Chapter 131

As Cho-i Hyeon wandered around the first floor of the guild, people glanced at her. This was because she had been wandering there for over 30 minutes. She was pacing back and forth in the same spot with a somewhat displeased expression, and the reason was.

“I don’t hear anything.”

Nara Shim, who was sitting quietly on the lobby sofa, sipping an iced Americano, said to her.

“Do you get information by just loitering like that?”

“Then what should I do?”

“You need to get close to people and talk to them. Do you think someone will suddenly come up to you and say, ‘Here’s some information!’ just because you’re loitering there?”

“How do I get close to people?”

“You have to try, you.”

Cho-i Hyeon looked at the people passing through the lobby. Her gaze was so intense that the passersby felt uncomfortable. Nara Shim took Cho-i and sat her down on the sofa, saying,

“First, don’t you have anyone you’re close to?”

“I do, don’t I?”

“Find that person first. That person will be close to other people, right? Just subtly join in where someone you know is…”

“Huh?”

At that moment, Cho-i Hyeon suddenly stood up and scurried off somewhere. At the end of where Cho-i was running, a man was standing, and she approached him and abruptly hugged him. Nara Shim rushed over and pulled her by the nape of her neck.

“I’m sorry. She has no social skills…”

“No, no. It’s okay. Someone I know…”

“How have you been!”

The man was none other than Suui Kim. Suui Kim looked at Cho-i Hyeon, who was hugging his waist, and then greeted Nara Shim.

“Hello.”

“Oh, hello.”

As the two exchanged awkward greetings, Cho-i Hyeon shook his body and asked,

“I asked you how you’ve been.”

“Oh, I’ve been well. Have you been well?”

“I’ve been well too!”

While Cho-i Hyeon chattered, looking up at Suui Kim, Nara Shim stood awkwardly and looked around. Just then, with a small ‘ding’ sound, she saw someone getting off the elevator, and Nara Shim recognized him at a glance.

It was none other than the SS-Rank hunter Taeyang Kang, who had just contracted with Paehyeok. Nara Shim poked Cho-i Hyeon and said,

“Hey, look over there. It’s Taeyang Kang.”

“Oh? Hey!”

Cho-i Hyeon called out to him while still hugging Suui Kim’s waist. Taeyang Kang, who had been looking at Cho-i Hyeon as soon as he got off the elevator, approached them with a somewhat displeased expression. Suui Kim’s shoulders tensed up a bit, seemingly nervous at the sight of Taeyang Kang, who didn’t seem to be in a good mood.

“What are you doing down here?”

“Taehyeok Sa called me for a moment.”

“Oh, it’s about entering the dungeon, right?”

“That’s right.”

“I’m going in there too.”

“I heard.”

And Cho-i Hyeon, still hugging Suui Kim, looked up at him and said,

“He’s going in with us too.”

“Hmm…”

Taeyang Kang frowned one eyebrow and looked at Suui Kim. Suui Kim, who received his disapproving gaze for no apparent reason, looked down at Cho-i Hyeon in embarrassment, but Cho-i Hyeon, interpreting his look in some way, poked Taeyang Kang’s arm and said,

“Don’t bully our boy.”

“Hey, that’s not it…”

“I didn’t bully him.”

Those were the answers from Suui Kim and Taeyang Kang, respectively. Nara Shim subtly glanced around and tried to escape this strange love triangle. Of course, Cho-i Hyeon immediately grabbed the back of her neck, so she failed.

“Since we’ve met like this, let’s go get some lunch.”

“Lunch?”

“Have you eaten?”

“Yes, I have.”

Suui Kim, feeling uncomfortable with the situation, lied.

“Oh really? Eat again.”

Cho-i Hyeon was not someone who would fall for that. Cho-i Hyeon took Suui Kim’s hand in one hand and the back of Nara Shim’s neck in the other, and left the guild.

“What do you want to eat?”

“Whatever you want to eat.”

Cho-i Hyeon chuckled at Taeyang Kang’s answer.

“Don’t like me too much~”

“What are you talking about?”

Nara Shim responded irritably, tapping Cho-i Hyeon’s hand that was holding the back of her neck. Walking backward was quite uncomfortable. Cho-i Hyeon released her grip on Nara Shim’s neck when it seemed she had no intention of escaping.

“She’s pretty, so she’s a bit self-obsessed.”

As Nara Shim spoke with a generous heart, as if making an excuse for her, Taeyang Kang sighed and said,

“It’s okay. Because it’s true that I like her.”

“Oh, you’re okay then. It’s true that you like her… Huh?”

“Oh my, she’s not even hiding it anymore.”

“Why would I hide it when she already knows?”

“Wait, wait, what is this all about?”

Nara Shim stared at Taeyang Kang in disbelief. Her respect for the SS-Rank had momentarily vanished.

“Where do you like her?”

“Her face.”

