Chapter 20

Chapter 20

"What happened? You're the one asking me out for drinks first? You always brushed me off saying you had to sculpt."

As soon as I got home, I called Eom Seok-hwan over.

It had been a while since we'd seen each other, and his very first words were full of hurt.

I really have been busy working.

Eom Seok-hwan might be famous inside Yeonwoo Guild, but in front of me, he was just an affectionate friend.

Looking at someone who hadn't changed whether before or after my awakening, I smiled slightly.

"I happened to get treated to a really good meal today. It was so good it made me want a drink. But I couldn't exactly ask the person buying dinner to order alcohol too."

"Really? Then we have to drink. Come on, raise your glass. This hyung will pour one for the bastard who went off and ate something delicious by himself."

"You're so petty.... Hold on, let me empty this first."

Clink.

The moment our glasses touched, Eom Seok-hwan knocked back his soju in one shot and immediately picked up the tongs.

The fresh pork belly on the grill soon began to sizzle.

I was starting to feel pleasantly buzzed from alcohol for the first time in a while when Eom Seok-hwan suddenly clapped his hands.

"Right. There was something I wanted to tell you."

"What is it? Why are you suddenly setting the mood?"

"The Association's acting a little strange. Our vice guild master told me to warn you in advance because they might approach you."

I looked at him curiously.

Eom Seok-hwan swallowed a piece of pork belly and began a long explanation.

"The Association isn't some outright evil organization, you know? From the perspective of ordinary civilians, they're actually pretty useful. They keep Hunters under control, manage Gates, keep guilds in check..."

"Sounds like Hunters wouldn't like them much."

"Exactly! It's called the Hunter Association, but they aren't on the Hunters' side. Absolutely not. They've scammed rookie Hunters before, buried Hunters through the media, all kinds of stuff. There's plenty of corruption too."

"And they might approach me?"

"Yeah. You have an S-Class production skill. The only one in the world. But!"

He paused dramatically and tilted his glass as though he were telling a joke.

Watching him grin relaxed me too.

It was clearly important, but it didn't feel like an immediate crisis.

"...But right now, you're only doing business with guilds."

"Can you even call it business? Aside from Yeonwoo Guild, the rest were sculpture commissions."

"Still. Every person you've dealt with has been from a major guild. From the Association's perspective, they might think you're more favorable toward guilds."

"Then if they approach me, it'll probably be because they want to establish business ties too."

"Mm. Probably."

I thought for a moment before asking what bothered me.

"Does Yeonwoo Guild not want me to do business with the Association?"

A little suspicion rose inside me.

Was Yeonwoo Guild trying to use me in some factional fight?

Personal goodwill and organizational goodwill were different things.

Even if the guild master and vice guild master personally liked me, they could still make decisions for the sake of the guild.

Especially Kim Sang-hyeon's image. He seems like the type who devotes himself completely to the guild.

If the Association had a particularly bad relationship with the major guilds, maybe Yeonwoo Guild didn't want my production ability becoming available to them.

But the moment the suspicion appeared, Eom Seok-hwan denied it.

"Of course not. If you want to do business with them, do it. The point is to be careful because the Association might want you to stop dealing with guilds and try something to make that happen."

"I already signed contracts. What could they even..."

"Hey, that's naive. There are plenty of dirty ways to force a contract to collapse."

His expression became serious, all traces of joking gone.

"...I'm telling you again, the Association has scammed Hunters before. Especially rookies. More than once. They've used media pressure too."

"..."

"Oh! Didn't you say you got close to Hunter Seol Ga-hyeon at Badger Guild? Ask her. I heard she was a victim too."

"I think I heard something like that..."

"See? I'm telling you!"

Eom Seok-hwan thumped the table a few times before pouring himself another drink.

"Anyway, for now it's only a rumor that they want to approach you. No need to stay tense all the time. I'm just warning you because once you start working again, you disappear for ages and nobody can contact you..."

We drank and talked for quite a while.

Then a commotion suddenly broke out near the front gate.

I looked toward the yard entrance.

Eom Seok-hwan muttered beside me.

"...A-Class?"

Judging by his tone, the person causing the disturbance was probably an A-Class Hunter.

My body stiffened.

It was the first disturbance I'd had since moving here.

A guard soon emerged from the darkness and approached us.

His face was expressionless, but his jaw was clenched tightly.

"Artist Do, Vice Guild Master Oh Hyeon-seok of Taepyeong Guild has come asking to see you."

"At this hour?"

How does he even know where I live?

"Shall we turn him away?"

The moment my face twisted into a frown, the guard asked awkwardly.

Why is he acting like that?

This guard had been with me during lunch with Guild Master Kim Gi-hun earlier.

That meant he already knew I'd rejected Taepyeong Guild's commission.

There should've been no reason for him to look this uncomfortable.

Seeing my confusion, Eom Seok-hwan moved closer and jabbed me in the side.

"Something happen with Taepyeong Guild?"

"I met their guild master earlier today. But we already finished talking..."

"Ahhh, poor Oh Hyeon-seok.... He came to clean up the mess."

I didn't understand what he meant, so he explained.

