Chapter 19: 19

Dark-Haired Beast (9)

“How could you not finish your work before I met up with Chunbok?”

“Didn’t Brother leave too early? There were more than seventy people rushing at me, so how could I get there right away?”

“Oh dear, you even got yourself hurt?”

As soon as they left the building, Sayun, who was waiting in the car, looked back at Geonjoo. Sayun ignored how Geonjoo flinched when he received his gaze and reached out his hand.

“If you’ve healed your wounds with the potion I gave you earlier, can you give me what’s left over, pretty?”

“…I haven’t had enough treatment yet.”

“Never mind, then.”

“Can’t you be this kind to me too?”

“Are you like him? Are you the same as him?”

Jongsik got a slap on the back after he complained grumpily and crawled into the driver’s seat, disappointed. Sayun threw him a potion suitable for healing his wounds and leaned onto the backrest.

“Has the merger been settled?”

“Yeah. But put a tail on Chunbok just in case.”

“I will contact Kyungjin privately.”

“There’ll be a welcoming party as soon as we get back, so tell him to prepare for it in advance as well.”

Having said that, Sayun looked out the window. It was dawn when they had left the guild, but after stopping by the villa and dealing with the Yongho Guild, the sun was already high in the middle of the sky. Sayun’s gaze turned to Geonjoo, who had been up all night.

“It’ll take more than four hours to get back, so you should get some sleep, pretty. But if you’re hungry, should we eat something?”

“There’s no need.”

Growl.

“…”

There was a brief silence in the car. If it was from Han Geonjoo’s stomach, he would have seen it as cute, but sadly, it came from Jongsik, so Sayun threw him a cold glare. Jongsik saw it through the rear-view mirror and was embarrassed, saying that it was a physiological reaction. He felt wronged because he didn’t know how many times this had already happened before.

Sayun sighed and tapped the window. He also hadn’t had food for two days, so he wanted to get something to eat. Since it came to this, he thought it would be better to just eat something before heading back.

“Stop and get out of the car, Jongsik. And give me a mask.”

He had to cover up his face because he had left his facial recognition-blocking ring in his room. His face was so striking that people on the street would do a double take, so Sayun, wearing sunglasses and a mask, nodded to Geonjoo for them to both get off. Geonjoo obediently followed him down and looked troubledly at Sayun, who was wearing his dopo over his shoulders.

“What.”

“…Do you honestly think that it would be less conspicuous to go out like that?”

“Of course.”

“I can let that slide for the sunglasses, but take off the mask. Because it makes you look like either a criminal or an idol.”

“Hm…”

“And you, take off your sunglasses. You’re going to be suspected of being a gangster.”

Geonjoo criticised the outfits that Sayun and Jongsik wore with a firm tone. Because Geonjoo was younger, even if only by a year, Sayun judged that he had more of an eye for this, so he made eye contact with Jongsik before taking off his mask. After that, Jongsik silently removed his sunglasses as well.

“That’s much better.”

Despite the favourable review from Geonjoo, Jongsik couldn’t let go of his lingering attachment to the sunglasses he wore as if they were part of his body. Sayun thought it looked more natural to him this way, so he pulled Jongsik, who was showing useless attachment, out of the car.

It was nice that the place where they parked the car was quiet, but because it was difficult to spot any stores, it took a while to find a restaurant. Before he knew it, ten minutes had passed since they started looking for a place to eat, and when he was thinking that they should’ve just brought the car, he saw a small restaurant.

‘Specialty Golbaengi Muchim’

It was a bit of an odd restaurant.

Usually, specialty baekban set meals, grilled fishes, or similar things of the like would be displayed instead, so golbaengi muchim wasn’t often seen hung on a banner.

tl/n: golbaengi muchim is also known as moon snail salad, and baekban literally means “white rice” but usually refers to rice with some kind of soup/stew and side dishes

After seeing the restaurant that had a strange sense of pride, Sayun looked in the other direction. It seemed that there was only one restaurant nearby, so he opened the door and entered, and a lady with a warm impression welcomed Sayun and the others.

Sayun ordered baekban with stir-fried pork and golbaengi muchim and looked around the store while waiting for the food to arrive. When Jongsik, who sat in a narrow space despite his large frame, complained that it was too cramped, Sayun clicked his tongue and moved over to the other side. Due to the unexpected development, he was forced to sit side by side with Geonjoo.

There was an awkward silence while they waited for the food. At the moment when Sayun opened his mouth to say something.

“Is it okay to leave him in the car?”

“Who? …Oh, Koo Changin?”

“I don’t know his name, but the one you left me with.”

“He’ll wake up after half a day, so it’s fine to leave him be.”

He coughed out blood when Sayun had struck the back of his neck, so he even thought that he had hit him too hard. He added that he would wake up by tomorrow if it took him a long time, and Geonjoo nodded.

After that, there was another awkward silence.

Sayun wasn’t immune to the uncomfortable atmosphere and signalled Jongsik with his eyes.

‘Say something, you punk.’

‘Me?’

‘Well, do you expect me to talk? Am I the comedian here?’

‘I’m not a comedian either, though.’

‘Oh? You think you’re so funny, don’t you?’

He glared daggers at him, and Jongsik cleared his throat.

“Um…”

“…?”

“…Did you have fun at the Yongho Guild?”

“Have fun?”

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He was going to go mad.

What kind of first question was that? At other times, he was pathetic and naive for his age, but when it came to this situation, he suddenly began talking like a father-in-law who suddenly met his son-in-law, and Sayun raised his eyes sharply. If he made another mistake, he would catch and kill him, so Jongsik was unable to utter another word like a broken machine.

