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Jeong Iheun acted like a child starved for affection. That was why. Han Chasu couldn't pull him away.
“I can't express how fortunate I feel that you're a member of our guild, Mr. Han Chasu. Really… how someone like you came to join our guild. Words cannot express it.”
Arms hugging him with all their might, and a gentle voice whispering in his ear. Faced with an attitude so earnest it seemed desperate not to let this moment slip by, Han Chasu couldn't easily push him away.
The hand wrapped around his back flinched at the awkward warmth. ‘Could it be because of the gift?’ It hadn't even been bought with his own money, yet seeing him so happy made him feel needlessly uncomfortable. He felt like a wicked adult deceiving a child.
“Um, Guild Leader.”
“Thank you, Mr. Han Chasu. I truly am grateful.”
Jeong Iheun seemed half out of his mind. No matter how many times he was called, he didn't listen.
“Sigh….”
Rather, he only tightened his embrace further.
“Ugh.”
With such strength that his body felt nearly crushed. Han Chasu patted his back with a half-resigned expression. ‘So there was another big baby here.’ Since it wasn't something he had never done before, he skillfully soothed Jeong Iheun.
How much time had passed that way? The nape of his neck was gradually growing ticklish from the hot breath when the door opened.
“Mr. Han Chasu, it's time for your stamina supplement…. What are you doing right now?”
It was the coldest voice he had ever heard. Han Chasu looked at Seo Jeongmin with startled eyes.
The pupils visible beyond his glasses were as sharp as thumbtacks. As if unafraid of an S-Rank, he rushed over and gripped Jeong Iheun's shoulder tightly.
“Guild Leader Jeong of Cheonryeong.”
“Ah.”
“Unless you wish to be thrown out, I suggest you stop there.”
Only then was Han Chasu finally able to break free from Jeong Iheun.
“I apologize. I didn't mean for this to happen.”
Jeong Iheun murmured, lowering his head bashfully.
“…
It's fine. You have every right to.”
Even as he said that, Han Chasu's face was dazed. Jeong Iheun's reddened cheeks kept capturing his gaze. ‘Damn it.’ Don't act shy, I'm the one who's more troubled. ‘You're not a child anymore.’ To think he'd be shaken just from having their cheeks rub together once. He still had a long way to go.
Muttering a quiet curse under his breath, he bit down hard on the candy Seo Jeongmin had brought him. Seo Jeongmin had just left after glaring at Jeong Iheun one last time, alongside a stern reminder to make sure he ate the candy.
Crunch.
A refreshing scent and tart syrup filled his mouth. Was it the sugar? Though only slightly, vitality returned to his body. For some reason, he felt a bit more courageous too.
“I'm glad the gift seems to have been helpful. I do hope you will use it well.”
Han Chasu spoke in a voice more honest than ever before. It was because Jeong Iheun's clinging behavior reminded him of those he had once cared for.
Jeong Iheun, who had no way of knowing that, looked slightly surprised.
Ahem. Clearing his throat, he slowly opened his mouth.
“Of course. In fact, the guild members asked me to tell you how truly grateful they are, and that they will use them well.”
Han Chasu nodded. Jeong Iheun continued, his eyes brimming with gratitude.
“Everyone was thankful, but the raid team members in particular looked deeply moved. We've been short on potions lately as it is, so this gave everyone a reprieve.”
At Jeong Iheun's words, Han Chasu's body stiffened slightly. ‘…
Wait, you've been short on potions?’ Don't tell me this happened because I completely emptied the warehouse. Suddenly, the fine hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and his spine went cold.
No matter how wealthy and powerful a large guild is, it can't make something from nothing. There is a limit to the supply of reagents and raw materials required to craft high-grade potions.
If potion production had been disrupted because he swept up all the reagents… ‘No wonder Jeong Iheun got so worked up over something so trivial.’ Crack. Strength entered the hand gripping the Demon Spirit Stone.
He was someone who had never rushed to embrace Jeong Iheun even when saving his life. Yet he had hugged him tight and rubbed their cheeks together over a mere few hundred potions.
There was no doubt that a major problem had occurred with the guild's potion supply.
But he couldn't jump to rash conclusions. Han Chasu decided to subtly probe Jeong Iheun.
“If only I hadn't taken so many reagents to enter the Frost Giant dungeon, we wouldn't have run short on potions…. I'm sorry.”
Jeong Iheun looked at him with surprised eyes. It was the look of someone hearing something completely unexpected.
“What are you saying? You have done nothing wrong, Mr. Han Chasu.”
“But it is true that I took important reagents.”
