Uijae looked at Hong Yeseong, completely unfazed by the rain soaking him, and mused to himself.

'Can every Hunter I meet really be a lunatic?'

Back in the day, there weren’t so many Hunters with such extreme personalities. Naturally, survival was the most important thing back then. But now, in the Great Hunter Era, a Hunter without a distinct personality can’t survive! The meaning of “survival” for Hunters had completely changed. And no matter how much he thought about it, Hong Yeseong’s fame in this new era didn’t come from his crafting skills, but from something else...

'This guy is definitely insane…'

The madness was unmistakable. A flash of lightning struck again behind Hong Yeseong’s head.

Before long, rain began pouring down heavily. Hong Yeseong, oblivious to the fact that his body was getting drenched, extended only the hand holding the boiled egg under the eaves. His obsession with mana stones was so severe that even anything vaguely resembling one had become precious to him. Uijae gripped the ladle in his hand tightly.

'Should I report him to Jung Bin?'

No. He quickly shook off the tempting thought. Calling Jung Bin would be like burning down the whole house to catch a bedbug. What if Hong Yeseong, in his madness, revealed that Uijae had a mana stone and suspicious weapons in his inventory?

Besides, there was no guarantee that using a memory-erasing technique would actually work, and…

'Cleanup would be a hassle.'

With his bizarre way of thinking, who knew what Hong Yeseong might do next? Uijae glanced at him sideways. He was still holding out the yolk, probably intending to do so until Uijae opened the door.

'Tch.'

Considering Hong Yeseong's strange obsession, it was clear he'd keep coming back until he got the mana stone. Rather than putting up with that, it was better to just hand over what needed to be given and get rid of him quickly. That was the original deal anyway. Uijae sighed and slowly opened the door.

Hong Yeseong, acting as if he were a secret agent, crouched low and pressed himself against the wall, warily scanning the surroundings before swiftly darting inside. Once he'd checked that the coast was clear, he finally settled in a corner. Just as Uijae was watching, wondering how long this absurdity would continue…

“Coo!”

Kokko called out to Uijae. Glancing over, he saw the chicken nodding toward Hong Yeseong, then clucking again, as if asking to be returned to its owner. With a sigh, Uijae picked up the box containing Kokko and approached the uninvited guest.

“Hey.”

“Oh, Kokko! You’re here!”

“Coo.”

Hong Yeseong stretched his hands out toward the box, but before he could touch it, Uijae lifted Kokko high over his head. There was no point in playing dumb in front of someone who could see emotions, so Uijae didn’t hesitate.

“Coo?”

Ignoring the puzzled cry of the chicken, Uijae spoke coldly.

“Before you get your reunion, let’s have a little chat.”

“Kokko!”

“If you want to see Kokko again, you’d better answer my questions.”

“Ugh, you wicked bastard!”

Hong Yeseong immediately launched into his usual theatrics. Uijae looked down at him with cold eyes, watching as Hong Yeseong faithfully performed the role of the long-suffering father in a dramatic reunion. In this play, Uijae was the villainous employee preventing the father and child from reuniting. But this time, Uijae wasn’t going to let him off so easily.

“How did you find this place?”

Even if he was going to give him what he wanted, this needed to be clarified. Judging by the yolk, it seemed he was here for the mana stone, but how had he come straight to the hangover soup restaurant? Normally, the first step would have been to search the Wave Guild to find Kim, the secretary. Uijae narrowed his eyes.

“Did you plant a tracker on me?”

“Huh? Why would I do that?”

Uijae could clearly see the blink behind Hong Yeseong’s sunglasses. As he pulled down his mask, Hong Yeseong replied casually.

“But a tracker sounds like a good idea. I should make one.”

“Answer the question.”

“Come on... You’re holding it right now.”

Holding it? Uijae’s head shot up. At the same time, Kokko, who had been squirming in the Bacchus box, poked its head out and stared down at him with its inscrutable black eyes. Uijae muttered to himself.

“…Does this thing have a tracking function?”

“Not exactly. But it was made from a monster mana stone that eats memories, so I guess it remembers people well and can track them down. We’re spiritually connected, so communication’s easy. This little guy managed to find you in this huge city. Well done, Kokko!”

“Coo!”

Kokko clucked loudly in triumph. Right, he had carried Kokko around at the Artisan Exhibition…. It was his fault for not considering that this half-finished chicken could track people. Uijae slowly lowered the box to the ground. Kokko sprang out and charged at Hong Yeseong.

Then, *smack!* Kokko’s ceramic wing slapped Hong Yeseong across the face.

“Ow!”

Hong Yeseong collapsed, clutching his cheek in pain. Uijae instinctively covered his mouth with his hand. He needed to hide the smirk that was creeping up on his face.

“Kokko, why?”

“Coo-ooo!”

Kokko let out a mournful cry as it stared at the boiled egg that had fallen on the floor. Both Hong Yeseong and Uijae let out a simultaneous sigh of understanding.

Uijae quickly scooped Kokko up and covered its tiny head with his hand. He vaguely remembered something he’d seen on a TV show about chickens—cover their eyes, and they fall asleep.

“……”

As expected from a science show. Kokko, who had been wailing like a siren, quieted down almost immediately. Hong Yeseong marveled.

