“What? Hangover soup? I want to go too!”

“Ah, don’t come. Get lost!”

“Oh, come on! Once you taste it, you won’t be able to forget it.”

“Haha, Yeseong-nim, don’t you have to go to Mount Bukhan soon? Do you really have time to go to the hangover soup restaurant?”

As Hong Yeseong tried to push his way between the regulars, a cartel of rankers quickly formed, blocking his entry. Meanwhile, behind this fortified hangover soup cartel, the strange standoff between Cha Uijae and Lee Sayoung showed no signs of ending.

The problem was that while Sayoung was smiling, it was the kind of smile that would have been better left unshown. His lips were twisted into a crooked grin, but his eyes weren’t smiling at all, the lightless violet gaze still fixed on Cha Uijae.

Gogo, who had been nestled in Uijae’s arms, let out a small “cluck” and buried its head deep into Uijae’s chest. Clearly, Gogo was scared of Sayoung. Uijae gently stroked Gogo’s smooth head, letting out a quiet sigh. He thought Sayoung’s mood had lightened a bit, but…

‘Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.’

In fact, if anything, Sayoung’s mood had probably gotten worse. Uijae narrowed his eyes at the mocking smile on that pretty face. At that moment, Baewonwoo’s face turned pale upon spotting Sayoung.

“Sa, Sa, Sa, Sayoung-ah.”

“What? Oh, sh—. Why’d he take off his gas mask? You trying to kill someone with that glare?”

Honeybee, also looking in Sayoung’s direction, shuddered at the sight. As soon as Sayoung noticed their stares, the forced smile on his face disappeared, returning to his usual indifferent expression. He adjusted his posture, crossing his legs, and rested his tied wrists on top of his knee.

“What did I do?”

“What did you do? You were glaring like you wanted to kill someone just now.”

“Are your eyes broken?”

“Oh, just look at that attitude.”

“Honeybee, let’s just ignore it, okay? Please?”

“I didn’t get to see it happen earlier. Can’t you guys fight again for me?”

Honeybee shot a middle finger at Sayoung, prompting Baewonwoo to quickly jump in and defuse the situation, while Hong Yeseong egged on the chaos. In the midst of the madness, Sayoung finally looked away from Uijae and spoke in a calm voice.

“Jung Bin.”

“Yes, Sayoung-nim.”

Sayoung raised his bound hands, and the sound of chains clinking echoed clearly.

“When are you going to release these?”

“Well, I was planning to release them after the auction. You can still raise the paddle with your hands bound, and worst case, Kim Seungbin can do it for you.”

“Hmm… really?”

Sayoung tilted his head slightly, looking at Jung Bin with a calm expression.

“I could probably break something here even without using my powers.”

“Haha, are you threatening me?”

“Does it sound like a threat?”

“……”

The cheerful mood among the hangover soup cartel instantly dropped. Sayoung was indeed a killer with no blood or tears. He had the uncanny ability to kill the atmosphere with just a few words. Jung Bin clasped his hands behind his back and smiled.

“The law applies to everyone, Sayoung-nim. Even if Gyu-Gyu made the first move, you did break his shoulder, didn’t you? And you almost used poison.”

“Well, I didn’t in the end, did I?”

Baewonwoo, who had been watching the situation unfold, quickly stepped in between the two.

“Oh, it’s fine. You can release him afterward! Haha, you’re doing a great job, really.”

“What’s with that?”

Sayoung asked irritably, but Baewonwoo subtly motioned toward Uijae, signaling him to tear up the ticket and head to the waiting room. Uijae appreciated the gesture, but…

‘...He’s the one holding the ticket, though.’

Of course, to avoid escalating the situation, they had to isolate Sayoung. Uijae placed Gogo down on the floor and slowly approached Sayoung. Sayoung’s irritated but still pretty face turned up to look at him. Uijae bent down slightly and whispered quietly.

“Let’s go to the waiting room.”

“……”

“I’ll explain everything there. Let’s go inside first.”

At Uijae’s soothing words, Sayoung, who had been staring at the gas mask blankly, let out a long sigh. He pulled out the ticket from his inventory and tore off a corner. Honeybee’s shocked face, Hong Yeseong’s curious expression, Jung Bin’s unreadable gaze, and Baewonwoo’s approving thumbs-up all faded away as the scenery changed.

After everything that had happened in just a few hours, the quiet waiting room felt incredibly welcoming. Uijae let out a deep breath as he removed his gas mask.

Sayoung, still bound at the wrists, strode over to the sofa and sat down with a thud. Tapping his foot on the floor, Sayoung began.

“So, I get that you went into Hong Yeseong’s space…”

The interrogation began right away. Uijae grimaced, pouting slightly.

