The Weight of His Absence
The Onhwa Guild had been plagued by constant incidents and the endless chore of cleaning up after Yu Hyejeong. With a massive wave of resignations on top of that, the burden on those who remained grew heavier every single day. As a result, more and more people had become painfully sensitive to any loud, frantic commotion.
"Hey, hey! Did you see this article?"
"Ugh... shit, what is it this time?"
"It's not about our guild. Well... it is kind of related to us, I guess?"
"So what is it already?"
It was peak hours. An employee who had barely stolen a moment to grab coffee swept his hair back with an exhausted expression.
"Vice Guild Master Junho apparently received the Brave Citizen Award for catching Min Jiyeon!"
"What? Vice Guild Master Junho?"
If it had been about anyone else, they would have snapped at them to stop wasting time on the internet and get back to work. But anything involving Junho was different. Suddenly, their tired eyes sparkled with life.
"Look at this. There's even a feature on all the good deeds he's done. His popularity is through the roof right now."
"Wow, ever since he left the guild, he looks like he's actually glowing!"
"Right? All we ever saw was him struggling. Seeing him like this... it feels so good."
The man who took the phone smiled warmly as he read the article. That was the kind of person Han Junho was—someone who always left the guild members with small but heartfelt warmth. Of course, there were still those who had no idea why they had hated a man like him.
"Hey. What are you two doing instead of working?"
It was Yu Hyejeong, the tyrannical master of the Onhwa Guild. She harbored an unusual hatred for Junho and despised hearing his name brought up.
"Ah, we were just—sorry."
"Are you that free? Want me to give you more work?"
There was no way they wouldn't be terrified of an S-rank hunter glaring down at them with her cat-like eyes narrowed to slits. The guild members were already pulling all-nighters for days on end just cleaning up the messes she created. If they fell any further out of favor and got saddled with even more tasks... The two immediately started begging, unable to bear the thought of the resentment they would face from the rest of the guild.
"We're sorry! We're so sorry!"
They weren't slaves dragged into the Onhwa Guild. They were properly paid employees doing legitimate work. No matter how powerful an S-rank master she was, she had no right to treat people this way. It should never have been allowed.
But common sense had never applied to Yu Hyejeong.
"If you're sorry, kneel and apologize properly."
Pushing someone's shame to its absolute limit and humiliating them—that was what she did best.
At the command to kneel, the guild members once again pictured Han Junho's face. When he had been here, the Onhwa Guild had been remarkably peaceful. No, it could only have been peaceful. Because the man who wanted to be kind to the guild members had always knelt in their place and endured the verbal abuse for them.
There had even been a meeting where he was forced to kneel in front of both executives and regular members. That was probably the first time the crack had appeared in his ever-present smile.
Of course, no one had taken his side or stepped forward back then. How utterly miserable he must have felt.
'...We're sorry, Vice Guild Master.'
Only now could the guild members truly feel that emotion and empathize with it. The protective shield that had guarded them had vanished the moment he left, as if it had never existed at all.
"Hey. What are you waiting for? Aren't you going to kneel?"
The men bit their lips hard enough to draw blood, fists shaking, before they finally dropped to their knees in front of Yu Hyejeong. Passing guild members glanced over with looks that said not this again, but no one helped. They simply hurried away, not wanting to suffer the same fate.
It was resentful. But they had no right to feel resentment. They would have done the exact same thing if the roles were reversed. That's what they had always done to Junho.
'I want to grab Vice Guild Master Junho and beg him to come back. Please come back and save us... But if we still have any conscience left, how could we do that to him?'
Doing so would mean pushing everything onto him all over again.
"We're... truly sorry, Master..."
"Haa... Well, honestly, it's a little awkward to let you off with something as pathetic as your cheap knees that would get trampled anywhere else, but I'll specially overlook it this once."
Snorting in mockery at the men, Yu Hyejeong strode past them. Even after she was gone, the two remained frozen on their knees in the hallway for a long time, like statues.
"This is fucking bullshit."
"What is it now."
Whether the guild members were suffering or not, inside the Guild Master's office Yu Hyejeong sat across from another woman, drinking tea and eating snacks.
The woman had a strong presence—though not quite as overwhelming as Yu Hyejeong's—and wore heavy makeup. She was Lee Euna, Yu Hyejeong's friend and one of the Onhwa Guild's executives.
"It's about that bitch Min Jiyeon."
"She got arrested. So what?"
"Haa, fuck. I should have been the one to catch her and turn her in!"
At Lee Euna's indifferent reply, Yu Hyejeong exploded. She slammed the table, which shattered instantly under her grip. Lee Euna shook her head with a sigh and continued.
