The battle was intense. Arrows flew from a distance and struck down the djinns, Chae Nayun swung her sword and dominated the ground, and Yoo Yeonha sent out her electric currents to fry the monsters hiding behind the foliage.
Yi Jiyoon and Rain broke through the encirclement and joined the two of them.
“Who’s shooting these arrows, vice guild master?” Yi Jiyoon asked with her back against Rain.
“I have no idea,” Yoo Yeonha replied.
Mana arrows were raining down from the sky. The number of arrows alone seemed like they were coming from a huge army.
In the end, the djinns seemed to have realized that they were at a disadvantage and retreated, but the numerous monsters remained and attacked the guild members.
“Hap!”
The battle didn’t last long after that. It was concluded in less than ten minutes thanks to the archer’s support fire coupled with Chae Nayun and Yoo Yeonha’s specialty when it came to facing numerous enemies.
“Hey, are you alright, Yeonha?”
“Yeah, I used up quite a bit of mana, but I’m alright…”
They were on the ground resting when they suddenly noticed someone’s presence from behind the bush.
Everyone looked towards the rustling bush. Yoo Yeonha, especially, gulped in nervousness as she wondered who would pop out from behind the bush… if it was that person.
Then, the person finally appeared. However, it was Jin Seyeon.
“Huh?! It’s the Divine Archer!”
“What?! Wow!”
Yi Jiyoon, Rain, and even Chae Nayun rushed up to her.
“… Huh?”
On the other hand, Yoo Yeonha continued looking over Jin Seyeon’s shoulders, but nobody came out after that no matter how much she looked.
Jin Seyeon approached and greeted her, “It’s nice to meet you, Vice Guild Master Yoo Yeonha.”
“… Ah, yes. It’s nice to meet you too,” Yoo Yeonha replied while shaking her hand, but her eyes were wandering all over the place.
Jin Seyeon smiled after seeing her and asked, “Are you perhaps looking for someone?”
“No… I’m not… I was just…”
At that moment, the ground suddenly crumbled.
Boooom!
The ground they were standing on caved in and darkness swallowed them before they could react.
Thud!
They were dropping underground, but something broke their fall. It felt like a rubber-like material was suspending them in mid-air.
It took Yoo Yeonha a moment to realize the situation they were in.
“W-What’s going on?”
She looked around, but all she could see was darkness.
“Is everyone alright?”
“Y-Yeah, I’m alright. That scared me. Why the hell did the ground cave in all of a sudden?” Chae Nayun grumbled.
After that, the other guild members made it known that they were alright.
“Are you alright—?!” Jin Seyeon asked from the surface.
As expected, she seemed to have dodged the moment the ground caved in.
“Yes, but…” Yoo Yeonha replied when she was suddenly interrupted by a loud sound.
Dudududu…!
A sudden sucking force appeared and the Essence of the Strait members were pulled up by something.
Yoo Yeonha had no idea what was pulling them up. First, she looked up to identify what was making that loud noise.
It was coming from the propeller blades of a helicopter.
“Why is a helicopter here…?” she questioned.
However, her question was soon shattered into a million other questions after she got into the helicopter.
“Are you alright?”
A calming voice asked her while pulling her up. She looked up and saw a familiar face smiling at her.
His arm was wrapped around her waist and connected to aether.
***
“Wow… Where are we?”
The Essence of the Strait members arrived somewhere in the Amazon on Kim Hajin’s helicopter after losing their fortress.
Yi Jiyoon was the first one to exclaim in awe after arriving.
The entire area was filled with various wooden sculptures and furniture such as beds and sofas. A pristine lake could also be seen behind the sculptures. The place looked like the Amazon version of Disney Land.
“I was just killing time and trying to increase my proficiency and ended up making all of these,” Kim Hajin answered.
“Proficiency?” Yi Jiyoon tilted her head in confusion.
Kim Hajin simply smiled in response.
He created this place to increase the level of his [Dexterity] gift. The place turned into this without him realizing it.
“Anyways, you have to be careful in the Amazon. There are a lot of djinns here and countless traps spread across it.”
“The ground caving in earlier was a trap as well?”
“That was probably magic. The djinns here have quite a few tricks up their sleeves.”
