CHAPTER 58: EMERGENCY!

"NOONA, are you alright?" Soobin asked worriedly when he saw Semi chug down another vial of healing potion. It was a potion for boosting one’s stamina. "You didn’t have to raid the dungeon yourself."

Right now, Soobin was in Semi’s office.

He was talking about the Daesung Group and not the Spring Guild.

[Semi Noona is still a chaebol, after all.]

"I had to go to that dungeon myself since I promised Kwon Jiwoong I would," Semi said while pulling another bottle from her Inventory. "But it was worth it. The A-Grade Dungeon that my guild raided this time has rare plants that I can use as ingredients for my new potions."

After saying that, Semi chugged down the new potion.

He knitted his eyebrows, slightly aghast. "Noona, aren’t you drinking potions a little too much? If you feel that drained, then shouldn’t you call your Guide?"

"I already received my Guiding from Rona. But I still feel tired. It’s probably because it’s been a while since I’ve gone inside a dungeon."

He clicked his tongue. "Why would Kwon Jiwoong ask you to raid a dungeon anyway? As the God Alchemist, you’re a national treasure, Noona. All of Korea agreed that you should stay hidden and safe in your Laboratory."

"It was a poisonous dungeon that the APA Hunters couldn’t seal because APA doesn’t have Hunters that specialize in poison. And since it appeared near the Spring Guild’s turf, Kwon Jiwoong thought might as well let me handle it since there’s no Hunter in Korea who knows dungeon poisons more than I do."

Soobin sipped his coffee while in deep thought.

[Something is strange.]

"What are you thinking about, Soobin-ah?"

"I just can’t help but notice that ever since Hwang Frost became inactive as a Hunter, the remaining three members of the Big 4 have been so busy dealing with dungeons left and right, Noona."

"Isn’t it only natural that we got busier after Hwang Frost got locked up because we had to fill his spot? APA absorbed the Winter Guild when Hwang Frost became inactive, but the Awakened People from the Winter Guild don’t listen to anyone but Hwang Frost. Hence, APA has no choice but to divide the work to the remaining three guilds of the Four Seasons."

He could see that.

But something else was bothering him.

"Before our Hee-ya met Hwang Frost, Song Moonho was inside a dungeon under APA’s order," Soobin said carefully. "Then, shortly after that, Graham had to deal with a dungeon under APA’s order as well. After that..."

"APA asked me to raid a dungeon that appeared near my guild’s turf," Semi said, leaning against her seat while crossing her arms over her chest. "I know that we can’t trust APA. But it’s not like they can trigger a dungeon outbreak. Even if there was a way to do it, why would APA want to destroy the country again by summoning dungeons continuously?"

Ah.

That was a valid point.

[Not even APA is that stupid.]

Now that Semi had put it that way, Soobin suddenly felt silly. "You’re right, Noona. I’m sorry for making you listen to my nonsense."

"No, don’t apologize. I can see where you’re coming from," Semi said. "Now that our Hee-ya has become a Guide, an S-Class at that, we should be more wary of APA."

"Noona, should we continue letting Kwon Jiwoong lead APA?"

"We can remove Kwon Jiwoong from his place any time we want, but APA will only replace him with another puppet," Semi said. "The System asked our Hee-ya to save Hwang Frost from APA. That means someone or something that threatens the System is hiding in APA."

Soobin nodded in agreement. "That person is using Kwon Jiwoong."

"Kwon Jiwoong is easy to manipulate, so I’d rather we toy with him than deal with someone else."

He nodded in agreement.

"Anyway, how’s our Hee-ya?" Semi asked. "When does she want to schedule her press conference again?"

Soobin was about to answer Semi’s question when her phone rang.

His phone was always on silent mode except for a few people: Hee-ya, Geon, Semi, and his father, and his grandfather.

This time, it was his husband who called.

"Noona, let me just answer Geon’s call."

"Go ahead," Semi said, nodding. "It might be important."

"Thank you, Noona," Soobin said, then he answered the call. "Geon-ah."

"Soobin-ah, are you still with Semi Noona?"

"Yep. Why?"

"Noona has to hear what I have to say, so put me on loudspeaker."

The information that Geon had was probably important since he couldn’t wait to tell them about it.

Hence, Soobin put the call on loudspeaker right away.

"There you go," Soobin informed his husband. "You’re on loudspeaker now, Geon-ah."

"Thank you."

"What’s the matter, Geon-ah?" Semi asked worriedly. "You prefer talking face to face. But the fact that you called..."

