Chapter 47
After sleeping for the full remaining two hours and waking up, Han Chasu let out a groan.
There was one more person than before.
“Thanks to you, Hunter Han Chasu, I had a very pleasant morning.”
Gi Taeyeon looked as though he had just rolled in from a battlefield. Sweat ran down the muscles visible through the wide-open collar of his shirt.
As always, he pulled up a chair and sat down, then kindly explained everything that had happened in the meantime.
Geum Myeonggyeol’s reckless driving, the resurrection of Baek Dam’s research material, and even Jeong Iheun, who had woken the Director in the middle of the night.
The farther the explanation went, the paler Han Chasu’s face became. At some point, Gi Taeyeon was irritably chewing on the end of his cigarette. ‘These lunatics….’ Han Chasu lifted his head and glared at each of the three S-ranks surrounding his bed.
“Are you hungry? Shall I have a meal brought in?”
“That isn’t a hungry face. Those are glaring eyes, Guildmaster Cheollyeong.”
“They’re probably eyes wishing the two of you would both get lost.”
Naturally, not a single one of them looked the least bit repentant. Han Chasu pressed a hand to his forehead.
The previous day, what he had asked the medical staff to do had been very simple.
He had something to give the Exilis Guild Master, so he wanted them to call him over.
It was just that when the staff member asked if that would be enough, he had specified the type of item. Just in case Geum Myeonggyeol failed to understand and ignored it.
But things had turned into an absolute mess. ‘Not a speck of patience among them.’ Han Chasu let out a deep sigh and subtly gauged the expressions of the four people.
He was wondering which of the two, Jeong Iheun or Geum Myeonggyeol, would ask first how he had released the bound item.
But unexpectedly, neither of them seemed particularly interested in that.
“The bead I gave you last time seemed too hard to use, so I brought a new version. You can wrap it around your wrist. What do you think?”
“Isn’t that a child-safety bracelet?”
“I suppose attempted kidnappers do have sharp eyes.”
Instead, Geum Myeonggyeol and Jeong Iheun were busy fighting each other. Han Chasu made no effort to hide his exasperation. Baek Dam, standing well away from them, was the same.
Craaaack!
What drew everyone’s attention back was an icicle rising from the floor. In the air that froze over in an instant, four pairs of eyes turned toward Gi Taeyeon all at once.
“Am I the only one here dying of sleepiness? If everyone’s gathered, let’s hurry up and finish this.”
After a long yawn, he opened a drawer and took out a box. It was the box containing the Cursed Earring of Resonance.
“The person who came to receive an item can receive his item.”
Han Chasu was horrified for a brief moment as the box traced an arc through the air. Geum Myeonggyeol caught it in a stylish pose.
“The person who came to check whether his guild member is all right should check quickly and go back.”
Bleak blue eyes turned toward Jeong Iheun. For just a moment, a gloomy look seemed to flicker in his eyes before vanishing.
“…
And I still haven’t asked why you came. Hunter Baek Dam, why are you here?”
Baek Dam snorted and took a step forward. Then he uttered something unbelievable.
“If someone who’s going to become family dies and you don’t come, wouldn’t that make you an idiot?”
“…
Family? Who is whose family?”
“Can’t you tell by looking? I mean Han Chasu.”
“That is nonsense he is insisting on alone, Chief Gi Taeyeon.”
Unable to watch the situation deteriorate any further, Jeong Iheun stepped in and tried to straighten things out.
But the situation only rushed even more toward catastrophe.
“I thought something was strange. Don’t tell me the younger brother you said you wanted to torture together was that younger brother?”
“Wait, torture? What are you talking about?”
“Ah.”
How very fascinating. Now that the earring had been removed and he was completely free, Han Chasu relaxed and watched the pandemonium unfold. ‘I’d prepared five excuses in case someone asked how I released the earring, but now they’re all useless.’ Since none of them seemed to have any intention of asking what had happened, it felt awkward to bring it up first. ‘Well, all’s well that ends well.’ If he could slip past it quietly, he was more than happy to do so. Han Chasu propped up his pillow and leaned back against it comfortably.
He was just about to watch the rare three-way battle between Gi Taeyeon, Baek Dam, and Jeong Iheun when—
“Han Chasu.”
At some point, Geum Myeonggyeol had approached and was grinning at him. When Han Chasu tilted his head, he shook the box and said,
“Thanks for the gift.”
When Han Chasu gave a casual nod, Geum Myeonggyeol chuckled. Then a chilling remark landed in his ear.
“I thought partnering with you wouldn’t be so bad.”
“……”
“It’s a real shame things turned out like this.”
Was he insane? Han Chasu glanced at Geum Myeonggyeol as though looking at a wild beast. His hand was already rummaging through his inventory.
Geum Myeonggyeol had fallen into a world of his own.
“Ah, or maybe not. Since I’m the owner now, there’s also the option of me proposing a partnership to you.”
