Interference
Jinhyuk and Seira stepped out of the department store.
"A fine sword."
Seira nodded as soon as she laid eyes on Ganjang Makya.
Jinhyuk let out another "Nice!"
Thanks to Jintaegon's help, he'd saved enough to snag the winged shoes of Pino, which were on sale.
A tower-exclusive rare item that boosted movement speed by 50.
From now on, keeping up with Seira would be a breeze.
'I held on.'
He'd shelled out 30 million won for the shoes, leaving him with 100 million.
A stroke of luck had piled up just right, letting him keep his balance in the hundreds of millions.
"I'm sorry."
"Hm? For what?"
"I meant to help you with the sword purchase, but I wasn't any use at all."
"Oh, right. I haven't told you yet."
Jinhyuk recounted how he'd acquired the sword inside.
"So, in other words, it's thanks to the swordsmanship you taught me. Thank you, Seira."
Seira's eyes widened.
A moment later, she cleared her throat and continued.
"No need to thank me. It's my duty to make my master stronger. And this result came because you did well."
She said that, but her expression had softened noticeably.
"Now, let's get some ice cream. It's all melting."
"Ah."
It seemed she'd forgotten about the one in her hand while apologizing.
She scooped up a big spoonful and brought it to her mouth.
"Tasty, right?"
"It's sweet. What do you call this?"
"Gelato. Chewy frozen treat."
"What an odd name."
A smile played on Seira's lips as she began scooping away energetically.
A world full of foods she'd never seen before, but all of them delicious.
She was starting to like this place more and more.
"If we swing by the house, it'll be late, so let's head straight there."
"Sure."
He fell into step beside Seira.
The meeting spot with Cheon Seyeon was Nodeulseom.
About a 20-minute walk away.
"What should we have for dinner tonight? No chicken."
"Tricky. The jokbal from yesterday was delicious."
"Besides jokbal."
"Even trickier."
Jinhyuk rubbed his chin and shrugged.
Once the appointment wrapped up, he'd summon Kancho and Dark to get their input.
'They'll be fine, right?'
It was the first time he'd left them alone, so he felt a twinge of unease.
He could force a manifestation, but he'd decided against it.
The card payment notification had come in 30 minutes ago.
By now, they were probably digging into the delivered chicken.
'Those pigs. Four whole ones between the two of them.'
He hoped they'd eat nicely and quietly.
Crunch.
He'd been walking and chatting idly with Seira for a while when Nodeulseom came into view.
"I'll be back. Go ahead and look around."
He waved goodbye and headed to the café, their agreed meeting point.
"One iced vanilla latte, please."
After ordering, Jinhyuk settled into an outdoor seat.
"Ah."
He should've bought one for Seira before they parted.
'Crowded place.'
Even on a weekday, the island was bustling with people.
Mostly families.
Out for a stroll before or after dinner, it seemed.
He checked the time.
Twenty minutes until the appointment.
He figured he'd sip his coffee and people-watch leisurely.
"Hello."
Not long after, a greeting rang out.
Jinhyuk turned, his face flushing with surprise.
A neat suit, and a familiar emblem.
Player Hunter Agency.
"You're Eugene Hyuk, right?"
"Yes, that's me."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Lee Mi-jin from the Player Hunter Agency's Talent Support Team. I'm supporting Cheon Seyeon Hunter, one of Korea's top rankers."
"Oh, nice to meet you."
"You're here to meet Seyeon, right?"
"Uh? Yeah."
"Oh no, what do we do? Seyeon had a sudden Hunter Agency request come up, so she can't make it. She asked me to come in her place."
Jinhyuk checked his phone.
No messages from Seyeon.
"Hang on. Let me just try contacting her."
"Sure, sure. Go ahead."
He sent a text, but no read receipt from Seyeon.
The voice call went unanswered too.
"She probably won't pick up. She's swamped right now."
"I see."
Mi-jin seemed to just be standing in for Cheon Seyeon, with no ties to Jin Yun-ho.
No sign she knew he was the runner of the Ledger of Honor.
After a brief pause, Mi-jin continued.
"I heard you have something for Seyeon. If you hand it over to me, that should be fine."
Jinhyuk's face took on a puzzled look.
Originally, he'd planned to take the materials from Seyeon right there and brew the potion on the spot.
Seyeon knew the bizarre potion-making box had two uses left.
She wouldn't postpone just to ask for the whole box.
Had she caught on to his suspicion?
"It's our first meeting, and I've already asked too much."
Mi-jin, looking thoughtful, made a different proposal.
"If you're not in a rush, why don't you come with me? I'll take you right to where Seyeon is. It'd be better than handing over an important item to a stranger you've just met. What do you think?"
Jinhyuk studied Mi-jin's face for a moment, then nodded.
"That sounds good. Let's go together."
"Yes, yes. We'll take my car. I parked nearby."
Jinhyuk rose and followed Mi-jin out of the café.
One question lingered in his mind.
Would Cheon Seyeon really be at the place they were heading?
Twenty minutes later, Nodeulseom café.
Cheon Seyeon entered the café and scanned the room.
'He hasn't arrived yet?'
Right on the dot for their appointment time.
