EFME 107

The Taepyeong Guild.

Established ten years ago, the roots of this guild originated from an organized crime gang, and it was still being run by them today.

Its reputation as a guild was not particularly good. This was due to the fact that quite a few lower-ranking guild members had been sacrificed in several tragic accidents that occurred inside dungeons.

For that reason, few hunters wanted to join the Taepyeong Guild. Only the occasional fool who was truly desperate for money would seek them out.

And so, a D-class hunter with shaggy hair and glasses approached the Taepyeong Guild with a servile attitude, looking as if he would willingly drop to his knees.

“I heard that the Taepyeong Guild even gives salary advances…….”

Mun Dajin, a C-class hunter who had been sitting with his legs stretched out on top of the table, lowered his legs with a bored expression. He then crossed his legs, pulled a cigarette from his breast pocket, and lit it.

“We do give them. But that’s only if you pass our guild’s interview.”

“I can do anything. Just give me a task.”

Desperation was clear in the eyes of the person speaking. Mun Dajin liked eyes like that. People with those kinds of eyes were easy to use, and the exact moment that spirit broke was… incredibly thrilling.

“Ah, well, it’s not like our guild forces you to do such harsh work. Did you say your name was Lee Seonwoo?”

“Yes, yes.”

“And you’re a D-class hunter?”

“Yes.”

Mun Dajin let out a smirk and blew cigarette smoke right at him. Unable to even cough, the other party endured the smoke with a forced smile on his face. The sight was rather amusing.

Lee Seonwoo, or rather, Lim Sunyul in disguise, was inwardly thinking it was a relief. Because of the mask item covering his face, he couldn’t form expressions at will. If it weren’t for the mask, his expression would have completely contorted.

Mun Dajin flicked his cigarette ash and snickered.

“Your skills… are pretty good? Minor Blessing of Strength and Minor Blessing of Agility.”

“Thank you.”

“With these, you could easily receive a contract fee and go somewhere else, so why are you trying to join our guild, which doesn’t even offer a contract fee?”

“Uh, that’s…….”

When Sunyul hesitated, unable to readily speak, Mun Dajin twitched his eyebrows threateningly.

“You’d better speak honestly?”

“……I, I have a criminal record.”

Of course, it was a fabricated record. Sunyul felt incredibly ashamed the moment he had to say with his own mouth that he had a criminal record.

On the other hand, a peculiar gleam appeared in Mun Dajin’s eyes.

“Really? You look like a total schoolboy, so that’s unexpected. What is it? No, don’t tell me. Let me guess.”

All sorts of filthy words poured out of Mun Dajin’s mouth. Sunyul felt as though he were sitting still and taking a mental attack.

Among the things Mun Dajin listed, the criminal history from Sunyul’s disguise happened to be there, so when Sunyul affirmed it, Dajin smiled brightly like a child, wondering what could be so great about it. He was truly… a disgusting human being.

“Fine, you pass.”

“Thank you!”

Sunyul thanked him sincerely at the thought that he could finally escape. Thanks to that, he was able to avoid drawing even a shred of suspicion.

Mun Dajin pulled out another cigarette and asked.

“So, how much do you need?”

“I’ll take whatever you give me.”

“I asked how much you need.”

“Te-Ten million won… if you could give it to me in ca-cash.”

“Haha!”

Mun Dajin laughed loudly and ordered a subordinate standing nearby to bring the money. Inside the shopping bag, there really was ten million won.

“Here, it’s an advance. Guess how many months of an advance this is?”

“Uh…….”

As Sunyul stood there looking blank, Mun Dajin laughed and clapped him on the shoulder.

“Three months’ worth.”

“Ah, yes…….”

“It’s a bit small for a hunter, right? It’s because you’re still a probationer. Instead, the guild will provide your meals.”

“Thank you.”

Sunyul swallowed the urge to scream that this wasn’t right, and continuously bowed his head deferentially.

“Do you have a place to live?”

“I do.”

“Don’t waste your money for no reason; come out and use the dormitory.”

“Since I already paid the rent in advance……. I’ll use it just until this month and move into the dormitory starting next month.”

Mun Dajin stared intently at Sunyul. Should I just move houses right away? But living in a dormitory would restrict his freedom of movement, making things inconvenient. They might even install surveillance cameras or something.

“Well, fine.”

Fortunately, Dajin did not insist persistently.

“Bongshik.”

“Yes, Boss.”

The man standing beside her stepped forward, bowing deeply as he answered.

“Teach Seonwoo here the ropes. He’s still a newbie, so start with the easy things.”

“Yes, ma’am, understood.”

Bongshik, who had bowed extremely politely to her, gestured to Sunyul with his eyes. Sunyul gave a respectful bow to Mun Dajin and followed Bongshik.

The place Sunyul arrived at was none other than the pantry.

“Do you know how to brew coffee?”

“Ah, n-no.”

“Haven’t you even worked a part-time job?”

“No.”

“What’s so great about ‘no’ that you’re answering back like that, huh?”

Bongshik smacked Sunyul on the back of his head.

Sunyul was utterly dumbfounded. It didn’t hurt, but it left a terrible taste in his mouth. It was his first time being struck like this. Seeing how the man’s hand flew out just because an answer wasn’t entirely to his liking, Sunyul felt he could grasp the measure of the man’s character.

In any case, Sunyul learned how to brew coffee from Bongshik. Brewing coffee was actually somewhat interesting in its own way. Though because he learned it while being scolded by Bongshik, his irritation outweighed his interest.

What he learned after brewing coffee was all sorts of chores. How to clean and throw out the trash, how to hand-wash sweat-soaked defensive items so they wouldn’t get damaged…….

