'Why are my ears so itchy?'
Standing in front of the gas stove, Cha Eui-jae scratched his ears irritably as he cooked hangover soup.
Today, for some reason, the hangover soup restaurant was bustling as usual since Bae Won-woo and Lee Sa-young, along with the members of the Pado Guild, hadn't shown up. The hunters even had bright smiles on their faces for a change. Cha Eui-jae, too, had managed to forget the painful failure of Tomato Market and was having a relatively peaceful day. However…
"Did you see the post on HunterNet yesterday?"
A young hunter whispered, starting a buzz in the restaurant.
"Yeah, apparently some lunatic posted an A+ grade magic stone on Tomato Market for 80 million won? The guilds are in an uproar."
The word "lunatic" hit Cha Eui-jae's ears hard.
'Lunatic, huh.'
Cha Eui-jae made a displeased face, but the other hunters, oblivious to his reaction, continued their conversation skillfully, separating meat from bones.
"Isn't it a clickbait post? They could've just posted a picture they found online."
"Hey, Hong Ye-seong even offered a reward for anyone who finds that magic stone, saying he'd make them a weapon for free."
"Really?"
"Yeah, check Hong Ye-seong's InHeart."
"Oh my god, it's true. We need to find it immediately."
Cha Eui-jae's hand, which was holding tongs to adjust the pot, froze. Even though he had recently distanced himself from the hunter world, he knew the name Hong Ye-seong and that he was an S-grade artisan. Most of the hunters who frequented the hangover soup restaurant wanted to buy Hong Ye-seong's equipment.
But Hong Ye-seong put up a reward? …Why?
Before Cha Eui-jae could sort out his confused thoughts, the hunters' conversation continued.
"Damn it, I should've bought it. Even if I bought it for 80 million won and resold it, I'd make tens of billions. What the hell?"
"I installed Tomato Market as soon as I saw the post."
"Me too."
"I hope EZ posts another one."
"But I heard they deleted their post and deactivated their account."
"Are they messing with us? Give and take away. Tell them to rejoin immediately."
"I'm going to Noryangjin Fish Market today to ask the mackerel."
"Can the mackerel really find it?"
"If not, they better give up their title as Korea's top information dealer."
[Trait: Poker Face (B) activated.]
At this point, his mind was so overwhelmed that his specialty activated automatically. Cha Eui-jae sprinkled a handful of green onions into the boiling pot with a calm face. But his head was still spinning. That magic stone is worth… tens of billions?
'I used to play jacks with magic stones because they were so useless!'
Of course, that was something only J could do, but Cha Eui-jae didn't care.
"Who do you think posted it?"
"Given the price, maybe a regular person who picked up a magic stone on the street?"
"Shit, if I could pick up an A+ grade magic stone on the street, I'd quit being a hunter and walk 100,000 steps every day."
"Agreed."
My magic stone… was higher grade than I thought? Eavesdropping on the hunters' conversation, Cha Eui-jae realized something he had overlooked all this time.
J's belongings were rare treasures that ordinary hunters couldn't even dream of seeing.
Eight years. Just two years short of a full cycle of changes, the world had undergone another upheaval, different from the Day of the Rift. One of the major changes was the value of magic stones, which had gone from trash to gold. Back then, the uses of magic stones could be summarized in two ways.
First, collectibles for the rich.
Second, trophies for hunters.
In the past, magic stones were items that only people with money would buy, but now, good magic stones were worth their weight in gold.
Research results showing that magic stones could efficiently extract energy without environmental destruction, unlike traditional energy sources like coal and oil, were the main reason for this shift. F-grade magic stones, which used to be thrown away inside gates, now fetched at least 100,000 won each.
In fact, even when J was active, he never directly dealt with dungeon by-products. Since he was hiding his identity, his aunt handled all transactions of dungeon items, and in those days, there were no hunter markets or craftsmen, so it was rare to buy equipment with money.
Given this background, it was natural for Cha Eui-jae not to know the current market prices for magic stones.
The government did provide monetary rewards for hunters entering cracks and dungeons, but J didn't use the money for any significant transactions. Occasionally, he bought potions, but they were for emergency treatments for survivors inside the cracks, not for his use.
And today, his past actions had snowballed into a massive wave coming straight at Cha Eui-jae.
'Is news about one mistaken post spreading this much?'
Cha Eui-jae was genuinely dumbfounded. He wished everyone would just stop for the sake of his quiet life, but the hunter community was more connected, faster, and more organic than he thought. And the hangover soup restaurant was an excellent place for gathering and spreading information.
"Tomato Market…"
"How much…"
"magic stone…"
"hangover soup is delicious…"
"Around here…"
"Which lunatic…"
"A hidden powerful hunter…"
"Michelin star for the hangover soup restaurant…"
Rumors about the unidentified magic stone were still spreading. There were some inaccuracies mixed in, though.
***
"Uncle, your face looks weird."
"My face? Why?"
"Like this."
