Chapter 192
Chapter 192
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 192
Chapter Title: The Tireless Vice Guild Leader
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"Alright, we've arrived."
"It's closer than I thought."
The drive from KP headquarters to the guild took about ten minutes.
Compared to other major guilds or the association, it wasn't lacking by any means—a seven-story building that wasn't small at all.
And perhaps having received word that the guild master was arriving, a man was waiting at the entrance.
"Oh, you've finally made it, Guild Master!"
"?"
But something about his first impression felt off.
He looked a bit older than Jeong-hyeon, and while he wasn't being rude, his demeanor was incredibly casual.
It didn't seem like it was just because of some special relationship with Chang-su. The man just seemed unusually friendly.
'But I feel like I've seen him somewhere before...'
Jeong-hyeon felt an odd sense of familiarity looking at his face.
He had no connections to KP Guild, so where could he have seen him?
As Jeong-hyeon pondered, Chang-su smiled and introduced them.
"Ah, this is Vice Guild Leader Seo Hwi-gon, a Hunter. A-Rank Healer. And this is Hunter Han Jeong-hyeon, who just signed a partnership contract with our guild."
"I see! It's a tremendous honor to meet you, Hunter! I've heard so much about you through all sorts of channels!"
"Uh, yeah... Nice to meet you."
This guy's energy is on another level.
Hwi-gon didn't even ask for a handshake—he grabbed Jeong-hyeon's hand with both of his and shook it wildly.
Even without him saying it, you could tell just how thrilled he was.
And that's when Jeong-hyeon finally remembered where he'd seen Hwi-gon.
"Ah, the Hunter from New York State University!"
"Oh my, you know me. It's an embarrassing story from my past, but yes, I'm that guy who appeared on TV as the New York State University Hunter."
At Jeong-hyeon's recognition, Hwi-gon shook not just his hand but his head too, nodding enthusiastically with his whole body.
In Korea, academic pedigree had always mattered, before and after the Great Cataclysm.
There had been times when Seoul University alumni Hunters or those who'd studied abroad were frequently featured on broadcasts.
Plenty of such programs still existed.
Hwi-gon's first TV appearance had been about five or six years ago, right?
As a law graduate from New York State University and an A-Rank Healer to boot, he couldn't avoid media attention even if he tried.
- Even if I was studying abroad, how could I not return when Korea was in such dire straits? Especially since I'd awakened as an A-Rank by then. I decided to come back with the sole determination to save as many people as possible...
Even back then, he'd unleashed a machine-gun rap of words in that short interview, which made it go viral online.
'Seeing him like this, it's kinda fascinating.'
Jeong-hyeon hadn't heard anything about him since, so he never imagined they'd meet here like this.
He'd chuckled at Hwi-gon's videos a few times before, so he felt a bit glad inwardly.
But less than ten minutes later, he regretted it.
'I shouldn't have let on that I recognized him...'
"Hahaha, well then, the vice guild leader will give you a great tour of the guild. I have work to do, so I'll head out."
Chang-su introduced them and promptly vanished somewhere.
Hwi-gon then dragged Jeong-hyeon by the hand, zipping through every corner of the guild building.
Even if it was smaller than rival guilds, touring all seven floors above ground was exhausting enough.
And that was just above ground—the basement levels were far more extensive.
No, if it had just been walking around, that would've been fine.
Having Hwi-gon glued to his side was draining Jeong-hyeon to the bone.
"This is the guild training room. While KP Guild gets flak for lacking in manpower and achievements compared to major guilds, the guild master and I were adamant that 'our facilities should never fall short!' So we imported the latest equipment from Germany's Ainsa Corp..."
Even introducing a single small office took a solid twenty minutes.
He introduced every single employee inside, down to details like when they'd bought the desk and why.
If not for Hwi-gon's rapid-fire speech, it would've easily eaten up an hour.
'Ugh, he's sucking the life out of me...'
With him explaining so enthusiastically, Jeong-hyeon couldn't just tell him to shut up.
He never knew listening could be this exhausting.
"Ah, Hunter Choi Mi-yeon! This is Hunter Han Jeong-hyeon from HJH, who just partnered with our guild. You know him, right? Man, speaking of which, I was really impressed by your raid of the 'New Bird of Kafke Island' Gate—"
"Hello."
"Yes. Hello."
What was even funnier was how the KP Guild staff treated Hwi-gon.
They were so used to him that they lightly ignored the noisy guy, bowing politely only to Jeong-hyeon as they passed.
At first, Jeong-hyeon was pretty shocked by the temperature difference, but now he was getting used to it.
Of course, Hwi-gon's mouth never stopped regardless.
"This one time when I was in New York..."
The partnership ceremony between KP Group and HJH Gate Office that morning took two hours.
Jeong-hyeon's visit to KP Guild took eight hours.
By the time he dragged himself home exhausted, the sun had already set, and it was getting dark.
Stagger— stagger—
"...!"
On the way home from the village outskirts, he ran into Ji-hee, who was out doing the sorting recycling.
