Honeybee, who had her shoulder grabbed, spoke with a bewildered expression.
"Just like I said. It was about four hours ago. There was a sighting of Lee Sa-young in Incheon. Well, you know Lee Sa-young. He often went to Incheon and moved around as he pleased. I thought he was just using it as an excuse to do sothing else again, but..."
Watching Cha Eui-jae's reaction, she raised her eyebrows.
"Could it really be that he had a health problem?"
"Do you have a photo?"
"It's from the Hunter's Channel, so no photo..."
"Seo Min-gi!"
"I was already listening."
Seo Min-gi suddenly poked his head out from Cha Eui-jae's shadow. Honeybee was shocked.
"What the— why is that person here?"
"Right now, the custor is my master. I'll check the Hunter's Channel and rumors, so please check your phone, sir. If Honeybee is correct, you should have received so ssages."
Seo Min-gi, half-subrged in the shadow, stretched out his arm and handed over a phone. It was a contact phone Seo Min-gi had retrieved. As soon as it was powered on, a flood of missed call notifications appeared. Every one of them was from...
Jung Bin.
"..."
Cha Eui-jae bit his lip. It felt like the ground beneath his feet was spinning. After a mont of hesitation, he pressed the call button. The dial tone echoed for a long ti, and Cha Eui-jae's thoughts followed, one after another.
'Is it true that Lee Sa-young woke up?'
Suddenly?
Of course, no one knew how long it would take for him to wake up. They had said that waiting was the best option. But waking up without any prior signs, and then, on top of that, going straight to Incheon without contacting anyone?
Without contacting ?
"..."
Beep. The call connected at that mont.
"Jung Bin."
—Ah, J... Have you left the dungeon? Are you hurt anywhere?
Jung Bin's voice sounded exhausted. Cha Eui-jae unconsciously rubbed his shoe against a rock.
"I just heard. Lee Sa-young..."
—Ah, so you heard. Then I'll get straight to the point.
Jung Bin cleared his throat.
—Lee Sa-young was first spotted in Incheon city 4 hours and 30 minutes ago and seems to have been on the move since then. According to the Pado Guild's report, he was last seen near the West Sea area. Um. More specifically, near the West Sea Rift morial.
"..."
Cha Eui-jae's grip on the phone tightened slightly.
—I was supposed to go, but I'm unable to move right now... I apologize. I also can't mobilize anyone from the Awakened Managent Bureau.
The mont the Awakened Managent Bureau moves, all eyes will be on Lee Sa-young. Cha Eui-jae absently rubbed the ends of his hair and muttered.
"No, thank you for letting know. I'll go."
—Yes, then...
Jung Bin hastily ended the call. Cha Eui-jae held the phone for a mont before roughly running his hand through his hair.
From Mokpo to Incheon?
If he had Hong Ye-seong's scroll, he could move instantly, but the one scroll he had was already used to co to Mokpo. Cha Eui-jae glanced around and made eye contact with Honeybee. She must have co from Seoul. Realizing this, Cha Eui-jae quickly asked.
"Honeybee, what did you take to get to Mokpo?"
"I ca by guild helicopter... but it still took quite a while. Hmm, whatever it is, isn't it urgent?"
"..."
"You won't be satisfied with the helicopter's speed, will you?"
She was right. If there wasn't an imdiate way to move, the frustration would only grow. This situation was all because Hong Ye-seong was too exceptional. Cha Eui-jae gritted his teeth.
Suddenly, sothing tapped Cha Eui-jae's ankle. It was Seo Min-gi, who had half-erged from the shadow.
"Fortunately, the transportation issue seems to be resolved, sir."
"What?"
"As soon as the sighting was reported in the Hunter channel, Romantic Opener went to find the guild leader. And it just so happens he's nearby now."
Romantic Opener. His ability was to open doors leading to other places. Seo Min-gi casually pushed up his sunglasses, which glead as they caught the light.
"A talented individual should be used in the right place."
Cha Eui-jae gave him a thumbs-up in approval.
***
"Yes, then..."
Jung Bin ended the call and let out a long sigh. His face, usually calm and composed, was now flushed with heat, with patches of redness blooming across it. He took off his suit jacket and rolled up the slightly singed sleeves of his shirt to his forearms, revealing scars that marred his right arm.
He was standing in a blackened room. No, to be precise, it was an ordinary room, but it had lost its original color due to flas and soot. The only things retaining their original appearance were Jung Bin and another man.
At the far end of the room, a man was kneeling, bound tightly with black chains. A pair of crooked glasses was visible beneath his lowered head. A low groan escaped his lips. Jung Bin brushed back his disheveled hair.
"Are you starting to co to your senses?"
The man slowly raised his head.
"Matthew."
A curious expression crossed his stern face.
"...Where is this?"
"This is the basent of the Seowon Guild. Honeybee brought you here. She said she brought you here because she was worried about information leaking if you were taken to the Awakened Managent Bureau. Nam Woo-jin said it would be too much for him to handle alone, so he called ."
Jung Bin gave a bitter smile.
"Unfortunately, I can't deny the risk of information leaking..."
"Is that so..."
"You didn't regain your composure despite all our efforts, so we had to restrain you. I apologize."
