...Why?
Cha Eui-jae stopped dead in his tracks, montarily stunned at the sight of the dark figure trespassing in soone else's shop. How did that bastard open the closed door and get in, and why was he sitting in the middle of the hall as if staging a protest?
The number one, or rather, ex-number one hunter was committing all sorts of cris, from obstructing business to trespassing. The gas mask-wearing figure, seated with legs crossed, slowly turned his head toward Cha Eui-jae. His eerie voice rumbled low.
"Did you sleep well?"
Despite the seemingly friendly question, his voice sounded like it ca from the depths of hell. Waking soone up only to ask if they slept well— he had clearly given his conscience away to the dogs. Instead of answering, Cha Eui-jae countered with a question.
"What are you doing here?"
Though it was a reasonable question, the gas mask-wearing figure's aura beca even more ominous. He seed to be taking deep breaths to calm himself, but his purple eyes behind the lenses glinted fiercely as they stared at Cha Eui-jae.
"What am I doing?"
"..."
"That's what I should be asking you."
Could it be... has he found out sothing about ? Given his past actions and information-gathering abilities, it wasn't an entirely unreasonable suspicion. Cha Eui-jae slowly clenched his fist, waiting for the next words to co out of his mouth.
"Why didn't you contact first?"
"..."
"I waited two weeks, damn it."
Cha Eui-jae felt utterly deflated. Was that what this was about?
Judging by the intense aura emanating from him, Cha Eui-jae guessed that Lee Sa-young was either angry or sulking like a child left out of sothing fun.
Though it wasn't the right thing to think in front of soone who had been waiting for contact, to be honest, it wasn't that he hadn't contacted him—
'I forgot...'
Cha Eui-jae had completely forgotten that he needed to respond to Lee Sa-young's business proposal.
Of course, Cha Eui-jae had his reasons. The problem was they were reasons he couldn't tell anyone. In any case, if he were to be honest and say he forgot, the deal would surely fall apart. So, Cha Eui-jae offered the best excuse he could co up with.
"Well, I've been busy."
"Ha."
Lee Sa-young snorted, but Cha Eui-jae continued steadfastly.
"I've also been thinking it over."
"Oh, you actually thought about it."
Lee Sa-young sarcastically retorted, resting his chin on his hand as if challenging him to continue. Cha Eui-jae felt a sudden urge to give him a good smack on the head. Why was his nature so twisted?
In that mont, a thought suddenly flashed through Cha Eui-jae's mind.
Ah, maybe...
'Because I took the number one spot from him?'
Though that gas mask-wearing bastard seed nonchalant, he had held the number one rank for six years in a row. Having his position taken overnight by soone thought to be dead must have been quite a shock.
Cha Eui-jae's gaze softened with pity. Lee Sa-young grumbled in irritation.
"Why are you looking at like that?"
"No, it's just... hang in there."
"Are you mocking ?"
"Mocking? I'm being more sincere than ever."
"Ugh, whatever. I even shot a comrcial because of you, and you left hanging for two weeks. Do you know you're a real jerk?"
Lee Sa-young waved his hand in disgust. But Cha Eui-jae also had his grievances about that public service announcent.
The so-called public service announcent that Lee Sa-young supposedly fild because of Cha Eui-jae was inflicting ntal agony on hunters who watched TV. Cha Eui-jae crossed his arms.
"What's with that comrcial anyway? Why did you suddenly shoot it?"
"Because you only like people who shoot comrcials. What else could I do?"
"What kind of nonsense is that?"
"Jung Bin, Honeybee..."
Cha Eui-jae couldn't keep up with Lee Sa-young's erratic train of thought.
The only commonality between Jung Bin and Honeybee was that he wanted to ban both of them from this shop. What was Lee Sa-young thinking when he did such a bizarre thing?
Lee Sa-young gestured towards the handwritten Honeybee poster.
"Is that your taste?"
"Honeybee just gave it to ."
"And Jung Bin's autograph?"
"He sent it by mail."
"Damn it, why not just sell that on Tomato Market?"
Cha Eui-jae tightly shut his mouth and got up to head towards the water dispenser. As he moved, eyes followed him. The gaze was persistent and unrelenting.
Unable to bear the staring, Cha Eui-jae finally turned around and asked, "What?"
Lee Sa-young pointed his chin at Cha Eui-jae's feet.
"Your feet."
"Huh?"
"Do you usually go around barefoot?"
Oh, right. Only then did Cha Eui-jae look down at his feet. He had co out to ambush silently, but seeing Lee Sa-young sitting comfortably in the hall had made him lose the will to ambush, so he had been walking around the shop barefoot.
Wiggling his toes, Cha Eui-jae shalessly replied.
"I didn't wear socks on purpose to wake myself up."
"You should at least wear slippers."
Lee Sa-young seed sowhat displeased. Who did he think had made him run out barefoot in the middle of the night?
"If you've been thinking for two weeks, you must have an answer."
"Yes."
"..."
