Chapter 7

"Park Kang, huh? At first glance, he seems like an ordinary young father working hard for his family, but if you really know him…. Hey, you."

Yoo Juncheol's eyes narrowed.

"Don't make that face."

"What face?"

"That 'My list of sparring candidates just got better' face."

"You read me perfectly. I'll compliment you for that."

At the shameless reply, Yoo Juncheol rubbed his temple as if he had a headache.

"This isn't your list of sparring candidates. It's the list of hunters, including Seo Chaeyoon, whom we must revere."

"So now we're meeting S-ranks just to fight them, and suddenly you're saying not to fight?"

Yoo Juncheol flinched, his expression briefly giving away guilt before he quickly composed himself.

"Of course, if necessary, you can spar with the candidates. But if you carelessly upset Seo Chaeyoon and he turns his back on us, we're in trouble. We need to be in his good graces, no matter what. We have to get him on our side."

He lowered his voice to deliver the warning firmly, but Kwon Jihan's expression still sparkled with intrigue, his gaze fixed on the list. Yoo Juncheol felt a sharp twinge in his gut, almost as if his intuition was warning him. Kwon Jihan's curious expression always spelled disaster. He would've preferred Kwon Jihan's usual indifferent face. With a nervous, trembling look, Yoo Juncheol asked.

"You're not coming to the merger ceremony, right?"

"I am."

"Why? You hate guild events. There will be reporters and cameras everywhere that day. You don't have to come."

"But I have to. What if Seo Chaeyoon is there? I can't miss that."

"Hey…. Just to be clear, you're not going there to fight him. We're trying to save the world, remember? Please, I'm begging you. Understand? Okay? Please?"

Kwon Jihan smirked, his expression wicked, paying no attention to the plea. Yoo Juncheol had a sinking feeling in his gut that Kwon Jihan was about to cause big trouble.

***

2. Guild Merger

Three days after the Guild of Leaves' guild master delivered news of their merger with the Seokyoung Guild at a modest barbecue joint, it was Monday.

The Seokyoung Guild officially announced a large-scale merger plan. All the guilds involved in the merger were small guilds, essentially being absorbed into Seokyoung. Such a large-scale merger happening all at once was unprecedented since the time 4–5 years ago when guilds had sprung up like mushrooms only to vanish overnight. Domestic and international media alike rushed to publish speculative articles on the reasons behind Seokyoung Guild's large-scale merger.

Some guessed it was to efficiently manage low-grade dungeons, others thought it was to expand their public service initiatives, and still others considered it a move to grow the guild itself. Seokyoung Guild remained silent on the matter.

Meanwhile, news that Seokyoung Guild had approached the small guilds for contact first brought unprecedented attention to these smaller guilds. The Guild of Leaves was no exception.

"Heewon, do I have a pimple here?"

"No, you don't."

"Really? I stayed up late yesterday because I had two back-to-back interviews after work. I've been doing so many interviews lately that I've even gotten dark circles under my eyes."

"Ah, right. Team Leader, I'm stepping out briefly at three o'clock today." 

"Why?" 

"I have a broadcast interview. You know HBS, right? The Hunter Broadcast." 

"Oh, right. I've got a magazine interview at five, so make it quick." 

"In the evening, I've got an interview with Hunterpia. You know, the number one Hunter channel on Hunternet. They begged me to do it, so I couldn't say no. It's a hassle, but what can you do?" 

The dungeon attack team, which probably received the most interview requests, was still inside the dungeon and would return tomorrow. Since the management team consisted of F-rank Awakened, Park Youngbum and Goh Heewon were reaping the benefits. 

From the Monday of last week when the merger was officially announced to today, the day before the merger ceremony, the two had been comparing the number of interviews they had done, bragging about which outlets they'd been featured in. 

The guild was in a celebratory mood. Even though the name "Guild of Leaves" would disappear, with the massive improvements in salary and benefits, the excitement was understandable. If not for the pre-scheduled raid, the dungeon attack team would likely be swamped with interview requests as well. The B-rank herb dungeon the guild master had painstakingly reserved couldn't be skipped, so they went ahead with the attack, planning to return by tomorrow morning to attend the merger ceremony. 

Yoon Seo, listening to the childish bickering as background noise, packed the shield traps into their case and stood up. 

"Yoon Seo, where are you going?" 

"Oppa, where are you going?" 

Park Youngbum and Goh Heewon sharply turned their heads, shooting pointed looks as if to ask, "Are you going for an interview too?" Yoon Seo was baffled. 

"Don't you have work to do?" 

"…We do." 

"We'll get to it…." 

The two visibly relaxed. Slinging his bag over his shoulder, Yoon Seo said, 

"I'm going out for fieldwork today and heading straight home afterward." 

"Oh, really? Then we'll see you tomorrow at the merger ceremony." 

The merger ceremony, attracting global attention, was scheduled for six o'clock in the evening at the Seokyoung Guild's Gangnam headquarters. Following the ceremony, a banquet would be held at Gyeonghoeru Pavilion in Gyeongbokgung Palace, likely accessed via portal traps. 

"What time are we meeting? The management team said they're meeting two hours early. Isn't that overkill? I get that the Seokyoung Guild master hates tardiness, but isn't this too much?" 

Goh Heewon remarked haughtily. Park Youngbum also scoffed. 

"That's what I'm saying. We're just a small guild, not their subordinate. It's not like we begged them for the merger; Seokyoung wanted it." 

"Let's take it easy for our team." 

"Yeah, let's meet at noon. It's not about meeting early; I just want to have lunch together." 

"Sure. I'll book a restaurant in Gangnam." 

