Chapter 27

"You should smile differently from now on. Your smile isn't that great either."

<Not so great in my heart.>

Seo-eun almost cursed out loud because of the sudden messenger that popped up.

"Really?"

Cha-haya, who was smiling, leaned in to look at her properly.

"Ah, get lost."

"Are you sulking?"

She couldn't even get angry because of the guy looking up at her. She just wanted to see a mirror right now to see what her smile looked like.

"Smile, Cha Seo-eun. Your smile is beautiful."

Seo-eun pursed her lips in exasperation. Really, Cha-haya lifted the corners of her mouth with his thumb and index finger.

"Ah!"

A crack appeared on her plump lips, and a faint trace of blood showed. Cha-haya, flustered, quickly pressed his thumb on the split lip and then let go.

"Hey! I told you to control your strength, didn't I?"

"I didn't know a rat would be so weak. Wait, I'll kidnap Joong-gil."

Seo-eun pressed her lips with one hand and grabbed Cha-haya with the other. This guy is still left over.

"Whatever. Do you get surgery for a paper cut?"

Seo-eun rubbed her tingling lips with her palm. Fortunately, the bleeding stopped after Cha-haya pressed it once. Cha-haya lowered his head again and focused on her lips, his eyes filled with concern. Seo-eun finally noticed his worried gaze.

"Show me yours."

She deliberately stepped back and glared at him.

"It would be hard to tear with just a little force."

Cha-haya lowered his height and encouraged her to try.

"Rather than suffer, I'll just endure. No, I won't do it."

"Afraid you can't tear it?"

He grabbed her hand and pressed it to his lips. Despite her protests, she could feel his laughter through her palm. Seo-eun tried to pull her hand away with all her strength, but Cha-haya didn't budge.

"Wow, when did you two become so close?"

Seo-eun turned to look at Yoo-chan, who had appeared, still holding Cha-haya's hand. Even as Abdulaziz appeared behind Yoo-chan, Cha-haya continued to press on her lips. Unlike her dry and often chapped lips, Cha-haya's lips were surprisingly pliable.

"Seo-eun was worried, wasn't she? Are you two fighting? Look, Cha-haya is grabbing your chin."

"No, sir. It's not like that."

Seo-eun quickly let go of his hand and reassured Abdulaziz. She thought it was for the best that they had come at this moment. Seo-eun wiped her palm, which still felt Cha-haya's touch, on her pants.

"Wow, people from Narak. The guild leader of Tacheon is treating guild members like bacteria."

Cha-haya spread the rumor without any effort or sincerity. Yet, his lips still tingled, and he licked that part with his tongue.

"Bacteria? Seo-eun?!"

"No, sir. Ignore Cha-haya's nonsense. You came just in time. I was going to introduce you to a big find."

"Is there a big find in Narak?"

Seo-eun's words made them approach quickly. There was a noticeable sense of anticipation, perhaps because the guild leader had mentioned a "big find." Seo-eun nodded and instinctively put her hand in her pocket, but there was no chalk to be found.

"I'm from the northwest."

She started speaking without the chalk.

"Is that so?"

"Yoo-chan, let's ask questions after the story, okay?"

He spoke affectionately to avoid sounding unpleasant, and Yoo-chan raised his hand.

"Yes, sir!"

"In the northwest, there's a place that DK members never let go of. It's... "

She felt frustrated without the chalk and looked around. Cha-haya, who was also looking around, found a stone near a jar. He pulled out his sword and stabbed the stone, then threw a piece with a good grip to Seo-eun.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Seo-eun couldn't help but giggle at Cha-haya's quick response. If Han Don-hee were here, she might have called them crazy.

"Alright, let me explain."

Seo-eun, barely suppressing her laughter, used the stone fragment as chalk to scratch the ground. A triangle without a base resembled a mountain. She then drew an inverted 'U' in the middle of the mountain.

"It's a mountain where I stayed for a while. DK members guard this tunnel here."

Thud, Seo-eun pointed to the tunnel passing through the mountain.

"Because this is a uranium ore field."

Abdulaziz finally squatted in front of Seo-eun.

"Do mutants appear in large numbers there?"

Seo-eun pointed to Cha-haya with the stone fragment.

"Cha-haya, correct. No reward."

"I didn't expect one."

"Anyway, to continue... "

When did they become so close?

Yoo-chan, with his arms crossed, frowned.

Seo-eun's return was a joy for Yoo-chan, but her proximity to Cha-haya was too close. They had never had personal conversations outside of work.

If the guild leader were to name his closest guild member, it would naturally be him.

"Yoo-chan."

"…Yes?"

"Are you listening, Yoo-chan?"

Yes! Yoo-chan raised his hand again and shouted.

"Yoo-chan, you're not paying attention. I'll repeat it. Seo-eun, go ahead."

"Yes, sir. This place is a bit special, um... Abdulaziz, have you played PC or mobile games?"

"Of course, I haven't. I've always been working."

"Then think of this place as a kind of mutant prison."

