Chapter 80: Ban Eun-hyeol’s Unease

“What’s this important thing you want to talk about?”

Suddenly, it felt like the temperature in the car dropped all at once.

Ban Eun-hyeol, who had been acting so unlike himself, only returned to his usual demeanor after seeing my bewildered expression.

“I don’t need to know.”

“Alright, I understand.”

I thought he’d press me more persistently, but it was unexpected.

But despite his straightforward answer, his expression didn’t look all that relieved.

His face, turned toward the window, looked as if a dark cloud had settled over him, gloomy and heavy.

Maybe it was because I’d so firmly said he didn’t need to know, but even so, I couldn’t exactly tell him what I was really going to talk about.

Ah, Do Ihyeon already knows I’m Rank 0.

There’s a lot to discuss about this recent Gate incident, and I’m also curious about what he thinks of the Hooded Girl, but I could never say that out loud.

After Ban Eun-hyeol’s answer, we sat quietly in the car, heading toward my house without much conversation.

Being alone in the car with Ban Eun-hyeol felt more awkward than usual.

The morning of the day I was supposed to go to the aquarium with Do Ihyeon had arrived.

Maybe because of the sunlight pouring through the window, my eyes popped open from early in the morning.

The moment I woke up, I started to worry.

‘What am I even supposed to do for fun with Do Ihyeon…?’

I’d never once worried about what to do for fun with friends like the Four Heavenly Kings, Yeon Ha-yeon, or Yeon Hyeonggwang.

But Do Ihyeon was different.

He hated crowded places and rarely went out, and even though he was the Guild Master, he’d never given a proper interview to the press.

And now I was supposed to go to the aquarium with that ‘Do Ihyeon’.

Just thinking about it, I felt my whole body curling up from the awkwardness.

“Hey, it’ll be fine! What could possibly go wrong!”

If I stayed in bed like this, I’d never get up.

I threw off the blanket and shouted to psych myself up, and the awkward feeling seemed to fade a little.

After getting ready to go out, I took the bus straight to the shopping mall where I was supposed to meet Do Ihyeon.

It was a weekday, so it wasn’t as crowded as usual, but there were still a lot of people.

As I walked toward the aquarium, I nervously looked around the mall.

“Is this really going to be okay?”

What if, walking around with Do Ihyeon, I ended up leading a parade of people behind me like the Pied Piper?

Just imagining it was terrifying.

Especially since Do Ihyeon was a rare sight compared to other high-ranking Awakened, it was obvious things would get out of hand.

I purposely kept to less crowded areas, glancing around as I searched for Do Ihyeon.

We were supposed to meet in front of the aquarium, but I might run into him on the way.

But no matter where I looked, I couldn’t spot Do Ihyeon, who should have stood out at a glance.

“Where is he hiding?”

Maybe the aquarium was a bad idea after all.

As I was thinking that and walking along, someone caught my eye.

Even though he wore a hat and a mask, his long legs, small face, and broad shoulders made him stand out.

“Do Ihyeon?”

I quietly approached him and tilted my head as I asked.

I could see his eyes move toward me from under the deeply pulled-down hat.

I could tell just by his eyes.

Seeing Do Ihyeon’s crescent-eyed smile, I let out a sigh of relief.

“This isn’t bad. Looks like we won’t become the Pied Piper after all.”

His build couldn’t be hidden, but at least his face was covered, so it was fine.

I was so grateful he had thought to hide his face on his own.

“You look pretty.”

“Thanks, you look good too.”

It was praise more for him covering his face than for his looks, but Do Ihyeon didn’t seem to catch the nuance.

I grabbed his wrist and quickly led him into the aquarium.

Since we’d just exchanged compliments, things felt even more awkward, so I needed somewhere else to look.

“Want to start with the giant octopus?”

“…Yeah, let’s start from the beginning!”

I’d suggested it to lighten the mood a bit, but it only seemed to get more awkward.

Do Ihyeon didn’t give much of a reply, but somehow, I thought I knew how he felt.

His reddened ears and the way he turned his gaze in embarrassment showed just how shy he was feeling right now.

Contrary to my expectation that we’d walk around the aquarium in silence, Do Ihyeon actually led the conversation quite well.

But maybe because he was tall and already attracted attention, and on top of that, had a pleasant voice, people kept staring at us.

As we walked, I could see people glancing at us and whispering among themselves.

I couldn’t tell if it was because they recognized Do Ihyeon, or if he just caught their eye.

“Excuse me—”

At that moment, a girl who looked younger than us shyly approached.

A red warning light flashed in my head.

She definitely recognized him. No doubt about it.

