GM Ch68

“It’s not what you think.”

“Think whatever you want.”

“Really? Is our Minjun about to become an SS-rank hunter or something?”

“Then I’ll be able to beat the guild leader.”

Minjun responded to the light joke with a joke of his own. Even if he didn’t become SS-rank, just recovering his original rank would be enough to beat Soohyuk. Soohyuk considered himself Minjun’s follower. He wasn’t a god yet, but being weaker than his follower was out of the question.

As he was trying to steel his resolve, Soohyuk burst into laughter.

“Oh my, I didn’t know you had such ambitions. Your ambition hasn’t changed.”

Minjun turned around, wondering what he meant. He met Soohyuk’s eyes, who was smiling broadly.

“Ambitions to take me down.”

“Me?”

“You’re not satisfied, are you?”

“That’s not it at all.”

Minjun replied seriously. He had no desire to take down Soohyuk, not even a tiny bit. He just wanted to say confidently that Soohyuk was ignorantly strong.

“Really?”

“Why do you keep asking? Are you scared you’ll lose?”

“Are you confident you can win?”

“If I have a second awakening, let’s have a match.”

“Hmm, you really seem sure. Well, you never know until you try.”

It was a common saying, but in this context, it sounded quite suggestive. And with Soohyuk’s sly smile, it sounded even more annoying to Minjun.

This guy…

His suppressed competitive spirit surged.

“Seriously, just wait and see.”

“People who say ‘wait and see’ are never scary.”

Minjun humbly accepted that he couldn’t beat Soohyuk with words. So, he had no choice but to win with strength.

*

Jung Seongwon, the vice guild leader of the June Guild, was busy all day handling the tasks Soohyuk had assigned. He spent so much time meeting people outside that he couldn’t leave work until late at night.

Jung Seongwon, who managed the guild’s affairs, always had a pile of work emails. He used his high-level skill of checking and processing emails while reporting to Soohyuk.

“Here are the physical exam files for Team 1 and Team 5. There were no hunters with vine-like tattoos on their hearts.”

Jung Seongwon sent Soohyuk the physical exam files for the hunters of Team 1 and Team 5. Soohyuk had explained that hunters who took a dangerous drug would develop vine patterns near their hearts and had ordered a full-body examination of all guild members.

During the health checkup conducted last fall, the June Guild hadn’t taken any chest-exposing photos. So, Seongwon conducted the physical exams under the pretext of measuring basic postures.

He took Team 1 and Team 5, who had come to the guild today, straight to the hospital. Since various exams were frequently conducted within the guild, the hunters didn’t suspect anything. Fortunately, none of them had vine-like patterns on their chests.

“That’s a relief.”

“We have some stock of the herbs you mentioned in the guild. We’re not hoarding them as per the instructions, but is that okay?”

“Let’s verify the effects first. If it’s real, the government will step in. We just need to keep enough for emergencies.”

“Got it.”

Seongwon mechanically checked an email and sent a reply. Seeing that the number of unread emails had gone from seventeen to eighteen, he sighed. It was as if these emails were multiplying on their own. For every one he dealt with, two more seemed to appear.

Exhausted, Seongwon did not click on a new email and instead looked over at Yoon Soohyuk, who was sitting on the opposite sofa, reading a report on his tablet.

Since yesterday afternoon, Soohyuk hadn’t stopped smiling. It was understandable; Minjun had woken up safely after five days, and they had figured out both the cause and solution to the strange occurrences affecting the hunters.

Moreover, the hunter Kim Minjun, whom Soohyuk respected enough to build a memorial for, was alive. It was no wonder Soohyuk’s cheeks and lips were lifted in a constant smile.

But seeing the culprit who had dumped all this extra work on him smiling so brightly made Seongwon feel a bit resentful.

When the Poison Jar Dungeon closed, Soohyuk had given out numerous orders. Conducting physical exams on the guild hunters was the simplest task. Seongwon had been running around meeting people for days, trying to take down Joo Myunghwan and his Ace Guild, to the point where his feet were sweating.

Seongwon was a person of great character. But seeing Soohyuk so openly happy made him want to pick a fight.

“Are you that happy?”

“About what?”

“Hunter Kim Minjun.”

“How do you know?”

“Because you keep saying how much you respect him.”

“Oh, right.”

