One Difficulty After Another (3)

The next day, as I arrived at work with the Deputy Team Leader as usual, I spotted a figure lingering in front of the office from early morning.

“…….”

Perhaps because I had experienced something similar before, my mood soured immediately. I observed him more closely, wondering if I was just misunderstanding someone who had actually come to visit another office.

“…Tsk.”

The Deputy Team Leader, who stepped out of the elevator a moment later, seemed to have noticed the person in front of the office as well. Hearing his soft click of the tongue, I looked at him. When he met my eyes and shook his head, I followed suit.

Judging by his reaction, that person was undoubtedly from the Association. It was already frustrating that the Hunter Department had been treated so poorly at City Hall yesterday, and thinking that the Association was disregarding us like this since the morning made my blood boil.

I stared at the man standing in front of the office with a rigid face, but that only lasted for a brief moment. The person who had been standing with his back to us turned around. Upon seeing the familiar face that came into view, my mouth fell open on its own.

“…Se-hyun-ssi?”

Flinch.

The man, who seemed to be staring at the office door, froze. It felt strange to see Kim Se-hyun turning his head slower than ever before. It was only after a long moment that my eyes met his blue pupils.

“Ha-neul Hyung!”

The moment our eyes met, a radiant smile bloomed across his face.

It had only been a few days since I last saw that smile, yet it felt as if it had been an incredibly long time. While the smile in my memory had grown faint, the one before me now was overwhelmingly brilliant.

As Kim Se-hyun drew closer, his face became clearer. Not only that, but his action of throwing both arms wide open was also vividly visible. Just as I thought he was about to arrive right in front of me, the Deputy Team Leader stepped in to block his path.

“This far and no further.”

“…Move, will you?”

“If you were in my shoes, Kim Se-hyun-ssi, would you move?”

“Hyuuung, I missed you.”

Perhaps because it had been a while since I last witnessed their standoff, it felt unfamiliar yet somehow welcoming. Since it was a confrontation between the Deputy Team Leader and Kim Se-hyun, rather than the Team Leader, I caught his eye over the Deputy Team Leader’s shoulder and offered a grin.

“I’ll open the office door. You’ll have some coffee, right?”

“…….”

“If you’re going to drink coffee, please wait outside.”

“Wow, Hyung, it feels like it’s been ages since I last had your coffee.”

True to form, he naturally ignored the Deputy Team Leader’s words again. I was worried the Deputy Team Leader might take offense, but fortunately, far from looking upset, he actually seemed somewhat glad to see him.

Of course, that gladness was likely different from the kind I felt. It was more akin to the relief of a leaking bucket returning home rather than genuine warmth.

I opened the office door faster than ever before. The moment the door swung open, Kim Se-hyun walked straight over to my desk, and I only realized the situation a beat too late.

“Please move that to the round table and sit there.”

“…Hyung, have you been keeping this here the whole time?”

“Pardon? Yes.”

The basket was far too large to leave sitting on the desk. Nodding, I walked straight to the water dispenser, prepared the Deputy Team Leader’s adlay tea first, handed it to him, and then mixed three cups of coffee before heading over to the table.

“Shall I move it?”

I didn’t expect him to still be standing. I asked Kim Se-hyun, who was standing stock-still and quietly staring at the spot where the flower basket sat, and noticed that his expression was peculiarly dark.

“…….”

Was he in a bad mood because someone else’s item was placed at his usual spot?

Since Kim Se-hyun was entirely unpredictable, I had to keep that possibility in mind. After setting the coffee down on the desk, I immediately reached out toward the flower basket.

“I’ll move it.”

The man who had been standing still until just a moment ago lifted the flower basket and carried it over to the round table. Watching him return to his seat, I noticed that the dark cloud from earlier had completely vanished.

Kim Se-hyun sat in the chair and looked up at me with a grin. Maintaining the curl of my lips, I blinked at his subsequent action.

“Did you stand up because the chair is uncomfortable? Well, it can’t be helped then. I’ve made a huge concession! Sit right here and do your work.”

“…….”

He was patting his own thigh, telling me to sit. I couldn’t understand how he could utter such embarrassing and shameless words so easily.

Until just a moment ago, I felt a bit awkward because we hadn’t seen each other in a short while, but hearing those words truly made it sink in that Kim Se-hyun was back.

Hoping the heat rising to my face wouldn’t show, I quickly took my own seat.

“I like it fine here, too.”

“…….”

“Please have your coffee.”

“Thanks for the drink, Hyung.”

The man, who had looked a bit disappointed, brightly smiled as if nothing had happened and lifted his cup. Staring at him intently, I confirmed that no trace of dark emotion remained and nodded. Or rather, I was about to.

“Oh, right, Hyung. Did you receive your Kindness Award?”

I had never told Kim Se-hyun that I was going to receive the Kindness Award. Startled by the unexpected remark, I asked.

“…How did you know?”

“I have my ways of knowing everything.”

“…….”

Kim Se-hyun, who had emptied one cup of coffee in a single breath, spoke as he finished the second cup. I was watching the mischievous smile playing on his lips when the office door swung open with a loud voice, drawing my attention.

“Good mor—whoa, you startled me!”

Perhaps he hadn’t expected Kim Se-hyun to be here, as the Team Leader stared at the adjacent seat with wide eyes. He stood rooted to the spot for a few seconds without moving a muscle, looking genuinely shocked. I watched him as he finally headed toward his desk as if nothing had happened.

“When did he get here?”

“He was waiting in front of the office when I came to work.”

“Tsk! Is it a trait of the Association to show up at the crack of dawn?”

