“Hyung…” 

“……” 

“I really need to tie you up somewhere.” 

‘Says the one who’s tied up...’ 

Despite Uijae’s awkward look toward Sayoung, Sayoung continued to mutter gloomily.

“Every time I take my eyes off you, something happens, or you just vanish….”

*Crunch!* The gas mask in his black hand was crushed as if it were paper. Even Gogo trembled from the intense atmosphere. When Uijae patted his smooth head, Sayoung’s violet eyes sharpened even more. His head tilted slightly, and his curly hair gently fell over his face.

“So…”

“……”

“Care to explain why you suddenly disappeared and then reappeared all chummy with *that guy*?”

“Is that ‘guy’... me, by any chance?”

Hong Yeseong cluelessly pointed to himself, tilting his head. Shut up. Uijae barely resisted the urge to cover Yeseong’s mouth. Even in this tense moment, Sayoung didn’t give Yeseong a single glance and kept his gaze fixed solely on Uijae. Uijae blinked repeatedly, trying to send a signal with his eyes.

“Well, Guild Leader, I was going to explain everything…”

“Hmm... go ahead.”

Sayoung, clearly annoyed, kept pretending not to notice, even though they were making direct eye contact through the lenses. He even blinked back in sync with Uijae!

‘Damn it, I can’t explain everything with Hong Yeseong right here, you idiot.’

“Maybe I should say it? Sayoung! Secretary! Can I explain?”

“You shut up.”

“……”

Hong Yeseong drooped his head in disappointment.

“And let go of that arm.”

The arm that had been draped over Uijae’s shoulder slowly withdrew. After silencing Yeseong with a single word, Sayoung leaned back on the sofa and nodded toward Uijae, indicating that he expected to hear an explanation.

“Well, it’s like this…”

Just as Uijae gritted his teeth and opened his mouth to speak—

“Hm? Hong Yeseong-nim, you’re out of the waiting room?”

A familiar voice chimed in. Jung Bin, with a puzzled look, entered the hall alongside a visibly exhausted Baewonwoo and a sullen Honeybee. Of all the possible people, it had to be the ones who’d plastered their posters all over the hangover soup restaurant.

Uijae immediately summoned the self he had used earlier in the morning and began shrinking into himself, playing the role of a timid new hire in the secretary team.

Honeybee, spotting Hong Yeseong, ruffled his hair in frustration.

“You! Ugh… If you were going to postpone the auction, couldn’t you have just said so? What’s with the powder and all that nonsense? Now there’s more trouble because of you.”

“Trouble? What trouble?”

“Ask Jung Bin!”

Jung Bin, who had approached the trio locked in a tense standoff, rubbed his chin.

“Well, I did leave a message for you, asking you not to come out. You didn’t see it?”

“You ask me not to come out, but everything looks perfectly fine? Nothing’s broken. I thought Lee Sayoung might’ve poisoned the place, so I even brought detox items.”

“Yes, fortunately, we managed to stop it before any poison was used, thanks to Honeybee quickly sounding the alarm bell.”

Jung Bin smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

“Though Gyu-Gyu’s shoulder did get a bit busted… at least the building is still intact, so I guess it’s within acceptable limits?”

“I sincerely apologize for that. Our guild leader… well, he tends to be like this sometimes, but still… yes, please send the medical bill to the Wave Guild.”

Baewonwoo bowed repeatedly in apology. Sayoung, who had been watching with a sour face, muttered, “He threw the first punch, though.”

“Oh, Sayoung, keep your mouth shut!”

“Haha, yes, we did take into account that Gyu-Gyu made the first move. That’s why we only tied up his wrist, right?”

Jung Bin, still smiling, turned his gaze from Hong Yeseong to another figure standing beside him—Uijae, who was still trying to play the timid secretary.

“Hmm, and the person next to Hong Yeseong-nim is…?”

“Ah, this is the secretary from the Wave Guild.”

“Ah, I see.”

