Chapter 44

Cho-i snorted.

“Why? Everyone can just take care of themselves.”

“That thinking is completely wrong.”

Suui Kim growled. Cho-i didn’t back down and laughed.

“Are there any tanks who protect their teammates to the end in a dungeon?”

“Why do you think there wouldn’t be?”

Cho-i said,

“Because they would all be dead. If new ones appear, they’ll die again, and again, and everyone will die.”

Cho-i laughed fiercely.

“I used to think that too.”

Cho-i’s laugh had a twisted edge to it. It didn’t look like the face of someone truly laughing. Her mouth was contorted, and her eyes were narrowed, making her look more like she was angry.

“That is, until my teammates all abandoned me and left.”

“…”

Suui Kim fell silent. A few seconds of silence followed. It was Suui Kim who broke the silence first.

“Alright, I didn’t realize you’d had an experience like that. But even so, dealers and healers can’t entrust their lives to a tank who moves so independently.”

“So, what do you want to do?”

“We can’t trust a tank like that.”

This time, Cho-i fell silent.

“If another teammate dies while you’re separated, that’s your responsibility. No one else’s, but yours, the tank.”

Cho-i retorted.

“Why is that my responsibility?”

“Because it’s your role to protect them.”

“Ha!”

Cho-i let out a hollow laugh. Then she stepped closer to Suui Kim, grabbed him by the collar, and pulled him close to her face. She whispered right in front of him.

“You talk about trust, trust, but what am I supposed to trust to entrust my back to you all?”

“…”

“And isn’t it their fault for not taking care of their own lives, rather than blaming me who was working hard elsewhere?”

Cho-i Hyeon growled with a smile. Suui Kim’s gaze, looking down at her, was sharp. Cho-i knew that look. The look of someone staring at a person who wouldn’t listen to them. Hyeonchan An, he used to look down at people like that.

“The dealer got hurt because you couldn’t tank properly. It’s your fault.”

His voice brushed past her ears. Cho-i was startled and looked back. Naturally, there was no one behind her.

“…What is it? What’s wrong?”

Suui Kim, sensing something strange, asked. Cho-i looked back for a long time, then let go of his collar and said,

“Anyway… I do my job. I draw monster aggro, endure, and kill monsters. I can do it all. I provide basic protection. But to say that protecting everyone is my top priority when I have no one to rely on, right?”

She let go of his collar and pushed Suui Kim away.

“If you want to request another tank, then do that.”

Cho-i walked past him and left Paehyeok. She felt disgusted. Even more so because of the sudden thought of Hyeonchan An. Suui Kim, for some reason, just watched Cho-i’s retreating figure. Cho-i went straight home and tried to forget the April 2nd schedule. She would have, if Suui Kim hadn’t called the next day. Cho-i held her vibrating smartphone. A call was coming from the number that had sent the text message. Cho-i didn’t answer. But the phone rang for a long time at regular intervals. Cho-i, who had been buried in her bed, eventually reached out her hand, fumbled on the floor, and picked up her smartphone.

“What is it?”

Cho-i’s tone was gruff. Suui Kim, however, continued to speak in her usual calm manner.

-Want to come out? “Why would I?” -I was a bit thoughtless last time.

Cho-i poked her head out from under the blanket.

“What are you talking about?” -Honestly, I don’t think what I said then was wrong. It was just the approach that was wrong. “What are you even saying?”

She briefly snapped and tried to hang up. Then Suui Kim quickly spoke.

-The weather has gotten much warmer, want to go out? “…Go out?”

That was tempting. Until now, it had been work, work, work, and the only place she’d gone out was the department store. Had the weather gotten warmer? Well, it was late March, so it probably had.

“…Where are we going?” -Seoul is crowded with people, so let’s go somewhere an hour away from here. “What…? That’s tempting.” -I knew you’d say that.

Suui Kim chuckled.

“So what was wrong with the approach?” -Instead of telling you to trust us, we should have trusted you first. The three of us already knew each other, and you didn’t. I didn’t consider that. “You get it. But I’m stubborn too. My opinion hasn’t changed.” -Alright. Let’s see who’s more stubborn. “Deal.” -Tell me the address, and I’ll pick you up. “Oh~”

Cho-i gave the address, then hung up the phone and yelled at Nara Shim, who was still sleeping.

“Hey! I’m going out today!”

“Where are you going?”

“I don’t know, I borrowed some of your clothes!”

“Alright…”

Nara Shim waved her hand with her eyes closed, and Cho-i immediately showered and changed. After getting ready, she took the elevator down and saw Suui Kim leaning against her car.

“You’re already here?”

“Just arrived. Get in.”

“Awesome.”

Cho-i smiled brightly and got into the car. Namsu Kang and Yeonwoo Han, who were already inside, waved at her.

“What, are we all going together?”

“Do you think I’d go on a date with just you? Do you want me to get flak?”

