Chapter 111: Chaos on the Streets of Gangnam

“What is this?”

After school, Ban Eun-hyeol was idly wandering the guild street when he absentmindedly stepped into 545 and stumbled upon a photo that caught his eye.

It was a picture of Do Ihyeon sitting in a café, drinking coffee.

He couldn’t care less about whatever Do Ihyeon was up to, but the presence of Dana sitting across from him changed everything.

It seemed like quite some time since Dana had last gone to a café with him.

Yet Do Ihyeon kept seeking out places Dana rarely visited with him.

The aquarium last time was like that, and now this café too.

“Where are you headed?”

Eun Ba-da asked as Ban Eun-hyeol suddenly stood up.

“Is it really okay for me to go again?”

But Ban Eun-hyeol’s mind was entirely consumed by the photo of Do Ihyeon and Dana.

Eun Ba-da shook his head with a smile and shifted his gaze to the phone in Han Ji-bin’s hand.

Through the shot of Do Ihyeon’s back in the café, Dana’s face was visible.

Seeing Dana’s expression, which looked genuinely happy talking to Do Ihyeon, Ban Eun-hyeol finally understood why he felt so uneasy.

At that moment, Ban Eun-hyeol grabbed his belongings and slung them over one shoulder.

“I’m going ahead.”

“Yeah. Go quickly.”

No one questioned where he was going or why he was leaving so early.

After saying he was going first, Ban Eun-hyeol left with a grim look and quickly distanced himself from the building.

“Hey, guys! Who do you think that is?”

“Are you saying Dana is meeting someone?”

Han Ji-bin’s abrupt question was immediately understood by Eun Ba-da, who propped his chin on his hand and pondered deeply.

It was quite a difficult question.

“From what I see… maybe Eun-hyeol?”

“I’ve seen Dana meeting Do Ihyeon a few times.”

Unlike Eun Ba-da, who sided with his friend, Ji Gang-han quietly looked toward the spot where Ban Eun-hyeol had been, now empty.

“Hmm, it’s tough…”

Han Ji-bin ruffled his hair and frowned as if really troubled.

“Should we follow Eun-hyeol?!”

Then, as if he’d just had a good idea, Eun Ba-da winked and patted Ji Gang-han’s arm.

“We’ll figure it out soon.”

“Right, can you handle the vibe if we get caught?”

If Ban Eun-hyeol got caught because of Do Ihyeon’s mess…

“No, better not.”

Better to stay out of it.

Han Ji-bin looked out the window disappointed but soon gave up and sat back down on the sofa in the guild’s resting area.

***

“How did you even find this place?”

Do Ihyeon must have really gotten under his skin.

Even when I just met Do Ihyeon, Ban Eun-hyeol showed up looking for him like this.

Ban Eun-hyeol, blinking his eyes nervously at my question, gestured toward Do Ihyeon.

“Wherever he goes, photos end up circulating around 545. How could I not know?”

Both Angie and Do Ihyeon seemed unsettled, so I grabbed their wrists and decided to leave the crowded place.

There were simply too many people.

Until now, the relationship between Do Ihyeon and Ban Eun-hyeol hadn’t been this bad, but it seemed like things were getting worse.

We had tried to meet them separately to avoid clashes, but somehow they always ran into each other.

Despite my efforts, the two met more often than I expected.

Of course, it wasn’t every time—sometimes Ban Eun-hyeol showed up when Do Ihyeon was around, or vice versa—but whenever they did, the atmosphere instantly turned tense and grim.

And right now, even though this was a meeting for work, the two were still on edge.

“The Four Heavenly Kings are only four guild members. Shouldn’t they get fewer gate assignments?”

“What does that have to do with gate drops?”

“Last time, one of the Four Heavenly Kings took a gate drop. Now it’s our turn…”

“Turn? Haven’t you forgotten how many gates On Sae-mi Ro has taken recently?”

“Hey, guys…”

I was only following Yeon Ha-yeon.

But in the Hunter Association’s resting room, the talk somehow turned into an argument about gate drops between Do Ihyeon and Ban Eun-hyeol.

After a long meeting, the other adventurers, who had hoped to rest, stared at them wide-eyed in shock.

Feeling the weight of responsibility, James tried to intervene but failed.

Under the icy glares of Ban Eun-hyeol and Do Ihyeon, he fell silent and curled up quietly on a beanbag.