“Ah…”

“That’s somewhat understandable…”

Nara Shim and Suui Kim understood with a deep sigh. Cho-i Hyeon grinned and headed towards a nearby office-worker restaurant. The place they arrived at was an ordinary pork cutlet restaurant, and it was bustling with people, probably because it was lunchtime. It was natural that when an S-Rank, an SS-Rank, and an A-plus, A-Rank hunter entered such a place, all eyes would turn to them. Cho-i Hyeon and Taeyang Kang didn’t care, and Suui Kim acted as if the attention made her uncomfortable. Meanwhile, Nara Shim puffed out her chest. In the end, Nara Shim was also an attention-seeker. Cho-i Hyeon sat on a waiting chair, crossed her legs, and tapped the seat next to her. Nara Shim was about to sit there without thinking, but Taeyang Kang quickly sat in that spot. When Nara Shim stared at him with wide, dumbfounded eyes, Cho-i Hyeon burst out laughing, as if he found it amusing.

“So, what’s your relationship?”

Nara Shim eventually sat next to Taeyang Kang. When Nara Shim turned to him and asked, Cho-i Hyeon tilted her head ambiguously.

“The person who likes someone and the person who knows it?”

“What’s that?”

“Indeed, it’s a bit of an ambiguous relationship.”

Cho-i Hyeon turned her gaze to Taeyang Kang and asked with a smile,

“Should we just date?”

“Huh? Huh?”

At that, Taeyang Kang instantly stiffened and asked back.

“If you don’t like it, then don’t.”

“No, no. It’s not that I don’t like it.”

“If you don’t dislike it, then what?”

“Someone like me…”

Nara Shim, who was watching him, frowned and asked.

“Is your concept self-deprecation?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It’s a thing.”

Taeyang Kang had never once thought he was lacking, but it was different when he was in front of Cho-i Hyeon. Just the fact that Cho-i Hyeon was looking at him with a smile made his heart pound. Ah, this is driving me crazy.

“Anyway, I didn’t come to Korea to date.”

“What, so you just came to sightsee?”

“…Well, something like that.”

“Strange guy.”

She chuckled, then, at the staff’s announcement that the wait was over, quickly sat down at an empty table. People with an ambiguous relationship with Cho-i Hyeon gathered awkwardly around her. Still, the seat next to Cho-i Hyeon was Taeyang Kang’s. Nara Shim thought.

‘For someone who said he didn’t come here to date, he’s taking care of everything.’

Cho-i first finished ordering and then asked Taeyang Kang.

“So, what did Taehyeok Sa say?”

“Oh, he said the dungeon we’re entering has been decided.”

“This jerk, he didn’t tell me first.”

“He said you’d be excited to go anywhere anyway, so he told me.”

“It’s annoying because it’s true.”

Taeyang Kang thoughtfully provided Cho-i Hyeon with a fork and knife, and continued.

“Hunter Myeongok Shin was there too.”

“Oh, so both of you received the message?”

“That’s right.”

“Do you have their number by any chance?”

“No.”

“Aw, I was going to ask them to eat together if I had it.”

“First, the dungeons we’re entering are Monsters’ Hunting Ground, Outsiders’ City, and Bell Tower of Eternity. Those three.”

“Hmm, it’s ambiguous.”

Taehyeok Sa would have already checked for consistency, but the problem was whether there would be anyone compatible with this team. Cho-i Hyeon looked at Nara Shim and then shook her head. That probably wouldn’t work.

“What, why are you sighing when you look at me?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Hey, I’m an A-Rank now too!”

“Yes, yes. A-Rank buffer, please take good care of us.”

“That’s irritating.”

Meanwhile, the ordered food arrived, and Cho-i picked up the fork and knife that Taeyang Kang had provided and began to eat. The four of them had a quiet moment as they each ate. Cho-i Hyeon was usually quiet while eating too. After about ten minutes of quiet, Cho-i Hyeon, who had chewed and swallowed her food, suddenly asked.

“So, what kind of dungeon is that place?”

“They say strange-looking monsters come out of it, hence the name.”

“Monsters’ Hunting Ground. Right, all monsters are creatures anyway, so if the word ‘monster’ is attached, then…”

“Exactly.”

Nara Shim pointed at Cho-i Hyeon with her fork, as if she knew something.

“They say monsters with five large eyeballs and legs like human arms below them come out.”

“Ugh, let’s not talk about that while eating.”

“You asked.”

While Nara Shim and Cho-i Hyeon bickered, Suui Kim asked Taeyang Kang.

“I was wondering if you’d be free this week to try working together.”

“I’m free, but…”

Taeyang Kang stared silently at Suui Kim.

“What’s your relationship with Cho-i Hyeon?”

“Excuse me?”

Suui Kim was briefly flustered. No, did he just ask to date me, and then ask a question like this?

“We’re just ordinary colleagues.”

“But you had your arms around her waist.”

“You can think of her as a comfort doll.”

Suui Kim said that and glanced at Nara Shim. It seems she’s comfort doll number one.

“Cho-i Hyeon’s… comfort doll?”

“Please don’t be jealous of such things.”

Suui Kim let out a deep sigh. It seemed that the newly discovered SS-Rank wasn’t normal either. Well, from S-Rank onwards, they’re practically not human. It meant every single one of them wasn’t normal. Suddenly, Suui Kim wondered if she would look similar to them if she became an S-Rank, but then dismissed it as meaningless delusion and cleared her mind of extraneous thoughts.

“Or we can try it right away today.”

“Oh, I’m free today!”

Cho-i Hyeon raised her hand high. Suui Kim immediately looked around at the others, and when both of them nodded, she put down her knife. This was because the meal was over. Suui Kim looked at her companions, who seemed to have finished eating, and said,

“Then let’s go.”