IH Ch 83

Chapter 83

“Make sure to carefully finish the report on the gate the Guildmaster entered alone. Thankfully, Hyeseong has been putting pressure on the press, so the annoying inquiries have decreased, but we don’t know how this situation might change.”

“……”

“And Pungjin has been trying to make contact repeatedly, but we’re ignoring them.”

“What do they possibly have to say to me?”

“Nonsense, most likely. It’s probably nothing to worry about, but if they make one last desperate move, it could be a hassle, so I’m thinking we might have to respond appropriately.”

What Pungjin wanted was a one-on-one meeting with Hwang Jae-i. They called it a meeting, but in reality, it would be them begging for their lives. After all, they were the ones who publicly broadcasted that Hwang Jae-i was an illegitimate child. Though it’s still only a suspicion, they were likely involved in this latest demonic beast incident as well.

Why is it that the disgraceful are also stupid? If they had done something wrong, they should’ve bowed their heads and begged for forgiveness from the start. But instead, they hurled every insult and launched every attack they could—only to come crawling back now? Ahn Yuna, who had half a mind to blow up the Pungjin building then and there, clapped her hands.

“And Hyeseong has suggested a dinner meeting this Wednesday evening. What shall we do?”

“……”

She had planned to schedule the meeting with Hyeseong once she got a definite answer from the Guildmaster.

However, instead of answering, Hwang Jae-i simply looked her way with a rather cold gaze. Ahn Yuna could guess that it was because of the condom she had tucked between his clothes. She lowered her hands and clasped them behind her back. Rolling her eyes a few times, she eventually muttered in a small, creeping voice.

“It never hurts to be cautious, right?”

“Ahn Yuna, you really……”

“I’m worried about Dohwa, not you, Guildmaster!!”

At the same time, Ahn Yuna quickly backstepped away.

“Geez! It’s not like you used it! Why are you glaring at me like that? My apologies!”

Because Hwang Jae-i really wouldn’t know anything about those matters. Ahn Yuna had sent the condom purely out of concern, but now she deeply regretted it. It felt like unnecessary meddling, and she thought she might die at Hwang Jae-i’s hands. But the deed was done, and in times like these, the only thing she could do was push through with stubbornness.

“I’ve suffered plenty because of the Guildmaster, staying up all night like it was nothing! Just overlook it this once for the sake of all my hard work! Be merciful! Honestly, who else but me would work with the Guildmaster around here!”

Only someone like me can do this job!

Coming out with such shameless confidence left no room for retort. Hwang Jae-i stared at her, looking strangely betrayed, as if wondering whether she had always been this kind of person. Ahn Yuna stared back without batting an eye.

Then, she suddenly turned to Dohwa and confidently asked,

“What would you like to eat?”

“……Nothing for me.”

“I’ll prepare something for you anyway. If you feel like it’s stifling here, just let me know. I’ve prepared another place.”

Finishing what she had to say, Ahn Yuna briskly exited the room. Hwang Jae-i considered chasing after her, but decided against it. He didn’t even want to bring it up. It might be better to let it go, but it still left a sour taste.

With a hardened expression, Jae-i slowly turned his gaze to Dohwa, who stood blankly in place.

“……”

He couldn’t just let him keep standing like that.

But Hwang Jae-i didn’t know what to do in situations like this. It was the first time he had brought someone into the Guildmaster’s office, and usually, wherever he went, he just sat at a prepared spot for a bit and then left. As he was wondering if he should just follow what others did to look after him, a cheerful knock and a bright voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Excuse me. Guildmaster.”

The door swung open, and Johan appeared. Carrying a tray filled with various items, he strode excitedly straight toward Dohwa.

“Dohwa-ssi, it’s so great to see you again—!”

Once again, Johan couldn’t finish his sentence. A massive wall suddenly appeared before his eyes.

“Whoa!”

Startled, Johan’s first instinct was to save the tray.

On the tray were an assortment of desserts for the office, bottled drinks, and even an e-book reader loaded with several manga volumes he’d recently gotten into.

“Ah, Guildmaster, you can’t just appear like that. I nearly dropped everything—.”

Johan grumbled reflexively, then quickly forced a smile.

“No, I wasn’t trying to complain to the Guildmaster. I just didn’t want the cake to fall.”

Then, trying to see Dohwa, he subtly leaned to the side and stretched his neck. Watching without blinking, Hwang Jae-i bent forward so much his body formed a right angle, then grabbed Johan’s head with one hand to stop him from looking.