Park Ha-eun pushed her chin up with both hands. Was she saying his jaw had become sharper? Cha Eui-jae rubbed his jawbone and smiled.
"I haven't been sleeping well lately. It's fine."
"Uncle never sleeps."
"Exactly, so it's the same as usual. I'm just a bit tired. Do you need anything for school tomorrow?"
"School supplies… cardboard and modeling clay."
"Art class?"
"Yeah, I'm going to make pottery with modeling clay. Like Hong Ye-seong."
Damn it. Cha Eui-jae almost bit his tongue at the sudden mention of the name.
After hearing that Hong Ye-seong had put a bounty on the magic stone, Cha Eui-jae had downloaded InHeart for the first time and followed Hong Ye-seong's account. That crazy guy was another kind of madman, different from Lee Sa-young— at least knowing what he was up to made it easier to deal with him.
Hong Ye-seong wasn't someone who posted often, but after the magic stone incident, he had been posting at least once a day. Today, he had posted a picture of a lone egg in a chicken coop with this caption;
xxYeahsungH Golden round magic stone… #missingit #waitingforyou #daily #communication #egg #magicstone #missyou
Likes 532k
Honeybeezx Shouldn't we send this guy to counseling? It seems like he's affected by some mental contamination skill @jungvin80 @SEOWON_GUILD
Cha Eui-jae strongly agreed with Honeybee's opinion. Even to him, Hong Ye-seong seemed insane. He couldn't understand the brain structure of today's hunters.
After placing rabbit-shaped apple slices in front of Park Ha-eun, Cha Eui-jae grabbed two bunches of green onions and a cutting board and sat at a side table. Recently, he hadn't been able to visit grandmother, which bothered him, so he asked Park Ha-eun quietly.
"How's Grandma's leg?"
"Hmm, still limping."
"Okay… We need to take her to the hospital."
"Does she need surgery?"
"We won't know until we see the doctor."
"…I hope she doesn't need surgery."
Park Ha-eun groaned, resting her chin on her hands. Cha Eui-jae felt the same way but expressed it by chopping green onions.
***
Even after the Tomato magic stone incident had somewhat settled, the hangover soup restaurant remained abuzz with talk of magic stones. Whenever the conversation seemed to die down, Hong Ye-seong would throw more fuel on the fire through InHeart.
The influence of the only S-grade artisan was immense. If Lee Sa-young was a storm in the hangover soup restaurant, Hong Ye-seong was causing an earthquake from afar, reaching all the way here. And the aftermath of that earthquake…
Brought another S-grade to the hangover soup restaurant.
"This place has a nice atmosphere."
A familiar voice. The same tone heard in a public service announcement right after this morning's drama ended.
Cha Eui-jae deliberately turned his head slowly. It was a near-instinctual attempt at reality avoidance. However, it only allowed him 3 seconds of mental escape before reality snapped back, and the tall, well-dressed man standing at the door didn't disappear.
With his tall height, honey-colored hair, slightly drooping eyes, and clean suit with a civil servant badge around his neck, the man was indeed Jung Bin, the star of Korea's public service announcements.
Why… are you here?
For a moment, Cha Eui-jae even wondered if he had accidentally reported Lee Sa-young to the Awakened Management Bureau. As soon as Jung Bin made eye contact with Cha Eui-jae, he bowed politely.
"Hello."
"…Welcome. Just you?"
It's okay. Jung Bin doesn't know Cha Eui-jae. He only knows J with the mask. Cha Eui-jae reassured himself as he got up from his seat.
[Trait: Poker Face (B) activated.]
"Yes, just me."
"Please sit here. You can check the menu on the wall and place your order."
Jung Bin sat quietly in the seat that Cha Eui-jae had indicated and looked at the menu on the wall. Only then did the hunters around them start murmuring.
"Insane…"
"That's Jung Bin."
"Who did something that would get them arrested? Which one of you is it? Come on, just turn yourself in."
"Oh, I'm not here on official business today. I'm just here for dinner. I happened to be in the area on a business trip."
Jung Bin waved his hand with a gentle smile. However, the hunters who had suddenly found themselves sitting near him were already burying their heads in their bowls, gulping down the hangover soup like water.
Somehow, these actions seemed familiar. Outside the sliding door, one could feel a presence peeking into the shop. By now, Cha Eui-jae could foresee the future clearly. Soon, there would be a Jung Bin ZONE in addition to the Lee Sa-young ZONE.
In other words, today's business was over.
Having to deal not only with guild-affiliated hunters but now with public servant hunters disrupting his business, where could he possibly file a complaint about this? Cha Eui-jae felt like grabbing someone and venting about why these trials kept coming to his once peaceful hangover soup restaurant.
"…"
But there was no time to feel aggrieved because a second uninvited guest was approaching the shop in quick succession.
Footsteps so quiet you could only hear them if you paid close attention. The presence was masked, but Cha Eui-jae could feel a fiery aura. A dark figure steadily approached the shop.
All circumstances pointed to one person alone.