Kim Woo-jin, who entered the room, made a call with the volume of his cell phone turned down a lot, in case Han Yi-gyeol could hear it.
[Hey, Kim Woo-jin.]
"Give me the data."
As soon as the other person answered the phone, Kim Woo-jin promptly brought out the main topic. He answered with a tone that the other person, who had paused for a moment, could not stop him.
[I knew this would happen. Can you at least say hello?]
"Don't talk nonsense."
[All right, all right. You're rushing me.]
The sound of rustling paper was heard over the phone.
[Can I send it right away? There is not much information accumulated.]
"Send it and keep looking. And…"
Kim Woo-jin glanced at the entrance. The voice that followed became even smaller.
"What about the other one I ask?"
[Hmm… I have something to tell you about it.]
Hyde's voice was somehow not satisfied. Kim Woo-jin frowned.
"Why, is there a problem?"
[I don't know if it's a problem…]
"Explain it properly."
Hyde, who was speechless for a moment, sighed and opened his mouth.
[Actually, I set aside the gate and searched for Han Yi-gyeol first. Because it smells funny.]
Tap. Tap. The sound of the keyboard could be heard through the voices.
[You know that, right? Ordinary people know everything from personal information to their life history, half a day is enough.]
"Yeah."
[Let's see about Han Yi-gyeol. I've been searching for about 43 hours…]
Kim Woo-jin, who was listening, bit his lip.
No way…
[Recent track record. Exactly after the video of Area C13 appeared. But there is no record before that.]
"What does that mean?"
[Where was he born and who did he live with… Family relationships and resident registration numbers are registered. But that's it. Other than that, everything has no trace.]
"..."
[In other words, there's no information other than the registration at the district office. You want that?]
"I don't need it."
[Hmm, I guess so.]
His hand gripping his cell phone hardened. Kim Woo-jin asked with a cold expression.
"What about his sister?"
[The result is the same as Han Yi-gyeol. It's classified as missing, but no further information is available. It's neat.]
"Is there no way?"
[Umm…]
Hyde answered in a difficult voice he had never heard before.
[I'll try, but I can't give you a definitive answer. If it's cleaned up like this, I'm sure the other person is as talented as me.]
If the information about Han Yi-gyeol and his younger sister was deleted using a talented person…
'Master.'
It must be Cheon Sa-yeon. He didn't expect him to be this thorough.
'But, if it had been hidden clumsily, Han Yi-gyeol would have already found it.'
Unlike before, Han Yi-gyeol is now getting what he wants from Cheon Sa-yeon.
Kim Woo-jin lowered his head in a depressed mood. He thought it would be very helpful to Han Yi-gyeol if he found out information about his sister.
"Don't give up for now and look for more. His sister, she… I know she's very sick. Search for the hospital."
[Hospital? Well, I got it. I'll send you the gate documents now.]
"Okay."
After finishing the call, Kim Woo-jin left the room and found Han Yi-gyeol lying on the sofa with his eyes closed. His well-groomed face exhaled his breath evenly and the inside of his mouth was dry.
"Han Yi-gyeol."
Go to bed and sleep comfortably. He came closer and said, but Han Yi-gyeol, who had fallen asleep, did not even move.
"..."
His soft brown hair, long eyelashes that fell below, his pure white cheeks, and his well-placed lips slowly entered his gaze.
His heart pounded as he looked at his slender neck over his baggy t-shirt and his collarbone slightly rose due to his posture.
Kim Woo-jin, who unconsciously raised his arm, wiped Han Yi-gyeol's cheek with his slightly trembling fingertips.
"Um…"
Then, with a sound of pain, Han Yi-gyeol raised his hand and gently grabbed Kim Woo-jin's hand, which was touching his cheek. While Kim Woo-jin was startled like a child caught doing something bad, Han Yi-gyeol woke up.
"Ah, lying down for a while has made me sleepy…"
"..."
"Kim Woo-jin?"
Kim Woo-jin averted his gaze from Han Yi-gyeol's puzzled eyes and gently pulled out the hand he was holding.
"Go, ahem. Go back to sleep."
His voice came out harshly.
"No, I'm not going to sleep. How about the data?"
"They're going to send it quickly. It will take about an hour or two."
"Good."
Nodding his head, he got up and headed for the bathroom, saying that he should wash his face to wake him up. Kim Woo-jin covered his red nape with his hands.
* * *
Upon hearing that it had arrived, Kim Woo-jin went down to the first floor and received the data. I pulled out the data from the kraft paper envelope and read it slowly.
"Is this reliable information?"
"Ung."
Each guild was neatly divided into cleared gates, ongoing gates, and waiting gates.
It's just the work of a professional.
'I didn't expect to get this kind of help from Kim Woo-jin.'
In the original story, Kim Woo-jin appeared as little as Han Yi-gyeol, so it felt strange.
"You're not going to tell me where you got it from, aren't you?"
To that question, Kim Woo-jin hesitated and answered.
"It's better not to know."
"Yeah, okay."
I put the cluttered papers together and put it back together.
"Honestly, it's hard to believe because I don't even know who the informant is."
"I suppose so."
"So I'll just trust you."
"…me?"
"Yeah. I mean I believe in your choice."
"Believe in my choice…"
Kim Woo-jin's face, who had been muttering along with my words with a blank expression on his face, began to turn red gradually. Kim Woo-jin, whose face turned red from the nape of his neck, covered his mouth and said.
