Chapter 21: The Sprout

The Baekwooncheon Guild holds its regular meetings every Monday.

The executives gather to report on the events of the previous week and discuss the plans for the coming days.

Like all meetings in the world, this one dragged on sluggishly.

Guild Master Lee Taecheon, also known as the ‘Sky Knight’ of Cheongong, felt bored as he glanced toward the seat where Baek Dowoon would have normally sat.

In that spot sat Assistant Manager Lee Seonghoon of the Dismantling Contractor Management Team.

Lee Seonghoon wore a face that seemed to silently ask, ‘Where am I? Who are these people?’

“Whoa, no way.”

A young girl’s voice rang out.

Everyone turned to look at Lee Yeonji, a girl with short, pink-dyed hair.

At sixteen years old, she was a genius who became South Korea’s youngest A-rank Hunter, having come to Baekwooncheon Guild last year to beg for membership herself.

At that time, Lee Taecheon had asked, “Why are you here?”

She boldly replied, “Because I’m a fan of you and Dohee unni.”

Why am I the uncle, but Dohee is ‘unni’?

He pushed that thought aside.

“Yeonji, no matter how boring these meetings get—”

“Gangnam St. Mary’s Hospital has frozen over.”

Upon hearing this, Han Jaeim, the bespectacled meeting moderator, quickly searched the news and projected a holographic screen.

In the center of the screen, a female reporter explained the surrounding situation.

At the bottom of the screen, a caption read: ‘Hunters from the Il-dae Group trapped for over 20 minutes.’

“The chairman’s daughter has finally gone berserk.”

“Didn’t they find someone who could collect the Udamhwa? How did the expedition go?”

“I heard they left yesterday morning.”

“Damn, even if they bring back the Udamhwa now, it’s already too late.”

As the people in the meeting room exchanged brief comments, Lee Taecheon studied the screen intently.

His eyes kept drifting to a masked man on the screen.

That man made a gesture toward a woman, as if saying, ‘Leave it to me,’ and then entered the building alone.

A caption below read: ‘Known as a Hunter from Il-dae Group… but who is he?’

“…Dowoon?”

Lee Taecheon muttered the name of his friend, inspired by the masked man’s silhouette.

No matter how much the man wore a mask, there was no way he wouldn’t recognize the short ponytail resembling a fish tail—the friend’s trademark.

Seeing that distinctive ponytail, Taecheon wondered, ‘Does he even intend to hide his identity?’

“Why is that guy there?”

“Who?”

“That masked guy. That’s Dowoon.”

“Excuse me? What are you saying?”

“He was supposed to be on vacation. Why is he there?”

“………”

At that moment, the meeting room fell completely silent.

Only two people reacted differently from the rest.

Lee Seonghoon’s vacant expression turned into one that screamed ‘This is bad,’ accompanied by hiccups, while Lee Yeonji looked around with disdain before shaking her head.

Lee Taecheon slowly surveyed the guild members who had become mute as honey.

Then he recalled the words of his one and only friend.

“Taecheon, you and I are idiots. Got it?”

Back then, Taecheon had replied, “Why the sudden fight, you bastard?”—which had drawn a sigh buried deep within his friend’s heart.

“We have to survive by guessing, not by thinking. So remember this: if the atmosphere feels off, move no matter what.”

Hearing those words, Taecheon truly believed Baek Dowoon was his friend.

Meaning he thought, ‘What the hell is this idiot talking about?’

If it weren’t for Baek Dohee correcting him, he would have kept thinking that way, and Dowoon would have thumped his chest in frustration and gotten a heartache.

The smartest person he knew, Baek Dohee, had said:

“Look at the situation, think about it, and if you have an idea, act on it. But since you’re dumb, skip thinking and just act first. Even if the result isn’t good, it’s better than doing nothing.”

So, Lee Taecheon acted without thinking.

“Assistant Manager Lee Seonghoon.”

“Yes, hic! Yes?”

“Where is Team Leader Baek Dowoon right now?”

“……..”

