The Seventeenth Love (2)

The shelf, full of blades, was tilting towards me.
“Oh.”
In that brief moment, I hesitated.
I’m a Constellation, and the items aren’t being swung, just falling, so they won’t even scratch me.
My skin might just turn a little red.
‘Still, if this falls over, it’ll be hard for grandma to clean up.’
Lifting the heavy shelf, and putting all the items that were on display back in their places is a hard job for an old person.
Just as I finished my thought and was about to stop the falling shelf with magic.
“Lee Seonbaek!”
With a whoosh, a large, firm embrace enclosed me.
Crash, clatter!
“Cough.”
Dust rose like a mountain.
So much that my white hair turned even whiter.
I was waving my hands to brush off the accumulated dust when something hard and solid caught my hand.
‘What is this?’
Big, a bit soft but firm.
Just as I was kneading it, a large, rough hand pushed through the dust.
“…”
“…”
I was kneading Yeon Taeseon’s chest.
And Yeon Taeseon was in a position as if he had pounced on me.
Silence fell.
“…”
“…”
Tinkle, the sound of a bell rang softly as the door to the shop opened, indicating that someone had entered.
“Excuse me, is there a woman with short, white hair here by any chance…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
Snow-white hair, golden eyes.
But a completely black figure, wearing a mask and a hat.
It was Sion, the protagonist of the rumor that he had been rejected after proposing.
“…”
Sion, who had entered the shop, witnessed our scene, and Yeon Taeseon quickly opened his mouth.
“It’s a misunderstanding.”
“Die.”
He tried to explain that it was a misunderstanding, but it was no use to Sion, who had already gone berserk.
The sparkling light of Stardust gathered on the longsword he had drawn like lightning.
KWAAAAAANG-!

A moment later.
Sion was on his knees before me, receiving punishment.
It was the price for recklessly using his ability and destroying a wall of the shop.
“O Calamity, why…”
“Tsk.”
After stamping out a minor rebellion, I gave Sion a stern look.
“One.”
“In a shop with civilians…”
“Two.”
“I will not use my ability recklessly.”
“Hehehehe…”
The old woman, the owner of the shop, was laughing happily while holding her pipe, even though a wall had been destroyed.
At that sight, only my conscience, which respects the elderly, was pricked.
“Well, I thought Taeseon was the capable one, but it turns out the young lady is.”
“It’s not like that.”
“To have handsome men in both hands, youth is youth.”
“…I said it’s not like that.”
Yeon Taeseon, well, a flower in hand?
It might be right, but since he hadn’t confessed to me yet, I considered that I had nothing in my hands.
Sion is a fanatic, so he’s an exception.
He wouldn’t have romantic feelings for a god, would he?
“…”
He wouldn’t, right?
I shook my head to clear the stray thoughts.
“I’m sorry, grandma. If you bill the Nate Guild for the repairs, we’ll pay.”
“It’s fine.”
Although I spoke with a sorry heart, the old woman smiled and waved her hand.
“Taeseon gave me enough money to live on for the rest of my life, so I have enough money to repair that. And you don’t have to pay for the items Taeseon took. You guys just go and have a date.”
I looked back at Yeon Taeseon.
‘What money do you have?’
The prideful Yeon Taeseon frowned and replied.
“It’s the Nate Guild’s contract fee. I gave more than half of it to grandma.”
“Huh?”
“…I’ve joined the Nate Guild. Didn’t you know?”
“I had something to do…”
This time, I looked back at Sion.
Did this handsome and crazy first contractor of mine try to kill a guild member?
No, more importantly, if you accepted Yeon Taeseon into the guild, shouldn’t you have told me?
As I looked at him with my arms crossed, the quiet Sion, who was on his knees, carefully opened his mouth.
“After the incident with the Crow Guild, there was a public opinion that Yeon Taeseon should be in the Nate Guild. We had no choice but to bring him in with a large contract fee.”
“You really hate Yeon Taeseon, don’t you.”
If an S-rank wants to join a guild, you should welcome him with open arms, but ‘had no choice’?
You’re so spoiled.
The old woman opened her mouth cheerfully.
“There’s nothing more reluctant than having a rival in the same workplace.”
“…”
“Anyway, I’m fine. You three, do well.”
After saying that, the old woman chased the three of us out.
It was an added bonus that she waved her hand, saying it was fine, to us who were trying to apologize repeatedly.
At the time when the sunset was setting deeply, Sion, who had glanced at his phone on a deserted street, muttered.
“We haven’t even done half of the half of the date course…”
He fainted when I said date, but he was thinking of it as a date.
I was at a loss for words for a moment, and Yeon Taeseon sneered.
“After having such a meeting with the vice-guild leader, your state is not good.”
“Shut up.”
No wonder Jiye had hurriedly chased us out.
No, but did she really chase us out to have a date?
Wasn’t it a mission impossible to avoid the HN Group chairman?
Sion, who had avoided my deep gaze, mumbled.
“I’ve been working a lot lately, so the vice-guild leader said… we should take a vacation and show the Constellation-nim the world…”
So Jiye seduced him.
If the sharp Jiye had proposed a vacation, Sion must have been working a lot.
I looked at the sky and sighed.
“It was fun, so it’s fine.”
“Pardon?”
“I said it was fun.”
At my words, Sion’s dazed face gradually brightened.
Well, going out with Sion, choosing clothes, and him fainting in the process was fun.
The bead bracelet proposal was a bit embarrassing, but looking back, it was quite fun.
It was just that it was burdensome.
“What about your time with me?”
Yeon Taeseon didn’t miss the opportunity and cut in.
“It was fun choosing only cursed items.”
“Other than that.”
He boldly took my hand and placed it on his chest.
“You touched it.”
“…”
“Was it fun?”
“…”
No, that was a mistake!
From behind, I heard the sound of a sword being drawn, and the light of Stardust was caught in a corner of my vision.
“Sion, no.”
“But that bastard…”
“No.”
Fortunately, our well-behaved puppy became quiet with an aggrieved expression.
I snatched my hand from Yeon Taeseon’s chest and said.
“Let’s go home. We had fun.”
BEEEEEEP-!
A loud siren sound was heard from the surroundings.

