Chapter 9: An Unwelcome Encounter

Just then, Yisaein also rose from her seat. With her bag tucked under her arm and her long legs elegantly turning, her posture was reminiscent of a grand red carpet at an awards ceremony.

“I should be leaving as well. Please submit my resume to every company on the list we finalized today. For any contact, use the Sa-hyeon Guild’s legal team number; they will handle all salary negotiations.”

In the hushed hall, the rhythmic clicking of her heels echoed like a distant chime. Those who had been watching Yisaein, mesmerized by her presence, collectively exhaled a sigh of relief and exhaustion the moment she exited.

‘So, wait… why did an AA-rank, so coveted and desperate to be scouted by everyone, even bother showing up here?’

This question lingered, unvoiced, in the minds of all present.

****

While the others were still fixated on Yisaein’s enigmatic departure, Dokyeom had already exited the building to check his skill window. Sure enough, Yisaein’s name had been added under the list, mirroring Geon Ita’s.

[Bound Fated One] <Yisaein(aa)/>

This marked the second individual. The precise condition, he surmised, was likely when the other party recognized him, or perhaps when they made some form of contact.

Moreover, the ‘target’ in question appeared to be a ‘character’ that Dokyeom had poured his affection into crafting. Alternatively, it might be due to his precise knowledge of that character’s future.

As an example, not a single person he had encountered or spoken with since arriving here had been registered as a Fated One. This even included the counselor seated at the front desk.

“Well, I suppose I’ll find out if I stick around a bit longer.”

Dokyeom stretched languidly, bathed in the pouring sunlight. The intense glare, however, pricked his eyes, provoking an unusual urge to sneeze.

In these days of lingering chill amidst otherwise pleasant weather, the world was busily preparing to welcome summer.

Dokyeom rubbed his faintly tickling nose, then spotted a crooked bench nestled in the shade and headed towards it.

The area, lined with vending machines, was a quaint, walled-off clearing. No sooner had he settled onto the bench than Dokyeom powered on his phone and immediately accessed the email Yisaein had dictated.

He then attached his pre-prepared resume and dispatched the email to the Guild Master of the Sa-hyeon Guild.

He had known from the outset that it would be fruitless. Strictly speaking, this was merely a piece of bait, and regardless of whether it was taken, it served as an excellent point of contact to furnish Dokyeom with a pretext for action.

Having confidently pressed send, he lifted his head, only to hear a messenger notification sound from nearby. As his gaze instinctively shifted towards the source, his attention was abruptly captured by something else entirely.

It was the sound of Yisaein embroiled in a heated argument with someone right at the center’s entrance.

“Oh, look who it is! Aren’t you the esteemed team leaders of Sa-hyeon Guild? What an honor to have you grace us with your presence all the way out here. If you’re looking for me, you’ve wasted your trip. As of today, I’m leaving the guild, so consider yourselves informed. I’ll be finding my own work and operating independently from now on. I’m utterly fed up with needing permission every single time a job falls through. Don’t even bother trying to stop me; it won’t work. This time, I’m serious.”

Her haughty voice, brimming with grievances, carried clearly. Yisaein, with a dismissive toss of her long hair, swept past the men without awaiting a response. It was those who had been attempting to detain and argue with her who now stood flustered and agitated.

“Ah, no, Saein. Please, let’s just talk this through. How many times are we going to do this? If you have grievances, we should resolve them amicably, through conversation, not by causing a ruckus everywhere. You know this just means our legal team will have to fight tooth and nail with all the companies calling about salary negotiations, don’t you?”

“That’s quite enough. I’ll handle my own affairs. And why would the legal team have to fight tooth and nail if I’m leaving with a *lower* salary? Oh, you’re obstructing my path, so just move aside. Do you wish to be kicked? I have to head to the corporate employment center next.”

“Yisaein, are you truly going to go through with this?!”

“What did *I* do? I told you I’ve done nothing wrong! Go ask your esteemed Guild Master. Oh, and I happened to leak your Guild Master’s unofficial email to a few people. Turns out, there was someone else besides me who got completely screwed over, and honestly, I felt so terribly sorry for them. They suffered something unspeakable, apparently… Hmm, so that’s why; just so you’re aware.”

“W-what?! Saein, are you insane?! No, how could you possibly leak that information outside?!”

“Is that my concern?”

Yisaein surveyed the men with an expression of utter disdain, then mercilessly strode past them. The men, who had been seething with fury, belatedly scrambled after Yisaein, their faces now pale with alarm.

Dokyeom, who had been leisurely observing the spectacle, slowly began to rise. As he tucked his phone into his pocket and prepared to turn, a refreshingly cool scent of perfume suddenly drifted over him.

Perhaps it was the invigorating quality of the scent, but his head instantly turned. Abruptly, the figure of a man standing before a vending machine, engrossed in his phone, caught his eye.

