"What? Hangover soup? I want to go too!"
"Oh, don't co! Get lost!"
"Oh, that's great! Once you taste it, you won't be able to forget it."
"Haha, Ye-seong-nim, don't you have to go to Bukhansan this ti? Will you have ti to go to the hangover soup restaurant?"
As Hong Ye-seong tried to squeeze in between the regulars, the cartel of rankers quickly ford. And behind the firmly established hangover soup cartel, the strange standoff between Cha Eui-jae and Lee Sa-young showed no sign of ending.
The problem was that even though Lee Sa-young was smiling, it would have been better if he wasn't. Despite the twisted smile on his lips, his eyes weren't smiling at all, still glaring at Cha Eui-jae with lifeless purple eyes.
The ceramic chicken nestled in his arms made a soft peep and buried its head into Cha Eui-jae's chest. It seed scared of Lee Sa-young. Cha Eui-jae sighed quietly, petting the chicken's head with his fingers. He thought Lee Sa-young's mood might have improved, but...
'As if that guy would.'
If anything, it probably got worse, not better. Cha Eui-jae narrowed his eyes at the smirking, pretty face. Just then, Bae Won-woo's face turned pale as he noticed Lee Sa-young.
"Sa, sa, sa, Sa-young."
"What? ...Oh, damn. Why did you take off your gas mask? Are you trying to kill soone?"
Honeybee, who had turned to look as well, shivered. As soon as Lee Sa-young noticed their gazes, he wiped the smile off his face and returned to his usual indifferent expression. He adjusted his posture, crossing his legs and resting his bound wrists on his crossed leg.
"What did I do?"
"What do you an, 'what'? You looked like you were about to kill soone."
"Are you blind?"
"Oh, look at this rude jerk."
"Honeybee, let's just tolerate it this once, okay?"
"I missed seeing the fight earlier, so can you fight again?"
Honeybee raised her middle finger at Lee Sa-young, but Bae Won-woo quickly jumped in to block her, while Hong Ye-seong egged them on. In the midst of this chaos, Lee Sa-young, who had just taken his eyes off Cha Eui-jae, spoke leisurely.
"Jung Bin."
"Yes, Lee Sa-young-ssi."
Lee Sa-young lifted his bound wrists, making a distinct clinking sound.
"When are you going to untie this?"
"Well, I was planning to untie you after the auction. You can still use your paddle with your hands bound, and if necessary, Secretary Kim can do it for you."
"Yeah... really?"
Lee Sa-young replied in a monotone voice, giving Jung Bin a sidelong glance.
"I could destroy this place without my powers too, you know."
"Haha, are you threatening ?"
"Does it sound like a threat?"
"..."
The lively atmosphere created by the hangover soup cartel suddenly turned cold. Lee Sa-young was indeed a bloodless, tearless killer, capable of killing the mood with just a word. Jung Bin smiled with his hands behind his back.
"There should be no exceptions in the law. Even if Gyu-Gyu started the fight, didn't you break his shoulder? And you were about to use poison too."
"But I didn't use it in the end."
Bae Won-woo, who had been observing the situation, quickly intervened between them.
"It's okay. Just untie him after it's over! Haha, you're really working hard, thank you."
"What are you doing?"
Lee Sa-young asked irritably, but Bae Won-woo glanced at Cha Eui-jae and made a tearing motion. It seed like he was telling him to tear the ticket and go to the waiting room. As much as Cha Eui-jae appreciated the thought...
'...But this guy has the ticket.'
Cha Eui-jae had to isolate this guy to avoid further trouble. He put the chicken on the floor and approached Lee Sa-young. The pretty face, now filled with irritation, looked up at him. Cha Eui-jae bent down slightly and whispered very softly.
"Let's go to the waiting room."
"..."
"I'll tell you everything there. Let's just go."
Lee Sa-young, who had been staring at Cha Eui-jae's gas mask, sighed deeply. Then he pulled out a ticket from his inventory and tore off a corner. With one last look at Honeybee's surprised face, Hong Ye-seong's intrigued expression, Jung Bin's unreadable face, and Bae Won-woo's thumbs-up, the scenery changed.
After experiencing so much in just a few hours, this quiet waiting room felt like a relief. Cha Eui-jae sighed as he took off his gas mask.
Lee Sa-young, still with his hands bound, walked briskly to the sofa and sat down. He tapped the floor with his foot and began to speak.
"So, I get that you went into Hong Ye-seong's space..."
