The Dimensional Swordmaster C19

Chapter 19. The Whereabouts of the Sword (9)

A string of absurd headlines greeted him, each more outrageous than the last, and a curse tore from his lips before he could stop it. What kind of deranged nonsense was this? Eyes wide, Gong Siyoung scrolled through the article as if to burn a hole in the phone screen.

Yesterday afternoon, reports surfaced of S-rank Hunter Gong Siyoung being spotted at the Hunter Bureau. Why had the infamous “Ice Princess” visited the Bureau?

While many speculated it was related to the rumored “Hunter team restructuring,” multiple overlapping witness accounts told a different story—

Hunter Gong Siyoung was seen tenderly holding hands with an unidentified civilian.

Investigation confirmed the shocking truth. The unprecedented event sent waves through the community. Who could possibly be the lover of the frigid “Ice Princess”?

The rest was pure trash—sensationalist fluff that reeked of clickbait. If he could, he’d have sprayed disinfectant all over the entire database.

He reread the reporter’s name and email, seething. You’re done for, bastard.

His fingers flew across the screen, searching for Yeollak Guild’s media response team and the guild’s lawyers. Whoever wrote that garbage was going to pay for it dearly.

His glare burned with fury.

Had everyone in the world gone insane? How the hell was a dating rumor more important than a nested gate crisis? Was collective brain rot spreading?

A dating scandal? He swore on the heavens—there had never been such a thing. He hadn’t dated anyone, hadn’t even—

Oh. Wait.

He had held hands.

“…I’m going to lose my mind.”

A groan escaped him as he pressed a hand to his forehead. Memories came flooding back—standing before the Hunter Bureau yesterday, guiding Yurian by the hand, talking far too comfortably for strangers.

“I’m really interested in you.”

He’d said that, smiling with those bright eyes like an idiot. They had even joked about sleeping together.

Then, like a lightning bolt, realization struck.

That lunatic… he was serious?

Otherwise, why would he have said that in front of the entire guild meeting?

Siyoung clamped a hand over his mouth, trembling from shock and horror.

“So… that’s why he said that?”

Living together—that hadn’t been a joke. He’d meant it.

His eye twitched. How could anyone say something that shamelessly, in front of that many people, without an ounce of shame?

But the worst part? Gong Sijin had actually agreed.

Siyoung’s opinion had been completely ignored. His brother—and clearly a sociopath—had practically offered him up on a silver platter. He had even handed Yurian the guild contract on the spot, cutting off all protest.

Once again, Siyoung’s opinion meant nothing. When he finally came to his senses and shouted about how everyone had lost their minds, everything was already finalized.

Sijin had left with Yurian to “repair the sword.”

Woo Yujin and Gu Jayoung had slipped away to “handle recovery procedures.”

Even Park Ildo had disappeared, saying he needed to form a response team.

And Siyoung had been left alone.

He might as well have been stabbed in broad daylight—helpless and humiliated.

“Yurian… that bastard, this was all his plan. Don’t tell me—he was after my body from the start?”

Living together? That was basically a proposal!

How could anyone be that shameless? What on earth went on inside that man’s head?

He’d been dreaming of a clean break, but now it looked like he’d be shackled to him instead.

And to make matters worse, Gong Sijin had taken an outright liking to Yurian. He practically worshipped his so-called “monster bestiary” ability. The moment Sijin agreed to those ridiculous conditions, Siyoung knew he had ulterior motives.

It was obvious—Sijin intended for Yurian to be part of the Yeollak core team during the nested dungeon expedition.

Which meant Siyoung would have to go with him.

He clenched his jaw. “No. Not happening.”

Enough was enough.

He stood abruptly, pocketing his phone, and stormed out of the training room. He’d gone there to clear his head with some exercise, but that was clearly impossible now.

Just as he pushed open the door to leave, he ran headlong into someone coming in. The first thing he saw was a head of bright pink hair.

“Oh? Siyoung Hunter!”

The man greeted him cheerfully. Under the toy-colored hair, his earlobes glittered with an excessive number of piercings. Every single one of them was infuriating.

Siyoung bowed stiffly before the man could start anything.

