The room fell into silence.
The ashen-gray hair glead under the light, and the black mask revealed no expression, making it impossible to read his face. His sharp suit fit him perfectly. The sound of his shoes tapping on the marble floor was crisp. His pace was neither too fast nor too slow.
He was the kind of person who naturally commanded attention. There was a coolness and pressure that couldn’t be ignored.
"……."
He was proving, simply by his presence, that he was the strongest.
The sound of his footsteps stopped. J stood in place, surveying the room. Hanbaek couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking right now. Did he think this was a place he didn’t belong?
Surprisingly, his guess was half correct.
Cha Uijae thought to himself:
‘Damn it, why does the eting room look like this?’
A roundtable eting room that looked like it was ripped straight out of a high-budget dieval fantasy film, with uncomfortable rankers sitting around it. No matter how much support he had from Jung Bin and Ham Seok-jeong, when you gather so many "super hamsters" in one place, problems were bound to arise.
‘I just want to go ho.’
Uijae glanced down at the soft, well-fitted suit he was wearing and sighed. When he thought about the trouble he had gone through to get this suit tailored, he realized he couldn’t just leave easily. Why?
Because a madman had gone to great lengths to get him this suit!
Uijae shot a glance at Lee Sayoung. Through the lenses of his gas mask, Sayoung’s eyes smiled brightly.
---
Before the General Assembly, Sayoung had been busy making calls and gathering information. Uijae, however, had nothing to do. He sat on the couch, hugging a cushion, and alternated between looking at the two n. Just as Sayoung finished a call, Uijae took the opportunity to ask, with an uncomfortable expression:
“Why can’t I just wear the suit you gave last ti?”
“As if…”
"Exactly, dear… no, J. Please, let’s be reasonable. Even a little forceful movent and it would tear right away."
“It didn’t tear last ti.”
The suit and shoes that Sayoung had sent him were neatly stored in the small room of his hangover soup restaurant. He had even sent them for cleaning! Why waste money? Wearing the sa thing again seed perfectly fine. This guy must have no sense of money just because he earns a lot. As Uijae kept grumbling, Sayoung let out a deep sigh for him to hear, narrowing his eyes.
“You don’t know how sharp Jung Bin’s eye is, do you?”
"……."
“Quiet and just follow .”
"……."
“If you don’t want him to realize that his assistant and your brother are the sa person.”
“Hm?… Well.”
Minggijeok, standing nearby, glanced at Uijae over his sunglasses and nodded without saying a word. His gesture of understanding was infuriating. A mont later, Minggijeok pulled his phone away from his ear and said:
"Dr. Park’s shop has an open ti slot. A client canceled their reservation, so there’s an opening."
“What ti?”
“In an hour.”
“Let’s go.”
Imdiately, darkness enveloped them, and when Uijae opened his eyes, they were already in a van. Sayoung sat beside him, legs crossed, as if this mode of travel was nothing new. Could they just move people like this, as if kidnapping? Unfortunately, the van wasn’t waiting for Uijae’s consent and started moving.
After about 30 minutes of driving, the van pulled into a narrow alley. A door with a glowing crimson light stood at the end of the dimly lit path. Was this the back door? In front of the door stood a tall figure, a woman with long hair tied up and a shawl draped over her shoulders. Minggijeok was the first to step out of the driver’s seat, and Sayoung whispered to Uijae:
"Wait here for a mont."
When Uijae nodded, Sayoung exited the van. Through the slightly opened door, Uijae could hear a high-pitched voice greeting them warmly.
“Oh my, it’s been such a long ti, Hunter Mingi and Hunter Lee Sayoung! It’s been ages since I last saw you two! I was getting a bit lonely, you know?”
“It’s good to see you again, Dr. Park.”
“Mingi, long ti no see! I’ve been keeping an eye on your performance. How are you? You look like your dark circles have gotten worse. I didn’t think they could get any darker!”
“Do they?”
Uijae peeked out of the tinted window. The woman, Dr. Park, was laughing behind her hand while chatting with Minggijeok. Sayoung, with his hands in his coat pockets, waited silently. He tilted his head slightly.
“How quickly can it be done?”
"Oh, right! A suit and shoes, correct? You’ll choose the fabric and material again this ti, won’t you?"
“Of course.”
