Chapter 54 (1)

"What kind of question is this? Are they seriously asking if I'm a masochist?" Eui-jae crumpled his face in disbelief, shooting back, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"No, there isn't," he replied curtly.

Sah-yeong frowned, not backing down. "What's the difference between here and that container from earlier?"

"How can you even compare them? This place is way cleaner. There's a blanket and pillow too."

"Clean up the container, throw in a blanket and pillow, and it's the same."

"Are you seriously wishing for a move to Incheon Port right now?"

Sah-yeong couldn't believe his ears. He'd taken Eui-jae to a soup restaurant to help him recover from exhaustion, only to find this tiny room where he couldn't even stretch his legs properly. And without hesitation, Eui-jae took off his worn-out sneakers and crawled into the cramped space like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Normally, Sah-yeong wouldn't be this bothered by Eui-jae's behavior. But given how Eui-jae had been rolling around helping him, he couldn't bring himself to be too harsh. Plus, the thought of Eui-jae enduring all of this just to help him, despite how much it didn't suit him...

"...."

"Hey... what's with that weird expression?" Eui-jae asked, noticing something off.

"What?"

By now, the transport vehicle should have arrived. He should've handled this himself instead of letting the authorities take care of it. No, he would handle it personally.

Sah-yeong finally decided to revise his original plan. Initially, he had intended to drop Eui-jae off at his home and return straight to work. But after seeing the state of Eui-jae's so-called 'home,' he couldn't leave him here. After making sure his gloves were still on, Sah-yeong grabbed Eui-jae by the arm.

"Let's go."

Surprised by the unexpected move, Eui-jae widened his eyes. "Huh?"

Sah-yeong stubbornly tugged on his arm. "There's somewhere we need to go."

A brief silence followed as the two faced off. Eui-jae, despite being notoriously stubborn, found himself faltering under Sah-yeong's unwavering gaze. The thought of standing his ground against this younger guy suddenly seemed pointless. Shrugging, Eui-jae slipped his sneakers back on.

"Alright, alright. Where are we going now? Got more favors to ask?"

Without a word, Sah-yeong tore open the emergency exit.

Not long after, they found themselves standing at the entrance of a house. It was so large it could probably fit dozens of soup restaurants inside it. But despite its size, the place felt barren and empty rather than simply spacious.

Eui-jae felt uneasy. Even though it was someone's home, there wasn't any warmth in it at all.

"...Where is this?"

"My house."

Sah-yeong gave a curt response, heading inside as if there was nothing strange about it, and opened the refrigerator. Neatly packed meals and bottled water were stacked inside. After taking out a bottle of water and drinking it, Sah-yeong pointed to a door. It appeared to be a bathroom.

"Take a shower. I'll leave some clothes for you outside."

The bathroom, much like the rest of the house, was absurdly spacious. Feeling gross from head to toe, Eui-jae quickly took a shower and peeked out to check for the clothes. Neatly folded were a brand-new pair of underwear and a navy silk pajama set.

"Does this guy... wear pajamas to bed?"

Involuntarily, Eui-jae imagined Sah-yeong wearing pajamas and quickly pushed the thought aside. Although they weren't that different in size, the clothes were a bit loose. Rolling up the sleeves, Eui-jae followed the faint sound of Sah-yeong's footsteps. He found him sitting on a recliner in what looked like the bedroom. When Sah-yeong glanced at him, he pointed to the bed.

"Sleep there."

Eui-jae followed his gesture to the king-sized bed in the middle of the room. It was big enough for both of them to sleep in comfortably. But the thought of sharing a bed with Sah-yeong—or even worse, sleeping alone while the homeowner sat nearby—didn't sit well with him. He responded casually.

"I'm not that shameless. Just give me a pillow, and I'll sleep on the floor."

"Sleep on the bed."

"I'm good. Got a sleeping bag? I'll take that instead."

Sah-yeong let out a scoffing sound, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Who uses sleeping bags nowadays?"

"Back in my day, sleeping bags were essential dungeon gear, kid."

"You're only four years older than me, and you're already acting like a boomer, you know that, hyung? Anyone listening would think you've been a hunter for a decade."

Eui-jae's words hit a little too close to home, but he knew admitting it would only make things worse. He shamelessly retorted, "Sleeping in a bag feels like camping, okay? And you’ve had it too easy as a hunter—"

"Yeah, yeah, I've had it easy. Now go lie down."

"Stop trying to make me look like some freeloading jerk who steals beds."

"It's worse to let a guest sleep on the floor. Now get in bed."

"You're a jerk anyway, so why does it bother you now?"

"For once, can't you just listen when I—"

"This is an equal partnership, okay? I'm not your subordinate. We're equals—"

As their bickering escalated, so did their tempers. The furniture around them began to rattle slightly, but neither of them paid attention. Their heated argument echoed through the empty house.

Crack!

A sudden ominous sound filled the room, bringing their shouting to an abrupt halt. They both turned their attention to the large mattress, where a massive hole had formed in the middle.

Standing side by side in front of the now-ruined bed, both Sah-yeong and Eui-jae let out deep sighs. If only the bed frame had broken, they might've been able to fix it. But the mattress itself had a gaping hole, leaving no way to salvage it. There was no way they'd be able to get a replacement for something this big through express delivery.

