Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: New Guild (2)
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I roughly shook off my damp clothes and hurriedly slipped out of the motel.
"Ahem, hmm."
The elevator, descending slowly from the 8th floor, came to a stop at the 5th. That's when Choi Da-eun let out a fake cough.
The oppressive pressure of the field closed in like it was suffocating.
The breathing of the two couples mingled chaotically inside the elevator.
"Doesn't this make it feel like we're coming out after sex?"
"...Could you shut up for a bit?"
I whispered to Choi Da-eun standing beside me.
She was bristling with irritation, glaring at me and growling.
We stepped out of the elevator and headed outside the motel.
The couple who'd come down with us didn't head straight for the exit but went to their car instead.
I couldn't help but feel a pang of envy.
"That couple's heading to their own car, but we don't even have one. What the hell is this?"
"It was the after-party yesterday, so what could we do, you idiot?"
"And it's also because Team Leader puked all over the overcoat and pissed herself top to bottom."
"......"
We could've gone home.
But we couldn't.
Because Choi Da-eun had been on the verge of spewing her breath before we even got there.
If we'd had just a little more time, I could've sent her home.
I was innocent.
We'd only ended up at the motel out of necessity.
It wasn't because I had any ulterior motives.
The details were different, but I'd framed it that way to pressure Choi Da-eun.
Choi Da-eun, aware of her own guilt.
She didn't argue back against my words and clamped her mouth shut.
Her flushed red face showed how unfairly she felt treated in this situation.
"Top to bottom, up and down."
"I'm seriously gonna rip your mouth off."
"I'm starving after dealing with that all night. Didn't get any proper sleep, so I'm beat."
"...Let's just go eat, you bastard."
Choi Da-eun and I headed to a nearby soup house for breakfast-slash-lunch.
Maybe because of all the motels around, it was open 24 hours.
She ordered beef intestine soup; I got pork bone soup.
Slurp, slurp!
Around us, people were already digging in.
There were more middle-aged couples than young ones.
Whether you could really call them couples or husbands and wives... that was up for debate.
"I tried contacting Han A-ra yesterday."
I should've mentioned it sooner, but there hadn't been time.
I'd been too busy showing her the brutal truth and hadn't passed on today's task.
Good thing we had some breathing room now.
"Team Leader—no, Sis."
"......"
Choi Da-eun wasn't really my team leader anymore.
More like a comrade working alongside me under Guild Master Han A-ra.
"She said we should meet up sometime when she's free."
"...Yeah, guess we have to."
Her blank expression suggested she'd misunderstood me.
"With me."
"Why?"
I meant we should go meet her together.
The moment I conveyed that, Choi Da-eun's face crumpled hard.
That was the proper reaction.
"We're gonna be eating out of the same pot from now on. Don't you think the Master has something to say face-to-face?"
"Well, can't argue with that. Master's orders and all. But why'd she tell you to pass it on? That's bullshit."
"A-ra and I are battle comrades who overcame life and death together."
As I gave that flippant answer, the soups arrived.
Like the couples around us, I polished off my bowl cleanly.
She didn't show it, but Choi Da-eun must've been starving too—she buried her face in the pot.
Without lifting her head once, she devoured the intestine soup like a beast.
"Looks good when you're eating well."
"...Shut up and eat your damn food. Hurry up and finish so we can go."
Choi Da-eun gave a half-hearted reply to my words.
She didn't seem keen on chatting.
Me? I was just enjoying this time alone with her.
"Did I mention earlier that A-ra said we should meet sometime?"
"Yeah, you did. But we haven't set a proper time yet, right?"
Had we set a time?
From what I remembered, A-ra said she'd call tomorrow morning.
Bzzz. Bzzz-.
Right on cue, my smartphone buzzed.
It vibrated wildly, demanding I pick up.
"It's A-ra calling."
"......"
For a split second, Choi Da-eun froze mid-scoop of soup.
She stealthily lifted her head and looked at me in panic.
I savored her gaze as I answered.
—Sun-woo, where are you?
Han A-ra's voice came through the receiver.
Choi Da-eun, rigid like a condemned prisoner, focused intently on the conversation.
"How far along are you? I'll send you the address nearby."
—Your voice sounds weird. You eating something right now?
"Gukbap."
—......
A-ra went silent on her end.
The call was still connected, though?
—Haa...
A-ra let out a sigh, like she'd forgotten what to say.
—Finish eating and call me back. You're not just waking up or anything, right?
"I can get there quick. Just finishing this up."
—Okay, I'll wait at a cafe nearby then.
"Sure thing."
A-ra was the Guild Master, and I was a guild member.
But our conversation lacked any hint of hierarchy—it was a total mess.
Titles alone couldn't define our relationship.
What bound us was our shared saga of struggling to survive the 'Skeleton Labyrinth,' and the deep bond of her being my lifesaver.
"What the hell was that?"
The moment I hung up, Choi Da-eun shot me a glare.
"We're meeting now? With A-ra?"
Having emptied her pot completely, Choi Da-eun grabbed two tissues and wiped her mouth.
Even when pissed, she cleaned up neatly.
"Yeah, we set it for today with A-ra. Perfect timing since we're together."