Leaving the two chatting as usual, Yoon Seo was about to leave when he suddenly stopped. "Ah." He pulled two clear pouches out of his bag and handed one to Park Youngbum and Goh Heewon each. 

The two, who had been ready to grab them since Yoon Seo took them out, eagerly opened the pouches. 

"You baked cookies again yesterday? Thanks, I'll enjoy them." 

"I really support your various hobbies, Yoon Seo. Keep it up!" 

The pouches were filled with delicious-looking, brown chocolate crack cookies. Yoon Seo often shared cookies with his colleagues like this. The two immediately took a bite, crunching into the cookies, their faces lighting up with delight at the sweet taste. 

Meanwhile, just watching them eat the cookies made Yoon Seo feel full. He quickly said goodbye and left the office. 

Yesterday marked the 65,191st cookie I baked. The will is to bake 100,000, so there's still a long way to go…. 

"Driver Yoon Seo, recognition complete. Please set the destination." 

As I got into the car, AI Sticky Rice cheerfully started the engine. I entered the address for today's first business trip and reclined the seat. 

'It's really happening, huh. The merger.' 

Though I'd heard the news quite a while ago, it only felt real now. 

They said we wouldn't immediately relocate the office, so I was still commuting to the guild building in Yeouido. However, after the merger ceremony, some guild members might have to commute to Seokyoung. I sincerely hoped I wouldn't be one of them. Gangnam was far from home, for starters…. I wasn't against the merger, but I didn't have fond memories of the Seokyoung guild. 

Honestly, I didn't even want to go tomorrow. 

'Why does it have to be that day?' 

Tomorrow was the Great Dungeon Memorial Day. The merger ceremony, which would draw more attention than the government's official event, was bound to bring it up. 

According to the media, Seokyoung's key members would also attend, so I might see that mustache man after a long time. 

I opened my chat history with the mustache man on my phone. 

[Mustache] (Photo) Our princess made kimbap with mom today, hehe. 

[Me] Looks delicious.  

[Mustache] Want me to share? 

[Me] (Photo) I already bought some. 

[Mustache] LOL. Drop by sometime if you want some. (Photo) 

The recent messages were peaceful. Neither of us ever talked about the Great Dungeon over text. 

[Me] Are you coming tomorrow? 

Since he's always busy, it'd be a while before he replied. I turned off my phone screen. 

The first installation site today was a small commercial building—a C-grade request. 

'It'd be more effective if it were B-grade.' 

While Sticky Rice found a parking spot, I pondered. Requests to small guilds like The Guild of Leaves were mostly B-grade or C-grade. I always installed equipment at B-grade or higher but filed reports as C-grade. Even if I got caught, the guild would probably just say, "Yoon Seo is truly talented," and let it slide. As long as I didn't go overboard like making them S-grade for slum areas…. 

'I should be cautious for now.' 

Not knowing Seokyoung's style, I decided it'd be better to hold off on these covert good deeds for a while. Better safe than sorry. 

*** 

Eight hours later. 

Having installed B-grade or higher shield traps at all three locations today, I rubbed my forehead while driving home. 

"Sticky Rice, what's wrong with me?" 

"There is no such thing as a flawless person." 

"That's not comforting at all." 

"What should I say? Overcoming gloom is something only you can do." 

The AI I'd been with for eight years was excessively blunt. Since it grew based on my personality, it was my fault. 

'I won't get caught. I've never been caught before.' 

As long as there's no dungeon overflow or explosion, there's no way to get caught. Yoon Seo tried to think optimistically as he picked up his phone. However, the message he received only made him more anxious. 

[Mustache] Haha, yeah, I'll be there too. It's fascinating that we're in the same guild now. When we first met 5 years ago over buying shield traps, we fought like crazy. If I'd known we'd end up on the same side, I wouldn't have argued back then, haha. 

The message was a complete lie since Yoon Seo and Mustache Man first met 12 years ago on the day of the Great Cataclysm. 

This was a code to signal that someone might be eavesdropping and they should adjust their words accordingly. 

Yoon Seo's face hardened. 

*** 

The next day, Yoon Seo arrived at Seokyoung's headquarters in Gangnam 10 minutes before the merger ceremony began. The guild members, including Guild Master Ki Sanghyuk, were already inside the building. Looking at the excited selfies and messages urging him to hurry up in the group chat, Yoon Seo sighed. 

A red carpet was laid out at the main entrance, surrounded by reporters, making it difficult to get inside. As he walked toward the back entrance, his phone rang—it was the Guild Master. 

"What is it?" 

– What do you mean, 'what is it'? The ceremony is about to start. Where are you? 

"There's still time." 

– Ten minutes? Huh? You call ten minutes 'still time'? I can't believe you're acting like this even today. Every other guild is already here! 

– Oppa, come quick. Everything here is super shiny, and there's so much yummy food! 

– Yoon Seo, did you get lost in this huge place? Want me to come get you? 

"I'm nearby. Hanging up now." 

– Hey! 

Yoon Seo coldly ended the call and soon found the back entrance. A few reporters with cameras were loitering around. Feeling a chill, he decided to circle around one more time and ended up at the side of the building. Squinting against the blinding sunlight, he looked up. The window on the fifth floor was wide open. 

The glass, newly fitted with bird collision prevention film, was spotless and well-maintained. Each floor had ledges wide enough for hands and feet. With no signal jammers, no mask, and no hat, getting past the cameras was impossible—so rock climbing it was. 

Yoon Seo stuffed his phone into his bag and zipped it shut. Just as he placed his hand on the glass— 

"Planning to climb up?" 

A young man's voice, filled with mischief, interrupted him.