CH 12

Cheon Sa-yeon, who was standing with his back to the gate, saw me and greeted me with a smile.

“Have you been well this past week, Han Yi-gyeol?”

I twisted my lips. How have you been this past week? I really didn’t want to see Cheon Sa-yeon asking such a brazen question.

I haven’t taken a single step out of the room since Min Ah-rin left. No way, this crazy bastard really imprisoned me!

When I opened the door, a huge attendant blocked me from leaving, and if I broke anything, the waiting attendants rushed into the room, and the window was locked and couldn’t be opened. It was the perfect confinement.

In the meantime, the meals were even more spectacular because I was served three meals a day. I’d rather be starved and let go! I grabbed the attendant and shouted that this was a crime, but they didn’t blink an eye.

“Thanks to. You. I’ve been. Very. Well.” The corners of my lips that were forcibly pulled up trembled as I gritted my teeth.

“Good for you.”

“……”

I don’t think I would have any other wishes if I could hit him just once. I was collecting all the world’s swear words and reciting them as if I were rapping when I sensed movement next to me. Turning my head, I saw Kim Woo-jin standing there.

“Why are you here…”

“Ugh, shit. I didn’t come here because I wanted to.”

The way he spoke was the same as usual, but he hesitated and looked around. Cheon Sa-yeon smiled at me and Kim Woo-jin alternately.

“Kim Woo-jin said that he would participate in the gate clearing.”

“Wait. Haven’t you already selected all the participants?”

Why was Kim Woo-jin here all of a sudden? What difference would it make to take a C-rank who didn’t even have the ability to attack an SS gate?

“It’s no big deal to add one more.”

“But Kim Woo-jin…!”

“Of course, I know very well that Kim Woo-jin is not suitable for combat.”

“Then why did you include him?”

“Of course, there is only one reason.”

There was a smile in his calm voice. Recognizing Cheon Sa-yeon’s intentions, I replied, suppressing my irritation, “I understand you want to keep an eye on me, but why don’t you hire another employee? Why is it Kim Woo-jin?”

“In my opinion, Kim Woo-jin is the best.”

Cheon Sa-yeon smiled as he looked at Kim Woo-jin, but his eyes were surprisingly cold.

“Everything is agreed upon by the parties. The gate will open in half an hour, so it’s too late to regret it now.”

“Ha…”

“Master, I’m sorry to interrupt, but you have an interview scheduled.”

“Then I’ll see you later.”

Cheon Sa-yeon neatly turned his back and walked to the place full of cameras. As Cheon Sa-yeon got closer, the cameras set off a huge amount of flashes as if they’d been waiting.

“Kim Woo-jin. What the hell were you thinking?”

As soon as Cheon Sa-yeon moved away, I immediately grabbed Kim Woo-jin’s arm and pulled him towards me.

“…what do you care?”

“You don’t care if you have to get on the bus to hell to continue watching me then? We still have 30 minutes left, so run away secretly.”

“Shut up. Don’t interfere when you don’t know anything. I’ll take care of my own business.”

“Ah, I’m going crazy…”

I looked up at the sky for a moment in a surge of frustration and anger then spoke again, “Do you think going inside the gate is a joke? I don’t know if it’d be okay if it was another gate, but not this time. It’s really dangerous…”

“Shut up!”

He shook off my hand. Kim Woo-jin wrinkled his face, annoyed, and said, “Who am I to run away? I’m an ability user like you. You live without an affiliate, so you could run away easily. Do you think we are in the same situation?”

“No, I—”

“I’ve worked so hard to get into the guild. You want me to give up all of that and run away? Because of one gate like this?”

I frowned and shut my mouth.

Kim Woo-jin’s ability to ‘blur his presence’ was so usable that even an SS rank did not easily sense him, but… it wasn’t a rare thing or a skill that everyone needed. Even those types of abilities were often used for crime, so society did not think highly of it.

“Calm down and listen to me. This gate is…”

“I’ll take care of myself even if you don’t do this shit, so just mind your own business. Hearing shit like this from a bastard like you is fucking disgusting.”

With those words, Kim Woo-jin turned around before I could catch him. I looked at Kim Woo-jin’s back, who was getting farther away, and thought about holding on to it, but in the end I didn’t do anything and just sighed.

