Crash—
The door to the Guild Leader’s office burst open. Cha Eui-jae stumbled in and flopped straight onto the sofa. With his face buried in the leather cushion and body sprawled out, he looked like a wooden puppet. Seo Min-gi, who followed behind, pushed up his sunglasses and started nagging.
"34 seconds have passed since you collapsed like that, custor. There’s still a mountain of work to do."
"What now..."
Seo Min-gi flicked through his tablet screen. In a monotone voice, he began to chanically list the schedule.
"Let start with the urgent ones. The research team wants you to co to Incheon. Seems like there’s been so progress. Also, the Rift Managent Bureau contacted us after the recent incident, they’d like you to visit. A few subcontracted guilds have requested etings as well."
"..."
"Oh, and... we still have to deal with the aftermath of those plants Hunter Kang Ji-soo grew during the ’Catch If You Can’ incident. We pulled out everything visible, but they keep sprouting up from random places. The café part-tirs are furious. Sprouts are growing not just from the floor or columns, but even from roasted coffee beans, apparently. Hunter Kang said she doesn’t understand it either, so I’ve contacted a building repair specialist guild just in case..."
"Enough, enough!"
Cha Eui-jae cut him off hastily. Seo Min-gi tilted his head in confusion.
"Pardon? I still have quite a bit left."
"Pass it to Bae Won-woo. Let Bae Won-woo-ssi handle it."
"Oh dear, the Vice-Guild Leader is already handling most of the paperwork. If we dump any more on him, I fear his brain might short-circuit."
"Why is an A-grade Hunter so weak!"
"Strong in body, weak in mind, that’s what Awakeners are. To use modern slang... it’s an Awakened-class trait."
The black lenses of Seo Min-gi’s sunglasses caught the light and glead.
"In the ti we’ve had this conversation, 1 minute and 35 seconds have passed. By this ti, the Guild Leader would have called the Rift Managent Bureau and reviewed and rejected five approval docunts. Now, get up!"
Cha Eui-jae clenched his fist. Damn it.
’I miss Lee Sa-young!’
***
During the hospital visit, A Small Miracle Seo Min-gi listened carefully to all the thods Cha Eui-jae had attempted to bring back Lee Sa-young. Then, step by step, he began drafting a plan, for the sake of processing his own workplace injury.
"Yoon Ga-eul needs ti to recover, and the fish market is closed... So, to physically extract the Guild Leader, we’ll need a magic stone. I’ll issue a magic stone request to Hunter Market. Though I doubt we’ll find one as large and pure as the one you had, custor."
"What about the money?"
"We’ll cover it with the Pado Guild’s funds for now."
"Split it fifty-fifty. Then we can get one regardless of the price, right?"
"As expected of Hero J, you’re too generous for your own good."
The two quickly shook hands. The negotiation was sealed.
That very day, A Small Miracle Seo Min-gi imdiately began the discharge process. Upon hearing the news, Bae Won-woo, Kang Ji-soo, and Romantic Opener drove a van to pick him up in front of Seowon Guild, even hanging a hastily scribbled sign on a cardboard box taped to the back window.
[Co back! There’s still a spot left for you!]
[Without you, the guild is dood (seriously)]
It looked more like a desperate plea from a black company than a celebration of discharge, but to a workaholic, it must have hit differently. The mont Seo Min-gi read the words on the sign, he covered his mouth. A tear seed to glisten beneath his sunglasses.
"To think they need this much...!"
"...I don’t think that’s supposed to be a touching ssage."
"It says the guild will collapse without . What higher praise could there be?"
It was a heartwarming sight, until Seo Min-gi and Cha Eui-jae got into the van and shut the door.
Thunk. As soon as the door closed and they buckled their seatbelts, Bae Won-woo and Kang Ji-soo, seated in the front, turned their heads around in eerie unison, like a scene from a horror movie. The atmosphere in the van instantly shifted. Bae Won-woo’s sunken cheeks made him look like a zombie, heightening the horror.
"Seo Min-gi... and J-nim."
"Yes?"
"Please, work!!"
Six hands reached out from all directions. Hands too desperate to dodge.
According to the tearful pleas of Bae Won-woo and Romantic Opener, this was the situation:
The only reason Pado Guild could run as a tight-knit elite team was entirely thanks to Lee Sa-young. He handled nearly all the administrative work by himself. Though the workload had decreased a bit after eting J, he still carried out his duties diligently.
Then Lee Sa-young fell into a coma for three months. It was fine. They still had Seo Min-gi and J.
Even after he woke up, though he slacked off more and wandered, it was still fine. They had Seo Min-gi.
Then both Lee Sa-young and J got trapped in an eroded dungeon. That’s when things began to fall apart. Everyone else was too tied up with fieldwork to handle desk duties.
Then Seo Min-gi got severely injured and hospitalized. J, busy with his own matters, didn’t return to Pado Guild. That was the final blow. The mountain of backlogged tasks finally exploded.
