CH 47

Han Cha-soo woke up with two hours of sleep to spare.

There was one more person in the group than before.

“Thanks to Hunter Han Cha-soo, we have a very pleasant morning.”

Ki Tae-yeon looked like he’d just rolled off a battlefield. Sweat trickled down his muscles through the open collar of his shirt.

As usual, he pulled up a chair and filled me in on what had happened.

Geum Myeong-yeol’s reckless driving, Baek-dam’s resuscitation of the research materials, and Jung Yiheon waking the director in the middle of the night.

Han Cha-soo’s face grew pale the further back he went. Ki Tae-yeon was nervously chewing on the butt of his cigarette.

‘These crazy bastards….’

Han Cha-soo looked up and glared at the three S-ranks surrounding the bed, one by one.

“Are you hungry, do you want me to bring you a meal?”

“That isn’t a hungry face, it’s glaring eyes, Heavenly Spirit Guild Leader.”

“It’s the eyes that want you both to get lost.”

Naturally, none of them showed any signs of remorse. Han Cha-soo wiped his forehead.

The day before, he had asked the medic to do something very simple.

That he had something to deliver to the Exilis guild master, and that he wanted him to summon him.

However, when the staff asked me if this was enough, I gave them a specific type of item, hoping that they wouldn’t understand and ignore it.

But it went horribly wrong.

‘They have no more patience than dust.’

Han Cha-soo sighed deeply and sneaked a glance at the four of them.

Jung Yiheon and Geum Myeong-yeol. He was wondering which one of them would ask how they managed to unlock the attributed item first.

Unexpectedly, neither of them seemed to care about it.

“The button I gave you last time was too hard to use, so I got a new version. You can wrap it around your wrist and use it, how do you like it?”

“Isn’t that a lost child bracelet?”

“Maybe it’s because he’s an attempted kidnapper.”

Rather, Geum Myeong-gyeol and Jung Yiheon were busy arguing with each other. Han Cha-soo didn’t hide his pathetic mood, and neither did Baek-dam, who was far away from them.

Boom!

An icicle rose from the ground, drawing their attention. In an instant, the air was frozen, and four pairs of eyes turned towards Ki Tae-yeon in unison.

“Am I the only one who’s going to die of sleepiness right now? If everyone’s here, let’s get this over with.”

With a long yawn, he opened a drawer and pulled out a box. It was the box containing the Earrings of Cursed Resonance.

“Whoever came to get something, get it.”

For a moment, Han Cha-soo was stunned by the parabolic box. Geum Myeong-yeol snatched it up with a graceful gesture.

“If you’re here to check on your guildmates, please do so quickly.”

His piercing blue eyes turned to Jung Yiheon. For a moment, the grimness in his eyes seemed to come and go.

“…And I still haven’t asked you why you’re here, hunter Baek-dam, why are you here?”

Baek-dam snorted and took a step forward, then spoke in disbelief.

“Wouldn’t you be an idiot if you were told that someone who was supposed to be your family died and you didn’t come?”

“…Family? Wh, whose family?”

“Don’t you know? I’m talking about Han Chasoo-ssi.”

“You’re talking out of your arse, Chief Ki.”

Unable to bear the sight of what was happening, Jung Yiheon stepped in and tried to sort things out.

But the situation only got more catastrophic.

“That’s weird. Was that the brother you wanted to torture with?”

“Wait, torture, what do you mean?”

“Oh.”

This is exciting. I’ve taken the earrings off. Now completely free, Han Cha-soo watched the mayhem in peace.

‘I’ve got five excuses for when they ask me how I got the earrings off, and they’re all useless.’

No one thought to ask what happened, so he didn’t even bother to say anything.

‘Well, good things come to those things.’

Anything that could be sneaky was welcome. Han Cha-soo set up a pillow and leaned back against it.

He was about to watch a rare three-way battle between Ki Tae-yeon, Baek-dam, and Jung Yiheon.

“Han Chasoo-ssi.”

Geum Myeong-yeol, who was now close by, smiled at him. When Han Cha-soo shook his head, he waved the box.

“Thanks for the gift.”

He shook his head and Geum Myeong-yeol smirked. Then he said something that sent chills down his spine.

“I thought partnering with Han Chasoo-ssi was pretty good.”

“…….”

“I’m pretty disappointed it turned out like this.”

Is he crazy? Han Cha-soo looked at Geum Myeong-yeol with his eyes looking at the flying beast. His hands were already rummaging through his inventory.

He was lost in his own world.