Staring at the mattress, which now looked like a black hole, Eui-jae mumbled, "...I'll pay for it."

Sah-yeong scoffed, "With what money?"

"I'll sell some magic stones."

"Oh, for crying out loud... Don't even mention magic stones."

Sah-yeong growled, his tone laced with exasperation. The next words that came out sounded more like a sulky complaint than a scolding.

"Thanks to that, there’s already an article saying I'm dating Jeong-bin."

"...."

Eui-jae hung his head in shame. Is this how celebrity hunters feel when a rumor sparks just because they talked to someone? All Sah-yeong and Jeong-bin did was exchange some information over a bowl of soup. Eui-jae silently vowed never to indulge in gossip about hunters and celebrities again.

As Eui-jae stood there, silently reflecting, Sah-yeong crossed his arms and muttered, "Wait here."

He pulled a gas mask from his inventory, put it on, and disappeared. Left alone, Eui-jae lifted the mattress. It was completely split in two, the bed frame sagging miserably underneath.

How many bowls of soup would he have to sell to pay for this? It definitely wouldn't come cheap, especially considering how picky Sah-yeong was. With a heavy sigh, Eui-jae stared at the ruined bed.

Guild Chatroom:

― "Wait, where did all the pillows and blankets go??"
― "Didn’t the cleaning staff take them for laundry?"
└ "No, they don’t clean while people are still in the rooms."
― "Did 240 really steal them all?"
― "Spill the story, please!"
― "C’mon, dude, tell us! The beautiful hunter’s waiting!"
― "Damn, I’m wide awake now."

The Wave Guild’s shower and rest areas were part of the guild’s welfare facilities, specifically designed for hunters to relax after the heightened sensitivity that comes from dungeon raids. The quality of the rest rooms was top-notch: each hunter was assigned a private room, complete with a bed and bedding designed for optimal sleep, and the room even had dungeon-made fragrances to ease tension.

But now, all of the rest room bedding had been stolen. The beds stood bare, and the person who had taken them was none other than Lee Sayoung. It was hard to believe, but there were photos to prove it. Who would be reckless enough to fake a story about her? The conclusion was obvious: this post was genuine.

It was enough to wake up anyone. They felt cursed by reading the chat before bed, and now they were stuck, endlessly refreshing the thread, waiting for the storyteller to return.

Finally, just as they were losing hope, the original poster returned with more details.

Post Title: [Anonymous] Story of Lee Sayoung’s Heist (Deleting in 10 mins)

Had to work late writing reports.

By the time I finished, I didn’t feel like going home, so I just decided to sleep in the rest area and go straight to work in the morning. So, I was lying down when, around 4 a.m., I heard someone slam the door to the next room.

I thought, Who’s this rude bastard at this hour? So, I got up to check.

It was 240.

After that, my mind went blank... It was like watching a movie.

240 started grabbing the blankets and pillows. Not just one, either. She took them from every single room.

It was like she was going to take the whole bed, but she settled for just the bedding.

I was in the farthest room, and as 240 got closer, I snapped back to my senses, clutching my own blanket tight. We made eye contact, but thankfully, she left mine alone. She even kindly closed my door on her way out.

That’s the end.

Comments (13):

― "Can we fact-check something real quick? What was 240 wearing?"
└ "White t-shirt, black sweatpants, and a gas mask. Indoor striped slippers."
└ "This story is legit."
└ "How do you know?"
└ "I was in the elevator with 240 earlier, wearing that exact outfit. Almost fainted."
└ "Oh…"

― "So, 240 does have a sense of consideration... Didn’t take the blanket from the guy who worked late."
└ "And even closed the door so he could sleep."
└ "Legend."

― "This anonymous guy is something else, more scared of losing his blanket than of 240 herself lol."

― "But honestly, it’s all 240’s stuff anyway. She can take it if she wants."
└ "True lol."

― "So why’d she take all the bedding, though?"

Meanwhile, Choi Euijae had been waiting for Sayoung for quite some time. When the door lock finally clicked open, Euijae, who had been stretching out of boredom, peeked around the corner.

What came through the door was… a pile of white fabric. At first, Euijae thought it might be a ghost, but upon closer inspection, he saw long black legs sticking out from underneath. Those legs marched confidently down the hallway and into the spacious living room before dropping a mountain of blankets and pillows onto the floor.

"What in the world...?"

Euijae alternated between staring at the pile of bedding and at Sayoung, utterly confused. Without a word, Sayoung removed the gas mask and put it back in her inventory. Her expression was cold.

"...Did you rob a bedding store?" Euijae asked seriously.

Sayoung, still looking stern, shot him a glare. “Who do you think I am? I’m no thief.”

Euijae stared at her, trying to read the situation. Maybe the whole broken-bed thing had really gotten to her.

Sayoung put her hands on her hips and nodded towards the leather sofa. “Lie down.”

"...Can’t you, as the host, sleep on the couch instead?” Euijae suggested.

“One more word out of you—”

“…”

“—and we can both sleep on the floor after I smash the couch too,” Sayoung threatened.

Euijae silently complied, lying down.