He wanted to use the term "dungeon" but avoided it for Abdulaziz's sake.

"Mutants seem to spawn inside this tunnel. However, they don't come out all at once but one or two at a time, at regular intervals."

"Ha, the DK guys have been hunting easily. They've been taking all the uranium. Let's get some too!"

Abdulaziz raised his voice uncharacteristically.

"Then, were the DK members' claims about easily obtaining uranium due to Seo-cha also a lie? It's been two weeks since the DK guild leader has been staying in Korea. He seems to be visiting Narak every few days and leaving immediately."

The DK turned their attention to Seo-cha to monopolize the high-level mutant hunting grounds. Seo-eun wouldn't have known what was happening in the tunnel without the messenger.

"So, what I'm saying is."

Whoosh, Seo-eun's hair was blown by the wind. The artificial wind came from the sword Cha-haya had drawn.

Bang! The sword, which flew instantly, was embedded in the rooftop door, shaking. The sword had also pierced a large, moist salamander that was sliding down the door. The salamander, the size of an adult man, was oozing a sticky fluid.

Cha-haya, who had successfully hunted, pulled out the still trembling sword.

"Let's go to the northwest."

He shook off the sticky fluid from the sword, and Seo-eun recoiled to avoid it.

***

The salamander was cremated by Abdulaziz, who had the ability to control fire. Yoo-chan said he wanted to examine the insides, but there was no uranium in a creature that hadn't even reached level 1.

"Going is good, but we need a strategy."

Seo-eun had to stop Cha-haya, who was planning to go to the northwest without preparation.

"Seo-eun is right."

"Seo-eun is good at making strategies."

"Actually, Cha-haya himself is a strategy, so there's not much to add. The DK members work well together. I saw them once; five level 3 mutants easily took down a level 4 mutant."

Cha-haya looked like he wanted to say something. Was calling him a strategy too much of a compliment?

Suddenly, Cha-haya scratched his throat and chuckled. His sinister laughter made Seo-eun's temper flare.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Did you hide and observe? Or transform into a mouse?"

Ha, he couldn't hold back his laughter any longer. Although his handsome laugh was pleasant to see, calling her a mouse was unforgivable.

"I watched from the mountain above the tunnel."

"Oh, you didn't hide?"

"I didn't hide. I just lay flat."

Seo-eun spoke expressionlessly.

Cha-haya, who had been chuckling, picked some lettuce from Abdulaziz's garden and stuck it in Seo-eun's ears.

"Cha Seo-eun's camouflage."

"Die."

Seo-eun held the two leaves of lettuce in her hands. What was he imagining? The kid's sense of humor was sometimes incomprehensible.

"Stop joking. Seo-eun, how should we proceed?"

"First, I want to send Cha-haya as a scout."

"I don't even know where the tunnel is."

"I'll go with you to the vicinity."

"Sir, I'll go too."

Yoo-chan raised his hand.

"We're just scouting. More people would just make us more noticeable."

Cha-haya pulled Yoo-chan's hand down with his scabbard. Seo-eun didn't argue, as it made sense.

Yoo-chan pouted.

"Don't be upset, Yoo-chan. Do you know Sungla Department Store?"

A building known as a landmark in the northwest.

"Yes."

"From there, walk about 500 meters to the left. There's a place called Geumseong Broadcasting."

Seo-eun glanced at her wristwatch.

"Meet Abdulaziz there by 11 AM two days from now. If Han Don-hee or Kang San come before us, they can join us. If we don't come, don't cause trouble in the northwest. Go back to Nam-dong. Got it?"

"Got it."

"We'll make the rest of the strategy after the reconnaissance. We'll disband for today."

Abdulaziz and Yoo-chan shouted "Tacheon!" and saluted. It was more of a joke than a show of guild pride.

As they went down the stairs first, only Cha-haya and Seo-eun were left. The roof was covered with soot from the burned salamander. Seo-eun brought a hose to put out the fire.

She silently turned the hose towards Cha-haya, who held his sword up. Cha-haya soon wiped the sticky fluid off his sword and sheathed it.

"Cha-haya, do you have a backpack at your place?"

"Is that an order?"

"Yeah, it's a guild leader's order."

"Then I'll find one even if I don't have one."

Cha-haya's residence was on the opposite side of Seo-eun's, as Abdulaziz had said. Cha-haya took off his shoes after entering his house. His room was clean, unlike his messy office.

While Cha-haya searched for a backpack, Seo-eun looked around the house.

On the living room shelf under the wall-mounted TV, there were dozens of hygrophytes (plant specimens preserved in special solutions). The glass bottles, filled with transparent liquid, contained hydrangeas, mist flowers, carnations, and various other flowers. It seemed unlikely that he had received so many similar gifts, so they were likely his collection.

When her gaze reached the end of the shelf, Seo-eun lifted the frame in disbelief.

The photo showed a woman holding a mixed-breed dog with brown and white fur. Strangely, the woman's face was the same as the one in the photo in her room. Her black hair and green eyes were distinctive, and Seo-eun remembered them clearly.