Chapter 12

Dasol’s insistence that he would rather enter the dungeon without a bodyguard was far less preferable than getting along well with Jeongeun. Heero understood this in his mind.

It wasn’t heartbreakingly sad that Dasol had opened his heart to Jeongeun. He was simply a bit shocked and feeling down.

So, when he thought about asking Jeongeun for some tips… what? Help with unrequited love?

Heero bit back a smirk that was about to escape and forced a cheerful smile.

"Let's leave this conversation for now and wash up quickly, Jeongeun. You must be tired. I won't disturb you any longer."

Heero left the room with a bright farewell. He thought it would be more productive and fun to call Dasol than to spend even one more second with Jeongeun.

Once that thought crossed his mind, he immediately wanted to hear Dasol's voice. Heero walked down the hallway and called Dasol. Just before the call connected, Dasol's voice came through.

- Yes, Guild Leader.

"Dasol, are you resting well?"

- Yes.

"The thing is, I was wondering if you have time tomorrow. The protective item I gave to Yibak today has expired. Since it's an item used because of you, I thought it would be good if you could check the type and purpose with me."

- ...Ah, really?

"How about we meet at the Awakener's department store at 11 AM tomorrow? We can buy items and have a meal together."

- ...No.

"What? I didn't hear you well, Dasol."

- ...I said okay.

Heero smiled happily at Dasol's reluctant answer.

"Wow, then see you tomorrow. Sleep well, Dasol."

Heero hung up and pressed the elevator button while humming a tune. The earlier conversation with Jeongeun had completely slipped his mind.

'What should I wear tomorrow?'

I need to finish work quickly and go home. Heero was already looking forward to tomorrow.

**

The next morning, Jeongeun was called out by Kyungjin at 7 AM. Despite the early hour, Kyungjin seemed even more displeased with Jeongeun, who showed no signs of fatigue or discomfort.

"Here are your ID and Hunter registration. The team accommodation's magic registration is complete. Here's the phone and bank account under Kim Yibak's name."

Jeongeun, who habitually accepted the items without a word, belatedly greeted him.

"Thank you."

"I don't trust you."

Kyungjin's voice suddenly revealed hostility, growing more intense and agitated.

"A Word Sorcerer needing a fake identity? Honestly, doesn't it seem suspicious to anyone? If you weren't B-rank, I would have thought the real Jeongeun Hunter had returned. After all, only a handful of people know the true face of Jeongeun Hunter, so it would be easy to deceive others. That's how absurd my suspicion is." 'Wow, impressive...'

Jeongeun was internally shocked but managed to maintain a blank expression.

"Since the Guild Leader personally brought you, I won't press further. But!"

Kyungjin sharply adjusted his glasses and shouted. "The moment you act in a way that brings shame to the Guild Leader, it won't just end with being kicked out. I will personally punish you."

With that, Kyungjin emitted a bit of killing intent. He momentarily released his magic to threaten Jeongeun.

Skill: 'Magic Absorption' (??)

Absorbs the magic of the other world naturally, reducing magic damage rate to 55.6%. 

Unfortunately, Kyungjin's magic ended up helping Jeongeun heal his status ailments. Jeongeun bowed politely, filled with gratitude and a sense of kinship as a Heero-in.

"Thank you for your concern. I will do my best not to disappoint you."

"…Alright then. You may go."

Kyungjin issued the dismissal in a somewhat deflated tone. After bowing once more, Jeongeun left the vice guild leader's office.

As soon as he returned to his room, the first thing he did was access the fan cafe 'Heero-in' on his phone. The cafe, which he hadn't visited in a year, was more active than before.

He casually browsed the cafe and logged into SNS. 'The Best Heero of All Time' was Jeongeun's Twitter nickname. Although the number of followers and following had noticeably decreased, dozens of DMs were piled up in his inbox.

These were online fan friends who consistently reacted whenever he posted something about Heero or shared his thoughts.

Half thought he had quit being a fan, while the other half believed he had died in the Rift, so Jeongeun hurriedly replied to them. He assured them he was safe, that he had temporarily taken refuge in a distant place, and that he was still a passionate and loyal Heero-in.

The hardest part of staying in the deer wall was not being able to connect with Heero-in and Twitter, so Jeongeun sincerely wrote replies to each friend.

While he was deeply engaged in this, his phone vibrated loudly. The screen displayed the name 'Seo Dasol.' It seemed Kyungjin had saved the team members' contacts before handing over the phone.

'As expected, Heero-in handles things neatly.'

Jeongeun praised Kyungjin inwardly as he answered the call.

"Yes, it's Kim Yibak."

- Kim Yibak Hunter. What are you doing right now?

"Right now..."

He couldn't say he was greeting online friends who shared his fandom for Heero, so Jeongeun slowly lied.

"I'm training my body."

It wasn't a complete lie; he was moving his fingers diligently, so it could be considered a form of physical training.

- Would you be willing to do some cardio?

"…Yes, but why?"

- Meet me in front of the Awakener's department store at 11 AM. Please go in my place. I'll repay you later.

Dasol abruptly asked for a favor and hung up. Jeongeun stared at his phone in a daze when a Hunter Talk message from Dasol arrived.

Jeongeun chuckled at the message. Even if he ordered it like a command, he would have accepted it, but surprisingly, Dasol was a kind and good person. It made sense that he was the one who Heero likes.

Having occasionally received gift cards from his Twitter friends, Jeongeun calmly pressed 'Confirm gift.' As he saved the gift card barcode, he vowed to take a certification shot at Starbucks in the near future. Receiving a gift meant a certification shot was a must.

For Jeongeun, who was always alone in reality, sharing friendship with online friends was the warmest and most affectionate experience of his life. Therefore, his manners and common sense regarding relationships were optimized for the online world.

"Thank you so much, Seo Dasol Hunter! I will enjoy it (thumbs up emoji). Don't worry about what you mentioned! I will definitely be there in front of the Awakener's department store by 11 AM~!!" 8:22 AM

Jeongeun replied as cheerfully and politely as possible, then entered Twitter again. After responding to all his remaining friends, he scrolled through the timeline, saved a few recent photos of Heero, and stood up. He needed to start getting ready to go to the Awakener's department store by 11 AM.

**

But this... could it be a dream?

"Jeongeun?"

Jeongeun almost rubbed his eyes with both hands. In front of the Awakener's department store, a beautiful statue of a god in a white tunic spoke to him.

Initially thinking it was a decorative piece of the department store, Jeongeun had turned his head away, only to realize that it was not a statue but Heero. Upon closer inspection, what he thought was a tunic worn by gods was just an ordinary knit sweater.

"He... Guild Leader."

An absurd voice escaped Jeongeun's lips.

"Why are you here, Jeongeun? Did you come shopping?"

Today, the sexy Heero smiled sweetly with his eyes closed. At that moment, Jeongeun's heart raced, and his body temperature shot up. Sweat began to bead on his palms. His heart pounded loudly.

"I came at the request of Seo Dasol Hunter. He asked me to go in his place to the Awakener's department store by 11 AM."

"…I had an appointment at 11 AM today, and it was with you."

He had suspected it might be a difficult personal appointment or work-related matter, but he never thought it would be an appointment with Heero.

Heero's blue eyes sank downwards. The faint smile that appeared and faded was heartbreakingly sad. Jeongeun felt as if someone had tightly gripped his heart and let go.

"I received a call, and it seemed like something urgent came up."

He didn't know what had happened to Dasol, but Jeongeun said that to avoid making Heero too sad.

However, Heero seemed to be focused on something else.

"Dasol called you first?"