"What bullshit..."
Something dawned on her, and Choi Da-eun jolted upright.
She trembled like she'd been struck by lightning and asked me.
"Does A-ra know about this? That you and I were... together?"
"Yeah, I told her yesterday. Said we were at a motel, so let's meet tomorrow instead. Saves two trips. We wrap up the guild offer today."
"Ah, aah..."
Choi Da-eun clutched the back of her neck, grimacing.
Unable to contain her agitation, she started panting.
"Fuck, you really said that? That we were together at night, into the morning?"
"Said we stopped by out of necessity after the party. Lying about something like this felt off."
"Didn't think A-ra might get the wrong idea?"
"Wrong idea?"
My chin felt scratchy.
Just one day without shaving, and stubble was already growing.
I stroked it absentmindedly as I replied.
"Should I tell her the truth then? To A-ra? She's misunderstanding right now. We didn't do anything last night."
I waved my hands dramatically in front of Choi Da-eun as I exaggerated.
"No, see, Da-eun Sis went straight to puking top to bottom the moment we got in the motel... We were busy cleaning up the puke and piss—no time for sex. Adult man and woman at a motel, but we didn't have sex? Nah, not 'didn't'—we couldn't."
"......"
"Couldn't have sex. Why? 'Cause the girl was squirting everywhere... Oh, not love juices—piss."
"...You fucking asshole! You wanna die?!"
Choi Da-eun shot up from her seat.
She exploded in anger, instantly drawing everyone's eyes.
"Ooh, looks like they're fighting. Wonder why."
"Guy must've been a limp dick or something. She'd be pissed if he couldn't satisfy her."
"Young couple going at it first thing in the morning? Get along now, kids. All that's left is sex anyway."
The fresh-faced young couples were bickering among themselves, while the seasoned middle-aged affair pairs tossed us unwanted advice.
We'd suddenly become the center of attention.
Choi Da-eun covered her beet-red face with her hands.
Then she sat back down.
"I'm the aggrieved one here. Never thought in my life I'd be changing diapers for a team leader with dementia or whatever... before her parents even."
"Please stop, you psycho. I was wrong, okay...?"
Choi Da-eun unconditionally surrendered.
"Let's get going anyway."
With our bellies full, we left the soup house.
I dragged the sullen Choi Da-eun to the cafe at the address A-ra had sent.
Han A-ra was waiting for us, dressed neatly and primly.
"Have a seat, Sun-woo, Da-eun. I'll grab some coffee. What would you like?"
A-ra quickly took our coffee orders.
She returned to her seat and slid guild join applications toward us with a serious face.
"We'd do this at the guild office if we had one, but we're starting from scratch—nothing yet. Sorry about that."
They were called join applications, but they were closer to contracts.
Legally binding ones to tie us together.
"Take your time reading and decide."
Nothing special about the contract.
Not my first or second time joining a guild.
Obligations as a guild member, responsibilities to bear, benefits the guild provides, revenue splits from dungeon raids.
I leisurely checked for any poison clauses.
While Choi Da-eun read through hers, I met eyes with A-ra.
As Da-eun had worried, A-ra was thoroughly mistaken.
Her faintly flushed face—she turned her head sharply, trying to hide it.
Avoiding my gaze.
Her reaction brought back vivid memories of that day: activating 'Unicorn's Blessing' to escape the 'Skeleton Labyrinth.'
She still seemed like a virgin, which secretly made me proud.
"Sorry. I got badly burned by the Milky Way Guild once."
After scrutinizing it thoroughly, Choi Da-eun set the contract down with a relieved look.
"I get it. Unless you're an S-Rank Hunter, you can't be free from the law."
"Thank you. I didn't exactly make a great first impression, but you're still giving us this guild offer."
"No, I'm the thankful one. A C-Rank Hunter like Da-eun joining our nothing-of-a-guild."
A warm, harmonious atmosphere.
One pillar of the new guild was complete.
"By the way, something I've been wondering, A-ra."
Something I'd wanted to ask since yesterday.
"Why name the guild 'Ara and Friends'?"
"Couldn't think of anything good no matter how hard I tried. Registered it as 'Ara and Friends' for now, planning to change it later."
"Still, 'Ara and Friends'? Come on."
'Joseon,' 'Haetae,' 'Milky Way,' 'Mirage'—plenty of cool names out there.
A-ra glanced at me, like she'd anticipated my reaction.
"...Is it that bad?"
"N-No, not really bad or anything."
She pulled that pitiful face, looking exactly like Han So-ra—claiming they shared a womb.
"Cool guild name, haha."
I couldn't bring myself to say her naming sense was trash-tier garbage...
We each signed and thumbprinted the contracts, wrapping up the brief meeting.
Or so we thought.
"Later, when you're feeling good—on a guild level, I'd like to re-test your ratings. Want to know your levels and ranks, Da-eun and Sun-woo. Possible?"
Before standing from the cafe table, A-ra said.
Not a tough request.
Standard paperwork for joining a guild anyway.
"Since we're at it, we should apply now."
When the iron's hot, strike it, as they say.
"I'll apply for Hunter License Rating Adjustment Review. There's a slot next week. Talk about lucky."