“Th-this, this-this-this, what the hell...!”
Unable to finish his sentence from sheer shock, the Association President could only stutter “this” over and over before violently hurling the tablet PC away and jumping to his feet.
“What the hell is going on here?! Huh?! What the hell did you all do to let that Supporter end up in the hands of the Yesung Guildmaster?!”
The employees, faces pale, avoided the President’s gaze and lowered their heads.
What could they even say?
In fact, some even glared at the President with resentment in their eyes.
If only he hadn’t tried to protect his pride with lies and excuses—if they had just gone to rescue Cha Seohu from the start, none of this would have happened.
Thanks to the Yesung Guildmaster’s statement, the Association had been publicly branded a criminal, and there would be no avoiding a flood of criticism and blame now.
And the one who would have to run around trying to clean up the mess wasn’t the President—it was the staff.
With an exasperated flick of her hand through her hair, Choi Gyeonghui shouted:
“Didn’t I tell you? We should’ve sent a cooperation request to the guild and taken action before things got to this point! God, this is insane.”
“W-what?!”
The Association President’s face flushed red with rage as he roared in response.
“You think that’s what you should be saying right now?! After watching that Yesung Guildmaster run his mouth, you’re still talking about cooperating with a guild?!”
Wow. Just amazing.
The other staff, including Choi Gyeonghui, stared at him in disbelief.
Meanwhile, the tablet PC that had been flung to the floor continued playing the news broadcast without shutting off.
『Due to Hunter Cha Seohu’s condition, we’ll end the press conference here. We plan to hold an official event with him after consulting directly. Thank you.』
『Wait, Guildmaster Kwon!』
『Just one more comment, please! Guildmaster Kwon!』
“We don’t have time for this. We should be apologizing to the Yesung Guild and Hunter Cha Seohu—at least now—!”
“Have you lost your damn mind?! After they just declared full-scale war on us, and you’re talking about apologizing?! That’ll happen over my dead body!”
“Ha! Fine then! Team Leader Park Minhyuk, go dig up some dirt!”
“Please calm down.”
The voices of the reporters playing from the tablet, mixed with the yelling match between the President and Vice President, turned the conference room into chaos.
The staff, quietly sitting with their heads down, felt like they were walking on a bed of nails.
With the atmosphere reaching rock bottom, Park Minhyuk pressed his fingers to his brow, feeling a headache coming on.
‘I knew this would happen...’
Just because he’d braced himself didn’t mean it wasn’t hard.
Wearing an expression like all the energy had been drained from him, Park Minhyuk silently watched the furious clash between the Association President and Choi Gyeonghui.
Good? hehe
“Hunter Cha Seohu.”
Park Minhyuk was in the middle of sending a message when Kwon Taehyuk entered the room.
“I had it cleaned every day, so it should be usable right away.”
Now back at the Yesung Guild, I had returned to the room I’d used before heading to the Great Dungeon.
Maybe because I’d spent a few days here, or maybe because no one was watching me anymore, it felt far more comfortable than the room I’d lived in for over a decade back in the district.
“I’ve sent someone to fetch your brother. He should arrive soon.”
“Yes.”
Since we had to deal with the press, Kwon Taehyuk and I came back to the Yesung Guild in one car, while Cha Sahyeon took another.
He was so obviously displeased about the arrangement that it took quite a bit of effort to soothe him.
‘There might be cult bastards still watching. No way I’m letting Cha Sahyeon appear in front of cameras.’
Ryu Sunghyun and Song Jiwoon had returned to the Circle Guild for now.
I was supposed to meet with Chronos anyway, so we’d agreed I’d come visit the Circle Guild once this was all over.
While I was lost in thought, Kwon Taehyuk looked at me and asked,
“Still... are you really uninjured? Are you okay?”
“Of course.”
“Then... the bandages?”
“Hm?”
When I raised my arm, the oversized sleeve of the crisp white shirt slid down to reveal the bandages tightly wrapped around my wrist.
“That’s obviously on purpose.”
To make sure the media caught it clearly, I’d borrowed one of Cha Sahyeon’s larger shirts to wear.
It also helped create that fragile, delicate image—two birds with one stone.
“It works better if there’s a visual cue rather than just saying I’m unwell. If we’re going to do this, we should do it right.”
I had originally thought about wrapping my neck, but that felt a bit too over the top, so I settled on my wrist instead. It’s a place that naturally gets injured often anyway.
If you’re playing the part of a fragile Supporter who was kidnapped by a bunch of thugs, a wrist injury feels about right.
