Honeybee, South Korea's 5th-ranked hunter, and the advertising model for CyC, a hunter-exclusive dye made from dungeon byproducts, was busy giving fan service while flaunting her shiny blonde bleached hair in a traditional hangover soup restaurant.
When Cha Eui-jae, channeling the excitement of meeting a star hunter, responded enthusiastically, the other hunters, caught off guard, also clapped along. Honeybee withdrew her fierce aura and bowed politely.
"I'm sorry for startling you. I didn't mean to intrude so suddenly."
"It's alright."
"No, really, I'm sorry. I lost my temper for a moment…"
She laughed heartily with Cha Eui-jae, but while her face bore an elegant smile, the hunters' eating pace quickened. Among the clattering noises, a familiar voice broke through.
"Who parked a motorcycle like this? Ugh."
All eyes turned to the newcomer, Bae Won-woo, who was blinking while holding Honeybee's motorcycle overhead. Honeybee gasped.
"Are you crazy? Put that down right now!"
"Honeybee? What are you doing here?"
"First, put down my bike."
"Your bike? You should park it properly then. Blocking the entrance like that."
Bae Won-woo grumbled as he gently set the bike aside. Honeybee, who had been massaging her temples, looked up with a start.
"Hey, Shield Guy. Did you come alone? Where's Lee Sa-young?"
Having earned the nickname "Shield Guy," the epitome of manliness, Bae Won-woo shuddered.
"I told you, don't call me by my hunter name. Please use my real name."
"Where's Lee Sa-young? Didn't you come together?"
"Huh? Sa-young? I don't know. Why are you looking for him?"
Bae Won-woo asked, puzzled. Instead of answering, Honeybee scanned the area. It wasn't common to witness conversations between top 10 hunters, so the other hunters were all ears. But as Honeybee shot them a sharp look, they quickly pretended to be preoccupied.
At that moment, a thunderous stomach growl echoed through the restaurant. Rubbing his belly, Bae Won-woo muttered pitifully.
"I'm curious about your story too, but can we order first?"
"…Sure. I need to cool down a bit anyway."
Honeybee fanned herself. Just then, two hunters who had devoured their hangover soup tossed 30,000 won on the counter and hurried out. Bae Won-woo skillfully picked up a rag and waved it at Cha Eui-jae.
"I'll clean up and sit down. One hangover soup with plenty of cheongyang pepper. Honeybee, what do you want?"
"What do they have here?"
"hangover soup."
"…Only hangover soup?"
"Yep. But it's good."
Bae Won-woo flashed a toothy grin and a thumbs up. Honeybee, massaging her temples and shaking her head, answered reluctantly.
"Alright, hangover soup for me too."
"Great."
Bae Won-woo flashed a V-sign at Cha Eui-jae, who responded with an okay sign before filling a bowl with kimchi and radish kimchi. He set the table quickly, and Bae Won-woo, who had even brought his own soup spoon, clapped his hands.
"Now, tell me. Why are you looking for Sa-young? What did he do this time?"
Honeybee glanced around again before gesturing for Bae Won-woo to come closer. As he leaned in, she cupped her hands and whispered.
"You know the magic stone listed on Tomato Market, right?"
Of course, Cha Eui-jae heard it all. Not the magic stone again. With everyone who came in talking about it, he was getting neurotic. Cha Eui-jae stoked the fire under the stew pot. Bae Won-woo whispered back.
"Yeah, I know."
"I really, really need that magic stone."
"Huh? That much?"
"If I bring it, Hong Ye-seong will make me a weapon. I desperately need an S-grade weapon."
"Oh… right. Your weapon broke, didn't it?"
"Yeah. And the system ranking update is coming soon. After getting the magic stone to Hong Ye-seong, I'll commission my custom S-grade weapon and beat Gyu-Gyu in the ranking update. It's the perfect plan."
Gyu-Gyu was the ranker just above her. Like everyone else, she had her grand ambitions visiting this hangover soup restaurant. Cha Eui-jae vowed to punch Hong Ye-seong someday if he ever met him. For reference, Hong Ye-seong still posted about his longing for magic stones daily on InHeart.
Bae Won-woo nodded with a dubious expression.
