Did you hear everything?
In a brief moment, countless thoughts flashed through my mind. Should I pretend not to know and just run away? But I had made eye contact with Lee Sa-young. Lee Sa-young, resting his chin on his hand, was openly staring at Cha Eui-jae. Ignoring Jung Bin who was sitting right in front of him, Lee Sa-young's brazen attitude made Cha Eui-jae want to put a gas mask on him backward. So he couldn't see anything.
Cha Eui-jae had invaded the space that Lee Sa-young had separated with an item, so this time, he was the uninvited guest. If he acted recklessly, he might attract Jung Bin's attention instead.
Fortunately, he had a good excuse… Hangover soup! Cha Eui-jae had temporarily forgotten it while eavesdropping on the interesting conversation, but as a part-time worker at the hangover soup restaurant, he had an obligation to serve hangover soup to these two troublesome customers.
Cha Eui-jae stood up slowly, watching Jung Bin's reactions. He raised both middle fingers toward Lee Sa-young and silently mouthed,
"Screw you."
Then he naturally turned and headed to the kitchen. He heard a very small laugh. Jung Bin's puzzled voice followed.
"Lee Sa-young-ssi?"
"No, it's nothing. The possibility of another unregistered person?"
"Since Hong Ye-seong-ssi's equipment auction is coming up, so a few people might have entered the country. But no skilled person would cause this kind of commotion. They would come and go quietly."
Jung Bin answered firmly. He seemed to think the culprit of this incident was an amateur who had just awakened recently, an ignorant newbie. Cha Eui-jae, who had become an 'amateur, newbie, ignorant fool' out of nowhere, felt wronged. Information didn't spread this quickly when he was active. A languid voice suggested another possibility.
"There's an S-grade who awakened a few months ago. How about that one?"
There were already three S-grades here, and another one had awakened? Why were there so many S-grades in this small country? It seemed Korea could maintain its safety just fine without him. After a brief silence, Jung Bin replied gloomily.
"That person is… as you know, still a minor, and probably doesn't have time for this kind of thing. She's not a combat hunter either."
"Oh, she's a high school senior, right."
"Yes. She's preparing for the college entrance exam. She'd probably rather study an extra passage in the exam prep book than enter a rift."
"Well… if you say so."
Cha Eui-jae listened carefully while putting the finished hangover soup in a tray. Would Lee Sa-young reveal everything? A part of him started to get a little anxious.
If he admitted that the owner of the magic stone was the same person as the unregistered one he met. And if he revealed that the unregistered person was Cha Eui-jae.
If he lost this peaceful life he had barely obtained.
The tray in his hand was gripped tighter. At that moment, Lee Sa-young spoke slowly.
"I still haven't found him either."
A light remark that made Cha Eui-jae's sharp readiness seem pointless. Cha Eui-jae looked out at the hall with wide eyes. Jung Bin's voice followed with a disappointed tone.
"If even Lee Sa-young-ssi hasn't found him yet…."
"Well… it could be bait set by some shady folks."
"We can't rule out that possibility either."
As Jung Bin nodded in agreement, Lee Sa-young motioned towards the air with his chin.
"Since the conversation is over, how about we deal with this first?"
"Let's do that. Talking further… doesn't seem appropriate for a hangover soup restaurant."
With a snap of fingers, Cha Eui-jae also came out of the kitchen with the tray. Seeing the hunters glancing at them and whispering, it seemed the item was released. Cha Eui-jae approached at a moderate pace and placed the bowls on the table.
"Two hangover soups are ready."
"Oh, thank you."
Jung Bin politely thanked him and picked up a spoon. Cha Eui-jae glanced at Lee Sa-young. Lee Sa-young was thoroughly ignoring Cha Eui-jae, as if he hadn't just spoken to him.
***
"Thank you for the meal."
"…Yes, thank you."
'If you're done eating, just leave.' Cha Eui-jae held back his words as he watched the hunters leave in a group. While he was counting the cash, Jung Bin, who was looking at the autographs on the wall, asked.
"Are those signatures from regular customers?"
"Huh? Oh, yes."
"Hmm…"
Most of them were people who came here almost daily, so they could be considered regulars. As Cha Eui-jae nodded, Jung Bin smiled.
"Haha, I wonder how many times I'd have to come to get my signature up there. I guess I'll have to visit often."
No, don't come. Don't ever come back.
It sounded like polite small talk, but Cha Eui-jae hoped he wouldn't return. He earnestly prayed as he saw Jung Bin off. Lee Sa-young had also disappeared at some point without a sound. Only after the two S-grades left did peace return to the store and to Cha Eui-jae's heart.
It was when he was filling the sink with water after finishing the day's business, wearing pink rubber gloves. Leaning against the sink, listening to the sound of water, he heard a faint sound. It was so small that Cha Eui-jae could barely hear it with his keen sense of hearing. Then, the sound began to be heard regularly: tap, tap, tap. He turned off the faucet and peeked around to find the source of the sound.
A gas mask was tapping on the sliding glass door with its fingertip.
If this had been a scene from a B-grade disaster or horror movie, the protagonist would scream, but to Cha Eui-jae, it looked like an annoying customer interrupting his closing time. Instead of screaming, he replied loudly enough for the voice to be heard outside the door.
"We're closed—"
The gas mask also leaned its forehead against the glass and replied briefly.
"I need to talk to you."
"I said we're closed."
"You'd better hear me out unless you want to see Jung Bin again tomorrow."
At the half-threatening words, Cha Eui-jae rushed to the door and grabbed the handle with his rubber-gloved hand. Since it was just the two of them now, there was nothing to hide. His eyes burned intensely as he looked at the gas mask.
"Is it you?"
Did you call Jung Bin here? The indifferent voice came through the crack of the door.
