Declaration Of Extra Strike

 

Yeon Seung-yeon’s face was a mask of shock when he saw Han Seo-jin. He seemed completely frozen, his mouth opening and closing wordlessly, as if confronted by a predator, looking almost pitiable.

 

“She’s Yeon Seung-yeon, not Won Seung-yeon. You two have met before, right?”

 

“Why is he here? H-How did you come here with Ho-hyun?”

 

“Well, it’s a bit of a long—”

 

“I was about to ask you the same thing. Why is a Center researcher here, tagging along with my—”

 

“Han Seo-jin!” 

 

I cut him off, quickly clamping a hand over his mouth before he could continue. The nerve of him to blurt that out in front of everyone! He just looked down at me, perfectly unfazed, as though this were all routine.

 

The dull throb of a headache began creeping in. This wasn’t the place for two Espers to hash things out, especially not here in the lobby with an audience. I gestured to the stairs and said.

 

“Alright, let’s take this to the office. Both of you, upstairs, now.”

 

As I helped Park Mu-il to his feet and gave Han Seo-jin a nudge to head up, Yeon Seung-yeon suddenly grabbed the edge of my jacket from behind. When I turned, he was looking down, spoke hesitantly, his voice barely a whisper.

 

“Ho-hyun nim. I’d like to talk to you for a moment. Let’s meet in my workshop….”

 

“Oh? Sure. Seo-jin, you two go on up. The office is the third room on the second floor.”

 

Han Seo-jin looked reluctant, about to say something but then clamping his mouth shut. 

 

“I’ll be waiting.”

 

After they left, I followed Yeon Seung-yeon down to the basement. The moment the heavy workshop door closed, she burst out in a panicked rush.

 

“What… what exactly happened while you were gone? Are you okay? Did the Center find out that you’re the one behind the Guiding Potions? I knew it—dealing with them directly was too risky! I should’ve stopped it, but I didn’t, and now the Center has—”

 

“Seung-yeon ah, Seung-yeon ah! It’s not that, calm down. I’m fine.”

 

He was clearly more shaken than I expected. I guided him to a chair, trying to find the right words since I couldn’t tell him everything.

 

“I went out alone a few days ago, and… a bit of trouble came up. That’s when I ran into Han Seo-jin, and he helped me out.”

 

“Han Seo-jin helped you? What kind of trouble could it have been…?”

 

“It’s hard to explain right now. But don’t worry too much. Han Seo-jin won’t report anything to the Center—you can trust him on that.”

 

Yeon Seung-yeon’s expression didn’t ease at my words. I understood his feelings; it was difficult for him to accept, especially since he hadn’t heard anything about Novaion or the constellations. I felt frustrated that I couldn’t clearly explain the situation to him. Plus, seeing him look like a gloomy squirrel made me sad.

 

“Seung-yeon ah.” 

 

I called softly, but his face twisted as if he was about to cry, and he dropped her head. A tiny voice escaped his clenched fist.

 

“I… I just don’t like it.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“It’s our workshop between Ho-hyun and me. But Han Seo-jin… doesn’t know anything. Now I feel like I’m no longer connected to you. And now you’re back….”

 

“………..Did you two fight without me knowing? I mean, Han Seo-jin did seem to mix up your names a lot….”

 

“That’s not it!”

 

His sudden outburst startled me, and I widened my eyes at him. Seung-yeon quickly became flustered, stepping back awkwardly.

 

“Ah, no, this isn’t… I’m sorry, Ho-hyun nim. I think I momentarily lost my mind.”

 

“Seung-yeon ah. Are you okay?”

 

“I’m fine, no, I’m not. I’m just a little tired. You should go up first, Ho-hyun nim. I’ll stay here for a bit longer and then come up!”

 

“Is that really necessary? If you’re tired, you should rest. Let’s go up together.”

 

“No! I have to make mana potions to send to camp, and the workshop was a total mess while you were gone, so I need to clean that up… For me, making potions is relaxing!”

 

I scratched my head as I watched Yeon Seung-yeon ramble on while rummaging through the workshop. It looked perfectly clean to me; what was he planning to clean up? Regardless, it filled me with pride to have such an enthusiastic assistant. I turned away with a sense of satisfaction.

 

“Just don’t overdo it and take your time.”

 

After leaving the workshop, I headed upstairs to the office where Han Seo-jin and Park Mu-il were likely waiting for me. However, I found Su-cheol waiting for me on the first floor.

 

“What’s up?”

 

“Boss, as soon as your phone turned on, I kept getting calls. I think you need to take this one.”

 

Su-cheol handed me my phone, which had been charging on the counter. No wonder he looked so tense; the name flashing on the screen was Seong San-ha. I pressed the receive button and headed up to my room.

 

“Yeah?”

 

[It’s difficult to hear your voice. Huh?]

 

“My phone was dead, and it just turned on. I didn’t ignore you on purpose.”