Matthew, whose real na was Mok Tae-oh, blinked tiredly and tilted his head back slightly. He slowly nodded, and his crooked glasses fell to the floor.
"...Thank you. I'm starting to regain my senses."
"Don't bother thanking . I'll make sure you pay back for this tenfold."
A displeased voice interrupted, accompanied by the sound of the door being kicked open. It was Nam Woo-jin, wearing a white lab coat. His pale eyes were filled with irritation.
"If that governnt employee hadn't shown up in ti, you would've burned down the entire building. Including the valuable books. It'll take a while to get rid of the sll of burning."
"..."
Mok Tae-oh nodded silently. Jung Bin asked,
"What happened all of a sudden? Did you suddenly have trouble controlling your abilities?"
Until now, Jung Bin had known Mok Tae-oh as soone who was more obsessed with controlling his abilities than anyone else. Even roasting marshmallows and squid had been part of his ability control training. Nam Woo-jin, who had taken a stance beside Jung Bin with his arms crossed, chid in.
"That's what I ca here to ask you. Matthew, did you take so kind of drug?"
Jung Bin's eyes widened.
"A drug? You don't an..."
"Yeah. The one we've been investigating all this ti. He's addicted to that drug. I know you wouldn't willingly take it yourself."
Mok Tae-oh, who had been blinking wearily, asked,
"Honeybee... where is she? Is she hurt?"
"She dumped you here and left, saying she had sothing to find. She's not hurt. She was fully wrapped up in fla-resistant gear."
Nam Woo-jin, who had been answering smoothly, narrowed his eyes and pointed a finger.
"Answer my question first. Soone like you— where did you get your hands on the drug? To lose control to this extent, you must have taken a significant amount. Didn't you notice anything strange?"
Behind Nam Woo-jin, a small boy appeared, pushing a cart. On the cart were various syringes and dicines neatly arranged. Jung Bin asked worriedly,
"Can you detoxify him?"
"I don't know. I'll have to try to find out. Hey, Matthew! Don't lose focus and answer my question."
"That..."
Mok Tae-oh exhaled a long, heated breath. Then, just as his eyes were about to roll back, he suddenly flipped them completely.
Jung Bin shouted,
"Damn it, get back!"
Boom—!!
***
Boom—!!
A black shoe violently kicked open the dark brown door. The door separated two different worlds— one side led to the open sea, while the other was lined with neon-lit seafood restaurants. Romantic Opener, who had been holding the doorknob, weakly swayed.
"Be... be gentle with the door... Ugh."
But Cha Eui-jae didn't have the luxury to check on Romantic Opener's condition. Grabbing his fluttering shoulder, he demanded,
"Hey. Where's Lee Sa-young? Where is he?"
"T-The West Sea rift... the morial... ugh..."
Upon hearing the answer he needed, Cha Eui-jae let go of Romantic Opener and started running. Seo Min-gi picked up the collapsed Romantic Opener and looked toward the door leading to Mokpo.
"Will you be using the door as well, Honeybee?"
"...No, I'm fine. I need to head back by helicopter."
Honeybee brushed her blonde hair aside and turned away.
"Make sure to pass on the ssage to Lee Sa-young."
Thud, thud, thud. The seafood restaurants lining the road by the beach started to disappear with each step Cha Eui-jae took. The neon signs that had clouded his vision and the love songs that had pierced his ears gradually faded away. The surroundings grew increasingly silent, with only the pounding of his heartbeat echoing in his ears. Cha Eui-jae clenched his teeth, his gray hair whipping wildly in the wind.
Thud.
I can't be late again.
Thud.
Please!
Thud!
Finally, Cha Eui-jae slowed down, catching his breath. Before him was a towering stone monunt, a morial to the victims of the West Sea rift. It was his first ti seeing it in person.
The na at the top of the monunt was...
J.
"..."
Inside the safety railing surrounding the morial, a dark figure was huddled. The hem of a black coat lay haphazardly on the ground. Cha Eui-jae cautiously called out to him.
"...Lee Sa-young?"
The dark figure slowly raised its head.
Disheveled black hair, violet eyes peeking through the strands, a face drained of color, and lips bloodied from being bitten repeatedly. It was Lee Sa-young. Overwheld, Cha Eui-jae couldn't hold back his words.
"If you woke up, you should have contacted , or at least reached out to the other guild mbers..."
But he couldn't finish his scolding. He stopped in his tracks. Lee Sa-young, still pale, was staring blankly at him. And that face looked as if...
...as if he had seen a ghost.
"S-Sa-young?"
Cha Eui-jae cautiously called his na again. As if that was the signal, Lee Sa-young slowly stood up and staggered toward him. Cha Eui-jae quickly jumped over the railing and rushed to support his wavering shoulders. Their eyes seed to et.
A cold, blackened finger touched Cha Eui-jae's cheek. Lee Sa-young continued to grope, feeling the left side of Cha Eui-jae's forehead, his temple, and through his hair. His fingertips were trembling uncontrollably. Cha Eui-jae carefully clasped his hand over Lee Sa-young's.
"What's wrong with you?"
At that mont,
Plop...
A tear slid down his pale cheek and fell.
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