Chapter 132

 

“Why is Na-yeon… just come in for now!” 

 

Quickly pushing us all into the room, Lee Cho checked the hallway to make sure no one was around before closing the door. Lee Cho asked with a flustered expression, one I hadn’t seen before. 

 

“Have you two met before?” 

 

“Yeah. I saw you at the center a while ago.” 

 

Without thinking, I found myself staring at Lee Cho’s hand resting on the bus driver’s shoulder. I hadn’t noticed it before, but now I saw that Lee Cho was wearing a simple but neat ring on the fourth finger of their left hand. 

 

‘Right… I remember the bus driver saying they were married. Could it be…?’

 

Just as I was surprised, Zero spoke up. 

 

“Oh Na-yeon, she’s a spy for Cheonrang.” 

 

“What? The bus driver is a spy?!”

 

“I heard the last time she was infiltrating the center for a job… looks like you two met at the center.”

 

My eyes widened. Oh Na-yeon gave Zero a slightly tilted, skeptical look. 

 

“Ha… You know, I can never tell who the informants are in situations like this. It’s been a while, Zero. I knew we’d meet again someday, but I didn’t expect it to be this… pleasant.”

 

“Heh, has it been three years? Congratulations on your marriage. I’m sure the dungeon information you took back then was more than enough for your wedding gift?”

 

“Yes, it was enough. But it didn’t feel like a gift, more like I was getting back what I should have originally received. You were the one who cowardly took it first.”

 

As Oh Na-yeon’s tone became more heated, Lee Cho grabbed their shoulders and silently stopped them. 

 

Even Zero’s usual smile had faded, and it seemed like whatever had happened in the past had left a strained relationship between the two of them. 

 

Lee Cho, who was caught in the middle, glanced at me. Our eyes met, and I reached out. 

 

“I came to get the phone. Seong San-ha said to come here.”

 

“Oh, the phone! Yes, I’ve got it ready.”

 

Lee Cho hurriedly entered the room, looking flustered. Even after Lee Cho left, the argument between Zero and Oh Na-yeon continued. 

 

“It’s natural for mercenaries to follow where the profit is.” 

 

“You do realize the damage Cheon Rang suffered from that, right?”

 

“Is that all my fault? I thought by now you’d admit the incompetence of your intelligence department, but I guess it wasn’t enough.”

 

“Are you done talking?!”

 

“Na-yeon, calm down. …Ho-hyun nim is here.” 

 

Lee Cho quickly tried to calm Oh Na-yeon down, but it didn’t seem very effective. 

 

‘Should I wait until they finish talking?’

 

I sat Seung-yeon, who was nervously glancing at the situation, in a chair, and in the background of their argument, I dialed the familiar number to call Seong San-ha. 

 

「+225_10820_0000」

 

There wasn’t anything particularly important I needed to say. I was just calling to follow up on what was said earlier and to thank them for the phone. 

 

However, instead of Seong San-ha’s voice, a strange recorded message played on the other end. 

 

[Unable to connect the call.] 

 

After the cold message, there was a brief beep before the call was disconnected. I stared at the phone, surprised. 

 

Huh, that’s odd?

 

Seong San-ha had not picked up before, but this time, the voicemail message was different. I tried calling again, but it was the same. 

 

[Beep-]

 

Was it broken? Before telling Lee Cho, I tried calling a few more times, but the beeping sound continued. The argument between the two also shifted their attention toward me. Oh Na-yeon asked, confused.

 

“Ho-hyun… Ho-hyun ssi? What are you doing? Who are you calling?”

 

“Yeah, but it’s strange. The call keeps getting disconnected.”

 

“It’s not just getting disconnected. It seems like you’re being blocked.”

 

I looked up at Oh Na-yeon’s words. With a friendly smile, she rummaged through her pockets and asked,

 

“How about I lend you my phone, and you can try calling from there?”

 

“Blocked? What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“What do you mean by blocked? Does that mean I can’t make the call? Is that something you can even do?”

 

While Oh Na-yeon hesitated, surprised, Zero glanced at my phone screen, where the number was still visible. His eyes narrowed, and he spoke with a sly tone.

 

“Heh, it’s not just that you can’t make the call. You can’t even send texts. When someone is blocked, no matter how much they struggle, they can’t reach the other person. It’s like shouting into the void.”

 

“Why… would they do something like that?”

 

“Blocking someone, especially between friends, lovers, or acquaintances… Well, it’s hard to define in just one word, but it’s essentially the end of a relationship, isn’t it? You’ve completely cut off any way to contact them.”

 

“Seong San-ha…?”

 

Seong San-ha… blocked me? Me? ‘Blocked’?!

 

I hadn’t known phones had such a cold feature. If I’d known, I would have blocked Tae Jeheon too! I stared at my lifeless phone screen, the growing humiliation sinking in. Seeing me like that, Lee Cho hurriedly shouted.

 

“This damn bastard…”

 

“It’s my fault! The number… it’s… anyway, it was my mistake.”

 

When I looked at Lee Cho, as if asking what he meant, he rubbed his head and sighed deeply before making an excuse.

 

“To contact the Guild Leader personally, you need special permission. Any numbers not approved are automatically blocked. It wasn’t just you who got blocked! I should have registered the number before handing over the phone, but I was so out of it that I completely forgot.”

 

“Until now, they’ve always answered when I called. I’ve even called from Seung-yeon’s phone before.”

