Chapter 58

"I was just thinking of saying hello to Yuseong hyung since it's been a while. By the way, I heard that you've become the top-tier searcher in Ohseong Guild. Did you hear about it?"

[Not really, I don't care.]

"He posted a video announcing his name. You should check it out."

[Let's watch it together.]

"Can you send me the link?"

[No, let's meet and watch it together.]

Although he clearly wanted to keep his distance, it seemed odd to keep avoiding him as Chahaya approached from all sides. Perhaps if he endured it with the resolve to temper his heart, he would eventually learn to remain calm even by Chahaya's side.

It seemed more likely to happen now that they were closer than when they were distant. However, he couldn't come up with any excuse to push him away.

"…Come to my place."

[Okay.]

Chahaya answered with unparalleled neatness.

Seo-eun called a Manseong-exclusive taxi again and waited at the entrance of the headquarters. It would take about 15 minutes, and he planned to look for the video announcing the name during that time.

"Seo-eun, have you seen the video of the searcher from Ohseong Guild?"

"If Eunji-geon hadn't interfered, I would have seen it by now."

Seo-eun gave a slight rebuke to Eunji-geon, who had ordered him to speak, but he quickly joked and urged him to watch it. When he accessed the search site, it was already flooded with articles about Ohseong Guild's announcement.

Seo-eun touched the top video.

[Around 8 PM just now, at the Ohseong Guild office in Ilsan, 'Kim Seo-kyung,' who was recruited as a searcher for Ohseong, announced a statement on behalf of the Narakga Guild Alliance.]

The desk where the anchor was sitting disappeared, and the video from Ohseong Guild began to play.

[Hello, I am 'Kim Seo-kyung,' a former low-rank hypnotist. I reawakened as a top-tier searcher a week ago and can currently detect up to 8 variants of Narakga and Korean mutants per day. My abilities have already been verified, so there's no need to doubt them.]

He looked to be in his mid-20s. The man with a neutral name had gentle eyes.

[Everyone is well aware that variants are occurring in Narakga and Korea. However, I have detected that variants will also appear in other regions. Variants will also occur overseas, and the first occurrence is estimated to be in Indonesia next month.]

...Indonesia?

Seo-eun frowned. The video seemed to be a one-sided announcement without any journalists present, as if it was filmed by Ohseong Guild.

[Currently, I can only estimate the general location. If other searchers have also detected the occurrence of overseas variants, please contact Ohseong Guild. We would like to compile the information together.]

The gentle eyes were filled with curiosity, as if he was confident that no other searcher had this level of ability.

Seo-eun waited for a message but didn't have high hopes since he wasn't the type to be easily manipulated.

[Additionally, the Narakga Guild Alliance plans to launch a project for the survival of low-rankers in Narakga. I, as a low-ranker, have lived a truly tragic life in Narakga. Low-rankers often die from starvation as much as from variants. I hope that other Manseong members who watch this video will be aware and participate in our project as much as possible. Ohseong Guild, along with DK, Horororo, Transparent Dragon, and 15 other alliance guilds, will participate in this project.]

Seo-eun couldn't help but tilt his head in confusion. The video ended without revealing the content of the project. He turned the screen back to the front, but the project content was still missing, so he hadn't missed anything.

Eunji-geon was still sitting on the steps in front of the main building, watching the video. Since the same video was playing, Chahaya's voice overlapped like a looped song.

Seo-eun lifted his head when he received a notification that the car had arrived nearby. After receiving a message that external vehicles couldn't pass through the main gate, he walked in the direction of the checkpoint.

He could feel Eunji-geon following him, but he couldn't respond due to the earlier fuss. Eunji-geon might also be leaving the control center.

The driver, standing in front of the rear door, was visible. The staff, who were previously low-rankers, had all been replaced by ordinary people, but the service hadn't changed much. Seo-eun thanked the driver who opened the door and got into the back seat. As the driver was about to close the door, Eunji-geon grabbed the window frame with a thud.

"Sorry, I misunderstood earlier, didn't I?"

"…I apologize. I already apologized earlier."

It was painful to argue that Eunji-geon had started the trouble. Seo-eun chose to apologize calmly.

"If you're sorry, can I get in too?"

"But our destinations are different."

"Where are you going?"

"To my house."

"Do you live in Synergy?"

That was the name of the apartment where Seo-eun lived.

"Do you investigate people's backgrounds?"

"You shouldn't treat people like criminals. I live there too, you didn't know?"

Seo-eun, who didn't care much about other Manseong members except for Tachun guild members, naturally didn't know that Eunji-geon was his neighbor. Even if they were neighbors, they lived in different generations, so it was rare to meet by chance.

"Sir… What should we do? Should we take him together?"

