In the Blue Dragon Guild, Shin Moon opened the door to the only penthouse in the building. She received a new report regarding her guildmaster's order and came here to deliver it.
Click.
The moment she entered, she could feel the scorching heat coming from the penthouse's centralized heater.
"Ugh…"
Good thing she brought a powerful mini fan with her. She came prepared, already expecting this situation.
Her guildmaster seemed irritated these days. It all started on the day after they got out of the dungeon. Shin Moon came to the location when she heard that the gate's rank changed mid-raid. She was not too anxious though, since the team has an SS-Rank hunter with them.
The first thing she saw was Han Jiwon carrying an unconscious Baek Haemin, and hurrying to get out of the gate without looking back. Seeing how the only support hunter in the team fainted, Shin Moon started getting nervous, but for different reasons.
Don't tell me… Did the guildmaster beat Baek Haemin up?
Her head throbbed at the trouble it would cause to the whole guild, if it was so. Just thinking about how Baek Raehwan would retaliate for his brother is already enough to give her a headache.
Thankfully, the Blue Dragon hunters soon came out alongside their guildmaster. However, she quickly noticed the tension within the team. They all seemed to be on edge around their guildmaster, obviously keeping their distance from him.
When she asked about what happened, Kang Minho, the team's porter, tried his best to explain. But she still couldn't understand.
She knocked on the wall while looking around the empty hall.
"Guildmaster?"
Knock. Knock.
But no one answered. At times like these, she hated how big the space was. Only one person was living here, but it was unnecessarily huge.
She went around looking until one person came out from the shower. The overflowing steam was still visible, very telling of how hot the water must have been.
However, the person who just washed himself with that hot water did not seem fazed. In fact, he even looked cold at the way he trembled as soon as he got out of the shower.
She bowed her head slightly,
"Good morning, guildmaster."
"What happened?"
Ryu Jinmu took a towel to wipe his wet hair.
Shin Moon sat on the sofa while laying down the papers on the desk.
"It's impossible. As expected, the Blackmane Guild was not letting us get to Hunter Baek Haemin. I'm also certain that Guildmaster Raehwan was blocking all direct communication to him right now."
Ryu Jinmu read the report without saying anything. It's not like he didn't expect it, but it was still annoying. His body is freezing more than ever, and no one has seen Baek Haemin go outside of the Baek manor these past few days.
Even now, he was still thinking about that time in the dungeon. Was it just his imagination? Was it desperation? He wanted to confirm one more time if the warmth he felt from Baek Haemin was real.
Just one more time…
He stared at the photo of the unconscious Baek Haemin. It was a photo taken by one of the reporters when they came out of the dungeon.
Ryu Jinmu heaved a heavy sigh.
"It can't be helped, then."
He figured he just had to go and pay him a visit personally. He ordered his secretary to get ready as they went to the Blackmane Guild.
Meanwhile, Baek Haemin proceeded to explore the mall on his own. He promised himself it would only be for a short while. He didn't want to leave Han Jiwon on her own at the yogurt shop for too long. There was one place he wanted to visit even once since he got to this world.
After roaming for a bit, he finally found it.
A bookshop.
It didn't matter if it's one from the mall. He wanted to check if the books in his world exist here.
He silently looked around, caressing his chin shortly after. He managed to find some classic books in his world in this bookshop, even some popular novels.
Heh… I guess this world really isn't much different, huh?
In truth, he had searched online for one book in particular, but it didn't exist.
Rise of the SS-Rank Hunter.
The novel that this world is based from naturally did not exist. He could find novels that had similar plots, but it was not the same.
I mean, the plot and premise by itself isn't unique anyway.
"Huh? No way, Haemin-ssi…?"
He almost gasped when he heard a familiar voice. Haemin turned around to see a young and polite-looking man he got acquainted with just recently.
"Minho?"
"Ah, it really is Haemin-ssi! It's been a while. How are you feeling? Last time, you…"
Kang Minho approached him in joy.
"Well, I'm fine now, as you can see."
Haemin scratched his head awkwardly. He did not expect to see anyone he knows here.
"What a surprise. You don't have any idea how shocked I am to see you inside a bookstore!"
"A, ha ha…"
That's true. The real Baek Haemin might have never gone inside one.
He noticed what the young porter had in his hands and asked about it.
"Is that sudoku?"
"Ah, yes! My grandmother really loves playing these. She told me last time that she's running out of them, so I came here to get some."
Kang Minho seemed shy, talking about his grandmother. But Baek Haemin could only smile at him.
This guy's really good, huh?
He had a nice air around him, and his bright expressions helped others feel at ease with him. Baek Haemin had always liked such people.
The two chatted for a bit inside, and they decided to go to Han Jiwon together. While walking, they ended up talking about what happened on and after their raid.
Haemin wanted to take this chance and apologize properly for waking up the Neo Phoenix.
"About the SS-Rank monster…"
"Ah! Speaking of SS-Rank!"
Kang Minho interrupted him after realizing something.
"Haemin-ssi, have you talked to the guildmaster?"
"Guildmaster? You don't mean Ryu Jinmu, do you…?"
Haemin tilted his head.
"Yes. Ah, you haven't yet?"
"What, did something happen?"
He couldn't think of anything to talk about with Ryu Jinmu after the raid.
Kang Minho's brow lifted.
"Ah, well…"