One Difficulty After Another (5)

「Prince Edward, Third in Line to the British Throne, Secretly Visits Korea」

「The Hunter Prince’s Visit to Korea—What Is the Hidden Intention?」

「List of Famous Hotels in Sector C-4」

Scanning through the news headlines, it truly seemed that Prince Edward had arrived in Korea under strict secrecy.

“Hmm.”

Usually, whenever a single topic trended, the news would approach it from various angles, but not this time. Every single article was deeply suspicious of Prince Edward’s motives for this visit. I glanced toward Kim Se-hyun’s vacant seat after he stepped out, mentioning he was going to the restroom.

“…….”

The fact that every media outlet was singing the exact same tune was undoubtedly due to Prince Edward’s track record. Every single time the Prince made contact with a foreign hunter, that hunter inevitably ended up switching their affiliation to the United Kingdom. Since such a prince was reportedly waiting for Kim Se-hyun, it was only natural for my thoughts to drift in that direction.

Besides, he had only just returned from wrapping up his schedule in the UK a few days ago.

It reached a point where I couldn’t help but wonder if that exact reason was why he had traveled to England in the first place. As I was staring blankly at the empty chair, someone slid into it. I flinched in surprise.

“What were you thinking about so deeply?”

“Ah, just something I needed to mull over.”

“About me?”

Stealing a glance at my monitor, Kim Se-hyun flashed a subtle smile. I gave him a nod.

“Because of the news and all.”

“Huuuum.”

Looking back and forth between the news articles and me, the expression on Kim Se-hyun’s face grew peculiar as he stroked his chin. Curious about what was on his mind, I stared at him intently, prompting him to ask a question.

“Would you be sad if I left?”

“Of course I would.”

“Hearing that makes me feel like I’m wavering a bit.”

“…Are you really planning on going to the UK?”

Wavering meant that he was actually keeping the UK in consideration. While it was true that our country possessed other S-Rank hunters besides Kim Se-hyun, none held an equivalent level of influence. Furthermore, given that we had grown close enough to converse and spend time together like this, I would be immensely sad if he left.

“…….”

I wanted him to stay, but I knew that was just my own selfishness. Unable to voice it out loud, I simply looked at Kim Se-hyun, pouring all my unspoken wishes into my eyes. The longer our gazes locked, the more the smile vanished from his lips. My bewilderment at his reaction lasted only a fraction of a second.

“No, why are you looking at me with those eyes!”

“Um.”

“I’m not going, I’m not! Even if you try to shove me out the door yourself, Hyung, I have zero intention of going, so make no mistake about it!”

“…Really?”

“I told you I don’t have the slightest desire to leave Korea. Can’t you see I’m staying right here to guard Ha-neul Hyung so no one else tries to snatch you away?”

“…….”

It wasn’t as if I were light enough to be easily snatched away by just anyone, but hearing that Kim Se-hyun wasn’t leaving brought an overwhelming wave of relief. As I let out a sigh of relief and let a faint smile slip out, I noticed that the man before me had suddenly begun to breathe heavily.

“Ha-neul-ssi.”

“Yes, Deputy Team Leader.”

I answered the Deputy Team Leader’s call. He was pointing toward his computer screen. It seemed there was something else he couldn’t figure out. Habitually preparing to guide him through it, I stood up from my seat. Or rather, I tried to.

“I’m not quite sure about this part…”

Kim Se-hyun caught me by one arm. I thought he had something to say to me, but instead, he was baring his teeth directly toward the Deputy Team Leader.

“Why don’t you stop pretending to be clueless when you clearly know how to do it?”

“As for you, why don’t you handle that breathing of yours first? Either swallow it down or hold it in.”

“We’re also constantly on standby over here, worrying that someone might just snatch our youngest official away, you know.”

“…….”

Caught in the sudden standoff, I stood frozen, utterly at a loss for what to do. When the Deputy Team Leader clicked his tongue and muttered that he would just handle it himself, I shook my head.

“It’s faster for someone who already knows it to show you rather than searching for it yourself.”

