"Lee Sayoung is using the waiting room too. Why aren't you guys using it?"

With one sentence, Master Jung Bin managed to strike both of their consciences and take a jab at Lee Sayoung simultaneously. Smiling faintly, he waited for an answer. Honeybee, who had been glaring at Gyu-Gyu and gripping his collar, let go and tried to distance himself from the situation.

"Well, I was in the waiting room, but I just stepped out to get some coffee. I was planning on going back as soon as I got it. This guy started picking a fight with me first, though."

"Ah, I see."

"You can ask the staff here if you don’t believe me."

Honeybee made this excuse, banking on Jung Bin's reputation for being lenient with cooperative people. Jung Bin narrowed his eyes at Honeybee but then nodded in agreement.

"Is there any need to ask? I trust you, Honeybee."

Honeybee, feeling victorious, flashed a wide grin.

"So, can I go now? The Book of Matthew is waiting for me."

"Of course. See you at the main auction."

"…Damn it. You better thank Jung Bin for saving you."

Honeybee made a slicing motion across his throat toward Gyu-Gyu before heading to the counter. Gyu-Gyu just grinned as he joked.

"Oh, scary."

"Ban Gyumin."

"Ah… Now the real scary one comes?"

Gyu-Gyu let out a weak laugh as he stirred his sikye* with a limp paper straw. Jung Bin, staring down at Gyu-Gyu’s head, finally spoke slowly.

"We lifted the entry ban under the Director's orders, but…."

"You’re telling me not to cause trouble, right?"

"It’s a relief that you’re aware."

"Of course. Most foreign hunters are participating via phone this time for the Craftsmen Exhibition, right? Less chance of any trouble."

Gyu-Gyu continued to babble on without being asked, then suddenly slumped forward, planting his face onto the table. He peered up at Jung Bin with only his eyes. Jung Bin, who had been smiling earlier, was now coldly staring down at him. Ban Gyumin curled his lips into a sly grin.

"When we go after J, we won’t be holding back, no matter what."

"......"

"If something happens in the process, you’ll understand, right? Since it’s under Ham Seokjeong’s orders."

"Oh dear, you’ve laid the groundwork poorly. J wouldn’t show up at the Craftsmen Exhibition."

Jung Bin retorted coldly, but Gyu-Gyu remained steadfast.

"He’ll come."

"...How can you be so sure?"

Without moving from his slumped position, Gyu-Gyu raised his right hand and pointed to the sky with his index finger.

"I’ve prayed a lot."

"......"

"Prayer works well for me, you know. My dad’s a pastor."

He smirked.

---

11 AM. The hall where the main auction was being held was quite modest for a place gathering rich hunters. Aside from a large poster of Hong Ye-seong giving a thumbs-up on the wall behind the podium, there wasn’t much decoration. It seemed as if they had deliberately kept it plain, perhaps out of concern it might be destroyed.

On the right side of the podium was the phone auction area, while the center and left were reserved for ticket holders. After the disaster at the last exhibition, the organizers had not only divided the waiting rooms but had also installed partitions in the hall, preventing the hunters from seeing one another.

‘They’re really treating us like hamsters.’

Although it was just for show, it was a relief for Uijae. If Baewonwoo had tried to strike up a conversation with Lee Sayoung, it would’ve been troublesome. Whoever caused this mess, the "super hamster," was someone Uijae was grateful to for now.

Inside the partition, which only allowed a view of the podium, there was a two-seater sofa and a table. While the sofa was large enough for two, it wasn’t appropriate for a secretary to sit beside his boss, so Uijae stood behind the sofa. Sayoung, with his legs crossed, sat looking straight ahead and murmured softly without turning around.

"Why don’t you sit?"

"I’m comfortable here."

"The auction’s going to take a while—maybe a few hours."

"I’ll be fine."

"Ah…."

Sayoung chuckled briefly, propping his chin up with one hand.

"You were sleeping so soundly that I thought you might be low on energy, but I guess not."

"......"

"If your legs get tired, just let me know. I’ll move so you can lie down."

‘Damn it.’

Uijae frowned. Lee Sayoung had been teasing him nonstop about the nap he took in the waiting room. And yet, he was the one who had told Uijae not to go anywhere and rest. But before Uijae could respond, the auction began.

The auctioneer, standing on the podium, struck the gavel with a loud thud.

"Thank you to all the hunters for attending. We’ll now begin the Craftsmen Exhibition auction! The first item is an S-rank accessory, a pair of earrings. They offer fire resistance, ice resistance, and increased mental strength."

Hong Ye-seong, sitting in a cushioned chair on one side of the podium, had his arms crossed and was dozing off. A guard standing behind him whispered something in his ear, waking him up. He pulled the earrings from his inventory—a pair inlaid with red gems.

Hong Ye-seong, blinking sleepily, opened his eyes fully. A golden pattern shimmered in his pupils.

Without turning around, Sayoung whispered.

"Hong Ye-seong is the only S-rank crafter in the world… and he owns almost everything you could dream of, so it’s no wonder he’s so favored by the system."

"......"

"That ability is called Appraisal Eye."

As Hong Ye-seong ran his fingers over the earrings, blue letters appeared on the red gems, like stars in the sky. Uijae had seen those two letters on the tickets as well.

藝星

The hunter who received the earrings carefully placed them on the table. Hong Ye-seong, showing little interest, began dozing off again. The auctioneer, raising his voice, declared:

"The engraving of the master has been confirmed, so let the first auction begin! The starting bid is 1 billion won!"

Uijae glanced at Sayoung’s slouched figure. With his hands shoved in his pockets, Sayoung showed no signs of raising his paddle.

"3 billion won. The bids will now increase by 500 million each. 3.5 billion!"

