Even though Cha Seohu had insisted he was fine, Kwon Taehyuk went ahead and called in a healer anyway. After the treatment, he spoke.
"For today, you should rest. We'll talk in detail tomorrow. You look exhausted, Hunter Cha Seohu."
"Uh..."
Seohu had been about to start explaining about the district brothers and Cha Sahyeon the moment the healer left, but his mind went blank.
"...Is that really okay?"
"I do have a lot of questions about what happened earlier. But not so many that I'd insist on grilling someone who's clearly worn out."
Kwon Taehyuk shook his head firmly, as if this were only natural. In fact, he looked slightly annoyed that Seohu seemed surprised by his consideration.
"Then, I'll see you tomorrow."
Without changing his mind, Kwon Taehyuk exited the room. Just before he left, there was a satisfied smile on his face.
Thanks to that unexpected thoughtfulness, Seohu now had a moment to organize his thoughts. He stood by the window wall in the living room, looking out and mentally retracing the day's events.
'I didn't expect Kang Haeil to make a move over the Great Dungeon issue.'
He knew Kang Haeil had been following and monitoring him, but he never imagined he'd come at him that directly.
This was all Kwon Seoyul and Hyun Dowoon's fault. If those two had caused a scene at the right time, Kang Haeil might not have gotten involved at all.
'If I had to deal with someone, Seoyul and Dowoon would've been easier than Kang Haeil.'
For all his tantrums, Kwon Seoyul always focused his drama directly on Seohu.
He could've pacified him somehow, or if it really got bad, Sahyeon would've stepped in and restrained him. Things wouldn't have escalated this much.
Now they'd gone and pissed off Kang Haeil, and the hotel lobby was in ruins...
Seohu sighed—then realized something.
'No, even if I hadn't canceled my Great Dungeon registration, Kang Haeil would've come for me eventually. Just like he did today.'
So in the end, the problem was his own lack of preparation. He admitted it—he'd been complacent.
Nothing like this had happened before regression.
Back then, he'd never entered dangerous dungeons like this. He only went to ones pre-approved by Ryu Sunghyun and Song Jiwoon. The highest rank he ever attempted was B-grade.
Would Kang Haeil have come for him back then if he'd tried the Great Dungeon? Or would he have just left him alone?
In his past life, Seohu had found it odd that neither Kang Haeil nor the district brothers ever came looking for him. Over time, he came to believe they had abandoned him.
So, like a matter of pride, he never tried to contact them either. Not even Hyun Dowoon, who was more of a friend than a brother.
If the Catastrophe hadn't appeared, that would've been the end of it. All ties, severed.
Kwon Seoyul had only shown up after the Circle Guild officially joined the war effort.
[Hyung, did you not even miss me?]
It was Ryu Sunghyun who had stopped Kwon Seoyul when he tried to drag Seohu away by force.
The Ryu Sunghyun before the regression was far stronger than the one now. Even though Seoyul was also S-rank, he never stood a chance. He was bloodied and battered, crawling on the ground before the fight had even properly begun.
If Seohu hadn't come to his senses and stopped it, Seoyul probably would've died that day.
Ryu Sunghyun, back then, was as ruthless as he was strong. Even Seohu had been shocked at times.
[Come with me.]
Even in that brutal state, barely able to stand, Seoyul had clung to Seohu.
Tears streamed down his blood-smeared cheeks.
[Please, hyung. Come with us.]
He begged Seohu to go with them, saying they were gathering the surviving brothers and leaving the country.
[If you stay here, you'll really die. It's all my fault, but please... come with us...]
[Seohu.]
Seoyul sobbed beside him, while Ryu Sunghyun reached out and grabbed his wrist.
[......]
Seohu stared at Seoyul's tear-streaked face for a long time, conflicted... but in the end, he didn't choose him. He turned away.
Now, he regretted it a little.
'If I'd known I'd regress like this, I would've visited the district at least once.'
He might've found out why the ones who stayed so silent before were now so persistent in this life.
The image of Seoyul crying so miserably weighed him down, sinking his mood even further.
'Maybe... I should go to the district myself after the Great Dungeon.'
It would be like walking into a lion's den, but the district was so closed-off, there was no way to get real information except going directly.
Even asking Hyun Dowoon wouldn't help. He had his own constraints—he couldn't just spill everything.
Just then, the phone Seohu had tossed on the sofa started vibrating.
The name on the screen was almost comical: Hyun Dowoon. Yeah... it had been about three hours since they'd escaped the hotel, so this was the expected timing.
Even if Hyun Dowoon was the one calling, Kwon Seoyul was probably right there too. As for Kang Haeil... knowing him, there's no way he was sticking around with those two.
Seohu stood with his arms crossed, staring blankly at the phone without answering.