“There’s a lot of work, isn’t there?”

“Ah, yes.”

“What do you mean there’s a lot? You should at least do this much. You little…….”

Bongshik smacked Sunyul on the back of his head with a thudding sound.

He was hit again. He genuinely felt wronged.

While gently rubbing and washing the laundry that gave off a dreadful smell from sitting around too long, Sunyul watched Bongshik’s expression and asked.

“Do we… not enter dungeons?”

“Do you think dungeon raids are common or something? Normally, you just do chores, and then you enter when the Boss calls you.”

“Yes…….”

“Just do your job well. Wash all of that, and from here all the way to that hallway over there. Mop it down thoroughly.”

Bongshik left after leaving only those words. Sunyul was left in the bathroom with two items of smelly laundry and a mop. Sunyul held back a heavy sigh and finished the laundry.

He had come here after much opposition.

Because it was a dangerous but important matter, he absolutely wanted to do it. He hadn’t stepped up with a light heart, either. He was truly capable, and since he was an EX-class, he was confident he wouldn’t get hurt.

There was no way he could ruin such a task just because he was scolded a bit and hit a few times by Bongshik. Even at this very moment, the victims might be facing unknown dangers.

After scanning his surroundings, Sunyul summoned his homunculi. Summoning them in the form of small bugs, Sunyul scattered the homunculi in all directions.

‘Go gather some information related to the disappearance cases.‘

Jihyun’s search skill was supposed to display results automatically on the system window, but Sunyul’s homunculi did not possess that level of capability.

He had to conduct the investigation by verifying the signals sent by the homunculi whenever they reacted after listening to Sunyul’s orders. Of course, that alone was a considerably useful ability.

After finishing the laundry and while mopping the floor, Sunyul received a signal from a homunculus. Sunyul linked his senses with the homunculus that had sent him the signal.

—……started investigating too?

—Yes, things have become a bit troublesome.

It was the voices of Mun Dajin and someone else.

—What did the client say?

—Well, they didn’t really seem to understand our words. Seeing how they recklessly demand we procure it according to the schedule. Those bastards don’t seem to know just how much effort goes into procuring a single person.

—Not a person, an item. Watch your mouth and be careful as usual so you don’t make a slip of the tongue somewhere.

—I-I’m sorry.

—And listen… it’s not that they don’t know procuring items is hard work. They know, which is why they pay that much money.

—Ah, ah… it’s just as you say, Boss.

—Think of it positively. It’s a safe job where your life isn’t on the line, right? You just need to procure the items properly and deliver them.

—Boss, doesn’t the item that came in today look decent?

—Lee Seonwoo?

—Yes. Seeing how a hunter can’t even scrape together ten million won, it seems he hardly has anyone around him. It feels like no one would care even if he vanished.

—Keep a close eye on him for now. Since we can probably use him elsewhere too, let’s leave him as a last resort and try procuring other items first.

—Yes.

—Do a good job. As long as we don’t leave any traces, we’ll be able to blend into the recent disappearance cases.

—Understood.

—Right. Do it carefully, and don’t get too greedy.

—Yes, ma’am.

Whether the conversation ended with that, the sound of a door opening and closing was heard along with footsteps. Sunyul left the homunculus on standby in that spot for the time being.

Sunyul tilted his head.

They explicitly said they were procuring people to deliver to a client. Delivering people and receiving money……. They also said that ‘Lee Seonwoo,’ who came in today, looked quite decent. Mentioning that no one would care even if he vanished.

Putting it all together with the final comment about blending into the disappearance cases… no matter how he thought about it, it sounded as if a part of the disappearance cases was connected to these guys.

Sunyul did not move rashly.

If it were a simple crime, he would beat them down, but human safety was on the line. It would be a disaster if things went wrong and they took hostages or attempted to destroy evidence.

Instead, Sunyul diligently finished the work dumped on him by Bongshik. Looking at the clean hallway made him feel somewhat proud…….

“Hey, do it properly. Properly!”

“…….”

“This corner hasn’t been wiped. You little punk!”

“Yes, I’m sorr…….”

Thud.

Once again, Bongshik smacked the back of his head. Sunyul made up his mind to definitely smack the back of Bongshik’s head later.

“Still, you managed an average job for this much.”

Bongshik spoke while clicking his tongue.

If I managed an average job on my first time, isn’t that doing well?

Instead of saying that aloud, Sunyul bowed and said, “Thank you.” Bongshik spat on the floor, telling him to do well, and walked away. Sunyul wiped up the spit Bongshik had left behind with his mop.

Hitting someone else’s head, spitting indoors—he was a truly bad guy.

Having gathered all the homunculi, Sunyul decided to clock out for the day.

The place he went after work today was not Muyoung’s house, but a temporarily arranged home, a gosiwon (T/N: a tiny, budget-friendly micro-room).

The reason he specifically chose a gosiwon was to avoid any potential surveillance. Even though his identity was well-crafted, it was Sunyul’s choice to prepare for the eventuality that Taepyeong might become suspicious and put him under surveillance.

Upon arriving here, Sunyul experienced a bit of a culture shock.

Because the only houses Sunyul had experienced belonged to high-income earners—Muyoung’s house, Bada’s house, and Jaehoon’s house. A gosiwon, where everything was contained in a single room, was surprising in many ways.

In any case, since it would be his lodging for the time being, Sunyul took a long look around the gosiwon, resolving to settle his heart in. It had been a shock when he first saw it, but looking at it now, it felt a bit cozy.

Just in case, Sunyul pulled out the smartphone he had hidden away under the gosiwon bed. A contact had arrived there.

Unexpectedly, it was a message that one of the missing persons had been found.