“……Ack! Guildmaster, your palm touched my glasses lens!”

“So what?”

With that, Jae-i snatched the tray from Johan’s hands. Johan tried to peel off the Guildmaster’s hand from his head while stumbling backward. “Ack! Aah!” Desperately trying not to fall, he was unceremoniously driven out.

After firmly slamming the door shut, Hwang Jae-i wiped the hand that had grabbed Johan’s head on his clothes. Clicking his tongue, he inspected the tray. The items looked surprisingly useful. With this, Dohwa probably wouldn’t get bored while he worked.

Hwang Jae-i strode straight over to Dohwa.

Though Hwang Jae-i hated working, once he got into it, he was fairly efficient.

After reviewing the initial draft of the gate report, he added supplementary details and wrote evaluations of the Hunters who had entered the gate with him. He was a tough leader, but his evaluations were generous. Stripped of personal feelings, his purely objective assessments proved quite helpful to the Hunters. With such high-quality feedback not available elsewhere, they could improve their skills and enhance their abilities. Some high-ranking Hunters even charged money for evaluations, but Hwang Jae-i didn’t. Maybe that’s why, despite being hard to work with, the Guild had a low turnover rate.

“……”

Before he knew it, Jae-i was deeply immersed in his work. Glancing sideways, he spotted Dohwa lying comfortably on the sofa, which had only served as decoration until now, reading the e-book reader.

Having finally taken off the hoodie he had been buried under, Dohwa’s clear face was fully visible as he focused intently on the reader. It was filled with Johan’s favorite manga. The problem was the genre—something Jae-i hadn’t checked, which now bothered him. While he frowned, Dohwa reached out.

Without even looking, he fumbled around the nearby table, picked up a potato chip, and popped it into his mouth. Crunch. A tiny sound accompanied by a few crumbs falling near his chin. Dohwa then shoved the rest into his mouth, brushed off the crumbs with his hand, and wiped it on his clothes.

“……”

If Johan had done that in front of him, he would’ve kicked him out the window immediately. But this time, it didn’t feel like anything. Jae-i had work to do, but Dohwa didn’t. Maybe he had been bored. Watching him laze around like that, seemingly at ease, didn’t seem so bad.

When Dohwa lowered the reader, Jae-i quickly turned back to his work, as if he hadn’t been watching. Since he had finished the harder tasks first, the remaining ones could be skimmed through. Still, any mistake would earn him a scolding from Ahn Yuna, and he didn’t want that. So he couldn’t afford to slack off.

While he was still reviewing documents, he felt someone’s gaze. Dohwa was watching him.

“……”

Jae-i stared intently at the screen, pretending not to notice, but quickly realized how silly that was. He knew Dohwa was looking—why pretend otherwise? Glancing sideways, he saw that Dohwa had sat up at some point. With a sheepish look, Dohwa glanced at Jae-i, then mumbled shyly.

“You look really cool like that.”

“……”

“……Maybe it’s because I’ve never seen you like this before.”

He added softly, then quickly turned his gaze back to the reader. Placing it on his bent knees, he bowed his head over it.

He’s embarrassed. If he was going to act like that, why say it in the first place? Jae-i turned his attention back to the monitor.

“……”

Do I really look cool when I’m working? Maybe today, I did concentrate a little more than usual.

As he moved the mouse around, Jae-i scowled for no reason. He wasn’t angry or annoyed—just… felt a little strange.

So focused on Dohwa, he didn’t notice the guild office door open slightly and close again. Almost clinging to the door, Ahn Yuna quietly shut it and stood still. Only after confirming no movement from inside did she stealthily return to the office.

Since the Guildmaster’s office was the only opaque area, everything else was visible through glass. Watching Ahn Yuna’s bizarre behavior, Johan asked,

“What are you doing, Director?”

You’re really acting weird.

His eyes clearly said so, but Ahn Yuna ignored them and muttered seriously.

“I was wondering why the documents were coming in so fast……”

Given the situation, she’d assumed the Guildmaster would slack off. But the completed documents kept arriving at a surprising pace. At first, she thought he might’ve skimmed them, so she checked with the intent to catch him—but found no fault. Instead, he had added details she had missed.

To think she felt uneasy even when things were done well—maybe her common sense was broken. Still, she had to double-check. She peeked briefly and saw something unexpected.

“……”

She had discovered how to work the Guildmaster like a mule. With eyes sparkling, Ahn Yuna hurried back to her desk and began pushing all remaining documents with flexible deadlines onto the Guildmaster’s plate.