CH 5

“Hmm. Taeheon-ssi… How did he look?”

“Pardon?”

As soon as I started the car, Cha Soo-yeon asked me a question.

How did he look? I’d never met him so I don’t know.

Seemingly to test me, Cha Soo-yeon added, “I heard that he visited the gate in China a while ago. I was wondering if he was hurt or not.”

“Aah.”

…did something like that happen? Ha Tae-heon travelled abroad very often from the beginning to the end of the novel, so I couldn’t remember the exact schedule. The reason he went out often was that the Roheon Guild Master took Ha Tae-heon whenever the Master travelled abroad… Of course, the guild master was a woman, as she was a character in a male novel.

I laughed softly.

“Of course. He came back in good health. It’s hard to get hurt if you have the ability like Ha Tae-heon seonbaenim.”

“It is. I heard that he went with the Roheon Guild Master.”

“Ah?”

It was then that I realized the meaning hidden in the question.

“Um, I think… Ha Tae-heon seonbaenim seems to think of Master as just a good leader. You get what I mean, right?”

“Really?”

“Yes. Honestly, sharing personal feelings with the boss is a bit… It’s not easy, is it? It’s not bad though. It just doesn’t seem like it would be easy to choose someone to date with Ha Tae-heon seonbaenim’s personality.”

“Does it look like that?”

“Because he’s so serious.”

At my words, Cha Soo-yeon blushed slightly and smiled. Her expression was much brighter than before. Apparently, Cha Soo-yeon was very concerned about Ha Tae-heon’s departure to China with the Roheon Master.

Well, that was only natural. Even if you said it was for work, the fact remained that he still went abroad with another woman. As if she had gained confidence at my words, Cha Soo-yeon clenched her fist and made a determined expression. What are you determined to do?

The car pulled out of the suburbs and started driving down to the quiet road. While I was driving, I continued the conversation so that Cha Soo-yeon did not have any doubts. It was very easy. If it was related to Ha Tae-heon, Cha Soo-yeon listened to me with her twinkling eyes.

About an hour after we got in the car, I looked out the window to see if Cha Soo-yeon had finally become anxious. I smiled awkwardly, pretending to be embarrassed.

“It’s a restaurant that has recently become famous through a TV show, but it’s a bit far away. I’m sorry. Are you bored?”

“No. It’s okay.”

“We will be arriving soon though. About ten minutes left.”

Even if Cha Soo-yeon felt something was strange, she wouldn’t be able to make a hasty judgment. The restaurant was marked on the GPS and I shared various information about Ha Tae-heon. As I expected, Cha Soo-yeon only nodded her head, and she didn’t ask any questions.

The car drove without stopping and arrived at the restaurant. I said to Cha Soo-yeon, turning off the navigation system that said we had arrived at our destination.

“Just a moment, please. There is a parking lot behind the building, so I will park there first.”

I kept driving the car, looking around, pretending to find a parking lot. When I passed the restaurant and came to the real “destination” about 50m away, I stopped the car.

“We’ve arrived. You can get off now.”

“Pardon?”

When I got out of the car without hesitation, Cha Soo-yeon also got out.

“I don’t think this is a place to park…”

Cha Soo-yeon looked around and muttered. That was right. There were only a lot of trees and grass around, and it didn’t look like the restaurant’s parking lot. Instead of answering, I sighed and used my power. When I lifted my finger, Cha Soo-yeon’s body floated about 10 meters in the air.

Cha Soo-yeon looked down at me with a bewildered face as she let out an “Ack”.

“What are you doing all of a sudden? Put me down right now!”

“Sorry. Actually, I’ve been ordered to kidnap you.”

“What? Kidnap?” Cha Soo-yeon asked, still bewildered.

Well of course. This was probably the first time in her life she was kidnapped.

“You can swear. But if possible, I wish you would have cursed the person who ordered it rather than me.”

“…stop joking around and put me down immediately.”

“That’s not possible. Still, I think my plan was pretty good to you, Cha Soo-yeon-ssi. Would you like to hear it?”

“Let me down!”

“No.”

Cha Soo-yeon twisted her face. I quietly faced the intensely angry gaze.

“I warned you.”

As Cha Soo-yeon swung her arms wide, flames burst out. I quickly wrapped the flame with wind and threw it to the ground to prevent the wood from catching fire.

“Calm down. Fire is dangerous here.”

“Shut up! I don’t know what your intentions are, but I have no intention of ever getting caught. If I had known…”

“What are you talking about? I have no intention of catching Cha Soo-yeon-ssi.”

“What?”

A few more fires flew from Cha Soo-yeon, but I threw them all on the ground like before. Fortunately, Cha Soo-yeon did not put heart into the attack, so the fire was quickly put out.

