‘Yes, I’m okay.’
A soft voice whispered. Warm arms gently wrapped around the body.
‘It’s okay now.’
Behind the crumbling view, a brilliant white light shattered.
‘I...’
“…it’s time.”
Lee Sayoung opened his eyes. The moment he saw the bright white ceiling, he quickly sat up, pulling off the gloves from his hands.
Crash! The heavy sound of something toppling over and hitting a hard surface echoed. Sayoung quickly scanned his surroundings. The wires connecting his body to the machines had been yanked out in an instant, leaving the equipment scattered in a mess on the floor. A sigh-laced voice came from nearby.
“Do you always have to make such a mess? You might as well just smash everything to pieces.”
It was Nam Woojin. He sat at a desk, facing away from Sayoung, busy with something. However, Sayoung didn’t retract the killing intent he had briefly revealed. His piercing violet eyes moved toward the corner of the room. Standing there was Jung Bin, who quickly raised both hands and spoke.
“Lee Sayoung-nim, it’s Jung Bin. You’re in Nam Woojin’s lab, in the underground of Seowon Guild. I brought you here after you lost consciousness during the Artisan Exhibition.”
"...."
The sharp energy, as if ready to cut throats at any moment, slightly subsided. Only then did Sayoung realize that he was lying on a cot in Woojin’s lab. Nam Woojin muttered gruffly.
“You’ll have to pay for barging into my lab and hijacking my bed.”
“Of course. This place is safe, Sayoung-nim. How much do you remember?”
The last memory left amidst the excruciating pain was…
“Sayoung-ah.”
The trembling sensation of a hand resting on his back, so vivid that he could still feel it through his hazy senses.
“Hey, Lee Sayoung.”
The always calm, unwavering tone had cracked miserably. There was a warmth that felt especially comforting, along with a fragmented series of sensations. And the person responsible for all of them was…
‘Cha Uijae.’
Sayoung hurriedly reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Thankfully, the battery wasn’t dead. Cha Uijae, Cha Uijae… He quickly dialed the memorized number and typed a short message.
[Are you okay?]
Sent. Even after waiting for a long time, no reply came. Anxiety crawled up the back of his neck.
“Well then.”
Clap. The crisp sound of a hand clapping cut through his thoughts. Sayoung turned toward the voice. Nam Woojin had spun his chair around, looking at him with his legs crossed and his chin propped up in a tilted, casual manner.
“You wake up, break my equipment, threaten people, check your phone, and... seems like you’ve wrapped up all your urgent business.”
"..."
“Shall we talk now? This guy here hasn’t given me a proper explanation.”
Jung Bin, arms crossed, shrugged his shoulders.
“Lee Sayoung-nim needs a detailed explanation too.”
Sayoung roughly pulled the wires still connected to his body, ripping them out. Nam Woojin groaned.
“Do you even know how much those cost? Handle them carefully.”
“Send me the bill. And who told you to connect me to this stuff in the first place?”
“I’d appreciate it if you’d consider my surprise when Jung Bin barged in, carrying you out of nowhere. How’s your body feeling?”
“I’m fine.”
“Hm.”
Nam Woojin’s pale eyes scrutinized Sayoung, who was now sitting on the cot. Eventually, he nodded and muttered to himself.
“It seems that upon awakening, the system restores all pre-awakening injuries. Of course, in your case, the difference between your pre- and post-awakening state is particularly pronounced. Does that mean the grade of awakening and the strength of recovery are proportional?”
“…Nam Woojin.”
Sayoung brushed his hair back from his eyes and spoke in a low voice.
“Don’t cross the line.”
“…I misspoke. Understood.”
A brief silence followed. Sayoung rubbed his temple with irritation and opened his mouth again.
“Jung Bin, explain the situation.”
“Yes. While I was speaking with Gyu-Gyu, Kang Jisoo arrived and returned alone. When I reached the scene, you had already collapsed. After assessing the situation, I immediately released the chains and administered the antidote provided by Nam Woojin.”
