#137
Ahem.
Seo Beomgyu cleared his throat softly as if buying time to think. Then he slowly began to speak.
“I apologize for coming here so abruptly. However, Guide Lee Eunseok’s contact information and email are all confidential even within the guild, so I had to take this liberty. I… well, I came here because I have something I really want to ask Guide Lee Eunseok.”
“I’m just a guide belonging to the Baekho Guild. I’m not sure if there’s anything I can do for you.”
Eunseok was originally cautious by nature. On top of that, having experienced two kidnappings and Ji Taeuk’s betrayal, his wariness had increased even more lately. Naturally, his words came out stiffly.
As Eunseok openly drew a line, a look of difficulty appeared on Seo Beomgyu’s face. Whatever the favor was, it was certainly not a small one.
“Go ahead and tell me anyway.”
Eunseok loosened the reins slightly. Seo Beomgyu nodded slightly, swallowed once, and then opened his mouth.
“I want to participate in gate raids just like Guide Lee Eunseok.”
“…Gate raids?”
Eunseok’s expression turned to surprise at these unexpected words. Seo Beomgyu nodded.
“I’ve been watching you participate in gate raids as part of the 1st Attack Team. Until now, I thought that even if I went into a gate, I’d just be a burden and couldn’t really help. But after seeing what Guide Lee Eunseok does, my thoughts have changed.”
Seo Beomgyu’s eyes were clear and his will seemed strong. However, Eunseok couldn’t easily agree with his opinion. Even Eunseok, trained through grueling practice, had to struggle not to hold back his team members. It seemed too arduous a task to ask of other guides who were practically ordinary people. To be honest, he didn’t think untrained guides had the ability to do it.
Eunseok carefully chose his words before speaking.
“I can barely keep up with team members because of years of special training and real experience. In my experience, I think it’s tantamount to suicide for guides who haven’t been properly trained to enter gates.”
“I know. I’ve studied enough about gates too. Of course, I’m not saying I want to just rush into gates as I am now. I want to receive enough training to be able to pull my weight without holding back my colleagues when I go into gates.”
“Training?”
Eunseok looked at Seo Beomgyu with surprise. Seo Beomgyu nodded firmly as if declaring his will.
“There are other friends who share my thoughts. But as you know, there are laws protecting guides, and separate procedures would be needed to train guides. They wouldn’t just let anyone do it just because they want to. That’s why I came to ask for your help, Guide Lee Eunseok.”
“I’m just a guide.”
“Not just any guide, but an S-grade guide. I think if it’s your word, even the Ability Management Bureau or the Guild Master would consider it seriously. Don’t you have that much influence?”
Eunseok finally began to seriously consider Seo Beomgyu’s words.
Certainly, there are many advantages if properly trained guides participate in gate raids. First, the raid time is significantly reduced because they can use their abilities freely without worrying about numerical values. It can also greatly reduce the risk of hunters going berserk or suffering due to excessive use of abilities during raids.
“Do you want me to propose this idea to the Ability Management Bureau and the Guild Master?”
When Eunseok asked, Seo Beomgyu nodded.
“Besides my friends in the guild, there are also some guides from the Ability Management Bureau who share my thoughts. We’d like you to represent these guides in proposing and pushing forward this matter.”
Eunseok pondered for a moment. This could have a huge impact on guides in the future. If guides start participating in gate raids, even unwilling guides might be pushed into gates against their will.
“This doesn’t seem like something I can decide on my own. It’s quite a big deal after all.”
“I understand. I didn’t expect an immediate answer. I just hope you’d give it serious thought.”
“Don’t get your hopes up too much. I’ll think about it for now.”
Eunseok gave an ambiguous answer, but Seo Beomgyu seemed satisfied just with the promise to consider it, nodding his head.
Strangely, there are times when certain things keep catching your eye. It might be something that rarely happens usually, or something you never paid attention to before. But once it starts to catch your eye, you keep noticing it.
Eunseok stared at Choi Hanseo walking and that woman following behind him, constantly saying something. Despite the considerable distance, Choi Hanseo was a man who stood out no matter how far away he was, so it was impossible not to notice him. Moreover, Eunseok’s eyesight was too good not to see the woman walking closely behind him.
This was only the third time he had seen them together. No, it was already the third time. By this point, Eunseok was starting to become conscious of the woman’s presence.
If the woman had just been a hunter, he wouldn’t have felt anything. But she was a guide, and an A-grade guide belonging to the guild at that.
An A-grade guide.
Eunseok knew well what that meant.
Until Eunseok joined the guild, Choi Hanseo had lived without an S-grade guide. Naturally, it would have been an A-grade guide who guided him. Seeing how comfortably that woman conversed with Choi Hanseo, it seemed quite possible that she was that person.
