Editors: Spade, Roki
Proofreader: Sapphire
On the third day of his stay at the hospital, Yisun continued to receive steady visits.
Sa Hyeon would visit him once in the morning and once in the evening to check up on him, accompanied by a haggard-looking Ki Joohyuk. As the date for the fifth dungeon approached, Ki Joohyuk’s eye bags grew heavier and heavier as the training grew in intensity.
The Chord Hunters also visited once or twice, bringing along get-well-soon gifts to wish him a speedy recovery. No matter how much he thought about it, Yisun was convinced he wouldn’t be able to finish all of that food. So until he was discharged from the hospital, he shared — see, force-fed — the Hunters every time they visited.
As he worked his way through the food, Yisun spent a leisurely time in the hospital. Although staying in a hospital for an extended period should’ve been quite uncomfortable, his stay in the VIP ward was very idyllic. Rather than a hospital, it felt more like he was in a hotel.
There was even a special lounge for VIP ward patients, so he often went there to enjoy the view of the garden. Although the spring breeze made for pleasant weather, he still felt uncomfortable with the attention. Perhaps it was because he tended to be a little more on the self-conscious side, but he could feel the scrutinizing gazes when he went out alone, so he only ever went for a walk in the garden in the company of other Hunters.
So when he was alone, he would sit in the lounge. He, along with HN’s Guild Leader, were the only ones using the VIP ward at Hanbai Hospital. This meant that Yisun could hog the space all to himself.
While the hospital room was spacious and comfortable, the lounge had full-length glass, allowing the sunlight to pour in. Yisun basked under the sunlight as he intently studied pictures of the harbor around the Colossus of Rhodes. Only the floor would need to be restored, but it would definitely get destroyed countless times when fighting against a 36-meter colossus. He also had no idea what the mob monsters would look like, so it was even more of a reason for him to study the basics.
As he was engrossed in studying the tablet screen, he suddenly felt a presence beside him. Someone approached and casually plopped down on the couch.
“Why haven’t I heard back from you?”
“……?”
Since he was the only one in the lounge, Yisun was sure the question was directed at him. On the off-chance that the person might’ve been talking on the phone, he still turned around to check. Yisun’s face clouded up when he confirmed the identity of the other party.
It was Cheon Hyeongwon.
His slicked-back hair gave him an even fiercer air. His face was slightly long and his eyes were sharp. Jung Yisun, who recognized his face, blinked slowly. He had no idea what the next Guild Leader of the Paradise Guild was doing here.
“What are you talking about?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Ha. I clearly sent you a text offering a good deal, didn’t I?”
Cheon Hyeongwon had a look of disbelief at Yisun’s lack of a greeting, when it was Yisun who had all the right to be bewildered. Pulling up out of nowhere and talking about some good deal, without even greeting him, Yisun frowned slightly in confusion. Then shortly after, he let out a faint sigh.
[I’ve got a good proposal for you. Let’s meet.]
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Yisun was very curious as to how he could have gotten his number, however, he didn’t think such a logical question would work well with Cheon Hyeongwon, who was in a very unpleasant mood.
“Wouldn’t it be weirder for me to respond to a text from an unknown number asking to meet at a strange location for some proposal?”
“The address is the Paradise Guild building, shouldn’t you know that much?”
Yisun’s expression became strange. It wasn’t like the street was called Paradise Street, nor was the neighborhood called Paradise neighborhood, so what nonsense was he going on about… It was even more ridiculous that he wanted to make a proposal, yet he was the one picking the location rather than leaving it up to the other person. Even when Sa Hyeon himself had come to him with a proposal, he had gone all the way to Yongin.
Staring at Cheon Hyeongwon as if he were looking at someone overly self-important, Yisun was relieved to see that the meaning behind his prolonged silence was conveyed. Cheon Hyeongwon’s brow furrowed, however, after repeated clenching and unclenching of his fists, he managed to draw a contrived smile on his face.
“Anyway, I’d like to propose that we work together in the Paradise Guild.”
“…….”
“I’m willing to give you more than what you get in Chord. A house? Two, maybe even three, and I’ll give you several times the down payment.”
