SLAM—

The door to the guildmaster’s office burst open. Uijae dragged himself in and collapsed onto the couch without a word. Face-down on the leather seat, arms sprawled, he looked like a wooden puppet dropped mid-pose. Minggijeok followed behind, pushing up his sunglasses and immediately launching into a lecture.

“Thirty-four seconds have passed since you flopped down like that, customer. There is still much to be done.”

“…What now…”

Minggijeok scrolled rapidly through the tablet in his arms. His monotone voice began listing tasks like an automated scheduler.

“Let’s begin with the urgent items. The research team requested your presence in Incheon—they seem to have made progress. Also, due to the recent rift activity, the Rift Management Bureau contacted us for a visit. A few subcontractor guilds have also requested meetings.”

“…….”

“Oh, and… regarding the aftermath of the Catch Me If You Can incident, we still need to clean up the vegetation Hunter Kang Jisoo grew. We pulled everything visible, but sprouts keep popping up. The café part-timers are fed up. Apparently, sprouts are even emerging from roasted coffee beans. Kang Jisoo has no idea what’s happening, so we’ve already contacted a building restoration guild to—”

“Stop, stop!”

Uijae hurriedly cut him off. Minggijeok blinked, puzzled.

“Pardon? We’re not even halfway through.”

“Pass it to Bae Wonu. Mr. Bae Wonu can handle it.”

“Oh dear, the vice-guildmaster is already handling most of the paperwork. Any more and his brain might short-circuit.”

“Why is an A-rank Hunter this fragile?!”

“Well, physically strong but mentally delicate—that’s the classic Awakened archetype. In modern terms, it’s a class trait.”

The dark lenses of Minggijeok’s sunglasses glinted in the office lights.

“In the time it took to say all this, another minute and thirty-five seconds passed. In that time, the guildmaster would have handled a phone call with the Rift Bureau and reviewed and rejected five documents. Please get up now!”

Uijae clenched his fist. Goddamn it.

‘I miss Lee Sa-young!’

***

During his hospital visit, Ajujak-eun-gijeok Minggijeok had listened carefully to every method Uijae had used to try and reach Lee Sa-young. And then, step by step, he began formulating a plan. For the sake of his workplace injury compensation.

“Yoon Gaeul needs time to recover, and the fish market is closed… In the end, we’ll need a mana stone to physically extract the guildmaster. I’ll issue a procurement request through the Hunter Market. Though I doubt we’ll find anything as large and clean as the one you used.”

“What about the money?”

“We’ll use Pado Guild’s funds for now.”

“Split it fifty-fifty with me. That way we can buy it regardless of price, right?”

“As expected of Hero J—your generosity knows no bounds.”

They quickly shook hands. Negotiations complete.

That same day, Ajujak-eun-gijeok Minggijeok filed for discharge. Upon hearing the news, Bae Wonu, Kang Jisoo, and Nangman Opener drove the guild van to pick him up in front of the Seowon Guild. They even taped a marker-scrawled banner to the rear window of a cardboard box:

Come back! Your spot is still waiting!

Without you, the guild’s doomed (seriously)

Rather than a warm “get well” message, it looked more like the desperate flailing of a black company. But in the eyes of a workaholic—an addict of labor—it read quite differently. The moment he saw the banner, Minggijeok covered his mouth. His eyes, behind the sunglasses, looked suspiciously teary.

“They need me this much…!”

“…It’s not exactly what I’d call a heartfelt message.”

“They said the guild will collapse without me. What higher praise could there be?”

It was a wholesome sight—until the van door closed behind Minggijeok and Uijae.

Clack.
As the two of them fastened their seat belts, both the driver and passenger—Bae Wonu and Kang Jisoo—turned around in eerie synchronization. It looked like a scene out of a horror movie. The mood in the van shifted instantly. Especially Bae Wonu, whose sunken cheeks made him resemble a zombie.

“Seo Minggi. And J.”

“…Yes?”

“Please work.”

Six hands reached out from all directions. Hands too desperate to dodge.

According to Bae Wonu and Nangman Opener, tearfully:

Pado Guild had managed to run as a small elite unit solely thanks to Lee Sa-young. He handled most of the administrative workload on his own. Sure, things eased up a bit after he met J, but he still diligently did his part.

Then Lee Sa-young fell into a coma for three months. Still fine—Minggijeok and J were there.

After he woke up, he started slacking a bit, but still okay—Minggijeok was holding it down.

But then both Lee Sa-young and J got trapped in the Erosion Dungeon. That’s when things stopped being okay. No one was left to do desk work while everyone else was on the field.

Then Minggijeok got seriously injured and hospitalized. J was busy elsewhere and didn’t come to Pado Guild.

