Chapter 79
Chapter 79
Right after Lude briefly stepped away, Kang Ihyun let out a sigh in his mind.
He couldn’t tell whether he should be glad that Lude could now manage on his own even in a crowd, or tense because he was finally about to face what needed to be settled with Jeong Suho.
It had started back in Busan when they met Nari. He had mentioned the NDA he signed to keep Kang Ihyun’s constitution secret and tossed out a careless line.
‘But you, didn’t he catch on too? Jeong Suho.’
Yes. Jeong Suho had definitely seen Kang Ihyun’s secret. They both knew it when they entered Nari’s unconscious together. And he was someone who hadn’t signed any contract.
Before coming to this Hunter’s Night, Lude had advised him that since all the S-ranks would gather, it would be best to sort out the ambiguous matter with Jeong Suho there.
If Jeong Suho didn’t know that he must not reveal Kang Ihyun’s secret, there could be consequences, and that misunderstanding would ease only if Kang Ihyun said it himself rather than Nari.
‘...That’s true, but.’
Kang Ihyun sighed inwardly. How was he supposed to do that when they both knew they were rivals in love.
Kang Ihyun admitted that Jeong Suho was a big presence to Nari, but he still didn’t want to bow his head first. He absolutely didn’t want to expose his own weak point first either.
Kang Ihyun slid his eyes over and glanced at Jeong Suho. He could see the other man working through what to say.
[The Constellation, Staff of Purification, cheered you on, saying to trust Nari’s words!]
‘…’
If he couldn’t avoid what he disliked, then striking first was the right move.
“H-Hey.”
Before Kang Ihyun could speak with that thought in mind, Jeong Suho spoke up first. He fidgeted with his fingers and looked at Kang Ihyun with an awkward expression.
“Ah, yes! What is it?”
“Uh… you know. Um, I-I have something to… to say. I couldn’t say it then… and if I don’t say it now… we won’t get many chances to meet.”
Seeing him hesitate with the tips of his ears a little red, Kang Ihyun raised about a million question marks in his head. Jeong Suho gave a sheepish smile and continued in a small voice.
Others wouldn’t hear it, but it was clear enough for Kang Ihyun, who sat at the same table.
“Uh, um, th… thanks for not telling anyone my secret.”
“Oh.”
Kang Ihyun froze with a smile still on his face. He had lost the initiative again. While he had been weighing pride and all sorts of issues, the man before him had once more moved first with straightforward action and without overthinking.
A strange jealousy sprouted inside him. Unaware of Kang Ihyun’s inner turmoil, Jeong Suho smiled shyly. Kang Ihyun shook his head.
“No. That was in the contract. Of course. And, um, Mr. Suho… could you also refrain from telling anyone else about me? I, well, you know.”
“…Ah, yeah! Of course!”
Even faced with Kang Ihyun’s cautious attitude, Jeong Suho kept nodding with a bashful grin. It felt like the attitude of someone who truly had no hidden underside, and Kang Ihyun quietly let out a breath of relief in his heart.
Covering each other’s vulnerabilities. What contract could be stronger than that? Brightening a little, Jeong Suho looked at Kang Ihyun and smiled.
“S-Still. To be honest, I worried a little. But I’m relieved. I thought, oh, you really are a good person, just like I heard on the phone.”
“…Ah, does Lude mention me a lot?”
Kang Ihyun already knew that Nari talked with Jeong Suho by phone for about an hour a day.
It made him jealous, but it wasn’t something he could interfere with, so he had looked away from it. Hearing that he himself had been mentioned made color rise to his face. Jeong Suho nodded with a bright smile.
“Yeah! A lot. Maybe because you two are together every day. He said you’re a good person, and… that you take good care of him, and that he’s grateful.”
A pleasant tickle brushed the edges of Kang Ihyun’s heart. Hearing that evaluation gave him the sense that he had become someone important to Nari to some degree, and that made him feel happy.
“S-So, I… If it’s you… I even thought it’d be good if you dated her.”
Until the bombshell came out of Jeong Suho’s mouth.
“Pardon?!”
At that, Kang Ihyun shot to his feet with a loud voice. As attention gathered, he cleared his throat and sat down again.
With his face bright red, Kang Ihyun stared at Jeong Suho.
“W-W-Why would you say something like…!”
“W-Was I wrong? I, I mean. Um. I-I thought you… liked her.”
Startled by his own words, Jeong Suho’s fingers twitched. Flustered, Kang Ihyun raised a hand to his mouth and failed to hide it. This man did not know how to speak in a roundabout way.
“No! I mean. I. Th… that… is true, but…”
‘What is this? Weren’t we rivals? Did Jeong Suho actually not have real feelings for Nari? Was I the only one who got jealous alone?’
His thoughts tangled and mixed until he had no idea how to react, and Kang Ihyun could only watch Jeong Suho’s face.
“I… I know. I can’t do for her what you do. I… can’t look after her as delicately as you do.”
Playing with his fingers, Jeong Suho gave a wry smile. Yet his tone wasn’t self-mocking. He spoke with a steady certainty instead.
“She needs you, not me. I know because I’ve seen her for a long time.”
He usually spoke slowly, but he said that he spoke clearly when he was sure of something.
Even if Jeong Suho had reached his own conclusion, Kang Ihyun was still confused. He spoke in a voice small enough not to carry to the next table.
“Um, well, we… we aren’t really anything like that. Saying this is… uh, a bit rude, isn’t it.”
“Huh? No. I know her well. And it’s not like she doesn’t have any feelings for you either.”
“What?”
