"I wonder why you're asking. Surely I'm not expected to report even private details.."
"To be honest, I'd like to hear a bit about the A-rank ability user."
"A bit, you say?"
"…I've been investigating, but there was no information on when he awakened his powers, or where he was and how he had been. As if someone had intentionally erased it."
Cheon Sa-yeon did not blink an eye despite Choi Mi-jin's sharp words.
"What is your relationship with him?"
"Hmm. Well, right now, it's not a relationship to be particularly proud of."
Choi Mi-jin frowned. "You look pretty close if that's the case."
"In many ways, he's a fellow with distinguished ability. I think why I desire to get closer to him is quite obvious."
In response to his sly serpent-like response, Choi Mi-jin retorted, "You are well aware that it's not good for a large guild master to get along with an independent ability user more than necessary, Master Cheon Sa-yeon."
"To get along with him more than necessary… well. I want to, but the other party doesn't want to. So even though that's not the case, I can only regret it."
"Stop joking around."
"I answered with sincerity, so I'm sad that you've dismissed it as a joke."
Tadak.
Cheon Sa-yeon tapped on the table with his long, white fingers. The atmosphere that had been swirling around Choi Mi-jin moved to Cheon Sa-yeon at once.
"As you know, he is an independent. He's not affiliated with any guild, yet if the management headquarters intervenes… That seems like too much interference, Gate Management Centre Head Choi Mi-jin."
Leaning her body on the back of the chair, Choi Mi-jin closed her lips and raised her eyebrows as he spoke slowly.
'I didn't know that you would avoid answering to this point…'
Cheon Sa-yeon seems to treat everything lightly, but I know that in reality, he is a tougher opponent than anyone else. That's why I deliberately brought it up in an unavoidable situation… I didn't know you'd be this wary.
Choi Mi-jin decided that it would be better to take a step back. If they talked more about it now, it would only stimulate Cheon Sa-yeon's vigilance. It would be much better to prepare properly later and approach the A-rank ability user rather than Cheon Sa-yeon.
"…I understand. Let's stop talking about this." Choi Mi-jin got up from her seat with the documents. "I'll wrap up the meeting. Thank you all for attending, see you next time."
"I'm leaving too. It's not fun here. Centre Head~ Let's go together!"
Perhaps because Hong Si-ah had lost interest in Cheon Sa-yeon and the unidentified A-rank, she got up without any regrets and followed Choi Mi-jin.
A cold silence fell in the conference room where Choi Mi-jin, her attendants, and Hong Si-ah had left.
"..."
Ha Tae-heon, who quietly collected the documents, got up without paying attention to Cheon Sa-yeon. A laughing voice caught Ha Tae-heon's attention as he was about to leave the conference room.
"I heard some interesting news yesterday."
Clack. There was the sound of neat heels behind his back. Ha Tae-heon's cold gaze turned to Cheon Sa-yeon. Cheon Sa-yeon opened his mouth once more while slipping his hand in the pocket of his trousers.
"Don't you want to know what I've heard about?"
"I'm not interested."
The invisible air between Ha Tae-heon and Cheon Sa-yeon met violently. Ha Tae-heon narrowed his eyes as he looked at Cheon Sa-yeon, who was smiling as usual.
"If you listen, you might think differently. How about you think about it?"
"My answer is the same."
"Is that so? That's too bad."
As always, it was a tone that did not give off the slightest regret. Just as Ha Tae-heon was going to turn his back, Cheon Sa-yeon continued, "Then, wouldn't it be okay to report to the media that another SS-class item has appeared?"
Ha Tae-heon's movements suddenly stopped.
"It's going to be quite noisy, whether it appeared in the country or abroad. A new SS-grade gate didn't even appear, but the item appeared."
"..."
There was a cold chill in Ha Tae-heon's gaze. Cheon Sa-yeon's smile widened.
"Now you seem to be interested."
The documents were crumpled in his hands. Ha Tae-heon calmly stared at Cheon Sa-yeon, forcing the storm-like chaos down.
How did he find out? Actually, the answer was simple. Didn't you see him a while ago? He was held in Cheon Sa-yeon's arms and dealt with monsters.
'Han Yi-gyeol.'
He knew that the man had something to do with Cheon Sa-yeon. However, knowing in his head and seeing with his own eyes were two different things.
The video that Choi Mi-jin showed. Ha Tae-heon saw it and felt very strange. Judging from what he felt, it was closer to the unpleasant side.
'…they weren't breaking apart.'
When he thought of Han Yi-gyeol's face smiling brightly as he handed him the SS-class coat, Ha Tae-heon's mouth flattened.
He felt pathetic that he believed even a little bit that he (HYG) wanted to get away from Cheon Sa-yeon.
"Ha Tae-heon."
Facing Ha Tae-heon who was expressionless as usual, Cheon Sa-yeon, with eyes glittering like a beast's, said, "You must be quite curious about the dog* who goes back and forth between me and you."
"..."
"Whether he's lost, abandoned, or has an owner… You want to know those things." Cheon Sa-yeon took one step closer to Ha Tae-heon. His long eyes, which were exposed under his black hair, were slightly curved. "Once it becomes clear that he doesn't have an owner, you want to take him right away. He's pretty useful."
Ha Tae-heon wrinkled his brow slightly as if he didn't like his vulgar words. But in the end, he didn't contradict him.
"Ha Tae-heon, would you like to make a bet with me?" Cheon Sa-yeon said in a soft voice. "Who, between the two of us, can put a leash on the dog's neck? Whoever wins pulls on the leash to show him off to the other person."