Taecheon’s gaze didn’t linger long on Lee Seonghoon.

Realizing he wouldn’t answer, Taecheon shifted his eyes toward Lee Yeonji.

At this, the others started to put fingers to their lips or wave their hands dismissively.

“Yeonji.”

“Team leader quit the guild four days ago. His resignation was accepted that day.”

Bang!

Lee Taecheon slammed his fist on the meeting room table.

He hadn’t completely lost his composure—that the table wasn’t broken was proof.

“Dohee unni told me not to say anything.”

“Dohee?”

“She said if you scold him first, he’ll try to stop you.”

“Fair enough. What about you?”

“You didn’t tell me without a good reason?”

Taecheon glared around before abruptly standing up and heading straight for the meeting room door.

“That’s it for today’s meeting.”

“Huh? But there are several matters to handle today! Master! Ma—Hey! Lee Taecheon!”

“Wait! I’ll explain why—!”

The guild members called out desperately, but he ignored them and left the meeting room.

Those left behind were at a loss, exchanging glances and letting out deep sighs.

Then, Lee Yeonji looked at the holographic screen floating in the center with a look of wonder.

“Oh? The ice has all melted?”

The screen showed the hospital with no ice in sight.

*****

When I used the World Tree summoning skill, all my mana drained at once.

The mana depletion caused dizziness, and I almost collapsed.

Woo Yunhoo caught me before I fell.

“Are you okay?”

“Ah, yes. Thank you. It’s a skill that consumes a lot of mana…”

“What kind of skill did you use?”

“My body… feels comfortable!”

Woo Chaeyeon’s eyes went wide as she stared at me, looking down at herself.

Thankfully, summoning the World Tree seemed to have helped.

Since the World Tree nullifies all negative energy within a certain area, I had hoped it would suppress her rampaging yin energy.

That hope was perfectly fulfilled.

The swirling negative energy inside her had completely calmed as if it never existed.

But… the World Tree wasn’t visible.

I looked around, searching for it, but it was nowhere to be seen.

All that was visible was the hospital room, free of any ice.

“……..”

“……..”

At that moment, I felt the gazes of the Woo siblings upon me.

No, that’s not right.

Their eyes were fixed precisely on the top of my head.

Seeing that, I guessed where the World Tree had been summoned.

“Um, is there a sprout growing on my head?”

“Yes. Uh… what exactly is that?”

“………”

“Do you think it’s cute?”

She seemed to want to comfort me, clenching her small hands as she spoke.

Unfortunately, her comfort did nothing for me.

It was even more miserable that someone younger than me worried about me.

Honestly, I was so glad I was wearing a mask.

If I had shown my face without the mask…

How could I have endured this embarrassment?

“Jion? Why do you have a sprout on your head?”

The moment Chairman Woo Chan-sung woke from unconsciousness, he asked that.

The World Tree summoned above my head had healed his body, allowing him to recover quickly.

Tsk. He could have woken up just a little later.

The World Tree’s activation time lasts only 30 seconds.

If he had woken up a few seconds later, he wouldn’t have seen the sprout growing on my head.

“…I’d appreciate it if you just let it slide.”

“It’s a favor, so we will.”

The chairman nodded, sitting cross-legged.

Judging by his calling me ‘benefactor,’ it seemed he understood the situation fully.

Seeing how quick his mind was after waking up, I thought, ‘As expected of a conglomerate chairman.’

Woo Chaeyeon, who had been looking at the top of my head, spoke.

“Oh, the sprout just disappeared!”

“It normally doesn’t last long.”

I nodded and answered.

With more practice, I might be able to extend the duration, but for now, 30 seconds is the maximum.

She looked genuinely disappointed.

“Really? That’s a shame. It was cute…”

“…Ah, right. Silly me.”

“…?”

“Could I have a Hunter license? That’s why I came here, but I forgot to ask.”

“Huh? Didn’t you come to save us?”

“Well, that too. But the main purpose was the license.”

“…….”

I shrugged, and the Woo family fell silent.

Worried they might have taken offense, I glanced at them.