For the past while his responses had been only “Pardon?” or “Yes?” and once again Kang Ihyun said “What?” Jeong Suho kept fidgeting with his fingers, looking abashed.
“S-So, anyway… I’ll acknowledge it too.”
The words rubbed him the wrong way despite the shy attitude. It sounded like giving permission, and for a second Kang Ihyun wondered if this was a psychological skirmish. He lifted an eyebrow.
“No, but she isn’t some object. Saying that to me like this feels a little inappropriate, doesn’t it?”
“Maybe... But if she thinks I’m showing the slightest hint of dislike, she’ll refuse even if she likes you. Even if you forced it and dated, it would break the moment you got jealous of me. That’s how it’s always been. You can’t take me out of her life, and she can’t be taken out of mine.”
He stroked his chin and continued. His tone truly felt free of any ulterior motive, which only made Kang Ihyun more confused.
“I only want her to be happy. If you don’t confess, I will. And then she’ll probably say yes, you know?”
‘...Is he being serious?’
Kang Ihyun was dumbfounded. It felt like sincerity, not a check.
There was conviction that if he pushed now, Nari would accept him as he was. There was also the confidence that even if Nari got a boyfriend, no one could outweigh his place in her life.
For a moment, the situation felt familiar, and Kang Ihyun rolled his eyes to think. Watching him, Jeong Suho flashed that bashful smile again.
“If… if you have my permission first, it’ll… make you feel more at ease at least. Yeah. You seem like a good person…!”
‘Ah, this is…’
Only after hearing that did Kang Ihyun realize why this felt familiar, and he let out a long sigh. He had seen this kind of scene on TV a lot.
‘This is the queen consort acknowledging the taking of a concubine…’
He conceded it. The man before him was someone he simply could not beat.
* * *
“Thank you for going to the trouble to come.”
“Oh, come on now~ think nothing of it. We made it here safely thanks to the efforts of you two as well~”
In a small conference room attached to the convention hall that Baek Jangmi had arranged, two guildmasters sat with Lee Jisung.
Above the room, a sphere of white mana had budded into being. Looking up at it, Lee Jisung let out a whistle.
“Is that it?”
“Yes. It is calculating now, so the result will come out soon. Anyway, I’m glad it was you who came and not the Wargod guildmaster. I just can’t trust that person.”
Baek Jangmi spoke bluntly without a care. Normally the guildmasters would gather and check the fortunes of the coming year, but this time Lee Jisung sat in place of Wargod’s guildmaster. It was clear proof that the real power had shifted.
“What about the Mago guildmaster? Not coming again this year?”
“This year he said the memorial rites for Nahan aren’t finished, so he couldn’t attend.”
He had made various excuses every year, so the memorial was surely an excuse. Resting her chin on her hand again, Kang Sujin stared at the white mana sphere.
“It would have been better if he had come this time. Calling for all the S-ranks means it won’t be a usual affair.”
Bring every S-rank. Since Baek Jangmi picked out those likely to be active in the coming year and made predictions, it meant those people would have work next year.
And the fact that all S-ranks would likely have to act…
It didn’t paint a hopeful picture, and Kang Sujin tapped the table with a fingernail in faint anxiety. Waving a hand as if to shake off nerves, Lee Jisung spoke.
“Ah, ah! I’ll go down to Mago and pass it along by myself, so no need to worry too much.”
“…Ah, that’s right, you’re from Busan, yes?”
“Yes, it’s a craft I learned in my hometown. When it comes to Hunter weapons, Busan stands out.”
At that, Kang Sujin and Baek Jangmi traded a glance.
Their predecessors as guildmasters had cast eyes on Busan’s Gate, and Mago’s guildmaster had built up weapon crafting to defend Busan.
The man before them was living proof of why the Mago guildmaster skipped Hunter’s Night every year. Kang Sujin sighed inwardly.
‘...How are we going to untangle this again.’
Even though the guildmaster had changed, Mago still kept its guard up against Sanctuary and White Night. Unless it was the regular Four Great Guilds meeting, they didn’t associate at all.
There was a reason that Hunter’s Night and the Four Great Guilds regular meeting existed. After Kang Hana’s death, the new guildmasters had worked to build cooperation and friendship between guilds.
Through the Four Great Guilds meeting, they reviewed each bloc’s strength, handled what needed handling, and at the end of the year, by way of the White Night guildmaster’s big-data-based prophecy, they sorted the next year’s major and minor events in advance.
Should a grade 1 Gate appear again, they would not handle it the way they had, and that cooperation was built on that pain.
But it was not easy. They had at least settled the power struggle within Wargod, but they had no idea how to deal with the festering resentment with Mago.
Soon, Baek Jangmi’s mana shone white.
‘At least we have a bridge in the form of Lee Jisung. That is a relief I suppose.’
Something had to change. They just didn’t know how.
“Ah, the result is about to come out it seems?”
With a low hum, Baek Jangmi’s white mana vibrated. A grim hunch kept creeping up on Kang Sujin, and she propped her chin on her hand. It was the most nerve-wracking moment of the year.
[Calculation complete. Predictive results will be released shortly.]
A mechanical voice sounded, and as both of them focused all their attention on the ceiling, a small thud sounded. Baek Jangmi had slumped over onto the table. Seeing it, Lee Jisung tried a weak joke.
“What is this~ Aren’t you a bit too nervous?”
There was no answer. At once, a sense of dread rose, and Kang Sujin and Lee Jisung looked at each other.
“Ms. Baek Jangmi? Jangmi? You with us?”
There was no reply from her.