The next day, at the Pado Guild, there was a meeting to decide on the team to tackle the Jongno 3-ga Dungeon. Lee Sa-young had no intention of participating, but as a decision-maker, he had to sit in the meeting room.
With the unanimous agreement of the guild members, Bae Won-woo's team was chosen to tackle the dungeon. As soon as the decision was made, Lee Sa-young was the first to leave the meeting room. His mind had already wandered off before the meeting even ended. As he opened the chocolate-colored door, Seo Min-gi, who had been waiting outside, greeted him.
"Guild Leader."
Seo Min-gi tried to start speaking with a tired look on his face, but Lee Sa-young cut him off.
"Go ahead."
Seo Min-gi swallowed hard at Lee Sa-young's direct approach, while other guild members gathered near the door, murmuring.
"Hey, why are you blocking the way?"
"What's this traffic jam?"
"Are you really going to say it now?"
"Hurry up. The others are waiting behind."
The guild members in the meeting room grumbled because Lee Sa-young was blocking the door, but he didn't pay any attention to them. Seo Min-gi felt like crying. He wanted to tell the Guild Leader to step aside for a moment, but he had to hold back for his own safety.
Sneaking a glance at the guild members, Seo Min-gi eventually followed Lee Sa-young's order.
"Yes… Park Ha-eun, 8 years old, her parents were victims of the Anyang Dungeon incident. She survived alone at the age of three and was about to be sent to an orphanage when her paternal grandmother took her in."
"That's enough. What about her uncle?"
"Well… she doesn't have an uncle."
Lee Sa-young furrowed his brows as if questioning what Seo Min-gi meant. Seo Min-gi scratched his head and explained.
"Neither of her parents have brothers. Her mother was an only child, and her father only had sisters."
"Then… where did this 'uncle' come from?"
"Hmm…"
Seo Min-gi rolled his eyes and suggested.
"We can't rule out the possibility that she calls someone unrelated 'uncle'. Given that we can't find anyone, it's unlikely to be a blood relative. Here, take this file."
Seo Min-gi handed over a thick file. Lee Sa-young took it and flipped through it quickly.
"The only family she has, her grandmother, runs a hangover soup restaurant nearby. It's been there for quite a while."
Before Seo Min-gi could continue, a voice came from the meeting room.
"A hangover soup restaurant? The one in the alley?"
"You know it?"
At Lee Sa-young's question, Kang Ji-soo answered with a weary face.
"It's the Vice-Guild Leader's second workplace."
"Huh?"
"The Vice-Guild Leader eats there all the time! He doesn't get tired of it. He shows up at the guild once a day, but goes to that restaurant twice for lunch and dinner… so it's practically his first job."
Lee Sa-young was aware that Bae Won-woo often ate at the same restaurant. It was a familiar scene in the Pado Guild, to the extent that guild members would avoid him when he invited them for lunch because he went there so often. It was a coincidence that the restaurant was run by Park Ha-eun's grandmother.
Inside his gas mask, Lee Sa-young's lips curved slightly upward. He had a good feeling about this.
"Eh? Hangover soup restaurant? Why?"
At that moment, Bae Won-woo, who had given up on leaving the meeting room and was now cleaning the floor, joined the conversation.
"Bae Won-woo, do you know this hangover soup restaurant?"
Lee Sa-young read out the address from the file, and Bae Won-woo, who had been listening quietly, nodded. His voice sounded a bit more excited than usual at the mention of the restaurant.
"Ah, that's my regular place. My autograph is even there. Why? You want to go check it out?"
"Oh, this feels ominous. Guild Leader, please step aside."
Sensing danger, Kang Ji-soo urgently waved his hand, and Lee Sa-young, who had been blocking the way, took a step back. In that moment, the redhead darted out of the meeting room, and Bae Won-woo slowly made his way over like a substitute in a game. Seo Min-gi took this opportunity to bow his head.
"That's all the noteworthy information I have. I'll take my leave now."
Lee Sa-young didn't stop Seo Min-gi. There was no need to anymore. As the two hunters left and the new target approached, Lee Sa-young spoke slyly.
"Going to the hangover soup restaurant today?"
"Huh? Yeah. How did you know?"
"Great. Take me with you."
Through the lens of his gas mask, Lee Sa-young's eyes curved into a smile. Suddenly, the indoor temperature seemed to drop by about three degrees, and Bae Won-woo felt goosebumps all over. Did a guild member who still couldn't control their powers come upstairs? He looked around, but the hallway was empty except for the two of them.