That was the death blow. The mountain of backlogged work finally exploded.

Nangman Opener clung to Minggijeok’s arm, sobbing.

“I thought I was going to die… So much work… It just wouldn’t end…”

“You’ve finally realized how precious I am.”

“So much. Way too much.”

With a proud smile, Minggijeok patted Nangman Opener’s head. Uijae, meanwhile, weaved around Bae Wonu’s outstretched hands and asked,

“Minggijeok aside, why are you asking me? I can’t do desk work.”

“Of course. But… we’re at the point where even a cat’s paw would help. Could you lend us yours? Just for some field work?”

“No, I have to get Sa-young out first—”

“Ah, of course! That’s top priority! We’ll help with everything we’ve got. He’s our guildmaster, after all.”

As Uijae slumped into his seat, Kang Jisoo, who had been quiet until now, calmly said,

“If we don’t act, Pado Guild might fall apart before the guild leader returns.”

“…….”

“R-right. We need to keep it standing so we can show him it’s still strong when he gets back!”

That wasn’t something Uijae could argue with. After all, the guild had been created just to wait for Cha Uijae. He couldn’t let it collapse now.

While Minggijeok basked in the attention and affection, he added,

“We can’t bring the guildmaster out right this moment anyway. It’ll take time to secure a mana stone, and for Miss Yoon Gaeul to recover. How about helping just for a little while?”

I mean… maybe? But the last thread of Uijae’s rationality clung to him. No, work? In this time, I should be making porridge for student Gaeul!

Then Minggijeok extended a hand.

“In exchange, we’ll cover the entire cost of the mana stone. Pado Guild will handle it.”

Uijae, as if hypnotized, shook that hand.

Saving money was always a good idea.

***

And now, back in the present—Uijae was full of regret.

‘Should’ve gone with fifty-fifty…’

Pado Guild had a lot of work. An ungodly amount. Their “Top Three Guild in Korea” title wasn’t just for show. Calls, requests, dungeon raids, meetings… The number of people to contact alone was overwhelming.

‘He really worked like this every day?’

And still had time to swing by that hangover soup joint to bicker with the owner? Still came to see me every single day?

‘He’s a goddamn lunatic.’

“…Um, J? Are you sure you’re okay? You look really tired.”

Gaeul crawled over on her knees and asked gently. Uijae was lying on a blanket in the middle of a classroom. He replied in a barely audible voice.

“I’m fine. Just doing some thinking.”

“Are you really okay? I can’t call a doctor in here, you know…”

“I’m fine. What about you, student Gaeul? Are you holding up?”

“Of course! I’ve been meditating a lot lately. I think I can stay connected even longer this time. …Probably!”

She spoke cheerfully as she pressed her hand to his solar plexus. Uijae clutched the black glove tightly.

They’d scoured the Hunter Market, even sent out feelers through underground routes, but came up dry. With more dungeons falling to erosion, supply of dungeon materials had plummeted. From herbs used in potions to mana stones harvested from monster cores—everything was scarce. Whiteout monsters didn’t have cores.

In the end, Gaeul was all he could rely on right now.

‘I’m sorry, student Gaeul…’

But I need to find a lead—if I want to survive. Whether it’s because of work or because of Lee Sa-young. Gaeul’s hand began to glow with the light of a thousand hues. Uijae closed his eyes. Colors flickered beneath his eyelids. His consciousness slowly began to sink deeper.

***

Uijae opened his eyes.

He was in a tiny, cluttered room, overflowing with books, papers, and random junk. Where the hell am I now? He scratched his head and looked around. Then, he spotted someone sitting at a desk. Messy curls. Broad back. That familiar silhouette—Lee Sa-young.

‘Found him.’

Uijae crept up behind him. He craned his neck to see what Sa-young was doing. Sa-young held a thick black marker. On the desk…

There was a notebook. The marker tip inched closer and closer to the pages.

A cold chill ran down Uijae’s spine. Woo-jin’s goblin-face flashed before his eyes.

His body reacted faster than his brain.

Uijae slapped Sa-young’s wrist {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} away.

“Hey, you psycho!”

Smack!
Thud, clatter…

“…….”
“…….”

His fingertips stung from the hit. Uijae stared at the marker rolling across the floor, then at his own hand.

He’d touched him. The slap didn’t phase through.

Slowly, he turned his gaze. Piercing violet eyes blazed with shock and intensity. A firm grip seized his hand. As Sa-young’s upper body tilted, his other hand slipped beneath Uijae’s mask. Frantic fingers grazed across his face. And then—

A thick thumb plunged into Uijae’s mouth.