IH Ch 114

Chapter 114

At that moment, Yohan murmured in a sulky voice,

“Seriously—he acted like he didn’t care at all. Back when I said Dohwa was pretty and kept showing interest, he threw a fit every single time. Now it all makes sense.”

“…….”

“When Dohwa first came to the guild and I said I’d escort him, he lost his mind about it too! Honestly, I think he already liked Dohwa back then. He pretended he didn’t, and now look—just glued to him. I swear he’s doing it on purpose just to spite me. How can someone be like that? It wasn’t even like this a few days ago—”

“Stop talking. The guildmaster is glaring at you from behind.”

At Kangjun’s warning, Yohan snapped his mouth shut. Flustered, he clapped both hands over his lips and whispered faintly,

“Is he still glaring?”

“Yeah.”

When Kangjun nodded, Yohan’s face crumpled.

In truth, Jae-i had only shot him a glance earlier—now he was back to looking exclusively at Dohwa. Ahn Yuna watched him pull tissues to wipe the corner of Dohwa’s lips and finally spoke.

“You can’t say we didn’t see this coming.”

“Well… yeah.”

It was true—she had suspected this outcome from the beginning. The guildmaster treated Dohwa differently. But even so, she never imagined the guildmaster—who had never shown interest in anyone—would genuinely date someone. So even when she commented that something felt off between the two, she dismissed it as her own misreading. She thought the mood would fade eventually.

But the moment Dohwa arrived on the guildmaster’s set, she realized all her assumptions had been wrong.

While Ahn Yuna was despairing over the initial disastrous footage from the shoot, Yohan too had internally given up hope. The face and physique were works of art, but… good grief. They were even contemplating digitally lifting the corners of his mouth when Ahn Yuna suddenly returned—with Dohwa.

At first, Yohan wondered why she had brought him. But he soon understood.

Ahn Yuna handed the camera back to the director. Filming resumed, and everyone from the Jae-i Guild—Yohan, Ahn Yuna, and others—lined up where they would be directly in the guildmaster’s line of sight. In the center of them stood Dohwa.

Dragged in without warning, Dohwa stood quietly, wearing his hood pulled low and huge glasses. Not knowing what was happening, he simply obeyed—then glanced at Hwang Jae-i.

The guildmaster’s reaction wasn’t good. She fully expected him to refuse the shoot with a cold “I’m done,” the way he always did.

But he didn’t.

His face was still frighteningly rigid—but for the first time, the director pressed the shutter with enthusiasm.

Outwardly, nothing major had changed. But there was a subtle shift—like a scentless flower giving off the faintest hint of fragrance. As embarrassing as it sounded, nothing else described it.

Even with an expressionless face, emotion seeped through now, and naturally the shoot gained energy. Knowing exactly what kind of temper the guildmaster had, the Haeseong staff rushed to achieve maximum output in the short window they were given. While he changed outfits, the team quickly swapped backgrounds and props. They even added hidden buttons down the back of his outfits to help him change faster. Thanks to this, the sports product shoot went surprisingly smoothly. The director was moved nearly to tears.

“As time went on, the results became wonderful. It’s all thanks to you guild members. I wondered why you stood behind me earlier, but when the guildmaster’s expression suddenly relaxed, I nearly cried. You all really must be close!”

He must have been really in a good mood to say such pointless things.

In truth, they weren’t “close” with him at all—there was only one person he was close with. No need to explain that.

Thinking about it now, it was absurd—such a dramatic difference, simply due to Dohwa’s presence. But the truly shocking moment came when Kangjun held out his phone.

“This pictorial went up.”

“…….”

On the screen was a photograph of Hwang Jae-i holding a massive bouquet.

Usually, a person would be overwhelmed by a bouquet of that size, but Jae-i wasn’t. Holding the bouquet in one arm, his head tilted slightly as he gazed into the camera. Maybe it was the white shirt and jeans, but he looked incredibly—

“He looks… really fresh.”

