* * *
He waved with a cheerful smile, as if he belonged to the Delta Team.
And soon, boxes began piling up in a corner of the Delta Team’s office.
“I thought it wouldn’t be right for Cheongmyeong to leave empty-handed. It’s better to give a gift, don’t you think?”
The boxes were full of toys: Lego, robots, Pororo dolls, kitchen playsets.
Faced with what seemed like a toy store’s inventory, Do Hajun took a deep breath.
‘If I lose my temper, I lose. If I lose my temper, I lose.’
“Oh! I couldn’t bring everything, so I sent some to Team Leader Do’s house.”
“Sigh.”
He felt like he was losing his mind. Just as the thought of making a big scene crossed his mind, he felt a tug on his pants and looked down.
“Jun. Can I play with that?”
Cheongmyeong pointed to a Pororo-shaped car Chae Yiwon had brought.
“Not-”
“Sure, Cheongmyeong. It’s yours, so play with it as much as you like.”
With Chae Yiwon’s permission, Cheongmyeong ran toward the Pororo car.
“Damn it.”
“Since Cheongmyeong likes it, just accept it.”
Taking a deep breath, Do Hajun turned to Chae Yiwon and asked.
“Why are you doing this?”
“I told you, I want to scout Team Leader Do.”
“If it’s because of Cheongmyeong-”
Chae Yiwon’s smiling face suddenly turned serious.
“Team Leader Do.”
With a low call, Do Hajun sighed again.
“I crossed the line. I apologize.”
“I scouted you before you took on Hunter Cheongmyeong. That misunderstanding is unpleasant.”
If it wasn’t because of Cheongmyeong, Do Hajun couldn’t understand why she wanted to scout him.
He knew best that he wasn’t worth investing in for Hwarang, especially someone like Chae Yiwon.
“Why do you want to scout me?”
For the first time, Do Hajun, who had always refused without asking why, asked for a reason.
However,
“That’s -”
Suddenly, a piercing siren sound came from her phone.
“Jun!”
Startled by the siren, Cheongmyeong ran to Do Hajun.
Holding Cheongmyeong and comforting him, Do Hajun checked his phone.
[National Disaster Safety Agency]
Seoul Gangnam Station
Expected S-class rift occurrence.
Residents within a 5km radius of Gangnam Station are advised to evacuate.
“S-class rift…”
Do Hajun took out his Dungeon Gadget from his pocket.
Alpha, Omega, Mu team—every team was engaged in dungeon raids, as indicated on the schedule, and Do Hajun let out a low groan.
The time until the rift would explode was a maximum of 30 minutes.
Unlike dungeons, fighting a rift was a race against time; you had to get in quickly and destroy the barrier stone.
But there was no available team.
Today, of all days, the entire Delta Team, except for Do Hajun and Lee Cheongmyeong, was inside the dungeon.
Do Hajun looked up at Chae Yiwon.
“You’re going, right?”
“I don’t know. It’s not an official request.”
Dungeons had byproducts and magic stones extracted from the boss monsters’ bodies, but rifts yielded nothing.
So the private guilds only entered dungeons and avoided rifts.
Only the national hunters were responsible for destroying rifts.
“There are no teams available to enter the Seoul Center right now.”
“The rifts are the nation’s responsibility.”
Theoretically, yes, but this was no time for such formalities.
Moreover, without Chae Yiwon, there was no hunter capable of handling an S-class rift.
“Guild Leader Chae Yiwon, it’s an S-class rift.”
“Yes, I also received the emergency alert.”
At that moment, Do Hajun’s phone vibrated.
“Director.”
-Where are you? Are you in the office?
“Yes. Have you received the rift report? All other teams are in the dungeon right now, so we need to get support from the Gyeonggi Center at least—”
-The Gyeonggi Center rejected us; all their teams are also in dungeons. Are you with Guild Leader Chae Yiwon?
Do Hajun looked at Chae Yiwon curiously.
What Kang Wontae just said meant that it wasn’t him who allowed Chae Yiwon to enter the center.
‘Then who on earth…’
-Do Hajun! Are you there?
“Ah, sorry. Yes, I’m with him.”
-Put him on.
Do Hajun handed the phone to Chae Yiwon.
“It’s the director.”
Chae Yiwon, who had been lounging with one arm on the sofa, took the phone lazily.
“Yes, this is Chae Yiwon.”
His voice was much colder than when he spoke to Do Hajun.
Chae Yiwon listened silently to whatever Kang Wontae was saying, tilting his head slightly.
“I wonder if there’s any reason for us to help?”
There was every reason to help.
As far as Do Hajun knew, KL Group’s headquarters was right in the middle of Gangnam Station.
If the rift exploded, all the buildings around Gangnam Station would collapse, including KL’s headquarters.
“Hmm.”
Chae Yiwon’s gaze shifted to Do Hajun.
“If I go in with Hunter Do Hajun, then I’ll go.”
Do Hajun frowned. What kind of nonsense was this? Why would he go in there?
“Yes. Team Leader Do Hajun, the phone.”
