Free Web NovelSong Hwayoung’s entry into the country got sprayed out in all kinds of articles. They even ran an article about Song Hwayoung eating a hamburger at the airport.
After entering the country, Song Hwayoung dodged every interview coming in by using “recovering her condition” as an excuse, then headed straight to the SH Guild building. As a matter of guild-member duty, I went to see Song Hwayoung again two days after that.
“Long time no see.”
“Yeah. For us, it’s been especially longer, huh?”
Song Hwayoung—her hair cut even shorter than the last time I saw her—smiled refreshingly and flicked her hand at me.
“Yes. Was your business trip okay?”
“It was fine. How about our Hunter Seo—did you have a nice, safe trip too?”
“Strictly speaking, it was absent without leave/unauthorized absence, but I’m not injured anywhere.”
“Yeah, that’s good.”
With a small snort of a laugh, Song Hwayoung perched on top of the desk and slowly swept her eyes over me. While she was doing that, I pulled up Song Hwayoung’s Status Window for the first time in a while.
Name: Song Hwayoung ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
Age: 35
Rank: A
Title: -
Main Skills: Shadow Step (A), Darkness Expansion (A)
Growth Limit: A
‘Nothing’s changed.’
So was it just her mana that got blocked? In a way, that was even more regrettable.
After a brief silence, Song Hwayoung made a quiet “Hmm,” like she was thinking, then asked lightly.
“So what did you go do?”
“I was in a Dungeon. I didn’t go in expecting to get swept up, so it was half unexpected.”
“I heard you were with Hunter Do.”
“I’m usually with Yehyun anyway. I live with him.”
“If it was only special this one time, I would’ve let it slide, but you’ve got a record, Hunter Seo.”
As she said that, Song Hwayoung «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» straightened her collar and crookedly pulled up the corner of her lips. It was clearly meant as a warning.
‘Hmm.’
Staring straight at me, Song Hwayoung added a few words in a slightly delinquent, tossing-them-out way.
“Plus, really conveniently, the time the Haeseong guild master was gone overlapped a bit. Not the whole period, of course. If the whole period overlapped, I would’ve been sure.”
“.......”
“The Haeseong guild master gave a clear reason, but... I don’t really believe that side’s words in the first place.”
“.......”
“I respect Hunter Seo, and I’m always full of the desire to work together. We’re a pretty good guild master and guild member, aren’t we? But if you come at me like this, I’m... kind of confused.”
Hm? You don’t look confused at all.
Whether she was or not, I understood what she meant well enough. I was running around doing things that looked weird no matter who saw them, so she wanted an explanation.
‘Why bother?’
But now, I didn’t have any reason left to explain. Before, there’d been a clear reason I needed to stick to the SH Guild, but now my rank had gone up, the SH Guild’s end was in sight, and I was at the point where Haeseong could forcibly scout me, so there was no need to drag things out by making excuses.
I held eye contact with Song Hwayoung right in front of her, then opened my mouth.
“I moved together with the Haeseong guild master.”
“By coincidence?”
“No. I asked for a favor.”
Song Hwayoung didn’t look particularly surprised. She just nodded slowly and asked one thing.
“Why?”
“I needed a mental-type Hunter.”
“Hm....”
At that, Song Hwayoung knit her brows slightly and spoke like she didn’t get it.
“You definitely told me you weren’t that close with the Haeseong guild master. But if you asked a favor for something that needed a mental-type Hunter... that sounds like a pretty intimate relationship.”
“We’re not close. It was a deal.”
“What kind of deal? No, before that—what was it that made you need a mental-type Hunter badly enough to make a deal?”
Telling her everything honestly was still a risk. No matter what, things weren’t over yet. Even in this situation, adding something that could act as a variable still wasn’t a good choice.
I answered without hesitating.
“I wanted to run high-grade Dungeons. A mental-type Hunter matched well with my attribute.”
“Why did you want to run that kind of Dungeon. Did you want the items that come out of it?”
“I figured I could raise my stats.”
“Appraisal?”
I deliberately didn’t answer that question. As expected, Song Hwayoung seemed to take my silence as a yes.
“So did your stats actually improve?”
“Yes.”
That part was true. Even if the physical agreement hadn’t happened.
At my crisp answer, Song Hwayoung went quiet for a moment like she’d lost what to say. I watched her calmly, then obediently said what I’d originally come to say.