Jung Bin’s gentle eyes narrowed slightly.

“But, why are you two together? You were there when the event started, but after the black powder disappeared, I didn’t see you during the hall check.”

“Well, that’s because I kidnapped the secretary!”

“What?”

“Eh?”

Both Jung Bin and Baewonwoo’s eyes widened at the sudden confession of kidnapping. Meanwhile, Sayoung’s gaze became even more intense, but Uijae did his best to ignore it. Hong Yeseong, sticking to the story they had agreed on earlier, continued excitedly.

“Well, I originally planned to kidnap Lee Sayoung, but since it was my first time using that powder, I got a bit confused. So, I told Gogo to bring me a gas mask, but instead, it brought the secretary. The kid’s still young, you see.”

“Gogo?”

By now, the distressed clucking from Gogo was unmistakable. This time, it sounded like a cry of injustice. However, its owner, Hong Yeseong, continued speaking shamelessly.

“And once the secretary was here, I couldn’t just kick him out, could I? That would be so heartless! Plus, I couldn’t go back and kidnap Lee Sayoung again. I mean, this poor guy works under such a terrible boss. It was obvious he’d get chewed out if he just went back. So, I offered him some tea and let him rest a bit since he seemed so exhausted.”

“……”

Jung Bin, who had been silently listening, finally turned his attention to Uijae.

“What’s your name?”

Uijae deliberately raised his voice to sound as shaky as a goat, answering in the highest, thinnest voice he could muster.

“Kim Seungbin…”

“I see. Kim Seungbin-nim, is everything Hong Yeseong said true? Were you threatened or forced in any way?”

“N-No! Master Hong… apologized for the mistake and treated me to green tea. He said he couldn’t let me leave right away, so I stayed here for a while… oh, and he introduced me to Gogo as well.”

Uijae quickly thrust Gogo forward from his arms. Gogo tilted its smooth head and let out a soft, “cluck.” After confirming the porcelain-like chicken, Jung Bin’s expression softened slightly. He poked Gogo’s blunt beak with his finger and asked.

“I see. One more thing, if I may?”

“Yes? Yes! Of course!”

“When you were kidnapped, where were you taken?”

“Oh, it was a completely different place from here. It was a traditional house, with a courtyard… oh! And there was a kiln too.”

“Interesting…”

“Cluck-cluck-oo!”

Jung Bin, who had been observing Uijae intently, shifted his focus to Gogo, who let out a long, drawn-out cluck from Uijae’s arms. With a smile, Jung Bin gently rubbed Gogo’s smooth chin.

“Thank you for explaining. So, Hong Yeseong-nim, why exactly were you trying to kidnap Lee Sayoung?”

“Oh? Well, obviously, I had something to discuss with him!”

“Couldn’t you have waited until after the Artisan Exhibition?”

“Well, it’s not something that could wait. Anyway, I’ve explained my side, so now you explain yours. What’s the big deal here, huh? What happened?”

As Hong Yeseong tried to brush off the situation, Honeybee crossed his arms and sighed deeply.

“Well, here’s the thing…”

---

After the black powder that had clouded everyone’s vision cleared, the Hunters participating in the Artisan Exhibition found themselves staring at an empty platform. Instead of Hong Yeseong and the S+ grade weapon he had crafted, only his poster remained.

“Where’d he go?”

“Is this a terrorist attack?”

“Was he kidnapped?”

“But he’s the one who spread the powder.”

“Are we really restarting in two hours?”

The murmuring of the Hunters filled the hall. The effort to separate the sections with partitions proved futile, as the curious and sensitive super-powered hamsters began to venture out of their sections, sniffing around.

Jung Bin, pressing a hand to his forehead, groaned and began issuing instructions to the nearby administrative Hunters.

“Half the team should start checking the Hunters’ tickets in the hall, then guide them to the waiting room. The other half will assist me in searching the center for Hong Yeseong-nim.”

“Isn’t it possible he went to the waiting room?”