Judging by the way he was muttering, Han Chasu’s choice had clearly been the right one. He quickly found what he wanted in his inventory and pulled it over himself.
“What do you think, Han Chasu? With me… Are you trying to make me laugh right now?”
Han Chasu shook his head vigorously. The flamboyant feathers decorating the mask swayed wildly along with him. His face itched a bit, but it was bearable.
“…
You’re really good at pissing people off without saying a word.”
Han Chasu shrugged. Pissing him off? This was merely a means of self-defense. A means to prevent the possibility that Geum Myeonggyeol might use an opening to shove the earring into his ear. ‘He probably wouldn’t do that without a contract, but you never know.’ At Han Chasu’s defensive posture, Geum Myeonggyeol pouted.
“I know I’ve acted a bit rough until now, so I must have startled you a lot. But doesn’t a person’s impression naturally change? If you spend time together up close.”
“What are you two doing?”
Had his conversation with Jeong Iheun ended? Baek Dam approached, cutting off Geum Myeonggyeol’s ploy.
“If you’re done with your business, Exilis Master, why don’t you leave? This isn’t even the time you’re supposed to be awake. You’re someone who stays awake only at night like a gloomy bat, so I don’t know why you’re acting out of character and troubling everyone.”
At the appearance of an expert who overwhelmed even Geum Myeonggyeol when it came to sarcasm, Han Chasu felt relieved.
But this one was just as unhinged.
Baek Dam approached with a light, swaying step, pushed Geum Myeonggyeol aside, and held something out.
It was a sheet of paper with unfamiliar names written on it. Judging by the names, people from several countries seemed to be mixed in. Their genders and ages also varied.
So what was he supposed to do with this? When Han Chasu asked with his eyes, Baek Dam smiled prettily, like a flower.
Then, in a sweet voice, he said something murderous.
“How would you like them to die?”
“……?”
“Ah, I misspoke. I won’t kill them. I’ll just make them wish they were dead. So tell me comfortably. In what manner, and how painfully, would you like these bastards who hurt you to die?”
Madness was welling up from within his light-brown eyes. His white hair, glittering in the sunlight, trembled faintly even without wind. He looked so insane that even Geum Myeonggyeol quietly muttered, “Psycho.”
In the end, the only one who could save him was the protagonist.
“That’s enough from both of you.”
Jeong Iheun moved the two men away from the bed as he spoke.
“Guildmaster Geum Myeonggyeol, you got what you wanted, so please go back. And Hunter Baek Dam… I believe I’ve told you repeatedly. I’d prefer you not do things that stress Han Chasu out.”
“That’s exactly why I brought this—to get rid of that stress.”
Baek Dam smiled brightly and shook the list. They were people who would become sacrifices in the virtual reality training system of the Awakened Management Bureau and be killed dozens of times by Baek Dam’s hand.
“No one knows better than I do how to relieve this kind of stress. Guildmaster Jeong Iheun, you know that too, don’t you?”
Baek Dam, who had awakened at the young age of eighteen and gone through all kinds of hardships. Could there have been no days when he trembled in terror and fear?
But he had overcome it. By trampling on the necks of the bastards who tried to put a leash on him and use him like a dog, and by ripping out their hearts.
“How nice would it be if everything in the world could be overcome with one pathetic word of comfort?”
“……”
“I’m trying to help Han Chasu. Just like you.”
What mattered was the experience of subjugating the object of one’s fear with one’s own hands. The process of recognizing and imprinting on the subconscious that they could no longer exert any influence over oneself.
At Baek Dam’s words, Jeong Iheun did not readily answer. Because he did not fail to understand what Baek Dam meant.
Just then, as if to draw everyone’s attention, Gi Taeyeon snapped his fingers.
“I’m terribly sorry to interrupt the meaningful conversation of our S-ranks, but let’s take care of our patient first.”
The moment he finished speaking, as though they had been waiting, the door to the hospital room opened. Medical staff came pouring in.
“Hello! Excuse us. Please move aside!”
“Good morning, Hunter Han Chasu. What would you like to eat today? Korean set meal? Western food? Or Chinese?”
“Oh, Hunter Baek Dam. We actually had something urgent to discuss with you. The Center Director is calling for you—do you have a moment?”
“Guildmaster Cheollyeong, there’s something I need to tell you regarding the counseling you mentioned last time. Shall we step outside for a moment?”
“There you are, Exilis Guild Master! The security office is looking for you right now. We’d like you to accompany us.”
Of course, it was not only medical staff who had entered during that opening. With Geum Myeonggyeol being escorted away with an elegant air as the last of them, all three S-ranks left the room.
“Finally, we can talk.”
Gi Taeyeon sighed with a tired face, then said to Han Chasu,
“The earring. Aren’t you curious about what happened?”
Han Chasu’s hand, which had been tearing off a piece of bread, stopped dead.
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