The Vice-Master of the tentatively named ‘Solo Play’ Guild, as well as its chief recruitment officer, its sole lawyer, and even its accountant, Yoo Jinho smiled brightly as he saw Jin Woo entering the office.
“You came back, hyung-nim!”
“Nothing happened while I was gone, right?”
“Yes, hyung-nim. However, an applicant wanting to become a founding member is…..”
“Okay. Show me the list. Let me go through it as well.”
Seeing that Yoo Jinho was pressing him with the same stuff they’d been talking about in the morning, the kid must’ve been desperate to establish the Guild as soon as possible.
Thankfully, Jin Woo was thinking the same thing.
They only needed one more person for the spot of the founding member. A minimum of three people was needed to satisfy the requirements to establish a Guild.
‘Even if we’re trying to fill in the headcount, it’s better to pick someone hard-working and trustworthy, I think. It’s not like we’ll be seeing each other only once, after all.’
Jin Woo nodded his head, convinced by his own thoughts. But now that he took a closer look, Yoo Jinho’s complexion seemed a bit cloudy for some reason.
“Did something happen?”
“The thing is…. Hyung-nim.”
“Yeah?”
“As you may well know, you need a lot of capital in order to establish a Guild. The bidding prices for higher ranked Gates all start at astronomical sums, we gotta pay the signing fees to the newly-joining Hunters, and most importantly, the person applying to become our founding mem….”
Jin Woo cut him off there.
“Is this enough capital for now?”
Thud.
Jin Woo placed the potato sack he carried into the office on the floor.
‘What’s this?’
Yoo Jinho’s puzzled gaze peered into the open gap of the sack. And he found it packed full of expensive magic crystals.
“H-hyung-nim….?! W-what are these?”
Jin Woo was nonchalant in his reply.
“There was an open Gate on the way to the office, so I made a pit stop.”
“…..”
He went out only a couple of hours ago, yet during such a short period of time, he found a high-ranking dungeon, cleared it completely, and brought out all the magic crystals found within?
“As expected of you, you’re amazing, hyung-nim!!”
Yoo Jinho stopped thinking about this matter there. It was ultimately a fruitless endeavor to pigeonhole hyung-nim with common sense.
Jin Woo watched Yoo Jinho celebrating the acquisition of their seed money with a content smile, before shifting his gaze over to the conference suite.
“By the way, why is he here?”
“Pardon? Ahh. I was about to talk to you about him a minute ago…. Well, someone applying to become a founding member is waiting for you, hyung-nim.”
Jin Woo’s eyes widened.
“An applicant?”
“Yes, hyung-nim.”
“Who is?”
“The person waiting for you in the conference suite, hyung-nim.”
“That’s what he said?”
“Yes, hyung-nim.”
What on earth was this kid even talking about….?
Jin Woo quickly strode over to the conference suite as soon as Yoo Jinho was finished and opened the door wide open.
Clunk.
And then, inside this mostly empty conference suite, he found a man sipping on a bubble tea all alone and in silence turning his head to meet his gaze.
Incidentally, Yoo Jinho had to quickly dash outside to get that bubble tea because they don’t have any in the office.
“What brings you here??”
Jin Woo asked his guest with a dumbfounded expression on his face.
Then, Park Jongryeo opened his own mouth, still looking up at him from his sitting position.
“I came to join your Guild.”
__________
Did he hear that right? Jin Woo ended up doubting his own hearing, then.
Jongryeo was also the Chief of the Monitoring Division of Hunters Association’s, and his skills were ranked to be among the very best, but he willingly walked into a Guild that hadn’t even taken its first baby step yet?
How could this situation make any sense? But then again….
“Did the Association President order you to do this?”
Jongryeo formed a confused expression, evidently not understanding why Go Gunhee was being brought up in this discussion.
“Why would he….?”
It was Jin Woo who couldn’t understand what was going on here, so why was he making that face even though he was the reason for all this confusion?
‘No, hang on. Let’s calm down.’
It was a situation where most people would’ve been left too stunned or get overexcited, but Jin Woo was able to stay calm as he pulled out a chair to sit on Jongryeo’s opposite side.
He then wordlessly stared at him.
He only needed to focus for a short while. As the time visibly slowed down in his perception, various bits of information about him flowed into his brain, one at a time.
‘He’s restless.’
His heartbeat, his breathing, even the glow within his eyes. He was doing his best to look composed, but there was no fooling Jin Woo’s sky-high Perception.
So, the question was – why was he forcing himself to this extent and trying to enter the tentatively named ‘Solo Play’ Guild?
Jin Woo had to ask him.
Since he was about to speak to him about the harsh reality, Jin Woo’s attitude became very business-like.