“Ah…”
Yoo Yeonha stole glances at Kim Hajin and Yi Jiyoon chatting. She practiced again and again under her breath on how to greet him.
‘How are you? How have you been? Why did you suddenly disappear?’
She had a lot of things she wanted to say, but couldn’t muster the courage to approach him first.
“Hey, aren’t you going?” Chae Nayun nudged and asked her.
Yoo Yeonha feigned ignorance and shrugged, “Go where? I’m a bit tired, so I’m going to go rest.”
“Really? Oh, well suit yourself,” Chae Nayun replied with a smirk and walked towards Kim Hajin.
Yoo Yeonha’s eyes shot wide open as she stared at Chae Nayun walking to him.
“Hey, Kim Hajin! Long time no see!”
“What long time? We just met last time, no?”
“Yeah, that’s why it’s been a long time. Hey, wanna see the swordsmanship I mastered? No, do you want to duel instead?”
“Not really…”
“Keke! Are you scared?”
“Yes.”
Chae Nayun happily chatted with Kim Hajin and Yoo Yeonha felt herself becoming smaller the more they smiled and laughed.
‘I’m not usually like this… I’m quite confident and outgoing, but… why is it only with him that I…’
“Hey, Yoo Yeonha.”
It was then that Kim Hajin called out to her.
Yoo Yeonha flinched and doubted her ears for a second, but Kim Hajin called out to her again.
“Can’t you hear me?”
She feigned ignorance and nonchalantly looked at him.
He smiled and asked, “If you’re looking for a ruin, then there’s one I found nearby. Do you want to go there?”
***
The next day, Yoo Yeonha arrived at a cave with the Essence of the Strait members.
The ruin entrance was decorated with statues and vegetation. The cave entrance itself resembled a snake opening its mouth, which gave it quite an eerie vibe.
“Indeed, it is a ruin,” Yi Jinah said as she grouped up with the main forces.
“Yes,” Yoo Yeonha nodded in response.
Essence of the Strait easily found the ruin in the Amazon thanks to the map that Kim Hajin drew.
“Wow… That Kim Hajin really is something. His map is super accurate. Have you ever thought of scouting him to our guild, vice guild master?” Yi Jiyoon asked.
Yoo Yeonha ignored her. She knew that Yi Jiyoon was aware of that incident and was probably doing this on purpose.
“Shall we go in?” Yi Jinah asked.
Yi Jiyoon replied with a hint of worry in her voice, “Isn’t it better if we go together…?”
“Go together with who?” Yoo Yeonha asked.
“Huh? Who else? I’m talking about Kim Hajin and the Divine Archer.”
“Are they our guild members?”
“No, but…”
“We will be burdening them far too much if we keep asking for help. Don’t you know that, Ms. Yi Jiyoon? I asked you a question. What’s wrong with you?”
“… I apologize,” Yi Jiyoon muttered with her head down.
“Hmph!” Yoo Yeonha scoffed and gripped her whip. Chae Nayun smirked after seeing her reaction.
“Get ready, everyone. We’re going in.”
***
Essence of the Strait successfully raided the ruin. They tried their best not to damage the ruin while excavating the artifacts hidden within it.
They managed to excavate hundreds of artifacts. That was an amazing result even though there were only a handful of ancient artifacts among them.
The results they gained were good enough to put an end to their first excursion.
“…”
However, the vice guild master wasn’t happy about the results. She sat on the ground and watched the flickering campfire.
The people around her were in a festive mood.
“I was really scared to death when that mole monster popped out from the ground!”
“Those are the easier ones to deal with. We’re fortunate there weren’t any riddles. I hate those the most. By the way, it seems that you grew stronger, Jiyoon?”
“Divine Archer! My name is Hazuki. There’s something I wanted to ask you…”
The smell of grilled meat, the scent of alcohol, and lively chattering filled the air. On the other hand, Yoo Yeonha was in a dilemma.
What was she supposed to do now?
“Haa…” she let out a sigh and made her decision.
She stood up and walked over to Kim Hajin. He was sitting on a chair and reading a book.
He lowered the book when a shadow loomed over him and looked up at her.
Her heart started beating wildly after meeting his eyes.
“How have you been…?” Yoo Yeonha asked as nonchalantly as possible.
It was a question that was long overdue.
Kim Hajin smiled and replied, “I’m good. What about you? You seemed to be doing well.”
