#76
“Um… Guild Leader-nim. At this rate, your phone might get a hole in it.”
Shin-woo entered the Guild Leader’s office holding documents that needed approval. The first thing he saw upon entering was Cha Do-hyeok sitting at his desk, glaring intensely at his phone. Shin-woo felt pity for the phone as he slowly approached Do-hyeok.
“How can a phone get a hole in it?”
Do-hyeok let out a deep sigh with an expression of dissatisfaction. Then Shin-woo pursed his lips and grumbled about how the Guild Leader didn’t even understand figures of speech.
“But did you really get burned by stocks or something?”
“What?”
“Well, you’ve been looking at your phone a lot lately…”
Haha, Shin-woo laughed awkwardly as he quietly placed the approval documents down. It really seemed like he had gotten burned by stocks. As Do-hyeok’s voice suddenly sharpened, Shin-woo shrank back unnecessarily. If he had really lost money, he’d already be sensitive, so the best strategy at times like this was to run away quickly.
“Then please review these and sign them. Oh, and after work today, you know, right?”
“Know what?”
When Do-hyeok answered indifferently, Shin-woo sighed deeply as if he had expected this.
“What do you mean ‘know what’? I told you it was today.”
“Ah, that thing.”
“Don’t forget. The Vice Guild Leader will sulk again. Then I’ll be going now. And… Guild Leader-nim, I’ve tried it too so I know, but with stocks, if you just hold on, it all works out. It’s no big deal. The most important thing is to keep your mind at ease! So fighting.”
Shin-woo smiled slightly and clenched his fist tightly as if to say ‘cheer up.’ Do-hyeok let out a hollow laugh at the encouragement Shin-woo had left on his own.
“What is he talking about?”
Do-hyeok glanced through the documents his secretary had left behind, then turned his attention back to his phone. The chat room where he had been talking with Ha-seong was still open on the screen.
[Cha Do-hyeok: I’m waiting so we can eat lunch together.]
[Do Ha-seong: Don’t want to.]
[Cha Do-hyeok: Why.]
[Do Ha-seong: I told you not to use informal speech. I already ate.]
[Cha Do-hyeok: With whom?]
And Ha-seong still hadn’t answered that question. As far as he knew, Ha-seong usually ate lunch alone. The location was mainly the company cafeteria, and according to Shin-woo’s <Do Ha-seong Observation Log> report, he seemed to go down a bit late to eat when it was quiet because he didn’t like it when it was too crowded during peak lunch hours.
So he thought Ha-seong probably hadn’t eaten yet at this time and sent the message after some consideration, but Ha-seong said he had already eaten. At this time, he wouldn’t have used the crowded company cafeteria, and he wasn’t the type to lie about eating when he hadn’t.
That would mean he ate outside, but given Ha-seong’s personality, he wouldn’t have eaten alone outside. Do-hyeok was now earnestly deducing Ha-seong’s situation as if he had become Sherlock Holmes.
[Cha Do-hyeok: With whom.]
Do-hyeok sent another message, but Ha-seong still didn’t respond. The ‘1’ indicator didn’t disappear either. Do-hyeok habitually tapped on his desk. Even after 5 minutes, 10 minutes passed, there was no answer from Ha-seong, and Do-hyeok’s fingers tapping the desk were also getting a bit faster.
“Ah, why isn’t he reading it?”
Then Do-hyeok suddenly stood up from his seat and went outside, snatching his phone.
“Oh, did you sign it already? No, if that’s the case, you should have called me instead of coming directly like this…”
“I’m going downstairs for a bit.”
Shin-woo, who had been running a happiness circuit thinking Cha Do-hyeok had quickly processed the work, had his face turn sour again. Of course. There was no way his boss was the type to be so considerate of others. Shin-woo answered “yes” halfheartedly and slumped into his seat.
Unaware that Shin-woo’s lips were protruding again, Do-hyeok went down the stairs toward the 3rd floor. The places where Do Ha-seong could be in this guild were obvious. It would only be the purifier office. Arriving in front of the office like that, Do-hyeok immediately grabbed the handle to open the door, but then suddenly, like a revolving lantern, some scene flashed quickly through his mind.
He saw his future self getting scolded by Ha-seong for rudely opening the door without knocking. His brow twitched at the sight of himself getting reprimanded for abusing his power as Guild Leader.
In the end, Do-hyeok sighed and knocked on the door twice before throwing it open.
“Uh…”
Geon Yu-han, who was inside, stared blankly at the Guild Leader who had suddenly barged in with his mouth agape. Lee Hyeon-woo, who had been eating snacks in the conference room, was the same. Exactly 3 seconds of silence circulated within the office.
Everyone froze looking at Cha Do-hyeok, but only the person who had frozen the interior was calm. He looked around inside with his head turning here and there.
“What brings you here, Guild Leader-nim?”
Yu-han, who had returned to reality, hurriedly stood up and approached Do-hyeok. Hyeon-woo was the same. He carelessly threw away the snack bags he had been eating and practically ran out of the conference room.
“Where’s Do Ha-seong?”
“Ah, Ha-seong-ssi?”
Yu-han nodded with a somewhat relieved face. At first, he wondered why on earth the Guild Leader had come to this place. It was a place he would never visit normally. What could it be? He had been flustered, but now he knew there was a reasonable reason.