Whoosh—
Spotting Jeong-hyeon stumbling in from the darkness, Ji-hee instinctively unleashed a flame spell.
"Whoa! It's me, Han Jeong-hyeon!"
He barely had the strength to twitch a finger, but when faced with a life-threatening moment, what could he do?
He mustered every last bit of energy to shout.
She later told him she'd thought a zombie from a nearby gate break had wandered into the village.
Anyway, that was later. Fortunately, they cleared up the misunderstanding, and with Ji-hee's support, Jeong-hyeon made it home safely.
"Ugh... It's the first time Ashurek has ever felt like a fairy..."
Collapsing onto the bed, Jeong-hyeon fell into a deep sleep immediately.
Even his dreams were filled with being dragged around by Hwi-gon, so it hardly counted as real rest.
***
A week had passed since partnering with KP Group.
It was a short time, but plenty had happened.
First, Jeong-hyeon finally bought the car he'd been longing for.
"Oh, Boss. You finally got your car?"
"Yeah. Kept putting it off, but ended up buying it."
Jeong-hyeon answered Min-ji, who peeked out from the office window, as he stepped out of the car.
Until now, he'd been running everywhere to level up his movement speed trait, but now that he had a certain social status, he had to mind others' eyes.
"But you went with KP? You're loaded, yet so frugal."
"What matters is the car itself. Especially since I'm a newbie driver."
"Pfft, get up here already."
True to his resolution, Jeong-hyeon had bought a KP Motors vehicle.
A mid-size sedan, not even their top luxury lineup.
In today's world, getting a car like this at his age wasn't easy, but as a successful Hunter, it was a bargain compared to his earnings—which was why Min-ji had teased him.
'No way there'd be zero benefits...'
For the record, there was no discount as he'd hoped.
They congratulated him on the KP Group partnership, but Motors was a separate matter.
Giving a discount could cause issues later, so Jin-ho had strictly forbidden it.
'Next car will definitely be from Future Motors.'
Jeong-hyeon plotted his petty revenge.
Next, a new "family member" (?) joined the office.
As he headed up, Min-ji complained with a tired look.
"Boss, this guy's always showing up at the office. He even beat me here today."
Of course, neither Min-ji nor Jeong-hyeon was particularly thrilled about it.
"Ah, Hunter Han Jeong-hyeon, you're here! I brought a coffee set I got as a gift today. How about a morning cup...? Wondering where I got it? Well, this coffee takes me back to my time in New York—"
"Shut that mouth of yours, just shut it!"
None other than KP Guild's vice guild leader, the famous New York State University A-Rank Healer, Seo Hwi-gon.
As his mouth opened wide with joy at seeing Jeong-hyeon, Min-ji shrieked like she was having a fit.
"Hahaha, you're the first person to ever tell me to shut up, Miss Choi Min-ji. Did you know that?"
"I don't care!"
Min-ji shuddered, while Hwi-gon grinned like it was the best thing ever.
At least when Min-ji snapped at him like that, he quieted down—a small mercy.
Hwi-gon had been punching in at the HJH office for a few days now, but Jeong-hyeon still couldn't believe it and asked again.
"You're... the vice guild leader. Aren't you busy?"
"Jobs with 'vice' in the title are never busy. In English, it's 'vice'—and funnily enough, there's a tool called a vise. There's this hilarious story about it from my New York days..."
That damn New York!
Min-ji shook her head in exasperation.
He couldn't keep burdening her to rein him in, so Jeong-hyeon cut in himself.
"But why come to our office?"
"Ah, the guild master assigned me as the liaison for the partner office. So I'm here anytime for you, Hunter Han Jeong-hyeon—of course, the other staff too—"
The reason was absurd.
In an age with internet and phones everywhere, why need a personal liaison?
The moment Jeong-hyeon heard it, he instantly guessed KP Guild Master Chang-su's intentions in dumping the role on Hwi-gon.
'He palmed him off on us!'
From the last visit, even Chang-su—a veteran at poker faces—had seemed deeply troubled by Hwi-gon.
The guild lacked famous Hunters, so they'd made him vice guild leader, but it was basically an honorary position. This was their chance to shove him out the door.
Thanks to that, HJH office suffered constant noise pollution.
Even Won-ho, who always arrived early, seemed to be showing up later and later.
- Hahaha, close communication between partners is essential. In return, feel free to take the vice guild leader along on hunts or raids anytime.
When Jeong-hyeon called to complain about the unfair treatment, getting permission to use him as a "heal shuttle" (?) was the one small win.
'No healer anyway, so whatever.'
A healer was the pillar and mother of any party.
Hwi-gon talked a lot, but as a Level 5 A-Rank, he'd be useful in hunts.
"Okay. Got it. Min-ji, any news on TV?"
Jeong-hyeon had noticed that Hwi-gon quieted down when watching TV these past few days, so he smoothly changed the subject.
Min-ji brightened and nodded.
"Yeah, there is!"
She quickly turned up the volume on the office TV.
The morning news was dominated by the biggest recent story.