The Deputy Team Leader already had an immense workload to process, and I had no intention of letting him waste time searching for a solution. Gently prising my trapped arm from Kim Se-hyun’s grip, I walked straight over to the Deputy Team Leader’s desk.

“How do you handle this part?”

“Ah, this isn’t particularly difficult either.”

As expected, it was a simple operational method. Ah, come to think of it…

Something identical to this had happened before.

I glanced back and forth between Kim Se-hyun and the Deputy Team Leader, but dropped my suspicions when I saw the Deputy Team Leader staring single-mindedly at his monitor.

Right—reflecting on his usual character, the Deputy Team Leader always spoke without hiding anything whenever something came up. The fact that he was staring so fixedly at the monitor right now strictly meant he truly didn’t know.

Reminding myself that the simpler a function was, the harder it was to find clear results on search engines, I wrapped up my explanation. When he offered his thanks, I merely scratched my cheek.

“Hyung, if you’re all done, come back quickly. I feel a severe deficit of you right now.”

“…Yes.”

I didn’t know why hearing him say he suffered a “deficit” of me made me feel so embarrassed. Nodding a fraction of a beat late, I returned to my desk. As I did, Kim Se-hyun subtly nudged me aside, sliding his seat a bit further inside the desk perimeter.

“Don’t look at these news articles anymore. I already said I’m not going, so what’s the point of looking at them?”

Reaching out, he closed the search engine tabs displayed on the monitor. I blinked.

“What miracle caused our resident slacker to speak so sensibly for once? Now that the issue is settled, everyone besides our youngest—get back to your main duties!”

“Yes!”

“Understood.”

“…….”

I initially thought the Team Leader was addressing only me, but I didn’t expect him to command the entire team. Startled by the unexpected order, the corners of my mouth twitched as the realization hit me that perhaps everyone had been monitoring those news articles with the exact same anxious heart.

Click!

“Ah.”

Click-click-click-click!

Kim Se-hyun’s phone, which had been quiet for a short while, suddenly grew busy again. Letting out an awkward chuckle, I redirected my eyes to the monitor.

“Ha-neul Hyung, you show a different charm every single time I take a photo. You’re like a gemstone.”

Click-click-click-click-click!

“Should I bring a proper camera tomorrow?”

A state-of-the-art smartphone was more than enough. The terrifying thought flashed through my mind that if it were Kim Se-hyun, he would somehow manage to lug in professional studio equipment and set up lighting rigs everywhere, prompting me to frantically wave my hands in refusal.

“No! Bringing a camera inside the office is strictly forbidden!”

Of course, no such rule banning cameras existed, but right now, it was absolutely forbidden.

Dealing with a smartphone camera was embarrassing enough, but if that massive lens were to point at me, I might truly lose my patience this time.

Staring at me intently for a moment, Kim Se-hyun thrust his phone camera forward once more. The continuous shutter sounds echoed as he took rapid bursts of photos, but that wasn’t what mattered right now.

Desperate to avoid the threat of a real camera at all costs, I maintained a silent pressure on him. When he finally paused his rapid-fire snapping to throw out a question, I answered instantly.

“So I shouldn’t bring a camera?”

“Yes. Absolutely not.”

“…Well, if you dislike it that much, Hyung, I’ll reconsider.”

Letting out a chuckle, Kim Se-hyun nodded along with his statement that he would reconsider. Relieved, I followed suit and nodded.

Resuming my paperwork, I occasionally exchanged conversation with Kim Se-hyun and sipped my coffee. Just as lunchtime approached, the emergency hotline—which had been quiet for quite some time—rang out, causing tension to spike.

“Seoul City Hunter Department.”

Officer Kim, who had quickly answered the phone, nodded continuously. Seeing the gravity taking over his expression, the corners of my lips trembled faintly.

“A dungeon has activated in Sector C-4! The scale is B-Rank, and the difficulty is C-Rank!”

“We’re moving out immediately! Officer Kim! Officer Park!”

“We’ll get prepared right away and follow you!”

“I’ll head out as soon as I wrap up here too!”

“Then I’ll set off first!”