“That would be a relief. But we must prepare for the possibility that he didn’t. Ensuring his safety is our top priority.”

Once Jung Bin and the Hunters hastily disappeared, the remaining staff began moving through the crowd, checking tickets one by one. Unfortunately, because they were moving in groups, progress was slow, and they failed to notice the inevitable—an encounter between two super hamsters.

Just as Sayoung began looking around, Gyu-Gyu sauntered over, draping himself over the partition and grinning.

“Looks like you weren’t planning on buying anything, huh? Our number two, Lee Sayoung. Honeybee’s been raising his paddle all over the place, trying to snag a weapon.”

“……”

“You didn’t even touch your

 paddle, huh? It’s still set just like it was from the start.”

Without sparing him a glance, Sayoung pulled out his phone, pressed a button, and held it to his ear. Gyu-Gyu watched him in silence before tugging at his half-tied hair, letting it fall messily.

“You know… I’ve got a little project going on right now. Not that you wouldn’t know about it.”

“……”

“It’s a bit of a hassle, but it’s fun, following this thin thread and seeing where it leads.”

The endless ringing of the call in Sayoung’s ear continued.

“But then…”

*Shing!* A sharp ribbon transformed into a dagger, slicing through the air toward the pale neck beneath the gas mask. However—

“……”

*Ting!* Sayoung caught the blade with his bare hand, showing no sign of surprise. He lazily rolled his eyes toward the weapon’s owner.

Gyu-Gyu grinned and dusted off his hands.

“Every time I try to dig into something, something blocks me. And every time I check, it’s the Wave Guild’s hand in the way.”

“……”

“So now I’m curious. Why is the former number one going out of his way to block the government’s hero hunt?”

Sayoung responded coldly.

“Maybe you’re just not skilled enough.”

“Sure, sure. I may be lacking in skill, but I had a thought.”

Gyu-Gyu wiped the smile from his face, his expression turning completely blank as he spoke softly.

“Wouldn’t you prefer J to stay dead?”

“……”

Suddenly, the air around them became eerily still. Even the Hunters who had been eavesdropping fell silent. Sayoung slowly turned to face Gyu-Gyu. The phone still held to his ear emitted nothing but the monotonous tone of a voicemail.

―The number you have dialed is unavailable. Please leave a message….

“Would you rather J stay gone?”

“……”

Gyu-Gyu took a step forward, his gaze piercing through the lenses of Sayoung’s mask as he spoke again.

“J—”

---

“As you’d expect, things escalated between Lee Sayoung and Gyu-Gyu after that. It looked like one of them was going to end up dead, so I borrowed the call bell from one of the staff and pressed it.”

“Thank you for your quick response.”

“Hmph, of course.”

Honeybee grumbled, twisting his hair, while Baewonwoo covered his face with both hands and sighed deeply.

“Ugh, I’m so sorry… I should’ve been there. But Sayoung insisted on moving separately with the secretary this time.”

“Haha, well, what’s done is done. At least I’m grateful the building wasn’t covered in poison.”

“But hey, I acted quickly, don’t I deserve a reward?”

“Hmm, how about some hangover soup?”

“Three bowls, and I’ll think about it.”

“Let’s meet at the hangover soup restaurant after the exhibition.”

“Count me in too!”

As the regulars of the hangover soup restaurant joked around, Uijae unconsciously glanced over at Sayoung. Even with his hands tied and slouched on the sofa, Sayoung was quietly staring at Cha Uijae…

And smiling.

 

 

________________________________

TL NOTE: Gogo is Hong Yeseong's pet, described as a porcelain-like chicken. It seems to be a small, somewhat cute, and smooth-headed creature that Hong Yeseong uses in his schemes, such as when it mistakenly brought Uijae (disguised as the Wave Guild secretary) instead of Lee Sayoung. Gogo also emits distinctive clucks, which are sometimes interpreted as conveying emotions like frustration or injustice.