As the door opened, a silence fell that suppressed the tumultuous atmosphere of the conference room, where various personalities had been clashing. It was a calm, quiet entrance—the complete opposite of Sa-yoon’s noisy arrival.

“Hmm.”

A man, appearing to be in his late thirties, entered the conference room. His tranquil gaze swept across the room. Sa-yoon indifferently watched the man who walked in without a word and took an empty seat.

So rigid and boring.

Just look at that solemn, dignified atmosphere. He had never wanted to get close to that type, then or now.

How should he describe it? Like the presence of a strict father-in-law? He gave off the impression that he would lecture like a schoolmaster at the slightest improper behavior. This was number one on Sa-yoon’s list of auras to avoid.

“Ugh.”

Sa-yoon, unable to act as casually with him as he did with others, closed his mouth and turned his gaze away from the man. Though Sa-yoon derived pleasure from teasing others, he knew how to distinguish between those worth teasing and those not. While people like Taeseok provided entertainment by reacting predictably when provoked, this stoic man was the opposite. If Sa-yoon tried to tease him, he’d likely retort with a straight face, “Maintain dignity befitting your S-rank status”—so why bother with the effort?

Their personalities simply didn’t match.

“Dongju is here too? They said they were gathering top hunters, so I guess they really are calling all five of the official rankings.”

Mijeong remarked leisurely. The fifth member who had entered, Bae Dongju, nodded in response.

“Given the nature of the matter.”

His voice carried as much gravitas as his appearance. Sa-yoon swung his crossed leg as he observed the four people seated around the table. With the official first-ranked Lee Han, third-ranked Taeseok, and fifth-ranked Dongju present, the identity of the sixth and seventh members seemed all but confirmed.

The absent second and fourth ranks.

They would fill the empty seats, which made Sa-yoon maintain an indifferent expression. Except for Mijeong’s unexpected presence, the lineup matched his predictions, dampening his excitement.

“At least the fourth rank is a noisy one, so that should be entertaining.”

BANG!

No sooner had he spoken than someone kicked the door open and entered. The hunters’ faces wrinkled at this entrance, even more disruptive than Sa-yoon’s.

“Oh? Quite a crowd gathered here. Teeming! Just like cockroaches, huh?”

Hahaha!

The man, who had his coat gripped in one hand and slung over his shoulder, let out a hearty laugh. He seemed to have tanned even more since Sa-yoon had last seen him, his skin more bronze than Sa-yoon remembered. He swaggered in with bowlegged steps. Lee Han sighed as the man continued to chuckle until he took his seat, apparently finding something hilarious.

“It’s offensive, so please quiet down.”

The man simply laughed at Lee Han’s youthful rebuke. Watching this, Sa-yoon’s lips curled upward.

“I thought you might become more dignified with age, but you’ve only gotten louder.”

The comment sounded like both criticism and admonishment. The man removed his sunglasses, noticed Sa-yoon, and exclaimed “Oh!” with apparent delight.

“You’re here too?”

“Somehow or other.”

“You rascal, I can tell at a glance you’re here to cause trouble.”

The man raised an eyebrow, his eyes half-closed. Sa-yoon hummed as he pulled his chair back and reclined, half-lying down.

“The Association begged, so I was planning to behave myself.”

“As if you would!”

The man burst into boisterous laughter. Mijeong waved her hand dismissively, chiding that this was why he couldn’t find someone to marry, her words closer to concern than criticism.

Could those two get married?

Sa-yoon remembered that Mijeong and Hocheol, the fourth-ranked hunter, were around the same age, and he glanced surreptitiously at the woman. She frowned sharply, as if she had sensed the meaning behind his gaze.

“Don’t even think about saying something unnecessary. Want me to stop trading with you?”

“Well…”

As expected of a merchant, her ability to read people’s minds was exceptional. Sa-yoon played innocent, suggesting that as long as he didn’t say it out loud, it should be fine, then turned his gaze to the closed door. Quite some time had passed since Hocheol’s arrival, so the last member should be arriving soon, but there was no sign of the door opening.

“The seventh must be Zen, right?”

Mijeong casually offered her prediction. Sa-yoon vaguely replied, “Probably,” while trying to detect any presence. Given the absence of footsteps, it seemed our seventh member had not yet arrived.

“Still playing hard to get, I see.”

Sa-yoon recalled the last time he had seen Zen. Was it four years ago? Despite looking like he might break at the slightest touch, trembling in a snowstorm yet pretending to be unfazed as he pushed up his glasses—that image remained a pleasant memory for Sa-yoon. It was fascinating that someone who looked so frail and pathetic could rise to the official rank of second, demonstrating exceptional skill.

