GM Ch45

It was past rush hour, so the front of the dormitory was quiet. It wasn’t long before he found Minjun standing up straight in the cold winter sunlight.

“Hello.”

Getting into the car, Minjun looked more tired than usual. It seemed like he hadn’t slept well.

“You look tired. Couldn’t sleep?”

“Yes. I was a little nervous.”

“Oh dear. It takes 20 minutes to get to the gate. Try to get some sleep before we get there.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

Minjun, fastening his seatbelt, closed his eyes as Soohyuk said. For a C-class hunter, it wasn’t difficult for him to stay up all night for a few days. Still, his eyes felt gritty from pulling an all-nighter.

Unfortunately, Choi Euiseong did not return home last night. Minjun, who had been waiting to see the moment Euiseong picked up the letter, was frustrated after staying up all night with his eyes wide open.

As the guild master of a major guild and an S-class hunter, Euiseong was always busy. His schedule was not made public due to security reasons, but listening to the security guards’ conversation, it seemed like Choi Euiseong had gone on a raid. Minjun blamed himself for not checking properly before waiting.

Around 8 AM, Minjun instructed the wind spirit to place the letter inside a drawer to prevent it from being discovered first by a housekeeper. Just in case, he left the wind spirit on standby, ready to place the letter back on the pillow as soon as Euiseong returned.

As these thoughts continued, Minjun rubbed his face with his hands to stay alert. He couldn’t afford to be careless now that they were about to enter a dungeon.

“Are you very tired? Should we delay the dungeon raid?”

“It’s okay. I was just trying to clear my head.”

Soohyuk asked in a worried voice, and Minjun quickly reassured him. Missing one night’s sleep was truly nothing to him.

“Did you eat breakfast?”

“The menu this morning was soft tofu stew. I ate three bowls.”

“Then you’re definitely fine.”

A light conversation continued. Minjun suddenly resisted the urge to ask Soohyuk if he was really Kim Minjun’s first believer. Because he was not gifted with words, he was not confident that he could lead a conversation without arousing Soohyuk’s suspicion. Moreover, Soohyuk had keen senses.

without taking risks, they reached his destination while just having a normal conversation.

The F-class dungeon that Soohyuk won the bid for was located in the eastern end of Seoul. Because a gate was built in an alley in an old residential area, parking had to be done far away.

“Just a moment.”

Before getting out of the car, Soohyuk activated an item that interfered with facial recognition and his appearance changed in an instant. Only after making eye contact did he revert to his original face in Minjun’s eyes.

“I almost got out like this.”

“Do you think the National Security Agency staff would have been surprised? Why would the guild leader appear here.”

Joking lightly, Minjun walked with Soohyuk to the gate. The dark-blue gate was surrounded by red barricades, and two employees of the National Security Agency had already arrived.

“Oh, you’ve arrived?”

Although it was not yet 10 o’clock in the morning, the National Security Agency staff smiled and welcomed Minjun and Soohyuk. Minjun, who heard the general situation from Soohyuk, understood their reactions.

It was a month ago that cracks appeared in an alley in an old residential area, and then the gate opened within 5 days. Fortunately, it was an F-class dungeon. Yet, it was unfortunate that it was a glacial terrain dungeon, the most difficult and unprofitable of all F-class dungeons.

In that sense, the dungeon created here in Hwaryeong-dong was the worst, and no one had bid on it.

There were more than 20 days left until the dungeon break, but as each day passed, the residents became more and more anxious because it was in the middle of a residential area. Protests and complaints poured in to the National Security Agency.

The dungeon was likely to become an unsold burden, so when these two B-class and C-class hunters volunteered to clear it, the agency employees had no choice but to eagerly welcome them, even early in the morning.

“Hunter Yoon Junmin, right? You’re from Yoon Junmin Guild?”

“Right.”

Minjun glanced at Soohyuk standing next to him. The National Security Agency staff did not recognize Soohyuk, who was wearing a recognition-interference item. Thus, his dual identity as a B-class hunter from a one-person guild was believable.

But Yoon Junmin? It was a pseudonym with the order of Kim Minjun’s name reversed. When asked why Joonmin, Soohyuk confidently said it was in honor of Kim Minjun. He said it so matter-of-factly that Minjun could not even bear to laugh.

In any case, they agreed that Minjun had hired Yoon Junmin as a bodyguard. Soohyuk explained that it is common for low-level hunters to hire high-level hunters for safety reasons.