“Yeah…”
“Come, sit here,” he pointed at a wooden chair beside him.
She sat without much thought, but the chair was extremely comfortable once she sat on it.
‘Is this what they call true comfort?’
Yoo Yeonha rubbed her butt on the chair.
“Do you like the bed?” Kim Hajin asked.
“…!”
Yoo Yeonha immediately looked around her surroundings. She was scared that someone might have overheard what he said.
Kim Hajin bitterly smiled at the fact that she was still the same.
“Yeah, I like it…” she replied under her breath.
Kim Hajin nodded before taking a sip of wine as Yoo Yeonha simply stared at him.
“Do you want some?” he asked and offered her a glass.
She took the glass and drank it.
“Ah… That’s strong…”
“A hero can’t get drunk if it’s not strong.”
“Yeah, I guess… Hey, you know…” Yoo Yeonha said while looking at Chae Nayun in the distance.
She was busy slicing up a steak. It seemed that she liked the steak as she stuffed her mouth until both of her cheeks were puffed like a squirrel.
“Why did you suddenly disappear without a word that time…?” Yoo Yeonha asked.
Kim Hajin didn’t reply to her question. Instead, he just continued staring into her eyes.
Then, he suddenly changed the topic, “Hey, doesn’t this remind you of the good old days?”
“Good old days…?” Yoo Yeonha frowned in response.
“Yeah, that time we first met after graduating from Cube.”
“…”
“You looked like a loser back then.”
“What did you just say…?” Yoo Yeonha’s eyebrows became sharp at those words.
‘Oh my god, me? A loser? Nobody’s ever said something like that to me! No, I wouldn’t have let them live another day if they dared say that to me!’
“You had no friends and you worked all the time. It was really bad that time. I suspected there was something wrong with your personality or something,” Kim Hajin said while snickering.
Yoo Yeonha could only sigh in disbelief at his words.
“Are you kidding me? I have a lot of friends,” she retorted.
“You think of them as your subordinates, not your friends.”
“No… I have friends too…”
“You were a loner, so you kept clinging to me. You kept getting mad if I disappeared.”
“I don’t remember anything like that.”
Kim Hajin brightly smiled.
Then, Yoo Yeonha suddenly thought of something after seeing him smile, ‘I… I missed this person…’
“You were cute back then.”
“…”
Her heart skipped a beat at those words. That made her involuntarily hold onto the hem of her clothes.
Kim Hajin didn’t miss that.
Both of them didn’t say much after that.
“Hey, Kim Hajin.”
An annoying voice suddenly destroyed the melancholic, yet sweet atmosphere.
Yoo Yeonha glared at where the voice came from. It was Chae Nayun.
“What?” Kim Hajin responded.
“Come here. There’s something strange about this.”
“What is it?”
Kim Hajin stood up and was about to go to Chae Nayun, but Yoo Yeonha grabbed the hem of his shirt.
“… Hmm?”
Kim Hajin tilted his head in confusion, but Yoo Yeonha didn’t say anything as she stared into the campfire. However, she soon let go.
She didn’t have the courage to want something more than this, not now.
“It’s nothing. Hurry up and go. Nayun is calling you.”
“Alright.”
Kim Hajin went to Chae Nayun.
Yoo Yeonha let out a sigh after seeing them disappear into the forest.
“Should I just go back to Korea…?” she muttered under her breath as she suddenly felt depressed.
‘Why am I such a frustrating person? No, I’m not. Who else is as smart as me? It’s all because of him. Yes, I become strange whenever he’s around me. I can’t stand how I act whenever I’m around him…’
But that was strange… It was really strange…
‘Am I being like this because I haven’t seen him for a long time? Or…’
Yoo Yeonha looked at Chae Nayun and Kim Hajin again.
Chae Nayun was holding a sealed artifact and saying something to him. He explained how she could unseal it.
It was then. Chae Nayun glanced at Yoo Yeonha and their eyes met.
Yoo Yeonha flinched and tried to look elsewhere, but she caught Chae Nayun flashing a smirk before looking away. It was a mischievous smile that seemed to openly taunt her.
“Why that little…”
Yoo Yeonha lost it for ten seconds. She realized later that she spent those ten seconds coming up with a plan on how to get Chae Nayun away from him.
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