"Well, that makes sense. But why are you looking for Sa-young?"
"Because that crazy guy blocked all the info sources!"
Bang! Honeybee slammed her fist down. Fortunately, before her hand hit the table, Bae Won-woo swiftly intercepted it with his palm. Seeing Bae Won-woo save the table, Cha Eui-jae gave him a thumbs-up from behind the counter.
'Damn, tanks protect property these days too.'
Cha Eui-jae added an extra meaty bone to Bae Won-woo's stew. Honeybee, still fuming, calmed down a bit.
"Did the table break?"
"No, I saved it."
"Thanks. Anyway, until a few days ago, information was circulating."
Honeybee's long-winded explanation boiled down to this: A sudden magic stone listing and deletion by EZ on Tomato Market. Normally, this would be a mere curiosity, but Hong Ye-seong's promise of a custom weapon skyrocketed its importance.
A custom weapon from Hong Ye-seong! A priceless item worth hundreds of millions. Hunters eager for quick riches swarmed to track EZ, and Honeybee, having recently lost her precious weapon, joined the hunt anonymously. Together, they formed a tracking team, sharing and analyzing every scrap of information.
Honeybee tugged at her golden hair in frustration.
"We enhanced the magic stone photo, looking for reflections, analyzed the phone model, and even compared the background newspaper to identify the publication. We dissected that photo down to the nano level, chasing every lead."
'…That far?'
Listening quietly, Cha Eui-jae broke out in a cold sweat. The technological advancement and hunters' obsession were terrifying. Even Bae Won-woo looked a bit overwhelmed.
"…That far?"
He echoed Cha Eui-jae's thoughts. Honeybee groaned, collapsing onto the table. Bae Won-woo swiftly caught her head before it hit, saving the table once again. Cha Eui-jae decided to give Bae Won-woo a free bowl of rice.
"But suddenly, all talk stopped a few days ago. It's not like everyone went into a dungeon! The tracking team went silent. So I asked if something happened."
"Yeah."
"They said they were quitting the chase. Those passionate guys!"
"Wow."
"So I kept digging. Turns out, they got contacted by the Pado Guild's legal team. Told to drop the EZ chase."
"What? Our guild?"
Bae Won-woo looked genuinely shocked. Honeybee, disheveled, muttered gloomily.
"That's all they said. Like they'd been gagged. But it wasn't you, so it's got to be Lee Sa-young."
"That's… probably true."
"And he doesn't meet people much… so I can't ask him directly."
Cha Eui-jae wanted to gather more information from their conversation, but any longer and the stew would boil over. He carried out two hot bowls of hangover soup, rice, kimchi, radish kimchi, and chopped cheongyang pepper on a tray.
Just then, Honeybee was slumped over, and Bae Won-woo was staring blankly.
"Your hangover soup is here."
"Oh! Thank you… wait, we didn't order rice."
Bae Won-woo looked at Cha Eui-jae with a blank face. Cha Eui-jae responded nonchalantly.
"It's on the house."
Bae Won-woo's blank expression turned into one of gratitude and amazement. Honeybee quickly lifted her head. Cha Eui-jae coolly returned to the kitchen.
The restaurant grew quiet again. A small service brought back peace and information. Easy. Cha Eui-jae finished the dishes and handled Bae Won-woo and Honeybee's additional orders smoothly.
A bit later, Bae Won-woo waved from the counter.
"Hey, part-timer! Check, please!"
"Sure. That's ninety thousand won."
After processing the payment and handing back the card, Honeybee suddenly produced a rolled-up item.
"What's this?"
"Unroll it."
Carefully, Cha Eui-jae unfolded it to reveal Honeybee's poster with a big signature on one corner. It would be a prized possession for her fans. Cha Eui-jae's expression momentarily turned odd.
'Why are you giving me this?'
And where did she get it from all of a sudden? She didn't have it when she made her grand entrance. Smiling smugly, she cleared her throat.
"I saw others had autographed posters on the wall?"
"Oh, yes."
"It's a gift. Put mine up too."
Cha Eui-jae almost stared at Honeybee dumbfounded but remembered he wasn't supposed to show his feelings. So he smiled widely.