"He's famous. Always cleaning up after the guild master's accidents."

Ah.

So that's what this was.

Now that I looked at the guard again, there was plenty of pity in his expression too.

Like an office worker looking at another office worker suffering under a terrible boss.

Was he feeling some kind of kinship?

Eom Seok-hwan was making the exact same face.

Maybe office workers really did understand one another.

A dry laugh escaped me.

Still, coming at this hour?

I scratched near my eyebrow and spoke.

"I feel bad for him, but that's not a reason for me to meet him. Give him a reasonable warning and send him back."

"Yes."

I thought that would be the end of the whole building-defense item matter with Taepyeong Guild.

But the next day, shortly after eleven in the morning, Oh Hyeon-seok came again.

I was returning from a nearby mountain after taking Chaeri out to play when I found him kneeling in front of my gate in complete apology posture.

"Hello. My name is Oh Hyeon-seok, vice guild master of Taepyeong Guild. I sincerely apologize for visiting you again like this, but could you please give Taepyeong Guild a chance to apologize?"

He greeted me while still on his knees.

How long had he been sitting there?

Don't tell me he did this yesterday too.

Oh Hyeon-seok's voice was extremely low and atmospheric.

Unfortunately, his gentle appearance and the fact that he was kneeling destroyed all of that dignity.

His body looked solid enough since he was a Hunter, but he was shorter than average, and his drooping eyes gave him a soft, almost fragile impression.

And those dark circles under his eyes...

Didn't I read that Taepyeong Guild had a lot of former athletes and career soldiers?

When I'd researched Badger Guild, I'd also looked up Taepyeong Guild since they'd gifted me those mana stones.

Taepyeong Guild was led by Kim Gi-hun, a former judo athlete.

Many of its members had been athletes or retired soldiers before awakening.

That was also why nobody made much of the fact that their S-Class Hunter wasn't part of the executive leadership.

Unlike Badger Guild, it wasn't considered suspicious.

Taepyeong Guild was famous for valuing pre-awakening seniority relationships.

Their S-Class Hunter had been a female volleyball player before awakening.

Even now, she belonged to a combat team led by a senior player from the same old volleyball team.

So outsiders mostly reacted with,

Taepyeong Guild is obsessing over pre-awakening careers again.

For a guild with such a rough image, I hadn't expected its vice guild master to look this weak.

For some reason, I became curious about Oh Hyeon-seok.

It was easier to turn someone away when you hadn't seen their face.

Now that he was kneeling right in front of me, it bothered me.

...Maybe because he was famous for being a pitiful vice guild master.

And did he really have to kneel like this and make people feel guilty?

"...First, get up."

"Are you giving us a chance to apologize?"

"Yes. I'll hear you out. Come inside."

I entered with Oh Hyeon-seok following behind me.

I'd barely hosted anyone here besides Yoon Jamok and Eom Seok-hwan, so I briefly wondered where I should take him.

The weather's nice. Maybe outside?

There was a table decorating one side of the yard.

Perhaps because Yeonwoo Guild had originally owned the property, the place had already been furnished in a fairly elegant style when I moved in.

The yard was the same.

A small pond.

Fruit trees.

A tea table.

Someone had clearly put effort into making it beautiful.

After I installed a little drinking fountain for Chaeri, small wild birds had started visiting often too.

"Sit here for a moment. I'll bring something to drink."

"Thank you."

We didn't properly begin talking until coffee and fruit had been placed on the table.

"...I came because I wanted to apologize for the guild master's rudeness. I didn't think I'd be able to contact you any other way. I know visiting like this is another form of rudeness, but I hope you'll understand that it shows how strongly Taepyeong Guild wants to maintain a relationship with you."

"Haha. I never intended to cut ties with Taepyeong Guild."

"But you don't want anything to do with Guild Master Kim Gi-hun, do you?"

"...Excuse me?"

He said it so confidently that I was caught off guard.

Maybe I'd just never worked at a company before...?

Were you allowed to talk about your boss like that?

He hadn't openly insulted Kim Gi-hun, but still...

I stared at Oh Hyeon-seok in surprise.

Meanwhile, he calmly took another sip of coffee.

It had already been almost ten years since Oh Hyeon-seok began cleaning up after the guild master's accidents.

Taepyeong Guild had only ever had one vice guild master before him.

And that person had lasted only three years.

Considering Taepyeong Guild had existed for over twenty years, that was an astonishing fact.

It meant the guild had gone at least seven years without a vice guild master.

The reason was absurd.

Guild Master Kim Gi-hun had once gathered the executives and asked,

"Anyone want to be vice guild master?"

Every single person refused.

And their reason?

"I don't think I can do it."

Of course, after watching someone quit after three years, it was understandable that nobody wanted the job.

Still...

Did these people think authority was worthless?

Anyway, Oh Hyeon-seok had joined the guild later than many others.

But because he had ambition, he took the vice guild master position.

And now...

Ten years.

A full ten years.

Ten years of wondering what he'd done with his life while taking care of a disaster-prone guild master, yet still refusing to give up power and ambition.

Considering that most of his cleanup work consisted of apologizing on someone else's behalf, Oh Hyeon-seok could probably be called a master of proxy apologies.

