The sliding door slid open, and as someone entered the shop, the previously relaxed atmosphere froze solid once again. The hunters who had been chewing their rice stopped their chewing motions, and someone who nearly choked managed to stifle it through sheer willpower.
A figure, bent over with a gas mask, stopped in its tracks, seemingly assessing the situation. An almost absolute silence, where not even breathing could be heard, prevailed.
It was the one standing by the door who broke the silence first.
"Strange."
Lee Sa-young sneered as he walked briskly across the hall.
"Why is a government official here?"
Jung Bin responded calmly.
"Of course, I'm here for dinner. I didn't expect to see you here, Lee Sa-young-ssi."
"Hmm… you seem free."
"Haha, not really. Even without Lee Sa-young-ssi stirring things up, Korean civil servants are always busy."
Despite the clearly barbed words, Lee Sa-young scoffed and went to sit in a corner. The hunter who had been sitting at that table, shoveling down hangover soup, gasped and threw money on the table before fleeing.
Damn it, those bastards are scaring away all my customers. Cha Eui-jae looked forlornly at the other hunters starting to stir and shuffle their seats as one left. Regardless, the two uninvited guests continued their conversation.
"Anyway, since we've met… Lee Sa-young-ssi, I have something to say."
"…"
"It's not something to discuss in a public place like this. Would you please start responding to official communications?"
"One hangover soup."
A complete brush-off. Yet, Jung Bin continued speaking steadily without showing any sign of frustration.
"Even if I go directly to the Pado Guild, you're always unavailable. When we send official documents, we only get responses saying the Guild Leader is busy with external matters. But I hear you regularly visit this nearby hangover soup restaurant. So I came here just in case, and you really were here."
"Lots of radish kimchi."
"Oh, I'll have one hangover soup as well."
"…"
Cha Eui-jae, who was writing down the order on a notepad, glared at the two. If you guys are going to fight, do it outside. Don't drag the part-time worker into a hunter fight. Cha Eui-jae pressed his pen to his temple. The tense atmosphere was giving him a headache.
After glancing around, Jung Bin continued his speech.
"And the director said you must pay for the last mess you caused."
"…"
This time, Lee Sa-young, who had remained silent throughout Jung Bin's speech, nodded his head.
"Oh, and… just a moment."
Jung Bin pulled out a round, cotton-like object from his inventory. As he pressed it with his thumb, an opaque barrier enveloped them, concealing their figures. The air, which had been stagnant, suddenly felt open and free. The hunters, who had been holding their breaths and watching the two, sighed in relief.
"Wow, he's even using a spatial separation item. Must be a really important conversation."
"Come on, don't leave us hanging here."
"No way, getting caught up in that could really screw us. Let's finish eating and get out."
"They wouldn't start a fight here, would they?"
"Surely not, there are civilians here."
"I wouldn't put it past Lee Sa-young."
Stop saying such horrible things. Cha Eui-jae shut his eyes tightly.
He knew Jung Bin wasn't the type to cause trouble in a place like this, but with Lee Sa-young involved, anything was possible. He didn't want his hangover soup restaurant to make the news as the battleground between the top-ranked hunter and the nation's star hunter.
Cha Eui-jae fiddled with his pen, clicking it absentmindedly. Although spatial separation items are often used for private conversations, they have a critical flaw; an awakened person of higher rank than the item's grade can easily see through it.
Jung Bin's item was probably around grade A. He couldn't be sure, but there was no reason to use an S-grade item in a shabby hangover soup restaurant. When Cha Eui-jae slowly opened his eyes, the barrier he had seen earlier was gone, and Jung Bin and Lee Sa-young were clearly visible.
Bingo. Cha Eui-jae inwardly rejoiced and pretended not to notice as he moved closer to peel garlic.
"Lee Sa-young-ssi, you were looking for an unregistered individual, weren't you? You even overturned the entire Awakened Management Bureau's database."