"Yes, it’s very important. But since I’m driving, can I keep it short? I’m on my way to your office, Noona. I’ll explain the details when I get there. I just feel compelled to tell you the news since it’s about Song Moonho."

Ah, it was Song Moonho again– the real troublemaker from the Big 4.

Hwang Frost only became a problem when he started losing to the Static and going on a rampage. Well, Hwang Frost’s blunt and arrogant personality was also a problem.

However, Song Moonho was a different kind of trouble.

[Because Song Moonho has killed Civilians before.]

"Song Moonho attacked our Hee-ya using Bonnie– his pet snake."

Of course, Soobin and Semi reacted violently.

"That cunning old bastard!" Soobin growled, slamming the mug of his coffee on the table– causing both the mug and the table to break. "Has he lost his mind?"

"It must be true that Song Moonho has become APA’s new lap dog," Semi said, clutching the armrests of her chair until they broke. "What was Hwang Frost doing when he’s supposed to be guarding our Hee-ya?"

"Our Hee-ya is fine, and the System punished Song Moonho– twice."

Both Soobin and Semi were very surprised to hear that.

[The System punished a member of the Big 4?!]

***

WONHEE sat on the chair next to the bed while holding Yejun’s hand who was already lying down on the bed.

She didn’t want to be obvious, but she couldn’t help but glare at him.

"Wonhee-ya?"

"What?"

"Are you trying to be a carnivore?"

Wonhee knitted her eyebrows. "What are you talking about?"

Yejun raised their intertwined hands. "You’re crushing my hand."

Oh.

She was a bit annoyed because of the conclusion that she ended up while taking a bath earlier.

Hence, she didn’t notice that she was venting out on Yejun.

"I’m sorry," Wonhee said, loosening up her grip. "Did I hurt you?"

"Wonhee-ya, even if you use all your physical strength, you can’t possibly hurt me," Yejun said. "You’re only an omnivore, after all."

"You always say that," she complained lightly. "What exactly is an herbivore, omnivore, and carnivore in your book anyway?"

"An herbivore is a very weak person, an omnivore is a slightly weak person, and a carnivore is a strong person– but not stronger than me. They only apply to Awakened People, though."

"Then what do you call a weak and a strong Civilian?"

"A weak Civilian would be an invertebrate."

Wonhee couldn’t help but laugh at that. "An invertebrate animal without a backbone. So, a weak Civilian is an invertebrate because we often tell cowards that they don’t have a backbone?"

"Yep," Yejun said, nodding. "Strong Civilians that don’t cower in front of adversities deserve to be called a vertebrate because they have a backbone."

Once again, she burst out laughing.

[To be fair, that was rude of Yejun to categorize Awakened People and Civilians that way. But Yejun is Yejun. His rough personality is a part of his charm.]

"Wonhee-ya, have you stopped getting mad at me?"

"What?"

"I can tell that you’re upset with me."

"You can tell?"

[And here I thought I was good at acting calm...]

"Well, ever since I awakened, I’ve met countless hostile people who smile at my face and sneer behind my back," Yejun said casually. "So, I can tell when a person is being hostile to me no matter how hard they try to mask it."

In short, she was already caught.

"It’s not like I’m mad at you to the point that I want you dead, Yejun-ah."

"I know, and I’m grateful. You can kill me here in your Sleeping Salon, after all."

"Murder is bad," Wonhee said, then she sighed. "I’m upset, but not exactly with you. Let me gather my thoughts before we talk about it. Since I’m tired, my mind isn’t working properly. I need a good night’s sleep to freshen up my mind."

"Then sleep with me."

"Ahem."

"I mean that in an innocent way," Yejun said, smiling lazily at her while patting the space next to him. "I promise I won’t touch you inappropriately."

"You can’t anyway, spawn of Satan!"

That wasn’t Wonhee’s declaration.

It was Tannie who fell from the sky and landed on Yejun’s stomach.

As a result, Yejun almost "died" because of the "ambush." "Are you trying to kill me, you talking orange?"

"I’m going to sleep between you and Chu Wonhee!" Tannie declared. "We only allow holding hands while sleeping in this house!"

Wonhee smiled while shaking her head.

[Tannie is a child.]

***

WONHEE woke up to two pieces of bad news that shook the entire country that morning.

First, Ahn Kisoo’s life was in the hospital while fighting for his life.

Second, Graham had already come out of the dungeon and was currently having a rampage in Itaewon.

[Oh, no...]

"Yejun-ah, wake up!" Wonhee said while shaking Yejun’s shoulder. "Please bring me to Hunter Graham!"

***

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