Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Han Geon-ju (4)
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Compared to Sa-yoon, Geon-ju was outmatched in every way, but there was one thing he could leverage in this situation.
Sa-yoon quite favored him. For whatever reason, he valued him highly.
He had to use that as a weapon to secretly uncover Sa-yoon's secret. To do that, he first needed to have a conversation, build rapport, and lead him to let his guard down. The problem was that Sa-yoon, who had returned to the guild, hadn't shown his face even once since locking him in this room.
Even though he'd gone so far as to kidnap him to recruit him, Sa-yoon hadn't shown up at the welcome party. Because of that, Geon-ju had to awkwardly accept drinks in the guild basement filled with nothing but strangers.
He felt hurt, and whether the Night Rat members noticed that or just wanted to get friendly, they stuck to him and shared various stories.
They told him that he was the first guild member recruited at the villa who had come in without a single limb broken, and that since not even one part of him was fractured yet, he must be immensely favored by Sa-yoon.
Even as he heard all the praise and admiration, Geon-ju couldn't take their words at face value.
To be precise, it was closer to not understanding Sa-yoon's actions.
If he was so favored, shouldn't he have come to the welcome party?
There was no time when people let their guard down and relaxed more than at a place where they were pouring and drinking. He'd planned to have a chat over some drinks, but that plan crumbled before it even started, leaving him flustered and disappointed.
So he went looking.
For the place where Sa-yoon might be, in person.
He slipped away from the welcome party for a moment to search, only to find Jong-sik—who had been by Sa-yoon's side at both the center and the villa—and the guild leader who hadn't even shown his face at his own welcome party.
Sa-yoon hadn't even come down to the basement to greet them, yet here he was glued to this guy named Jong-sik. Seeing them together all day and still hanging out like this raised suspicions. It was awfully suspicious.
Were they something special?
Sa-yoon favored him quite a bit, but to Geon-ju's eyes, Sa-yoon looked most at ease when Jong-sik was by his side.
It was only natural, but Sa-yoon trusted Jong-sik, who had guarded his side far longer than he had, and that man loyally followed Sa-yoon in return. They seemed pretty close.
Did that guy know Sa-yoon's secret, then?
His eyes narrowed involuntarily. He'd been desperate to be the first to uncover that secret, but if someone else had already beaten him to it, he'd lose interest. That line of thought soon shifted again.
It was thanks to the expression Jong-sik had made on the day he was kidnapped to the villa.
At the time, Jong-sik had clearly looked flustered. He didn't know what was going on, but his face plainly showed he'd do it anyway because Sa-yoon ordered it. Recalling that expression restored Geon-ju's composure and interest.
Jong-sik didn't know—it was confirmed. So all he had to do was play his cards right. Their conversation at the villa hadn't been all that friendly, so he showed a somewhat relaxed demeanor here and struck up a conversation to build rapport. He figured Sa-yoon would reciprocate now that he'd softened up, but the response was completely different.
"Have fun, but don't drink so much that you can't get up tomorrow."
"Worried about me?"
"You've got gates to run starting tomorrow."
When he'd asked if he was worried, couldn't he have given a moderately affectionate reply? He'd baited the question hoping for something like "Yeah, I'm worried," but instead got a nauseating threat about running gates.
That he'd hit A-rank in three months if he grinded gates hard.
Was that important right now?
Whether running gates or killing monsters, the priority was to get close first, but Sa-yoon acted like none of that mattered.
He really wondered if this guy could actually make him S-rank in the end. It felt like he'd signed a scam contract. In the end, Geon-ju returned empty-handed compared to when he'd gone up to fetch Sa-yoon.
He was disappointed, but opportunities didn't end after one try.
After the raucous welcome party finally ended and he gained some free time, Geon-ju dragged his tired body to his bedroom and drank the remaining alcohol. He preferred drinking alone in solitude over mingling with people, so he felt the intoxication rise faster than before.
That was when Sa-yoon entered.
He didn't know how he'd found his room, though.
Had he searched every room?
He himself hadn't been assigned in advance; he'd just scanned the row of rooms where the arriving guild members were listed, decided this one was fine for resting, and entered. It seemed unlikely Sa-yoon would know that ahead of time, so he smiled amiably.
