42
Upon returning to the room, Bibi was fluttering about, inspecting different places as if the bed wasn't to her liking.
"Bibi."
"Yeah!!"
Bibi, who had been enthusiastically patting the TV with her tiny hands as if interested in it, came flying over with a bright smile like a puppy greeting its owner coming home.
"Did you hear the explanation from the Tower?"
"Yeah, yeah!!"
Bibi naturally perched on my head and lay down flat so she wouldn't fall off, sticking her head out below.
It seemed she really liked it after I let her sit on my head once.
"I'm not sure when the next time will be, but until then, have fun playing here."
"Woojin is the best!!"
She seemed to be trying to hug me, but her hands and everything else were so small that Bibi's two hands merely covered my eyes.
"And this is how you use this."
When I pulled out the remote stuck in the wall and turned on the TV, surprisingly, not only did the power come on, but broadcasts were also being transmitted perfectly.
'What principle is this based on?'
It should be completely cut off from the outside.
There was indeed a reason why dungeons were still an unknown realm.
"What?! How did you do that??"
Visual media is something even humans have a hard time escaping once they fall into it. Moreover, for a fairy who had been confined in the Tower for a very long time repeating nothing but work and sleep, it wasn't even worth discussing.
"Have you figured it all out?"
"Yeah!!"
When I handed her the remote, Bibi operated the buttons with her tiny hands and very skillfully not only changed channels but even accessed the TV's dedicated apps.
Of course, Baek Woojin handled the login.
Besides that, I brought a slightly larger bowl to the shower room, filled it with water, and taught her the joy of bathing—essentially showing her how to use most of the things Bibi could utilize.
"Then see you later."
There was still time left, but even the most outstanding Awakener couldn't overcome an empty stomach and thirst, so it was time to part.
"Hmm..."
"It'll take a little while, but I'll come see you again."
Baek Woojin gently stroked and peeled off Bibi's head clinging to his cheek, wearing an expression that looked like she might cry at any moment.
"Brag about it a lot to the others and have fun playing."
"Yeah..."
"See you next time."
"Come quickly!!"
No matter how fast, it would take at least half a year by outside standards, but for Bibi, that half year would be the soonest possible meeting.
Considering that the fastest record of advancing from C-rank to B-rank was 1 year and 6 months, it was a promise hard to make with certainty.
"Okay."
"Promise me!!"
However, Baek Woojin promised Bibi.
Because he was confident he could visit this tower again within a year, even if half a year might be pushing it.
"Don't get hurt!!"
"I understand."
"Hmm..."
Bibi stuck firmly to Baek Woojin's cheek once more before pulling away.
"Come quickly!"
Baek Woojin waved his hand at the sniffling Bibi, and when he came to his senses, he was outside the Tower.
**
"Over here!"
Unlike when they entered, Baek Woojin, who had been looking around the sparse Tower vicinity, came out to the parking lot, and Jang Hyena, who was sitting in the driver's seat, poked her head out the window.
"Why did you come out so late?"
"The assigned fairy was quite a chatterbox."
"Ah, right. It was your first time."
Jang Hyena, who was backing up the car, paused for a moment, glanced at Baek Woojin once, then continued backing up and pulled out onto the road.
"The fairies do talk a lot. But don't get too attached to them."
Baek Woojin nodded once instead of answering, as he thought he understood what she meant by that.
He hadn't told Jang Hyena, but being kind to the assigned fairy, Bibi, wasn't solely because she healed his heart.
Just as the fairy who guided the 2nd stage exam advised that it would be better to take off the bag.
The fairies were so starved for warmth and attention that they would give hints related to the exam for even the smallest kindness.
When the Tower closed, the fairies would wander around their respective floors and zones to begin maintaining the Tower. Would such chatty fairies actually keep their mouths shut and work?
'No way.'
Bibi would certainly chatter about what she experienced during her work, and the existence of a challenger named me would naturally be imprinted in the fairies' minds.
The thing that plunges people into the greatest despair is none other than a hope that seems within reach yet isn't.
A fairy who freely plays and spends time in a different space while everyone else should be sleeping. I don't know if there was such a precedent, but what if Bibi was the first fairy to receive this benefit?
Since I didn't know everything about fairies yet, I couldn't be certain, but even if it wouldn't result in a change of assigned fairy, could they invite me to that space again? The fairies who remembered me might throw even the smallest hints related to the exam, just to have that question asked.
Just creating that possibility alone made repaying Bibi fully worth its value. It's a bit funny to talk about value while calling it repayment, but anyway.
"More importantly, what about your weapon, Woojin?"
"I have it well in hand."
"……?"
Jang Hyena blinked at Baek Woojin's answer that he had it well in hand when he clearly didn't have a weapon before. However, it was the reality of this industry that even fellow guild members didn't reveal all of their capabilities.
"Woojin, you really don't seem like someone your age every time I see you."
If the person sitting next to her had been someone else, they might have felt a bit slighted, but for some reason, Jang Hyena felt a slight sense of pride in Baek Woojin's flawless behavior as a Hunter.
The two parked at a nearby rice bowl restaurant, and since neither of them was picky about food, they casually ordered whatever was on the menu.
"Um, Woojin?"
"……?"
