Why do my ears itch so much?

Ui-jae stood in front of the stove, boiling haejang-guk, and rubbed his ears in frustration.

For some reason, the Pado Guild led by Bae Won-woo and Lee Sa-young hadn't come for lunch today, so the haejang-guk was just as full as before. Bright smiles appeared on the faces of the hunters for the first time in a long time. Ui-jae had also forgotten about the heartbreaking failure at the tomato market and was enjoying a relatively carefree day. But...

"Did you see the post on the hunter net yesterday?"

A small whisper from a young hunter caused a stir in the shop.

"Yes, I heard that there was a madman in the Tomato Market who posted eight thousand A+ gems for sale, causing an uproar in the guild."

The word 'madman' rang in his ears.

Crazy.

The other hunter, who looked uncomfortable but couldn't possibly know that, expertly separated the meat from the bones and replied.

"Isn't that a fishing pole? Maybe it's a picture from the Internet."

"Hey, Hong Ye-sung is offering a free gun to anyone who can find the person."

"Really?"

"Yep. Check out Hong Ye-sung's inheart."

"Wow, shit. It's real. Hey, find him."

The hand holding the tongs to move the position of the stove slightly stopped. He'd been paying attention to the hunter world lately, and he'd picked up on the three letters of Hong Ye-sung's name and the fact that he was an S-rank producer. The hunters who came to Haejang-guk House wanted to buy his equipment.

But Hong Ye-sung had a bounty on his head? ...Why?

Before he could collect his thoughts, the hunters' conversation continued.

"Ace, I should have bought this. How many billions is it worth to buy it for eight grand and sell it back?"

"I'm downloading Tomato Market as soon as I see this."

"Me too."

"I wish EZ would make another post, please."

"But he deleted it, and it looks like he quit."

"You make fun of people? They give and take, tell them to rejoin now."

In fact, when Ui-jae was active as J, he never traded dungeon by-products himself. Because he hid his identity, his aunt handled all the trading of dungeon items, and since there were no hunter markets or crafters, it was rare for him to buy equipment with money.

With a history like that, it's not surprising that he didn't know the price of mana stones.

The government paid hunters for every fissure and dungeon they entered, but J didn't do much with the money. He bought the occasional potion, but more for himself than for survivors who needed first aid in the rift.

And today, those traces of him had become a giant snowball, hurtling furiously toward the house.

So much gossip for a single misplaced item?

Ui-jae was really stunned. He wished everyone would just stop and let him live his quiet life, but the hunter community was closer than he thought, news traveled fast and moved very organically, and the Haejang-guk house was a great place to gather and spread information.

"Tomato market...."

"How Much...."

"Magic Stone...."

"Haejang-guk is good...."

"In this neighborhood...."

"What kind of madness...."

"Strength...."

"I want to buy a Michelin-starred Haejang-guk..."

The rumors about the mysterious stone continued. Although some falsehoods were mixed in.

"Uncle, your face is strange."

"My face? Why?"

"A little... like this."

Ha-eun pushed her chin up with both hands. Does this mean that my jaw is a bit sharp? Ui-jae rubbed his jawbone unnecessarily and laughed.

"It's just because I haven't slept much lately. It's okay."

"Uncle never sleeps."

"So it's the same as usual. I'm just a little tired. Ha-eun, do you have anything for your class?"

"For tomorrow... Cardboard and clay."

"I see you have an art class."

"Yes, I'll be making pottery with clay, just like Hong Ye-sung."

Shit. At the name that came out of nowhere, Ui-jae almost bit his tongue for a moment.

After hearing that Hong Ye-sung had put a bounty on the gem, Ui-jae was the first to follow Hong Ye-sung's account on Inktagram. Knowing what that crazy bastard - who was a different kind of crazy bastard than Sa-young - was doing would make it easier to deal with him.