“Why did that bastard drag you in there?”

“……”

“What exactly did you talk about in there?”

“Well, um…”

“I’d like to hear it from you. In detail.”

Sayoung’s piercing gaze swept up and down Uijae’s body, enveloping him like a net. Uijae, hands behind his back, stood awkwardly before Sayoung, who gestured toward the seat beside him.

“Sit.”

“I’ll just stand.”

“Sit down.”

It was probably better to sit down next to him so they wouldn’t have to look at each other directly. Uijae sat down a little distance away from Sayoung and started thinking.

He couldn’t reveal everything they’d talked about with Hong Yeseong. Sayoung had seen the Basilisk’s Fang in the Gwangjin-gu Rift, but owning the weapon and having one made by Hong Yeseong were two very different things. Uijae found himself accumulating more secrets he couldn’t tell Sayoung.

“Well… Gogo took me to Hong Yeseong’s space.”

“Yeah.”

“And Hong Yeseong was lying down, eating ginseng, and told me to sit, so I did.”

“Uh-huh.”

“……”

This was bad. Without talking about the Basilisk’s Fang, there wasn’t much to say. Once again, Uijae would have to twist the truth. He stared blankly at the white wall, then continued.

“Then… suddenly, Hong Yeseong activated his appraisal ability and said he knew everything.”

“Knew what?”

“That I had a mana stone.”

“A mana stone?”

“Yeah… the mana stone Hong Yeseong was looking for, you know?”

“How the hell did he know about that?”

Sorry, I told him, Uijae thought, but kept his mouth shut. Telling Sayoung about the Basilisk’s Fang would essentially reveal that he was J. And judging by Honeybee’s earlier comments, it seemed like Sayoung didn’t have the best opinion of J.

“Would you prefer J stayed dead?”

“Would it be better if J never reappeared?”

Uijae bit his lip quietly. Was Sayoung upset because he lost his number one ranking to J? No matter how much he thought about it, Uijae couldn’t recall ever encountering someone like Sayoung while he was active as J. The fragmented memories of Sayoung and J didn’t seem unfriendly….

Suddenly, Sayoung cursed under his breath.

“Ah… damn it.”

“Hey, why are you swearing all of a sudden?”

“I can’t think straight…”

With a brief sigh, Sayoung slumped over, his soft hair falling against Uijae’s shoulder and neck. Uijae blinked in surprise and turned to look. Sayoung had curled up and leaned against him. Uijae, frozen in place with his arms awkwardly raised, blinked in confusion.

‘What’s with him?’

Was this a new kind of attack? If the goal was to throw him off, it was a massive success. Uijae was more flustered now than he’d been in a long time.

But despite leaning against him, Sayoung didn’t move any further. The only sound that followed was his soft breathing. The chains clinked slightly, and then Sayoung spoke again, leaving Uijae even more stunned.

“I’m tired…”

Did Sayoung really just say that? It sounded almost like he was whining. While Uijae stared, unsure how to respond, Sayoung continued in a slow murmur.

“You keep making me dig.”

“……”

“You keep making me worry.”

“……”

“It’s so annoying.”

Ending with the word “annoying,” it was definitely still Sayoung. Uijae opened his mouth to say something but then closed it, unsure what to say. The breathing near his neck seemed a little heavier now.

‘Oh.’

*Clink.* The soft sound of chains, and then Uijae reached out to pat Sayoung’s shoulder. The shoulder, which had tensed briefly, slowly relaxed.

Jung Bin’s chains worked by binding the source of an awakener’s power, leaving them restrained. Anyone who was used to using their powers after awakening would naturally struggle when that power was suddenly taken away. Even though only Sayoung’s wrists were bound, he probably felt like his whole body was tied up. The burden must have been immense, even if he didn’t

 show it.

As Uijae patted his firm shoulder, he clicked his tongue softly.

‘It’d almost be easier if he just started yelling again….’

Sayoung mumbled once more.

“It’s so damn annoying…”

“Yeah, yeah. I get it, so just relax for now.”

“……”

“Take a nap if you can.”

“……”

Sayoung didn’t respond, instead pressing closer. Uijae couldn’t help but feel like he was comforting a child. He almost let out a laugh but held it back. When he raised his hand and gently stroked Sayoung’s hair, the tension in Sayoung’s body seemed to melt away. His hair was softer than Uijae had expected.

Just then, a new message flashed on the wall.

---

**The auction will resume in 30 minutes.**

**Hunters waiting in the lounge are requested to return to the hall once the countdown ends.**

**Time remaining: 29:59…**

---

As the timer began to count down, Uijae watched it, silently hoping that—for now—time would move just a little more slowly.