"…for the first time. Words like that…"
"If I didn't believe you in the first place, I wouldn't have asked for this. Anyway, thank you."
Kim Woo-jin bowed his head and mumbled back.
"Tell me more. Anything. I'll do it all for you…"
"I don't have one right now."
"Then later…"
"Okay."
Looking at Kim Woo-jin, who was very shy, I clicked my tongue. Maybe it's because he hasn't had any friends for a while. He seemed particularly weak at these words.
'Well, it's amazing to have friends with that temperament.'
I shook my head, remembering the past Kim Woo-jin, who used to spit out swear words when he opened his mouth. He had lowered his tail a bit to me now, but basically, he's a tough and sensitive person.
'There is also a gate at the Area D17 I've been to.'
I asked Kim Woo-jin, taking out the gate data for Area D17.
"This information, can you continue to receive it?"
"Ung."
"Then take it again next week or so."
"I see."
I smiled contentedly and slowly read through the gate description of Area D17.
'The warped space and the corridor in the dark. The S+ grade monster I met down there, the goddess statue. It's written in detail.'
This was information that Ha Tae-heon did not reveal in the media interview. He probably said it at the guild management headquarter meeting. Masters needed to exchange information so they could prepare for danger.
It was exactly the information I was looking for. I sat down on the sofa and took the time to scan through the data from start to finish. Fortunately, no warped space was found outside of Area D17.
'The probability of a gate having an anomaly is about 50%. The difficulty increase is from a minimum of 1 level to a maximum of 2 levels.'
An S+ grade monster was additionally discovered at the gate belonging to the Jayna Guild. Fortunately, it was dealt with without major damage.
As I was looking at the data for a while, I heard a buzzing sound from the corner of the sofa. I noticed that it was my cell phone that I had thrown away earlier.
"What is it?"
When I looked at the screen, I saw an unknown number. Who is it?
"Yes."
After much consideration, when I answered the phone, the other person said in an urgent voice.
[Han Yi-gyeol. Where are you now?]
"…Team Leader Park Geon-ho?"
Kim Woo-jin, who was organizing the data he had finished reading, turned his head towards me.
"What? I told you not to make unnecessary calls."
[Because it's not useless. Do you have time now?]
"I am busy."
[I know you're not busy. You came back from the gate yesterday.]
"Are you thinking about it knowingly? My desire to meet you is disappearing."
[Don't do that. It's really urgent.]
No matter how much I think about it, I think I got it for nothing. I sighed.
"What is it?"
[I wish you would come up to the representative office now.]
Representative office? Is there Cheon Sa-yeon? I answered yes and hung up the phone. What the hell are these two together?
Ah, really, I don't want to go, but I can't even refuse because I think it's a gate problem. When I got up from my seat with a tired face, Kim Woo-jin followed me.
"Where?"
"Wait a minute upstairs…"
"Go together. I will go too."
…can I take you with me? Well, he didn't say to come alone.
"Whatever."
So I went up to the top floor with Kim Woo-jin on my back. As if he had already been informed, the attendant opened the door to the representative office without saying anything.
"Master. No matter how you think about it, this is not the case."
As soon as I entered, I heard Park Geon-ho's serious voice. In the representative office, not only Park Geon-ho and Cheon Sa-yeon, but Woo Seo-hyuk were also present.
"Han Yi-gyeol."
Park Geon-ho, who was in confrontation with Cheon Sa-yeon, found me and walked with bright eyes. I built a wall with the wind to show that he should not come any closer. Of course, Park Geon-ho didn't care and approached through the wind.
You're a fucking S-rank bastard.
"What? If you get closer, I'll just go."
"How heartless."
Ignoring Park Geon-ho, who was crying, I turned my gaze to Cheon Sa-yeon. Cheon Sa-yeon, who looked at Park Geon-ho with pitiful eyes, said to me.
"It's disappointing that you came so quickly when he called you."
"You should be disappointed with the person who called me, so why are you disappointed with me?"
"Park Geon-ho is a guy who has nothing to be disappointed about."
Unlike usual, Cheon Sa-yeon didn't have a smile.
"Whether it is Han Yi-gyeol or not, my thought doesn't change. Stop doing useless things, Team Leader Park Geon-ho."
"How about sending another S-rank other than me? There must be many guild members who are compatible with Secretary Woo Seo-hyuk."
"The other S-ranks have already been scheduled."
"Be honest with me. The team was created like this on purpose."
"Does Team Leader Park Geon-ho look that much to me?"
Only then I understood the situation. It seemed that Woo Seo-hyuk joined the clear team played by Park Geon-ho. He didn't like it, so he was protesting like this.
I frowned and intervened.
"Don't tell me, Team Leader, the reason why you asked me to come…"
"Please put Han Yi-gyeol in that place, except for Secretary Woo Seo-hyuk, Master."
That's funny. I shook my head firmly.
"I don't want to go."
"Why? It will be a good memory if we go together."
"It would be only you."
I asked Woo Seo-hyuk, pushing Park Geon-ho away.
"Woo Seo-hyuk-ssi, are you okay?"
"I don't want to go either."
"..."
Woo Seo-hyuk, who answered honestly, unlike his blunt expression, continued.
"But it's a matter that has already been decided and I'm just following the Master's order."
"I understand…"
"It's also a bit rude to ask for a change because you feel uncomfortable."
"..."
That's Park Geon-ho's cursing right now, right?