“You didn’t know? Woo Gyeong’s one of the fake officers. Guess you two aren’t that close after all?”
“Huh?”
“Ehhh?”
Gidan and Guru both turned to stare at Woo Gyeong simultaneously.
Woo Gyeong clenched his fist, forcing a casual smile.
“That’s why I’m hanging off him like this, isn’t it?”
Gu Shinhoo gave them a look, basically telling them to get lost.
In response, Guru glared fiercely at Seonu Gyeong.
Lately, Guru had been hearing the term “fake officer” all over the place.
At the dungeon, at the auction house, back at Onion Market.
Until now, she had no idea what it meant or who they were talking about...
That four-eyes is the famous fake officer...!
As Guru mumbled to herself, oblivious that she herself was the real “fake officer,” Gidan’s lips twitched, and he bit down hard to keep himself from laughing.
Guru scanned Seonu Gyeong from head to toe with wary eyes.
That guy with the glasses, the one everyone’s been desperately looking for, was really him?
What the hell did that glasses guy even do to have Fishface Ajusshi glued to him like that?
Whatever incredible ability he had, that fake officer was definitely someone dangerous for Hanghanggi.
Guru opened her status window.
The quest window, freshly updated, showed a new mission.
[Household Quest: Household member in danger detected. Save household member ‘Ham Honggi’!]
[Reward: Suspicious Star Candy]
The moment Guru saw the quest and scrambled off to find Ham Honggi, Seonu Gyeong had been busy beating the crap out of him.
I gotta separate Hanghanggi from that glasses guy.
“Oppaw.”
Guru leaned in and whispered in Gidan’s ear, and he discreetly activated a sound barrier.
“Yeah, talk to me.”
Guru whispered softly to Gidan.
“Dat glasses guy bad.”
“Yeah, I got that feeling too.”
“Gwasses hit Hanghanggi.”
“...Really? What a bad hyung.”
Gidan narrowed his eyes.
He already had a hunch something was off with that guy pretending to be the fake officer, but damn, this was even worse than he thought.
What the hell now?
Gidan glanced toward Gu Shinhoo.
He couldn’t just blurt out that Guru was the real fake officer, and that idiot was just an impersonator.
If they didn’t clear that misunderstanding first, trying to mess with Seonu Gyeong in front of Gu Shinhoo could spark a full-on guild war.
If Hyeonak laid a hand on Seonu Gyeong, who Gu Shinhoo had personally marked, it would blow up fast.
Hmm...
While Gidan was lost in thought, Gu Shinhoo, watching them whisper behind the sound barrier, rolled his eyes, while Seonu Gyeong instinctively realized the two of them were clearly talking about him.
I need to get the hell out of here.
“...Guildmastuh Gu, you said you'd meet any conditions for recruitment, right?”
“Of course! No doubt about it.”
“Mind if I hear the details now?”
“Sure, sure! Hey, Gidan, we’ll be off now!”
Just as Gu Shinhoo laughed and turned with his arm still slung around Seonu Gyeong—
“Seonu Gyeong sunbae, don’t you have something more to say to Hanghanggi sunbae? Gwuu says you two still got stuff to settle.”
Gidan smiled brightly as he spoke, making Seonu Gyeong’s face go deathly pale.
But only for a second. Recovering his expression, Seonu Gyeong looked straight at Ham Honggi, speaking sweetly.
“There’s nothing like that. Guess Guru misunderstood. Right, Honggi?”
“....”
Ham Honggi lowered his gaze and clamped his mouth shut.
He couldn’t say anything.
If he talked about what happened, the drugs would get exposed too.
If that happened, both the seller and the buyer—meaning himself—would get caught in the fallout.
His family situation was already a damn mess. If he caused another scandal, it wouldn’t just be his credit card getting cut off; they’d probably throw him out of the house entirely.
“Four-year-old just saw it wrong. Nothin’ happened.”
Hearing Ham Honggi’s words, Guru scrunched her eyebrows together.
Why isn’t Hanghanggi sayin’ he got hit by da glasses guy?
Seonu Gyeong smiled contentedly at the answer he wanted, but Gu Shinhoo, looking impatient, quickly cut in.
“See? In that case, we’ll be going.”
Just as he turned to leave in a rush—
“Hanghanggi!”
Guru shouted.
She couldn’t let this slide.
Bad man!
“Tell dem everythin’ dat glasses did!”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake...”
Seonu Gyeong let out an incredulous laugh.
Didn’t that dumbass Ham Honggi just say nothing happened?
There’s no way he’d say anything.
Honggi’s not that much of an idiot.