“Excuse me.”

“Aw, come on. Fate’s practically throwing us together! Let’s have a little talkie-talkie, yeah? Heard from Hunter Yujin that some crazy stuff went down lately?”

The man grabbed his shoulder. Siyoung immediately slapped the hand away.

“Eesh! An S-rank Hunter hitting people now?”

The man—Myeong Haejin—didn’t seem to notice the deadly look in Siyoung’s eyes. He kept smirking like an idiot.

“Hunter Myeong Haejin, that’s enough,” Siyoung said coldly.

“Yeah, yeah, I know my own name. But how am I supposed to just walk away when fate’s making us meet like this? Look, did you see this?”

Haejin shoved his phone into Siyoung’s face. The headline on the screen made Siyoung’s expression immediately twist—it was that article, the dating rumor he’d just vowed to avenge.

“I thought it was fake at first,” Haejin said with mock sincerity, “but Yujin told me he saw it himself! Said in the dungeon, you were holding some guy’s—hey, where you going? I’m not done!”

Siyoung didn’t look back. He stormed down the corridor, flipping him off over his shoulder. Eat this and get lost, jackass.

Haejin’s voice echoed after him, but Siyoung ignored it entirely. How unlucky did one have to be to bump into that guy?

Myeong Haejin was a walking social hazard—a chaos gremlin in human form. Siyoung’s personal nemesis, and arguably one of the most unhinged people in the entire guild.

Even Yujin and Jayoung, for all their antics, looked civilized next to him.

There was even a nickname for the trio—

“The Crazy Club.”

It wasn’t just a joke; they’d earned it through a lifetime of unhinged behavior.

If Haejin weren’t a hunter, he’d have been sued or jailed long ago. The only reason he was still breathing was the license that came with being powerful.

After a good minute of internal cursing, Siyoung finally calmed himself. He really didn’t want to run into that idiot again—but being in the same guild made such encounters inevitable.

How is that bastard still alive? he thought darkly. Can someone please lock him up already?

As he entertained the thought, his phone buzzed. A message from Gong Sijin.

Gong Sijin:

The sword’s repaired. Go pick up Mr. Yuri 😊

Below it was an address. Siyoung’s face fell instantly.

He looked like a man staring at unfinished homework due in an hour.

Can’t someone take him away too?

Thinking of Yurian—that perverted lunatic—made his sigh deepen.

“Thank you.”

Yurian cradled the sword in his arms like something precious. The weapon that had once been snapped clean in two now gleamed like new. His cheeks flushed faintly.

“I honestly thought it couldn’t be fixed… You really saved it.”

Every worn, chipped edge had been polished away. Watching him smile, Gong Sijin looked pleased.

“Don’t mention it. We have our workshop’s master craftsman to thank for that.”

Weapon forges for hunters were rare in the country—only a handful could repair high-grade artifacts. The workshop partnered with Yeollak was one of the best, known for both restoration and enhancement.

Yurian’s sword had been reforged within mere hours. He hadn’t taken his eyes off it since, like a child enchanted with a new toy.

“Seems important to you?” Sijin asked.

“Rather than important… it’s my attachment sword.”

Not that it made a difference, but Sijin didn’t press further. Checking his phone, he turned to Yurian.

“Siyoung will be here soon. Shall we wait outside?”

Yurian nodded quickly, fastening the sword to his belt and giving it a light tap. The solid weight felt reassuring.

As they walked toward the entrance, Sijin added with an almost fatherly tone,

“When you see Siyoung, make sure he actually eats something. No, better yet, I’ll tell him myself. I swear, I don’t even know how that kid’s alive—he probably hasn’t eaten a real meal in days. Who starves a guest like that? He’s out of his mind.”

Yurian blinked, unsure what to say. Was not feeding someone really such a moral crime here?

While he hesitated, a familiar car pulled up to the curb—the same sleek vehicle he’d already come to recognize.

Gong Siyoung’s.

 

Siyoung: “I’m being professional.”

Internet: “He’s in love.”

Yurian: “I just said he should eat.”

Sijin: “Let him move in, it’ll build team trust.”

Park Ildo: “This guild is a soap opera.”