The guild they’d gone to yesterday had been huge, and Gong Siyoung’s home had been big too, but this was on an entirely different level.
So this was what it felt like to be overwhelmed by sheer scale.
Even craning his neck all the way back, he still couldn’t catch the top of the building in view.
The people coming and going were packed in as well. After taking in the chaotic entrance, Gong Siyoung turned the wheel.
“I need to make a quick call.”
The car gradually slowed before coming to a stop by the curb.
Gong Siyoung’s finger pressed firmly onto the triangular button Yurian had been dying to touch.
The moment he hit it, an arrow started blinking. A steady clicking sound echoed through the car.
“Wow, what is th— ah, right. Got it. I won’t say it. I’ll keep my mouth shut.”
The vicious glare followed the instant the word “wow” slipped out.
Repeating the “No wow, no what’s this, no gasping” clause in his head, Yurian firmly sealed his lips.
After staring at him for a long moment, Gong Siyoung slowly pulled something out of his pocket.
He raised the black rectangular device to his ear and spoke into it.
“Yeah, hyung. I’m at the entrance right now. Where should I go?”
Was it some kind of communication artifact?
No, it looked much smaller and more convenient than that.
And since he couldn’t sense any mana from it, it really had to be a machine.
This world genuinely overflowed with all kinds of machines.
And every single one of them was simple, comfortable, and efficient.
He wanted to inspect it just once.
What was that thing?
What the hell was it?
He wanted to touch it.
Yurian’s eyes sparkled.
“…Yeah, got it. Then I’ll head there.”
Ending the call, Gong Siyoung stuffed the phone back into his pocket.
Avoiding Yurian’s unbearably intent stare, he rubbed his forehead.
“You remember the person we met yesterday, right? He said he’s waiting for your side in the lobby.”
He stepped out first.
Not wanting to fall behind, Yurian hurried out of the car after him.
Once outside, the scale of the building hit even harder.
How in the world had they built something like this?
What if monsters appeared?
…No, right. This was a place where they didn’t need to worry about that.
“Move it, hurry up.”
He’d slowed down naturally while sightseeing.
Quickening into short, hurried steps, he ran up beside Gong Siyoung.
The scolding came immediately.
“There are a shit ton of people here, okay? If you keep getting distracted and lose your way, then I’m the one who has to go through the trouble of finding you again. Keep it together, yeah?”
“Alright, alright. Want to hold hands?”
Yurian had no desire to get lost after coming all this way.
Because the mana here was so thin, he couldn’t easily use magic, and he didn’t have a single coin to his name.
If he lost Gong Siyoung too, he’d literally be reduced to a beggar.
With a cheerful grin, he tightly grabbed Siyoung’s hand.
“I’ll behave, so don’t get mad. Okay?”
Like he was soothing a sulking Kkambi, Yurian lightly kneaded his hand.
It felt bigger and firmer than he’d expected. Honestly, not bad at all.
The corner of Gong Siyoung’s eye twitched.
For some reason, the tips of his ears turned red as he sharply turned his head away.
“Just follow quietly.”
“Of course, of course. I’m following.”
He’d thought they were heading toward the entrance, but Gong Siyoung turned in a completely different direction.
Once they circled around to the back of the building, there were definitely fewer people passing by than before.
The scattered people who did pass by widened their eyes the moment they spotted Gong Siyoung.
No one directly greeted him or tried to strike up a conversation, but anyone with half a brain could tell what was happening.
More and more eyes started gathering on them.
By Yurian’s ear, he caught whispers like, “Is that really Gong Siyoung?” and “Oh my god, it’s Gong Siyoung!”
Mixed in every so often were incomprehensible things like “He’s insanely handsome” and “Holy shit.”
The realization hit him anew.
So Gong Siyoung was really famous.
Well, that made sense.
If S-rank hunter was something on the level of a sword master or a 9-circle mage, then of course he’d be famous.
Even in the Empire, there wasn’t a single citizen who didn’t know the names of the five sword masters.
‘Calling him sword-master level feels… kind of weird.’
Sure, Gong Siyoung had caught him, and even back then Yurian had figured he shouldn’t act up.
But did that mean he felt the kind of fear that made a wall between them?
Honestly… not really.
He’d never fought a sword master himself, but he’d seen them fight plenty of times.
Sword masters were the kind of beings who made your skin crawl down to your toes just from watching nearby.
If you had ever seen the mana honed along their blades even once, instinctive terror would force the breath out of you.
But Gong Siyoung…
Well, who knew.
They hadn’t really crossed blades properly yet, and outside the dungeon the mana was too thin for him to feel much of anything.
And more than anything…
‘Maybe it’s because his face is cute?’
Compared to the rugged sword master old men, Gong Siyoung looked like a peeled egg.
Smooth, clean, and ridiculously charming.
