I followed the staff’s guidance and took my seat. The event organizers had clearly made an effort—my seat wasn’t far from those of Yesung and the Circle Guild.
But even if we were close, we were still at separate tables. Talking during the event itself would be difficult.
‘Good thing I came in with a plan, just in case.’
If the cult bastards tried to crash the dinner or if something went wrong, I’d be able to respond quickly.
Relieved, I looked up to see who was seated with me—and immediately flinched.
“Well, well~ Supporter Cha. It’s even nicer seeing you here like this.”
“...Hello.”
Yoon Jeha.
With her bright red hair tied up high and a black suit jacket ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) draped over her shoulders, Yoon Jeha grinned at me.
“Bit of a harsh reaction, huh~? You’re making it real obvious you hate me. I thought we agreed to bury the bad blood and cooperate?”
“Yes. We did.”
Of course, I’d explained everything to Yoon Jeha and secured her cooperation ahead of time. I just hadn’t expected we’d be seated at the same table.
‘I just said hello and I’m already exhausted.’
Yoon Jeha laughed aloud at the look on my tired face. God, I hate her.
This table seemed to be designated for Hunters without formal affiliations.
Technically I was listed as a guild rep, but that status had been pretty much inactive for a while. And Yoon Jeha was a true freelancer without any guild.
So it made sense that aside from the two of us, there was no one else seated here. These days, it was rare to find unregistered Hunters.
I avoided Yoon Jeha’s gaze as she rested her chin on her hand and kept smiling at me. She clicked her tongue in mock disappointment.
“I was gonna tease you a bit more since your reaction’s so fun, but I can feel someone drilling a hole into the back of my head. I’ll stop now. Yikes, terrifying.”
What the hell’s she talking about now?
I subtly leaned back to check behind her—and sure enough, Kwon Taehyuk was glaring daggers at her with those sharp eyes of his.
‘Right... this is the first time they’ve seen each other since that day.’
The neck-grabbing incident with Yoon Jeha was something only Kwon Taehyuk knew about.
Even afterward, every time her name came up, he would grind his teeth and curse her as a garbage DPS. And now they’d finally met face-to-face.
Having Kwon Taehyuk—strong and capable—glare on my behalf made me feel a little better.
Feigning ignorance, I lifted the water glass from the table. Yoon Jeha let out a snort, clearly catching on.
“Couldn’t wait to go running off and tattle, huh? I didn’t think you were the clingy type, Supporter Cha. A grown man whining to another guy—pretty pathetic~”
“Well, I didn’t even get a chance to tattle. Somebody went all out strangling me, you know. Doing that to a Supporter... pretty pathetic, huh?”
Yoon Jeha’s eyebrow twitched.
“Oh? Hahaha.”
“Haha.”
We exchanged laughs—sharp, pointed, and full of unspoken meaning.
Thankfully, before round two could start, the emcee took the stage and began the opening speech.
After that, a representative from the organizers gave the welcome address, followed by a short performance.
Every face that stepped onto the stage was unfamiliar, so there was nothing enjoyable about it. I clapped mechanically with the rest of the crowd and made another mental note.
‘I’m never attending something like this again.’
It was painfully boring.
When I glanced to the side, Yoon Jeha was spinning her water glass in circles, looking just as done as I felt.
Well, she was the kind of Hunter who ignored the Association and did whatever she wanted abroad. It made sense that she wouldn’t vibe with this crowd.
She probably only came to confirm whether my plan was legit after hearing about it.
It was weirdly annoying how much I could relate to that part of her.
— “Dinner will now be served. Please enjoy your meal at your table, and look forward to the rest of the evening’s program.”
After the performance ended, the emcee stepped off stage, signaling the start of dinner. All around the room, people began rising and heading toward the buffet.
This is when it starts.
According to the schedule I’d reviewed in advance, this would be the only time we’d be able to move freely.
From here on, it’d be back-to-back performances, speeches, auctions, raffles—programs that required us to sit quietly and watch.
This was our chance to scout the hotel, search for any lurking cultists, or locate the Flower of Origin.
We’d already coordinated this with the S-ranks.
When the buffet opened and people swarmed it, the chaos would be our cover. That was when we’d sneak away to survey the event hall and the hotel.