Suui Kim, in the driver’s seat, gently started the car, and Yeonwoo Han, in the passenger seat, turned around and said,

“Cho-i Hunter is so popular online right now. If she were caught in a picture alone with Suui, it would cause a huge uproar!”

Cho-i asked, buckling her seatbelt in the back seat.

“I’m popular? Not getting a lot of hate?”

Yeonwoo Han made a slightly awkward expression.

“Well, there are still some articles secretly badmouthing him because of the Guild Master, but most of them disappeared after a wave of lawsuits passed.”

“Oh, right.”

Cho-i remembered something she had forgotten again. That bastard made me get so much hate online.

[Taehyeok Sa, the choice isn’t mine, but the other person’s…]

Cho-i searched for the article from that time on her smartphone. She couldn’t believe she had forgotten about that guy while trying to catch a malicious commenter. Cho-i smiled broadly and asked Yeonwoo Han,

“Do you happen to know any reporters?”

“Of course I know reporters.”

“I’ll give you a scoop. Can you contact them right away?”

Yeonwoo Han’s eyes lit up with interest.

“What is it? What is it?”

Cho-i brought up that article on the screen, showed it to him, and said,

“Hunter Cho-i Hyeon, burdened by the Guild Master’s confession…. Shocking: Paehyeok Guild Master’s heartbreak. How’s that for a headline?”

“Wow….”

Yeonwoo Han exclaimed with a very reluctant admiration.

“I’m not going to get fired from Paehyeok if I hand this over, am I?”

“Nah, he’s probably not that petty.”

I don’t know. How would I know if that bastard is petty or generous? I wasn’t even curious. Still, Cho-i subtly coaxed him from beside her.

“Oh, come on. We’re party members now, so please understand my situation. And if trouble arises, it’ll fall on me, not on you, right?”

“Ugh…. Alright. But it’s really a secret that I helped, right?”

“Of course!”

Cho-i smiled and put her hands together as if in thanks. Yeonwoo Han immediately seemed to be calling a reporter he knew, as the sound of a phone call was heard. And Namsu Kang, who had been listening to the entire conversation from the same back seat, asked,

“How are you going to handle it?”

“Why would I handle it? The one who broke the news first should, right?”

“?”

“What?”

“‘That guy,’ you mean our Guild Master, right?”

“Is there anyone else here?”

“It’s the first time I’ve heard someone call him that….”

“Guild Master, you son of a bitch.”

Flinch. Wow, they flinched. Flinch. Cho-i laughed heartily, seeing all three of their shoulders twitch.

“Well, it’s probably best to get used to it? I’m doing it with permission, after all.”

“You got permission?”

“I’ll bet Hunter Suui’s arm that he won’t say anything even if I do the same thing in front of him.”

“Why are you betting my arm!”

“I learned it from Dongju Kim, why!”

“Why is Hunter Dongju’s story coming up now!”

“Now that I see it, your connections are no joke, are they?”

Yeonwoo Han, who had just finished his call, joined in.

“Right? You know the Guild Master and Hunter Dongju Kim. What, introduce me too!”

It was utter chaos. And so, veins began to bulge on the forehead of Suui Kim, who was quietly driving.

“Oh, if I helped with work, it’s only fair you’d introduce me!”

“Let’s just all eat together instead. Isn’t that better?”

“But why are you asking me to introduce you? You’ve been at the company longer than me anyway!”

“That’s different!”

“All three of you, shut up!!”

Lion’s Roar erupted. It was louder than anyone else’s voice. Cho-i covered her ears and looked at Suui Kim. The veins on his forehead were no joke. He really has the qualities of a tank.

“Can’t you see I’m driving?”

“Sorry, brother.”

“My bad, I forgot for a moment.”

“Ahahaha.”

Cho-i just found it funny. This mess was amusing and entertaining. The four of them arrived in a provincial area an hour away from Seoul. They got out of the car in front of Gangguk University Lake in the province.

“Wow, where are we?”

“There’s a cafe over there. Let’s go there.”

The four decided to go and sit at the cafe first. The cafe’s terrace was already open, and the wind was warmer than expected.

“So this is why people say global warming is serious…”

Suui Kim looked at Cho-i Hyeon with a bewildered expression.

“What on earth did she eat to grow so big…?”

“I couldn’t eat my mom’s cooking because I don’t have parents.”

At Cho-i’s answer, Suui Kim, a person of common sense, shouted.

“Don’t answer that question like that!”

“Ahaha.”

Anyway, Cho-i seemed happy. Suui Kim sighed.

“Alright, if you’re happy now, that’s what matters…”

The four of them spent time at the cafe. Then Yeonwoo Han stepped forward, saying she wanted to take pictures. Yeonwoo Han took a few selfies with the pretty cafe and lake in the background, then asked Cho-i.

“Aren’t you taking pictures, Hunter Cho-i?”

“Me?”

“Don’t you have Ansta?”