Paradise Guild was the third-largest Guild in Korea, but they were famous for their potions, so they were right behind the HN Guild in terms of funds. Moreover, Cheon Hyeongwon had been born into a family and had plenty of money. He was thriving until he awakened as an S-class Awakened and joined the Paradise Guild. Then, he received the Guild Leader’s favor and became an executive in no time.
However, after his debut as a Hunter where he cleared the first Great Dungeon, the first S-class dungeon in Korea, HN Guild’s Sa Hyeon quickly shot to fame and then led Chord324 to become one of Korea’s most elite teams. If it was Sa Yoonkang who named Chord HN’s special elite team, it was Sa Hyeon who earned them the title of best in Korea.
It was widely known that Cheon Hyeongwon saw Chord as a rival and was determined to achieve better results and surpass them at all costs. He was all the more restless now that the Paradise Guild Leader succession was in full swing.
The succession of a Guild Leader in a large Guild usually required the consent of the Guild Leader and, subsequently, a majority of the executive board. However, the Paradise team’s recent lackluster performance in the third dungeon had led to a drop in support for Cheon Hyeongwon.
So, Cheon Hyeongwon had analyzed the reason for Chord’s success and deemed it to be none other than their S-class restorer: Jung Yisun. And so he had come all the way out here to poach him. After going on and on about the conditions, Cheon Hyeongwon flashed a confident smile and extended his hand to Yisun.
“Join Paradise for the upcoming raid.”
Cheon Hyeongwon was telling the quiet Yisun about how he would multiply his contract fee by several times if he transferred in time for the fifth dungeon when Yisun blinked. “No need. I am not interested.”
Leaving that bitingly monotonous reply, he stood up. It was a very indifferent response, as if he had nil interest in whatever Hyeongwon had been saying all this time. Cheon Hyeongwon jumped to his feet in embarrassment. “I’ll give you anything you want,” he said, “A house, a car, money, anything!”
“I’ll be on my way now.”
“If the raid is successful, I’ll even give you a good position in the Paradise Guild! Yeah, how about a director, huh? If I become the Guild Leader, offering you that much shouldn’t be hard.”
Without any regard to all the nonsense, Yisun simply bowed his head slightly to Cheon Hyeongwon and was about to leave when his wrist was grabbed in a strong grip. The force was strong enough to make him wince.
“Don’t be stupid and think about your future for a bit! Sa Hyeon is only the leader of Chord, he’s not the Guild Leader. Paradise can definitely offer you a better future if you come over. After the raid is over, a Restorer like you would have no place in Chord!” Cheon Hyeongwon shouted, promising him a high position in the Paradise Guild after the raid was over, a way for him to continue his work as a Restorer, and a higher salary. Yisun froze at Hyeongwon’s mention of the word ‘future,’ before letting out a small chuckle…
It was more of a self-deprecating laugh than a positive response to Hyeongwon’s suggestion.
As Cheon Hyeongwon was puzzled by the sudden laughter, Yisun pointed to his wrist, which fortunately, was not in a cast.
“I’m a patient, please let go.”
A strangely calm voice fell over the briefly heated atmosphere.
Cheon Hyeongwon was momentarily flustered and after some incoherent mumbling of “oh, uh…”, eventually let go of Yisun’s hand.
Yisun took a step back, then he spoke in a very calm tone, “Working in Chord is the future I have drawn for myself. I appreciate the offer, but I won’t be joining Paradise. Then, I’ll be leaving now.”
With that terse refusal, Yisun turned and walked back to his room, keeping the door locked just in case Cheon Hyeongwon decided to follow him in. Although, that wouldn’t work against an S-class Hunter. It wasn’t until a few minutes later that he heard angry footsteps in the distance, but fortunately, it seemed that he wasn’t brazen enough to break down the door.
Yisun stood with his back to the door and stared out the window. The conversation they’d had a moment ago was running around in his head and making him dizzy. No, to be precise, it was only one word that was haunting him, and he stood there for a long, long time thinking about it.
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Han Arin came to find Yisun, saying that since her morning training was over, they could have lunch together. It was while they were walking in the garden afterwards that Yisun brought up the topic of Cheon Hyeongwon. He casually mentioned that, a few hours prior, Cheon Hyeongwon had asked him to join him for the upcoming raid, but he had turned him down.
Han Arin looked really surprised, “Wow, he actually came all the way here? What a persistent bastard.”
