“Have you finished preparing your mind, Secretary?”

“…….”

The blaring alarm seemed to announce Lee Sayoung's presence, as his aura was overwhelmingly strong. The self-proclaimed secretary who crawled out of the restroom wearing a gas mask was quickly overshadowed!

Uijae, who had been looking down, let out a silent sigh of relief upon seeing the shiny tips of Sayoung’s boots.

‘With it this loud, there's no way he wouldn’t come.’

It was a gamble he took, expecting Sayoung to show up at the restroom. He had enough faith now that if something happened, Sayoung would definitely show up. Of course, if he hadn’t come, Uijae would have had to rely on his acting skills to resolve things somehow.

Uijae subtly shifted his body to hide behind Sayoung and still managed to speak in a trembling voice.

“I-I’m so sorry, Guild Leader.”

“…….”

Sayoung blinked. He seemed somewhat puzzled, as if he hadn’t yet grasped the situation fully. Uijae prodded Sayoung's side with his finger to signal him to play along, making sure the Hunters in front wouldn’t notice.

However, what he felt at his fingertips was more of a poke than a prod.

‘Why is he so solid? Is he made of stone?’

The two stared at each other wide-eyed for different reasons. One was questioning why a person's stomach was so hard, while the other was surprised that someone other than a monster had just poked him.

Just as Sayoung’s posture was about to become a little crooked, Uijae snapped back to reality and quickly added a line.

“I took a Cheongsimhwan. I’m okay now! I was just nervous since it was my first time….”

“...Ha.”

Sayoung let out a sound that was neither a laugh nor a sigh. His narrowed eyes scanned Uijae from his feet to his head. His gaze lingered for a moment on Uijae's loosened tie, but it vanished quickly.

“Right….”

Sayoung’s drawn-out response came with a relaxed crossed-arms pose.

“I hope you don’t regret bringing your secretary along.”

‘Nice.’

Fortunately, Sayoung had a talent for acting. Who wouldn’t see him as the perfect villainous boss? Uijae nodded eagerly, as if to score a goal with the pass Sayoung had set up for him.

“Understood! I’ll do my best!”

“Just doing your best isn’t enough; you need to do it well.”

It was an unexpected statement. However, Uijae didn’t panic and responded with a quivering voice.

“I’ll do my best to do well!”

The Hunters seemed to have missed their chance to interject, remaining silent. However, the curious glances behind Sayoung’s broad shoulders seemed to be as riveting as a drama. Sayoung tapped his fingers on his crossed arms.

“How long has it been since you joined, Secretary?”

“It's been a month.”

“Oh, a month.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“It’s been a month, yet you haven’t changed much…. You’d better do well today.”

“Uh, yes.”

“You’re supposed to pay attention to me as the secretary. Just because your condition isn’t great…”

But wait, is he really? Uijae’s eyes widened in irritation. Sayoung was performing a spectacular method acting display that he hadn’t even asked for.

Of course, because of that, Uijae looked like “the poor rookie employee of the Wave Guild Secretary Team who barely joined, was so nervous to be out with Guild Leader Lee Sayoung that he ended up throwing up in the restroom.”

This guy was always skilled at turning people’s insides upside down. Each word he uttered was a work of art. In reality, Sayoung wasn’t just a secretary; he was digging into Uijae’s very being!

‘Or is this just how he is?’

Uijae gritted his teeth and answered.

“I’ll… do well. I’m really sorry.”

“Hmm. From now on, finish your mental preparations in advance. If you keep acting like this, I’ll have to wait for you forever, Secretary.”

‘He’s really petty about this.’

Their eyes met again. Sayoung smiled with his eyes narrowed. However, moments later, the smile washed away like a wave. He uncrossed his arms and nodded toward the restroom entrance.

“Let’s go.”

“Ah, yes. Understood.”

As Sayoung turned his body, the tense expressions on the Hunters watching their conversation shifted again. Only Hong Yesung raised his hands enthusiastically.

“Lee Sayoung! Can I greet you now?”

In person, Hong Yesung was quite a handsome young man. Aside from his round eyes that bore an oddly unsettling glint, he looked clean-cut. If one weren’t careful, they might think he was a madman. Perhaps their relationship was good, as Sayoung nodded in acknowledgment.

“I wondered why it was so noisy….”

His gaze fell on the device in Hong Yesung's hands. The restroom continued to flash red, resembling a slaughterhouse.

“It’s noisy. Can’t you turn it off?”

“I don’t know. I barely got it to work, but I can’t tell if it’s malfunctioning or what; it keeps ringing.”

“What is it?”

“It’s an unregistered ticket detector!”

Hong Yesung proudly thrust his belly forward.

“This is a top-notch item that can even detect unregistered tickets hidden in the inventory. It’s my masterpiece.”

“Hmm….”

Sayoung stared at the machine, mumbling.

“If it’s ringing like that… it means there’s someone with an unregistered ticket, doesn’t it?”

“Well, it normally does….”

