EFME 8

“Why? You said the two of us might be alone together. If there’s something you don’t like, shouldn’t we speak openly and coordinate?”

“The kid doesn’t like it.”

At Muyoung’s words, Jihyun’s mouth hung wide open. Bada scowled deeply, and Dakyung began spinning his index finger near his temple before quickly dropping his hand upon meeting Muyoung’s gaze.

“You’re not the type to care whether someone likes something or not!”

“Exactly. Why are you suddenly acting like this?”

Jihyun and Dakyung whispered to each other.

“When Il-hyun said he hated monsters with lots of legs, you threw him right at a centipede monster and told him to get used to it.”

“When Hyeon-ju noona said she loathed scary things, you dragged her into a Nightmare Dungeon.”

“When Chaeyoung unnie said—”

“That’s enough.”

At Muyoung’s chilly words, Jihyun and Dakyung shut their mouths tight. However, their eyes looked like they still had much to say.

“They are Awakened. This one is a civilian.” The three of them turned their gazes toward Sunyul simultaneously.

Sunyul shrank back instinctively under their stares, which seemed to ask, ‘Is that thing a civilian?’

Seeing that pitiful expression, Bada clicked his tongue.

“Why is he built like this?”

“Lee Bada.”

“No, I mean, look at him. He looks as miserable as a puppy in the rain. It’s not like he’s trying to trigger people’s sympathy on purpose.” Bada scanned Sunyul up and down with a sour look. A hint of compassion was etched into his eyes, which usually only looked fierce. Jihyun whispered to Bada loudly enough for everyone to hear.

“Oh, is this type Bada’s taste?”

“What kind of bullshit is that?”

“Well, your past lovers have all been that type, haven’t they?”

“They have not!” Bada jumped in denial, looking disgusted. Beside him, Dakyung stared intently at Sunyul.

“They said on Hunter-net that Yiili probably has a Charm skill; I guess it’s true. Bada hyung is already hooked.”

“I said it’s not like that, you brat!” As Sunyul watched them cause a scene amongst themselves, his eyes darting back and forth, Muyoung placed a hand on Sunyul’s shoulder.

“Don’t pay any mind to the words of people who have nothing in their heads.”

“Excuse me, I have ears, you know? I’m hearing everything.”

“I have a head too!”

“I didn’t say you don’t have a head, hyung. I said there’s nothing in it.”

[That’s enough, be quiet. Stand still and look this way.]

Muyoung spoke. It wasn’t ordinary speech but one of the skills he possessed, Power Word. Targets who hear a Power Word are forced to act as commanded. In the case of Bada and Dakyung, the skill effect wasn’t perfectly applied since they were S-Class, but it worked on a light level. After confirming the three had grown quiet, Muyoung deactivated the skill.

“I haven’t introduced him properly yet; this is Lim Sunyul. Do you understand?”

He was telling them not to refer to him as I—21, or as ‘this,’ ‘that,’ or ‘it,’ but to use his proper name.

“Yeees.”

“Got it.”

“Yep.” The three responded in their own ways. However, it truly was a strange sight. Originally, Muyoung was not a person who paid such delicate attention to others. It was the same regardless of who the counterpart was. He was indifferent to fans who liked him, he didn’t care much if others brandished power or wealth, and he didn’t give a thought to how much hostility someone showed him. Because of this, fans liked him in their own way, saying his devotion to his main job was cool; those who brandished power or wealth usually ended up getting screwed over; and Muyoung only personally crushed those rare humans who attacked him with malice. But fundamentally, Kwon Muyoung was an indifferent person no matter what anyone did. For that Kwon Muyoung to go beyond simply being mindful and actually take care of someone? This was truly unbelievable.

“Right, Sunyul. Looking forward to working with you.”

“Looking forward to it too.” Jihyun and Dakyung gave formal greetings. Bada, who had been watching the two, was forced to speak up as well.

“Me too.”

“Let’s forget the past and get along well.” Jihyun said with a laugh. The past? Sunyul didn’t understand what she meant.

“Don’t you remember? Well, I suppose it was a chaotic time.”

“What was?”

“I was there when you first woke up. The restraints that tied you then were mine.” At Jihyun’s words, Sunyul recalled that time.

After his short conversation with Muyoung, the surroundings had turned into a mess. People were saying things like ‘What is this?’, ‘What do we do about this?’, ‘This is insane’… Amidst that shock, someone struck Sunyul, and he fainted. When he opened his eyes, he was inside a jolting car. With both hands and feet tied, he was being moved inside a box like a piece of luggage. When he screamed in terror, someone knocked Sunyul out again, and when he woke up next, he was in the laboratory of the Bureau of Unusual Abilities. Recalling bad memories made Sunyul feel depressed instinctively. However, he tried his best to smile as if he wasn’t depressed. Of course, it was obvious that the smile was forced.

