Chapter 349

While Im Haekyung was washing up, I stripped the sheets and ordered food. Personally, I wanted to just throw them away and buy new ones, but respecting the homeowner's wishes, I didn't throw them out.

'They'll deal with it themselves.'

By the time we ate, their strange attitude had already disappeared. Of course, that probably didn't mean they were no longer conscious of it.

'Have a good day at work.'

'Don't throw away my clothes.'

'It's a pain to return them, so can I just keep them? Ah, am I taking too much from someone who doesn't have much?'

'Doesn't have much.... Jehyun, I don't lack anything. And I only have one body, so there's no reason to buy that many clothes. Haven't I said something like this before?'

I laughed briefly at the faint irritation in that last remark, told them I'd see them later, and left the house.

After getting into the car and roughly checking Do Yehyun's location with the tracker, I drove nearby. If it was a simple Dungeon, it wouldn't take that long to clear anyway, so I planned to wait and pick Do Yehyun up afterward.

Still, it was funny.

The reason Do Yehyun disliked Im Haekyung was because of the possibility that he could be replaced, and somehow, with perfect timing, Im Haekyung had personally presented that possibility.

It was even more coincidental when I remembered that Im Haekyung had 'Usurped' Do Yehyun's Skill.

'Is this troublesome?'

Well, not yet? Of course, I'd have to see how Im Haekyung chose to act, but I didn't think they would deal with Do Yehyun directly. Their immediate offer to find me a replacement was a little unexpected, though.

But I couldn't exactly give Im Haekyung a long explanation about why I kept Do Yehyun around. I didn't particularly want to tell them either.

'This level of balance is just right.'

But I wasn't counting on it. The point that felt appropriate to me was never really 'balance' in any sense of the word.

Of course, I always had countermeasures. The problem was that I didn't want to use them that way.

Anyway, since my objective was clear... in the end, everything else inevitably had to be pushed down the priority list. Well, that was only natural.

After arriving in front of the Dungeon and parking, I spotted a Haeseong vehicle. When I asked a nearby police officer when the group had gone in to clear it, I was told it had already been about three hours.

'Then they'll be out soon.'

Thinking I'd get some more sleep, I reclined the seat and closed my eyes.

Knock, knock.

I opened my eyes at the sound of someone tapping on the window. When I lowered it, Do Yehyun grabbed the window frame and asked,

"When did you get here?"

"Just now."

Maybe because he'd just finished clearing the Dungeon, Do Yehyun's face was more flushed than usual, and his hair was disheveled in every direction. I unlocked the doors and jerked my chin, telling him to get in.

Once inside the car, Do Yehyun spoke with a strangely excited air.

"You really just got here? You were sleeping."

"Yeah.... Actually, I waited fucking forever."

"I waited a long time too.... I missed you, hyung."

I brushed his hair back with my hand, then lowered it and lightly tapped his cheek a few times. Do Yehyun, who had been holding his face still so it was easy for me to touch his cheek, went quiet for a moment before immediately asking,

"But why did you come?"

"To see you. Nothing happened while I was gone, right?"

"No. Nothing really happened...."

I brushed a hand over the soot smeared across his combat uniform.

"Fire-type Dungeon?"

"Yes."

"Was it dangerous?"

"No, it was fine. There weren't any injured people either."

"That's good."

I answered briefly and pulled the car out. After fastening his seat belt, Do Yehyun shifted around beside me for a moment before asking,

"Did the Dungeon go well?"

"Yeah."

"You went with the Haeseong Guild Master, right?"

"That's right."

I answered lightly. Do Yehyun seemed to think about something for a while before speaking.

"...While I was at Haeseong, there were some people who were subtly asking me. Whether you and... the Guild Master had gone on a business trip together."

"Really? Did you answer them?"

"No."

"Good. People who don't want to believe it won't believe it anyway."

I may have started it, but as things went on, Im Haekyung was the one making the problem bigger and bigger. Despite being someone who thought about fucking everything, they had a bizarre lack of common sense when it came to things like this.

Do Yehyun turned his gaze and quietly stared at my profile. After staying silent for a moment, he asked in a mutter,

"I'm just... asking."

"Yeah."

"...Are you really with the Haeseong Guild Master."

"......."

"In that kind of relationship?"

A snort of laughter escaped me without realizing it. I never expected Do Yehyun to ask that. Apparently realizing it himself, he added,

"I was a little curious. You never properly corrected it."

"No one's ever properly asked me, so how am I supposed to properly correct it?"

"Ah...."

"Why, were you curious?"

"A little."

Funny. So if he got a definite answer one way or another, what exactly was he planning to say?

"Yehyun."

"Yes?"

"What are you going to say if I tell you we are?"

"Then...."

Do Yehyun moved his lips a few times before adding in a slightly deflated voice,

"I don't know. I think I'd try to dislike the Guild Master less."

"Do you dislike them that much right now?"

"A little...."

"A little?"

"I'm scared."

Scared? My brow furrowed slightly at the answer I hadn't expected at all. Was he scared simply because he thought his own position was being threatened?

