#31
No matter how much he thought about it, this was seriously wrong.
Contrary to his expectation that the broken measuring device incident would quickly die down and be forgotten, Nameless Guild grew more chaotic by the day. It was the complete opposite of what Ha-seong had anticipated.
“Wait, is there anyone among us who could actually smash that thing?”
“It must be the Guild Leader. Maybe he had complaints about the Vice Guild Leader and did it to mess with him.”
“Hey, did you see the group text? The Vice Guild Leader said he’d give a week’s vacation to whoever finds the culprit. I’m a detective starting today.”
While standing in the first-floor lobby waiting for the elevator, Ha-seong heard about the measuring device exactly thirty times—no lie, no exaggeration. If he’d known it would turn out like this, he wouldn’t have broken it! Instead of hitting it with all his strength, he should have controlled his power a bit.
It was because Cha Do-hyeok said “unmeasurable” that his competitive spirit had unknowingly flared up. How childish—he wasn’t even a kid, and at twenty-seven years old, trying to beat a twenty-two-year-old…
Ha-seong opened a portal site and slowly typed in the search bar.
Search: measuring device price
Rather than living like a fugitive criminal, he’d rather pay it back cleanly. If he could somehow buy one and put it back in its original place, then Kang Won-hyeok would think the person who broke it had repented and paid for it, and wouldn’t make such a fuss about finding the culprit anymore. Of course, it was naturally frustrating to spend the blood-like money he’d desperately saved… but it couldn’t be helped.
Precision measuring device super sale!
Measuring device theme collection used by top-tier guilds, check it out right now!
This was the first result that came up. If top-tier guilds used them, there must be the kind Nameless used too. Ha-seong tapped on “Precision measuring device super sale!” and slowly scrolled down. The measuring device… what did it look like before it broke?
Ha-seong moved his fingers busily while waiting for the elevator, trying his best to recall. When he searched with burning eyes, he found a product that was vaguely similar. Even the lowest price attached to it wasn’t too bad. Ha-seong quickly clicked on that product to check the options.
And when he roughly matched the options according to his memory, the price became dozens of times higher than the initial lowest price he’d seen.
“These damn marketing tactics.”
“That’s not something you can easily get.”
Just as the elevator was about to arrive, a low voice came from behind him.
“Ah shit, you scared me.”
Cha Do-hyeok, who glanced at Ha-seong clutching his startled chest, got on the elevator first.
“Aren’t you getting on?”
“Oh, yeah.”
Why was that guy’s presence so hard to detect? Either his ability to erase his presence was incredible, or Ha-seong himself had become a bit careless. It was one of the two, and if it was the latter, he needed to pay a bit more attention. If only to keep his heart from falling out.
“Hey, but… what do you mean it’s not easy to get?”
“I mean it’s not something you can buy and sell in those shopping malls.”
“Then where did you get that one?”
“Hmm… if I had to say, it was custom-made by a famous item creator.”
Do-hyeok answered bluntly with a slightly sullen face. But Ha-seong’s eyes weren’t taking in such things right now.
Why hadn’t he thought of that? If it was custom-made—handmade—of course it couldn’t be found in online shopping malls. The price would naturally be whatever they asked for. In other words, Ha-seong had been doing something pointless.
“Hmm, hey.”
“Yes.”
“Then can’t we just ask that creator to make it again?”
“That old man… I mean, that creator is a bit strange. Setting aside whether he’d make it again, we don’t even know where he is right now.”
Shit, he was screwed. Then he had no choice but to quietly endure this uncomfortable feeling until the so-called “Who broke the measuring device?” controversy died down.
“But, hyung.”
It was when Ha-seong was resolving to somehow avoid Kang Won-hyeok for the time being.
“Hyung.”
“Huh? What.”
Only after being called twice did Ha-seong turn his head to the side. Do-hyeok had thrust his face right in front of Ha-seong’s nose. Intrusively. If he hadn’t been so handsome, Ha-seong might have scrunched up his face and hit him.
“Why do you only talk about that whenever you see me?”
“What are you talking about.”
“Measuring device, measuring device—you’re practically singing about it.”
Ha-seong’s brow furrowed sharply. That guy was saying such things so casually because he didn’t know Ha-seong’s feelings. If it was a custom piece by some famous creator, the price would probably be unimaginably expensive. It had been the same in the world Ha-seong originally came from.
So when his desperately saved money might get completely wiped out, did Do-hyeok expect him not to sing about it? Ha-seong’s head was full of thoughts about the measuring device from the moment he woke up until he went to sleep.
