* * *
The continuous sound of camera shutters and people calling my name in a friendly tone caught me off guard.
I had assumed everything online would be overflowing with insults—so much so that I hadn’t checked any articles or even glanced at the “HuntTube” comments.
But now, seeing people’s reactions in person… this was unexpected.
Some even started throwing questions at me like they were conducting interviews.
I had to force a smile as I squeezed through the crowd.
“Hyung?”
“Just shut up and follow me.”
Without another word, I quickly unlocked the shop door and shoved Woo Jaehyun inside.
Pushed in practically by force, he didn’t seem the least bit bothered—in fact, he broke into a bright smile.
“Hyung, it’s been so long! You got even more handsome, didn’t you?”
He leaned in close as he spoke, and for some reason, he looked a little more worn out than last time.
Still radiant, of course, but there were faint shadows under his eyes, like he hadn’t been sleeping well.
Something must’ve happened…
That subtle difference weirdly stuck with me.
“It hasn’t been that long.”
“It’s been over two weeks. I missed you so much, I thought I was gonna die, hyeooong.”
He whined and tried to sneak in a hug, but I blocked him without hesitation.
He immediately pouted, complaining that I was being too mean, but I ignored him completely.
Well, now that I think about it…
Maybe because I’d been holed up at home all day, I lost track of time.
For me, it had only been about a week, but officially, it had been more than 20 days since I disappeared.
“Anyway, why are you even here?”
“You said you’d be opening the shop alone, so I came to help.”
His cheeks puffed up as he answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
That ridiculous look on his face left me speechless.
Now that I think back, during the three days since I returned home, Woo Jaehyun had been constantly trying to contact me.
I didn’t even have my phone, but somehow, he’d found out my father’s number and kept reaching out.
Compared to how he never even used to text, it was a drastic change.
Not that he had anything important to say.
Most of it was trivial: “What are you doing now?” “Have you eaten?”
That kind of thing.
Even when I made it painfully clear that I wasn’t interested, he kept texting me detailed reports about his daily routine.
Oddly enough, he never brought up anything about the dungeon.
Not once.
It was like he was intentionally avoiding the topic.
During one of those small conversations, I’d casually mentioned I might open the shop alone tomorrow.
That was it.
And now he shows up like this?
“You came to help? What about the guild?”
“It’s fine. It runs just fine without me now.”
Is that something a guild master should say?
The scolding reached my throat, but I held it back.
Honestly, I had some responsibility here too.
I was the one who’d made the guild master step away from his duties in the first place.
“Wait, you’re not going into the dungeon? What if there’s a break?!”
“It’s not like it’s a Red Gate. It’ll be fine. I can just send the A-rank guys.”
“……”
The more we talked, the guiltier I felt toward the Arion Guild members.
If this keeps up, I’ll be the one getting cursed out.
Rubbing my eyes with a sigh, I glanced toward the entrance.
People were now blatantly pressing up against the glass, taking photos.
“Did you tell them where I was?”
“No? I was just standing there, and they started gathering on their own.”
Of course they did.
The Woo Jaehyun I know would’ve anticipated this situation from the start.
Whether it was intentional or not, it wasn’t a bad marketing tactic—at least in terms of the shop’s sales.
With his level of influence, he’s practically overqualified to be a promotional model.
“But what’s with your face?”
Despite that perfect model face, there was a glaring piece of white gauze slapped across it.
It had been bothering me, so I reached out and brushed my fingers against it.
Woo Jaehyun flinched dramatically.
“Ow… Do Soohyuk did that, hyeooong.”
He immediately pulled a sad face, like he’d been waiting for this moment.
Eyebrows drooping, he nuzzled his cheek into my hand like some oversized puppy with zero self-awareness.
Do Soohyuk?
Either way, I stood still, trying to recall what happened yesterday.
Was it around lunchtime?
I’d just finished taking care of Dad and was cleaning the house when I accidentally turned on the TV with the remote.
Without meaning to, I caught a breaking news segment.
I hadn’t been watching any media lately, and I’d been ignoring all calls from reporters, so I quickly turned it off.
But during that brief second, I clearly saw a headline mentioning Do Soohyuk being in a fight with someone.
And now it seems that someone… was Woo Jaehyun.
They didn’t seem to get along that badly in China…
Actually, it wasn’t even about getting along.