The upward tilt of his eyes and the black hair kept overlapping with Kkambi’s face in his mind.
With a face like that, even when he got angry, he came off more cute than scary.
He also seemed kind of young.
And that mole on his cheek was charming too.
“By the way, there’s something I’m curious about.”
“What now.”
He grumbled, but still answered every time.
How could that possibly not be cute?
Swallowing a smile, Yurian squeezed his hand.
“Do you have a lover?”
Gong Siyoung froze mid-step.
Turning his head with visible stiffness, the corners of his eyes trembled.
“What… why, why are you asking something like that? Why the hell are you cu-curious about that?!”
“I was just asking.”
Did there need to be some big reason?
It had just crossed his mind.
Yurian shrugged.
“You look like the type who’d have one.”
Come to think of it, had Kkambi ever had a mate?
He’d adored the cat, sure, but he’d never paid attention to a cat’s private life, so he had no clue.
He was the kind of person who said whatever came to mind anyway, so there really wasn’t any deeper meaning.
“Can I ask your age too?”
“…Why, why are you curious about th-that?”
Gong Siyoung carefully slipped his hand free as he asked.
Feeling the warmth leave, Yurian immediately sensed something had gone wrong.
Did he not like talking about this kind of thing?
“Just… since we’re people who slept under the same roof, I figured it’d be good to know.”
For the time being, he’d have to keep mooching off him.
Now that it had come to this, Yurian wanted to know Gong Siyoung properly.
That way he could avoid doing things the man hated and live comfortably while staying in his good graces.
It wasn’t like he could openly say, I’m broke, so I’m planning to latch onto you like a parasite.
So Yurian wrapped it up in the nicest way possible.
“I’m really interested in you.”
With a broad grin, he grabbed the hand he’d lost hold of.
You should always be kind to the person funding your life, after all.
* * *
‘This is insane… insane, insane, insane!’
Danger alarms blared through Gong Siyoung’s head.
That bastard was insane.
A total freak lunatic, no question.
Otherwise why the hell would he ask something like that?
What did it matter whether he had a lover or not?
If he didn’t, then what? What exactly was he planning to do?
The hand stubbornly gripping his refused to let go to the very end.
The excuse about holding hands so he wouldn’t get lost felt fake too.
No, it was absolutely fake.
This was obviously some kind of plan to sneak in physical contact.
The tips of Gong Siyoung’s fingers trembled.
‘If I don’t have a lover, what, is he saying he wants to date me or something?’
As if he’d have something like a lover.
Sure, S-rank hunter sounded glamorous, and the salary hit absurd figures, but in the end it was still an avoided profession.
A freelancer with zero work-life balance who could lose his life at any moment—love was a luxury.
Whether it was dawn or deep night, if a gate opened, Gong Siyoung’s name was always the first one called.
And once inside a dungeon, a clear could sometimes take months.
Even a love that lasted a thousand years would crumble under that kind of distance.
How easy could it possibly be when your partner disappeared for months at a time with no promise of return?
Not that he’d ever dated, or even wanted to.
He’d never once thought about needing a lover.
He awakened as a hunter at fifteen, and ever since then all he’d done was run raids.
He’d never met anyone like that.
Never liked anyone like that.
But hearing “Do you have a lover?” thrown right in his face made his mind go blank.
Should he have had one?
Was that something he was supposed to have?
Was a lover some kind of required personnel role?
Still lost in confusion, Yurian dropped the second bomb.
“Since we slept under the same roof?”
What the fuck!
What kind of insane bastard phrases separately sleeping in the same house like that?!
The way he said it was suspicious.
And once that lens settled over it, even his gaze looked suspicious.
No, Yurian as a whole suddenly felt deeply shady and suspicious.
“So we go this way, right?”
Pulling along the bewildered Gong Siyoung as if nothing was wrong, Yurian casually tugged his hand.
Before they knew it, the glass doors connected to the Bureau lobby were right ahead.
Across from them, Gong Sijin spotted the two and waved.
Leaving Yurian to wave back brightly, Siyoung abruptly yanked his hand free.
“I’ll head out first.”
Without even waiting for a reply, he immediately turned around.
His heart was pounding.
Siyoung glanced down at his hand.
Maybe because it had been held the whole time, his fingertips were red.
Pushing away the thoughts, he clenched his fist tight.
“…It’s not like we’ll ever see each other again anyway.”
Yeah.
He’d never have to see that freak lunatic bastard again.
Forcing his startled heart back down, Gong Siyoung took a deep breath.
If he wanted a clean, safe separation from that madman, first he needed to retrieve the sword he’d left behind in the dungeon.
He’d resolve the matter properly—give back what needed giving, leave no lingering regrets, and part ways with nothing hanging over him.
Strangers forever.
He could do this.
He just had to see it through.
Gong Siyoung’s eyes hardened with determination.