Guiding a high-grade hunter is not an easy task. Even for Eunseok, an S-grade guide, more than just contact guiding is needed when guiding Choi Hanseo when his numbers spike. So if an A-grade guide were to guide properly, perhaps…
At that thought, Eunseok felt somewhat pathetic about his situation of secretly watching the two. He felt self-loathing about what he was doing.
Eunseok quietly returned to the guiding room through the emergency stairs, suppressing his presence. Then he sat at his desk, propping his arms, trying to calm down his inexplicably unpleasant feelings.
Fortunately, he didn’t need to think for long. Moon Bora rang the door bell to receive guiding.
“Why are you making such a sour face?”
Moon Bora suddenly asked while holding hands for guiding.
“Me?”
Eunseok unconsciously touched his own face. He didn’t know what expression he had been making.
“No. It’s not quite a sour face. I was just joking because you looked a bit spaced out. You’ve been acting strange lately. Is it because you’re too upset about the Guild Master losing his memories?”
Moon Bora looked at Eunseok with pitying eyes. It was a blatant look, but knowing her honest personality, it didn’t particularly offend him. Eunseok looked at Moon Bora for a moment before speaking.
“Noona.”
“Yes?”
“Before I came here, he must have received guiding from the A-grade guides in the guild, right?”
“Oh, yes?”
“Then…”
Eunseok stopped mid-sentence and closed his mouth. Even though he was close with Moon Bora, guiding seemed too much in the realm of privacy to ask about.
“Why did you stop talking?”
Moon Bora asked with a puzzled voice.
“No. It’s nothing.”
Eunseok shook his head. But Moon Bora wouldn’t let it go.
“What about guiding? What are you curious about? Are you wondering who I received guiding from? Or…”
Moon Bora made an “Ah” expression and then smiled mischievously.
“Are you curious about who the Guild Master received guiding from?”
“It’s not that.”
Eunseok cut her off, but Moon Bora seemed to have already latched onto the idea.
“Why? Did you suddenly think of that? Did you… see or hear something?”
Moon Bora probed with narrowed eyes. Then she quickly added.
“Come to think of it, I saw that too. Is that why you’re acting like this? It seemed like Guide Choi Seonhui was following the Guild Master around, constantly asking for something.”
Moon Bora hit the nail on the head. Eunseok remained silent, and Moon Bora interpreted that as confirmation.
“Guide Choi Seonhui is really great. She understands hunters well and is proactive in guiding. I have a good matching rate with her too, so I often received guiding from her.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Plus, she’s beautiful, so it’s pleasant to look at her.”
Moon Bora said that and then glanced at Eunseok’s expression.
“Why? Are you bothered by Guide Choi Seonhui’s relationship with the Guild Master?”
Eunseok was about to firmly deny it. But before he could, Moon Bora’s laughter shot into Eunseok’s heart like a bullet.
Ha ha!
Moon Bora burst into hearty laughter. Then she poked Eunseok’s cheek with her free hand.
“You’re cute, you know that?”
Moon Bora said with a big smile.
“If you’re that concerned about the Guild Master, just tell him. Tell him you’re his lover. Why are you dragging this out when it could all be resolved by just saying it? You’re making it hard for both of you. It’s hard for us too, having to pretend we don’t know when we all do.”
“If I tell him, things might go back to being similar to before. But it can’t be exactly the same as before, can it?”
“Are you worried that the memory-lost Guild Master might continue the relationship just because you’re an S-grade guide, even if he doesn’t really like you?”
Moon Bora had precisely pinpointed Eunseok’s feelings. Eunseok took a deep breath and slowly nodded. Moon Bora thought for a moment as if putting herself in his shoes, then nodded lightly.
“I guess if he tried to maintain the relationship artificially just to receive guiding without any real feelings… that would feel really awful.”
Moon Bora said as if agreeing, then leaned her upper body slightly forward and continued.
“But you know what? It seems like the current Guild Master has feelings for you too. He got really upset when Eunchae leaned on you briefly for a photo shoot. Seeing how jealous he got, he’s definitely fallen for you, one hundred percent.”
“It might just be possessiveness over an S-grade guide.”
Eunseok retorted grumpily. Moon Bora scratched her chin with her hand. It seemed she couldn’t quite bring herself to say it wasn’t the case.
“Still, unless you really intend to break up, shouldn’t you either tell him you were in a relationship or start building a new relationship? If you keep this up and really drift apart, it might reach a point where it’s hard to turn back later.”
After saying that, Moon Bora didn’t mention Choi Hanseo anymore.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
