Chapter 71

And we can’t move to the next step unless we go into dungeons.

I stared straight at Joo Seowon and said,

“Get over it.”

“Fuck, like that’s up to me—”

“Figure out what the problem is. And spare me the bullshit about your ability being useless. If the issue is losing Minha, then focus on the fact that we’re going to find her. If it’s that you don’t have an offensive skill, then train with weapon-type artifacts.”

“......”

“A B-rank hunter with Tracking is plenty of deployable manpower, and I brought you in with that in mind.”

His eyes clung to mine. Instead of tightening a grip on his throat, I leaned in, closing the distance.

“Hold on, you’re way too close—”

“Every time you feel like you’re about to die, I’ll throw Do Yehyun in the grinder or shove a Stealth item in your mouth—one way or another, I’ll keep you alive. So don’t be afraid of dying.”

“......”

“And tell me what happened with Damyeon and Cape Prime—soon.”

Without waiting for his answer, I straightened up, opened the door, and got behind the wheel. Almost immediately, his voice came again.

“About that—”

“That’s not a request. It’s an order. Covenant aside, I hired you. I have a right to know what defects you’ve got.”

“Defects... Jesus, choose your words.”

“My head hurts. Shut up.”

I drew a long breath to soothe the lingering pain, yanked the dashcam’s memory card, snapped it, and stuffed the pieces into my pocket.

After a quiet stretch, Song Hwayoung opened the passenger door.

“The vibe’s not great.”

“We fought. With a bit of punching on the side.”

I answered to explain the nosebleed too, and her reaction was... mixed. Seowon kept his head down instead of adding anything or explaining himself.

Song Hwayoung glanced at my hands and sleeve, messy with blood where I’d wiped it, then said,

“Handle personal disputes on your own. First, I’ll apologize for taking you two to a D-rank Gate.”

“No need.”

“It was an unforeseen variable.”

She paused, face tightening as if thinking something through, then gave an instruction.

“Let’s head back to the SH building.”

***

After we returned to the SH building, got a quick brief on the schedule and post-dungeon measures, Seowon and I got off work early.

He stayed quiet until we were almost home, then finally spoke.

“I’ll talk to Song Hwayoung soon. And I’ll go over exactly what happened with the Haeseong guild master.”

“......”

“I also traced the route for the sword the S-rank used. I’ll compile it and report.”

“......”

I finished parking and gave a short reply.

“That’s all well and good, but fix your problem first.”

“......”

“No, actually, I know you can’t fix shit alone. So talk.”

“It’s not that big a problem, so maybe don’t—”

I looked at him. He went quiet for a beat, averted his eyes, and muttered,

“...A little later.”

“Give me a deadline.”

“A week.”

A week? Longer than I expected.

Still, I figured I could give him the time he said he needed—so long as he didn’t cause any trouble in the meantime.

I kept it simple.

“If you try to let it slide, I’ll find out my own way.”

At least the dungeon-related trauma was out in the open, so that was one less unknown. I stared at him for a moment, then went inside.

I went straight to my room, did a quick gear check, showered, and organized my thoughts.

'Right now, the only answer is to wait.'

I hadn’t expected Seowon’s thinking to go that way. Then again, I never planned to factor in every inch of his emotional baggage.

Honestly, that’s where I’m a little under-equipped.

'I should just accept that our ways of thinking are different.'

When you think about it, Kwon Taehan and I aren’t the same person, so of course Seowon’s reaction would differ too. I was just slow to acknowledge it because my objectivity tends to lag.

I pressed my hand to my head as a dull throb came and went.

'Leave this penalty alone and it’s going to blow up on me.'

Not that I could remove it anyway—even if I had the means, which I don’t.

I’d learned in that quest-type dungeon that the penalty wasn’t an unconditional minus. When Im Haekyung had me under mental control for a bit and we had that half-conversation, the penalty did a lot to block information leaks. Pain aside, it’s not bad when I’m unconscious.

'Im Haekyung.'

Since that quest-type dungeon, he and I hadn’t exchanged any proper messages. He sent one, but when I accidentally left him on read, nothing else came.

'I should reach out soon.'

If he was just busy, great. But he’s the brooding, overthinking type. Wouldn’t put it past him to “accidentally” run into me and then brainwash me for ignoring him so I report everything to him first.

He already brainwashed Do Yehyun, didn’t he.

I pictured the Status Window glowing over Do Yehyun’s head, announcing the mind-control skill. From the little I watched him after, he didn’t seem to have any direct contact with Im Haekyung—but who knows.

There were other things to handle too.

After I palmed off the Infinite Guild to Ryu Taeyoung and vaguely set a dinner plan, we’d had zero contact.

He’d sent a few messages, but I’d been busy enough that I hadn’t exactly responded properly.

'Hmph. He’s probably just as busy, though.'

I did have my own reason to talk to him.

Surprisingly, even weeks after the quest-type dungeon incident, Na Seokgyung—the Infinite Guild’s master—still hadn’t been caught.

Not just uncaught—he’d basically dropped off the map.

'If the Special Response Team’s trackers couldn’t find him... did he die somewhere?'

Reasonable suspicion, but no certainty. He could’ve fled overseas.

Honestly, whether he fled or died, it wasn’t something I needed to care about anymore. With most of the Infinite Guild already arrested, the odds of a lone C-rank hunter targeting me or Do Yehyun were low.

The Hunter Association, which had mainly been on his tail, naturally shoved the workload onto the Special Response Team.

There’d been some friction there. Haeseong cleared a quest-type dungeon that the Special Response Team was supposed to handle, and the “incompetent” label got slapped on the team for a bit. The Association hadn’t really fixed anything either and still threw work back to them.

'People were grumbling about the government and the Association colluding...'

It didn’t last, just a few scattered articles and a handful of comments.

And it’s not like the public’s anxiety exploded just because Na Seokgyung wasn’t caught. In a world where Gates open every other day, there are worse threats than a missing C-rank criminal.

'Should I call him now?'

I had free time today anyway. If Ryu was busy, he could ignore me.

Decision made, I opened his messages.

Hello. This is Ryu Taeyoung from the Gate Special Response Team. Are you well? You didn’t look great back then, so I was a bit worried.

Mr. Jehyun, have your injuries healed?

I was ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ told about your testimony. Thank you.

This may sound rude, but it is generally very dangerous for an F-rank hunter to enter high-rank dungeons.

If the owner of this number has changed, please let me know.

Huh. That’s a lot more than I expected.

All different dates. I’d been the one to suggest grabbing a meal, and now I looked like the lunatic.

I hesitated.

'Since he’s a public official, should I text first?'

Calls or face-to-face, I can do. Texting, though—I never know when to stop, so I end up ghosting the whole thing.

Number hasn’t changed. Are you free to talk?

After I sent it, the phone rang a moment later.

Didn’t expect a call this fast. Thought he’d be busy.

“I can talk. Have you been well?” he said.

“No.”

“...Pardon?”

Hard to say I’d been well—training, dungeons, and fighting with my roommate. Still, I was probably doing better than Ryu Taeyoung, who was getting yanked around for a dozen different reasons.

Keeping my tone calm—and even friendly—I asked,

“I’ve been a bit not well. How about you?”

“I’ve been... fine.”

“You sound busy.”

“I am, but... I’m never not busy. Are you feeling okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“That’s a relief.”

With the pleasantries done, I got right to it.

“Do you have time to meet? I asked you to grab a meal back then and then ghosted you.”

“Ah, no worries. Do you have a time in mind?”

A time? I’m free most days. I answered without thinking.

“Well, today works too.”

“...Today, you say?”

'If he doesn’t want to, he can pass.'