"OPPA, you really look unstable right now. Let give you so Guiding–"
"It won’t work," Yejun said, cutting off Kim Bora. "Only Wonhee can Guide ."
He went back to Wonhee’s bedroom to keep his head cool while the others were moving Lee Seodam out of the penthouse.
If he saw so much as the fake carnivore’s shadow, he’d lose it.
The only downside of that decision was getting stuck with Kim Bora there.
"Why are you still here, Kim Bora?" Yejun asked, knitting his eyebrows while looking at the Winter Guild’s A-Class Guide. "I don’t need your Guiding, so go ho."
Kim Bora frowned as if she was offended. "Oppa, our guild mbers are back. They want to see you. Are you not going to et them?"
"Maybe after I find Wonhee."
"Oppa, is it really true that Chu Wonhee is an S-Class Guide? And that she has beco your exclusive Guide?"
"Do you want to kiss Wonhee in front of you as proof?"
"You’re already at that level of intimacy? But Oppa acted like you were disgusted every ti I held your hand before..."
"I told you not to take it personally," he said, sighing. "It’s not because I find you disgusting, Kim Bora. It just physically pains whenever Guides touch regardless of the matching rate I have with them."
"And it’s not like that with Chu Wonhee?"
"Wonhee’s touch feels good to ," Yejun said bluntly. "And Wonhee is older than you, so you can’t call her by her full na without honorifics."
"But Oppa does that all the ti..."
"I don’t care if you disrespect other people, but not my Wonhee."
"Oppa, that unnie is an!" Kim Bora whined like the child that she was. "Do you know what that unnie said to the first ti we t?"
"I know, and Wonhee didn’t say anything wrong," Yejun said bluntly. "Kim Bora, I know that you can’t swim. Unlike you, my Wonhee swims once a week to keep herself fit. But if you and Wonhee drown at the sa ti and I can only save one, I’m saving Wonhee first."
"Oppa, you’re hurting my feelings."
"I can’t be bothered caring about your feelings right now, Kim Bora."
This ti, it seed like Kim Bora was really hurt because tears started to roll down her face. "Oppa, do I really an nothing to you? We’ve been together for years. You’ve only t Chu Wonhee-ssi a few weeks ago."
"Yeah, but I can only think about Wonhee– especially now that I don’t know where she is," Yejun said while looking at his trembling hands. He was shaking because he was stopping his urge to go on a killing spree. "My Wonhee only eats delicious food and sleeps on soft beds, so I hope she’s comfortable wherever she is right now."
***
"THIS beach house looks exactly like my favorite villa in Maldives," Wonhee wondered out loud while looking around Bitna’s beach house. "Unfortunately, the resort that we would often book in the past was destroyed when a Crack burst open there a few days ago. But I can’t be mistaken– this really looks like that villa."
Even the wooden terrace that hugged the private swimming pool looked similar.
When Bitna gave Wonhee a tour inside, Wonhee confird that it was really the sa place after seeing the luxurious master bedroom with a retractable roof, an outdoor bathroom with a bath, and two showers encircled by a water feature.
Aside from the basic anities like the kitchen and the living area, the villa also had a gym, a tennis court, a ditation room, a pantry and minibar, a TV lounge, an upper deck with dining sala, and even a yoga champa.
Overwater villas in Maldives were more popular.
But Wonhee’s family chose that particular villa because of the privacy it offered since it was surrounded by pristine mangroves. It was hidden, but not totally isolated because it was only steps away from the azure waters.
That was the difference, though.
[There are no mangroves that hide the villa.]
"Really? I’ve been to Maldives a few tis before the Outbreak," Bitna said, sitting on the couch with the view of the swimming pool. "But my family would always book those overwater villas with slides, not the hidden villas. I thought the layout of this beach house was familiar the first ti I saw it, though. No wonder."
Wonhee sat down beside Bitna. "The electricity and the water supply here don’t get cut off?"
"I had to do a bunch of dangerous side-quests for the System to provide a proper house with running water and electricity."
Oh.
[Just like when Yejun got the Dragon’s Lair.]
"How are you feeling, Wonhee-ya?" Bitna asked worriedly. "Does your head still hurt?"
Wonhee shook her head. "I’m fine now–"
Her stomach growled a bit loudly.
She felt embarrassed.
[I guess I feel safe enough to feel hunger...]
"I’ll prepare a feast for you, Wonhee-ya," Bitna said, standing up. "Let catch so Sea Monsters for you first."
Wonhee’s eyes widened in shock. "You’ll catch them yourself, Bitna-ya?"
[Is she a Hunter then?]
***
"DON’T look at like you wanna peel alive."
If the situation wasn’t so dire, Yejun would have found that comnt from the talking orange funny.
In fact, even the little bastard’s ’human form’ looked funny to him.
But without Chu Wonhee, Yejun couldn’t even laugh.
The urge to destroy things and kill bugs was strong, but he was holding back because he knew how much Wonhee treasured her penthouse.
