Chapter 68
Bang, bang. The Vice Director, who had been silently observing the situation until then, struck the table briefly twice.
“Let’s all stop this. The building is already destroyed, and isn’t it a celebration that Hunter Yoo Eunseong has returned alive?”
Even as he quieted the commotion in the conference room, Mujin showed no intention of releasing his arms that were embracing Eunseong. As the atmosphere grew more serious, his actions became more conspicuous. Feeling the warmth of Mujin’s body wrapped tightly around him, Eunseong thought that in this atmosphere, it might appear as provocation or insult to some.
The Vice Director continued speaking with a gentle smile.
“The relationship between these two, nobody in this room is unaware of it. We’re deeply saddened by the tragedy that occurred at Yuseong. The Rift Control Agency is also fully aware that Hunter Baek Mujin is at odds with his father. We presume today’s incident stems from that.”
Eunseong calmly waited for his next words.
“Hunter Yoo Eunseong, who has returned triumphantly with an interesting new skill. Now I see that Hunter Baek Mujin’s desire to launch a new guild was purely for Hunter Yoo Eunseong’s sake. I clearly remember the conditions he set, saying he would even participate in the Neutral Zone’s Great Rift subjugation.”
“What exactly are you trying to say?”
“We don’t want change. We believe that the turmoil or new phase of battle that Hunter Yoo Eunseong’s new skill might bring is premature for this era. Let’s just announce it was an unknown phenomenon, a coincidence, and if you fully cooperate with the Rift Control Agency in the future…”
Full cooperation?
“The Rift Control Agency will step forward to help with your reintegration into society. When we get involved, creating a hero is nothing difficult.”
Mujin was the one who reacted to those words. As if finally hearing something, he flinched and looked down at Eunseong’s blue eyes. Restoring Eunseong’s honor was what Mujin wanted more than anything. His eyes showed that he didn’t care what happened to anything else.
Eunseong took a small deep breath.
“You understand what opening a passage means, right? Are you asking me to lie by covering it up?”
“I understand that it would bring more harm than good to the current society. Do you think citizens would welcome an announcement of a major combat expedition? Above all, Hunter Yoo Eunseong must also have trauma from the accident in the rift.”
“That’s not it. You mean you don’t want another powerful guild like Huiseon to emerge, right? Your request for full cooperation with the Rift Control Agency means you want to use Mujin as a war machine until he dies. I hear that the agency’s goal is to maintain the status quo by using Baek Mujin as a pawn in a never-ending battle.”
If there was one thing Eunseong hated most, it was something bad happening to Mujin because of him. In any form.
Mujin quietly looked at Eunseong as these thoughts passed through his mind. The blue glowing eyes were staring ahead without wavering. It was an expression so firm, without any anxiety or doubt.
“I refuse. We move according to our own will. I will use the identity of Hangeumseum for the time being, and of course, I will decide everything freely regarding Baek Mujin, my skill, and my personal safety.”
Eunseong gripped Mujin’s hand tightly.
“Send us the bill for building repairs. However, since Guild Leader Baek Sangyeon was the cause, you should also send it to Huiseon.”
As Eunseong spoke with a resolute voice he didn’t know he had in him, he thought that everything he had learned while crying after losing his father and brother and ascending to the guild leader position finally had its use.
“Please don’t forget that mediation is the duty of the Rift Control Agency.”
As Eunseong finished speaking, Woo Nayeong looked at the two with round eyes. His expression seemed to say, “Quite gutsy, aren’t you?”
When all the directors of the Rift Control Agency were flustered with reddened faces, the Vice Director slightly raised one hand. The smile had completely disappeared from his face.
“We also have the option to detain you both right now and prevent you from going anywhere.”
At that, Mujin finally opened his mouth.
“And we have the option of seeing this through to the end, since I’ve already broken things.”
Mujin calmly made threats, merely moving his eyes to indicate the hole he had made.
This is his first word since entering the conference room! Eunseong squeezed Mujin’s hand tightly. Judging by the fluctuating aura around his core, it was certainly not an idle threat.
“It seems you’ve already done your research thoroughly, but I can demonstrate my skill here as well. And… you should quickly form a plan to rescue Guild Leader Baek Sangyeon.”
Since Eunseong spoke while suppressing Mujin’s energy, the Vice Director expected something different. But what he actually faced was double blackmail from both of them. He couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh. All the Rift Control Agency personnel present failed to maintain their composure.
Taking their silence as consent, Eunseong rose from his seat while holding Mujin’s hand.
“Are you confident you won’t regret this?”
An unfamiliar voice asked as Eunseong opened the conference room door. It was the Acting Director who had been silently observing the situation without saying a word until now.
