* * *
My second phone. Only one person ever contacts me on this line—my father.
Strictly speaking, I’m not even the “user” of this phone.
If a call comes through here, it means they’re looking for “the man in the gray coat,” not Im Taehwan.
Only then did I remember—I had something to do today.
I held my forehead and answered the call.
“Are you on your way?”
“…No, not yet.”
Today’s task was to personally check whether a certain dungeon was truly safe.
What was it called again…?
Wind Hole, I think. It’s been the talk of the town lately, even Jehee showed interest in it.
With so much buzz, there’ll be tons of reporters, hunters, businesspeople, even spectators.
I should’ve left early to avoid drawing attention, but now I was way too late.
Honestly, I should’ve left right after seeing Jehee off.
But the real problem?
Even now that I knew I was late—I still didn’t want to go.
Whether it was the aftermath of discovering sexual desire so abruptly, the brutal crash of post-orgasmic guilt, or just plain depression, I had absolutely zero motivation today.
I swallowed a sigh and ran a hand through my hair.
“Do I really have to go? Didn’t we already decide to auction it off because it passed the safety checks?”
“I looked through the data, and there seem to be some gaps in the information. When it comes to safety, it never hurts to be cautious.”
In other words, he doesn’t trust the cooperating guilds.
And honestly, I can’t blame him.
Detoxifying mana stones have tons of applications, so there are bound to be people who don’t want this dungeon to fail inspection.
Whether they rushed the safety checks in greed, or accepted bribes to omit things—it’s clear the report was garbage.
But internal corruption within the Bureau?
That was none of my business.
It wasn’t within my jurisdiction, and I had no reason to clean up the filth they created.
I was already working more than enough as “Im Taehwan” as it is.
“…Haa. Why do I have to be the one to fill in this information gap? There are plenty of other hunters affiliated with the Bureau.”
Though I phrased it as a question, I already knew the answer.
The dungeon was attracting too much attention.
If they raised suspicions publicly, it could stir up unnecessary rumors, so they wanted it handled quietly, and thoroughly.
I was the right person for that. I agreed.
I understood… but why did it have to be today?
I really didn’t want it to be today.
— Did something bad happen?
Did you and Jehee fight?
“…No.”
Honestly, I wish we had fought.
If it was my fault, I could’ve just begged for forgiveness.
Jehee wouldn’t get angry over nothing, and he’s not the type to refuse a sincere apology out of pettiness.
But… how am I supposed to deal with the fact that I’m going insane?
Would I be safe if I checked myself into a psychiatric hospital?
Would they even be able to control me in there?
More than anything, I couldn’t leave right now.
Jehee had only just stepped into the world, and I was worried.
He’d always walked a tightrope thanks to that damned sense of justice, and now that he’d awakened — and of all things, at an S-class — he was drawing even more attention.
Knowing Jehee’s personality, he wouldn’t shy away from danger.
Especially not when lives were at stake.
I couldn’t leave him alone.
Not yet.
I needed to stay by his side. Jehee needed me.
— Hmm, do you know where Jehee is right now?
“…What?”
I hadn’t expected that question — not now.
And especially not from my father, who never spoke idly and always had something scheming behind his words.
It felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over me.
“Don’t tell me Jehee’s in Wind Hole…?”
— Yes. That’s what I was just informed. He’s probably already inside by now.
“Why would he be there? He said he was going to the hospital. Father, don’t tell me…”
Did you use Jehee as bait, thinking I might refuse to go?
If that’s true, then this is the worst.
No matter who you are — even if you’re my father — I can’t forgive you for putting Jehee’s safety on the line.
In an instant, the lethargy and annoyance melted away, and every nerve in my body stood on edge.
Did my anger come through in my lowered voice?
Father let out a startled breath.
— No. No, it was a coincidence. I just found out myself.
“If you didn’t send him, then why is he there?”
— He left the hospital early and called in, asking if someone could take him somewhere. Since it was still early to return home, the handler apparently suggested a field observation at the site. There are other hunters there too, and I hear the Sun Guild’s master is acting as his escort, so try not to worry too much.