It felt as though he had walked right into my thoughts and voiced them. Agreeing inwardly with the Team Leader’s words, I looked toward Kim Se-hyun as he called out to me.

“Hyung, by the way, are you going to keep your promise to me?”

“A promise?”

I hadn’t made any separate promise to Kim Se-hyun. If there was anything resembling a promise, it was only that I would grant him one wish in the past. As I tilted my head, I watched him voice his complaints with a sullen face.

“You told me to finish my entire schedule before coming back! So what about when you said you’d let me take photos of you from above!”

“…I never gave you a definitive answer.”

Right—I might have said I would think about it, but I had no recollection of giving a firm confirmation.

“I came back with so much anticipation! I worked so hard because you said you liked it, Hyung!”

“That was… you did a good job.”

It truly was a good thing that he hadn’t flaked on the meeting with the British Prime Minister and the Association President.

“Pfft!”

“Pahaha!”

The moment the words “you did a good job” left my mouth, the Team Leader and Deputy Team Leader burst into laughter. Along with that, Kim Se-hyun’s expression turned melancholy. Seeing that look made a sense of apology well up within me. I was contemplating whether to brew him another cup of coffee when I saw him reach into his jacket pocket at the sound of a vibration.

“…….”

Kim Se-hyun seemed to check the screen for a moment before rejecting the call and sliding the phone back into his pocket. But that was short-lived. Not long after the call was cut, the vibration started ringing again. I quietly spoke to him as he continued to ignore the sound.

“Se-hyun-ssi.”

“…….”

Seeing how he continuously ignored the phone, it seemed to be a call from someone he didn’t want to contact. After choosing my words while facing him, I made a suggestion.

“Would you like me to cook some ramen for you later?”

The fact that he had been guarding the front of the office since morning meant he might not have eaten breakfast yet. I could have cooked it for him right now, but it was still before the morning briefing. It would be discourteous to hold the meeting with another person present. When I asked again if I should cook ramen after the briefing, I witnessed the corners of his eyes, which I thought couldn’t drop any further, sag down completely.

“Ramen…”

Kim Se-hyun’s shoulders slumped as he muttered the word.

In stark contrast, the laughter of the Team Leader and Deputy Team Leader gradually grew louder. Watching the three of them display entirely opposite reactions, I pushed my complicated thoughts aside. Right—this wasn’t the first or second time this had happened, so it was about time I adapted.

As I waited for the briefing while watching the three of them, Officer Kim and Officer Park arrived at work and looked just as shocked as the Team Leader had been, causing a chuckle to leak out of me.

“Good mor—whoa!”

“What’s there to be so star—gasp!”

“Can you really bring yourself to laugh right now? When I’m feeling this downcast?”

“Well, pfft! Yes.”

Hearing him say such things while looking like a dejected puppy made it impossible not to laugh. I laughed without filtering as I looked at Kim Se-hyun whom I hadn’t seen in a while, and his next words, delivered with an incredulous gaze, made me laugh even harder.

“Ha. …I’m only letting this slide because it’s you, Hyung.”

I had heard those words a few times before, but hearing them today made them incredibly welcoming. I nodded in response.

“Alright, let’s start the briefing first!”

“Hyung, I’ll step out for just a moment.”

“Okay.”

At the Team Leader’s call for the briefing, Kim Se-hyun immediately rose from his seat. His demeanor, entirely different from whoever it was that had come from the Association before, made him look even more admirable. Thinking ‘As expected of Kim Se-hyun,’ I waved my hand, and once he left the office, I looked toward the Team Leader.

“Let’s aim to wrap up the paperwork regarding the A-Rank dungeon that occurred last week within this week and hand it over to City Hall.”

“Yes.”

“Hardly any dungeons have generated this week, so we can breathe a sigh of relief, but a dungeon is something that can appear at any moment, so never let your guard down!”

“Yes!”

“Chick, what did I tell you before?”

“…What exactly did you say?”

I didn’t know what he was referring to. Flustered by the sudden question, I rolled my eyes this way and that. Then, Officer Park made a hand gesture pointing outside, and I shifted my gaze along with his hand.

It was the office door. Perhaps frustrated that I couldn’t catch on immediately, Officer Park mouthed something, and I moved my lips to match the shape.

“Do, not? Ha… don’t do it?”

“Never forget that, got it?”

“…Yes.”

I had merely followed along, but a look of satisfaction settled over the Team Leader’s face. Flashing an awkward smile, I spotted Kim Se-hyun opening the door and walking back in just as the statement that today’s briefing would end here concluded.

“…Hey, big guy.”

I expected him to return straight to his seat, but Kim Se-hyun walked right up to the Team Leader and growled. Watching the standoff between the Team Leader, who looked perfectly relaxed with his arms crossed, and Kim Se-hyun, who showed no trace of composure, I looked back at him as the vibration rang out once more.

“Why don’t you just answer the phone?”

“That’s none of your business, big guy.”

“Ah, could it be that you flaked on a schedule or something?”

“The only thing I care about in Korea is Ha-neul Hyung, so what schedule are you talking about!”

“Is thaaat so? So that’s how it is, huh?”

The Team Leader, who had been drawing out his words while staring intently at Kim Se-hyun, pulled his phone from his chest pocket. He looked as though he was placing a call somewhere. Once the party on the other end answered, he grinned broadly.

“This is the Hunter Department. Come over and collect Kim Se-hyun.”

“…Dammit!”

Kim Se-hyun, who had been watching the Team Leader on the phone, stole a glance in this direction before letting out a harsh curse. I watched him vent his frustration while running a hand through his hair, and before long, turned my eyes toward the door at the sound of a knock on the office entrance.