#30
Ha-seong was facing the crisis of a lifetime. Even when surviving for days in S-rank dungeons or facing several Grade 1 monsters simultaneously, he had never felt anxiety. But right now, Ha-seong was facing an enormous crisis.
“What are you saying?”
“It just went over well.”
Even at Do-hyeok’s strange words, Ha-seong’s anxiety didn’t subside at all. The fact that that guy was so calm made him even more anxious.
“How did it go over well?”
“When they asked if I did it, I said maybe someone else did it, just like that?”
“How is that going over well in any way…?”
Ha-seong opened his mouth wide and stared at Do-hyeok, who was utterly calm. He said he’d handle everything himself, but handling it my ass – he had clearly made the situation worse.
The incident began like this: none other than Ha-seong had smashed the grade measurement device for Nameless guild members on basement level 1 yesterday, and it was a very expensive-looking item at that. Moreover, it wasn’t just broken. He had split it in half beyond repair, and ultimately it was shattered beyond recognition.
‘……’
Ha-seong still couldn’t forget the silence that had flowed through the training room.
‘Is that thing very expensive…?’
At Ha-seong’s words, Do-hyeok had been speechless for a moment. Even the guy who always maintained an expressionless face seemed slightly flustered then.
‘…Hyung is.’
The first thing Do-hyeok said as he moved his lips was:
‘Really amazing.’
‘Hey, that’s not the issue right now.’
With things having come to this, measurement, grades, amazing – none of it mattered.
‘Well, it is expensive. It’s made with almost the same materials as the measurement devices used at the Hunter Management Bureau.’
‘I’m fucked.’
At Ha-seong’s raw curse, Do-hyeok let out a slight chuckle.
‘Is it funny…? I want to cry.’
‘Don’t worry. I’ll handle everything.’
The words Do-hyeok said before leaving the training room were still dubious, but since the owner of this guild told him to do so, he decided to trust him for now. Right, anyway, that guy was the guild leader, so he’d handle it properly.
He had come to work feeling reassured inside, but the story he heard as soon as he arrived was exactly that.
“But hyung, you look kind of tired today.”
Do-hyeok rested his chin on his hand and examined Ha-seong’s face sitting across from him. His eyes were sunken, clearly looking like someone who hadn’t slept.
“Couldn’t sleep?”
“Uh… I had a nightmare where I was crying while emptying my bank account to compensate for the measurement device…”
What kind of money was that, accumulated over time? At this rate, forget being a rich unemployed person, he was going to become a beggar. A poor unemployed person – could there be a more miserable life than that…? Ha-seong hadn’t slept a wink yesterday due to that nightmare and such negative thoughts.
“You don’t have to compensate for it.”
Unlike Ha-seong, Do-hyeok seemed to have slept very well, as his face seemed to glow. Of course, he had a damn handsome face originally, so it probably looked that way anyway.
“I was running that happy circuit until I came to work today too. But after hearing your excuse about what you did, my world collapsed again…”
At this point, it might be a hundred times better to just confess the truth rather than living uncomfortably like this.
“I’d rather go to the vice guild leader and tell him everything. Maybe ask if installment payments are possible too…”
“What kind of reaction do you think he’d have if hyung said you broke it? At most, all I ever did was scratch it.”
“Ah, right.”
He had overlooked that part. An ordinary purifier broke the measurement device? The very thing that even Cha Do-hyeok, an S-rank hunter and guild leader, could only scratch at most? Absolutely not. That would be like advertising ‘I’m also an S-rank hunter.’
“And there’s one thing hyung overlooked.”
“What now? Don’t make me anxious.”
“I’m the guild leader here.”
“I know. But so what?”
Did Ha-seong look like some fool who didn’t even know that? It wasn’t like he suddenly wanted to brag about being the guild leader of the #1 guild. Why was he suddenly acting like this?
“I said it’s fine, so why are you asking Kang Won-hyeok?”
“Uh…”
Ha-seong saw the subtle, very small displeasure revealed on Do-hyeok’s face. It seemed like he was asking why he was seeking permission from the vice guild leader while leaving him aside. Well, it could be unpleasant to be more considerate of 2nd place while leaving 1st place aside. At times like this, it was clear he was younger than Ha-seong.
“No, you know my situation but he doesn’t… I just meant it in that sense, why are you being so…”
“It’s really fine, so drop it.”
“Okay.”
Ha-seong decided not to say anything more. If he kept pushing here, it would only hurt Cha Do-hyeok’s feelings. Since he had a history of smashing that expensive measurement device, it seemed he should be a bit more considerate.
“Then I’m going to work.”