"Why would it be me?"
"…"
"If you look at it, you're the one who called him here."
"I clearly heard you say you were looking for someone."
When Cha Eui-jae retorted with a dumbfounded expression, Lee Sa-young responded as if it was obvious.
"If you hadn't thrown a nuclear bomb on Tomato Market, he wouldn't have come here."
"What are you talking about? What does Tomato Market have to do with me?"
The gas mask stared straight at Cha Eui-jae through the glass.
"Don't you understand the seriousness of the situation?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Cha Eui-jae decided to keep playing dumb. The black gloves stopped tapping on the glass.
"Fine. Whoever comes, just keep pretending you don't know anything. That's what you ought to do."
"…"
"If you're not opening the door, should I just melt this?"
"Try it. I'll report you to the authorities right away."
"Why do you keep looking for Jung Bin… I'm right here in front of you."
It was a high-class threat, implying he'd call Jung Bin right away if Cha Eui-jae didn't open the door. Cha Eui-jae eventually opened the door. He couldn't let Jung Bin return here after finally sending him off. As soon as Lee Sa-young came in, he took off his gas mask and brushed back his hair.
"They'll keep coming. Those kinds of guys."
Lee Sa-young, who had just called Jung Bin, Korea's 3rd-ranked S-grade public hunter, "those kinds of guys," popped a peppermint candy into his mouth. His pale cheeks puffed out in the shape of the candy. Lee Sa-young had an uncanny talent for saying dreadful things nonchalantly. Cha Eui-jae shuddered.
"Don't say such horrible things."
"Then why did you put it up on Tomato Market? You should have put it on Second-hand World or Thunder Market."
Lee Sa-young continued his scolding disguised as advice while sitting on a chair.
"Of all places, you put it on Tomato Market where the area is specified, causing this mess."
"I told you, it wasn't me."
"Fine, then. The crazy person who put the magic stone on Tomato Market."
"Watch your mouth. They probably didn't know any better."
"All the hunters I know installed Tomato Market now. Many are trying to track the owner of the magic stone."
"…"
"It was practically giving it away for free, and you put it on Tomato Market with the area verified. It seemed like you wanted to advertise your location."
"…That person probably regrets it now."
"Really? They didn't seem like it at all."
Lee Sa-young didn't back down even a bit. He even seemed slightly upset for some reason. But since this incident was clearly Cha Eui-jae's fault, he couldn't tell Lee Sa-young to shut up.
Just moments ago, Cha Eui-jae had been thinking of countless ways to chase away the unwanted guest, but now he changed his mind.
Currently, the only person who knew that Cha Eui-jae was hiding his strength was Lee Sa-young. In other words, the only person who could help maintain Cha Eui-jae's quiet life was Lee Sa-young. Since things were already messed up, why not use the information power of the number 1? After all, this guy was an active hunter.
Cha Eui-jae clasped his hands together and, with unusual politeness, called out to Lee Sa-young.
"Lee Sa-young-ssi."
"What's gotten into you, using honorifics all of a sudden? You've eaten at least five thousand more meals than I have."
His grudge was impressively long-lived. Cha Eui-jae decided to abandon formal speech immediately.
"Shut up. Anyway, I need some advice."
"Hm…"
"There's a friend of mine who made a big mistake…"
Lee Sa-young was looking up at him with a seemingly serious expression, listening to the story. Whether he was truly paying attention or just pretending, Cha Eui-jae wasn't sure. Cha Eui-jae continued with the most crucial points.
"He didn't know it was a big mistake."
"Yes."
"And he didn't think it would escalate this much."
"Poor guy."
Lee Sa-young offered sympathy that sounded entirely insincere.
"By the way, Hyung, do you even have friends?"
"I do. What do you know?"
When Cha Eui-jae shook his fist in the air, Lee Sa-young mimed zipping his lips. Then, placing his hands together and resting his chin on them, he smiled with his eyes. His fancy face was filled with the kind of mischievous curiosity one might have for an interesting toy.
Though it was an obvious lie, Lee Sa-young seemed to signal that he would humor it. Cha Eui-jae, matching his expectations, continued shamelessly.
"It seems the mistake was bigger than he thought. All sorts of people are buzzing around him."
"Too bad."
"But this friend wants to fix his mistake as quietly as possible. Without anyone knowing."
"Why?"
Their eyes met. Staring at Lee Sa-young's mischievous face, Cha Eui-jae answered.
"Because he wants to live quietly."
"Ah…"
"…"
"Wants to live quietly, huh."
After a short silence, Lee Sa-young bit into his candy with a crunch and laughed softly.
"I really like that."
Lee Sa-young stood up silently and clasped his hands behind his back. His long shadow seemed to engulf Cha Eui-jae. Whispering like an incantation, his low voice reached Cha Eui-jae.
"Let's make a deal."
"…"
"I'll clean up the mess you made."
The subject had subtly shifted back from 'friend' to Cha Eui-jae, but Cha Eui-jae didn't bother correcting him.
"It won't be for free."
"Of course. It's a deal."
"What do you want?"
Looking up at Lee Sa-young's face from his reversed vantage point, Cha Eui-jae had no idea what condition this madman might propose. Perhaps he'd ask for help with a task, assistance in dungeon raids, or even for Cha Eui-jae to join his guild.
Given the intricately crafted face, the conditions were likely to be equally precise and potentially dreadful. In the worst-case scenario, Lee Sa-young might ask him to kill someone. If it came to that, Cha Eui-jae would have no choice but to refuse and look for another solution.
However, Lee Sa-young's proposal was unexpected. He held up one finger and spoke.
"A person who is unknown."
"…"
"A person whose existence no one knows."
Lee Sa-young smiled angelically.
"I want you, Hyung."