“Baek Sangyeon eventually had his wings clipped. Someone who turns everyone into enemies will eventually regret it. Usually, that price is paid with something precious. Like life, for instance.”
“Thank you for your words, but I’ve already died once.”
Eunseong nodded and smiled lightly.
From the beginning, he hadn’t tried to save Mujin out of fear that everyone would hate him. Even if Mujin had been someone who harmed the world, he would still have saved him. Nothing else mattered.
Only the method would be different this time. He now knew well that throwing himself away wasn’t the way to save Mujin. This time, rather than cutting away his own flesh, he would do his best to protect them both.
Even if there’s not a single person on my side in the world, I’ll be fine.
As Eunseong continued his thoughts, he suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder and looked up. There was Mujin, who would always take his side.
“I’m hungry. Let’s go home and eat together.”
When Eunseong smiled and spoke, Mujin made a solemn expression. The two left the Rift Control Agency together, hands firmly clasped just as they had been when they entered.
* * *
“Hyung, I love you so much!”
Joo Hyeonwoo exclaimed, holding the piece of paper Eunseong had handed him. On the randomly torn memo paper was a blueprint drawn by Eunseong with a ballpoint pen.
His voice was so loud that glances flew from all directions. Ha Yera twisted her lips and hissed, “Shh!”
The three of them were at an old tonkatsu restaurant in front of Yeon Seokchun’s house. After the chaos at the Rift Control Agency, Eunseong had immediately cried out for food upon arriving home. So the three of them came to this neighborhood spot known only to locals.
As Ha Yera cut into her tonkatsu, she suddenly asked with curiosity.
“But if this works on the same principle as how monsters open rifts, you can’t enter those rifts yourself, right? Since you have to open the door and hold it from here. Wouldn’t you be target number one if war breaks out?”
“That’s roughly correct. Just look at Hyeonwoo’s reaction—it’s a dangerous skill.”
Eunseong nodded. The tonkatsu, drenched in so much sauce that the breading had gone soggy, was truly excellent.
Thinking about it carefully, he could understand why his father had so sternly ordered never to make it again.
“That’s why I think my father tampered with my memory too. That side effect probably happened when I fell to ‘the Bottom’… I forgot everything and became a mess.”
“The former Guild Master was really something. That technique Baek Sangyeon used on you this time—that was made by the Guild Master too. Though its original purpose was for transporting injured people.”
“Bad people are always so good at repurposing things.”
Ha Yera clicked her tongue repeatedly.
“The Guild Master was good at making such things. Even the memory tampering you mentioned was probably for trauma treatment. The memories you lost were in that form too, right? Just the bad parts selectively erased.”
Should he be grateful for his father’s stubbornness? Unable to judge yet, Eunseong just continued eating.
“Anyway, as Hunter Baek Mujin said, it’s better to seal that skill and not use it. The Rift Control Agency guys aren’t wrong either. It looks too dangerous.”
“Ah, about that. I think I could make it one-way. And I might be able to make it work like my father’s item too.”
“The monster bastards couldn’t do it until now, and you can do it like that?”
In response to Ha Yera’s question, Joo Hyeonwoo wagged his index finger.
“That’s how technological advancement works. The intervals just keep getting shorter.”
“Hmph! I doubt Hunter Baek Mujin would approve. Where is he now? I should tell on you. Plotting together and all.”
As soon as they had returned to Yeon Seokchun’s house, Mujin had immediately hung himself on the exercise equipment in the yard. Skipping dinner to exercise was behavior Eunseong couldn’t understand.
“Mujin is working out. Not sure what he needs to train, though.”
When his body is already so firm…
Eunseong’s ears gently flushed as he was lost in thought, but neither Joo Hyeonwoo nor Ha Yera noticed.
“Isn’t it because his pride is hurt?”
At Ha Yera’s words, Eunseong quickly raised his head.
Yes, that’s right. Having been caught off guard by Baek Sangyeon must have been painful. Eunseong regretted his own thoughtlessness.
After finishing the meal, Eunseong bought plenty of tonkatsu and kimbap to feed Mujin. His two dining companions said they were going for drinks next, so they parted ways in front of the house. Opening the gate, Eunseong headed to the backyard alone.
On the dimly lit lawn, he saw Mujin’s back as he stood with his upper body bare, hands on his waist, lost in thought.
“Uh…”
As soon as Eunseong made his presence known, those mountain-range-like shoulders rippled as Mujin turned around. Eunseong had to blink his eyes rapidly to control his gaze that was wandering freely over Mujin’s chest.
And at that moment, he suddenly remembered the kiss from his hallucination.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
