Ha Tae-heon had been in a very bad mood since he woke up in the morning.
"What's wrong? You look so tired."
When Ha Tae-heon's mood became unusual, Lee Joo-ha, who was standing next to him, asked with a worried face.
"It's all right."
Ha Tae-heon shook his head, but Lee Joo-ha added another word. "Don't push yourself too hard and let me know if you're tired. You are more important than that gate."
"I'm fine, really."
Lee Joo-ha and Ha Tae-heon had just arrived at the guild management headquarters to attend a meeting to decide on the new gate affiliation. Ha Tae-heon and Lee Joo-ha entered the central hall side by side, with a furrow in his brow.
"By the way, it seems like there are times when everyone gets a little greedy. Is this gate that important?"
"I'm not sure. I just felt like I shouldn't miss it."
"Hmm. I don't really know, so… Taeheon, you are the SS rank here."
If an SS rank, who had better senses than most ability users, said that, there was a high probability that it was a good gate. If you were lucky, it could be a grade gate that hadn't appeared in a while.
"If possible, if it's assigned to our guild, you must be the one to attend… ah."
Lee Joo-ha, who was talking while looking ahead, shut her mouth awkwardly. In response, Ha Tae-heon raised his head and looked at the man standing opposite him.
"It's been a while, Master Lee Joo-ha."
"…Master Cheon Sa-yeon."
Master of the Requiem Guild, Cheon Sa-yeon. He walked towards Lee Joo-ha and Ha Tae-heon. The bright eyes that were exposed under the soft black hair turned towards Ha Tae-heon. Beautiful eyes with thin double eyelids, sharp nose and jawline. His white skin contrasting with his dark hair was as beautiful as his name, but he had an aura that made it hard to approach him.
"It's been a while."
Cheon Sa-yeon pretended to be familiar with Ha Tae-heon and held out his hand. Holding the big, firm-hand, unlike his beautiful face, Ha Tae-heon replied calmly, "Long time no see."
Bzzt, energy collided between their hands. Lee Joo-ha, who was standing a short distance from them, looked anxious and felt the pulsating energy from their handshake.
"Hmm." Cheon Sa-yeon exhaled, amused, and curved his eyes.
The scene of two SS ranks shaking hands in the centre hall attracted much attention. Ha Tae-heon let go of his hand first when spectators gathered around him.
"Are you here to attend the meeting? Master Cheon Sa-yeon."
"Of course."
Lee Joo-ha hurriedly stepped in between the two when he let go of his hand. Compared to Lee Joo-ha, who showed a lot of discomfort, Cheon Sa-yeon was relaxed.
"That's weird. You weren't interested in the gate before?"
"No. That's a misunderstanding. Wouldn't any guild be greedy about the gate?"
Ha Tae-heon squinted his eyes.
'What is this feeling?'
There wasn't only a day or two when he couldn't read Cheon Sa-yeon's intentions from his expressions, but he was more concerned about it today. Ha Tae-heon tried to stay calm, restraining his arms from jumping forward.
"I'm also curious. The Roheon guild wanted this gate so badly… Whose idea might it have been? I don't think it was Master Lee Joo-ha's."
"…I don't know. What does that have to do with the Requiem Guild?"
"What does it matter…"
At Lee Joo-ha's sharp reply, Cheon Sa-yeon blinked his eyes and tilted his head slightly. All his actions resembled a lazy predator looking down at his prey. Even Ha Tae-heon, who had not received any attention, inadvertently clenched his fists, so it was natural that Lee Joo-ha, who was lower ranked, looked pale.
"It doesn't matter."
"..."
"I have no desire to give it away. I hope you understand."
"What do you mean…"
It was then the cell phone inside Ha Tae-heon's suit jacket began to vibrate. A vibrating sound resounded between the three of them who had fallen silent.
Cheon Sa-yeon asked Ha Tae-heon with a smile, "You're not picking up?"
"..."
Ha Tae-heon calmly took out his cell phone. The name that appeared on the screen was Cha Soo-yeon.
'If it's Cha Soo-yeon… Was she the ability user from the Jayna Guild?'
Ha Tae-heon had saved Cha Soo-yeon from danger, and since then, he had encountered her another time, so he knew her.