 

“Well, that’s because he was waiting… ahem, I mean, I preemptively searched for the number and registered it for your convenience, Ho-hyun nim.”

 

I narrowed my eyes and glared. Searching just means you did some background checking, didn’t you?

 

“This incident is just a simple misunderstanding…”

 

“Do it for me too. Block.”

 

“What do you mean… who are you talking about?”

 

I held out my phone, and Lee Cho’s eyes grew wide. He waved his hands, urging me to hurry.

 

“Who else would it be? Seong San-ha. Block him right now.”

 

“Ho-hyun nim…”

 

Lee Cho made a face as if everything was ruined.

 

After confirming that Seong San-ha’s number had been blocked, I received the phone back. Meanwhile, Oh Na-yeon, who had been watching with interest, met my gaze. She asked, her voice full of curiosity.

 

“By the way, how do you know the Guild Leader, Ho-hyun ssi?”

 

The sudden question made everyone in the room look at Oh Na-yeon. Noticing their attention, Oh Na-yeon smiled awkwardly.

 

“Ahaha. Did I ask something unnecessary? Actually, I just returned yesterday, so I’m not really familiar with the current situation in Cheon Rang. I’m curious why the Guide, Ho-hyun, is here.”

 

A long explanation was left to Lee Cho.

 

As he revealed my true identity, I also learned that Oh Na-yeon and Lee Cho were a married couple. The husband noona had casually mentioned was Lee Cho. What’s more, she had just returned yesterday after driving a bus for the center!

 

“Why does Cheon Rang have so many informants?”

 

“I can’t say there aren’t any, but it’s not as many as you think. It just so happens that they keep getting caught by Eui-jin.”

 

Lee Cho muttered an excuse. After the ‘block’ incident, he seemed uncharacteristically gloomy.

 

Oh Na-yeon suddenly brightened up and clapped her hands.

 

“Right! By the way, there are separate teams in our intelligence department that handle Nox. But Eui-jin kept complaining about how he couldn’t get any information about the waves.”

 

“Intelligence department? That’s bold. If they got caught, they would have been killed by Tae Jaeh-eon.”

 

“Fortunately, everyone’s still safe.”

 

“So, what did they investigate at Nox?”

 

“Well, it wasn’t exactly Nox, it was investigating Eui-jin. There’s one thing I remember, a significant achievement. They found something out and had a party… Ah! It was his clothing size. After they found out his size, they went on a drinking spree up to the 5th round. Before that, they thought he was a ghost because there was no info about the waves.”

 

“Clothing size? What’s the point of knowing that?”

 

I asked indifferently, but Lee Cho, who had been fidgeting next to me, tightly gripped his phone and spoke up.

 

“Uh, Eui-jin nim… San-ha has been calling continuously?”

 

“Yeah? Just take it.”

 

Why ask for permission to answer? I thought it was odd but waved my hand for him to pick up. Lee Cho, with an awkward expression, asked again.

 

“It seems like it’s about Eui-jin… but you don’t want to take the call yourself?”

 

“Of course not. I’ve ‘blocked’ Seong San-ha.”

 

“……Understood.”

 

Lee Cho gloomily got up and headed to another room.

 

After a bit of idle chatter between the three of us, before we knew it, it was almost lunchtime. As everyone mentioned they had arrived earlier, I stood up and looked back at Oh Na-yeon.

 

“Are you not having lunch, Noona?”

 

“Today, I have a lunch date with my husband, whom I haven’t seen in a while. Let’s eat together next time.”

 

Seeing Oh Na-yeon wink as she spoke, I was reminded of Jin-myung noona and Da-in noona.

 

***

 

I thought back to Oh Na-yeon’s words about spending time with Lee Cho while waiting for the elevator.

 

It would be more fun if we all ate together. What’s different if they’re lovers?

 

I didn’t really know. As I scratched my head, I saw Lee Cho rushing toward me from a distance.

 

“Eui-jin nim!”

 

Just as I was about to board the arriving elevator, I stopped at the urgent call.

 

“I’m sorry for calling you in a hurry. I was a bit out of it.”

 

“It’s okay. I heard Na-yeon came yesterday.”

 

“I need to schedule something. Are you free this afternoon?”

 

“Schedule? What do you mean?”

 

I asked, confused, and Lee Cho quickly flipped through the tablet in his hand as he spoke.

 

“It’s nothing serious. There are a few things to prepare before revealing your identity, Eui-jin nim. Since San-ha nim said it would be exposed indirectly, we just need to prepare a brief interview with minimal details, take some photos for the article, and shoot videos that will be sent out to the news… Ah, and before that, we’ll need to do styling, so time’s a bit tight.”

 

Listening quietly to Lee Cho’s words, I asked,

 

“So what you’re saying is… I’m going to be on TV?”

 

Lee Cho nodded. I stared at him in surprise and hurriedly asked,

 

“Without a mask? Not covering my face? And with a name tag that says ‘S-Class Potion Master, Kang Eui-jin?”

 

“Of course. Is there any other way? You’re the master of the constellation, so it won’t just be broadcast in Korea, but worldwide. We’ve already got thirty translators lined up. Somehow, word has gotten out, and people are already reaching out, trying to get information about Eui-jin nim secretly.”

 

Hearing his excitement, I couldn’t help but smile.

 

“So, this afternoon…”

 

“Yes! Definitely! It’s absolutely fine!”