“Oh, it’s sleeping.”

When Uijae glared at him, Hong Yeseong quickly grabbed the fallen egg and stuffed it into his pocket. He looked up at Uijae and asked innocently.

“But why are you here? Do you work a second job? Why are you at a hangover soup restaurant?”

“Yes, it’s my second job.”

“Wow, you’re really dedicated. A model citizen! That’s amazing.”

Uijae calmly answered, and Hong Yeseong gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up. Falling for this? Yep, this guy was definitely an idiot—his awakened abilities just masked it. Having an idiot in front of him made Uijae’s brain spin faster. Could it be that Hong Yeseong had really managed to evade the Awakened Management Bureau?

Uijae quickly locked the door and turned off all the lights in the restaurant. In a low voice, he asked,

“…So, didn’t you get caught back then? Let’s say you found this place because of Kokko. But how did you dodge the Bureau?”

And as soon as he finished asking, Uijae realized.

‘Ah, I messed up.’

Because Hong Yeseong’s chest puffed up like a rooster preparing to crow.

“Oh, you want to know about my escape?”

His voice was brimming with pride. No, I don’t. Uijae shook his head quickly, but Hong Yeseong ignored him, rubbing his temples dramatically as he sighed deeply.

“It was an incredible ordeal, you see. Let me tell you all about it.”

The day Hong Yeseong was packed into a car like a yellow-checkered kimbap.

He was supposed to be taken directly to Bukhansan, but because he had planned to enjoy some time in the world before entering the mountain, the preparations in the Artisan Village weren’t complete. As a result, Hong Yeseong was elegantly confined to a hotel suite.

Despite being in a nice room, he felt hollow, as if something was missing. As he stared wistfully out the window, a bodyguard approached him cautiously.

"Mr. Hong Yeseong, is there anything you need?"

“Mana stone.”

The bodyguard shot him a look that said, *Here he goes again,* but his voice remained calm and professional as he responded.

“We’re working hard to find it.”

*Working hard.* They were always working hard! Hong Yeseong burst out in frustration, thrashing about. In this harsh world, nothing could be accomplished through mere effort alone. As a result, Hong Yeseong grew to despise the word “working hard.”

From the first day of his confinement, he started expressing emotional distress, claiming that the yolk of the fried egg he was served for breakfast looked like a mana stone. Then, when he saw the female lead in a drama wearing a yellow-flowered dress, he wailed that it reminded him of a mana stone.

The bodyguards, who had to stick by his side and witness the whole ordeal, were at their wits' end. It was as if Hong Yeseong had developed a new skill that drained people’s mental energy.

It got so bad that the Awakened Management Bureau even brought in a specialist psychiatrist for Hunters to counsel him, but the doctor could only shake his head in resignation before leaving. Meanwhile, Hong Yeseong grew weaker by the day.

When he had no idea where the mana stone was, he could bear it. But after learning its location and seeing it with his own eyes, he couldn’t hold out any longer. The mana stone he saw was more brilliant, radiant, round, and beautiful than anything he had ever seen. Hong Yeseong clutched Kokko tightly and wailed.

“Maaanaaa stooone—!”

“We’re working hard to find it.”

The absurd refrain continued. By the time the chandelier crystals in his hotel room started to look like mana stones, Hong Yeseong decided to make his escape. Besides, the biggest obstacle, Jung Bin, wasn’t even there!

Uijae, who had been only half-listening to his story, suddenly perked up.

“Jung Bin wasn’t there?”

“Hmm? Yeah.”

Hong Yeseong casually replied as he chewed on a rice cake he had pulled out from somewhere.

“I haven’t seen him since the Artisan Exhibition. Oh, I did get a message. Something urgent came up that he needed to handle with Lee Sayoung.”

Good thing I didn’t use the memory-erasing technique, Uijae thought. This lunatic knew high-level information that wasn’t even circulating in the Wave Guild's blind channels. Since things had come to this, he might as well get every bit of useful intel out of him. Uijae calmly asked,

“And Guild Leader Sayoung... What’s going on with him? Is he okay?”

“Hmm? You don’t know?”

“Ah...”

Uijae recalled the blind post he had seen earlier that day. *Nice.* He shamelessly, yet with a tone of concern, muttered,

“The Guild Leader hasn’t been coming to the office since the Artisan Exhibition. He’s been giving orders via email, and everyone’s been wondering what he’s up to.”

“Oh, really? Well, that makes sense, I suppose.”

Thankfully, Hong Yeseong seemed satisfied with that explanation. He rubbed his swollen cheek with a new boiled egg as he answered.

“It’s nothing big. They went into some dungeon together. I think it had something to do with the apocalypse? …Yeah, I think that was it. They said they found a lead or something.”

“……”

*The apocalypse.* That was way too big to brush off as “nothing.” Uijae’s eyes widened, and he was about to press for more information when—

*Knock knock.*

An unexpected knock cut him off. Hong Yeseong clamped his hands over his mouth and squeezed himself into a corner. Uijae stood in front of him, gripping his ladle like a weapon. Tension filled the hangover soup restaurant. Even their breathing was barely audible as they held their breath.

Then came the voice.

“…Excuse me, is someone in there?”

It was a familiar voice.