“I’m fine. It’s nothing.”

“What are we going to do with him? It’s a bit heart-wrenching.” Jihyun looked at Sunyul with pity, as everything he was thinking showed on his face. Sunyul looked at Jihyun, not knowing why. His appearance, which looked like he’d lose everything if he ran into a scammer, stimulated Jihyun.

“Hey, we should get going soon.” At that moment, Bada said while looking at his watch. Jihyun checked the time and nodded.

“You’re right. We’ll be going now, Guild Leader.”

“Alright.”

“See you next time, Sunyul.” Unlike Jihyun who said goodbye, Bada just gave a glance and headed toward the elevator without a word.

Sunyul looked at Dakyung, who remained behind. Dakyung shrugged.

“I’m on guild standby.”

“Then follow us, Jeong Dakyung.”

“Huh?”

“You should get used to it in advance.”

At Muyoung’s words, Dakyung wore a face as if he’d been struck by a bolt from the blue.

“I’m on standby, though…”

“Extra allowance.”

“I had nothing to do anyway.” Dakyung, who flipped his attitude 180 degrees, followed immediately. Thus, the three of them finished looking around the 24th floor. Unlike Muyoung, who just looked around the space, Dakyung added explanations every time they moved around, so it took much longer.

Sunyul didn’t mind that. Everything was full of wonder. Seeing Sunyul’s attentive attitude, Dakyung talked even more excitedly. He looked quite proud by the time they finished the 24th floor.

“Then shall we go to the 25th floor?”

“We already toured the 25th and 26th floors.”

“Already? Then are we not going anywhere else? It looks like Lim Sunyul wants to see more.”

Muyoung turned to Sunyul. Since he was inwardly thinking it was a shame, Sunyul wore a startled expression. Muyoung checked his watch and nodded, saying they should do that.

“Then where…”

“Let’s go to the 27th floor? His eyes will probably pop out if we go there.”

Muyoung, who hadn’t intended to take him as far as the 27th floor, fell into thought for a moment. He decided it wouldn’t matter much since he was with him anyway, so he nodded.

“Fine. Let’s go.” Carrying Sunyul’s curiosity about what kind of place it could be, they arrived on the 27th floor. As soon as they stepped off the elevator, a space where paintings were hung like an art gallery came into view. They looked like simple paintings, but most of them were items. There is a painter who has a skill that grants effects to the pictures they draw, turning them into items; these were paintings by that artist. A significant number of that artist’s items were in the Cheongyeon Guild, serving as the guild’s protective barrier.

Sunyul looked around in wonder and stopped in front of one particular painting. It was a painting of a young man standing among collapsed buildings. Judging by the sparkling aura floating around the man, he seemed to be a Hunter.

“Oh, this kind of looks like Lim Sunyul?”

Dakyung, who had followed along, said as he looked back and forth between the man in the painting and Sunyul.

Just as Dakyung said, the painting and Sunyul looked quite alike. From the delicate face to the light golden-brown hair and eye color. It was a painting to the point that one would believe it if told Sunyul was the model.

“It’s amazing. This is a Choi Jinseo painting, right?”

“Yeah. Almost everything here is Choi Jinseo’s work. Although a few are just ordinary paintings.” Muyoung, who had personally purchased the paintings here, pointed to another one.

“That’s also Choi Jinseo’s painting.” There was a man who looked like Sunyul there too. In that painting, the man’s back was turned so his face couldn’t be confirmed, but the hair color and clothing were the same as the other painting.

“Until five years ago, figures were included in the paintings, but after the Rift incident, the artist began painting only landscapes.”

“Don’t tell me, the model passed away…”

“It’s not that. According to Choi Jinseo, the artist can no longer recall landscapes where that man is present.” Come to think of it, Muyoung had stopped purchasing Choi Jinseo’s paintings around then as well. Perhaps because he had collected enough. Items with similar effects were plenty, anyway.

“To think there was such a story… I come here every day but I’m just finding out.” Hearing that explanation, Sunyul’s heart felt strangely turbulent. He also felt as if a corner of his chest was stuffy and tightly blocked.

[‘The Eternal Night Traveler’ praises it as a wonderful painting of a truly excellent model.] Yes, it was just a good painting. Thinking that the stuffy feeling must just be his imagination, Sunyul turned away from the painting. He looked at all the other paintings hung at the entrance and headed further inside. The inner area was the item storage room. It was a place where no one could enter without permission because there were quite a lot of precious items.

Dakyung thought it was amazing that Muyoung had brought him in here so readily, even if he was the one who suggested it. No matter how much he saw it, he couldn’t get used to it.