s brow crease. But the moment Seong Jiwoo turned to look at him, Yoo Heero put on a calm face.

“Yes. Why? Don’t you like him? Should we kick him out?”

“What? No. He hasn’t done anything yet—why would we kick him out? It’s not that. He mainly uses weapons, so I thought I might learn from him.”

“……What?”

It hadn’t even been a few minutes since Seong Jiwoo said he had no concrete plan, yet he already looked like all that was left was execution.

He hadn’t intended to ask for Yoo Heero’s opinion from the start.

This was a notice, not a discussion.

Yoo Heero let out a long sigh. If he argued now, it would only sour things.

“Fine. But on one condition.”

“A condition?”

Seong Jiwoo frowned the instant conditions were mentioned. Yoo Heero quickly continued before he could get annoyed.

“I’m the guild master. So as the guild master, you’ll accept my involvement for the vice-guild master’s safety.”

It was the greatest concession Yoo Heero could make.

“……Alright.”

Seong Jiwoo accepted it without complaint, his expression relaxing again.

“That much is fine. You are the guild master, after all.”

Though he’d never been in a guild before, he had friends in other guilds and roughly understood how things worked.

He also knew what kind of authority and responsibility a guild master carried.

It felt a little strange to acknowledge Yoo Heero as his superior, but it wasn’t something he couldn’t accept. Yoo Heero was an incredible hunter, and in terms of hunter experience alone, he was practically a senior.

That said, he wasn’t about to start calling him sunbae.

Unaware of Seong Jiwoo’s thoughts, Yoo Heero acted casual while breathing a quiet sigh of relief.

Since Seong Jiwoo had allowed his intervention as guild master, Yoo Heero would just have to rack his brain and insert himself into the training appropriately.

And, while he was at it, sabotage things a little.

Training alone with another man while leaving him out?

Absolutely not happening.

A few days later, at the Gwangmyeong Guild’s first group meeting, Seong Jiwoo brought up the subject of training with Son Jihwan.

“Training? I don’t really mind, but…”

Though he looked a bit flustered, Son Jihwan accepted the proposal without resistance.

“My training’s pretty intense.”

“As long as it’s not just pointless stamina drain, I’m fine.”

Pointless stamina drain.

At those words, Son Jihwan bit down on his lower lip.

“Well… I guess we’ll manage somehow. I’ll introduce you to the training ground I use. Let’s do it there. This place is…”

Since the guild didn’t yet have a proper base, the meeting was being held in Seong Jiwoo’s general store. It clearly wasn’t a space suited for training, so Seong Jiwoo nodded immediately.

“Okay.”

“You’re taking me too, right?”

Yoo Heero suddenly popped his head in from the side. Since it was their first meeting, Seong Jiwoo had sent him on an errand to at least buy drinks from a nearby café—but Yoo Heero had returned in less than ten minutes.

He was holding five cups of Earl Grey.

Normally, tea would be brewed properly and then iced, but the tea Yoo Heero brought looked like ice water with tea bags lazily floating inside.

Without much thought, Seong Jiwoo took a sip—and immediately twisted his face at what tasted like plain water faintly scented with Earl Grey.

“What is this?”

“They said this comes out the fastest.”

“What? …Isn’t it usually iced Americano?”

“That takes time to brew. I just asked for ice water and put the tea bags in myself.”

“……”

Seong Jiwoo stared at Yoo Heero with a what the hell is wrong with this guy expression. The other guild members felt the same, but since it was a drink personally brought by the guild master, they awkwardly accepted it without complaint.

The only one who happily stirred the drink and slurped it through a straw was Chae Minjeong. She even let out a strange exclamation, like someone downing a hot bowl of soup.

“Wow. This place does Earl Grey well.”

“See? Someone likes it.”

At Yoo Heero’s absurd logic, Seong Jiwoo was left speechless. Chae Minjeong gave a thumbs-up, looking satisfied, while Lee Wonjae slid his untouched cup over to her.

“By the way, what were you two talking about earlier? Sounded like training… and going to some training ground…”

He asked casually, pretending not to care, but no one was fooled.

Still, there was someone who interpreted that performance in their own way.

“He wants to do his part as guild master. It’s his first time being one, you see…”

It sounded like a guardian saying, Please understand, it’s our kid’s first time. He doesn’t mean any harm.

Son Jihwan glanced once at Seong Jiwoo, then at Yoo Heero, and nodded awkwardly.

“Well… it’s an honor, I guess? To train with someone like the guild master…”

Only then did Seong Jiwoo realize it.

Ah. Right. Yoo Heero was a national hero. A top-tier dealer in the country.

Which meant—he was someone other dealers admired.

It was hard to feel that kind of presence from his usual demeanor, but still.

“I guess that’s true. You can learn from him too, then.”

Seong Jiwoo nodded as if just coming to that conclusion. Yoo Heero, not quite sure why but sensing permission had been granted, beamed.

“Um… when do we do introductions?”

After watching for a while, Lee Wonjae finally raised his hand cautiously. The three who’d been standing and talking turned to look at the two waiting on the sofa.

As if she’d been waiting for it, Chae Minjeong shot her hand into the air.

“I’m Chae Minjeong, twenty years old. A supporter who makes potions.”

“I’m Lee Wonjae, twenty-five. I used to work at a bank… ah, that’s not important. I’m a B-rank water-type awakened.”

After Lee Wonjae finished adjusting his glasses and introducing himself, Son Jihwan offered them a handshake.

“Son Jihwan. Twenty-two. A movement-speed type awakened.”

After the three exchanged handshakes, they all turned their eyes toward the guild master and vice-guild master at the same time.

Under the sudden attention, Seong Jiwoo awkwardly lifted the corners of his mouth.

“Twenty-three… Seong Jiwoo. I was a light-using supporter…”

“You were…?”

Chae Minjeong echoed his wording, latching onto it.

“I’m thinking of trying out being a dealer too.”

“Wow! Vice-guild master, you’re bold!”

Chae Minjeong clapped enthusiastically. After finishing his introduction, Seong Jiwoo nudged Yoo Heero’s back.

“This is Yoo Heero.”

“……”

“……”

“……”

“……”

The people waiting for more after that brief introduction missed their timing, and silence fell over the shop.

At the end of it, Chae Minjeong cautiously asked,

“…That’s it?”

“…Yes.”

“Wow. As expected. Guild master. That’s cool as hell.”

At her rather aggressive choice of words, Lee Wonjae’s eyes widened as he stared at her. Seong Jiwoo and Yoo Heero, having built up some immunity thanks to Lee Hyerin, weren’t particularly surprised.

“Anyway, since we’re done—can I ask one question?”

Seong Jiwoo readily agreed to Chae Minjeong’s cheerful request.

“Sure.”

“Are the guild master and vice-guild master actually married?”