Unaware of his prior presence, Dokyeom’s eyes narrowed slightly. The man’s shoulders, draped in a luxurious suit and coat, were broad, and his jet-black hair, appearing to absorb all light, was neatly swept back and meticulously styled.

His sharply chiseled profile exuded the languid menace of a beast barely sheathing its claws.

An untamed aura seemed to cling to the man. Yet, the very sight of him, gazing indifferently at his phone, conveyed a certain languidness.

His aura seemed suspended somewhere between adulthood and youth. Consequently, Dokyeom found his gaze drawn to the man’s enigmatic age.

As if sensing his scrutiny, the man abruptly tilted his head.

“Hmm, Hunter?”

His low, resonant voice was as gentle as if addressing a child. Yet, the eyes that met Dokyeom’s were miraculously transparent, their clean, refined silver irises gleaming.

Dokyeom stared at him for a long moment before finally speaking. “And what about it?”

The man’s eyes curved into a slight smile. He was undeniably handsome. ‘Who is he?’ The jet-black hair, however, made him difficult to place.

Half of the characters within Dokyeom’s novels possessed jet-black hair, while their eyes, conversely, displayed a myriad of colors.

This was an awakening phenomenon, rarely observed among a select few hunters. It was the reason Yisaein’s eyes resembled a forest, and why Dokyeom’s own eyes were a deep gray.

Their gazes locked, unnervingly intense.

“Do you have some business with me?”

A soft ‘hmm’ escaped his lips, as if he were carefully selecting his words. Then, his polished shoes advanced silently towards Dokyeom.

Abruptly, the man’s upper body leaned in, and the cool scent of his cologne brushed past Dokyeom’s nose. Their gazes met at a proximity where his eyes were startlingly clear.

“What do you want?”

“I wonder.”

As Dokyeom’s brow subtly furrowed, the man slyly tilted his head. His strong, defined jawline called to mind a ferocious beast.

Dokyeom was scrutinizing him with suspicious eyes, trying to discern his intentions, when he suddenly felt a brush of warmth against his chin. By the time he flinched in surprise, it was already too late.

A hand, having swept beneath Dokyeom’s chin, brushed his earlobe before settling on his throat.

“Because I feel a little wronged.”

As his low voice resonated like a warning, firm fingertips, without a hint of prelude, pushed up the tender skin—the mark.

“Ah…!”

Dokyeom exhaled a ragged breath. His vision trembled uncontrollably, followed by the disorienting sensation of his surroundings tilting.

His knees buckled, sending Dokyeom scrambling to find purchase against the wall behind him.

“A pretty mark, indeed. It’s… not easy for it to appear here, either.”

The thumb, languidly tracing the mark, then ascended to the hollow beneath his ear. Dokyeom gasped out another breath, and unintelligible, suppressed curses stammered from his lips.

The hand, rubbing his skin as if seeking something, felt akin to deliberately aggravating a sensitive wound. This, he realized, was a clear act of ‘mounting’.

The moment he recognized the nature of the act, Dokyeom gritted his teeth and savagely tore the man’s hand away. To his surprise, the man retreated compliantly from the forceful shove.

A perfunctory smile played on the man’s lips. Dokyeom, meanwhile, stayed pressed against the wall, desperately catching his breath.

His blurred vision gradually returned. As his sight, which had been swaying like wild grass, cleared, anger surged instantly.

Dokyeom glared at the man, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Wow, are you senile? I don’t think we’re close enough to touch like this upon our first meeting, or am I the only one who feels that way? And if you suddenly use informal speech just because I look younger than you, do you think I’d be happy or upset? You crazy bastard.”

The backlighting obscured his expression, but his words were sharp and distinct, cutting through the air.

“This is certainly enough to be called a bastardly move, so it must be something unspeakable. Why make a fuss when I’m offering to prevent any further unfairness between us?”

‘No, why is this bastard acting like this after *he* touched *me*…’

Dokyeom’s eyebrows twitched. A strange glint appeared in the man’s condescending eyes, eyes accustomed to looking down on others. Despite his seemingly gentlemanly demeanor, this was the type of man who would ruthlessly dispose of people behind the scenes.

Getting involved with him would lead to nothing good.

“Ah, yes. Go ahead and foam at the mouth by yourself.”

Suppressing the raging fury within him, Dokyeom brushed past the man, his face etched with displeasure. He furiously rubbed the mark where the unfamiliar warmth had touched him, pulling at his clothes, but the leech-like sensation of discomfort stubbornly remained.

It was then that an unexpected remark reached his ears.

“I hope to see you again, Han Dokyeom.”

‘What?’

The moment he heard ‘Han Dokyeom’ from the man’s lips, his steps instinctively halted. He spun around, but in that brief instant, the man had already passed him. A faint, refreshing scent lingered in the air.

‘How did he know my name…’