“Since you’ve co rushing to the back door, I assu this is an urgent job…”
Dr. Park closed her eyes for a mont, pretending to think it over, before smiling.
“I’ll have it done by tomorrow. How’s that?”
“Good. And…”
Sayoung glanced through the partially opened door of the shop. It seed like there were several people waiting inside, as he could sense movents. He gestured sharply with his chin.
“Clear everyone out.”
“Everyone?”
“Just you stay, the rest out.”
“Is this job that sensitive?”
“The most sensitive one I’ve ever given you.”
"……."
With two knocks on the door, all the sounds of movent disappeared. At the sa ti, Minggijeok used shadows to surround the van and entrance. In the sudden darkness, the only light ca from the lamps beside the shop’s door. Sayoung walked back to the van, opening the door. Their eyes t through the gas mask lenses, his eyes narrowing slightly as if trying to reassure Uijae. He opened the door wider.
“Co on out.”
Uijae stepped out of the van, the faint crimson light catching his silver-gray hair, which fluttered in the wind. Dr. Park’s eyes widened as she spotted Uijae’s ashen hair and the black mask beneath it. She covered her mouth, rendered speechless.
“Oh my, my goodness…”
“I’d appreciate it if you could make this quickly.”
“You never fail to surprise . This ti you bring such a prominent figure…”
As Dr. Park fussed over them, she pushed open the door. Despite the narrow entrance, the inside of the shop was vast and grand. It seed like it was connected to so warehouse. Shelves stretched up to the high ceilings, packed with various items. The scent of monsters lingered in the air.
Dr. Park glided ahead, her voice echoing as if coming from far away.
“With such an important client, we’ll have to use the finest materials. Let’s see… what do we have?”
They passed through several storage areas before reaching a room with a large desk, nurous clothing racks, mannequins, and fitting rooms. Minggijeok scanned the desk and asked:
"Has the kraken material arrived?"
"The kraken material was just used by another client recently."
"Who?"
"Honeybee placed the order."
"I figured."
Uijae stared blankly around the shop. Could a regular store just keep this much monster material stocked? And wait, they were making clothes from this stuff? He nudged Sayoung’s arm and whispered:
“I thought only Hong Yeseong could make equipnt.”
“Hmm… it’s a bit different.”
Sayoung gestured toward Minggijeok to explain. Minggijeok responded chanically:
“The master craftsman creates entirely new items from scratch. Shops like these modify the appearance of existing equipnt or add monster materials to custom-made clothing. Leather, feathers, hearts, claws—things like that. It’s more about modifying what already exists.”
“Exactly!”
Dr. Park, who had returned with her arms full of materials, chid in cheerfully. She laid everything out on the desk, holding up a piece of shimring, red-scaled leather to the mannequin.
“This is how it works—we choose the materials and layer them onto the custom clothing. Different monster materials have unique traits. Dungeon items often have… peculiar designs, don’t they?”
True. Uijae recalled a ti when the reward for clearing a toxic swamp dungeon with poison toads had been a thick coat. It had been purple with yellow and green patterns, with slimy residue dripping off it. It was an A-rank item with excellent protection against toxins, but no one had wanted to wear it.
"Hunters are more conscious of both performance and style these days. Think of it like a hunter’s version of bulletproof clothing that also looks good."
True. Uijae nodded, and Dr. Park rested her cheek on her palm, mumbling:
"Creating equipnt is the realm of the master craftsman. We stay in the realm of modification and enhancent."
Got it. Uijae nodded quietly, and Dr. Park let out a soft laugh.
“You’re much more mild-mannered than I expected, Hunter J.”
“...What?”
Uijae’s eyes widened. But before he could react, Sayoung interrupted, arms crossed.
“Is this all you’ve got? The materials.”
“Oh! There’s more. I just brought the A-rank stuff for now. This is velociraptor leather—lightweight and flexible, perfect for agile movent.”
Sayoung tilted his head,
and his gaze was sharp as he evaluated the materials with an almost judge-like deanor.
"The fabric’s not good."
"What’s the point of third-grade monster hide?"
"Next."
"The color’s off."
"Doesn’t match."
"Is this the best you’ve got?"
"Hmm…"
"Not worth spending money on."
The constant critiques flowed out of him like second nature, and even Dr. Park’s professional smile began to wane little by little.
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