If it were someone like the Four Heavenly Kings, who often showed their faces and went out, it might have been less of a problem.

But with Do Ihyeon, once he was recognized, there’d be no chance of enjoying the aquarium any further.

“Um, could I get your number…?”

The girl, voice barely above a whisper, held out her phone and kept sneaking glances at Do Ihyeon’s face.

Even just seeing his eyes above the mask, she looked so excited her cheeks were flushed.

The moment she held out her phone, my tension snapped.

For a second, I wondered if I needed to grab Do Ihyeon’s wrist and run, but it didn’t seem necessary.

Do Ihyeon stared at the phone she handed over for a moment, then replied in a flat voice.

“I don’t have a phone.”

At that, the girl’s face instantly crumpled.

‘What’s that in your hand right now…?’

I couldn’t bring myself to say anything in front of her, so I just looked up at Do Ihyeon with a dumbfounded expression.

He was confidently holding a phone in his left hand, but lying about it like it was nothing—he must have done this more than once before.

He must’ve gone through this sort of thing countless times, but I couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for the girl.

She glanced at me with teary red eyes as if she might burst into tears any second, then ran off to her friends.

I remembered Ban Eun-hyeol offering to clear out the aquarium for us.

‘Maybe I should’ve brought Ban Eun-hyeol along as payment for clearing out the place.’

There were so many people that I couldn’t even talk to Do Ihyeon about the Hooded Girl or the Gate that was supposed to be a grade 5 but turned out to be a grade 4.

I regretted rejecting his offer so quickly.

Do Ihyeon, as if nothing had happened, was calmly watching the jellyfish.

I moved a little closer to him and teased,

“You’re pretty popular.”

“No, I’m not.”

At his firm denial, I pointed behind us with my thumb and said,

“Sure you’re not. There are even friends following you all the way here, you know?”

Actually, I’d noticed it for a while but hadn’t said anything.

I could feel two people following us, and when I quickly turned my head, I saw Kang Yedam and Haemalgeum hurriedly duck out of sight.

‘Why are those two following us like that?’

I kept wondering, but since Do Ihyeon must have noticed them too and wasn’t saying anything, I decided not to bring it up.

But now seemed like a good time to mention it.

When I brought up my friends, Do Ihyeon paused for just a moment, then rolled his eyes and looked behind us where the others were hiding.

Is he worried because he doesn’t go out much and his friends are concerned about him?

If not, what other reason could there be for following us like this?

It wasn’t just that there were a lot of people so we couldn’t talk about important things—those two following us from behind were part of the problem.

Thanks to the girl who asked for his number, even more people were watching us now, and after I mentioned my friends’ tailing, Do Ihyeon’s face looked even darker than before.

“Sorry. Should I send them away?”

“Where to…?”

It didn’t sound like he just meant sending them home.

When I cautiously asked, he looked over at the aquarium behind us where the friends were hiding.

“Anywhere.”

Just as I thought, it was a bit intimidating.

Haemalgeum and Kang Yedam were probably hearing Do Ihyeon’s words right now, but they still didn’t run away.

“No, I think they’re following us because they’re worried about you. Let’s just leave them be.”

Since Do Ihyeon said that, I couldn’t insist on sending them away.

Even without being close by, I could feel the two of them letting out a sigh of relief.

Tap tap tap—

While the two of them were looking around the aquarium, in front of Ban Eun-hyeol’s house, only the sound of feet pounding the ground had echoed for a while.

Ban Eun-hyeol couldn’t stand just staying at home.

He felt like he should go to the aquarium right away, but thinking of Dana, who had rejected his offer because she had something important to talk about, he couldn’t bring himself to go.

“This is driving me crazy!”

Ban Eun-hyeol drank nearly half his bottle of water and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, then stood still for a moment to catch his breath.

No matter how much he moved, he still felt stifled, and even standing still didn’t help.

He finally concluded that he couldn’t just stay at home.

“Young Master, are you going out?”

The butler, seeing him come inside, asked in a respectful voice.

Ban Eun-hyeol’s ears turned even redder.

“Young Master? Did you just say Young Master?”

“If the Young Master wishes, it must be so.”

Dana’s teasing him with the ‘Young Master’ title kept echoing in his mind.

“Please don’t call me Young Master anymore.”

He figured he’d better sort out this title before Dana came over to tease him again.

The butler simply agreed and said he’d prepare the car.

“I don’t need the car. I can get around fine on my own.”

Ban Eun-hyeol waved his palm to decline the butler’s offer.

He didn’t answer when asked where he was planning to go.

He simply changed from his workout clothes into something a bit neater and stepped out of the front gate alone.