“Mr. Han Chasu.”
Jeong Iheun grabbed his wrist tightly with a resolute face. The spot where their skin touched was hot.
“How many lives do you think were saved thanks to you?”
“…….”
“No one blames you, Mr. Han Chasu. What in this world is more important than human life? They owe you their lives. So please don't apologize. I beg you. This is my request.”
His fervent voice filled the hospital room, and Han Chasu slowly lowered his head. Whereupon Jeong Iheun wrapped his arms around his back once more.
In Jeong Iheun's embrace, he thought, ‘This bastard… he says all the right things, but ultimately, he's saying that me sweeping up all the reagents was the problem, isn't he?’ Jeong Iheun's words were incredibly kind, but they didn't touch the core issue.
Thanks to that, Han Chasu was certain. Potion supply had been disrupted because of the reagents and materials he had taken.
The moment he thought that far, chills ran down his spine. ‘I'm glad I sent Haetae's potions to the Cheonryeong Guild.’ How many raid team members could he have saved in the Frost Giant dungeon anyway? The Hunters belonging to Cheonryeong, a massive guild ranked within the nation's top ten, were too numerous to count on two hands.
He had nearly earned the lasting resentment of people he didn't even know. ‘Ha… life is really hard.’ Cold sweat trickled down his spine.***It had been only moments since he expressed his gratitude to Haetae. Han Chasu realized Jeong Iheun hadn't come merely to offer thanks.
This was because, rather than leaving after the intense hug, he sat back down as if nothing had happened.
As Han Chasu quietly brushed over the spot where his breath had touched, a low voice reached him.
“It seems I brought the wrong item after all.”
Jeong Iheun was already gazing at the Demon Spirit Stone.
By this point, it should have hatched long ago. With no word whatsoever, he seemed to be growing suspicious.
“This shouldn't be happening….”
His low voice scattered, steeped in disappointment. The eyes gazing at the Demon Spirit Stone were quite cold.
Feeling preemptively guilty, Han Chasu coughed awkwardly. ‘Have I neglected it too much?’ Unless he was with Jeong Iheun, he had never so much as glanced at the Demon Spirit Stone, let alone stroked it. After all, he couldn't predict when the demon spirit might suddenly awaken.
But suddenly, Jeong Iheun snatched the Demon Spirit Stone right up. ‘Is he going to confiscate it?’ Hope flickered in Han Chasu's eyes. But his expectations vanished like foam in an instant.
“I'll bring a proper one next time.”
“Excuse me?”
“Come to think of it, a spirit seems better than a demon. I heard they normally hatch faster… I'll select a Spirit Stone that can hatch before you're discharged from the hospital, Mr. Han Chasu, and bring it to you.”
“If necessary, I'll bring several,” Jeong Iheun added.
He was a man who said truly dreadful things so casually. Han Chasu urgently rose from his seat and grabbed him.
“I like this one.”
“Excuse me?”
“It hasn't been born yet, but hasn't it already passed through my hands?”
“But….”
Jeong Iheun alternated a conflicted gaze between the Demon Spirit Stone and Han Chasu. He couldn't back down here. Han Chasu wrapped his own hands around Jeong Iheun's hand holding the stone.
It was to prevent Jeong Iheun from fleeing with the Demon Spirit Stone.
His hand thus bound, Jeong Iheun stared at him with wavering eyes.
“The guild members, and you, the Guild Leader, gave this to me. It's no different from a child. How could I abandon such a child just because it can't hatch a little earlier?”
“…….”
“I hope you'll reconsider.”
Ripples stirred in those red pupils. Jeong Iheun was unable to speak for a moment. Han Chasu didn't miss his chance and snatched the Demon Spirit Stone from his hand.
For a very brief moment, the Demon Spirit Stone flickered.
But it was too faint, and because both individuals were focused on each other, neither noticed.
“This one is enough for me.”
“Sigh….”
“I mean it.”
With a face clearly full of things to say, Jeong Iheun looked at him before nodding. Han Chasu smiled at the man obediently following his words.
Despite the fact that he frowned at what followed.
“I've brought the items I mentioned previously and the medicine you were taking at Yubaek Hospital. I'll leave them here, so please take them.”
“That bitter medicine?”
“Good for you is bitter to the mouth, as they say.”
Jeong Iheun's gaze fell upon the remaining candy. Soon, with his parting words, he bent down.
“I'll come again.”
Just how many times had they embraced in a single day? ‘He must be out of his mind with gratitude that I sent Haetae's gift.’ The solid embrace was becoming familiar now.
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