Soohyuk’s nonchalant response puzzled Seongwon. Then, like a bolt of lightning, he realized who Soohyuk was talking about.

Don’t tell me…?

Seongwon stared at Soohyuk’s profile as he focused on his tablet. The relationship between Soohyuk and Minjun had changed due to a bound item about a month ago.

When you spend time skin-to-skin, feelings can develop even if they weren’t there before. But it was hard to imagine the lofty Yoon Soohyuk falling for someone like that.

As an S-rank hunter, he was very popular. Both men and women approached him, but he always put up an iron wall. Due to the unique nature of hunters, it was inevitable to keep a distance from ordinary civilians. But he also coldly rejected advances from other hunters. When asked why, he simply said it was bothersome. He genuinely found such advances annoying.

Seongwon couldn’t just brush off his suspicion about Soohyuk and Minjun’s relationship. It was something that needed to be confirmed properly.

“Do you, by any chance, like hunter Kim Minjun? I mean, the one in our guild who’s currently hospitalized.”

“Yeah.”

Seongwon had asked just in case, but Soohyuk’s straightforward answer left him speechless.

“Not just as a person, but in that way?”

“Uh-huh.”

“…He’s eight years younger than you, don’t you have a conscience?”

“Who said I had a conscience?”

“That’s different.”

“I convinced myself it’s not a crime.”

Seongwon, who was about to accept Soohyuk’s calm answer, snapped back to his senses.

Soohyuk was a grown adult, and Seongwon didn’t want to meddle in his love life. However, he was the vice guild leader of the June Guild, and Yoon Soohyuk was the guild leader, while Kim Minjun was the youngest guild member at twenty years old.

Having worked at a large law firm, Seongwon knew well the pitfalls of workplace romances. To prepare for the worst, he needed to understand the situation clearly.

“So? Are you two dating?”

“No. I haven’t even confessed.”

“What?”

“He doesn’t like me.”

“Huh?”

“I just like him by myself.”

It was a matter-of-fact explanation. But this time, Seongwon was truly at a loss for words.

Unrequited love…?

Suddenly, everything made sense. Soohyuk’s consistent kindness towards Minjun was because of this. Thinking back to how he had been so generous from the start, it seemed like love at first sight.

But even as a joke, Seongwon couldn’t ask when Soohyuk had fallen for him. No matter how close they were, unrequited love required caution. As he pondered whether to offer some encouragement, Soohyuk, still staring at his tablet, smiled brightly.

“It’s okay. He’ll like me too.”

Wise as he was, Seongwon didn’t mock Soohyuk’s confidence. He knew he would stop at nothing to achieve his goal.

Seongwon was more worried about something else. Public workplace romances often ended badly. When they broke up, it usually meant one of them had to leave. One was the guild leader, and the other had a very rare buff ability. Mishandling this could mean losing a valuable hunter.

He wanted to suggest a secret relationship but held back. Due to the bound item, it was already known that the two were getting to know each other. Besides, if Soohyuk really started dating, he would undoubtedly show it off.

There was no point in struggling against the inevitable. Seongwon shifted his priorities.

“Just don’t commit any crimes.”

Normally, he would have told him not to cause trouble, but this time a clear warning was necessary. Soohyuk burst out laughing.

“Of course. I don’t want to be hated.”

Even as he joked, Soohyuk didn’t take his eyes off the tablet. Amidst their chaotic conversation, he finished reading one report and moved on to the next.

Amazed by his focus, Seongwon clicked his tongue inwardly and turned his attention back to his monitor. If he wanted to leave even a second earlier, he had to deal with the now nineteen unread emails.

***

Kim Minjun had a strong mental fortitude.

Because of this, he was often called indifferent, oblivious, or brave. He believed in letting things slide and quietly resolving most incidents. He didn’t mind taking some losses.

He hadn’t agonized long over being entangled with Soohyuk due to the bound item. To prevent experience loss, having sex was unavoidable. It was sex out of necessity. However, thanks to Soohyuk’s determination to make it enjoyable, Minjun understood why people were so obsessed with sex.

They spent countless nights together. With no prior experience, Minjun had no choice but to follow Soohyuk’s lead at first. But as they spent more time together, he gradually learned Soohyuk’s habits, likes, and dislikes.

So he was certain. This man would persist to the very end.

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