The driver, looking back and forth between Seo-eun and Eunji-geon, seemed tense. When Manseong members had conflicts, the results were rarely good. Something was bound to be broken, and this time it could be the car.

In the end, Seo-eun, who disliked trouble, backed down first. He moved to the seat next to him, and Eunji-geon naturally got into the empty seat.

"Driver, can you drop me off at the same place?"

He smiled at the driver who closed the door for him.

"Since you're giving me a ride, I'll pay."

"It's fine. It's automatic payment."

Seo-eun, not wanting to talk to Eunji-geon, focused on his phone. If Eunji-geon hadn't made those ridiculous comments, he might have treated him differently, but his first impression was already the worst.

He started searching for what the project Ohseong Guild mentioned was. Most of the search results were people asking the same question.

"I'm curious about the low-rank Manseong project."

Thinking Eunji-geon had peeked at his screen, he glared, but Eunji-geon was just looking at his own phone. He soon turned his head and met Seo-eun's eyes. Eunji-geon's golden eyes, indicating he was an elemental, glinted yellow in the screen light.

"I heard that all low-rankers will be managed in Nam-dong."

Nam-dong? Seo-eun thought Eunji-geon was just spouting off.

"What? Don't you believe it? It's reliable information."

Seo-eun's expression didn't change.

"Nam-dong is a region managed by Tachun, right? We've never heard of this."

"A lot of low-rankers have already moved to Nam-dong. Tachun just leaves the landmarks open, right?"

"With a small number of guild members, there's no need to abuse the convenience store items. It's better for those who need them to use them."

"By leaving the landmarks unattended, the alliance can doubt Tachun's management ability. In the end, after a meeting among the alliance, they decided to proceed with the 'Nam-dong project.' You should have joined the alliance earlier."

Even if Eunji-geon's words were true, Tachun couldn't fight against the majority of the alliance.

"You seem to be confident that the alliance won't have any conflicts with us."

Seo-eun sneered. If the alliance thought that, he had no intention of backing down easily.

Eunji-geon pointed at Seo-eun with his index finger.

"Now that the deputy guild leader of Tachun has returned, I'm sure he won't do anything crazy. Especially with Chahaya and Handon-hee, they're like time bombs. Only the deputy guild leader can calm them down. It's amazing how well they listen to you. Maybe Seo-eun, you studied early childhood education?"

Seo-eun's temper flared at the condescending remarks.

"You don't have any friends, do you? Friends usually look out for each other. They're not children, they're just considerate of me."

"Wow, I want friends like that, I'm jealous."

Shit.

Seo-eun sneered inwardly.

If the alliance plans to use Nam-dong, should we move to the northwest as originally planned? It was definitely not a good feeling that they made decisions without consulting Tachun. If other guild members found out, there might be a big fuss, so he needed to clarify the situation first.

"Do you know why I left the 'Paju Love' guild?"

"You don't love it anymore, I guess."

"Haha, I still love Paju. But I was the one who opposed the project at the meeting."

Eunji-geon put his hand on his chest and nodded his head. It wasn't surprising that Paju Love joined the alliance. Tachun was the rare case that chose independent survival.

"Why did you oppose it?"

"It's just too late to pretend to care. It's like they only started paying attention because a top-tier searcher appeared among the low-rankers. If you think about it, isn't Tachun, which leaves the landmarks open, more humanitarian?"

The notification that they had arrived near the apartment complex rang. Seo-eun wanted to get away from Eunji-geon as quickly as possible. Talking to someone whose intentions were unclear only increased his fatigue.

The security guard opened the entrance to the lobby after confirming he was a resident. As soon as he reached the lobby, Seo-eun got out of the car.

"Then, Eunji-geon, I'll go in first."

He thanked the driver and was about to go inside when he saw Chahaya standing on the low steps leading to the lobby. He was looking down at his phone, and Seo-eun thought it might be the Ohseong searcher video.

"Chahaya."

Chahaya lifted his head at Seo-eun's call and smiled. He then noticed the unwelcome person behind Seo-eun. They had come in the same car but got out of different doors.

Chahaya quickly came down the few steps and approached Seo-eun.

"They said they wouldn't let me in even if I came to collect the fee."

"Would you let him in?"

"Wow, Cha-cha."

Eunji-geon, who was seeing them as a pair for the first time, made a telescope with his hands and put it to his eyes.

"Chahaya, long time no see, hello."

Eunji-geon unfolded his hands and waved them enthusiastically.

"Hello."

Chahaya's head barely moved. Seo-eun felt a bit embarrassed by the insincere greeting.

"It's amazing, isn't it? They call you 'Cha-cha' everywhere, but you two go your separate ways. Did you become friends in Narakga?"

"We were already friends."

Seo-eun, who didn't like Eunji-geon talking about their relationship, took the lead.