The work was supposed to be done by Cheon Sa-yeon, so why do I have to do it? That’s why if you have a boss who just lives his own life, only the subordinates will suffer.

I had seen his face a few times though, so I tried to stop him from dying. If this happened, I had no choice but to stay alert and take care of Kim Woo-jin.

“Kim Woo-jin, that idiot…”

“What?”

There was a reply as I muttered, lamenting, to myself. I looked behind me in surprise. Min Ah-rin, with her eyes wide open, was standing there looking at me.

“Min Ah-rin-ssi.”

“It’s been a week, Yi-gyeol-ssi.” Min Ah-rin greeted me with a smile. As if nothing had happened to her for a week, she looked bright and lively.

“What’s going on? It looks like you’ve had a fight with someone.”

“Well…”

I changed my mind from saying it was nothing and asked Min Ah-rin, “Maybe you don’t know how difficult the gate is… No, did the Master say something?”

“No, not really… He didn’t say anything. However, seeing so many people gathered, everyone assumes that it will not be easy since the Master isn’t going by himself.”

“…hmm. Min Ahrin-ssi. I said I’d protect you, remember?”

There was nothing we could do if the situation was like this. I leaned closer to Min Ah-rin and smiled softly. Min Ah-rin’s eyes trembled slightly as she looked up at me.

“Uh, yeah. I remember…”

“Actually, there are low-level items that I need to obtain separately. I’m trying to move slowly from the back of the line… If that’s the case, I thought I’d go with Min Ah-rin-ssi to protect the healer team. How about it?”

“……”

“……Min Ah-rin-ssi?”

With lowered eyelashes and a pitiful expression that said to comfort her, Min Ah-rin had a strange expression on her face. Min Ah-rin, who looked at me with a blank expression on her face, came to her senses when I called her again and nodded in a hurry.

“Well, I’d love to. If you would.”

“Really?”

“Yes, yes. Inside the gate… It’s dangerous and scary…”

“Yes, of course. I will do my best to keep you safe.”

It was a success. I was puzzled by the way she agreed, but it was satisfying to be near a precious healer anyway.

‘If I stay next to Min Ah-rin, there won’t be a big problem if Kim Woo-jin gets hurt.’

It was a situation in which half of the burden I had been carrying on my back was handed over to Min Ah-rin, but I didn’t care. To protect my conscience, I wouldn’t let a healthy child get hurt.

“Five minutes left until the gate opens!”

A voice was heard from the front row telling us to prepare to enter the gate. Cheon Sa-yeon was standing in front of the gate after finishing the interview.

Cheon Sa-yeon, dressed in a dark red casual suit over his slightly tight black neck turtleneck, held a sword that did not match his attire. The naked sword with dried blood stains stood out in particular.

“The gate is open!”

Like Cheon Sa-yeon, the guild members who took out their weapons looked at the gate with tense faces. The entrance, which had been tightly closed in a straight line, opened slowly in an oval shape and shimmered with dark blue light. As soon as the entrance was opened, Cheon Sa-yeon took the first step into it without hesitation.

‘Where did Kim Woo-jin go?’

I walked forward with Min Ah-rin and looked around quickly. Wherever he went after arguing with me, Kim Woo-jin did not appear even though the gate was just around the corner.

Did he run away on my advice? I’d rather it be like that.

“Uh, what should I do? I’m nervous.”

When it was her own turn, Min Ah-rin dryly swallowed her saliva, pale. Her reaction was understandable. The gate, which glowed as if it would swallow anything, was as colourful and bizarre as a nebula in the universe. My stomach was churning with instinctive rejection, but I held out my hand pretending to be okay. I felt the coldness of touching dry ice from my fingertips.

“I’ll go in first, so please follow me slowly.”

I deliberately pushed myself into the gate to show the stiff Min Ah-rin. Arms, legs, and upper body, I finally entered the gate completely and opened my closed eyes.

“Huh…”

The first thing that caught my eye was a hazy red sky. I looked around, reflexively covering my mouth and nose, feeling suffocated. Soft sand, bare branches, and endless plains. The unfolding landscape was like a desert.