Gru, who had been about to pull a fork out of his inventory to respond, froze for a moment.
The film crew was getting off one after another, carrying cameras, microphones, reflectors, and the like.
‘……?!’
Gru put the fork back away and hid behind the car.
‘What’s going on?’
Chase Guild Leader went over to where the kids were playing basketball with several staff members in tow and waved his hand at Taemin.
Taemin’s face hardened.
Serhi glanced back and forth between Taemin and the Guild Leader, then took a step closer to Taemin’s side and stood right next to him.
The Guild Leader was startled upon seeing Serhi, but soon pretended not to know him and spoke to Taemin.
“Taemin, say hello.”
“Hello, Hunter Lee Taemin. I’m BJ Chabu, who runs a Hunter channel. I’m not sure if you know me.”
“I know you. You’re famous. I watch you on YouTube often, so it’s really nice to meet you.”
“Haha! A promising future rookie recognizing me? What an absolute honor!”
When Chabu pretended to perform a deep bow, Lee Taemin waved his hands, laughing.
Serhi glared with displeasure at the sight of the two of them gilding their faces for each other.
The friends who had been playing basketball together chattered about how many subscribers Chabu’s channel had.
Its main content was filming Hunters freely clearing dungeons in a relaxed atmosphere like an observational variety show, and it had gained immense popularity by showcasing the true states of various Hunters and even serving as a scouting ground for prospects.
Bringing in a BJ from such a channel—it was transparent to the point of absurdity.
Their ulterior motive to sell out Lee Taemin and promote the guild was plainly visible, yet Taemin’s friends could only repeat “freaking awesome” with their impoverished vocabulary.
“But Hunter Lee Taemin. What made you decide to solo play an A-rank dungeon? Did you get motivated by Hunter Gidan after all? The entire Republic of Korea—no, the whole world—was in an uproar back then.”
“Huh? Solo play? Me?”
Taemin blinked as if he had never heard anything about it.
“Huh?”
At this, when Chabu also made a surprised expression, Chase Guild Leader Choe Hyeonu wedged himself between the two.
“Hey, Taemin. I told you a few days ago. Don’t you remember?”
“Ah……. Ahh, that. I remember…….”
Taemin nodded as if something had clicked.
Even so, it was plainly obvious that this hadn’t been agreed upon.
Chabu also seemed flustered by the unexpected situation.
“This…… it seems things weren’t properly arranged…… Gong PD, hold on a moment.”
Just as Chabu tried to consult with the PD on whether today’s filming was possible, Choe Hyeonu pulled Lee Taemin into his arm.
“Not at all. Our Taemin was so enthusiastic about it. He can do it. Right?”
“Yes…… I can do it.”
Chabu exchanged glances with the PD.
They had brought all the staff this far, and since the person himself was saying he would do it, they weren’t exactly keen on refusing just because things felt off.
“Then shall we move to our van?”
“Yes. Let me say goodbye to my friends for a second. Guys, I’m heading out first because I have something to do! You reek, so go wash up!”
“Hey! Get lost!”
“Come back as a star! S-rank rookie!”
Lee Taemin high-fived his friends who were saying goodbye to him, then turned his head.
Vivid blue eyes were staring holes into him.
“Idiot.”
Serhi, who had muttered softly, turned away.
“…….”
Lee Taemin moved his lips slightly before being led away by Choe Hyeonu’s hand.
As they headed to the parking lot, Serhi glanced at his retreating figure and shook his head.
What did it matter where that bastard went or what he did? It wasn’t even his business.
“Hey, Serhi! Let’s play basketball again next time!”
“Serhi! See you tomorrow!”
“Go away!”
Serhi tightly furrowed his brow at the continuous greetings coming from behind.
Thanks to Lee Taemin, he had ended up saddled with a whole bunch of annoying people.
Would he be able to go back to being a foreigner tomorrow?
There was no way at this point. Damn it.
He was doing his best to suppress the irritating emotions that kept welling up inside him.
“Let’s go too!”
Grab!
His wrist was caught by two small hands.
When he lowered his head, Gru was grinning from ear to ear.