"Let's make a deal. But I have a few conditions."
"Hold on."
Lee Sa-young took out a long, finger-length object from his inventory. It had a screen, buttons, and a blue magic stone embedded at the end. It was a magic stone recorder, sothing Cha Eui-jae had desperately tried to get, which had led to S-grade hunters flocking to Tomato Market and this restaurant.
"We should have solid evidence. It's better for both you and ."
"Recording, huh. What if the recording gets leaked?"
"I'll use it only to draft the contract and then dispose of it imdiately."
"..."
Lee Sa-young showed off his gloved hand to Cha Eui-jae. He ant that he could lt the recorder like a ladle. For him, it was a disposable item.
Lee Sa-young pressed the button, and the recorder began to glow blue.
"Let's start."
He spoke as if familiar with such procedures. Cha Eui-jae nodded and raised a finger.
"First, no work during restaurant hours. Whatever you ask or demand, it has to be between 11 PM and 5 AM when the restaurant is closed."
"Aha."
After a brief pause, Lee Sa-young nodded readily.
"Alright. What's the second?"
"Help register as a hunter."
"Huh? Didn't I tell you before?"
Lee Sa-young, tapping his arm with his palm, tilted his head and spoke dryly.
"I need soone unknown."
"I know. Just listen."
Although Cha Eui-jae had no intention of resuming his hunter activities, the situation had changed now that J's survival was known. It was better to create a completely new identity unconnected to J.
People are looking for J. Even the Awakened Managent Bureau will form search teams to find J.
Considering J is S-grade, being an unregistered awakener could lead to misunderstandings. It would be safer to disguise himself as a newly awakened hunter with no ties to J. That way, he would avoid detection.
Cha Eui-jae calmly continued.
"You'd agree that the scope of what we can do changes depending on whether I'm registered as a hunter."
"..."
"My demand is for you to help get the lowest possible rank."
"..."
"If I'm E or D rank, no one will pay attention to . I'll blend in."
The ranks for awakeners are from S to A, B, C, D, E, and F. The closer to F, the lower the awakening ability and physical ability, with F being just a bit stronger than an average person. Lee Sa-young slowly rubbed his gas mask's cheek.
"So... you want help to hide your true strength when registering?"
"Yes."
"What else?"
"Help my grandmother with her treatnt."
"We talked about that last ti. Anything else?"
"No."
"Alright."
Lee Sa-young chuckled, pressing the recorder's button to stop it. The stone's glow gradually faded.
"Now it's my turn."
He took out a palm-sized dagger from his inventory and handed it to Cha Eui-jae. The blade was engraved with golden laurel leaves.
[Laurel Branch of Contract (S)]
[By drawing blood with this dagger, an unbreakable contract can be made.]
[Curses upon the one who breaks the contract.]
"Do you want to stab yourself, or should I do it?"
What an absurd and crude statent. Was he serious? Cha Eui-jae couldn't hide his incredulous expression as he stared at Lee Sa-young.
"Of course I'll do it myself. Why would you stab my hand?"
"So people stab themselves in strange places. Soone even stabbed their thigh when I told them to cut their palm..."
Cha Eui-jae squinted at him, wondering if he thought he looked like such an idiot. Did people like that really exist? Did they attempt self-harm during a contract?
Though Cha Eui-jae thought it was ridiculous, Lee Sa-young's face was deadly serious. Lee Sa-young shrugged.
"It's more efficient if I do it. Less blood."
Efficiency might end up killing soone at this rate. Lee Sa-young, despite his supposedly kind explanations, persisted as Cha Eui-jae refused to let go of the dagger.
"Don't worry, I'm good at stabbing. It won't hurt much. Just a little prick."
"Bullshit."
"If I do it, it won't hurt as much for you."
It was better to get this over with quickly. Cha Eui-jae deftly adjusted his grip on the dagger and asked,
"How much blood do you need?"
"Just enough."
Without hesitation, Cha Eui-jae slashed his palm, allowing the crimson blood to drip down the thin line. Taking the dagger, Lee Sa-young asked,
"Do you have an antidote? Or any artifact for detoxification?"
As if.
Cha Eui-jae glanced around the shabby hangover soup restaurant. Though he had a detoxification ability, there was no need to reveal all his cards to this dubious character in front of him.
Lee Sa-young placed a small glass bottle filled with a purplish liquid on the table. The liquid was thick and slimy, occasionally bubbling like a concoction from a witch's cauldron.
"That's my personal antidote."
"Your personal antidote?"
"Can't have you dying on during the contract. Drink it now."
"..."
Cha Eui-jae skeptically examined the bottle before reluctantly downing the antidote. Despite its appearance, the liquid went down surprisingly smoothly.
Lee Sa-young, now holding the dagger, spoke,
"I only have one condition."
Without hesitation, he slashed his palm. From the large wound, a dark liquid that barely resemble blood dripped down.
"Never betray ."
With his cold voice, the liquid burned through the table where it landed, leaving blackened, charred marks.
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