The Next Day
Cha Min-Jae visited the Hunters Guild Headquarters for a couple of crucial discussions with Guild Master Choi Jong-In.
He parked his car in the lot and walked inside. The receptionist and other staff members greeted him as he made his way through the building until he reached the elevator.
"Hello, Hunter Cha Min-Jae."
It was someone Min-Jae took a moment to recognize—Lee Bora, the A-Rank mage from the Hunters Guild's B-Team. She was waiting for the elevator as well.
"Hi," Min-Jae responded.
The elevator finally arrived. Both waited for the other to enter first, but eventually, Min-Jae gestured for her to go ahead. She stepped in, and he followed.
As the door closed, Min-Jae focused on his phone. She stood silently on the opposite side, looking down, neither of them saying a word.
But then she broke the silence.
"Hunter Min-Jae, may I ask a question if you don't mind?" Her voice was gentle and low.
Min-Jae looked up from his phone and turned toward her. Though his blindfold obscured his eyes, she looked back down again immediately.
"Hmm," she hesitated for a moment. "Can I ask why you recommended Han Semi as the only member for your special team specifically? I mean, she's a healer, and I don't think healing magic is what you'd need for your raids."
Min-Jae didn't reply immediately. He was trying to understand what—and why—she was asking.
'Is she jealous or something? But she looks too kind for that, doesn't she?' he thought.
Due to the lack of response, she felt a bit wary. "I'm sorry if I'm overstepping—"
"Well, it's not much. She and I became friends early on. So I thought it would be better to have someone I'm friends with on my team. Nothing much," he said casually.
"I see. But she said she needed to learn combat magic abilities to be useful on your team." She finally looked up to face him again, this time with a smile. "Don't you think if I joined your team, it would be much better? I'm already an A-Rank mage-type hunter. So I already have the capability that she needs to learn. I mean, it's a no-brainer."
"I can understand what you're trying to say. If I need or think you can join, or if I want you to, I'll definitely tell you. But for now, I'm content. Thanks." He replied without sounding too rude or too kind, keeping a soft smile.
She reluctantly nodded. "I understand," she said, adjusting her glasses. The elevator finally stopped, and the door slid open. She stepped out.
Min-Jae waited for the door to close. As soon as it did, he waved his hand dismissively, as if waving away smoke.
'Too much to unpack there. She doesn't look like it, but she's the kind of person who'd look sweet in front of you and then backstab you when you're not around,' he thought. 'Or perhaps she's like Kikyō Kushida. Who knows.'
---
Moments later, the door slid open as he reached his floor. He walked through the hallway until he finally reached the Guild Master's office and knocked on the door.
"Come in," came the voice from inside—obviously Choi Jong-In.
Min-Jae opened the door, stepped inside, and closed it behind him before taking a seat.
"I was expecting you. Though I thought it would be earlier than now," Choi Jong-In said with a smile—that same classic Choi Jong-In smile he greeted most people with.
"If you were expecting me, then you should know what I'm going to talk about, right?"
"Well, if it's not about the S-Rank gate in Japan or your offers from foreign guilds, I have to say I couldn't guess."
"Nope, none of the above. The thing I want to talk about is..." Min-Jae leaned forward in his chair, resting his arms in an X shape on the desk. "The Hunter Association granting raid permission to Sung Jin-Woo without meeting the headcount rules and criteria that every raid team has to maintain."
"Yeah. I'm well aware of the situation, and same as you, I was surprised when I heard about it. But Hunter Sung Jin-Woo is being considered a special case. As far as I know, he can clear any dungeon of any rank alone with all the shadow soldiers he has."
"Then get the permission for me too."
"Are you saying you don't like the current idea of the special team given to you?"
"Yes," Min-Jae said flatly. "But I'd like to have the freedom to raid solo, without a team, at any given moment. No questions asked."
Choi Jong-In leaned back slightly in his chair, studying him. "You realize that unlike Sung Jin-Woo, you don't have shadow soldiers who can handle things like mining, right? That's part of why he was given the exception."
"I know," Min-Jae agreed. "Just give me a mining team. That's it."
Choi Jong-In paused, then smiled. "Alright. Fine. If that's what you want."
"Good. And all the members of my current team can be reassigned to other teams or work—"
"Wait," Choi Jong-In interrupted. "Not Han Semi?"
Min-Jae stopped. "Not Han Semi."
"Why?"
"I've put a lot of time into her training. And her training isn't finished yet."
Choi Jong-In smiled knowingly. "That's okay too."
"Good."
Min-Jae leaned back slightly, then shifted topics. "Now, back to what you were talking about earlier."
Choi Jong-In raised an eyebrow. "Which topic? The guild offers?"
"No. The Japanese S-Rank gate."
"Ah." Choi Jong-In folded his hands on the desk. "I thought you were here to ask if there's been any contact from that raid."
"No. But is there?"
"Not yet," Choi Jong-In said. "They have Goto Ryuji, after all. But the number of S-Ranks they have is significantly lower than before after what happened at the Jeju Island raid."
Min-Jae simply nodded.
"Whatever. Just remember about the solo raid thing," he said, standing up.
Before he could leave, Choi Jong-In spoke up. "If you don't mind, can you step in for me in tomorrow's raid? It's an A-Rank, at the highest end of it. I can't join."
Min-Jae paused, then nodded. "Alright."
"Thanks."
Min-Jae walked out of the office, closing the door behind him.
---
Choi Jong-In sat back in his chair, staring at the closed door.
'He's a bit demanding,' he thought with a slight smile. 'Complete opposite of his sister.'