“Sun Guild’s master…”
If it’s the Sun Guild master, that means Cha Taeyang.
Jehee is with Cha Taeyang.
What are the odds?
They keep running into each other — it’s almost suspicious.
Almost enough to wonder if he’s stalking him… but he’s not that idle, so I’ll chalk it up to coincidence.
Regardless of personal feelings, even my father trusts him, so his skills must be solid.
There’s no one better for escort duty.
The only thing that bothers me… is that he’s exactly the kind of person Jehee might like.
Right now, it seems like Cha Taeyang’s made a bad impression because he’s been openly hostile toward me, but even I can tell — the two of them are the same kind.
They’re bound to get along in the end.
Just remembering how surprised Jehee looked when he first heard Cha Taeyang’s name is enough to tell me he already holds a certain level of interest.
That bastard might be annoying and irritating to me, but objectively speaking, he’s a rare type of hunter who genuinely throws himself into protecting citizens.
I don’t know why Cha Taeyang sees me — someone who stayed as quiet as possible during training — as a thorn in his side.
But if he has a valid reason, there’s a chance Jehee could be swayed by him.
Even though I still think Jehee prefers “Gray Coat” over Cha Taeyang for now… maybe…
My heart grew anxious. I let out a sigh without realizing it.
“…I’ll go. Fine, I’ll go.”
If Jehee was in that dungeon, then I had to be there too.
I didn’t want even the smallest danger to touch him.
I felt more at ease when I was by his side.
I got up immediately.
Since I’d be going not as “Im Taehwan” but as “Gray Coat,” it was a relief that I’d be wearing a mask.
I headed toward the bathroom.
In the end, I was right to come to the scene.
I was delayed a bit while preparing for the possibility of encountering Jehee, but by the time I arrived at the dungeon, it was already complete chaos.
As usual, they’d set up a safe zone and left non-combat personnel behind while the combat teams explored the dungeon.
But suddenly, the ground had shaken and a loud bang had echoed through the area.
When they quickly searched for the source, they discovered that the ground beneath the safe zone had collapsed.
All the non-combatants who were there had fallen — and were now considered missing.
Among those missing were Jehee and Cha Taeyang.
“How long are we supposed to wait? We should just go down ourselves.”
“How do you know how deep it goes? First, we have to measure the depth.”
“And when exactly is that going to be done?”
“Soon. Just wait.”
“Every second counts! We’re willing to take the risk — why are you getting in our way?”
“Calm down. If they fell that deep, they’re probably dead. Whether we go now or later…”
“Watch your mouth. What kind of nonsense is that supposed to be?”
“I’m just saying we need to be realistic. If more people die here, do you think they’ll even hold the management rights auction?”
“You think that’s what matters right now? People fell down there!”
“Dungeons that drop such potent detoxifying magic stones don’t appear more than ten times globally. Do you realize how rare this place is? Honestly, we want to blame whoever set up the safe zone in such a ridiculous spot!”
‘…This is exactly why everything’s gone to hell — because they work with this kind of mindset.’
All the Bureau officials who were supposed to take the lead had been caught in the incident, too many voices were trying to steer the ship, and worst of all, some were trying to bury the whole thing rather than admit they’d run it aground.
I didn’t want to draw unnecessary attention to myself, but I couldn’t just stand around waiting.
Jehee was down there, and I didn’t know what state he was in or what was happening.
There was no way I could trust these useless bastards.
And my decision was undeniably right.
The hole was much deeper than I’d expected — but more than that, the thing that made the hole was even worse.
At a glance, it was at least A-class.
No sub-bosses, just this one creature ruling over the entire enormous dungeon.
The detox stones probably dropped because this monster used poison.
Only those who could withstand it would survive in this place.
B-class dungeon, my ass.
C-
D-If one of those damn non-combat guilds, only focused on magic stones, had taken over management, the place would’ve had a major dungeon break in less than a month.
But the most shocking part?
The one facing off against that monster… was Jehee.
If I’d been even a little later, something truly terrible might’ve happened.
‘That bastard Cha Taeyang.’
Far from guarding him, he’d thrown the kid right in front of a monster.
* * *
