Where Beans Are Planted, Beans Grow

After the trip to Songdo was decided due to Cha Eui-jae's karma and Lee Sa-young's threat, time flew by mercilessly, and it was dawn on the day of the craftsman's exhibition.

Cha Eui-jae stood in front of the hangover soup restaurant, wearing the navy suit and shoes sent by Lee Sa-young. An A4 paper stuck to the door fluttered forlornly in the dawn wind.

[Closed on the day of the Artisan exhibition.]

[Reason: Taking my grandmother to the hospital.]

⤷Hope your grandmother gets well!!

The suit sent by Lee Sa-young fit perfectly, neither too loose nor too tight. How on earth did the replacement clothes get the size so right? Cha Eui-jae fiddled with his jacket sleeves for no reason.

A dark figure soon appeared from beyond the alley. It was Lee Sa-young, as usual. Lee Sa-young, who walked slowly to the hangover soup restaurant, crossed her arms and scanned Cha Eui-jae up and down. He seemed dissatisfied with something, so Cha Eui-jae glared back.

"What?"

"Your tie…"

"Huh?"

"You tied it well?"

Though the comment was out of the blue, Eui-jae felt secretly proud and shrugged his shoulders. Watching and following along on YouTube paid off. However, Lee Sa-young reached out and disrupted his tie with his fingers.

"I thought you wouldn't know how to tie it."

"Are you picking a fight?"

"If you couldn't tie it, I was going to do it for you."

"What nonsense are you spewing at dawn?"

Cha Eui-jae clicked his tongue. Lee Sa-young, without responding, fiddled with the tie for a long while before pulling out an employee ID card and a gas mask from his inventory. The ID card had a photo of an ordinary-looking man and a name written on it.

'Pado Guild Secretary Team Kim Seung-bin.'

As Cha Eui-jae hung the ID card around his neck, he asked.

"Is this a real person?"

"Yes. Put this on for now."

After putting on the gas mask, black gloves approached to straighten his appearance. To others, it would look bizarre— a gas mask helping another gas mask in front of an old hangover soup restaurant. Thankfully, it was early in the morning, and there were no passersby.

Lee Sa-young mumbled.

"Just in case… When you speak, keep your voice as low as possible. Only let me hear it."

Cha Eui-jae nodded in response. Black fingers tapped the filter part of the gas mask.

"And you know hunters have good ears."

"… "

"You're part of the Pado Guild Secretary Team now."

There was a slight hint of laughter in the low voice. Cha Eui-jae, guessing what the next words would be, made a reluctant expression. Lee Sa-young, noticing even through the gas mask, smiled and asked.

"You can speak formally, right?"

Cha Eui-jae closed his eyes tightly. This guy… Did he ask to come along on purpose? Of course, Lee Sa-young's opinion was valid. If the secretary team member casually talked down to the boss, it would obviously stand out.

Cha Eui-jae decided to let it go. Thinking it was an opportunity to showcase his acting skills made him feel a bit more at ease.

"… How should I address you? Guild leader?"

"Guild Leader Lee Sa-young."

"That's too long."

"There will be many guild leaders attending… What if others get confused?"

"Fine. I'll just call you Guild Leader."

Ignoring the unreasonable complaint, Lee Sa-young shrugged and took out the emergency escape paper from his inventory.

"Whatever. Hold my arm."

"Do you have a lot of those? You seem to use them every time."

"Driving to Songdo is too troublesome."

What kind of bourgeois statement is this? Just as Cha Eui-jae grabbed Lee Sa-young's arm and was about to launch into a lecture about the reckless spending habits of rankers, Lee Sa-young tore the emergency escape paper without hesitation.

Opening his eyes again, they were in front of a huge building he had never seen before. It was probably the Songdo Convention Center where the Artisan Exhibition would be held.

Streetlamps lined up neatly along the well-maintained road, each adorned with banners of the same design as the ticket, and a huge banner with Hong Ye-seong giving a thumbs up was hung on the exterior wall of the center.