Romantic Opener clung to Seo Min-gi’s arm and wept.
"I thought I was gonna die... there was so much work... it just never ended..."
"So, you finally realized how valuable I am."
"Too much. Way, way too much."
Seo Min-gi, proud as could be, patted Romantic Opener’s head. anwhile, Cha Eui-jae dodged Bae Won-woo’s desperate hands and asked.
"Okay, fine with Seo Min-gi-ssi. But why are you looking for ? I can’t do desk work."
"We know... but we’re at the point where we’d borrow a cat’s paw if it could help. Can’t you assist a little? Fieldwork stuff, mostly."
"No, first we have to bring back Sa-young..."
"Oh, of course we’ll get him back! We’re fully committed to that. He’s our Guild Leader!"
The mont Cha Eui-jae sank back into his seat, Kang Ji-soo, quiet until now, spoke up.
"Pado Guild might collapse before Guild Leader cos back."
"..."
"R-right! When he cos back, we need to show him a thriving Pado Guild!"
It was an argunt Cha Eui-jae couldn’t refute. Pado Guild was practically created to wait for Cha Eui-jae, after all. They couldn’t let it fall apart.
Then, as Seo Min-gi basked in the hands clinging to him with a satisfied smile, he added.
"Besides, it’s not like we can bring the Guild Leader back right this second. Finding a magic stone and Yoon Ga-eul’s recovery will take ti anyway. How about staying with us just for a bit?"
Huh... maybe. But Cha Eui-jae’s last sliver of logic held on. No, he should be making abalone porridge for Yoon Ga-eul instead.
Just then, Seo Min-gi held out his hand.
"In exchange, we’ll waive the magic stone cost. Pado Guild will cover it entirely."
Cha Eui-jae, like he was in a trance, took that hand. After all, saving money is always a good thing.
***
And now, back to the present. Cha Eui-jae was regretting everything.
’I should’ve just split the cost.’
Pado Guild had a lot of work. An absurd amount. Its reputation as one of South Korea’s top three guilds wasn’t for nothing. ssages, requests, dungeon raids from every direction. So many people to et and contact.
’He worked like this every day?’
And yet he still found ti to show up at the hangover soup restaurant every single day to annoy? To keep coming just to see ?
’That lunatic.’
"Um... J. Are you really okay? You look so tired..."
Yoon Ga-eul cautiously asked, crawling over on her knees. Cha Eui-jae was lying on a blanket in the middle of a classroom. He answered in a voice barely above a whisper.
"I’m fine. Just doing so thinking."
"Are you really, really okay? We can’t call a doctor in here..."
"Yeah. What about you, Student Ga-eul? Are you feeling okay?"
"Of course! I’ve been ditating lately. I think I’ll be able to stay connected even longer this ti... maybe!"
She answered brightly and placed her hand on Cha Eui-jae’s solar plexus. He clenched his black gloves tightly.
They had placed requests for magic stones not only on the Hunter Market but even through underground channels, yet they had no luck. With even normal dungeons being eroded lately, dungeon material circulation had dropped significantly. From herbs used in potions to magic stones, the monster cores, everything was scarce. Monsters that had been turned white no longer held magic stones.
In the end, the only hope they could cling to was Yoon Ga-eul.
’I’m sorry, Student Ga-eul... but...’
He had to find sothing, so clue, for the sake of the mission, for Lee Sa-young, for his own survival. Yoon Ga-eul’s hand began to glow in thousands of colors. Cha Eui-jae closed his eyes. The darkness behind his eyelids sparkled. His consciousness slowly sank into the depths.
***
Cha Eui-jae opened his eyes.
He was in a cramped room piled high with books, papers, and all sorts of junk. Where was this now? He scratched his head and looked around. Then he saw soone sitting at a desk. ssy curly hair. Broad back. A familiar silhouette. Lee Sa-young.
’Looks like I found him.’
Cha Eui-jae crept toward Lee Sa-young quietly. He craned his neck to see what the other was doing. Lee Sa-young held a thick black marker in his hand, and on the desk...
A notebook lay open. The tip of the marker slowly inched toward it.
A chill ran down Cha Eui-jae’s spine. The twisted face of Nam Woo-jin, warped like a goblin, flashed through his mind. From that mont, his body moved faster than his thoughts. Cha Eui-jae swatted Lee Sa-young’s wrist away.
"Hey, you psycho!"
Smack!
Clatter, roll...
"..."
"..."
His hand stung from the blow. Cha Eui-jae looked back and forth between the marker rolling on the floor and his own hand. It didn’t pass through him... I actually hit him?
He slowly turned his head. Piercing violet eyes glared back at him. A powerful hand suddenly grabbed his wrist. As his torso tipped forward, another hand darted beneath Cha Eui-jae’s mask. Frantic fingers searched his face. And then,
A thick thumb shoved itself into his mouth.
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