The harsh words came out of her mouth so quickly that Yisun was a little taken aback. Han Arin continued expressing her dislike for Cheon Hyeongwon with a frown, and informed Yisun that he had a record of approaching Chord Hunters in the past.
No Chord Hunter had ever fallen for it, but Han Arin scowled, calling him a dogged bastard. She then sighed and shook her head.
“I’ll talk to Sa Hyeon,” she said, “you don’t have to worry about it.”
They were currently sitting together on a bench at the end of the garden. It was a secluded spot, cleverly hidden by the garden fence, making it difficult to take pictures from the outside. Yisun nodded hesitantly to Han Arin’s suggestion that he come here if he ever felt like going out.
Suddenly, Yisun remembered a question he’d had for quite a while. Han Arin was two years older than Sa Hyeon, and maybe because they were both S-class Hunters, it seemed that Sa Hyeon would talk to her quite a bit more than he did with the rest of the team. So, thinking she might know something about him, Yisun cautiously asked, “By any chance, do you know why Hunter Sa Hyeon is so determined to clear all of the raids?”
“Huh? If he clears all the raids successfully this time, Chord’s fame and status will fly to the heavens, so of course he’s putting in effort…?”
“Oh, well… What I meant was… I’m just a little surprised that he’s willing to go as far as injuring his own arm to achieve it.”
At those words, Han Arin nodded with an understanding “ah.” She understood exactly what Yisun meant by his question.
When Yisun first joined Chord, he’d heard about Sa Hyeon’s reasons for wanting to clear all seven raids. He had said that he was planning to become the next Guild Leader of HN Guild instead of Sa Yoonkang, purposely concealing the Guild Leader’s death and will until he had cleared all seven raids and Chord’s status had risen significantly.
Although he was told it was all to completely crush Sa Yoonkang, Yisun had nagging doubts. Was it necessary for him to shed so much of his own blood? So, put simply, Yisun was curious about the history between Sa Hyeon and Sa Yoonkang.
Although he did a little research on the internet, he couldn’t tell if the information was reliable. So, he asked Han Arin, who leaned back on the bench, propped one arm up, and smiled.
“To be honest, I don’t know the whole story, but I do think it’s wise for anyone who gets on Sa Hyeon’s bad side to consider killing themselves sooner rather than later.” Han Arin said in a light tone.
“You might know about how Sa Yoonkang used to torment Sa Hyeon in a ridiculously childish way for a long time, right?”
“Oh, I looked it up a little bit.”
“If it’s articles, they wouldn’t have covered it properly. Anyway, they’re seven years apart in age, and he’s been acting like an asshole. Sa Hyeon was eight when he started living with them, while Sa Yoonkang was, what, around fifteen at the time? But he’s been acting like a brat even after turning into an adult. It got even worse since he had his maternal family’s influence supporting him.”
Sa Hyeon was Sa Yoonkang’s half-brother, an illegitimate child born to the Guild Leader and a woman he had had an affair with when Sa Yoonkang’s mother was still alive. Only when the first wife died due to a terminal illness did the second wife come out of hiding and appear along with him. Up until this point, she had kept a low profile, receiving only financial support, but when she saw the opportunity to enter the Guild Leader’s house, she held an official press conference.
The first wife, Sa Yoonkang’s mother, was the daughter of a prominent company in Korea, so her family’s influence was considerable. The HN Guild had once had strong ties with said company; all of the potions and items made by the HN Guild were distributed using that company’s channel, and half of the Guild’s executive positions were filled by people from that company.
“Do you know how Sa Hyeon awakened at the age of eight?”
“Yeah… It’s a famous tale.”
Min: Awww the besties are gossiping 
and Sa Hyeon’s backstory in the next chapter … Also thank you so much for your kindness and understanding, your comments made my day
Thanks for the update 🤣❤️🤣❤️🤣
Thank youu for reaadingg 🕵💕
Thank you for updating! I hope your life is calming down.
Well, I feel more hopeful now, so that’s something! Thank you 🥹💞
Thank you for taking the time to translate I hope you’re doing okay. It’s hard out here lol.
Yeah, when life gives u lemons, u just need to squeeze them right onto your eyes, and then at least you won’t see shit anymore… (I’m not slowly but surely spiraling into madness wdym). On a more serious note, thank you 🥹💞
Thank you for your translation 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