[The Constellation, ‘The Seventeenth Love’, exclaims that it can’t end like this!]
No, what is this crazy, lacking Constellation doing to a top-tier Constellation right now?
“O Calamity, please evacuate first.”
“Why?”
“It’s an absorption-type gate alarm.”
Yeon Taeseon held up his phone.
As he was checking the text message amidst the loudly ringing siren, I quickly checked it together.

[An absorption-type gate has been detected near 28 Hunter Street, Cheonggyecheon, Seoul. Nearby hunters, please prepare for entry. We request that you protect civilians as much as possible and then clear the gate.]
An absorption-type gate appears suddenly and, after a certain amount of time, sucks in all life within its radius.
You can’t attempt to enter from the outside, and only the absorbed people can cooperate to escape.
‘If there’s a silver lining, it’s that this is a hunter’s street.’
Since it’s a street full of items, even if there are no high-rank hunters, there are plenty of mid- and low-rank hunters.
If the gate’s grade isn’t high, it can be resolved easily enough.
Woong-
An additional disaster text message rang on Yeon Taeseon’s phone.

[Gate opening time estimated at 18:32, grade estimated at C]
If it’s a C-rank, we don’t have to worry.
If about ten D-rank hunters are sucked in, they can clear it without any problems, even if they get a little hurt.
But the problem was the time.
I glanced at the phone time.
6:31 PM.
1 minute until the gate opens.
“Where’s number 28?”
At my words, Sion looked around.
The moment he confirmed the address, his expression hardened.
“It’s here.”
At that moment, a pink gate opened wide behind us.

[The Constellation, ‘The Seventeenth Love’, wishes you good luck.]

As soon as I opened my eyes, I knew who the culprit of this sudden absorption-type gate was, thanks to the starlight of the Constellation that filled the area.
‘The Seventeenth Love, that crazy bastard.’
I thought it was a strange Constellation, but to think it would dare to forcibly open a gate and put a top-tier Constellation in it.
Pushing away the unpleasant starlight of another Constellation that filled the area, I looked around.
It was a completely white room.
‘If I stay here for long, I’ll go crazy.’
Fortunately, there was one door.
I opened that door without hesitation and entered.
Inside, Yeon Taeseon’s grandmother was sitting.
“Grandma!”
“The young lady has come too.”
The grandmother laughed heartily with a relaxed air.