After that brutal argument in the forest, they’d basically acted like the other didn’t exist.
“Why didn’t you use a potion?”
Whatever the reason, getting caught up in a fight between S-classes is never a good idea.
Taking sides would only make things worse.
As I carefully brushed the gauze, Woo Jaehyun whimpered like an injured pup.
“I wanted to show you…”
But for someone claiming to be in pain, he tore the gauze off rather roughly.
The skin beneath—twisted and blackened by burns—was completely exposed.
No, “twisted” wasn’t quite right. It was charred pitch-black.
“……”
I thought he was exaggerating, but it was way worse than I expected.
Just at a glance, it looked like the damage went beyond muscle—maybe even to the bone.
The burn must’ve been direct, and it was the kind of injury that made you wince just looking at it.
And he didn’t use a potion just so he could show me this?
Leaving a wound this severe untreated over something so stupid made my blood boil. Now I see why Cha Rui called him a dumbass.
Splash!
I pulled out a high-grade potion from my inventory and poured it all over his face.
Caught completely off guard, Woo Jaehyun blinked in shock as he stared at me, soaking wet.
I couldn’t care less.
In the blink of an eye, the ugly wound vanished, replaced by smooth, glowing skin like a freshly peeled egg.
Without hesitation, I pulled a bundle of green onions from the shopping basket and shoved them into his arms.
“Wash these.”
I was still fuming, but Woo Jaehyun happily cradled the leeks with a goofy grin.
That annoying face convinced me—I’d work him hard today.
I’d already be hated by his guild anyway; might as well make the most of him.
Just as I was about to start sorting ingredients, things outside got noisy.
The murmurs of the crowd grew louder until I started hearing excited voices.
“What’s going on out there?”
“Ah, damn… that clueless bastard.”
Woo Jaehyun seemed to realize something and looked seriously displeased.
Confused, I turned my head toward the glass—where a very familiar silhouette stood.
Even with a cap pulled down low, covering his hair and face, that build was unmistakable.
People had already recognized him and were keeping their distance, watching him from afar.
“Cha Rui?”
There he was, dressed in casual sportswear, standing tall and still, just waiting for me to open the door.
Maybe it was just my imagination… but even his face looked a bit more worn out than before.
Does he even know how to use his damn mouth?
As soon as the door opened in surprise, Cha Rui’s eyes sharply narrowed.
At the end of that displeased gaze stood Woo Jaehyun, clutching a bunch of green onions.
“You said you’d work alone.”
“Hyung, did you tell that bastard too?”
“…”
The two of them spoke at the exact same time—again, just like that other time.
At this point, even they seemed to notice it, their expressions barely suppressing a sigh.
They seem perfectly in sync. So why won’t they just get along?
In the movie, whenever their skill compatibility synced up, it created a real sense of catharsis.
But in real life, it was already a blessing if they weren’t at each other’s throats.
“I mean… yeah, I told him.”
Just how in sync were they, that Cha Rui had also been texting me constantly for the past four days.
It was like the two of them had planned it.
He wasn’t one to go on and on about his day like someone else, but purely in terms of message frequency, Cha Rui was no slouch either.
Between caring for my dad and handling housework, checking my phone in between was almost too much.
Still, we were a bit closer now, and I didn’t have the heart to just ignore them.
“Anyway, you came to help too, didn’t you, Cha Rui?”
So at the very least, I had to wring every bit of value out of them today to make up for all that effort.
It’s not like he came here just to leisurely eat tteokbokki.
I snatched a dishcloth and shoved it into Cha Rui’s arms.
Then, turning to the one still standing there awkwardly, I gave a firm nod.
“What are you waiting for? Wipe down the tables.”
And to cut to the chase, neither of them had any talent for this.
Typical rich boys.
Woo Jaehyun was cutting so generously that he threw out not just the peels, but the actual insides of the ingredients, while Cha Rui looked like someone who’d never wiped a table in his life.
He looked more ready to destroy the furniture than clean it, and just holding the dishcloth seemed unnatural.
They were trying, sure—but not helping at all. In the end, I had no choice but to step in.
After giving them instructions one by one, we barely managed to open the store on time.
Getting “full value” out of them, my ass.
By the time I was stirring the tteokbokki late into the evening—later than usual—I was already completely drained.
* * *