Nam Woojin’s eyes sparkled.
“Did it help with the rapid recovery?”
Sayoung gave a small nod.
“Somewhat.”
“That’s good to hear. In the future, if I obtain more of the antidote, I’ll send it to the Wave Guild.”
“The other Hunters have returned to HB Guild. After giving some general instructions, I brought you here to the Seowon Guild. Everyone is back at their respective guilds.”
“Even Baewonwoo?”
“Yes.”
"...."
Sayoung leaned back, supporting himself on his arms, and his eyes scanned the room before settling on Jung Bin.
“Did you hear anything?”
“What do you mean, sir?”
“…Well, I suppose you wouldn’t have had the chance to hear it.”
Sayoung smirked, his lips curling up. Jung Bin, facing that eerie smile, maintained his calm and soft expression.
“I told Gyu-Gyu to pass on the message that I’ll collect double the debt.”
“This is the first time I’m hearing of it, but I’ve been prepared. It’s my fault for being careless.”
“Hmm… I like that you’re easy to talk to.”
Sayoung rolled his stiff neck. His tired voice made a demand.
“Tell me everything you and Gyu-Gyu discussed, from the beginning to the end.”
The day after the Artisan Exhibition, which had felt as long as a week, Uijae quickly returned to his peaceful routine. His life consisted of waking up at dawn to serve hangover soup to Hunters, preparing ingredients while taking care of Haeun, working in the evening, and closing the restaurant late at night.
However, ever since the Artisan Exhibition, Uijae found himself staring blankly into space more often. Whenever that happened, his mind was mostly filled with thoughts of Lee Sayoung. The sensation of Sayoung's cold and solid body in his arms remained vividly in his memory. Was Lee Sayoung really okay? Every time such thoughts crossed his mind, Uijae would check the message Sayoung had sent him.
**Sayoung**: *I'm okay.*
"That's fine and dandy!" Uijae muttered to himself.
In truth, Uijae didn’t believe that message. Even if Sayoung hadn’t regained full consciousness, the country would have made sure to conceal that fact from the public. Powerful figures always needed to appear strong, no matter what. That message could have easily been sent by someone else, trying to hide Sayoung’s actual condition.
A strange sense of unease gnawed at Uijae's mind constantly. Many times, he found himself about to reply, only to shut off his phone again.
And as if taking advantage of Uijae’s growing anxiety, Choi Goyo appeared at the perfect moment. It was already late, and the restaurant had closed.
Uijae hadn’t even taken off his apron yet and was sitting in the dining area, idly fiddling with his phone when Choi Goyo, the "Romantic Opener," managed to unlock the front door and swaggered inside with both arms swinging. He greeted with cheerful energy.
“Hello, hyung-nim!”
Luckily, it seemed like the common sense Choi Goyo had picked up at Incheon Port hadn’t completely escaped him, as he quickly toned down his enthusiasm after catching Uijae’s mood.
“Ahem, remember? On the day of the Artisan Exhibition, I took my grandmother to the hospital. I came to tell you about that. I would’ve come sooner, but things got busy, so I’m a bit late!”
“Oh…”
Damn it, no matter how out of it I’ve been, how could I forget about his grandmother’s hospital visit?
‘You’re a total idiot, Cha Uijae.’
Uijae’s face twisted with guilt, causing Choi Goyo’s shoulders to shrink. He clung to the metal door, trembling as he asked in a shaky voice.
“Uh, can I speak now?”
“Yes, go ahead. How’s your grandmother doing?”
“Yes! I brought copies of the diagnosis and prescriptions right here!”
Choi Goyo quickly ran over and handed Uijae the documents, rattling off everything that had happened at the hospital like a rap. Uijae quickly skimmed through the paperwork as Goyo explained. Fortunately, his grandmother’s knee condition hadn’t worsened, and with consistent medication, she was expected to improve.
“That’s all!”
“Thank you.”
“Hehe, no need to thank me.”
