Welcome to Dungeon Hotel Chapter 329 - Side Story 2. People Who Just Occasionally Have a Meal Together (3) 

Side Story 2. People Who Just Occasionally Have a Meal Together (3) 

 

Watching Han Minhyuk walk out holding a large glass of ice, Moon Heeyoung followed after him.

 

‘Let’s see how far this goes.’

 

Knowing he would turn back after just a few steps. 

 

It was ridiculous enough to make such a petty joke, but actually walking out with the glass in hand was even more absurd.

 

But when, contrary to her expectations, he actually walked all the way out to the table in the garden, she was even more astonished. 

 

He’s probably just going to pass by and leave, she thought.

 

After all, he’d already finished eating.

 

“Hello.” 

 

Her face hardened as yet another expectation of hers missed the mark.

 

Han Minhyuk was standing—right in front of the Jeongil Group’s daughter, whose name Moon Heeyoung couldn’t even remember. 

 

“…?”

 

And in front of her ex-husband, who was standing at a distance, subtly gazing in her direction. 

 

“….”

 

Moon Heeyoung waved her hand at her ex-husband, who sat frozen, unable to greet her.

 

I don’t know anymore.

 

Moon Heeyoung found the increasingly tangled situation ridiculous, yet it was starting to become somewhat amusing. 

 

Anyway, Han Minhyuk wouldn’t be the type to carry out such petty revenge on behalf of Hwang Misoon or Kim Junsoo. 

 

She simply found it amusing to see the man doing something he normally wouldn’t do—just because of her.

 

“Oh, yes. The one I met at that alumni meeting…”

 

The woman, adorned head to toe in luxury goods, looked up at Han Minhyuk as he greeted her. 

 

S-Class Hunter, Han Minhyuk.

 

On top of that, he was a powerhouse in South Korea, owning the guild Hanwoon. 

 

She was initially taken aback by the unexpected greeting, but her face immediately lit up when she realized who it was. 

 

The moment she awkwardly stood up, extending her hand for a handshake, Han Minhyuk quickly got straight to the point. 

 

“Yes. Because the next time we meet, you said I should at least buy you a drink.”

 

“…Yes?”

 

The woman’s face twisted angrily, caught in a state where she couldn’t properly stand or sit.

 

“Serving alcohol at the hotel could be complicated for various reasons…”

 

Han Minhyuk rolled his arrogant eyes and scanned Moon Heeyoung’s ex-husband, who was sitting beside her.

 

The meaning behind his gaze, delivered alongside the words “serving alcohol at the hotel,” was unmistakable. 

 

“Take good care of your woman.” That’s what it implied. 

 

It was quite blatant, and even Moon Heeyoung, standing some distance away, could sense it. 

 

‘So I actually asked Han Minhyuk to buy me a drink.’

 

Ridiculous. As if that guy would ever buy a drink just to flirt with a woman. 

 

“It also depends on my personal taste…”

 

Han Minhyuk’s gaze shifted coldly toward the woman.

 

Once again, the meaning behind his gaze was clear: How dare someone like you even think of challenging me.

 

‘That crazy guy.’

 

If there were a pair of eyes that could best express a look of contempt in this world, it would be Han Minhyuk’s.

 

Moon Heeyoung thought so. 

 

“I’ll settle for coffee instead.” 

 

Han Minhyuk avoided the woman’s hand extended for a handshake and placed the coffee on the table instead.

 

Then, as if the glass—which hadn’t really developed much condensation—was wet or as if it were simply dirty, he took out a handkerchief, calmly wiped his hand, and looked back at Moon Heeyoung.

 

“…I’ll leave it at that.”

 

Moon Heeyoung glanced at the woman shooting her a sharp look and nodded. 

 

“Do I look like a puppy to you?”  

 

Han Minhyuk didn’t answer. 

 

Instead, without bowing his head, he offered a stiff, upright greeting to the two of them. 

 

“…Bye.” 

 

The word goodbye was delivered in a tone that seemed to have thrown courtesy out the window. 

 

* * * 

 

Han Minhyuk left the restaurant without looking back, and Moon Heeyoung followed behind him. 

 

They rarely walked side by side.  

 

Moon Heeyoung followed behind him with her eyes, tracing his gait—his shoulders too broad to be believed for a middle-aged man, and his stride too dignified to be believed for a youth. 

 

Then, all of a sudden, the image of his face as he set down the iced coffee came to mind, and she burst out laughing. 

 

At first, her laughter began as a quiet giggle, but when it grew so loud that she doubled over, gasping for breath, Han Minhyuk turned around to look back at her. 

 

The driver, who had been seated in the driver’s seat, started to get out but went back inside at Han Minhyuk’s gesture. 

 

“Why are you laughing?” 

 

“Ah, sorry, sorry. It’s just—this kind of revenge didn’t seem like your style, but then I realized you can be vulgar with elegance, too.” 

 

Han Minhyuk simply let Moon Heeyoung laugh away, cackling without restraint. 

 

Though he occasionally glanced at his watch as if to urge her along, he showed no sign of irritation. 

 

Only when Moon Heeyoung’s laughter finally subsided did he open his mouth to speak.  

 

“Are you finished laughing?” 

 

“…There’s a bit left. Want me to keep going?”

 

“Go on, then. It’s better to see you laughing.”

 

“….”

 

At those words, the laughter faded from Moon Heeyoung’s face.

 

Her eyebrows lowered.

 

“So you did all this just to see me laugh?”

 

“Real revenge isn’t done like this. Ever since the Great Catastrophe, the income of a single guild like Hanwoon has long surpassed that of the entire business world, and with that kind of power, there’s nothing we couldn’t uncover. We could compile a list of men that woman has been involved with and send it to your ex-husband, or make a list of women your ex-husband has been involved with and send it to her. If there are even worse secrets, we could dig those up and send them too.” 