‘Supporter bodies really are useful for this kind of thing.’
Feeling quite pleased with myself, I smiled inwardly—only for Kwon Taehyuk to let out a short sigh after a pause.
“Actually... I was a little shaken earlier when I saw the bandages.”
“It’s not something that can be brushed off.”
The cut I got while summoning Cha Sahyeon had already been healed by a Yesung Guild healer the moment we left the district.
I had suggested to Kwon Taehyuk that maybe I should delay healing it for effect, since I’d be acting sick in front of the press anyway... but he shot me down cold.
[That’s unnecessary. Get treatment immediately.]
Kwon Taehyuk had firmly pushed me toward the healer, and I ended up getting it healed.
Even Sahyeon and the other S-ranks weren’t on my side on that one.
Still feeling a bit regretful, I had secretly wrapped my wrist with bandages from my inventory before getting into the car.
‘Didn’t think he’d care enough to ask about it.’
Kwon Taehyuk gently took my wrist in his hands.
He examined it carefully, then began to slowly unwind the bandages. His hands moved with the same care you’d use for delicate sugar art.
Even though I’m a male Supporter with a perfectly healthy body, he was treating me like something fragile. I couldn’t help but wonder what he saw when he looked at me.
Come to think of it, Kwon Taehyuk had always been this way.
At first, I thought it was a mix of responsibility as a dealer and gratitude for what I’d done—but I hadn’t paid it much mind back then.
‘Hmm...’
I watched him as he gently undid the bandages and asked,
“Then earlier, when you made that face in front of the reporters—was that genuine concern? I thought for sure you had a hidden talent for acting.”
“...There’s no way it was fake.”
Kwon Taehyuk averted his gaze, his cheeks tinged pink in response to my teasing tone.
Seems like he was a little embarrassed that his concern had been genuine and visible on camera.
“...Still.”
He hesitated for a moment, then smiled faintly after confirming that my wrist was uninjured.
“I’m glad it was just a misunderstanding.”
“......”
I opened my mouth to reply, but no words came out.
For some reason, I couldn’t look away from Kwon Taehyuk’s smiling face.
The wrist he was holding burned with heat. Even though it was just my wrist that was being held, it felt like something in my chest was itching.
When I stared at him, Kwon Taehyuk blinked in surprise—but this time, he didn’t look away.
Then, his thumb slowly brushed the inside of my wrist.
The smile vanished from his face as he looked at me intently. With my wrist still in his grasp, he slowly pulled me closer.
‘Wait a second...’
This feels... kinda dangerous...
Ding-dong~
“Guildmaster, I’ve brought the guest!”
“......”
“......”
The cheerful chime of {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} the doorbell, followed by Secretary Kim’s bright voice.
The mysterious atmosphere that had filled the room shattered instantly.
“...Ah.”
Snapping out of it, Kwon Taehyuk quickly let go of my wrist, startled.
“S-sorry—I, um, I just...”
“Guildmaster! Are you in?”
“Looks like your brother’s here. I’ll be going, then.”
Blushing furiously and fumbling for words, he bolted from the room as if fleeing.
From beyond the now-open front door, I heard the secretary asking if he had a cold or something.
“Hyung!”
“Ah, yeah...”
Cha Sahyeon ignored Kwon Taehyuk as he passed and ran straight to me.
I patted him on the back as he hugged me, recalling what had just happened.
‘Was I out of my mind for a second?’
No matter how moved I was—trying to kiss another man? And Kwon Taehyuk of all people?
‘Absolutely not.’
It wasn’t even to give a buff—just a kiss?
Absolutely unacceptable.
There’s way too much left to do with Kwon Taehyuk. If things get tangled emotionally, it’ll only complicate everything.
I mean, come on—kissing a guy? Cha Sahyeon’s one thing, but still.
‘Get it together.’
I let out a silent sigh where Sahyeon wouldn’t notice.
That night, the moon was unusually bright.
On the rooftop of an abandoned building where no one was watching, a tall man stood alone.
Arms crossed, quietly humming a tune, he looked relaxed as if waiting for someone.
“Do you have to keep calling me out to places this inconvenient?”
About ten minutes later, another man landed gracefully on the rooftop, moving through the air with a swift leap.
The masked man who had arrived first turned to face him.
“That’s why I didn’t say anything about you being ten minutes late.”
“...Sounds like you are saying something now.”
Golden hair fluttered beneath a tightly pulled black cap.
With clear irritation, the newcomer asked,
“So. What is it you want?”

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