"Ah, is this because of Han Junho? Now that you mention it, that guy apparently caught Min Jiyeon and received the Brave Citizen Award, right?"
The casual way she spoke his name and the calm look on her face were incredibly irritating.
"Fuck. It's Han Junho this, Han Junho that. That worthless bastard doesn't cause any problems at all."
"Then what's the issue?"
"The issue is that a piece of shit who doesn't even matter stole my credit."
From the beginning, it had been Yu Hyejeong who immediately cut ties with Min Jiyeon. She simply didn't have the brains to make use of the situation, so it was only natural. Still, to someone who had always believed any attention meant for Junho should naturally come to her instead, his recent actions were an unbearable eyesore.
"Just tell him to come back."
"What? Hey, are you crazy? Why the hell would we bring that guy back here?"
Lee Euna flinched at Yu Hyejeong's unusual burst of rage and offered her own cup of tea in an attempt to calm her. It was the only cup that had survived when the table broke.
"I'm not saying he's special. I'm just saying if he bothers you that much, it might be better to keep him close where you can watch him."
Of course, Lee Euna's real thoughts were completely different. Honestly, fuck. Everyone knows this guild only stayed afloat because of that guy.
It wasn't that she liked him. It was simply that the guild has to keep running smoothly so we can keep living comfortably without actually working. Her suggestion was nothing more than a scheme to protect her own interests.
"Keep him close and monitor him? That worthless nobody?"
"No, you said he was annoying you. I was just offering a possible solution."
Lee Euna flashed the smile she only wore when Yu Hyejeong's anger had reached its peak and offered the tea again.
"How about going to see Seonghun?"
She brought it up because Yu Hyejeong had only been able to calm down after meeting Lee Seonghun lately, but...
"...Fuck! This is so goddamn annoying! Hey, get out!"
She had accidentally pressed the wrong button. Contact with Lee Seonghun hadn't been going well for Yu Hyejeong recently.
"Fine. I'm going, I'm going! Why does she scream no matter what I say!"
Normally Lee Euna would have comforted her superior in this state, but her reaction was different this time. She slammed the master office door shut behind her with clear irritation.
Haa, shit... We need to bring Han Junho back if we want to fix any of this. That crazy bitch cut him loose without even talking to anyone.
Lee Euna sighed, thinking only Han Junho could clean up all the disasters that had erupted. Without him, it was impossible.
"God, isn't the master way too hysterical for someone in her position?"
"Exactly. If the truth ever gets out, the Onhwa Guild is totally fucked, isn't it?"
"For real."
Her head was already spinning from complications, and now this conversation pushed her irritation to the boiling point.
"Hey. What the hell did you two just say?"
There was nothing wrong with their words, but Lee Euna simply needed someone to take her anger out on.
"Ah, E-Executive... t-that's not what we..."
"Fuck, how are there people this stupid? Say it again. Everything you just said. Now."
"N-no... t-that's not... w-we're s-sorry..."
The man and woman who had been chatting began to sob as they apologized.
"Haa, whatever. Just don't go around spouting nonsense and watch your mouths."
"Y-yes...! Have a good day, Executive!"
Lee Euna acted like a tyrant in the guild almost as much as Yu Hyejeong did, but she still believed she was better.
At least I don't make people kneel.
Their way of thinking would be difficult for normal people to understand, but as the pair breathed a sigh of relief that the situation had passed...
"Hey, you two over there."
A heavy, resonant voice reached their ears.
They turned around with the despairing thought that yet another person had come to harass them. The moment they did—
BANG—!
A massive man slammed his fist into the wall and demanded in a threatening tone, "Where is the Vice Guild Master? Is he not here?"
"H-hiiiik...! Y-you've returned!"
"I asked where the Vice Guild Master is."
The low, growling voice carried the thick stench of death.
"T-the Vice Guild Master... he q-quit about a month ago..."
"What? Is that true? You're not lying to me, are you?"
The man's eyes flashed dangerously.
"W-why would I l-lie to you!"
The man stared down at the trembling pair as they desperately tried to prove their innocence. Then, without warning, a sinister smile spread across his face.
"Kuk... kukuk... kukkukk... I see. So that's how it is."
Seeing the huge, fierce-looking man laugh, the guild members finally lost their nerve and collapsed to the floor. A moment later, when the man headed straight for the master office without asking anything else, they finally let out shaky breaths of relief.
"T-that guy is seriously too scary..."
"He's the one who always goes around starting fights..."
Their trembling voices overlapped in shaky harmony.
"Anyway... today must be cursed. Haa..."
If Lee Euna brought mental torment, this man brought the unmistakable smell of death. The two sat in the same spot for a long time, trying to steady their frozen legs, thinking the exact same thing.
Should we just quit this damn guild... fuck...