[The Artisan returns after 2 years!]

[Master Hong Ye-seong's Artisan Exhibition]

Since it was early morning, there weren't many people around. Near the entrance, a few broadcasters and fans, wrapped in thick padding and blankets, were crouched down, but the hunters seemed to have not arrived yet. It was a relief for Cha Eui-jae.

At the wide entrance of the center, four hunters with tired faces stood. They looked surprised to see two people in gas masks striding towards the entrance.

"Huh? No, at this early hour…"

"Two."

Without hesitation, Lee Sa-young handed over two black tickets. The flustered hunter scanned the tickets with a small device. Blue light rose on the black surface, forming letters.

[Yìxīng]

"Yes, your tickets are confirmed. Guild Leader Lee Sa-young and the person next to you is…"

"Secretary."

The hunter's gaze fell on the ID card around Cha Eui-jae's neck. The hunter seemed to want to check the face inside the gas mask but quickly bowed his head under Lee Sa-young's cold stare.

"Yes, you two may enter."

The Lee Sa-young free pass was powerful. Entering the center without having to remove the gas mask for verification— this was the taste of power. Cha Eui-jae looked around the inside of the center and nudged Lee Sa-young's back when he spotted a bathroom sign in the corner.

"Guild Leader, I need to go to the bathroom for a moment."

Lee Sa-young, who was walking ahead, turned abruptly to look at Cha Eui-jae. Dissatisfaction was written all over his face.

"… You're going to leave me alone as soon as we arrive?"

"I need some mental preparation to speak formally all day."

"Ah-ha…"

Lee Sa-young, arms crossed, began to mock.

"Kim Seung-bin doesn't seem like the type to be thorough in preparation."

"If I don't mentally prepare, I might end up cursing midway. Is that okay with you?"

"…"

"…"

Silence sparked between the two gas masks. Well, what could he do if he said he needed to go to the bathroom?

Eventually, Lee Sa-young reluctantly flicked his hand, indicating permission. Cha Eui-jae backed away from Lee Sa-young's side and quickly walked towards the bathroom he had seen earlier. The watching eyes followed, but it was tolerable. At least he wasn't being followed!

Fortunately, the bathroom was also devoid of people. Cha Eui-jae entered the innermost stall, locked the door, and sat on the toilet lid, sighing silently.

From the day he received the suit until today, cramming famous hunters' information with the help of Nexby and staying hyper-focused had already drained him. Additionally, the limited vision from the gas mask made him more sensitive.

'How does Lee Sa-young live with this thing on all the time?'

The mask he used as J was a precious item that even altered his voice. Wearing this suffocating gas mask made him miss his mask. He couldn't use it anymore as it was broken just before being ejected from the West Sea rift.

Cha Eui-jae discreetly checked his inventory. He had potions given as gifts by regulars at the hangover soup restaurant, the Basilisk's Fang taking up a generous spot, the root of all evil— the magic stone, and two black tickets.

Besides the potions, the items in his inventory could turn the convention center upside down just by their presence. He felt like a homeroom teacher assigned to a class of problem children. Cha Eui-jae could partially understand the feelings of a teacher, despite never having been one.

The most problematic items were the magic stone and the black tickets. The magic stone was one thing, but he wanted to hide the tickets under his pillow out of sheer anxiety.

'This is so nerve-wracking…'

He couldn't just leave tickets worth a hundred billion combined under his pillow while out. He could manage while working at the hangover soup restaurant since the area was always within his sight. But being far from the shop in Songdo, he wouldn't know if a thief broke in.

'It's safer to keep them in my hands.'

After the incident where the shop almost caught fire and the reckless fights with other awakened ones, Cha Eui-jae realized he couldn't just rely on his strength alone. Life never went as planned.

Now that he was away from Lee Sa-young, he had to finish his task quickly. Cha Eui-jae turned on the Hunter Channel he hadn't looked at since being forcefully admitted. In a minefield like Songdo, information was crucial.