"Wonhee isn’t here, so I can’t guarantee you that I’d stay sane for so long," Yejun said, tapping his fingers on the table. "Explain why I should keep Lee Seodam alive and what being an Irregular ans."
Only his fellow Big 4 mbers were left there, aside from the talking orange.
[Geon Hyung, Soobin Hyung, and the baby herbivore moved the fake carnivore to another place.]
And Yejun sent Kim Bora ho.
"If I don’t find your explanation satisfactory, I’ll kill you and everyone in this room."
The Big 4 mbers would threaten to kill each other at the slightest inconvenience. They had threatened each other so often that it had beco a normal ’greeting’ to them by now.
However, this ti it was different.
Yejun was serious about his threat, and everyone in the dining hall could tell.
"Stop throwing threats every two seconds," the talking orange said, scoffing. "I’ve already explained this to the others, so listen carefully, Hunter Hwang Yejun."
"Keep it short and simple," Yejun demanded. "The Static is ringing quite loudly in my head, so I might not be able to focus for too long."
In short, he was a ticking bomb at the mont.
"The Irregulars are people whose complete faith in the System is recognized by the System itself," the talking orange explained. "As a reward, the System secretly puts those people under the category ’Candidates.’"
Yejun knitted his eyebrows. "Candidates to be what?"
"The next Administrators for the System."
"Like you?"
"Like , yes," the talking orange confird while nodding. "What makes Irregulars different from other people who have faith in the System is that their soul is completely compatible with the System. We call that ’Connectivity.’ To simply say, the Irregulars’ souls resonate with the System well."
Yejun fell silent for a mont, looked up at the ceiling briefly, and then laughed.
"He lost it," Graham "whispered" while shaking his head. "We must find Chu Wonhee ASAP before he completely goes insane."
Song Moonho shrugged. "He has always been the craziest one among us."
"Why are you laughing, Hwang Yejun?" Semi complained. "What do you find funny in this situation?"
"I get it now," Yejun said while nodding. "The ’Irregulars’ beco the System’s Administrators once they die. Talking orange, you probably died five years ago, since that’s your age as an Administrator."
The talking orange just scoffed, obviously refusing to neither confirm nor deny it.
"So, Lee Seodam will beco an Administrator once he died?" Yejun asked, and then he asked his next question loudly. "Hey, System. I’m gonna send your potential new Administrator to you early, so why not let kill that fake carnivore?"
"It doesn’t work that way, you stupid hotheaded dummy Hunter," the talking orange said. "And it’s important that we keep Lee Seodam alive. Out of all the Irregulars alive at the mont, Lee Seodam has the highest Connectivity to the System. And that’s exactly why the Virus used his body to ss up the System."
"I see," Semi said, nodding. "Since the souls of the Irregulars resonate with the System, once they get possessed by the Virus, then the Virus would have an access to the System’s Database. Is that right, Admin?"
"Right!" the talking orange said. "That’s why you got repelled when the Virus appeared! It was only for a mont, but as soon as the Virus took over Hunter Lee Seodam’s body, the Virus managed to breach the System’s first wall of protection! That’s why you lost your abilities for a mont!"
Song Moonho leaned against the chair while crossing his arms over his chest. "If the Irregulars are a liability to the System, then why didn’t you warn us about them?"
"The System refuses to talk about the Irregulars as much as possible because we want to keep their identities hidden. After all, the Virus cos after them."
Yejun raised an eyebrow. "The System inford that Lee Seodam and Park Ruda are both Irregulars. You’re not being careful, are you?"
"It was when the System has confird that Lee Seodam and Park Ruda are currently the top two Irregulars with the highest Connectivity to us," the talking orange explained. "The System wanted to subtly inform the Big 4 that you need to protect those two–"
"Fuck, no," Yejun said, almost growling. "You better keep those two hidden from ."
"You better let Hwang Yejun sit this out, boy," Graham said, shaking his head. "Anyway, we need to keep Lee Seodam alive because the Virus would co and possess him again, right? So, to simply put, we’re gonna use Lee Seodam as bait to lure the Virus out?"
"That’s what I’ve been saying all this ti!" the talking orange insisted. "We have to keep Hunter Lee Seodam alive and use him as bait! The Virus can only possess one Irregular at a certain period, so it’s definitely coming back to possess Hunter Lee Seodam again!"
"You can talk to the others about that problem since I’m sitting this one out," Yejun said, getting up. "I’m gonna go and find the hideout of those square-headed bastards first. If they’re helping the Virus, then they might have an idea as to where Chu Wonhee might be."
"Bring Hunter Ha Min with you, Hunter Hwang Yejun," the talking orange said. "He’s the only Awakened Person in Korea who has a personal Administrator like Guide Chu Wonhee."
Graham, Song Moonho, and Jang Semi reacted as if they were offended that a Culinary Hunter had his own Admin when the Big 4 didn’t have that privilege. "Hamin has a personal Admin?"
Yejun nodded in agreent. "Yeah, and why are we only finding it out now?"
"Because Hunter Ha Min doesn’t even know that he has a personal Admin himself," the talking orange said while shaking his head. "He’s a little slow, that’s all."
***
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