"…"
"This unregistered individual is presumed to be quite skilled. Skilled enough to withstand your attacks…"
An unregistered individual who could withstand Lee Sa-young's attacks. Despite no subject being explicitly mentioned, Cha Eui-jae knew exactly who they were talking about. That guy went through the entire database just to find me? No wonder he let me go so easily, his neck felt cold.
"Have you found that person?"
Cha Eui-jae held his breath. For a moment, he felt as if the purple gaze inside the gas mask was directed at him through Jung Bin's shoulder. Before he could determine if it was his imagination, a short answer came.
"No."
"Really?"
Jung Bin's eyes scanned Lee Sa-young's masked face, as if searching for something. Lee Sa-young, seemingly annoyed by this scrutiny, leaned his chin on his hand and asked coldly.
"Shouldn't you explain the situation before interrogating me?"
"…"
"Just blurting out your agenda makes me unhappy too."
The two faced each other in silence for a while. But soon, Jung Bin raised his hands, signaling surrender.
"Understood. I'll explain."
Lee Sa-young showed no reaction, but it was clear he was listening. Jung Bin took out his phone, tapped it a few times, and then showed a photo to Lee Sa-young.
"You know about the A+ grade magic stone that was listed on Tomato Market recently, right?"
"If you don't know about that, you should quit being a hunter."
Quit being a hunter, huh. Cha Eui-jae felt increasingly disturbed by how tangled and complicated things seemed to be getting. Maybe he was more famous than he thought.
"And you know Hong Ye-seong-ssi is locked up in Jirisan, making equipment, right? Of course, you do. You're the one who set up the internet there for him."
"Yeah, so?"
"Do you know that Hong Ye-seong-ssi threw a fit, asking for a magic stone?"
"He probably did."
"In conclusion, I believe the unregistered individual you're looking for is the owner of that magic stone."
Damn, this guy is sharp. Cha Eui-jae continued to peel garlic calmly, pretending to know nothing. Lee Sa-young's lips curled into a smile. His voice, which had been prickly before, turned surprisingly gentle.
"That's a big leap in logic."
Despite the words, the tone was far from kind. Jung Bin pocketed his phone and continued.
"If someone can acquire a magic stone of that caliber, they must be at least within the top 100 rankings. And such people naturally use the hunter market. It's secure for high-value transactions since both the seller and buyer's identities are guaranteed."
"…"
"If the fees and taxes are burdensome, there's always the black market. It's not ideal to discuss this as a public official, but it's a way to handle things quietly without causing a fuss. There are plenty of discreet methods."
Lee Sa-young's gloved fingers started tapping the table slowly.
"So why would that magic stone be listed on Tomato Market? And at such a ridiculously low price?"
"…"
"Probably because the seller couldn't use the hunter market due to not having a registration. That's why they listed it on Tomato Market. So it's either one of two things: an ordinary person or an amateur unregistered awakener. But the likelihood of an ordinary person possessing such a magic stone is… nearly zero."
'Amateur.' A word that stabbed former rank 1 J's heart like a dagger. Cha Eui-jae's pace of peeling garlic quickened. With the rustling sound as background music, Lee Sa-young asked.
"So?"
"That narrows it down to one thing. The magic stone owner is an unregistered individual."
"I see…"
"The person capable of obtaining a magic stone of that level is… the one you are looking for, Lee Sa-young-ssi."
Jung Bin's reasoning was quite accurate. Having graduated from the police academy and spent considerable time in the hunter world, his intuition seemed sharper than ever. If I hadn't heard this, it could have been a disaster. Cha Eui-jae felt the need to be even more cautious in his actions from now on.
Tok, tok, tok.
The black-gloved fingers were still tapping the table. Just as Cha Eui-jae's gaze was drawn to Lee Sa-young's fingertips, they moved slowly, tracing out the words that seemed to burn into his eyes in slow motion.
Did
You
Hear
Everything
?
The corners of Cha Eui-jae's mouth twitched. He looked up at Lee Sa-young. His hand, mechanically peeling garlic, faltered. He was so nervous he couldn't even tell if his poker face was holding up.
The expression visible through the gas mask was clear.
Lee Sa-young was smiling.