“Oh, no. Now that I’m the owner, I can propose a partnership to Han Chasoo-ssi.”

Judging by the muttering, he must have made the choice. Han Cha-soo quickly found the item he wanted in his inventory and put it on.

“What do you think, Han Chasoo-ssi? Are you trying to be funny with me?”

Han Cha-soo shook his head with a snort. The colorful feathers on his mask fluttered this way and that. It made his face itch a little, but it was manageable.

“…You’re very good at screwing people over without saying a word.”

Han Cha-soo shrugged. It was merely a self-defense measure, to prevent Geum Myeong-yeol from taking advantage of the situation and sticking an earring in his ear.

‘He wouldn’t do that without a contract, but you never know.’

Geum Myeong=yeol pouted his lips at Han Cha-soo’s defensive stance.

“I know I’ve been a bit rough around the edges and I know I’ve probably frightened you a lot, but people’s impressions change, don’t they? When you’re close to them.”

“What are you two doing?”

The conversation with Jung Yiheon was over. Baek-dam walked over, cutting off Geum Myeong-yeol’s rhetoric.

“Master Exilis, if you’re done with your business, why don’t you leave? It’s not even the time for you to be awake, and I don’t understand why someone who stays awake at night as sullenly as a bat would act so uncharacteristically, causing trouble for everyone.”

Han Cha-soo was relieved to see someone who could match Geum Myeong-yeol in sarcasm.

But this one was just as insane.

Approaching gently, Baek-dam pushed Geum Myeong-yeol aside and thrust something at him.

It was a piece of paper with unknown names on it. The names seemed to be a mix of people from different countries. They were all different genders and ages.

He didn’t know what to do. Han Cha-soo asked with his eyes and Baek-dam smiled as pretty as a flower.

Then, in a sweet voice, he said a murderous sound.

“How do you want them to die?”

“……?”

“Oh, I misspoke, I won’t kill them, but I will make them want to die, so feel free to tell me, in what way and how much pain do you want these bastards who hurt you to suffer.”

Madness was burning from the inside of his light brown eyes. His hair, glistening white in the sunlight, swayed without a breeze. Even Geum Myeong-yeol could barely contain himself from calling him a fool.

In the end, only the protagonist could save him.

“That’s enough, both of you.”

Jung Yiheon said, pushing the two men away from the bed.

“Guild leader Geum Myeong-yeol got what he wanted, so you can go home now. And hunter Baek-dam… I told you, I don’t want you to do anything that will cause Han Cha-soo any stress.”

“That’s why I brought this to relieve that stress, right?”

Baek-dam smiled broadly and waved the list. It was a man who would die dozens of times at Baek-dam’s hands as a sacrifice to the Awakening Management Bureau’s virtual reality training system.

“No one knows better than me how to relieve this kind of stress, Guild Leader Jung Yiheon, you should know that, right?”

Baek-dam awoke at the tender age of 18 and went through a prenatal battle. There were days when he was terrified and frightened.

But he overcame it. By tearing out the throats and hearts of those who wanted to tie him to a leash and treat him like a dog.

“If only all the troubles in the world could be overcome by the same words of comfort.”

“…….”

“I’m trying to help him, just like you.”

It’s the experience of subjugating the object of your fear with your own hands that matters, the process of recognizing that they have no more power over you and imprinting it on your subconscious.

Jung Yiheon didn’t answer Baek-dam’s question easily, because he didn’t know what he was talking about.

At that moment, Ki Tae-yeon flicked his hand at them to get their attention.

“I’m truly sorry to interrupt your meaningful dialogue, S-ranks, but let’s take care of our patient first.”

As if on cue, the door to the hospital room opened. A rush of medical staff poured in.

“Good morning, sir! Excuse me, could you please make way?”

“Hello, hunter Han Cha-soo. Good morning. What would you like to eat today? Korean, Western, neither, or Chinese?”

“Heuk, hunter Baek-dam. Otherwise, I had an urgent matter to discuss. The head of the center is calling, do you have a moment?”

“Heavenly Spirit Guild Leader, I have something to discuss with you regarding the consultation you mentioned last time. Would you mind stepping out with me for a moment?”

“There you are Guild master Exilis! Someone is looking for you in the security room. We’d like you to accompany us.”

Of course, the medics weren’t the only ones to enter. The last of the three S-ranks to be led away in a graceful manner had left the room.

“Finally, we can talk.”

Ki Tae-yeon sighed wearily and turned to Han Cha-soo.

“Earrings, don’t you want to know what happened to them?”

Han Chae-soo’s hands stopped tearing into the bread.