"Why? What are you scared of?"

"I'm not really sure."

"What am I supposed to do if you don't know? Because they're S-rank?"

"That's part of it...."

In the end, Do Yehyun trailed off without giving a proper explanation. It didn't even seem like he was trying to hide something. He genuinely seemed not to know the reason himself.

'Interesting.'

But if that was the case, hadn't his behavior up until now been less like something driven by fear and more like he simply disliked them?

I glanced at Do Yehyun and spoke quietly.

"Yehyun, I'm not going to do anything until everything is over."

"What about after it's over?"

"I don't know."

It felt a little less impossibly distant than it used to, but either way, it was still far in the future. There were too many important things to deal with to be discussing something this trivial.

Do Yehyun stared at me quietly before saying,

"I'll stay by your side until the end."

"Yeah."

I answered lightly and ruffled his hair. Do Yehyun quietly accepted my touch while fidgeting with his hands.

"I need you."

When I said it matter-of-factly, I could feel Do Yehyun nod. The edge of his ear that I could just barely see was reddish. As usual.

***

Thursday, 7 p.m.

I arranged to meet Choi Yujun at a familiar hotel restaurant. It was one of the hotels affiliated with Seongmu Group, a place I'd visited several times before.

Naturally, I hadn't chosen a place like this just to meet Choi Yujun. I told him to find and reserve a reasonably decent restaurant, and this was the place the bastard chose.

After being shown to a private room and stepping inside, I saw Choi Yujun pointlessly dressed up all neat and proper.

"Oh, hyung. It's been a while...."

"You're dressed up nicely."

"If we finish early, I'm going straight to the party.... I'm the host, so it'd be kind of awkward if I was the only one missing...."

"Who said I'd let you leave early?"

Choi Yujun gave an awkward laugh at my words.

'He thinks I'm joking.'

I sat down, wiped my hands with the wet towel that had already been prepared, and looked around the room.

"Is this hotel yours?"

"No, I'm not interested in the hotel side of things.... And my uncle probably wouldn't give it to me anyway."

"Aha."

"And I don't think Dad would put me in charge of management right now either. His standards are way too high.... Sigh, things are hard for me in all sorts of ways too."

What fucking bullshit. From a bastard who went to parties every single day and got himself caught up in a Gate?

I openly sneered at Choi Yujun as he spouted bullshit, then picked up the menu.

"Did you order?"

"I was waiting until you got here, hyung. What do you want?"

"It all looked about the same. Just pick whatever."

"Yep."

At that, Choi Yujun called someone over and ordered different courses. I ignored him and put the menu away.

"Um, hyung."

"What."

"About you telling me to invest in Hunter Kwon's guild... are you telling me to invest because you're close with him? But they say when you invest, you're not supposed to look at things like friendship."

"What the fuck are you talking about? He's S-rank. Of course you should invest. The bastard runs a fucking ton of Dungeons too."

"Ah.... He does show up on the news a lot. And he's handsome too."

Why the hell was that coming up?

Choi Yujun looked at me and unconsciously let out a brief sound of admiration.

"Wow, hyung...."

"What."

"I really don't mean anything by this, but you kind of look like my dad. If someone saw you, they'd think you were his son.... Of course, you're way more handsome, hyung. Your eyes are kind of similar. And you're both tall."

Well, half my genes came from that side, so naturally I'd look like him.

Choi Yujun didn't know that, of course, but watching the bastard say something so obvious made him look like an idiot. I gave a vague nod and replied,

"You don't look like your dad."

"I got Mom's genes.... They say sons usually look like their moms. And daughters look like their dads."

"Stop talking bullshit. How much money do you have?"

"Ah."

At that, Choi Yujun straightened his posture and spoke in a tone that sounded slightly less idiotic than before.

"If it's officially an investment, I think I could make it pretty big? It's a one-man guild anyway, so there should be support too.... Honestly, even if I just write off the investment money and use Hunter Kwon purely for promotion, I think I'd at least break even. He's popular. We could make money through advertisements and stuff too."

"Hmm...."

"But why are you telling me to invest? Are we business partners?"

"You're the one spending your money to invest. What kind of partners are we?"

At best, I'd be an adviser.

Just then, the appetizer was set down in front of us. Choi Yujun picked up one of the appetizers and spoke while chewing.

"Then why?"

"Because I need something that can influence the guild."

"Oh.... You said you and Hunter Kwon get along."

"We do. We'll probably get along even better from now on."

"But then why...."

I ignored his question and asked him one thing.

"Hey, do you trust me?"

"......."

At that, he froze for a moment, then shifted his gaze around while chewing the finger food.

"Honestly... we're not exactly in a relationship of complete trust. Hmm.... A little?"

That was about what I'd expected. Anyway, trust was something you could build.

I briefly thought over my plans for what came next and smiled.

For reference, the plan after this meal was Dungeon exploration.

'He'll probably trust me once he's been completely fucking screwed at least once.'

If you wanted to save someone and earn their trust, wasn't it only natural that you had to get them fucked first?