 

Given that I had previously ignored Seong San-ha’s messages and got ambushed shortly after, I felt a bit guilty for my hasty response. On the other end, I could hear a low chuckle.

 

“I’m serious. I’m still at the workshop.”

 

[Yeah, I know. The location is showing.]

 

“What…? Hey, did you seriously put a tracker on my phone?”

 

[Come on, I activated it a few days ago, so cut me some slack. Just in case something happened.]

 

“You could have at least told me about it beforehand!”

 

[You would have never used it if I did, so don’t give me that.]

 

I couldn’t argue with that logic, and it left me momentarily speechless.  

 

‘Just wait until this call is over. I need to change this phone immediately.’

 

It was a mistake not to be suspicious of the phone Seong San-ha had given me. Grumbling, I shut the door and flopped onto my bed.

 

[Who are those people with you? If my memory serves me right, one is Park Mu-il, and the other is someone else; both are from the special forces, right?]

 

“The other one is someone I was on the same team with at the center.”

 

[So you were kidnapped and came back together? Have you developed Stockholm syndrome or something?]

 

“What’s that?”

 

[…….]  

 

Seong San-ha fell silent, seemingly at a loss for words. Stockholm… what? Han Seo-jin had done some digging on me, but was he talking about stalking? I scratched my nose and spoke up.

 

“By the way, can you come to the workshop? There’s something we need to discuss with Han Seo-jin, and the three of us.”

 

[I don’t have a hobby of doing things with three people.]

 

“Then come quickly and make it four. We can all do it together while Park Mu-il is here.”

 

[

Ha…

I really don’t know what to say.]

 

A sigh mixed with laughter came from the other end. It was so irritating that I pulled the phone away from my ear and rubbed it, while Seong San-ha didn’t bother to hide his annoyance as he replied.

 

[My puppy is calling like this. I want to run over right away, but since both sides are harassing me, it seems like it will take a little time to get to the workshop. What should I do?]

 

“I’m not my ‘puppy’… But both sides? Are you talking about Kang Eui-jin?”

 

[Curious?]

 

“Yeah!”

 

I sat up, wondering if it might have something to do with the Fake Eui-jin. I perked up my ears and waited for Seong San-ha’s response, but he just kept laughing without giving me any information. After a while, frustration boiled over, and I shouted into the phone.

 

“Dummy, just hurry up! The constellations are in danger right now!”

 

[……Constellations? Ho-hyun, what did you just say?]

 

I flinched at the sudden stiffening of his voice, losing its playful tone. I hadn’t intended to speak like this over the phone, but it was unavoidable. I couldn’t let him get tricked by the Fake Eui-jin again while he was busy and hadn’t come by in days.

 

“I told you last time. Novarion is a seriously suspicious company. The center is investigating them separately. But the guy who was targeting Hamal before….”

 

The center was chasing after cultists, while Cheong Rang was investigating the constellations. Trying to relay a tangled incident involving both organizations over the phone was difficult, and I struggled to articulate my thoughts clearly. Additionally, I felt I shouldn’t disclose everything I had heard from the center to the guild leader of Cheong Rang, even if it were someone like Han Seo-jin.

 

Feeling frustrated, I punched my blanket and swallowed all the words I had intended to say.

 

“Just come to the workshop and we’ll talk.”

 

[……Wait. I’ll come right away tomorrow.]

 

***

 

After hearing that Seong San-ha would be coming tomorrow, Han Seo-jin and Park Mu-il decided to spend the night at the workshop. Once I gave them a room, Kim Jin-myung and the Baek sisters, Baek Da-in and Baek Da-hye, arrived after hearing the news. I comforted Baek Da-hye, who burst into tears upon seeing me, and after we all had dinner together, night had fallen.

 

I carried the half-unconscious Yeon Seung-yeon, who had produced 99 low-grade mana potions, and laid her on my bed. Afterward, I went back down to the underground workshop with Yoon Ha-yan to repeat a few tests and experiments.

 

“Then, good night.”

 

“Sleep well, noona.”

 

After finishing the cleanup, I looked around the dark and quiet lobby. Having been away for a few days made me feel more affectionate toward the place, and I found it beautiful in its own way. There was nothing about it I didn’t like. It would be perfect if we just had more guests.

 

Stretching, I headed back to my room.

 

I was sure that tomorrow would bring at least a couple of frustrating and infuriating events, if not a continuous stream of them. To prepare for the confrontation—no, the four-way meeting—recovering my energy was essential. So, I planned to take a warm bath and get a good night’s sleep.

 

After finishing my bath and shaking my hair dry, I stepped out, looking forward to the plush bedding I had specially ordered from the hotel. However, when I looked up, I was frozen in place upon seeing an unexpected figure lying in my bed.

 

“…What are you doing here?” 

 

Han Seo-jin, who was comfortably sprawled across my bed, replied with complete nonchalance.

 

“We should sleep together.”

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