Since Do Ha-seong was on the Guild Leader’s direct team, it was perfectly normal for him to come to the purifier office to look for him.
“Well. He went to lunch and doesn’t seem to have come back yet. Hyeon-woo, have you seen Ha-seong-ssi?”
Then Hyeon-woo also shook his head saying he hadn’t seen him. Cha Do-hyeok clicked his tongue as if he had made a wasted trip.
“Ah, he’s sometimes there though.”
“Where?”
“The break room next door. He sometimes sits there.”
While drinking instant coffee, Yu-han added that he had seen him there a few times. Then Do-hyeok quickly left the office. Due to the massive presence that had come and gone like the wind, Yu-han and Hyeon-woo could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
* * *
“Hmm, should I watch a bit more…”
At that moment, Ha-seong was in the break room, staring intently at his phone, lost in thought.
“If I act rashly now, there seems to be a high possibility of missing it.”
Fortunately, since it was the end of lunch time, there weren’t many people in the break room. Thanks to that, Ha-seong could also comfortably be lost in thought.
“You’re on your phone but won’t even reply to my texts.”
Then a familiar voice fell from above his head. Ha-seong completely tilted his head back and made eye contact with Do-hyeok, who was looking down at him with a sullen face.
“Hello, Guild Leader-nim.”
“Why aren’t you answering my texts?”
Do-hyeok went to sit across from Ha-seong.
“Ah, I was going to but forgot. Sorry. What did you say again?”
“I asked who you ate with.”
“Ah, right. But why are you so curious about that?”
Ha-seong criticized him, saying that for a Guild Leader, he really had nothing better to do.
“With Lee Seung-woo.”
Then Do-hyeok’s face crumpled even more. Even without saying it, he seemed to know what that guy was going to say. He was definitely going to say something like why he was hanging around with that hunter again.
“Hey, I’ll tell you when I’m more certain about something. Just wait.”
“About what?”
“There’s something. So don’t interrogate me right now.”
Ha-seong tried to placate Do-hyeok, who was leaning his body crookedly like a sulking child, but it didn’t seem to have much effect. If he left like that, he would definitely sulk at home too.
After much consideration, Ha-seong clapped his hands.
“I’ll buy you instant coffee.”
Ha-seong rummaged through his pants pocket. Then the sound of coins jingling could be heard from inside his pants. They were the coins he had won from Dal-pyeong in hwatu before. Yu-han’s words didn’t seem to be wrong. The part about Ha-seong liking the instant coffee he drank here.
“It’s fine.”
While everyone else drank franchise cafe coffee that cost close to a meal, he enjoyed drinking instant coffee that cost a few hundred won – that was very much like Do Ha-seong. Do-hyeok finally relaxed his expression and let out a weak chuckle. Thinking that such things all stemmed from habits of saving money made it a bit funny.
“You just dissed instant coffee, didn’t you?”
But Ha-seong seemed to understand it differently and narrowed his eyes, looking at Do-hyeok with suspicious eyes.
“Lunch time is almost over, so I’ll get going.”
“Go ahead.”
Anyway, the reason for coming here was to find out who Ha-seong had eaten with. He was a bit displeased that it was with Lee Seung-woo, but since he had found out who it was, and it was someone he knew, Do-hyeok lightly stood up from his seat, having achieved his purpose.
“Ah, hyung. Go home first today.”
“Why? Are you on duty?”
“No. There’s a team leader meeting after work today.”
“A meeting? What meeting happens after work?”
Usually meetings were held during work hours. He suspected that Guild Leader might have scheduled a meeting after work. That couldn’t be. The Cha Do-hyeok he knew was crazy, but he wasn’t that kind of demon.
“Well, it’s a meeting but…”
If that were really the case, he would have something to say. Wasn’t it said somewhere that those who prevent people from leaving work for trivial reasons are the worst people in the world?
“It’s a company dinner disguised as a meeting.”
“A company dinner?”
Ha-seong, whose eyes had been full of energy, suddenly relaxed. Then Do-hyeok explained that very rarely, once a quarter if the situation was right, the team leaders would gather for a company dinner. After all, in this guild, the team leaders were the main pillars after Do-hyeok and Won-hyeok, and their roles were very important accordingly.
As they say, appropriate compensation must be given for work to be enjoyable – that’s exactly what Kang Won-hyeok had said. Of course, the compensation he was talking about here meant appropriate drinking and snacks, but Do-hyeok agreed with that sentiment anyway. After that, they rarely held private gatherings to boost the team leaders’ morale or to find out if there were any unspoken problems within the teams.
“Oh, that’s good. So today is that company dinner day?”
Do-hyeok nodded.
“Got it. I’ll take the bus and get home fine by myself today.”
“…You’re not planning to escape to hyung’s house, taking advantage of this opportunity, are you?”
“Hey, do I look like such a petty person to you?”
Ha-seong waved his hands saying that would never happen. He had been thinking of going back eventually, but it wasn’t like he was some fugitive, and he had absolutely no intention of doing it secretly.
“Then when you go in, lock the doors well. Don’t feel lonely because I’m not there.”
Then Ha-seong gave him an incredulous look along with elegantly raising his middle finger.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