Suddenly, the Woo family burst into laughter.

What’s going on? Why are they laughing all of a sudden? Was I that funny?

Look at Woo Chaeyeon.

She looked bewildered, not understanding why they were laughing.

“I understand your meaning well. But we can’t just let this slide.”

“Right. Our Woo family must repay the favor.”

Phew…

This family must have misunderstood something again.

It’s good to see only the good in people, but isn’t this going a bit too far?

“Um, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but that’s not it.”

I said that, but the Woo family had no intention of listening.

They just closed their eyes and slowly nodded.

No, don’t give me that forgiving smile as if you expected me to say this.

“I’m telling you, it’s not like that!”

“Alright, alright, I get it.”

“Oh, that’s it!”

“…….”

Before I could clear up their misunderstanding, Woo Chaeyeon joined in.

Like her father and brother, she smiled gently and looked at me.

Wow, what are these people?

Using some strange method I’ve never seen or heard of to drive me crazy?

Eh, forget it.

I’m being nice to them; why bother trying to clear this up?

I’ll just leave it be.

“…Since it only stopped the rampage, hurry up and feed the Udamhwa. Chairman Woo, please give me the license quickly.”

I needed to get out of there fast.

If I stayed any longer, I might become as foolish as them.

As I thought this, Chairman Woo approached and took a license from his pocket, handing it to me.

“Here it is—the one you wanted.”

I checked the license handed to me.

It bore the alias ‘Geum Jion’ and the grade ‘A-rank Hunter.’

My masked photo was stamped with the ‘Hunter Association’ certification mark, so it didn’t matter that I wore a mask.

I liked how thorough the paperwork was.

With this, even wearing a mask, people wouldn’t misunderstand.

Pointing at the license, Chairman Woo said,

“I know you’re not that kind of person, but I should warn you anyway.”

“…?”

“Never cross the line. I won’t tolerate anyone who does.”

It was a warning not to use the forged license for any shady dealings.

It also implied that the Hunter Management Department or the Hunter Association could reveal my identity.

What I wanted to do with this was simply enter an A-rank gate without Dohee or Taecheon knowing.

That was illegal, but not crossing the ‘line’ Chairman Woo mentioned.

I nodded in agreement, but then my smartphone in my pocket vibrated.

I took it out and saw an incoming call from Taecheon.

“I’m going to take this call.”

Then I left the hospital room.

The Woo family said they’d wait, but having gotten the license, I had no intention of going back.

I slowly descended the stairs and answered the phone.

—Hello? Dowoon, where are you? You’re not home?

Home? Am I at my own place? Why?

“I just stepped out for a bit. Why?”

—I was thinking of having dinner together.

“That’s sudden. I haven’t eaten yet though.”

—I figured as much.

“Huh?”

Good timing. I’ll order some chicken and wait.

“Alright, got it. I’ll be there soon…”

Strange.

Very, very strange.

Taecheon had never come to my house without contacting me since Baekwooncheon became an A-rank guild.

He was saving time, worried about getting stood up.

Yet here he was, coming to my house without a call?

“…Taecheon.”

—Yeah?

“We’re friends, right?”

—Of course. I memorized your and Dohee’s faces before my own.

“So be honest. It’s Monday, right? Shouldn’t you be in the regular meeting now?”

—Hey, what time do you think it is? Of course, it’s over.

“I’m asking because it obviously shouldn’t be over yet.”

—…That’s why I don’t like how sharp you are.

“……..”

Click!

He abruptly hung up.

I wanted to throw the phone honestly, but I held back after seeing the sprout on the screen.

This is serious.

He must have found out I quit the guild.

I stood still for a moment, thinking about how to wisely handle this situation.

Worry grew, but no good ideas came to mind.

So, I decided to go hunt Watchers at the Insu Peak Gate of Bukhansan.

If the D-DAY is coming anyway, I should enjoy as much happy freedom as I can in the moment.

Because I am Baek Dowoon.

*****

96 hours and 28 minutes until Baek Dohee returns to Korea.