But at that moment—
“YES!”
Ham Honggi suddenly shouted with conviction.
“...?”
Seonu Gyeong whipped his head around in shock.
He couldn’t say it.
If he said it, it’d be over.
That warning screamed inside Ham Honggi’s mind—but in front of Guru’s command, resistance was futile.
“I met Seonu Gyeong through illegal gambling, and for the past few months, I’ve been buying drugs from him!”
His mouth betrayed him, spilling every last detail about his dealings with Seonu Gyeong.
“Hey! You lost your damn mind?! What the hell are you sayin’?!”
“When I told him I wanted to quit, Seonu Gyeong pressured me into keepin’ it up, forced me to take the drugs—”
Ham Honggi’s rambling suddenly turned into rage as he pointed accusingly at Seonu Gyeong, his voice cracking with frustration.
“And on top of that, that bastard used violence against me!”
It sounded exactly like a tattletale report.
Only after finishing did Ham Honggi seem to realize what he’d done, hurriedly lowering his hand.
That crazy son of a bitch...! Seonu Gyeong’s shoulders trembled.
Gidan, Guru, even Gu Shinhoo—all their eyes locked onto him.
“It’s all bullshit. He’s just trying to mess up my shot with NAG...”
“Is that so?”
“You know this guy’s a known nutjob, right? Guildmastuh, you know Ham Honggi.”
“Well... yeah... guess that’s true.”
As Gu Shinhoo awkwardly nodded, Seonu Gyeong flashed a triumphant grin.
If it stayed like this, he could flip the situation around.
But Ham Honggi’s damn mouth just wouldn’t stay shut.
“There should be a syrup bottle left in his pocket from earlier!”
“...!”
A counterattack.
The moment Seonu Gyeong’s hand dipped into his pocket, Gidan, still smiling sweetly, ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) snatched the bottle away.
“Huh, so there was somethin’ in his pocket after all.”
“N-No, it’s just—reflexes.”
“Well, we can open it and check, yeah? Right, Guildmastuh?”
Gu Shinhoo’s gaze turned icy cold.
“Right. Woo Gyeong, show us what’s in your pocket. That’s the easiest way to clear this up.”
“Uh, well, that’s...”
Seonu Gyeong’s eyes darted around in panic. Gu Shinhoo, still close beside him, could clearly feel his rapid heartbeat.
“What’s wrong? Can’t do it?”
Feeling his throat tighten, Seonu Gyeong clenched his jaw.
He needed to run.
The second he started stepping back, Gu Shinhoo’s arm around his shoulders clamped down.
“Woo Gyeong. Move one more step, you die.”
Chill.
The crushing pressure made Seonu Gyeong’s knees buckle.
For all his friendly uncle act, Gu Shinhoo was an S-rank Hunter, ranked fourth in the nation.
At that moment, Gidan put Guru down and walked right up to Seonu Gyeong, rummaging through his pocket.
Sure enough, the syrup bottle was right there.
“Should we call the cops?”
Gidan held up his phone, but Gu Shinhoo shook his head.
“Wait... Woo Gyeong, let’s be real for a sec. You actually the fake officer?”
“Uh...”
Gulp. Seonu Gyeong swallowed hard.
Gu Shinhoo read the answer clear in his hesitation and let out a heavy sigh.
“Fuckin’ hell, did I just get played by a high schooler? Kids these days are scary as shit. Guess I’ll have to explain a whole lot to the investigators. Dani, I’ll make the call.”
Keeping his arm locked tightly around Seonu Gyeong, Gu Shinhoo dialed a direct number.
Watching, Gidan shook his head.
Gu Shinhoo was known for his endless web of connections. If this got out, it was obvious Seonu Gyeong’s life was about to be hell.
“Team Lead, it’s me, Gu Shinhoo. You free? Got a situation here, send someone over.”
As Gu Shinhoo chatted into the phone, Ham Honggi clamped a hand over his mouth, eyes darting.
How the hell do I fix this?
Can it even be fixed?
As he spiraled in despair, Guru toddled over beside him.
“Tank goodness I didn’t hafta pull out da fowk.”
A kid shouldn’t be waving around dangerous weapons.
Resolving things peacefully was a relief.
Ham Honggi turned to Guru, groaning.
“F-Fork?”
Guru proudly patted his thigh.
“Hanghanggi did gweat.”
Great, my ass! You ruined everything!
Even as that thought screamed in his head, Ham Honggi shouted—
“Thank you!”
Fuck my life!
“Keep bein’ a good boy, okay?”
“Y-Yes ma’am...”
Ham Honggi wanted to die.

Comments

Loading...