“Our ‘Solo Play’ Guild simply can’t afford to pay the kind of signing fee your skill set warrants, Park Hunter-nim.”
“T-the name of your Guild is ‘Solo Play’??”
“You have a problem with the name that the Vice-Master and myself came up with?”
“….”
Jongryeo let a soft sigh escape from him and continued on.
“It doesn’t matter. It’s fine if you don’t pay me the contract signing fee.”
He didn’t mind signing a contract without any payment.
‘What is he scheming here?’
Jin Woo’s eyes narrowed to a slit.
When their eyes stayed locked for a while, Jongryeo could no longer endure the silent pressure and averted his gaze. His heart was beating a step faster than before, too.
Jin Woo’s ears perked up. His acute sense of hearing didn’t miss out on a single change taking place inside him.
‘Is he hiding something?’
At this point, he simply had to ask him or he’d die of curiosity.
“Why are you willing to go through such a wringer just to join our Guild?”
“….”
As expected, Jongryeo couldn’t easily answer him and kept his mouth resolutely shut. And seeing his face redden like that, it became oh-so-obvious that he was hiding something from him, too.
‘Wait a minute…’
Now that he thought about it, he remembered sensing that something was different about him even back in the funeral venue. He couldn’t tell what he was thinking of, but he could have been planning to do this for quite some time already.
Jin Woo quietly waited for Jongryeo’s answer. However, he kept his head lowered and for a long while, didn’t say a single word.
‘….But, how can I even explain myself to him?….That I sensed your presence next to me even after I lost consciousness from the attack of that mutated ant monster? ….That, I felt safe and warm after picking up on your scent as I sank deeper into an empty and endless dark void?’
There was no word in this world adequate enough to describe what he felt back then.
‘Even if I explain it, he’d only say that I’ve gone mad.’
His heart began beating faster after he learned of Hunter Sung Jin Woo really being there. He felt so relieved, knowing that he wasn’t imagining things.
And also….
‘What if….’
He discovered that he wanted Jin Woo to be by his side in the worst-case scenario of him being unable to escape from the cold blade of death.
‘….To think, it’d be like ‘Please be right by my side until my final moments’.’
How could he even attempt saying that, when just thinking about it made him blush uncontrollably?
That was an impossible task for Jongryeo who didn’t know anything about a normal omega’s sensibilities.
That was why he finally spoke up an answer he cooked up before coming here.
“…To be more comfortable.”
…
He raised his head to meet Jin Woo’s gaze and continued on with the rest.
“I wish to be live more comfortably….”
Although it wasn’t exactly what he tried to say, it wasn’t a complete lie, either.
He couldn’t even lift his head properly from all the horrendous stink when high-ranked Alpha Hunters were standing next to him. But, in contrast, he felt his mind getting peaceful in the presence of Jin Woo.
The meaning of Park Jongryeo ‘comfortable’ was precisely that.
Jin Woo didn’t interpret the meaning that way, but still, he could understand where he was coming from. He slowly nodded his head at Jongryeo answer.
He apparently wanted to spend a more ‘comfortable’ time in a far smaller Guild like his.
According to Jin Woo’s knowledge, Jongryeo was either twenty-four or twenty-five years old.
‘I’m sure the burden that an S-rank must carry would be pretty heavy for an omega in his early twenties.’
Especially more so, after he felt the threat of death during the Jeju Island raid.
Jin Woo could easily understand his feelings as he too felt like abandoning everything and running away from it all countless times, back when he still worked for the Association.
…
Unfortunately for him….
But, he couldn’t just accept Jongryeo to his Guild like that.
Why would he have named the Guild ‘Solo Play’? That was because he planned to book dungeons using the name of his Guild and clear them all by himself.
If the minimum number of team members proved to be a stumbling block, then he’d simply hire temps to fill the headcount, just like how it was back when he cleared those C-rank Gates with Yoo Jinho. That was the smartest thing to do in his quest to level up higher.
However, if Jongryeo entered the picture, things would become rather complicated in many ways.
That was why Jin Woo quickly came up with a plan.
“Actually, our Guild has an admittance test you need to go through.”
“Pardon? But, the job posting didn’t specify anything li….”
Jin Woo quickly cut off Jongryeo’s flustered words.
“This rule is pretty new, so it’s possible that the Vice-Master may have made a small error.”
The glow in Jongryeo’s eyes became quite serious at the mention of a test.
“What kind of a test is it?”
Jin Woo was inwardly taken by surprise by his reaction.
‘This omega, he was really serious?’
Because of his professional pride, he expected him to quit after being told about taking a test. However, Jongryeo acted the exact opposite. No, he was actually burning up even hotter with the desire to win.
He could sense his fervor hidden behind that expressionless mask of his.