 

Han Minhyuk adjusted his clothes and frowned, as if annoyed.

 

“But the reason I went out of my way to do something this pointless was, in fact, to make you laugh.” 

 

“Why? Because you thought I’d sign a contract with the Hanwoon Guild if you did?”

 

Moon Heeyoung smiled.

 

It was just a smile.

 

What Han Minhyuk had just said was powerful enough that even Moon Heeyoung couldn’t help but be shaken. 

 

A long-forgotten corner of her heart couldn’t help but stir. 

 

But Han Minhyuk—the wretched b*stard, the kind of man who wouldn’t even think to lie to her face—didn’t smile. 

 

“No. I came here knowing you’d renewed your contract with Baekho.”

 

‘The truth.’

 

Once again, he wasn’t lying.

 

Even without a single skill, he saw through her countless lies—and yet, he himself did not lie. 

 

That was why Moon Heeyoung found Han Minhyuk difficult to deal with. 

 

Like an unsolvable math problem that had lost its answer key.

 

“…Then…”

 

Why?

 

Why are you doing this to me? 

 

“Then why did you spread the rumor that your contract renewal had fallen through?”

 

Moon Heeyoung hesitated at Han Minhyuk’s question. 

 

She hesitated for a moment, but soon her red lips delivered a prepared answer.

 

“Because I thought this way, you might have a meal with me.”

 

For a reason behind a top-ranked player creating such a massive scandal on the free-agent market, it was far too trivial—but it was sincere.

 

The only truth among the countless lies of today.

 

I wanted to have a meal with you. 

 

Han Minhyuk nodded at those words.

 

“I’m the same. I just wanted to have a meal with you.”

 

Han Minhyuk leaned against the car door at an angle and looked at Moon Heeyoung. 

 

Moon Heeyoung spoke to him, even though he said nothing.

 

“Then we…”

 

“Don’t say any nonsense about sleeping together or having sex.”

 

“Oh, it didn’t work out. Too bad.”

 

Moon Heeyoung smirked.

 

“But isn’t ‘sleep together’ the same as ‘have sex’?”

 

Han Minhyuk frowned at that. 

 

“You and I both don’t really know what family is, or what love is. That’s how we grew up. That’s why you failed, and I never even tried. In many ways, not even trying makes you worse, but I’m old now.” 

 

“Old? I’ve just gotten older.” 

 

“Same difference.”

 

“Hearing that I’m ‘old’ hurts more, Minhyuk-ah.” 

 

At the sound of “Minhyuk-ah,” Han Minhyuk let out a small smile. 

 

It was so slight that anyone other than Moon Heeyoung might not have recognized it as a smile—but she did. 

 

That when Han Minhyuk smiled, it could truly steal a person’s soul. 

 

“And, it’s true that I failed, but you didn’t just not try—you succeeded.”

 

“…?” 

 

“You know what love and family are, right?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Isn’t that the photo of Junghyo on your phone’s wallpaper? You said you had a meal planned with Junghyo today, too.”

 

The photo of Han Woohyun was perfectly cropped. 

 

Earlier, it had briefly caught her eye when he came out with the coffee. 

 

True to being an old man, it was poorly cropped, making the phone screen look chaotic. 

 

And he was probably keeping an eye on the time because he wanted to buy something for Junghyo before meeting her.  

 

So, Han Minhyuk had succeeded.

 

Having a family, loving someone.

 

Seemingly understanding her words, Han Minhyuk paused as if in thought, then quickly replied.

 

“That’s right.” 

 

“Yeah.” 

 

Even after drawing Han Minhyuk’s acknowledgment, Moon Heeyoung said nothing. 

 

She’s old. 

 

She vaguely understood what that meant.

 

Even now, though she had succeeded in restoring her honor, Moon Heeyoung had once betrayed a colleague long ago, and over all those years, countless misunderstandings had piled up between them. 

 

There were too many tangled matters and people involved to unravel it all.

 

Now, just knowing that Han Minhyuk no longer hated her was enough to bring Moon Heeyoung some comfort. 

 

And—

 

Today, she was simply grateful for Han Minhyuk’s heart, which had been fooled by her lies.

 

So, just this once—

 

“So, let’s have a meal together next season too.”

 

Han Minhyuk opened the rear door of the car.

 

“You’ll lie again, I’ll fall for that lie, and we’ll just occasionally see each other as people who have a meal together.” 

 

Moon Heeyoung’s eyes widened at those words.

 

People who just occasionally have a meal together. 

 

At those dry, arid words, the corners of Moon Heeyoung’s mouth lifted into a smile.

 

“Not bad. That kind of relationship.”

 

Moon Heeyoung placed her hand on Han Minhyuk’s shoulder. Feeling her hand tense slightly, Han Minhyuk layered his hand over hers. 

 

A brief touch, and then Moon Heeyoung brushed past him.

 

Only when he saw Moon Heeyoung’s red sports car start did Han Minhyuk glide into the car. 

 

“To the Gallery Department Store.”

 

“Yes.”

 

The red sports car and Han Minhyuk’s sedan passed each other. 

 

It was because they had different routes.

 

Han Minhyuk took out his phone and briefly looked at Junghyo in her school uniform on the screen.

 

Then he made a call somewhere. 

 

“It’s me. Seven o’clock. Yeah. I’ve reserved a room, so we can meet there.”

 

The call was short and concise, but just from how soft his voice became, the driver could tell who he was speaking to.

 

Welcome to the Dungeon Hotel

 

<Side Story 2: People Who Just Occasionally Have a Meal Together> — The End