Do Hajun took the phone without hiding his displeasure.
“Director.”
-Hajun, you need to enter the rift with Chae Yiwon.
“Are you insane?”
Do Hajun, who had never crossed the line, not only crossed it but also swore.
“Do you know why I’m here as a team leader? And now you’re telling me to enter the rift?”
His pent-up anger erupted. Due to a B-class dungeon reappearing and Lee Cheongmyeong’s growth, Do Hajun had been excluded from the Delta Team’s dungeon tasks.
He had reluctantly accepted this to stay with Lee Cheongmyeong, whose separation anxiety wasn’t fully treated, despite wanting to resist the order that denied his identity as a team leader and a hunter.
And now Kang Wontae was telling him to enter a rift, which was more dangerous than a dungeon.
-There’s an S-class rift right now! Lee Cheongmyeong has nothing to do with this! I’ll arrange for him to stay in the infirmary, so just go!
Kang Wontae’s words about putting Lee Cheongmyeong under sleep anesthesia again made Do Hajun grit his teeth.
Even a regular person wouldn’t undergo sleep anesthesia once a year, let alone the tenfold dose given to the child.
-Do Hajun, are you listening? Get going! If the rift explodes, we all die!
Do Hajun threw his phone.
The loud crash startled Lee Cheongmyeong.
“Team Leader Do Hajun, you’ll scare Cheongmyeong.”
Chae Yiwon’s words reminded Do Hajun of Lee Cheongmyeong in his arms.
He patted the frightened Lee Cheongmyeong’s back.
“Sorry for scaring you.”
Lee Cheongmyeong hugged Do Hajun’s neck.
“Jun.”
“Sorry, really sorry.”
After comforting Lee Cheongmyeong, Do Hajun glared at Chae Yiwon.
“Do you really have to do this?”
It wasn’t Chae Yiwon’s fault that the S-class rift appeared, but it was his fault that Do Hajun was entering it with Lee Cheongmyeong.
Chae Yiwon shrugged off Do Hajun’s murderous glare and stood up.
“There’s no time, let’s talk while we move.”
Do Hajun didn’t move, still glaring at Chae Yiwon.
“If it’s known that you can’t move because of Lee Cheongmyeong, he won’t be safe.”
Do Hajun took a deep breath and stood up with Lee Cheongmyeong in his arms.
Chae Yiwon was right. And Chae Yiwon was someone who could easily spread this situation to the media.
“Send a helicopter to Gangnam Station.”
As Do Hajun stood up, Chae Yiwon leisurely gave the order on his phone.
The atmosphere remained tense as they moved to the rooftop helipad.
While Lee Cheongmyeong’s wide eyes darted around, Do Hajun tried to calm himself.
He didn’t want Lee Cheongmyeong, dragged into this mess, to feel any more anxious.
“…Do you know why Cheongmyeong started growing?”
Chae Yiwon’s sudden question made Do Hajun look at him.
“Why do you think Cheongmyeong, who hadn’t grown a single centimeter while living with Hunter Do Hajun, suddenly started growing?”
“We did tests, but nothing came up.”
The doctors had thought it was just a normal growth spurt like in regular children, but shockingly, Lee Cheongmyeong’s growth plates were already closed.
The growth plates were responsible for height and body growth, so the fact that they were closed meant the child would not grow any taller.
“When you grew, there was only one thing that changed.”
As the rooftop door opened, the noisy sound of the waiting helicopter could be heard.
“Please, get in.”
Pushing through the strong wind, they boarded the helicopter.
“Wow.”
Seeing Lee Cheongmyeong marveling at the helicopter with his mouth open, Do Hajun fastened his seatbelt.
Watching Do Hajun, Chae Yiwon smiled and sat in her seat.
Finally, Do Hajun sat next to Lee Cheongmyeong, and the helicopter took off.
Inside the helicopter, the noise was too loud to have any conversation. Watching Lee Cheongmyeong glued to the window, gazing outside, Do Hajun recalled the conversation he had with Chae Yiwon before boarding.
It seemed that Chae Yiwon knew about Lee Cheongmyeong’s growth.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have brought up such a topic so suddenly.
The helicopter quickly moved and landed near Gangnam Station.
“Fun!”
As the helicopter stopped, Lee Cheongmyeong laughed with glee.
Do Hajun picked him up and got off the helicopter.
“This way.”
Following Chae Yiwon, they walked to an elevator held open by a man in a suit.
“Please, get in.”
The man did not follow them in; as soon as Chae Yiwon got in, the doors closed.
“To continue our earlier conversation.”
Do Hajun’s gaze turned to Chae Yiwon. She smiled at his eager look.
“The only difference is that Lee Cheongmyeong has been to a dungeon.”
With a ding, the elevator doors opened.
Passing through the empty lobby and exiting the building, they saw a black vortex.
A rift was beginning to form.
“Then we can hypothesize this: Lee Cheongmyeong grew after visiting a dungeon. What if a rift, stronger than a dungeon, has an even greater effect?”
Chae Yiwon smiled brightly.
* * *
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