That’s not who our guildmaster is at all.

Kangjun, sensing Yohan’s unspoken thought, scrolled again.

“Ten thousand copies sold out in thirty seconds. They opened additional preorders, but the site crashed. In that brief window, over two hundred thousand preorders were placed… Is that even possible?”

Do people even buy physical magazines these days? She thought everyone used e-books.

When she first heard the guildmaster’s cover issue would print ten thousand copies, she worried the guild might have to bulk-purchase leftovers. Apparently that fear was unnecessary.

Kangjun turned his phone toward the guildmaster.

“Guildmaster, the magazine sold out. The reprint is making headlines too.”

The one who reacted was Dohwa. Seated inside, he poked his head forward, and Kangjun added calmly,

“It’s all thanks to how well you photographed him, Dohwa.”

“…It’s because the model is good.”

Murmuring beneath the sunglasses, Dohwa seemed to be looking at Jae-i. The guildmaster remained arms-crossed and unimpressed on the outside—but the tips of his ears were faintly red. Kangjun blinked, assuming he imagined it, and lowered his phone.

Entering the magazine’s comments section, he saw overwhelming excitement. Most comments were variations of “insane,” so he scrolled back to the cover.

The expression itself was the guildmaster’s usual face—but the eyes were different. Even the corners of his lips were slightly lifted. If one squinted, it resembled a smile. The public seemed conflicted as well—half insisted he was smiling, half insisted he wasn’t. The vote was nearly 51:49. Predictable. They all had the same reaction when they first saw it.

And the photo was Dohwa’s. His presence alone brought out a broader range of expressions from Hwang Jae-i. He even accepted poses that normally would’ve made him refuse the shoot entirely. Thanks to that, they managed to film not one but two CFs—one was released yesterday, and the other was sure to become a major hit.

The guildmaster’s cooperation made the entire process miraculously smooth. She could’ve pushed her luck and added more projects, but she held back. Even if he seemed fine now, he could easily flip tomorrow and reject everything mid-shoot. So she ensured breaks were taken properly. Every time, Jae-i locked himself away with Dohwa.

She was curious what the two did, but deliberately paid it no mind. She only hoped he rested well so the next shoot wouldn’t suffer. There must have been a camera in one of the break rooms. Once everything was done, a frantic message came in from the other side—saying they had reviewed the room camera and found “something incredible,” and asking if they could use it commercially.

At first, she wondered what nonsense they were talking about. But when she saw the photo they sent, all of them fell silent.

It was the first time they had ever seen the guildmaster like that. Just a normal, simple photograph—yet strangely intimate. It felt like they were witnessing a private moment they shouldn’t see. Ridiculous, but awkward—very, very awkward.

It was a photo Dohwa took when he had been alone with the guildmaster. He had apologized, saying he deleted them all, but apparently one survived.

There had been mild debate about whether to use it, but in the end, they did—and it caused a massive sensation. Honestly, she understood. Even she would have wanted a physical copy of that magazine.

“Our guildmaster is really handsome.”

“…….”

Ignoring everyone staring at him like he’d said something outrageous, Kangjun continued unfazed,

“When I first met him, I wondered how someone like that could even exist. But these days…”

He looked at Hwang Jae-i and gave a thumbs-up.

“I’m looking forward to him—ten, twenty years from now.”

Kangjun rarely spoke—and never joked. If he said this, he meant it wholeheartedly. Knowing that, Hwang Jae-i couldn’t snap “Don’t talk nonsense, you’re annoying,” the way he did with Yohan and Ahn Yuna.

He stared at Kangjun with a blank expression before sharply turning his head away. His ears were still red. As Kangjun wondered if they were truly flushed—and why—there was a knock.

Chairman Ma Jungseok entered.

“Sorry I’m late. The meeting ran long and couldn’t be interrupted.”

The moment he appeared, everyone rose. Jae-i stood leisurely and looked toward the chairman.