Bzzzzzz!
But Hyun Dowoon didn't give up. Knowing full well that Seohu wasn't picking up, he just kept calling.
Annoyed by the incessant buzzing, Seohu finally turned the phone off.
Kim Kyungmin. Age: 33. Yesung Guild Secretary General.
A C-rank Awakener, he had a skill that temporarily boosted memory retention. Not useful for combat or flashy by any means, but perfect for secretarial work.
Having graduated from a top university and previously worked at a major conglomerate, Secretary Kim was the definition of an elite. There was a reason someone like him respectfully served a younger boss like Kwon Taehyuk.
A past dungeon break had left his mother seriously injured, and Kim admired Taehyuk's dedication to public safety.
More than anything, Kim had worked alongside real tycoons. He knew how rare it was to see someone in power who actually fought on the front lines and protected his people like Taehyuk did.
Not to mention, Taehyuk lacked nothing in prestige.
Yesung Guild was unarguably the top guild in the country, and its guildmaster, Kwon Taehyuk, was an S-rank and formerly ranked #1 nationwide. (Even if he wasn't #1 anymore.)
Sure, Kim had been glared at for a poorly timed suggestion—but after dealing with how petty and disgusting real corporate abuse could be, that was nothing.
For all these reasons, Kim genuinely believed Kwon Taehyuk was a solid boss.
And today... the boss looked especially pleased.
'Yup. He's practically glowing.'
The employees noticed too—Taehyuk had shown up to work unusually early. No matter how unapproachable the company's top dog might be, good looks always drew attention.
Yesterday he'd dragged out his departure like crazy, and now he was early to work. If someone didn't know better, they'd think the guild had been coated in honey.
'Well... he did bring someone sweet in, I guess.'
Kim sighed at his boss's all-too-transparent behavior, like that of a lovestruck teenager.
If he was going to drag his feet all night, he might as well have just slept at the guild. But no—he went home just to dress up from head to toe.
Staring blankly ahead, Kim followed along as Kwon Taehyuk suddenly spoke.
"Where's Hunter Cha Seohu?"
"No reports from the security team. At this hour, he's probably still asleep. It's not like he's expected to show up for work."
"......"
Current time: 8:10 AM.
Anyone without a job would be dead asleep right now. Taehyuk knew that, yet still couldn't bring himself to visit the 15th floor. Instead, he trudged off to his office.
For the rest of the morning, he wore the look of a man holding something in.
He pushed through meetings, handled the hotel incident, dealt with Association reps, and even managed to eat lunch.
Well... he wanted to have lunch with Seohu, but since the other party wasn't answering his messages, he had no choice.
He kept staring at his phone like it was glued to his hand. If it was going to be like that, why not go check the 15th floor? But no—he probably didn't want to come off as overbearing.
It wasn't until 2 PM that Taehyuk finally got a response and received formal permission.
The moment the invitation came, he shot up from his desk and bolted out of the office, leaving Secretary Kim sighing behind him.
"Guildmaster."
Catching up as Taehyuk headed toward the private elevator, Kim spoke quickly.
"I cleared your afternoon schedule today, but starting tomorrow, that won't be possible. You've got appointments that were made over a month ago—"
"......"
No reply. Ominous.
"Guildmaster, please! You can't pull this again tomorrow! There's only so much I can do when you cancel everything last minute!"
Ignoring the secretary's ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) desperate pleas, Kwon Taehyuk marched off toward Seohu's room.
He rang the doorbell, and the door opened almost immediately. Taehyuk and Kim both instinctively looked down.
Standing in the doorway was Seohu's younger brother.
He stared at them in silence, switching glances with a face that looked... vaguely disappointed. Without a word, he opened the door and returned to the living room.
Awkwardly clearing his throat, Taehyuk was about to ask him where Seohu was, when—
"I'm fine, really. No injuries. Yes, of course."
From inside the room came Seohu's familiar voice. He stood by the window, phone in hand, leaning casually against the wall.
His voice was softer than usual—gentle, calm, almost affectionate.
"Oh, I forgot to charge my phone, that's why it was off. Haha, please tell the mountain keeper I'm doing well too."
Mountain keeper? Taehyuk froze at the term. That could only mean—
'Ryu Sunghyun?'
Just as the thought struck, Seohu turned around and smiled brightly, rushing over.
"Just a sec, Guildmaster! The Circle Vice-Guildmaster asked if he could come too. Can I invite him?"
With both hands shielding the phone, eyes sparkling with hope, Seohu looked up at Taehyuk.
"......"
Faced with that look, overflowing with expectation and absolutely no doubt he'd say yes, the rejection that had been rising to his throat dissolved entirely.
Watching his boss freeze in place at the entrance, Secretary Kim rubbed his temple and shook his head in defeat.

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