“Don’t mess around. Obviously, you said it with your own mouth…”

“I said I was ordered to kidnap, but I don’t really mean to kidnap. Now, isn’t this an invitation for smooth communication rather than kidnapping?”

“What are you talking about, you crazy bastard!”

When I said it shamelessly, Cha Soo-yeon cursed me. She knew how to curse? This was news to me.

“It’s not a joke; it’s the truth. I don’t want to do anything harsh either. My heart is softer than I look. If it’s possible, I just want things to go smoothly, that’s all.”

“If you’re not kidnapping me, turn off your ability immediately.”

“That’s a bit… I’m afraid I’m going to be attacked. It’s ‘cause I’m a bit softhearted, you know?”

As I shrugged my shoulders, Cha Soo-yeon made an annoyed face. That was a bit much. I was a little hurt because the atmosphere was so different from when we were talking about Ha Tae-heon.

“Since we’ve come this far, let’s hear some suggestions. With your cooperation, we can finish talking in two hours.”

“…how can I trust you?”

“Why don’t you just trust me in this situation where I am dealing with you alone? Cha Soo-yeon knows that it will be difficult for me to win if Cha Soo-yeon attacks seriously.”

“……”

This was half a lie. Although Han Yi-gyeol’s ability was never inferior to Cha Soo-yeon’s, it was also true that it was not easy in terms of experience. If I collided with Cha Soo-yeon with all her might, we would both be seriously injured.

“If you are willing to listen to my offer, I will release my ability.”

Cha Soo-yeon frowned at my words and pondered. Indeed, it wasn’t easy to convince her.

“You don’t have to think hard. Isn’t it okay to listen to suggestions?”

“……”

“If you hear my offer and don’t like it even then, I won’t hold you here any longer. But, if you help, I’ll give you an item as a token of appreciation. How about it?”

“…haa, I see. I understand. I’ll listen to you, so release your powers right now.”

The wind was removed from Cha Soo-yeon. Cha Soo-yeon, who landed with an easy movement, looked at me with a somewhat uncomfortable expression.

“Please don’t look at me like that. It’s not really a big deal.”

“It’s not a big deal but you’ve brought me all the way here?”

“It’s because I’m a bit of a pacifist.”

It was not easy to kidnap a famous person like Cha Soo-yeon without the use of violence or drugs. Still, the reason I made this choice was because Cha Soo-yeon’s cooperation was essential in order to proceed as planned.

“Okay, tell me what your offer is.”

“Of course.”

I pondered for a while on where to begin and then said the most important content.

“I will lure Ha Tae-heon this way.”

“What?”

Cha Soo-yeon was shocked. Her happiness upon hearing Ha Tae-heon’s name in the car couldn’t compare to her angry expression now. Was this the wrong thing to say?

“Did you do this because Taeheon-ssi was your goal? What are you going to do to Taeheon-ssi!”

“No, no.”

“If that’s the case, I’ll never cooperate with you! I’d rather subdue you here…!”

“It’s not like that. It’s a misunderstanding.”

I think it was too much to bring out the main point. I sighed, waving my hands in denial.

“To be precise, my purpose is to prevent Ha Tae-heon from going ‘there’.”

“Explain it properly.”

“Did you know there is a gate-related meeting at the management headquarters at 5 o’clock today?”

“Are you talking about the new gate assignment meeting?”

“Yes. If I’m right, the new gate will be transferred to the Roheon Guild. The Gate Clear Team will, of course, consist of Ha Tae-heon as the representative, so Ha Tae-heon should also attend the meeting.”

“…It can’t be that you…”

“Yeah. I’m going to call Ha Tae-heon over here to prevent him from attending the meeting. That is my goal.”

To be precise, it was Cheon Sa-yeon’s goal. He coveted the new gate this time, and used Han Yi-gyeol and Ha Tae-heon at the same time to prevent it from falling into the Roheon Guild’s hands.

There was a reason Cheon Sa-yeon, who was not interested in which guild took the gate, was interested in this gate.

‘The world’s first SS rank weapon. It came out of this gate.’

Normally, various grades of monsters appeared in the gate, and the gate grade was assigned based on the grade of the monster, but the gate where the ‘boss’ monster appeared was different.

“Bosses” were monsters that dropped weapons or weapon materials upon death, and the gate grade varied depending on the boss monster’s rank. If the gate contained several B-class monsters and S-class boss monsters, it was determined as an S-class gate.

Also, the grade of obtainable items were determined by the tank of the boss monster, and the higher the rank, the greater the material and attack power of the weapon.

The highest level of boss gates that appeared in Korea so far was S-class. There were 5 A-class gates, and 2 S-class gates.

But this time, the world’s first SS-class gate appeared.

The gate where the boss monster appeared was indistinguishable from the outside, so you must go inside. However, Cheon Sa-yeon knew that this new gate was an SS-class gate, and would surely take ownership of the gate to obtain SS-class weapons.