The hearing began imdiately. Cha Eui-jae pursed his lips with a sullen expression.
"Why did that guy suddenly drag you in there?"
"..."
"What did you talk about inside..."
"Well, um..."
"I want to hear it from you. In detail."
Lee Sa-young's sharp gaze swept over Cha Eui-jae, making him uncomfortable. Cha Eui-jae stood with his hands behind his back, and Lee Sa-young gestured to the seat beside him.
"Sit."
"I'll just talk standing."
"Sit down."
Sitting next to him might an not having to face him directly. Cha Eui-jae sat a bit away from Lee Sa-young and began to think.
He couldn't tell Lee Sa-young everything about his conversation with Hong Ye-seong. Even though Lee Sa-young had seen the Basilisk's Fang in the Gwangjin-gu rift, possessing a weapon made by Hong Ye-seong carried different implications. He seed to have more and more secrets he couldn't share with Lee Sa-young.
"Well... The chicken took to Hong Ye-seong's space."
"Yeah."
"Hong Ye-seong was lying there eating red ginseng, then told to sit, so I did."
"Mhm."
"..."
This was bad. Without ntioning the Basilisk's Fang, he had nothing to say. He had to twist the truth again. Staring blankly at the white wall, he continued.
"Then... Hong Ye-seong suddenly... activated his Eyes of Appraisal and said he knew everything."
"What exactly?"
"That I have the magic stone."
"The magic stone?"
"Yes... the one Hong Ye-seong was looking for."
"...How did that guy know?"
Sorry. I told him. Cha Eui-jae looked away from Lee Sa-young. But revealing the Basilisk's Fang would be like admitting he was J. Besides, from Honeybee's testimony earlier, it seed Lee Sa-young didn't have a good opinion of J.
"Do you want J to stay dead forever?"
"You want J to never appear again?"
Cha Eui-jae bit his lip. Was it because he lost his top rank? No matter how much he thought, he couldn't figure out why Lee Sa-young disliked J, as he had never t soone like Lee Sa-young as J. In the glimpses of Lee Sa-young and J's fragnts, they seed close...
Just then, Lee Sa-young cursed under his breath.
"Ah... fuck."
"Hey, why are you swearing..."
"I can't think straight..."
He heard a short sigh, then felt soft hair brush against his shoulder and neck. Cha Eui-jae widened his eyes and looked sideways. Lee Sa-young had curled up and leaned against him. Cha Eui-jae froze in place, arms awkwardly raised.
'Why is he doing this?'
Was this a new type of attack? If the goal was to make him uncomfortable, it was a huge success. Cha Eui-jae was more flustered than ever.
But Lee Sa-young made no further moves, just soft breaths and the sound of chains clinking. And then Lee Sa-young's words made Cha Eui-jae doubt his ears.
"I'm tired..."
Did Lee Sa-young really just say that? It sounded almost like a complaint... As Cha Eui-jae stood stiffly, only his eyes moving, the muttering continued.
"You keep making pry..."
"..."
"Making care..."
"..."
"Annoying."
Ending with annoyance, it was definitely still Lee Sa-young. Cha Eui-jae tried to speak but then closed his mouth. The breathing near his neck seed a bit faster.
'Ah.'
With a small clink of chains, Cha Eui-jae began to gently pat Lee Sa-young's shoulder. The shoulders, which had flinched, gradually relaxed.
Jung Bin's chains worked by suppressing the source of awakeners' powers, effectively binding them. Being used to his powers, suddenly losing them must have been disorienting. Even though only his wrists were bound, it probably felt like his entire body was tightly bound. The burden must have been imnse, despite him not showing it.
Patting the firm shoulder, Cha Eui-jae clicked his tongue softly.
'It might be easier if he just raged.'
Lee Sa-young muttered again.
"So annoying..."
"Yeah, yeah. I get it. Just rest."
"..."
"Sleep if you can."
"..."
Lee Sa-young, who had clamd up, leaned in a bit more. It felt like comforting a child, making Cha Eui-jae stifle a laugh. He raised a hand to gently stroke Lee Sa-young's hair, feeling the tension drain from the body against his. The hair was softer than he had imagined.
Just then, a new ssage appeared on the wall.
[The Artisan Exhibition auction will resu in 30 minutes.]
[Hunters in the waiting room, please return to the hall when the tir ends.]
[Ti remaining: 29:59...]
The numbers on the tir started to decrease. Cha Eui-jae watched it, wishing ti would slow down, just this once.
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