No matter how he thought about it, it seemed like he'd come to see him. This was a green light.
Since acting slightly docile in their last conversation hadn't worked at all, this time he decided to go full charming and coy.
He smiled flirtatiously, like he was throwing a tantrum, and asked if he'd come to see him, but Sa-yoon didn't answer. He muttered something about him being dead drunk with a slightly incredulous look. To Geon-ju, it was absurd.
He wasn't that drunk yet.
He must have judged him blackout drunk just because he'd loosened up a bit after Geon-ju had been cold a few times before.
Then he should've responded better.
It wasn't like he'd been cold from the start. He'd acted that way because Sa-yoon hadn't reciprocated.
If Sa-yoon had played along properly, he would've been sweet and suave like he was with others. Seeing that puzzled reaction, it seemed this approach was more effective at drawing out Sa-yoon's true feelings.
To make someone drop their guard and be swayed, a soft tone and harmless smile were perfect.
This felt like his chance.
He had alcohol in hand, and the night was deep—great atmosphere.
Nothing made people more honest than alcohol and darkness. It was the perfect mood to coax out hidden truths.
Starting by revealing his own weakness seemed like the easiest way to steer the conversation, so he pretended to sulk. When he expressed regret over Sa-yoon not coming to the welcome party, Sa-yoon flinched and said he'd been busy.
Busy.
It was a good sign that he'd made an excuse, but he hadn't looked busy at all when he was with Jong-sik, so Geon-ju craved more drink.
Is that what they call busy these days? It might make sense if it was "busy hanging out with Jong-sik."
He tilted his wine glass and sipped the rest, and the man refilled the glass in his hand. When he asked if he wanted some, the reply was that he didn't like alcohol. When he pried for the reason, Sa-yoon said he didn't get drunk easily, drawing a laugh.
Who doesn't like it if they don't get drunk?
It was funny. No matter how sweetly he was acting to loosen the mood and drop Sa-yoon's guard, laughing this freely at something so minor meant the alcohol was getting to him.
He felt some warmth in his throat too. He needed to make his move before he got any drunker, but while he'd asked all sorts of questions, Sa-yoon hadn't pried into anything trivial about him. It didn't seem intentional; he just didn't have much to ask.
From his expression, he didn't seem to want a conversation like with Jong-sik either. He just didn't feel the need to initiate or chat first.
What a selfish guy.
But what could he do about it?
The one with the disadvantage had to be a bit more enthusiastic.
The only common ground between them was that one man he superficially knew about, so he brought up Jong-sik again.
When he asked what their relationship was, Sa-yoon replied "guild leader and vice-guild leader," looking quite relaxed. He didn't know the extent, but it was clear enough that Sa-yoon got a sense of stability from him.
They must be really tight.
For some reason, it twisted his gut.
Jong-sik seemed plenty for him already, so why bring him along?
"Why did you bring me here?"
Half impulsively, half intentionally, he prodded. Sa-yoon gave a kindergarten-level excuse that he looked fun, so he'd brought him along—one no kindergartener would believe.
That's not all.
There has to be another reason.
You showed impatience toward me—there must be a reason for that.
Whether fishing or eating, putting in effort yields better results, but he was getting bored.
With anyone else, this would've been the moment to turn up the heat, but Sa-yoon dragged it out forever. Geon-ju suppressed the urge to press him for the real reason right then.
"Not that. There's a real reason, right? The real reason you had to bring me."
Instead, he let slip a hint of suspicion laced with interrogation.
To check if maybe he'd misunderstood, if Sa-yoon really was hiding a secret and it was connected to him.
As Sa-yoon narrowed his eyes and stared at him in response to the probing question, Geon-ju felt the doubt he'd slyly planted evaporate in an instant.
Someone with nothing to hide wouldn't react like that.
If it was really nothing, he could've just brushed it off, but Sa-yoon clamped his mouth shut and scanned him. When Geon-ju glanced sideways, he caught Sa-yoon's fingertips twitching.
His own lips twitched in response, but Geon-ju desperately held back the smile.
See? I'm right.
This was the moment it became certain that Sa-yoon had some goal he wanted to achieve through him.
At least he hadn't wasted time barking up the wrong tree.