Baek Woojin, who had been stuffing a half-cooked fried egg into his mouth in one bite, looked up at Jang Hyena.
"The assigned fairy didn't explain things in detail sometimes, and when I came out, that Hong Yeonha kid had already left too."
Hong Yeonha, who was demoted from 'nim' to 'that kid' after just one party.
Honestly, if she had still called her 'nim' after coming out, I would have been a little disappointed in a different way.
"What exactly happened?"
Jang Hyena asked seriously, and Baek Woojin, focusing a bit more on savoring the savory and mild flavor of the half-cooked yolk bursting in his mouth, answered with truly nonchalant composure.
"I just sliced them up."
"I see. You sliced them up."
At Jang Hyena's reaction of nodding and accepting it calmly, unlike what he had expected, Baek Woojin asked her in return instead.
"Do you believe me?"
"Huh? Was it a lie?"
"It's not that."
"Then I believe you. You've shown me plenty while dragging me around."
It was true that he had dragged Jang Hyena around quite a bit when facing the first boss on this side, just in case something happened. He also needed a means of transportation.
"Honestly, I didn't know when we first entered. But while I was sitting in the car waiting for you, I thought about it carefully, you know? And then I noticed that even when seeing that green bulk, only you were strangely calm."
Perhaps because she was a tanker who always had to keep an eye on the situation from the frontlines, not only was her eye for detail good, but her own memory also seemed quite excellent.
"How. Ev. Er."
Jang Hyena, picking up the remaining fried egg, glared playfully with half-closed eyes.
"I won't say thank you. Something tells me that damn guy appearing was because of you."
Since he didn't really have anything to say, Baek Woojin just nibbled on the kimchi that came as a side dish.
"What? Why no answer?"
"Talking makes me hungrier."
"Whatever. Fine. More importantly, I'm tired, so let's go home tomorrow. That's okay, right?"
"That's up to the person driving, isn't it? The one catching a ride just has to go along."
Jang Hyena put the fried egg she was holding with her chopsticks back on the plate, then held it out toward Baek Woojin and smiled slightly.
"That's a very good attitude."
**
In the end, after staying one more night at the same hotel, the two headed down to Busan together.
"Ugh~!!"
"Good work today."
Somehow ending up getting off in front of Jang Hyena's apartment, Baek Woojin tried to help her unload the luggage from the trunk, but Jang Hyena lightly slapped the back of his hand.
"It's fine. Didn't you say you have business? I'm on vacation until tomorrow, so hurry up and go take care of it. Or should I give you a ride?"
"No need. It's only two subway stops away."
"Two stops?"
Jang Hyena, who was pulling out her luggage, suddenly stopped what she was doing, blinked for a moment, and then said.
"Centum?"
"Yes."
"Wait, wait. Don't tell me... You're not going to Hongryeon, are you?"
"Oh."
I had thought her intuition was quite sharp since we ate together yesterday, but I didn't expect her to guess this accurately.
"No, what's with that expression? It'd be stranger if I couldn't guess."
Baek Woojin unnecessarily wiped his face once.
"Don't tell me you got scouted?"
"No. They just told me to come visit to say thanks for saving them."
"Hey, you innocent twenty-year-old? That's all bait to scout you, you know."
Baek Woojin wasn't ignorant of that fact, of course, so he just shrugged his shoulders once.
"Haa, I don't know. Just try joining Hongryeon. Then it's over between us, huh? Completely done!"
"I'll pass on anything else, but your hands hurt, so I'll decline."
"What are you talking about. You bus driver who solo carries."
"No, seriously."
Baek Woojin bickered with Jang Hyena for about a minute more before parting ways and headed to Centum where the Hongryeon Guild's headquarters was located.
'No wonder the Association officials can't wield their power.'
The Hongryeon Guild's headquarters was enormous to the point where one had to crane their neck all the way up to barely see the top of the building. Moreover, it wasn't just tall vertically but also stretched out horizontally.
Contrary to its scale, there were fewer people coming and going than expected, so when he entered through the main gate, the gazes of the people resting in the lobby naturally turned toward Baek Woojin.
At the excessive attention compared to what he expected, Baek Woojin wondered whether it was right to mention Hong Yeonha's name, but he still approached the receptionist working at the desk.
"Excuse me."
"Yes, how can I... ah!"
The female receptionist, who looked up from her work, widened her eyes as soon as she saw Baek Woojin's face, then immediately displayed a business smile.
"Are you Hunter Baek Woojin?"
"That's me, but."
"Please wait a moment."
The woman took out a necklace that looked like an employee ID from under the desk and held it out.
"Please board the elevator, scan this, and then go up to the 11th floor."
Without being greatly flustered, Baek Woojin received the Hongryeon guild card the receptionist handed him and hung it around his neck.
Given that it wasn't just an ordinary guild but one of the top guilds in Korea, identifying an Awakener's identity would be a trivial task.
Originally, aside from the registration date, there wasn't much information to hide anyway.
'The elevator is spacious too.'
Since hunters made it their profession, they would often use it while wearing armor and weapons, so the elevator's size seemed to be adjusted accordingly.
Ding.
With a clear sound, the elevator doors opened.
"You look more slender than your photo."
He came face to face with an old man of such a massive build that he blocked nearly half of the elevator doors.