'But why…'
For some reason, he had a strong feeling that the person calling was not Cha Soo-yeon. After thinking about it, Ha Tae-heon slowly pressed the call button.
"…Hello. This is Ha Tae-heon."
[H-hey, how are you?]
He heard a trembling voice. With his cell phone to his ear, Ha Tae-heon made eye contact with Cheon Sa-yeon.
Cheon Sa-yeon's smile deepened.
* * *
After finishing the call, Ha Tae-heon got the car key from Lee Joo-ha and left the building. Ha Tae-heon, who got into the car, drove roughly towards his destination.
—You know the Sky Restaurant, right? If you pass by the restaurant, you will find an abandoned building. That's it. The time limit is… I'll give you 50 minutes. You're not gonna be late, right?
"Tsk."
Ha Tae-heon, who recalled the kidnapper's words, clicked his tongue as he checked his time. Only now did he understand the mysterious attitude of Cheon Sa-yeon.
Cheon Sa-yeon really wanted this gate. Like Ha Tae-heon, he was an SS rank, so the chances are high that he felt something when he saw the gate this time. Ha Tae-heon smiled coolly.
'I can't believe you've done such a shameful thing.'
He was so concerned about the gate that he didn't sense Cheon Sa-yeon making moves. The person who kidnapped Cha Soo-yeon was likely to be related to him.
It was very unpleasant for him to be taken advantage of by Cheon Sa-yeon, but he had no choice since he couldn't help it. He couldn't turn a blind eye to Cha Soo-yeon because he felt bad. He was also very sorry to Lee Joo-ha, who readily handed over the car key to save Cha Soo-yeon and told him to go safely.
As he passed the restaurant, an abandoned building appeared as he had heard before. Ha Tae-heon, who got out of the car, frowned and sighed. The meeting had long since started. Since he wasn't present, perhaps the gate would be handed over to Cheon Sa-yeon, who had been prepared in advance. The anger that welled deep inside naturally turned to the kidnapper.
Ha Tae-heon pulled his tie loosely around his neck and walked into the old building. The sound of his shoes hitting the hard cement floor echoed through the old building.
"T-Tae-heon-ssi."
Upon entering the large space in the centre of the abandoned building, Cha Soo-yeon, who was sitting on the floor with her hands tied, called Ha Tae-heon.
"Cha Soo-yeon-ssi."
"You really are here."
Ha Tae-heon quickly looked over Cha Soo-yeon. Fortunately, everything was fine, except that she was wearing a necklace that he had never seen before. She didn't even look hurt or exhausted.
Cha Soo-yeon was an A-ranked person. She was one of the top-ranked people with a fire ability. She was so strong that even a normal person could not even get close to her. But she was tied up helplessly… Ha Tae-heon looked at the necklace. It might be a shutter item.
Cha Soo-yeon could run away by just loosening the necklace. Ha Tae-heon thought so and took a step forward.
"Hello." A man who came down from the open ceiling greeted him with a friendly voice.
'I couldn't sense him… He is at least an A-rank.'
Ha Tae-heon looked at his opponent with an expressionless face.
"You arrived with a minute left. That's great."
The man checked the time on his cell phone and smiled. His thin brown hair fluttered in the wind, and his brown eyes shimmered under long eyelashes. His pretty face and harmonious features gave off a neat atmosphere rather than a flashy one.
Recognizing the voice he heard on the phone matched the voice of the man perfectly, Ha Tae-heon slowly began to use his ability. Since he came all the way here in the first place, he had no intention to take only Cha Soo-yeon back.
"As you can see, Cha Soo-yeon-ssi… oh, wait a minute."
"..."
Something black began to gather around Ha Tae-heon. It was one of his two abilities. The ability to attract dust and transform it into the desired material. The black dust gathered in Ha Tae-heon's grasp and soon took shape. As soon as he held the black longsword in his hand from start to finish, Ha Tae-heon swung his sword with tremendous speed.
Boom!
"This crazy—!"
The place where the man had just stood was shattered, as if a bomb exploded, by Ha Tae-heon's sword. The man, who managed to avoid the sword, flew into the air and shouted, "Wait! You're rather impatient. Let's talk!"
"Noisy," Ha Tae-heon responded with a cold voice and swung his sword once more. Kwaang, the wall cracked, spreading cement powder.