Calling out to Officer Park and Officer Kim, the Team Leader gave a nod to the Deputy Team Leader and me before heading out. Words were no longer necessary at this stage. The moment the Team Leader exited straight through the window, I closed it behind him and began opening up the repeaters and network links.

“Wait a minute, Sector C-4 feels strangely familiar…”

Officer Kim, who had been preparing the cooperation documents, straightened his posture and spoke up. Recognizing a similar sense of déjà vu, I looked over at him.

“It’s that place, Hyung.”

“That place?”

At Kim Se-hyun’s words, I looked toward him, and the color drained completely from my face when I saw his finger pointing directly at the monitor.

“Gasp!”

“…Gasp! This is the sector where Prince Edward is staying!”

“What?”

“Team Leader! Please increase your speed toward Sector C-4. We’ve just confirmed that Prince Edward is currently staying within that sector!”

– What? Got it!

The Deputy Team Leader conveyed the news to the Team Leader the exact millisecond the network link finalized. With the Team Leader’s startled voice marking the final transmission, the office plummeted into a tense silence, and I quickly finished activating the repeaters before rushing back to my seat.

“…….”

It was widely public knowledge that Prince Edward was a B-Rank hunter. While it was a relief that the dungeon difficulty was only C-Rank, considering the safety of the entourage that had accompanied him to protect him, this dungeon deployment was an absolute nightmare.

“I’ll head out immediately then!”

Officer Kim rushed out the door. After rapidly analyzing the live CCTV feeds to relay the current battlefield status, Officer Park dispatched the emergency disaster alerts before following him out of the office.

“Why are you so incredibly tense?”

“He’s a foreign dignitary.”

Right—if the safety of an esteemed state guest, of all people, was compromised, it would snowball into a massive geopolitical issue. Even if dungeons were completely unpredictable phenomena that could manifest anywhere at any time, it was a foregone conclusion that both the UK and our entire nation would be thrown into absolute chaos.

My breathing refused to settle. I repeatedly dragged my hands over my face, desperately forcing myself to focus.

“Hyung, you don’t need to be that anxious. That guy will be perfectly fine, so don’t worry.”

“The people surrounding him could get hurt.”

“Ah, so that was your worry? Here I was thinking you were worried about that bastard getting hurt.”

“…….”

Watching Kim Se-hyun speak with such utter nonchalance made me wonder if a dungeon had actually manifested at all, or if Prince Edward was truly present at that location. I was momentarily speechless, but finding his supreme composure incredibly bizarre, I scrutinized him closely.

Even under ordinary circumstances, Kim Se-hyun never lost his sly, effortless composure unless something truly extraordinary occurred. Seeing him maintain that exact identical demeanor now, a specific realization dawned on me, and I voiced it out loud.

“Could it be that his entourage is also…?”

Right—if that weren’t the case, there was no way Kim Se-hyun could afford to be this relaxed. At the very least, that man who had visited us yesterday would have come sprinting in here to cling to Kim Se-hyun’s coat threads.

“Hyung, instead of sharpening your intuition for things like this, do you have any intention of sharpening your intuition toward other matters?”

“…My intuition is always fully functional.”

If I lacked intuition, I wouldn’t have surmised that the individuals protecting Prince Edward were highly capable hunters before hearing it directly. Convinced that my intuition couldn’t possibly be any sharper, I stared at Kim Se-hyun, but closed my mouth when I saw his head tilt slightly to the side.

“Ha?”

“…….”

It was a gesture that loudly broadcasted his complete disagreement with my statement. While a mountain of arguments welled up inside me to dispute his reaction, the live field operations took absolute priority right now. I squared my posture at the Deputy Team Leader’s instruction to monitor the live CCTV feeds.

Even though I had confirmed his protectors were hunters, a dungeon remained a volatile environment where anything could happen at any given second.

“Whew.”

Exhaling a deep breath to rein in my scattered focus, I immediately began to scrutinize the CCTV feeds with absolute meticulousness.

“But, Hyung.”

“Yes.”

The quiet Kim Se-hyun called out to me. While answering him, I kept my eyes pinned to the screen, but his next words left me with no choice but to turn my head and stare directly at him.

“My house happens to be in Sector C-4, too.”