"Why me?"
"You'll have to ask the dog, not me." In response, Cheon Sa-yeon tilted his head slightly. "Even I don't know… The dog's dumber than I thought. Or, he's greedy enough to try to have both SS-rankers in his hands."
He wasn't lying. Cheon Sa-yeon couldn't really understand Han Yi-gyeol, who gave the SS-class item to Ha Tae-heon.
If it was an SS-level item, it would be good enough for an A-rank person to use. But why did he go to Ha Tae-heon and hand it over?
Because Ha Tae-heon is strong? Did he think that putting an SS-rank in debt will help someday? Or…
'Do you want to raise Ha Tae-Heon?'
Whatever it was, it would be fun to watch. Han Yi-gyeol, whom he had seen so far, was not boring.
'Well, I'll figure it out slowly.'
Cheon Sa-yeon finished his thoughts and smiled softly. "Are you going to accept my proposal? Let's try our best."
Cheon Sa-yeon deliberately patted Ha Tae-heon on the shoulder a couple of times and then left the conference room.
Ha Tae-heon heard his words and began to doubt Han Yi-gyeol. Previously, he was just watching an opponent he didn't understand. And now, he wanted to figure out which side he was on.
How naive.
Even though he was cold-hearted, he was a bloodthirsty man.
Since he had a lot of cards, he could easily get at least one or two of Roheon's secrets, even if he didn't have to use Han Yi-gyeol.
When things went according to his plan, Cheon Sa-yeon smiled happily and took out his cell phone. Just then, a message came from Han Yi-gyeol.
"..."
Cheon Sa-yeon's expression, as he read the message while smirking, gradually hardened subtly.
* * *
Hearing the sound of the conference room door closing, Ha Tae-heon lowered his gaze.
He felt like a worm caught in the spider's web.
'It's my mistake.'
Only the guild master Lee Joo-ha and healer Do Ha-seok knew that he had obtained SS-level items.
It was suggested that the information be disclosed after the surrounding situation had been sorted out, and Ha Tae-heon agreed.
…it would've been, but Cheon Sa-yeon noticed. He was pretty accurate too.
「Are you going to accept my proposal? Let's try our best.」
If he did not accept the proposal, Cheon Sa-yeon threatened to disclose the existence of the SS-level item to the media.
Ha Tae-heon let out a suffocated breath.
'What's the possibility that Han Yi-gyeol did not leak the information?'
There were many places where it felt uncomfortable to doubt Lee Joo-ha and Do Ha-seok. She was a master who acted for the benefit of the guild, and Do Ha-seok was not the kind of person to do such a troublesome thing.
There was no one suspicious except for Han Yi-gyeol. If so, why did Han Yi-gyeol do this? As Cheon Sa-yeon said, was it just because he was blinded by greed?
Nothing was certain. Has he ever been so helpless?
「Think rationally. Do you think you will be able to deal with the Requiem Guild, which is putting pressure on the Roheon Guild, without a single item?」
He remembered Han Yi-gyeol's words he heard inside the gate. That's right. The difference between Cheon Sa-yeon and himself was much greater than he expected.
'If I had known this would happen…'
He should have asked Han Yi-gyeol properly. He regretted it. At the same time, to his surprise, wild and ferocious emotions ran through his chest.
If he thought about it, he was a suspicious opponent from start to finish. A bright smile directed toward him and a sparkling gaze as if wishing for something.
I will never make this mistake again. In order to do that, I have to properly understand Han Yi-gyeol.
Suddenly, he remembered the contract he had with Han Yi-gyeol. He hadn't taken the price of the item from him yet. If so, he would contact him in the near future.
"..."
A strange light passed through Ha Tae-heon's calm black eyes.
Brrrrrr, brrrrrr.
The cell phone inside the suit jacket's pocket vibrated. Ha Tae-heon wiped his tired eyes and answered the phone.
"Yes."
[Hello? Is the meeting over?]
"Yes. It just finished."
Lee Joo-ha, who could not attend the meeting due to a business trip to China, asked with a worried voice, [Why is your voice like that? What happened?]
"No, everything is fine. I have all the documents related to the meeting. You can check it out when you arrive."
[Thanks. I was worried**. Kang Seung-geon, that guy, makes trouble even when he's been involved in an accident.]
"I'm fine."
[…well, you know, Tae-heon-ah. Can't you just pretend you can't win at this point and take over as the Vice Master?]
"Master."
[I know. You hate it because it's burdensome and there are so many things to worry about. But honestly, what you're doing right now is no different from what a Vice Master does, right? It's just a rank up.]
Lee Joo-ha's soothing voice was full of regret.
[And please take a look at your position as a general guild member with SS-rank, of which there are only two in Korea to be able to do so. I'm dying of self-consciousness here.]
Ha Tae-heon was silent for a moment at those words.
He, who was about to say no as usual, quickly changed his mind and answered quietly. "…I'll think about it."
Lee Joo-ha was pleased that he didn't automatically decline.
[What's going on? You've thought about it? Thinking about it is good! Are you recording this? Don't think about getting out of it later. Please think about it seriously. The position of Vice Master is really good, you know.]
"Yes."
[Others get down on their knees and beg for it. Oh, my bad.] Lee Joo-ha, who was grumbling playfully, immediately apologized and said, [I should hang up now. You had a hard time today. Go back and rest. I will contact you when I arrive in Korea tomorrow.]
"Yes. I'll see you when you arrive in Korea."
Ha Tae-heon, who hung up the phone, stood still for a while, holding his cell phone, out a low sigh and left the conference room.