Ha-seong slowly got up from his chair. Originally Ha-seong was on Do-hyeok’s team, but when he wasn’t active, he mainly backed up other teams. Do-hyeok said he didn’t need to work so hard, but anyway, if he had to hide his identity and act as an informant, he needed to plant the image in everyone that he was an unremarkable but just diligent purifier to avoid suspicion.
“Hyung.”
“What?”
“…Never mind.”
Ha-seong said “okay” and slowly left the room. Do-hyeok stared intently at the spot where Ha-seong had left. He was going to tell him it was okay to sleep or rest if he was tired, but that seemed like words that didn’t quite fit, so he decided against it.
* * *
Less than an hour after Cha Do-hyeok said it was fine so it was settled, Ha-seong encountered his second trial.
“No, so I went down there and guess what! The measurement device was completely broken!”
“Yes, yes…”
Ha-seong smiled awkwardly while glaring at the innocent instant coffee. After finishing about two purification jobs in the morning and returning, Ha-seong headed to the break room with his tired body. Perhaps because it was a large guild, there was a well-equipped break room where you could drink coffee and rest. The space was very wide and comfortable, with many seats, creating an atmosphere where anyone could freely rest.
Ha-seong also came in, got a cup of coffee, and was looking around for somewhere to sit. He could see various things from hunters gathered chatting to guild members having heated discussions about strategies or skills.
‘Oh? Ha-seong-ssi!’
Just as he was looking for a suitable seat to go to, someone familiar waved from far away, pointing to the seat in front of him.
‘Ah, hello. Vice Guild Leader…’
Ha-seong approached Won-hyeok hesitantly like someone being dragged to a slaughterhouse. He thought about just ignoring him and leaving, but he couldn’t pretend not to see someone waving happily from afar and pointing to the seat next to him.
As soon as Ha-seong sat down, Won-hyeok greeted him warmly and from then on moved his mouth non-stop, starting with stories about how his body was too tired after going on one strategy mission so he came here to rest, to stories about strategies, and even complaints about Cha Do-hyeok.
And eventually it had to come out. The incident of the measurement device that Ha-seong had smashed. Won-hyeok continued speaking like a machine gun, as if venting his accumulated frustration.
“No, I really got so angry about whoever made the guild’s assets like that that I couldn’t sleep.”
He could never say that the “whoever” was Ha-seong.
“You must have been very shocked.”
Ha-seong just nodded with an awkward smile. Cha Do-hyeok had said not to worry since he was the guild leader. But hearing such complaints full of resentment directly made his conscience prick quite a bit.
“Cha Do-hyeok definitely seems to know something…”
Won-hyeok muttered strangely while stroking his chin. At the unexpected point, he almost spit the coffee he had sipped through his nostrils.
“What? The guild leader?”
“Yes. No, I initially thought that bastard caused the accident and questioned him about it.”
“Yes, yes…”
“But he made excuses saying it could be someone else.”
Strictly speaking, that wasn’t making excuses. It was the truth.
“But thinking about it, if that guy had done it, there’d be no reason for him to make excuses.”
Cha Do-hyeok was the head of this guild and wasn’t someone who cared about others’ opinions in the first place, so Kang Won-hyeok’s logic was that if he had done such a thing, there would be no need to hide it.
Damn, how did he figure it out? Ha-seong felt his insides burning. Cha Do-hyeok had definitely said so. That Kang Won-hyeok was the type who fought with his body rather than his head, so he wouldn’t think deeply.
‘Like hell he can’t. Just wait, Cha Do-hyeok.’
Ha-seong inwardly ground his teeth at Do-hyeok while outwardly just smiling like a fool, pretending to agree with Won-hyeok’s words.
“So my thought is that some other guy in our guild really did it! Something like that.”
Kang Won-hyeok was stroking his chin with an expression rivaling a detective from a mystery novel, thoroughly scratching at Ha-seong’s insides. He wanted to see the face of the guy who had called Won-hyeok the type who fought with his body rather than his head right now.
“What do you think, Ha-seong-ssi?”
“What? Ah, well. What would a purifier like me know?”
Haha, with the brightest smile possible, Ha-seong once again appealed that he was a purifier who knew nothing and had no power.
“Hah… It’s difficult. But since things have come to this, I’ve made up my mind.”
No, don’t. Don’t make that resolution. Ha-seong’s face, which had been smiling awkwardly, gradually distorted.
“I’ve decided to definitely catch the bastard who smashed the measurement device! I will catch him!”
As if giving a speech, Won-hyeok hit the table and stood up, shouting loudly.
Ha-seong maintained a smiling expression by barely managing to raise the corners of his mouth while saying he’d cheer him on, but inside he was almost wailing.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