The items continued to find new owners as the auction went on. Despite the flow of high-priced bids, Sayoung still hadn’t lifted his paddle even once. Whether he wasn’t interested in anything or was waiting for something specific was unclear.

At that moment, the auctioneer’s voice took on a mysterious tone, his usual lively cadence dropping into a smooth murmur.

"Everyone here knows Hong Ye-seong’s unique trait."

Deadline Finisher. The closer he was to a deadline, the more efficient and faster his work became. The people waiting in the back began moving busily.

"Up until now, the highest-rank equipment made by Hong Ye-seong has been S-rank, but…."

What Hong Ye-seong pulled out from his inventory next was…

"Introducing the first-ever S+ grade weapon created by human hands since the day of the Rift!"

It was a massive spear.

A spear strikingly similar to the one J had once wielded.

Uijae’s fingertips, resting behind his back, trembled slightly. Though Sayoung seemed to glance back for a moment, Uijae couldn’t tear his eyes away from the spear and the figure of Hong Ye-seong holding it.

After examining the weapon he had crafted, Hong Ye-seong lifted his head and scanned the audience below with his Appraisal Eye. For a brief moment, it felt as though his golden eyes locked onto Uijae's. Because at that very instant...

"Cancel the auction!"

Suddenly, Hong Ye-seong tossed the spear aside and shot to his feet, grabbing the auctioneer’s gavel and shouting. The precious, first-ever S+ grade weapon tumbled across the podium, sending the audience into a frenzy. But Hong Ye-seong, raising his voice, ignored the chaos.

"The auction will resume in two hours! Wait in the waiting room! Take this, too!"

He pulled something like powder out of his pocket and scattered it into the air. In an instant, the entire hall was enveloped in black smoke so thick you couldn’t see an inch in front of you. The murmur of the crowd was swallowed by the smoke, leaving only silence.

"......"

Surrounded by stillness, Uijae finally came to his senses. He glanced around, but all he saw was darkness. Anxiety crawled up his spine. Where was Sayoung? He needed to find him—Sayoung had the ticket to the waiting room. He had to regroup with him.

Just then...

"Coo-coo."

A strange cry came from the floor. In the pitch-black smoke, a white, smooth-looking... bird stood tall, staring blankly.

‘What the hell is this?’

As if in response to his thoughts, the bird spread its porcelain wings wide and let out a loud call.

"COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO!"

‘What the hell, it’s a rooster?!’

Before Uijae knew it, he and the bird had escaped the black smoke and were now standing in front of a grand gate, surrounded by a tall stone wall. Beyond the wall, he

 could see the distinctive tiled roofs of a traditional Korean house. This wasn’t Jeonju Hanok Village or a folk village—where had this giant tile-roofed house suddenly appeared from? As he stood dumbfounded, the clueless bird nudged the gate with its blunt beak.

The gate swung open, revealing a large yard covered in grass and a magnificent traditional house. In one corner of the yard sat a massive furnace.

And lying on the porch of the house, casually sipping on a thin, flat ginseng stick, was none other than Hong Ye-seong. He propped himself up when their eyes met and tapped the spot beside him.

"You’re here! Come on over. Good job, Rooster."

Despite having just canceled an auction by flinging a gavel around like a madman, causing chaos with black smoke, and kidnapping Uijae via some idiot-looking porcelain rooster, the atmosphere felt oddly casual.

This guy… something’s not right.

‘He’s not just crazy. He’s really out of his mind.’

Cautiously, Uijae walked over and stood in front of him. Hong Ye-seong tapped the seat beside him again.

"Sit next to me."

"I’m fine standing."

"Tsk, just sit already."

The porcelain rooster clumsily dragged over a blue cushion and hopped down from the porch, pecking at Uijae’s ankle with its blunt beak. Worried the rooster might break its beak, Uijae gave in and sat on the cushion. The wind chime hanging from the eaves rang with a clear sound.

Hong Ye-seong, sitting with one knee raised, began to speak lightly.

"Sorry for bringing you here like this. I was in a bit of a rush!"

"Isn't this kidnapping?"

"Oh, I’ll send you back soon. No need to be so cold."

Tossing the empty ginseng wrapper behind him, Hong Ye-seong laughed heartily.

"What should I call you? Should I just go with 'Secretary'? We’ve met before, right?"

"We have, briefly. In the restroom…."

"Right, right. You’re Sayoung’s secretary, aren’t you?"

"Yes, that’s correct. Just call me Secretary Kim."

"Sure, Secretary Kim."

Hong Ye-seong waved his hand dismissively, as if names weren’t important.

"Now, here’s the thing. Nobody can enter this place without my permission, so feel free to say whatever’s on your mind. This is my little, precious handmade house, so just relax. Okay? Relax."

"......"

The atmosphere was cold. Something about the way he was setting up the conversation didn’t feel right. Nam Woojin had once done the same thing—inviting Uijae for a walk only to drag him into a secluded forest to drop a bombshell. As Uijae discreetly eyed the peaceful, garden-like surroundings and calculated the distance to the gate for a possible escape, Hong Ye-seong suddenly leaned in close. Startled, Uijae leaned back.

The delicate golden patterns in Hong Ye-seong’s unnervingly clear eyes expanded and contracted, swirling like living entities. Unreadable symbols appeared and disappeared within the patterns.

A chilling sensation, as if a blade were scraping against his skin, crawled all over Uijae's body. Gritting his teeth, Uijae instinctively moved to grab Hong Ye-seong by the neck, but before he could—

Without blinking, Hong Ye-seong spoke.

"It’s in your inventory, isn’t it?"

"......"

"Something I made."

 

_____________________

TL NOTE: Sikye*: A traditional sweet Korean rice drink.