“I do think I’m sorry for leaving my post on my own. And for the absent without leave/unauthorized absence.”
“Doesn’t feel like it....”
“If you decide on punishment, I’ll accept it. I already finished all the appraisals. Seowon was watching me.”
“Hunter Joo.... Well, Hunter Joo is pretty lenient with you.”
“It can’t be helped. He’s someone I live with, too.”
“Someone?”
“Someone I live with.”
Song Hwayoung laughed like it was ridiculous, shook her head, and sighed. I smiled back and delivered the fact.
“Anyway, I’m not interested in things like the relationship between you and the Haeseong guild master, or the relationship between Haeseong and the SH Guild. I never asked him to tell me anything about the SH Guild, either.”
“Yeah, if he wanted information, the Haeseong guild master would’ve taken it on his own. But what kind of contract did you make?”
“Appraisal work.”
“Hm....”
Well, that wasn’t completely true. But if I moved jobs, he’d be having me appraise things anyway, so it wasn’t a one-hundred-percent lie, was it? They sell fruit juice even if it’s only one percent fruit.
“Is there really a reason to make Hunter Seo do appraisals?”
Right then, Song Hwayoung raised a sharp, reasonable doubt.
“Right.”
“I’m not doubting your appraisal skill. Honestly, I think you’re one of the top. In speed, and in accuracy.”
“.......”
“But even if it’s not someone at your level, the Haeseong guild master can hire as many appraisers as he wants. So why would he go as far as granting your request?”
Good point.
But that was logic that only worked from the perspective of a normal person like Song Hwayoung. A crazy bastard on the level of Im Haekyung had to be issued an appropriate amount of dopamine in life to stay alive, so there was some error in it.
“I guess I’m interesting.”
“.......”
“Guild Master Im may not look like it, but he’s a dopamine addict.”
When I answered cleanly, Song Hwayoung’s expression stiffened in a subtle way. But then, like she accepted it, she answered by rubbing her face once.
“Yeah.... Yeah.”
After that, silence continued for a long time. Song Hwayoung went quiet like she didn’t have anything else to say, and I shut my mouth too, in case she might say more.
In the end, the one who broke the fairly long silence was me.
“Is your body okay?”
“Yeah.”
Answering reflexively, Song Hwayoung slowly lowered the hand covering her face and met my eyes.
“Do I not look okay?”
She looked fine. Her Status Window, her outward appearance.
‘If someone who reads mana well looked, would they have noticed something was off?’
For example, a bastard like Im Haekyung.
I lifted the corner of my lips and answered kindly.
“You don’t look like there’s any problem.”
“Can you see things like this with an appraisal Skill?”
“No.”
But I did know Song Hwayoung’s condition. And when I already knew her end, there was no way I wouldn’t know her present.
“But if you ask that kind of question, I can guess.”
“.......”
“Stay healthy.”
When I added that briefly, Song Hwayoung twisted her mouth.
“Of course.”
Song Hwayoung wasn’t the type to pull back just because someone tossed her a little worry about health. They said a small variation could make a big change, but even if a big change happened, there were people who still followed fate.
Song Hwayoung was the same kind. Whether her body was healthy or her mana was dried up, she was the type who would still go into a Dungeon if she was needed.
I gave a short bow and left Song Hwayoung’s office.
***
The next day, Haeseong Guild building.
I’d rambled on at length to Guild Master Song Hwayoung the day before, but coming to the Haeseong Guild building had already been decided.
Now that it was familiar, I waited in the lobby, and permission came down telling me it was fine to go up.
When I entered Im Haekyung’s office, I heard the greeting he always gave.
“Have you been well?”
“No.”
“You don’t have to be that honest about a greeting.”
Saying that, Im Haekyung gave a small laugh and looked at me with only his head lifted, still seated in his chair.
“So why did you come today?”
“Ah.”
“Let me guess. You came to get help suppressing a fiend-merged body? Or you came to tell me not to let the public know. Or is it a Cheonmyeonggyo matter? Hm, maybe you even considered a contract with us?”
He asked, and then answered everything himself. If he was going to do that, why ask?
Either way, Im Haekyung looked extremely excited for the first time in a while. I sat on the sofa set in front of him and leisurely chose my words.
No matter what I picked, I was sure Im Haekyung would enjoy it like hell. I could tell just from his expression right now.
‘He’s so fucking excited, seriously.’
