But apparently the two of them didn’t feel the sa way. Sung Uijae’s expression crumpled in real ti, and he managed to throw one line at .
“Basic courtesy toward people—yeah, fine. I shouldn’t have expected it in the first place.”
After slowly closing the door, Im Haekyung offered a calm greeting.
“Mm, anyway, it’s been a while, Mr. Jehyun. And... Hunter Sung as well?”
“......”
“If not for a setup like this, when else would I ever see Hunter Sung?”
Well, they’ll have more than enough chances to run into each other going forward. With a sigh, Sung Uijae gave a vague nod.
I pretended to know nothing and chid in.
“Sounds like you two don’t get along.”
“Mr. Jehyun. Drop the act.”
And in one second flat, Im cut off.
“Sharp bastard.”
Pulling out a chair and sitting, Im added, totally unruffled,
“If inviting people with a prickly relationship were a mistake, most folks wouldn’t bring it up at all.”
“Huh, hearing the Haeseong guild master talk about social skills is... a little surprising....”
“If we’re weighing social skills among the three of us... well, honestly and coldly, isn’t it safe to say it’s basically zero unless we’re talking about ? I don’t think Hunter Sung’s in any position to lecture on that....”
Trailing off on purpose, Im shifted his attention to the nu. Sung stared at him like he’d been smacked by nonsense.
“...What?”
“Oh, I’m not insulting you, Hunter Sung. I’m just stating facts.”
“Hey. I—I do fine socially.”
“A freelancer hunter unaffiliated with any guild or the Association... what ‘social life’ do you have, exactly? I’m genuinely curious.”
“......”
Blinking innocently like he knew nothing, Im looked at him. I took a sip of water and watched their fight with great interest.
Sung opened his mouth, face looking like he was about to blow, but even that got cut off by Im.
“A conversation worth having between you and —”
“Ah, let’s not nitpick too hard. Mr. Jehyun’s got that ‘this is fun’ look on his face, and I don’t want to give him ammo.”
“......”
This is pretty damn entertaining. Sung’s face was full of complaint, but in the end he clamped his mouth shut. I glanced between them and spoke up to diate.
“Work out the mutual grudges to a healthy degree.”
“Hey, Hunter Seo. Be quiet.”
I lowered my voice and tried again.
“Stop getting mad.”
“...When I say be quiet, I an shut your mouth, not lower your volu.”
Picky, picky. I flicked a glance at the nu and continued.
“You two were taking so long I just ordered freely. Went with the most expensive course, so be satisfied. The main is beef—do either of you care how it’s cooked?”
“......”
“......”
“I ordered it dium, so eat it as is. Picky eating is bad for you.”
After the courteous explanation, I lifted my gaze to read their faces. Sung snorted and said,
“You really are... equally rude to everyone. So it wasn’t just .”
“I’m the considerate type. I even picked the dishes ahead of ti.”
“......”
“That’s the first ti anyone’s called rude.”
Of course it wasn’t the first, but I made a habit of pretending I hadn’t heard assessnts I personally didn’t agree with.
Im let out a short burst of laughter, then smiled at .
“Ha!”
...What?
I looked at him, puzzled. He laughed again and began to rattle on.
“Mm, no. Mr. Jehyun, you are definitely rude. Your character’s not great, either. From what I see, you’re a psychopath with anger-control issues and a dopamine addiction.”
“...I didn’t go that far. I just thought you were a rude bastard.”
“From a psychopathology standpoint, my take is far more accurate.”
Ignoring Im’s bullshit, I got to the point.
“So, the reason I called you both at the sa ti—”
“See? I’m far older and you don’t even answer when I speak.”
He kept throwing flags and grinning every ti soone finished a line; he clearly looked annoyed. I didn’t know how to soothe his mood, so I answered with nonsense.
“Far older... right. You look so young as a guild master, it doesn’t really sink in.”
“......”
“Freak....”
Mm, quiet at last.
Satisfied, I calmly resud the explanation.
“First, about that hunter market you said you wanted to see, Hunter Sung.”
“......”
“Out of nowhere? What’s that got to do with the Haeseong guild master? Don’t tell ... you want to go in on his ID? Why would I...?”
While Sung looked baffled and displeased, Im’s brow twitched. Fox that he is, he got it imdiately.
“...Aha. So that’s... why you called us?”
When he murmured that, Sung’s eyes swung to him.
Im mulled sothing over, then asked,
“Hunter Sung is... fine, but what’s in it for if I join this deal? I more or less get what you want to do, Mr. Jehyun, but I don’t see any benefit falling to .”