Hong Ye-sung didn't usually post often, but since the mana stone incident, he had been posting at least once a day, and today, along with a photo of an egg lying in a nest in a chicken coop, he wrote, "I'm sorry to hear about your loss.

xxYeahsungH golden round mana stone...... #daily #communication #egg #manastone #magic #miss #missyou #waitingforyou

532k likes

Honeybeezx Shouldn't we send this guy to counseling? I think he's got some kind of mental pollution or something @jung Vin80 @SEOWON_GUILD

Ui-jae strongly agreed with Honeybee's opinion. Even in his eyes, Hong Ye-sung seemed to have lost his mind. Hunters nowadays had some kind of messed up brain structure.

After placing the rabbit-shaped apple in front of Ha-eun, Ui-jae grabbed two scallions and a cutting board and sat down at the next table. Worried that he hadn't been able to visit his grandmother lately due to the busy shop, he nudged Ha-eun.

"How's your grandma's leg?"

"Well, it's limp."

"Okay... I have to take her to the hospital."

"Do you have to operate on my grandma?"

"That's for the doctor to decide."

"I hope she doesn't need an operation."

Ha-eun clenched her jaw and made a grunting, painful sound. Ui-jae was tempted to make the same sound, but used a leek instead.

Even after the mana stone from the tomato market, the situation was more or less settled, the Haejang-guk house was still buzzing with mana stones for a while. The only time it seemed to calm down was when Hong Ye-sung kept adding firewood to the inferno.

The influence of the only S-rank producer was very strong. If Le Sa-young caused a typhoon in Haejang-guk House, Hong Ye-sung would cause an earthquake all the way from Jishan to here, and the effects of the earthquake would spread far and wide...

Another S-rank was invited to Haejang-guk House.

"This place has a nice atmosphere."

The voice sounded vaguely familiar. The same tone he had heard in the public announcement after the drama this morning.

Ui-jae deliberately turned his head slower than usual. It was an instinctive escape from reality, but it only took his mind somewhere else for about three seconds and then brought it back, and it didn't make the handsome man in the doorway disappear.

He's tall, with wheat-colored hair, slightly droopy eyes, a neat suit, and a civil service badge around his neck. The man with the gentle smile is Jung-bin, who has mastered the art of public service announcements in Korea.

Why are you... why are you here?

For a moment, Ui-jae wondered if he had turned himself in to the Awakening Management Bureau. When he made eye contact with her, he bowed politely.

"Hello."

"Welcome. Are you alone?"

It's okay, Jung-bin doesn't know the real Ui-jae, he only knows the masked J. Ui-jae composed himself and stood up.

[Trait Poker Face (B) is activated]

"Yes, I'm alone."

"Have a seat here. You can order from the menu on the wall."

Jung-bin meekly took the seat designated by Ui-jae and studied the menu on the wall. The hunters sitting around him started to talk.

"Crazy..."

"I'm Jung-bin."

"Did someone do something to get caught? What kind of guy is he? Turn yourself in quickly."

"Oh, I'm not here to enforce the law. I'm here for dinner. I'm in the neighborhood on business."

Jung-bin smiled wryly and extended his hand. But the hunters, who had already sat down near him in a daze, had their heads buried in their pots and were gulping down their seafood soup as if it were water.

The behavior was somehow familiar. Even from outside the sliding door, I could feel them snooping around inside. At this point, Ui-jae could clearly see the future: soon there would be a Jung-bin zone after Lee Sa-young's zone.

In other words, business was closed for the day.

There weren't enough hunters from the guild, and now a government hunter was interfering with the business, so where do I report this? Ui-jae didn't know why this kind of ordeal was happening again and again in the peaceful Haejang-guk house and he wanted to grab someone and yell at him.

"..."

But before he had time to complain, a second wave of unwanted visitors rushed into the shop.

The footsteps were so quiet that they could hardly be heard. A fiery aura that stunned him, but he could feel it. A black figure approaching the shop.

Everything pointed to only one person.

______________________

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~!

If you want to buy me a coffee ko-fi.com/santos_28