But the S-ranks had insisted they wouldn’t let me go alone, not as a Supporter. They’d made it clear they were coming with me...
“Guildmaster Kwon! Long time no see. You must be busy these days—dating someone, perhaps? Haha!”
“Ah, you must be the new Circle Guild rep. I heard you’re an S-rank DPS. Is that true?”
“Oh my, your hair is such a striking silver! Is that from your Awakening?”
...But we weren’t the only ones who’d been freed up.
People carrying plates used the food as an excuse to flock to the S-ranks.
Kwon Taehyuk, as expected, had the biggest crowd. Song Jiwoon, newly appointed as Circle’s leader, also had his fair share of greetings.
Kwon Taehyuk was used to this kind of thing and smoothly exchanged pleasantries, but I was a bit worried about Song Jiwoon.
Still... he’s handling it pretty well.
Even if his smile was a little stiff, shaking hands and greeting people made him look like a successful young businessman.
‘But at this rate...’
Am I going to have to go alone? There didn’t seem to be a window for them to sneak out.
As I debated, someone chatting with Kwon Taehyuk asked curiously:
“By the way, Guildmaster Kwon, I heard Supporter Cha Seohu is attending tonight. Do you happen to know where he is? I’d like to greet him.”
At the same time, I heard the same question from a group around Song Jiwoon—Is Supporter Cha Seohu here too?
‘Crap.’
I felt a wave of dread. Thankfully, I was seated far enough from the two of them that I hadn’t been noticed yet.
‘I need to get out of here before they spot me.’
If I got caught by that crowd too, our sneaking-out plan would be completely ruined.
I frantically scanned the area for a place to duck into—and that’s when a large hand grabbed my wrist.
“...!”
Startled, I whipped my head to the side. My heart jumped—but immediately settled once I saw who it was.
“This way.”
With a gentle smile and eyes curved in amusement, Ryu Sunghyun tugged me along.
Following the signs to the restroom, we moved through the crowd. The staff and guards at the entrance didn’t try to stop us.
As we walked through a quieter hallway, I confirmed no one was around before speaking.
“You didn’t get caught, Deputy Guildmaster?”
“Hm, maybe it’s because I’m not a new face?”
Ryu Sunghyun replied playfully.
His tone and the faint smile on his profile told me he was in a good mood.
Seeing that helped me relax as well.
Yeah, having the more conspicuous Kwon Taehyuk or Song Jiwoon tag along would’ve drawn too much attention. This was better.
“Actually, the three of us had a talk while you weren’t around.”
“...Sorry?”
“If we couldn’t move together, I’d be the one to go with you. Kwon Taehyuk’s been to plenty of these events before, so he probably predicted how things would go.”
As I listened, it started to make sense.
“So they drew attention on purpose so we could slip out easily.”
“...Right.”
I’d figured people would focus on Kwon Taehyuk and Song Jiwoon. But this was my first time at something like this—I hadn’t expected it to this extent.
‘The atmosphere’s more friendly than I thought. I figured it’d be stiff, since so many politicians are here.’
Knowing they’d made backup plans without me wasn’t upsetting. I was actually grateful to Kwon Taehyuk for protecting a plan that nearly fell apart.
“So now we leave the event hall to them and scout the area, right?”
“Exactly. Is there a place you’d like to check first?”
“I want to start with the garden behind the hotel...”
Mid-sentence, I suddenly became aware of the warmth in my hand.
When we left the event hall, Ryu Sunghyun had grabbed me by the wrist. At some point, that hand had slipped down to hold mine.
But we weren’t running or being chased, and the hallway was empty. Was there any reason to be holding hands?
“Deputy Guildmaster... Shouldn’t we let go now?”
After some hesitation, I asked carefully.
Ryu Sunghyun didn’t answer. He walked silently for a moment, then spoke in a calm, quiet voice.
“...If I keep holding it.”
“...Sorry?”
“If I keep holding your hand, does it bother you?”
What was that supposed to mean?
I blinked in confusion—and just then, Ryu Sunghyun stopped walking and turned to face me.
That’s when I noticed it: through his neatly parted hair, the tips of his ears were flushed red.

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