Yesung’s face soon fell, and he muttered.

“I made it in a hurry in three hours. I can’t tell if there’s actually an unregistered ticket or if it’s just malfunctioning. Everyone here has registered, right? You and your secretary should have too.”

“We have.”

A guard, who had been listening to their conversation, cautiously asked.

“Could you possibly show us your tickets?”

“…….”

“Sorry, but could we confirm them just once…?”

Without a word, Sayoung pulled out two tickets from his inventory and showed them. The blue letters floated on the ticket’s surface. The Hunters who confirmed the letters bowed their heads.

“Thank you for confirming.”

“Damn, did I input the settings wrong? I must have set it to respond to verification tickets too….”

“…….”

Uijae, watching the whole scene unfold, quietly bit his lips. If Sayoung hadn’t shown up in time, things could have gotten quite troublesome. He might have had to use physical memory-erasing techniques on all the Hunters present….

Fortunately, that wasn’t necessary. Sayoung's ZONE had been on a winning streak, at least excluding the hangover soup restaurant. After putting the tickets back in his inventory, Sayoung murmured.

“If I apply the technology I used on that… I could scan everyone’s inventory.”

That was a malicious thought that disregarded others’ privacy. Hong Yesung also muttered while covering his mouth.

“What a villainous idea…”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Well… it’s an interesting thought, but it’s impossible. Explaining the mechanism of this machine isn’t easy. Ah, it tracks the chip I embedded in the item I created.”

“So it can only be used on the items you made?”

“Exactly.”

Hong Yesung chimed in and pulled a red magic stone from the detector, which finally silenced the blaring alarm and the flashing red light. He let out a short sigh of relief, stowed the device in his pocket, and scratched his fluffy hair.

“I’ll have to fix it if I want to use it on everyone entering the venue. I should test it thoroughly too.”

‘What do you mean?’

It was a mountain beyond a mountain. While fiddling with the magic stone, Hong Yesung waved his hand with bright eyes.

“I’ll fix this and head in. Also, take it easy on your subordinates!”

“Take it easy, huh?”

Sayoung replied with a voice laced with laughter.

“I’m in charge here…”

The Hunters watched the small gas mask following the large gas mask not with suspicion but with pity. One Hunter even struck a small fighting pose as if to cheer him on. It seemed Uijae’s acting and Sayoung’s slightly mixed method acting had worked well.

As they moved away from the restroom, Sayoung muttered in a way that suggested he wasn’t pleased.

“Why are there so many people around here….”

Uijae strongly agreed. He cleared his throat and poked Sayoung in the back.

“...Guild Leader Lee Sayoung?”

“…….”

“Can we talk for a moment, just the two of us?”

Of course, he didn’t wait for Sayoung’s response. Time was of the essence. After glancing around to make sure no one was watching, Uijae grabbed Sayoung’s arm and started dragging him somewhere.

Sayoung complied, allowing himself to be pulled along. They arrived at a quiet spot stacked with luggage, devoid of any signs of life.

“Phew…”

Cha Uijae let out a long sigh and removed his gas mask. His slightly flushed cheeks and disheveled hair were now visible. Without fixing his messy appearance, he pushed Sayoung against the wall and gripped both sides of the gas mask.

“Guild Leader Lee Sayoung.”

“Yeah.”

“There shouldn’t be any lies between us… You know, we’re in a contractual relationship.”

“Your introduction is a bit long.”

Even in this awkward position, Sayoung remained calm. He gazed intently at Uijae’s face before reaching out. A cautious hand brushed

 through Uijae’s messy hair. As Sayoung playfully adjusted the tips of his hair with his gloved hand, he murmured.

“I’m curious when we became so honest and open with each other….”

“Uh, starting now.”

“Oh, starting now?”

“Yes. Before this escalates any further, I want to be honest.”

“…….”

Sayoung tilted his head, as if inviting him to speak. After taking a deep breath, Uijae met Sayoung’s gaze and said.

“I have… unregistered black tickets.”

“…….”

“…Two of them.”

A heavy silence filled the narrow space between them. Uijae didn’t shy away from Sayoung’s inquisitive purple eyes. After a moment, Sayoung finally spoke.

“Hmm. I’m starting to understand.”

“…….”

“The fact that you called my name first without me asking means….”

The gloved hand that had been toying with his hair now found its way to Uijae’s neck. The hand that gently traced his straight neck moved down to wrap around the loosely tied tie like a snake. Then, it gently pulled him closer. He could have resisted or brushed Sayoung’s hand away, but—

‘Tsk.’

He would yield. Allowing himself to be drawn in, Uijae lifted his gaze slightly. Sayoung’s neck still carried a sweet scent.

“It means something has gone wrong.”

The glove slowly tightened around the tie, loosening it. With the loosened tie in his grasp, Sayoung leaned in slightly. The filter of the gas mask met Uijae’s forehead as Sayoung growled in a whisper.

“Who gave you those tickets?”