‘Is he the type to face any fight coming his way head-on?’
Or, was this the case of misplaced pride?
Whatever the case may have been, Jin Woo couldn’t back off now while staying it was all a misunderstanding.
“It’s to win against the summoned creature I pick.”
Crack.
He swore that he heard the physical sound of a crack forming on Jongryeo’s ego.
“….”
‘Sung Jin Woo Hunter-nim, is that how low your assessment of me is?’
What a mysterious thing this was. Jin Woo only looked into his eyes briefly, yet it felt like his voice could be heard so clearly inside his head.
However, Jongryeo didn’t display any of his thoughts and asked in his usual collected manner.
“Which summon will you pick?”
“For you, Park Hunter-nim, I’ll especially have to pick the strongest one.”
“Alright.”
Jongryeo wasn’t backing down here.
Most likely, he wouldn’t have dreamed it in his wildest imaginations, regarding who became the latest addition to Jin Woo’s summoned creatures – no, his Shadow Army collection.
Jin Woo thought that, since Jongryeo’s will to win was so strong, he’d give up on his own after tasting defeat. He immediately agreed to the bout.
“Okay, let’s do it.”
“When will the test be?”
“Right now.”
Jin Woo wanted to establish his Guild as soon as possible, so he didn’t want to waste any more time. Since he came up with this idea, might as well do it now.
The location would be the gymnasium of the Hunter’s Association.
An S-rank Hunter could rent out the gymnasium whenever he felt like it. It was one of the many special privileges afforded to S-rank Hunters.
“Got it.”
Jongryeo nodded his head. He too wanted to move things along as quickly as possible. They both stood up at the same time as if they made a promise to do that.
‘….Hold on.’
It was then, that a certain thought flashed past his brain. He quickly called out to Jongryeo as he was about to turn the door handle.
“Park Hunter-nim, please wait.”
“Pardon?”
“There’s no need to go that way.”
“…?”
Jongryeo formed a confused expression.
There was only one door in the conference suite. He obviously wasn’t suggesting that they should jump out of the window, so….
Jin Woo quickly walked over to his unmoving frame.
“I have a quicker way of getting there, actually.”
“Pardon?”
“But, I must be touching you if I’m to use this method, so will it be alright with you?”
“Right…..”
Jongryeo recalled what Baek Yoonho told him about the situation back then. He said that, as all the members of the Korean assault team found themselves in a life-or-death situation, Hunter Sung Jin Woo suddenly popped up behind him.
‘Is he trying to show me that skill?’
He quickly swallowed his dry saliva and looked up at Jin Woo’s face which was now much closer than his initial expectations.
“Sorry about this.”
Jin Woo lightly embraced him.
“..!!”
He thought that such a light hug wouldn’t mean anything to him since he had carried his unconscious frame around inside the ant tunnel, but Jongryeo’s face was rapidly dyeing a beet-red color.
However, Jongryeo didn’t struggle or try to get out of his embrace.
‘….His nice scent.’
While his face was getting progressively redder and redder, Jin Woo cautiously held him to make sure they wouldn’t get separated and finished getting ready.
‘Okay, all done.’
There was this thing he wanted to confirm. And he wouldn’t find as good an opportunity as this one in the future.
“It might get a little dizzy.”
Well, he felt that the first time, so there.
Jongryeo only then wrapped his arms around Jin Woo and whispered his reply.
“Okay.”
Jin Woo raised his head up to his front and issued a command in his mind.
‘Shadow Exchange.’
Shururu…..
Two of them soundlessly got sucked into the shadow beneath their feet.
It was right at that moment Yoo Jinho opened the door and entered the conference suite. He ran out to the local convenience store to buy some refreshments after thinking that the talk might go on for a bit.
“Please, drink these while you two ch….”
A High Orc Shadow Soldier met Yoo Jinho’s gaze, and as if he was feeling a bit sheepish over something, scratched the back of his head.
“….”
Claaank!!
The tray in Yoo Jinho’s hand crashed to the floor, and cups of liquid refreshment shattered from the impact.
“W-what the hell?!”
Yoo Jinho freaked out grandly and blinked his eyes, but the High Orc soldier was gone without a trace.
‘B-b-but, I definitely….!!’
He rubbed his eyes hard and shook his head to regain his composure. He took another look at his surroundings, but he couldn’t spot a single trace of the monster anywhere.
‘….I guess I’ve been working too hard recently.’
Yup, that must be it, what with seeing a hallucination and all.
Yoo Jinho tilted his head and scanned the conference suite one more time, before turning around to find a mop to clean up the mess on the floor. But then….
A thought entered his mind and stopped his feet from moving again.
“Where did Hyung-nim and Park Jongryeo Hunter-nim disappear to?”
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