Ask anyone to name the most famous guilds in the hunter powerhouse that is South Korea, and they'll probably name three without hesitation.

First, Pado.

Second, Samra.

And third, Seowon.

First and foremost, the Samra Guild was the first officially recognized guild in South Korea. Led by guild leader Song Joheon, who himself went from A to S rank and proved that it was possible to rise to the level of Awakening, it formed a heavy axis of the Korean hunter community based on the solid foundation it had accumulated over a long period of time.

The Seowon Guild was famous for another reason. The guild's main building housed a huge library that was connected to other areas. They were a group that sought knowledge rather than money or fame, and their focus was on research rather than actual combat.

And finally, the Pado Guild. The Pado Guild didn't need much explanation. Two words were enough to sum it up.

An elite few, and Lee Sayoung.

One side of the Pado Guild's spacious conference room was lined with windows, offering a sweeping view of the city. Bae Wonwoo, the deputy guild leader of the Pado Guild, entered the room with a tablet in front of him and knocked on the door to get their attention.

"Alright, I'm going to do a quick headcount... Does anyone know why we're four people short?"

He set up the chairs for the exact number of participants, but there were four empty seats. He hadn't received any RSVPs. As Bae Wonwoo scratched his head, a woman with dyed red hair tied in a half-bun raised her hand.

"Vice leader~ you're in the treatment room, it must have been a day."

"Huh? For what? You haven't even entered the dungeon."

The red-haired woman, Kang Jisoo, shrugged in response to his question.

"I don't know, they were beaten up somewhere."

"What? Some asshole beat up our kids and you let it happen?"

"Oh, of course, we wanted to beat him up too, but the guild leader told us to leave him alone."

Bae Wonwoo's gaze flickered over to Lee Sayoung, who was sitting at the head of the table, fiddling with something in his hands, seemingly uninterested in the previous conversation, and tilted his head as if he felt his gaze.

"Why?"

"Nothing... You're telling me to leave the kids alone when they've just been beaten up by some asshole? That's not the code of our guild."

"Leave it alone. It's the guild leader's order," Lee Sayoung said slowly, his voice still gruff. Bae Wonwoo narrowed his eyes, trying to get a better look at where Sayoung's attention was now. What he was holding in his hand... It seemed to be a crumpled business card.

"What do you have in your hand?"

"A letter."

"A letter? Who gave it to you?"

"You have a lot of questions..."

With a jerk of his head, Sayoung jerked his chin in the direction of where the guild members were sitting.

"Let's start the meeting."

"Uh... Jisoo, I want you to tell the injured about the meeting."

"Aish, you always make me do that."

Kang Jisoo grumbled, but Bae Wonwoo said nothing more, stepped up to the podium and grabbed the microphone. He cleared his throat and began.

"Okay, I'm going to call this quarter's dungeon bidding meeting to order. Everyone, turn on your tablets and open the files the support office sent you."

The meeting began with a few dungeon-related materials, but it was over sooner than expected. Everyone's opinions were focused on one dungeon. Bae Wonwoo stood at the podium, fixed the microphone, and announced the results of the meeting.

"Well... If there are no further comments, I will decide that the dungeon bid for the fourth quarter will be the Jongno 3-ga Underground Dungeon. Does anyone have any objections?"

"None!"

"Good~ Jongno 3-ga is easy to get to, and the materials inside are good."

"Is that where they get the materials for the Resurrection Potion?  Why did the government release the suppliers?"

"I guess they're broke or something. I'm sure the bids are outrageously high."

After it became known that dungeons and their byproducts were worth money, hunters who had closed their dungeons after getting drunk went a step further and left useful dungeons behind.

They began periodically exploring the interiors of dungeons that had been cleared of monsters and collecting by-products to make money. In addition, the government and the Awakening Bureau studied the unclaimed dungeons and selected the most useful ones to auction off.

Normally, the Guild Leader and Deputy Guild Leader would have discussed and participated in the auction, but this quarter's auction had a particularly high number of valuable dungeons, making it difficult to decide. That's why Bae Wonwoo called today's meeting to hear everyone's opinions. It ended on a high note.

"This is the end of the meeting..."

"Wait."

Lee Sayoung, who had been quietly listening throughout the meeting, raised her hand, catching the attention of the guild members who were clearing their seats, expecting the meeting to end soon. Bae Wonwoo, who was about to end the meeting, also blinked.