At Uijae’s sigh of relief, Goyo scratched the back of his head with a shy grin. Seeing his face brought back memories of that sudden spaceship delivery experience, which smacked Uijae hard in the head. And just like when he had opened the door back then, Lee Sayoung’s face flashed before his eyes.
Damn it. Uijae’s expression stiffened in an instant, causing Choi Goyo to quickly erase his smile and straighten up. Unaffected by the change in mood, Uijae cautiously asked.
“How’s Sayoung doing…?”
“Wh-what?”
Goyo’s eyes went wide. Damn it. Uijae quickly corrected himself.
“I mean, Lee Sayoung. I haven’t gotten any work-related calls from him lately.”
“Oh, you meant the guild leader! Sorry, that threw me off for a second. I honestly don’t know!”
As expected, Goyo wasn’t of much help. While Uijae sat there in a brief moment of regret, clasping his hands together, Goyo busily rummaged through his pockets.
“Hehe, he’s always been a solo type, you know… Wait, did he show up to work today? Hold on.”
“…You’re not contacting him directly, are you?”
“No way! There’s a Wave Guild blind board. Usually, when the guild leader arrives, the secretarial team sends out a warning to be cautious.”
“Oh.”
Goyo swiped through his phone and then held it out to Uijae.
“Wanna take a look? It’s fun.”
“Isn’t security important for something like this?”
“Nah, it’s mostly just employees asking what’s for lunch in the cafeteria. And maybe a little complaining about the boss.”
Uijae took the phone and scrolled through the posts. Next to him, Goyo excitedly began to chat.
“I’ve got a pretty high security clearance, so I can see most of the posts.”
The first post that caught Uijae’s attention read:
**Wave Guild Blind Board**
Title: [Anonymous] So what happened at this f***ing Artisan Exhibition?
240 hasn’t shown up for work since the Artisan Exhibition. We have no sources of information since it’s their own private league. The Hangover Soup Ghost says he doesn’t know anything, and Kang Jisoo is saying ‘no comment.’ I’m dying of curiosity here.
So, Sayoung still hasn’t returned to work. Is he really that badly injured? Did he even regain consciousness? Uijae frowned and rubbed the back of his neck.
‘Maybe I should go see him myself.’
He scrolled down further, hoping to find more information in the comments. One line in particular caught his eye:
Comments (10):
- HunterNet seems to be under some sort of info lockdown, doesn’t it?
- Yeah, usually you see all kinds of humble-bragging posts disguised as testimonies, but now there’s nothing.
- No news articles either… Did 240 actually win anything?
- I had high hopes, but nothing came through.
- My cousin was at the Artisan Exhibition, and when they woke up, it was over. Apparently, Honeybee was holding a sword and doing a headcount.
- What the hell…
- What is this, the hell for people who kill bees or something?
- Could someone explain in more detail?
- Let’s make a separate thread for it.
- Condemning all of this.
Honeybee… Does that mean Honeybee was involved? And he was doing a headcount while holding a sword? Uijae couldn’t help but feel drawn in by such provocative comments. He quickly refreshed the page. Fortunately, the commenter had posted a new thread.
**Title: [Anonymous] 10 minutes before the post gets deleted**
Yesheng is yesheng.
Uijae hit a wall right from the first sentence. What the hell was this weird word, “yesheng”? Giving up on figuring it out on his own, he decided to ask for help.
“…Hey, what’s ‘yesheng’?”
“Yes, yesheng?”
Leaning forward to read the post, Goyo burst into laughter.
“Oh, you’re reading that thread? It’s hilarious. ‘Yesheng’ refers to Hong Yeseong. It’s a code.”
“Code?”
“Yeah, it’s to avoid detection. They call it ‘search prevention.’”
Yesheng equals Hong Yeseong. So that first sentence means…
‘Hong Yeseong is being Hong Yeseong.’
“Sh*t.”
From the first sentence alone, Uijae could tell—the person who wrote this post was the real deal.