Since last year or so, rumors had circulated that Zen had gone abroad, but if the Association had managed to bring in Mijeong from the Bumyeong Guild, they would have had little difficulty recruiting Zen as well.

Just as everyone was anticipating Zen as the final member:

Step.

Light footsteps were heard. They were neither heavy nor frivolous—just the kind that would suit Zen. The hunters, who had been expressing boredom or impatience due to the prolonged wait, turned their gazes toward the door. The footsteps gradually drew closer.

“Hmm?”

Mijeong was the first to notice something amiss.

“That’s not right.”

She tilted her head quizzically and spoke. Though her comment seemed abrupt, none of the hunters in the conference room asked what wasn’t right.

They were all thinking the same thing.

It wasn’t Zen.

The presence felt outside the door wasn’t Zen’s characteristic clean and cool energy.

It was gloomy and desolate.

The hunters’ brows furrowed at the energy, so completely different from Zen’s, which evoked images of a clear sky.

None of them knew anyone with such an aura.

“Has the official ranking changed without our knowledge?”

Lee Han voiced his doubt. Taeseok jerked his head to glare at Sa-yoon.

“What now.”

“Did you arrange to bring in some suspicious person?”

“That level of suspicion is pathological, Taeseok. If I had, would I be sitting here tilting my head along with you?”

Sa-yoon clicked his tongue, pointing out the absurdity of his accusation. Despite this, Sa-yoon sighed at the still-suspicious gaze, when Dongju, who had been silent throughout, opened his eyes.

“Here they come.”

Though Mijeong and Hocheol were older, Dongju spoke as if he were the eldest, announcing the arrival of the seventh member with an aged tone.

Creeeak.

The closed door opened very slowly, revealing the owner of the unfamiliar energy. The first thing visible was a foot entering through the gap in the conference room door. A black shoe appeared, followed by neatly pressed suit pants, and then a thin coat worn despite the hot weather.

Wearing such clothing in this weather meant this was an S-rank unaffected by the seasons.

There was an S-rank in Korea I didn’t know about?

Sa-yoon’s eyes narrowed. All the hunters present had similar thoughts as they slowly raised their gazes to look at the new member. Finally, everyone’s eyes reached the person’s face.

“…”

The hunters fell silent as the door opened wide, revealing the seventh member from head to toe.

“A mask?”

Unlike the existing members who had walked in confidently with bare faces, the last member wore a black mask, either due to self-consciousness about their appearance or an intention to hide their identity. While everyone was taken aback by the unexpected attire, Sa-yoon felt the stranger’s gaze directed at him.

Among the six people present, without hesitation, straight at him.

Their eyes met.

Deep black pupils.

“What is this?”

Just as Sa-yoon frowned and was about to use his genius eyes to identify the other party, their locked gazes seemed to waver momentarily, then the masked figure’s eyes lowered to Sa-yoon’s hand. After staring intently at his hand, the figure’s brow soon furrowed. As Sa-yoon was expressing confusion at the clearly visible expression through the eye holes of the mask, a low laugh—”Ha”—was heard from somewhere.

It sounded like self-mockery, an empty laugh, or perhaps derision.

Everyone looked at the source of the laughter.

“Some people bust their asses getting here…”

The voice was so quiet it was almost a mutter, but everyone present was S-rank. None of the people in the conference room failed to hear the man’s words.

Sa-yoon’s eyes widened at the familiar voice.

“Seems like they’ve found someone new.”

The man continued. Speaking as if utterly deflated, he slowly raised his hand to his mask.

No way.

Sa-yoon mouthed silently, staring blankly at the figure as if entranced. The hand that rose slowly seemed to grasp the mask, then gradually came down. As the black mask fell and the man’s bare face was finally revealed, Mijeong let out a short exclamation of “Oh my.”

The man, his slightly damp hair swept back, looking more angular perhaps due to weight loss, with his youthful appearance somewhat faded, stared at Sa-yoon with a displeased expression. Just as he opened his mouth to say something—

CRASH!

Tables overturned and chairs rolled across the floor. In the blink of an eye, Sa-yoon had lunged forward at full speed and grabbed the man by the collar. Thud! Sa-yoon and the man fell to the floor simultaneously. Straddling him, Sa-yoon confirmed that the face before his eyes was no illusion and let out a hollow laugh.

Ha.

This isn’t funny at all.

“What the fuck. What the hell are you doing?”

It was Han Geon-joo.