"What is it, Sayoung?"

"If you have something to say..."

"What's going on?"

Curious eyes turned to Lee Sayoung in unison. Was there something he didn't like, or was he trying to steal another guild's bid for more dungeons?

But the words that came out of his mouth were unexpected.

"Have you ever seen a man wearing a soju-branded apron around here?"

"A soju-branded apron? Out of the blue?"

"Yes. Black. And he carries a ladle this big."

"A ladle?"

"It's curly and... the hair was black... No, it was gray."

"He has curly black hair...no, it was gray?"

Lee Sayoung made a circle with his hands. Bae Wonwoo, the Pado Guild's reliable shield and deputy guild leader, looked around as if to ask what the hell was going on. But it didn't help that everyone else just looked at him in confusion.

'Hey, don't any of you know?

If the deputy guild leader doesn't know, then who does?

These thoughts seemed to come out of nowhere.

Bae Wonwoo scratched his cheek and asked, trying to think as hard as he could, "Where... did you see the soju promotion?"

Bae Wonwoo was an honest and reliable tanker, but he didn't have the intelligence of a sniper. His reasoning was completely flawed, but the other guild members didn't know what to expect, so they agreed with him.

"Ah~ Guild Leader, where did you go to buy groceries?"

"No, if he went to the grocery store, it would have been on social media by now."

"That's another one."

"Isn't he kind of a weird person to wear an apron in the first place?"

"Well, if he works in a restaurant, maybe not."

"Why would the Guildmaster be looking for a restaurant worker?"

"I don't know. Or maybe he had a good meal and forgot to take off his apron."

"Don't the bosses usually tell you to take off your apron when you pay the bill?"

"That doesn't help."

After listening to the guild members' opinions one by one, Lee Sayoung made a cold assessment.

"No, who was talking about the man in the apron out of the blue while we were talking about the offer?"

Bae Wonwoo slammed the podium in frustration. The wooden podium was dented in the shape of his fist. The head of the General Affairs Team seized the moment to adjust his glasses, and the lenses popped and sparkled.

"Deputy Guild Leader, I'm sending you an invoice to replace the podium."

"Oh, shit. Can you give me a break?"

In a flash, Sayoung stood up from his seat amidst the chaos in the hall. He twirled his sesame seeds a few times and slipped the crumpled business card into his pocket. When he saw Bae Wonwoo pleading with the head of the General Affairs Team, he waved his hand to end the meeting.

"Okay, meeting over. Go eat."

"Hey, Sayoung, don't skip your lunch again!"

There was an affectionate nagging in the back of his mind, but Lee Sayoung was the first to leave the conference room without answering, and Wonwoo, who had been watching him, let out a long sigh. Kang Jisoo shrugged.

"Is the leader skipping meals for a day or two? Let's just eat."

"Ehh... Yes, let's eat haejang-guk."

"Ah! I want some haejang-guk. If you eat it again today, I won't eat with the deputy leader."

"Would you like to come with me? I'll buy it for you."

"Unfortunately, I can't. I'll eat at the cafeteria. You go alone."

As Kang Jisoo quickly ran out of the meeting room without a chance to catch her, Bae Wonwoo had one last hope and cautiously asked the rest of the group.

"Anyone else want to come with me?"

The moment he said that, the hunters were out of the room in a flash. They weren't even that fast when running away from a rank 2 monster!

"Isn't everyone taking Pado's loyalty too lightly?"

In the end, Bae Wonwoo had to make his way to Haejang-guk House alone. The long-established restaurant he frequented every day had a good reputation, but that wasn't the only reason he wanted to visit.

First of all, news travels fastest where people gather! I'll talk to the hunters there, gather information, and make some friends! The Deputy Guild Leader of Pado's had these deeper intentions, and he made his presence known at the restaurant every lunchtime. The added bonus was the satisfaction of seeing his signature on the worn wallpaper of Haejang-guk House.

Second, Haejang-guk House maintained the old prices as much as possible even when prices were going crazy, the food was delicious, and the portions were generous. Who knows if there was anything left after the sale. The owner's grandmother always greeted him when he visited. Haejang-guk House was the only place in the changed world that had retained its pre-scission appearance.

Just a few months ago, a strange young man in his early twenties suddenly appeared in the shop. 

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TL NOTE: Please don't skimp on the stars for the translation - it inspires me and gives me the strength to write more. Thank you~!

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