“That is, so…”

As Jongsik was already muttering to himself for the third time, the lady who owned the restaurant brought out their food. Geonjoo confirmed that the table was set and took turns looking at Sayun, who was glowering at Jongsik, and Jongsik, who was sweating profusely.

“The food is here.”

“T-that’s right! The food’s here!”

“Let’s eat.”

Geonjoo spoke placidly as he poured water into Sayun’s and Jongsik’s glasses. Jongsik gladly picked up a spoon and started eating, feeling that his shackles had been released at those words.

Ugh.

After observing the fruitless conversation, Sayun reluctantly started eating. The baekban restaurant’s food tasted quite good for a place they found without a plan.

Sayun put some of the golbaengi muchim that the store was proud of into his mouth and took a look at Geonjoo, who was quietly eating. He seemed like he had table manners ingrained into his body since he had immediately put his spoon down to pour them water, and he ate quietly without making any chewing noises.

Then, Sayun’s phone sounded. Sayun, who held up his phone since it was a text notification, saw that the report on Han Geonjoo he had asked for from Kyungjin had arrived, and he quickly stood up.

“I’m going to the washroom.”

“Does your stomach hurt?”

“…Just eat your food.”

The question Jongsik mumbled was so innocent to the point that it now felt fond. Sayun, who let out half a breath, shook his head and left the restaurant. When he opened the report in front of the store, he was able to see the vast amount of information on Han Geonjoo that was neatly organised. Kyungjin had become more rude along with Jongsik as the days had gone by, but if there was one thing he could do, it was work.

“Han Geonjoo, 22 years old, completed his military service, is a student at Hankuk University, took a leave of absence two days ago, and has an older sister. He’s been on his own since high school, so he doesn’t seem to have a good relationship with his family…”

The report detailed everything from name to age, educational background, and family relationships, even containing detailed information about Han Geonjoo’s friends. He also had excellent grades, and after reading reports that he was often praised for his personality by those around him, Sayun recalled his first meeting with Geonjoo.

“He didn’t seem this good.”

He had acted sly when he thought he wouldn’t kill him, and considering that he occasionally looked at him straight on, he didn’t seem to have a very docile personality.

At first glance, the guy seemed to have some temper, so it was suspicious that his reputation was this perfect and flawless.

Nice, friendly, and generally kind.

“You’ve been taking care of your image.”

Sayun made a quick judgement and took turns looking at the report on his phone and Geonjoo, who was in the restaurant.

He was quick-witted and knew his place, but he also had quite a personality. If he hid that to keep his reputation, it meant that he had a talent for acting, or in other words, he would have a talent for deceit.

Sayun nodded as he thought there were more places to use him in than he expected and read the rest of the report.

‘He has a wide circle of acquaintances, but it is judged that he does not have any close friends.’

‘He tends to have partners rather than girlfriends.’

‘It has not been determined whether or not there is a current lover or partner. It is assumed that the reporting team has nothing.’

As soon as the information regarding relationships was over, a list of part-time jobs that Geonjoo had worked appeared. He felt this every time, but it was a feat to come up with information more than five years old in such a short time and write a report on it. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the information management team was functioning properly thanks to Kyungjin.

At the very least, he had definitely picked someone skilled.

Thanks to him, the information guild’s name was worth a significant amount. After getting some sense of who Geonjoo was, Sayun shoved his phone into his pocket and went back to the store. The jingle of the door chime announced Sayun’s entry.

“You said you were going to the washroom, but you came back quickly?”

“The bathroom was inside. Maybe he came back after dealing with some matters he needed to attend to.”

Geonjoo corrected what Jongsik asked while putting golbaengi muchim into his mouth. Sayun looked at Jongsik, who was more unaware than the newcomer, with rather complicated eyes.

Was it because he had come back after checking Kyungjin’s report just before? Jongsik seemed even more pathetic.

So, it was only slightly.

But it was enough that worrying seemed natural.

It wasn’t originally to this extent, but recently, it had become worse. At this point, Jongsik’s wits would affect his work, so Sayun decided to stop hitting him for the time being.

Since he kept hitting his head, his brain cells must have died and made him stupid.

After sitting down and eating again, Sayun finished the meal the earliest even after settling down last. He stared at Geonjoo because he had nothing to do, and as he felt his gaze, he put down his chopsticks instead of eating.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Are you uncomfortable?”

“Yes.”

“Then deal with it and eat.”

“…I think I’m going to get an upset stomach.”

“I’ll get you some digestive medicine.”

When he gestured for him to eat quickly, Geonjoo pulled a face, as if asking why he was acting like this. Sayun, who was unbothered by it because he had received a lot of these glances from others, even went as far as to put the chopsticks directly into his fingers.

Geonjoo, who had a reluctant face, continued to eat while looking at Sayun.

The amount of food consumed was the average of an adult male.

Sayun, who internally added a line of information about Geonjoo in his mind, called up the quest window while looking at Geonjoo, who was eating politely.

‘Current Relationship: Guarded and Interested’

Perhaps the system was updated, because small letters were added below it.

‘Slightly lowered wariness with food’

He couldn’t believe that he was less guarded just from food. Sayun smiled because he was simpler than he thought and stared intensely at his predisposition to resist, then checked Geonjoo’s status window again. There was one thing that had changed from the previous one.

‘Guild member of the Night Rats (E)’

After Sayun confirmed that he got the title that should’ve been automatically added when he joined the guild, he looked away from it. From now on, it would be important.

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