"Why the sudden interest?"
"I haven't eaten out for a while."
Still smiling innocently, Lee Sa-young urged Bae Won-woo. Although it was hard to see because of the gas mask, Bae Won-woo, who had spent years with Lee Sa-young, could tell.
To Bae Won-woo, Lee Sa-young was like a younger brother he kept by his side, whether he liked it or not. So when this guy said he wanted to eat out for the first time in ages? And at my favorite place?
Lee Sa-young rarely ate out. His ability to produce poison was deadly to both allies and enemies, so he had his own set of rules for safety.
That's why he preferred solo missions and held back his abilities even in team battles. Knowing this, Bae Won-woo felt a pang of emotion at Lee Sa-young's desire to eat out. He couldn't help but feel a subconscious concern for Lee Sa-young, who was always cautious about having people around him.
"Ah, fine, fine. You should eat out occasionally."
Bae Won-woo quickly shook off the eerie feeling from a second ago and looked at Lee Sa-young with a kind smile. Lee Sa-young smiled back in a similar way, although his smile hid a cunning intention.
Bae Won-woo slapped his chest confidently.
"I'll buy lunch today!"
"Is the food good there?"
"Of course! Once you try it, you'll want to come every day."
"You might as well transfer your job there."
"I'm considering it, you punk."
With that, the two went their separate ways to their offices, planning their lunch. Oblivious to the hunters who didn't want to get involved in the Guild Leader and Vice-Guild Leader's lunch plans…
At the highly anticipated lunchtime, Bae Won-woo led Lee Sa-young to the hangover soup restaurant with a triumphant look on his face. When they arrived, it was already busy with lunch service. Lee Sa-young, scanning the shabby exterior of the restaurant, asked suspiciously.
"Is this place really a good restaurant?"
"Hey, don't you trust me?"
"No."
Lee Sa-young's skepticism wasn't entirely unfounded. The entrance was so low that it felt like his nose would touch it, and the shabby exterior looked like it could collapse at any moment. This rundown place was definitely not to Lee Sa-young's taste, who liked clean environments.
"Even if you don't trust me, trust my taste."
"What's on the menu here?"
"Hangover soup."
"What else?"
"Rice."
"What else?"
"Soju, makgeolli1."
"That's it?"
Bae Won-woo shook his head, looking at Lee Sa-young's discontented face.
"Think about it. How good must it be if they only serve hangover soup? Haven't you been deceived enough?"
"Yeah."
"You're too skeptical, man."
Despite his words, Lee Sa-young found them somewhat convincing. If the restaurant had been operating for a long time, it meant it had many customers. Lee Sa-young finally let go of some of his doubts and peeked inside through the sliding door's glass.
What he saw inside the hangover soup restaurant was… hunters everywhere. It wasn't just a lot; it was a field of hunters! It looked like a dungeon auction was about to be held. Lee Sa-young stepped back from the glass and looked suspiciously at Bae Won-woo.
"Why are you looking at me like that? What's up?"
"…Are you thinking about transferring to another guild?"
"What nonsense? Do you know how much time and effort I've invested in Pado?"
"But why are there so many hunters here? Even the HB Guild's HR team leader is here."
Only then did Bae Won-woo remember a fact he had forgotten in his excitement about the hangover soup.
This was a paradise for tired and hungry hunters. A rest stop for hunters, a hunters' approved restaurant. And he had brought the ill-mannered Guild Leader here. If he got annoyed and released his poison while eating…
We're fucked.
The overwhelming sense of doom washed over him like being launched into space. If a fight broke out here, it wouldn't just be a disaster; it could make the 9 o'clock news.
Should we just leave now? Go eat at a dosirak2 place instead?
While Bae Won-woo agonized over this, Lee Sa-young slipped through the sliding door as soon as the previous customers left. His agile movement, typical of the top-ranking hunter, left no chance to stop him.
Lee Sa-young ducked slightly to avoid hitting the low ceiling, then looked up and straight ahead. In front of him…
"Welcome…"
The face he had been looking for appeared. Although it was half-covered by a mask that night, Lee Sa-young was certain.
A young man wearing an apron with a soju brand on it, holding a hot pot instead of a ladle.
"…Found you."
As if to confirm Lee Sa-young's certainty, the young man's face crumpled in real-time. Lee Sa-young raised the corners of his invisible mouth and greeted softly.
"Hello, Hyung."