Seeing how small he looked next to them, no one dared to stop their fight.

“Hey, what’s wrong with those two?”

Eunhasu couldn’t contain his curiosity, poking my arm to ask quietly.

“Those guys have been like this lately. It’s so tense, you can’t do anything.”

Apparently, even when I wasn’t around, they constantly clashed like this, driving each other crazy.

I sighed and shook my head, meaning “I don’t know.”

“Cut it out already.”

Just then, Cha Hyeonseo spoke up.

Usually quiet and reserved, his words struck a chord.

“Even if you can’t get along, don’t fight.”

After saying that, Cha Hyeonseo pulled a cigarette pack from his pocket, then helped James up and walked outside.

“Ugh, what’s with this atmosphere?”

I thought it would be better not to keep Do Ihyeon and Ban Eun-hyeol together and quietly tried to slip out of the resting room.

“Where are you going?”

“Where do you think you’re going?”

The two spotted me immediately and asked in unison, so I flung open the door and fled.

“Ahhhh! I can’t breathe, I just can’t stand it!”

Then, I ran toward the bus stop faster than ever before.

***

[I’m going to transform first!]

[Don’t you know about seniority? Since I’m senior, I have to transform first in style.]

[Seniority? It’s all the same between masters and subordinates. What seniority are you talking about?]

[You’ve never experienced that dimension before, so of course, I win.]

Why were they fighting over something so trivial…

Lately, whenever Ban Eun-hyeol and Do Ihyeon met, they always bickered, draining all my energy.

Now Bishap and Red had joined the fight too.

“Why don’t you just transform at the same time?”

I stretched my short legs and stepped between them, trying to break up the fight as they tried to hit and scratch each other.

The reveal of the two commanders’ true forms was planned thoroughly by Yeon Ha-yeon and Yeon Hyeonggwang.

First, they had to transform simultaneously in a dungeon spacious enough to accommodate both.

Second, the monsters had to be stronger than dragons but not too weak, ensuring a challenging fight.

So, every time a gate drop was won, Yeon siblings and I scouted ahead.

“I told you it doesn’t have to be this elaborate.”

I suggested casually summoning them during battle would suffice, but the Yeon siblings insisted.

They seemed particularly eager about Bishap and Red’s true form reveal, unlike some who barely cared.

We busily prepared every day to coordinate with their plan.

Thanks to that, today’s reveal of their true forms was surprisingly calm.

However, our plan was about to be shattered by an unexpected event.

“Caw!”

“D-Dungeon Break…!”

“Don’t push!”

On the way to the gate, monsters that had hidden somewhere suddenly appeared one after another.

Because it happened in the densely populated Gangnam Hanbok district, the streets turned into complete chaos.

People stumbled and fell, groups got separated, others shoved and fought, all while monsters swooped down.

Not just walking or running—they were flying.

Monsters resembling pterosaurs flapped their threatening wings and soared above the crowd.

The Yeon siblings and guild members had already evacuated civilians and were raining attacks on the monsters.

“Bishap, Red!”

Without hesitation, I summoned Bishap and Red.

[Now?]

[Right now?]

The two dragons appeared simultaneously, eyes gleaming.

“Yeah.”

Seeing a monster snatch a fleeing man, I nodded sharply.

“Bishap, protect the civilians and take down the incoming monsters!”

I shouted, mounting Red’s back, drew my spear, and fixed my gaze on the monster holding the man.

The moment the monster flew toward Red, I threw the spear with all my might.

“Screee!”

The spear pierced the monster’s body at a diagonal angle.

At the same time, the monster wobbled, causing the man caught in its claws to slam hard onto the ground below.

“Ahhhh…ahhh…?”

The man, expecting to fall, closed his eyes tightly and screamed.

But then he opened them and looked around.

He glanced at Red’s broad back once, then at me standing atop it, and nervously turned his head to look down.

“Th-this is…”

“If you fall here, it’s instant death. Stay close.”

Though he probably guessed he was a corpse already, I warned him briefly just in case he might panic and struggle, risking a fall.

Clinging tightly to Red’s back, the man nodded.

“Red, let’s get down!”

I crouched to pull out the spear embedded in the falling monster, ready to leap up again at any moment.

“Ugh, ahhh!”

As Red descended rapidly at nearly a 70-degree angle, the man panicked and screamed.

I successfully retrieved the spear from the monster’s body, safely put the man down on the ground, and soared back up once more.