Gun-hwa (7)
The Cheongmyeong Guild was one of Korea's three major guilds, a colossal powerhouse in every sense—its influence, strength, and sheer scale were all monstrously huge, which was exactly why it was called a major guild. And for such behemoths, they needed subcontractors to handle the minor tasks. That was where sub-teams came in.
Sub-teams weren't officially under the guild's banner, but they were permitted to borrow its name value. They were basically the guild's errand runners. Calling them errand runners might make it sound lame, but their status was actually enormous. Being a sub-team under a major guild meant the guild trusted you enough to say, "We can hand off jobs to you." These teams usually had rock-solid reliability, putting them in a prime position when taking on requests.
The favor I'd asked Yoo Seo-ah was to let me tag along once with one of those sub-teams heading into a C-rank or B-rank dungeon. Even I knew it was a pretty shameless request. Still, since she'd been handpicked by Cheongmyeong straight out of the gate, I figured she might pull some strings, so I'd mustered up the courage to ask.
"Jinseong-ssi, what did you just say?"
Her response came in a voice I'd never heard from her before—ice-cold. She'd told me to speak freely about anything, but apparently going too far with that got this reaction. Damn, her tone was freezing! One more step over the line and she'd cut me off for sure. I should just apologize, say forget the weird favor, and pretend it never happened.
Reflecting on my social cluelessness, I opened my mouth to retract the request.
"I... um..."
"Jinseong-ssi, I'm not busy."
Before I could apologize, Yoo Seo-ah's voice cut through the speaker first.
"Pardon?"
To me, it sounded totally out of left field, so I stupidly repeated myself, and her response bubbled up like she was simmering with frustration.
"As compensation for that incident, I got payout money, brand-new gear, and even vacation time."
That incident—Park Bong-su, that bastard? Yeah, he was a Cheongmyeong exec, and he'd stabbed her, so they had to make it right with compensation. Payout, new equipment, vacation... so that's what the good news was about. I nodded and replied.
"I see. Glad to hear it."
She'd stared death in the face back then, but I'd healed her external and internal injuries and saved her. On top of that, we'd gotten perfect, justified revenge, and now compensation too. If you asked if that was good? Yeah, it was. She'd called it good news herself.
That's why I'd said it was great, but...
"......"
The vibe from the phone's Yoo Seo-ah felt off—real off.
"......"
I clamped my mouth shut, sensing that opening it would spark something bad.
"Ugh... uuuugh!"
But whether I spoke or not, the explosion was inevitable.
"Why aren't you saying anything?! I just gave you the signal! Why ask strangers you haven't even met instead of me?!"
She vented her frustration in a voice thick with exasperation.
"......Or does Jinseong-ssi not want to team up with me like old times anymore?"
She paused, then asked in a quivering, teary voice.
It had gone from icy to silent to frustrated outburst to teary in under two minutes. I hadn't known about her vacation, so her hurt feelings caught me off guard, but...
"Nah, no way! I'd love to run dungeons with you like before!"
First things first—smooth this over.
"Really...?"
Her voice softened instantly, the hurt and frustration melting away. Now I got why her emotions were on a rollercoaster. She wanted to dungeon with me, and me looking elsewhere had bummed her out. Maybe she saw me as way closer than I'd thought.
That realization made my chest tingle pleasantly. Having someone close felt pretty damn nice.
"Of course."
"You're not just saying that to make me feel better, right?"
Maybe my earlier denseness had stung, because she sounded a bit guarded. But now I knew what she wanted—no more wrong answers.
"Why would I lie to you? I just didn't want to get in your way..."
"You wouldn't! No way! Being with you is healing for me, motivation even... Ah, uh, um. Anyway, no bother at all..."
"Haha, got it. That's a relief."
"Y-yeah... ehehe."
Right answer, and the mood flipped to sunny in seconds. We chuckled like that for a bit before she suddenly asked,
"Where should we meet?"
"Huh?"
Meet today? This sudden?
"Ah, no—better if I pick! You want higher-rank dungeons, right? I know a good C-rank one. I'll send the address—come straight over! Heading out now!"
Her momentum caught me off guard, and she barreled ahead solo.
"Wait, hold on—this is so sudden..."
"Oh right! Gotta clock out for vacation first! See you later, Jinseong-ssi!"
Click.
No chance to protest—the plans were set. I stared blankly at the disconnected phone and let out a dry laugh.
"Ha, was she always this energetic?"
These days, Yoo Seo-ah was way brighter than back in her old team. It was nice to see, and it made me smile.
"Yeah, better to test my power ASAP. Her jumping in like this is a huge help."
The plan had veered wildly off-course, but it worked out great. Teaming with her beat squeezing into some random sub-team any day.
About a minute later, a text pinged from her.
[Seo-ah: Heading to the dungeon inside Gwanak Mountain! Meet at Gwanak Station!]
"Damn, she's fast."
She seemed so eager to see me it was almost funny. Do I really mean that much? Well, yeah—I was solid back in her team. Feeling smug for no reason, I headed to the address.
※
"This the dungeon?"
"Yep! Cheongmyeong Guild's exclusive C-rank: Centipede Cave!"
"Whoa... Cheongmyeong exclusive."
Yoo Seo-ah's heart fluttered watching Kang Jinseong's quiet admiration at the narrow entrance midway up Gwanak Mountain's ridge.
Dungeoning with Jinseong-ssi—what's it been, two months? No, way longer since it's just us two!
It had been ages since they'd dungeoned alone. After her team disbanded, she'd realized how precious he was—doubly so after he rescued and healed her.
She'd been Jinseong-deficient ever since, but now they were diving in together. Just the two of them!
Reminds me of old times—wish it could stay like this. Jinseong-ssi, why not just join Cheongmyeong?
She was so hyped she even entertained the absurd idea of a D-rank like him joining the guild.
"Seo-ah-ssi, ready to head in?"
"Ehehe... Huh? Oh, yeah! Let's go!"
Even entering Centipede Cave—swarming with massive centipede beasts—felt like a date, her steps light.
Vmmm—!
The two entered. Click.
The moment they did, Jinseong drew his automatic pistol, Gun-hwa, tension etched on his face.
Oof, Jinseong-ssi drew his pistol... Kinda tense, but cute and hot. Cute and hot can coexist...
To her, him drawing from the holster was pure cool. The whole thing was basically her Jinseong close-up appreciation fest.
Shh-shh-shh!
While glued to him, a centipede beast sensed the intruders and crawled up the wall.
A C-rank monster the size of the world's biggest anaconda: the Ten-Year Centipede.
"Testing power now."
Spotting it, Jinseong raised his pistol, barrel trained on it. Yoo Seo-ah watched eagerly.
Even if that new Full Bloom of his is strong, it'll just scratch the shell. Get ready to follow up.
She prepped for if he missed, sword at the ready. Not underestimating him—this was hunter-world common sense.
Unique abilities scaled with the user, and he was still D-rank. So even a powerful new one was D-rank powerful.
No way it'd meaningfully hit a Ten-Year Centipede, infamous for its tough shell. Expecting a scratch was generous.
Shh-shh-shh!
"Kirelelelek!"
The centipede lunged, jaws wide.
Click.
Jinseong pulled the trigger.
Good—finish it quick.
She drew to slash before it reached him—but her sword never connected.
BOOOOM—!!!!
A cannon-like blast, and a third of the centipede—from the head down—vaporized. Pop! Its guts exploding as the body flew.
The scene shattered all common sense. Yoo Seo-ah froze mid-draw.
"......Ugh?"