“And Hunter Kim Minjun. You are a C-class member and a member of the June Guild, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

When Soohyuk and Minjun each presented their hunter licenses, a National Security Agency employee immediately checked them with a scanner. The employee nodded after checking the electronic pad, license, and Soohyuk and Minjun’s faces.

There was no problem with Minjun from the June Guild and Yoon Junmin from the solo guild entering the dungeon together. The National Security Agency didn’t concern itself with the hunters’ affiliations. What was important was that the hunters completed the raid without incident according to the guidelines of the National Safety Administration.

“It has been confirmed. We’ll start the recording now. 07:00. E-U-U-013021-KOR. Entering the F-class dungeon in Hwaryeong-dong, Seoul. There are two participants.”

“Yoon Junmin, 28 years old, from the Yoon Junmin Guild.”

“Hello, I’m Kim Minjun. I’m 20 years old, and I’m from the June Guild.”

After looking at the camera and reporting their identity and affiliation according to established regulations, an employee uploaded the video. With that, preparations for entering the dungeon were completed.

Soohyuk entered the gate first, followed by Minjun.

As expected, the inside of the dungeon was a barren land of ice. The sky was full of gray clouds and a strong cold wind blew. Fortunately, it wasn’t snowing.

“How’s the cold?”

“It’s not too bad, thanks to the artifact you gave me.”

It was definitely below freezing, but Minjun didn’t feel the cold at all. Originally, hunters were resistant to cold and heat. And although there were no cold weather items, thanks to the belt and leather jacket Soohyuk gave him, his defense power increased and he became more resistant against the cold.

Unlike Minjun, who was calm, Soohyuk could not relax. He was concerned because Minjun’s face, standing on the gray-white ice, looked ghostly pale.

“Wear a hat.”

“A hat?”

“Don’t you have a hat?”

“No.”

Minjun looked at him as if asking why he needed a hat, so Soohyuk took out a beanie from his inventory. It was a dark gray beanie made from dungeon by-products.

Soohyuk was the type of person who would buy and look at new artifacts first. The gray beanie made from monster fur had a cold protection skill attached. However, because it was expensive compared to its low usability, it was a product that was only manufactured to order. The S-rank item Soohyuk kept it because it wasn’t of much use to him, but he didn’t know it would be used like this.

“Use this.”

“Do you carry these things with you?”

“Uh-huh. Put it on quickly.”

“It’s not that cold.”

“I know. But put it on anyway.”

“Fine… This is tyranny.”

Even though it was called tyranny, Minjun wore a beanie. Soohyuk had already figured out that Minjun would accept almost any request that did not cross the line. In situations like this, it was very convenient. However, it also made it easy for others to take advantage of him.

He definitely had to keep Minjun within the guild. Soohyuk couldn’t let him run off as a freelancer and end up penniless. Minjun, unaware of this, admired the beanie’s information.

“Oh, it has a passive warming skill.”

“That’s because it’s woven from monster fur. Let’s clear it quickly.”

“I’ll buff you. Please give me your hand.”

“Here.”

Soohyuk extended his hand towards Minjun. Then Minjun very naturally placed his lips on the back of his hand. Compared to how their lips almost brushed against each other in a hamburger franchise restaurant about a month ago, it was such a careless movement, like he was just stamping something.

However, because of his eye level, Soohyuk had no choice but to look down at Minjun holding his hand and lowering his head. He was caught in a strange feeling. Traditionally, kissing the back of the hand was a sign of respect. Minjun pressed his lips to the back of his hand and then raised his head and smiled.

“The guild leader’s hands are warm.”

As Minjun, who was usually expressionless, smiled like a mischievous person, Soohyuk raised the hand that had touched his lips to Minjun’s beanie and rubbed it. Then Minjun pulled back like a cat.

“Oh, What’s that for?”

“You’re cute.”

“Really?”

Minjun greeted lightly with a cold face and put on his crooked beanie. It was so cute that Soohyuk burst into laughter again.

***

There was a limit to the by-products and magic stones that could be obtained from F-class dungeons in glacial terrain. So, instead of hunting monsters scattered all over the place, they made a plan to focus only on the boss.

They brought a magic tool to locate the boss but didn’t use it because Minjun’s spirit could roughly sense the boss’s location.

For convenience and time efficiency, Soohyuk suggested carrying Minjun. After a brief hesitation, Minjun agreed.

“That would be faster.”

Soohyuk lifted Minjun with ease. To an S-class hunter, the weight of an adult male was as light as cotton candy.

“I think it would be better to carry me on your back if you need both hands?”

“That would be better.”

Like that, Soohyuk, carrying Minjun, ran towards the boss.

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