“What are you on about all of a sudden.”
Serhi freed his caught wrist and grasped the child’s hand, grumbling.
“Why aren’t you going home? Want me to take you?”
“Gru, oppa is managing him right now.”
“Not stalking?”
“Stocking?”
The child blinked large eyes and asked back, and Serhi shook his head.
“Forget it.”
“Ser-oppa. Let’s follow Taemin-oppa too.”
“Why do you keep wanting to go there.”
“But Taemin-oppa might get hurt. I’m worried about him.”
“Just leave him be. It’s his own doing.”
“His own dooing?”
Serhi bit his lip.
“Fool. It means there’s no curing someone who acts like an idiot, so there’s no need to worry about them.”
Gru met Serhi’s eyes directly. His golden eyes were hidden behind blue lenses for no particular reason, just to avoid standing out.
“Dummy. Liar.”
“What?”
Gru pouted.
Gru knew everything. Because a quest had popped up like this.
[Caregiver Quest]
[Caregiver ‘Serhi’ is worried that his friend has fallen into difficulties. Let’s solve the caregiver’s concerns together!]
[Reward: Filial Piety Points 5,000]
Gru squeezed Serhi’s hand tightly and broke into a grin.
It couldn’t be helped. If he still couldn’t be honest, there was no choice but for Gru to help out a little.
“Gwu, there’th thomething I wanna do. Ther-ther oppa hath to hewp him.”
“No way. You’re saying we should go save him. Didn’t I say to just leave him alone?”
“Mmm, not that.”
The child shook their head side to side.
“Then what?”
Gru pulled out three fist-sized chick drones.
“Promotion.”
*
The word “Idiot” that Serhi had muttered kept circling inside Lee Taemin’s head the entire time he changed his clothes.
‘That punk Serhi. Even when he wants to be nice, he acts like such a jerk…….’
Lee Taemin roughly snatched up his belt and fastened it for no reason.
You don’t know anything.
After pulling out his twin swords from his inventory, he forcibly swallowed the words that had risen all the way to his throat.
Soon after entering the dungeon, Lee Taemin fixed his gaze on the staff filming him for a live broadcast, on Chabu noisily delivering his lines, and on Choe Hyeonu standing beside him, smiling brightly and waving.
Choe Hyeonu.
He was a maternal relative of Lee Taemin, and the person who had stopped him from going to an orphanage.
“Hyunwoo, no matter how pitiful he is, a child that old will inevitably block your path to marriage. Don’t you understand?”
E-rank. Even while barely getting by as a porter, Choe Hyeonu never let go of Lee Taemin.
“I told you, I know what I’m doing! It’s not like I’m only making pennies, and I’m diligently saving up money, so stop it. The kid will hear.”
Every word he uttered, lowering his voice so that he wouldn’t hear, had made his throat tighten.
The days when he hid his tears with the back of his hand passed.
“Hyung, I awakened……!”
He had been so happy then.
He had wanted to become Choe Hyeonu’s strength. He had been so overjoyed that he was no longer an obstacle blocking Hyung’s path that he took on unreasonable tasks himself.
And Choe Hyeonu had been so proud of him. Just seeing his hyung overcome with joy gave him strength.
He had been desperate to do anything more for him.
In the midst of that, Choe Hyeonu created a guild for Lee Taemin, and Lee Taemin willingly became the guild’s face.
Guild management was no walk in the park. A mere E-rank. A porter background on top of that…….
Among those who looked down on Choe Hyeonu, as long as it was for the guild, it was okay if his hyung overworked him more and more.
‘Right. It’s for our future, just like Hyung said. Just a little more suffering.’
It was as he was reaffirming this while reminiscing about the past.
Rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble—
The surface of the ashen field covered in volcanic ash shook.
Thud!
Thud!
Soon after, two massive hands pressed against the ground and revealed themselves from underground.
[Piroclasto (AA)]
Boss of the Volcanic Ash Dungeon. A spirit dwelling in volcanic ash.
It twisted its elongated body covered in hot ash and let out a bizarre cry.
“Graaaaaaaaah!”