Especially apologizing for Kim Gi-hun.

Because Kim Gi-hun said an unbelievable amount of nonsense.

He wandered around everywhere and managed to commit verbal crimes every time he met someone new.

At least he doesn't hit people. If someone with that terrifying face started getting involved in assault cases... Taepyeong Guild's image would've hit rock bottom years ago.

Contrary to his appearance, Kim Gi-hun was careful to restrain his mana around civilians.

He also avoided casually using awakened abilities.

Perhaps because of his background as an athlete, he was actually stricter about those things than many Hunters.

But his mouth.

That damned mouth.

I should sew it shut.

And this time, he'd caused a huge problem.

He'd gone and insulted the pride of the world's only S-Class production-type Hunter.

Oh Hyeon-seok had forced Kim Gi-hun to repeat exactly what he'd said.

It had been horrifying.

What?

He told someone who had clearly devoted their entire life to sculpture to stop wasting time on those little sculptures?

And then started talking about the trickle-down effect?

I'd rather die than deal with this. Seriously.

Even Shin Ha-gyeon, the master of South Korea's number-one guild, didn't treat Do Hwa-in carelessly.

Why couldn't Kim Gi-hun understand how insulting it was to deny art to an artist?

Does he think a guild can survive by itself? We need byproduct-processing companies, cooperation with other guilds for major Gate raids, and good relationships with the neighborhood around the guild headquarters if we want our members to live comfortably...

Anyway.

Judging by Do Hwa-in's reaction when he'd tested the waters just now, the artist didn't seem opposed to separating Taepyeong Guild from Kim Gi-hun personally.

If anything, this was the first time since they met that Do Hwa-in had begun smiling, almost as if he found the situation amusing.

He's a good person. He would've had every reason to hate even seeing a Taepyeong Guild member.

Oh Hyeon-seok calmly put down his cup and continued.

"I've heard what Guild Master Kim Gi-hun said to you that day. I want to make it very clear that comments dismissing art are not Taepyeong Guild's official position."

"Well... In the end, doesn't a guild follow its guild master's will?"

"No."

Do Hwa-in's eyes brightened.

He looked almost excited to hear what came next.

Oh Hyeon-seok opened his mouth, hoping his next words would appeal to him.

"That was simply the guild master's personal taste. He didn't even warn me, the person who handles the guild's actual operations, about what he intended to say. And unlike the guild master, Taepyeong Guild has many members who genuinely love art."

When he returned to the guild today, Oh Hyeon-seok fully intended to gather everyone and make them sit through an art-history lecture if necessary.

He had personally rushed here because repairing the relationship with Do Hwa-in was urgent.

But Oh Hyeon-seok was still an extremely busy vice guild master.

Coming here yesterday and today had already guaranteed him several nights of overtime.

And since he'd even knelt in front of Yeonwoo Guild's guards to emphasize his sincerity, surely the rest of Taepyeong Guild could handle studying a little.

"I see..."

Do Hwa-in didn't look entirely convinced.

Still, he no longer seemed annoyed by Oh Hyeon-seok's presence.

That was enough.

There was now a real possibility of maintaining the relationship.

Thank you, Artist Do!

This guy lied without even wetting his lips.

But at the same time...

He seemed like someone with enough power to turn those lies into truth.

Either way, I didn't think it would harm me.

If anything, he seemed desperate to make sure I was treated properly.

I actually liked him better like this than when he just looked like a pitiful office worker.

He wasn't merely someone chained to a guild.

There was something like a volcano simmering inside him.

Curious, I asked why he had come to apologize himself instead of forcing Kim Gi-hun to kneel.

His answer was...

"Ah, it's fine. I've knelt plenty of times for the sake of the guild."

That automatically made me wonder what exactly Kim Gi-hun ever did for the guild.

I could practically feel Kim Gi-hun's image falling even further in my mind.

Thanks to Oh Hyeon-seok, I was able to separate my opinion of Kim Gi-hun from my opinion of Taepyeong Guild itself.

And just as Kim Gi-hun's attitude had irritated me, Oh Hyeon-seok's attitude quickly improved my mood.

I'd never intended to become enemies with Taepyeong Guild in the first place.

Rejecting a commission wasn't the same thing as declaring war.

Now I was curious.

How differently would Oh Hyeon-seok present the exact same request?

"Then next time you come, leave Guild Master Kim Gi-hun behind and bring the commission proposal yourself, Vice Guild Master Oh."

"...! Of course. I'll personally take responsibility for everything related to Artist Do Hwa-in."

"Good. Ah, but I'd like the proposal to be more detailed. I've handled a few commissions now, and for some reason guild masters always seem to have a lot of secrets."

I added it jokingly.

Oh Hyeon-seok gave me a confident grin.

Before leaving, he handed me something as compensation for emotional distress.

A Gate mineral currently drawing a lot of attention among sculptors.

The Tear of Imeden.

It was about the size of an adult man's head.

I stared at the dazzlingly glowing mineral.

He really researched sculpture before coming here.

My opinion of Oh Hyeon-seok rose another level.