“What...?”
“Before you open a channel for a deal, you’re supposed to put sothing tempting on the table.”
Fair point.
But putting sothing on the table that would tempt “Im Haekyung” wasn’t easy for .
He already had money, and as an S-rank his skill list was maxed. What was I going to offer to satisfy him?
Letting him into a quest-type dungeon, we’d compromised with skill creation, but this ti... on multiple fronts, it was awkward.
I’d already finished thinking it through, though.
“The condition I’m offering is...”
“Yes.”
I paused, then answered without a blink.
“Nothing!”
“......”
Next to , Sung—who’d been rolling his eyes just to track the gist of the conversation—spat out his water. I stared at that godawful ssy display for a second, then pulled out a ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) napkin and slid it his way.
Im repeated my words with an unreadable expression.
“...Nothing?”
“Right.”
“Hm. Mr. Jehyun’s not the type to... make deals like this.”
“That’s true. But you already have everything, Guild Master. I’ve got nothing to give you.”
“......”
“If you’d rather pre-set the condition, I’ll match to it. Anything you want?”
Even while I spoke with Im, Sung was still coughing his lungs out. Fragile trachea for an S-rank? I watched him for a beat, amused, then slid a handkerchief across the table.
“Use that.”
“Ha, you—”
“Finish coughing, then talk.”
Only after his coughing fit died down did Im finally speak.
“The condition I’ll propose... well, I’ve only got one.”
“What is it?”
“You know.”
A condition Im would put to ? There was only one.
“A transfer.”
But a transfer to Haeseong wasn’t in the cards yet. I kept my mouth shut for a mont, and Im added,
“It’s the condition I’ve been dangling already, right? Back then, you said you’d consider it positively.”
“Hmm, the timing’s still a bit off.”
“If you can’t satisfy any other way, you’ll have to pay with your body.”
If the terms don’t match, you work it off physically. Basic enough, but a transfer was hard right now.
I opened my mouth to negotiate.
“A steady arrangent is difficult... how about occasionally?”
“Occasionally? How often?”
Did he need that appraisal that frequently? Honestly, his goal was less to offload appraisal work and more to keep nearby to satisfy his curiosity.
And to make use of ntal Domination on the side.
Still, I’d accommodate him on this much.
Calmly, I answered,
“Call when you want. I’ll do my best.”
“How am I supposed to know when and where I’ll want it?”
“To be fair, wherever and whenever, I tend to do above average.”
I ant the appraisal work. It’s not like my Status Window suddenly shuts off; I could deliver results more than good enough.
Im thought for a mont, then slowly nodded.
“Well... you are quite excellent in that respect.”
“Of course.”
“Let’s discuss the details separately.”
“Yes, sounds good.”
Not that I was taking on all this hassle just to grant one of Sung’s requests; I actually had sothing to ask Im, so this was part of the overall terms. I’d decided we were going to Jinsando together.
At that point, Sung, who’d been listening quietly, looked between us with a confused face.
“Have I... not used Korean for too long?”
The hell is he saying?
“Uh, why... what are you two talking about? It sounded pretty weird. That he’s good at working it off with his body?”
I’d dropped the subjects so he wouldn’t guess, and it had thrown him.
Either way, instead of clearing his confusion, Im cut the conversation at a convenient point.
“We’re talking about the hunter market you wanted to see.”
“That’s not what it sounded like at all.”
Sung frowned, but soon settled and asked,
“...So, what’s the connection, exactly?”
In a slightly bored, indifferent tone, Im tossed out a bomb.
“That hunter market you wanted to visit... very coincidentally happens to be mine.”
“......”
“That’s my understanding—right, Mr. Jehyun?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Before Sung could co up with a proper reply, Im continued,
“I’ll get you in. With a one-ti ID, and I’ll vouch your identity.”
“...I can just go sowhere else.”
“It’s not like information leaks just because one Hunter Sung shows up. We’re not that sloppy.”
“No, I an I suddenly want to go sowhere else.”
“Your face is too well-known, so we’ll need to take precautions.”
Precautions?
I rembered the mask he’d worn the first ti I t him at the night market. Sothing like that, then?
“That would be better, actually.”
I looked over at Sung; he was shooting a very pointed stare like he wanted my answer. I gazed back at him, then lifted the corners of my mouth neatly.
“Well then, first...”
“......”
“Shall we eat?”
Be grateful to the acquaintance who’s showing you this favor even after we kicked off our “first eting” with a glorious “fuck you.”
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