No sign of Jinhyuk.
'Good. He hasn't shown up yet.'
She let out a sigh of relief.
She'd originally planned to arrive 30 minutes early.
With nothing to do until then, she'd stopped by the Player Hunter Agency.
On her way out after handling business, she'd wasted time searching for her suddenly missing phone.
'Damn it. Where the hell did it go?'
Even now, unfound, she'd have to go back after the meeting.
"Wow, it's Cheon Seyeon...!"
"Cheon Seyeon. Cheon Seyeon. At the entrance."
Whispers rose here and there.
People slyly pulling out cameras to snap shots of Seyeon.
Those who'd spotted her outside were trickling into the café one by one.
Seyeon walked to the counter and greeted them.
"Hello. One iced Americano, please."
"Y-yes, sir!"
The staff fumbled with the register, starstruck by the superstar's arrival, when the clock ticked past the appointment time.
"Excuse me. Has a guy like this come in alone?"
She described his features as best she could, and the part-timer's face lit up in recognition.
He was the only solo customer, and his striking looks stuck in her mind.
"He seemed to be with a Hunter Agency staff member earlier?"
"With someone from the agency? A hunter?"
"She was in uniform. Had the agency emblem on too."
"What did she look like?"
"I didn't see her face clearly, but she had purple bobbed hair."
Seyeon narrowed her eyes.
As far as she knew, no one at the agency sported such flashy hair.
Then, it hit her.
-Is someone trying to interfere?
The conversation from last time resurfaced.
Jinhyuk had said that, from the perspective of other agencies or countries, Seyeon was one of the people they'd want to disrupt.
Her phone vanishing out of nowhere, and this mysterious hunter showing up at the meeting spot.
A chill ran through her veins.
"Where did those two go?"
"Toward the Nodeulseom parking lot, I think."
"Thanks. Bill this, and the change is a tip."
Seyeon set down a 50,000-won bill and bolted from the café.
Her heart began to race.
"We're here."
Jinhyuk stepped out of the car and looked around.
They'd stopped at some abandoned factory.
He let out a deep sigh.
'No one's here.'
Mi-jin had known about the appointment with only Cheon Seyeon.
That's why he'd tagged along to check, but it was a bust.
Jinhyuk pulled out his phone and searched for something.
"Come on in. Seyeon's waiting inside."
In the meantime, Mi-jin, who'd pried open the rusty iron gate, jerked her head.
Jinhyuk followed her in and shrugged.
Of course, no Seyeon inside.
"You're not even surprised?"
Mi-jin, who'd gone ahead, turned back.
Her words had grown curt now that her goal was in sight.
"There's no Cheon Seyeon here."
"I know. If you didn't realize that after seeing the abandoned factory, you'd be an idiot."
"Then why are you so calm about it?"
She didn't answer this time.
Instead, Jinhyuk made a call to somewhere.
"What are you doing right n—"
He held up a hand to Mi-jin, who was starting to lunge.
"It's not a report, so don't freak out."
Click.
Yes, Nodeulseom Café.
"This is Eugene Hyuk. If Cheon Seyeon is there, could you ask her to wait just a bit? I'll be right over. Thanks."
Jinhyuk wrapped up quickly and hung up.
"Huh?"
Mi-jin stared at him, utterly dumbfounded.
When he should be calling the cops to pinpoint the location, he was worrying about the person waiting?
What kind of guy was this?
"Ask her to wait a bit? What, you shooting a movie? You think you can just head back there?"
"There's nothing stopping me. Turn around and walk out, that's it."
"Pfft... Puhahaha!"
Mi-jin burst out laughing, as if it were the funniest thing.
It had been ages since she'd seen such a fresh idiot.
"Ha, you're killing me. For real. You're not right in the head either. Whatever, what was the thing you were gonna give Cheon Seyeon?"
Jinhyuk pulled the potion-making box from his inventory and showed it to her.
Hard to guess its purpose at a glance, but no matter.
Yesterday afternoon, Cheon Seyeon had scrambled to source and buy expensive dark-attribute materials.
It was probably a device for crafting attribute-imbued items with them.
"Now that you've seen it, I get a question too. Where are you from? If it's about reining in a ranker, you must be from another agency or country."
"Sharp for no reason. Most people like you die quick. Whatever, hand it over."
"Here you go."
Jinhyuk smoothly stowed the box back in his inventory.
Mi-jin's eyebrow twitched.
"You're seriously deluded if you think hiding that will save your life."
"Were you planning to kill me?"
"You think we'd bring you this far just to let you walk out alive? It's just whether you die easy or squirm in agony— that's up to you."
Jinhyuk exhaled softly, a faint smile curving his lips.
"I see. So you do intend to kill me."
"That's why—"
Mi-jin trailed off as she started walking toward Jinhyuk.
Step. Step. Step.
Her pace quickened bit by bit.
"I said, that's why!!!"
She kicked off the ground, closing the distance in an instant.
Her arms pulled back, summoning a massive halberd into her grip.
"First, one shoulder!!"
Jinhyuk's eyes widened as the halberd swung right in front of him.
No feint, pure shock.
...It's this slow?
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T/N:
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