“You don’t understand my heart.”
Ha-seong shook his head as if it wasn’t worth responding to and slowly got off when the elevator stopped. Then Do-hyeok frowned again.
“Why are you getting off here?”
“The purifier office is here, isn’t it?”
“Ah.”
Then Do-hyeok made a short sound as if he finally understood. Ha-seong looked once at Do-hyeok, who was acting like he’d eaten something wrong, through the gap of the closing doors, then slowly walked down the corridor.
Where Ha-seong got off was the fourth floor, which had a separate purifier office. Actually, he hadn’t even known such an office existed. That day—the day Kang Won-hyeok had planted even stronger guilt in him—he learned that Nameless had a separate purifier office.
When Kang Won-hyeok asked why he never showed his face at the desk that had been prepared for him, Ha-seong had made a stupid expression as if hearing it for the first time. Really, why didn’t Cha Do-hyeok tell him such important things?
Thanks to that, this was his first time entering the office where he had his own seat since joining Nameless. Ha-seong knocked on the door and went inside.
“Hello.”
From what he’d heard, all the purifiers affiliated with Nameless used the same office. In other words, it was the purifier team within Nameless.
“……”
There was no response to Ha-seong’s greeting. Looking around inside, he could see about three men drinking coffee and chatting cheerfully in what appeared to be a conference room space. The only problem was that as soon as Ha-seong entered, their laughter stopped abruptly like music being cut off. Like a video that had stopped playing.
“Hello. I’m Do Ha-seong, the purifier who recently joined.”
The fastest and surest way to make a good first impression was through greetings. Ha-seong bowed his head with a good-natured smile. One of the reasons Do Ha-seong was considered Cha Do-hyeok’s informant was because he was a purifier whose face wasn’t well known and whom no one paid attention to.
“A quiet purifier who doesn’t stand out.” To maintain that position, he had to quietly blend into the organization and not stand out more than necessary. So he needed to maintain moderately good relationships with those who shared the office, but not get too close either. He had to maintain that kind of balance.
“……”
But still, no greeting came back. Like the three of them had conspired, they just quietly stared at Ha-seong. Two of them seemed busy watching the man sitting in the middle for some reason.
What was this? Had he made some mistake? Had he gotten so distracted by the measuring device incident that he said he was a hunter instead of a purifier? Or maybe a pig was attached to his shoulder again—he glanced to check, but there was no pig. Of course, he’d tied it up at home, so there was no way it could be here.
“Ahh.”
Then one of the men sitting in the middle of the group stood up and suddenly clapped his hands.
“I know. Do Ha-seong-ssi? The purifier from the Guild Leader’s direct team?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
Actually, it was just convenient to belong to the direct team since he’d be working with Do-hyeok, but he couldn’t explain that fully to these people. Still, something felt strangely off.
“Wow, finally seeing your face. I was really surprised when I heard the Guild Leader’s direct purifier was C-grade. Plus, they said you were the person coming in to replace Hyeon-jin hyung, so I was really curious, and now I finally meet you.”
The man’s face was smiling, but that wasn’t a friendly smile.
“No, we thought you didn’t want to greet us since you never came to the office. Haha. Right, guys?”
The man turned around to seek agreement from his two colleagues in the break room, bursting into laughter. Then those two men also chimed in, looking a bit cautious.
“Well, anyway, nice to meet you. Welcome to joining Nameless’s purifier team. C-grade purifier Do Ha-seong-ssi.”
He emphasized the word “C-grade” as he spoke. Ha-seong, barely holding back a sigh that was about to burst out, quietly stared at the hand the man extended.
He couldn’t not know. What that person was extending along with the handshake wasn’t goodwill and welcome, but wariness and mockery. His voice was sarcastic and his posture was crooked as could be.
“Where does that little shit get off being sarcastic and acting up? He even looks younger than me.”
He didn’t know why young people these days, including Cha Do-hyeok, were so ill-mannered. Ha-seong wasn’t that old, but anyway, having such young punks act blatantly rude was really something he couldn’t get used to. But what could he do? Ha-seong wasn’t in a position to nitpick and argue back about everything.
“Yes. That’s right. I only found out today that there was an office, so I’m just coming to see it now. And to think you’d give me such a warm welcome—I’m also happy to meet you. Please take care of me.”
Ha-seong grinned with a completely clueless, innocent expression as he clasped the man’s hand. Of course, while internally hurling all sorts of curses.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