Hunter Channel 1 would provide the best information. Who came to the exhibition, what they were after, and where they currently were. Though Lee Sa-young was with him, Cha Eui-jae had to avoid dangers proactively.

Cha Eui-jae began scrolling up to read the chat messages from around midnight today. As expected, the chat started with the person who was addicted to InHeart and chatting.

[8] I Am An Artisan: The day of the Artisan Exhibition has dawned ^^

[8] I Am An Artisan: Is everyone in Channel 1 coming?

[6] Honeybee: Ye-seong

[6] Honeybee: Did you make the rapier?

[8] I Am An Artisan: I'm a native Korean, so I don't deal with Western weapons.

[6] Honeybee: You ****

[6] Honeybee: Wait for me in Songdo with your neck ready

[11] Shield Guy: Oh lol ㅋㅋㅋ Honeybee, did you get the ticket?

[6] Honeybee: Yep

[6] Honeybee: Matthew got it for me

[8] I Am An Artisan: If it weren't for Matthew

[8] I Am An Artisan: You'd probably be stealing tickets in Songdo

[6] Honeybee: You're really dead meat

[11] Shield Guy: The child just doesn't have any sense

[11] Shield Guy: Please just forgive him this one time;;

[6] Honeybee: ——

[6] Honeybee: In HB Guild, Matthew and I are going

[6] Honeybee: Shield Guy, are you coming too?

[11] Shield Guy: Yep

[6] Honeybee: Is Lee Sa-young coming?

[11] Shield Guy: He said he was, but…

[11] Shield Guy: He's moving separately, so I don't know;;

[6] Honeybee: How many of you are there that you move separately?

[11] Shield Guy: I don't know, but at least I got the company card –v

[4] Jung Bin: Good morning, Channel 1 folks ^^ It's been two years since the last Artisan Exhibition! ^^

[4] Jung Bin: Let me just remind you of what you must keep in mind when attending the exhibition! ^^

[8] I Am An Artisan: Here we go…

[4] Jung Bin: Please don't cause any trouble ^^

[4] Jung Bin: Don't easily fall for provocations ^^

[4] Jung Bin: I strongly recommend you avoid talking to others altogether ^^

[4] Jung Bin: Always maintain a safe distance to avoid bumping into other hunters ^^

[4] Jung Bin: Be mindful not to cause a situation where the building gets damaged from a simple shoulder bump ^^

[4] Jung Bin: If you can't avoid a fight, handle it discreetly where reporters can't see, then contact the relevant authorities on site ^^

[4] Jung Bin: Do not threaten the reporters ^^

[4] Jung Bin: With that, I hope for your full cooperation for a successful Artisan Exhibition and wish you all a great day without having to meet me 1:1 ^^

[50] Romantic Opener: That's more than just a few words…

[34] A Small Miracle Seo Min-gi: But if you read it, it's basically just one sentence.

[50] Romantic Opener: Not that I care…

Reading Jung Bin's lengthy message made him feel quite solemn. With so many proud, short-tempered, and sensitive hunters gathering in one place, accidents were bound to happen…

As Cha Eui-jae sighed deeply, he suddenly heard light footsteps rapidly approaching the restroom. He closed the chat he hadn't finished reading and quickly hid his presence.

Following the first footsteps, more people seemed to be rushing in, but luckily, they stopped just outside the restroom. 

Creak, bang! The uninvited guest settled in the stall right next to mine. From the rustling sounds, it seemed like they weren't here to do their business but to do something else alone.

"Damn it, why isn't this working?"

The grumbling voice was familiar. It was a voice he couldn't pretend not to recognize. With a stunned feeling, Cha Eui-jae stared at the wall separating them.

Because the voice coming from the next stall was…

'No way.'

The same voice that repeatedly aired on the re-runs of "We Quiz"…

'It's Hong Ye-seong.'

It was Hong Ye-seong's voice.