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This joint dungeon raid between Chungram and No Name wrote a new part of hunter history.

It’s typically faster for Joo Yiwon to go in by himself than it is for a full team to go in and finish a dungeon raid. There’s a reason there hasn’t been another SS-rank hunter since Joo Yiwon. Thanks to this, no other raid team has ever beat Joo Yiwon’s solo raid record before.

Breaking Joo Yiwon’s record–a feat that had been considered impossible–was accomplished by this raid team. 

They broke Joo Yiwon’s official record of 47 hours and 52 minutes, setting a new record of 46 hours and 32 minutes. Though it’s only an hour’s difference, considering no other team has ever come even close to beating Joo Yiwon’s record before, this is a significant achievement. 

No one could deny that this was all thanks to No Name Guild’s cooperation–in other words, Shin Jiho. 

Still, there were a few of Shin Jiho’s more nasty antis sneaking in. These people stubbornly spread rumors like, “Chungram paved the way,” or, “Chungram could’ve done it before, they’re just trying to make Shin Jiho look good now.”

However, for the netizens whose sense of national pride had ballooned thanks to the fact that two big-shots are from their country, there’s no way they would leave those antis alone.

The small minority that tried to muddy the waters and turn the tide were met with an angry wave forcing them to either run away or delete their posts.

Even news agencies, which were busy attacking Shin Jiho just one year ago, reflected this change in public opinion, publishing articles with grand headlines.

[Will we go from a ‘Country with Joo Yiwon’ to a ‘Country with Shin Jiho’?]

[S-rank hunter Shin Jiho not inferior to an SS-rank hunter]

[Kwak Sang Hoon’s Hunter News: The wider the dungeon, the more advantageous a buff skill is]

[“I broke the record” Shin Jiho’s dazzling grin]

[“Move aside, Joo Yiwon!” is what Hunter Shin Jiho makes us think]

[Chungram stocks skyrocket… the economic prowess of the youngest]

[“My ideal type is Shin Jiho” Idol Mocha’s surprise confession]

Everyone was desperate to use Shin Jiho’s name in order to gain more traction. Although Jiho was embarrassed to see his name plastered on everything, it’s better than when he used to be called the icon of corruption.

Actually, there’s even better news.

No Name Guild has finally advanced to an A-rank guild.

Though this truly is a joyous occasion, there’s no time to celebrate. A-rank guilds have a lot more responsibilities than B-rank guilds.

Thanks to that, Jiho has no time to rest these days. At least Jang Hyo Joo set the foundation for the guild and recruited more members; if she hadn’t been recruited to No name, Jiho would’ve had no choice but to reach out to Chungram for help.

While Jiho takes care of the documents that require the guildmaster’s signature, he’s also getting ready for the next S-rank dungeon raid.

Since this next raid is different from their last raid–which had been casually scheduled–it’s inevitable that Jiho’s attitude going in is different as well. That’s because the guild that requested No Name’s assistance this time is not Chungram, who set the stage for Jiho, but Heaven Guild.

Chungram and Heaven are on bad terms with each other. Naturally, Jiho, as someone related to Chungram, isn’t well-liked by Heaven Guild either.

The reason Heaven Guild requested No Name’s assistance despite this fact is probably to assess Shin Jiho’s abilities themselves.

While Jiho isn’t planning to display his full strength, he’s not planning to look weak either. Jiho diligently memorized and researched the dungeon that they would be entering.

And the person most dissatisfied with Jiho’s busy schedule is none other than the one who’s supposed to be even busier than Jiho is, Jiho’s roommate Joo Yiwon.

Yiwon, who, for the first time in a couple of days, had about 20 hours off, came out to the living room Jiho was working in and attached himself to Jiho, whining.

Losing patience, Jiho indiscriminately shoved at Yiwon’s thighs and hips with his bare feet. Yiwon ran away in a flurry at Jiho’s actions, as if he had actually been hurt. Then, he curled his body into a ball and sniffled, pretending to weep.

“Honey is too focused on work.”

“If you’re aware of that, stop bothering me.”

“It’s the weekend today, you know?”

“Hunters don’t have weekends.”

“You don’t even go to work today….”

“When the water’s coming in, row. Should I rest just because it’s a day off?”

“Let’s play.”

“No.”

“Is it work or me?”

“Work.”

“Honey, you’re too cruel. I’m hurt….”

Jiho glanced at Yiwon, who was being overly dramatic. Like Yiwon said, since his and Jiho’s off-day overlapped today, it’d be nice to take a break together.

But there’s too many things of concern surrounding Yiwon for Jiho to act comfortably around him yet.

As soon as Jiho finished raiding Ui-Wang Dungeon #6, he called Park Geon Ho and told him to start investigating Na So Jeong. While there’s been no movements as of yet because she’s off work, something’s bound to come out soon.

Once he receives the results of the investigation, the question of whether Yiwon has any connection to Ipeulis will gradually be answered. What Yiwon is thinking, as well as what he’s doing behind Jiho’s back.

Jiho came to the conclusion that all of this has to be checked before he’s able to treat Yiwon like he did before.

“Honey.”

Yiwon got on his knees and waddled up to Jiho. He set his head on top of Jiho’s knees. Though Jiho always experiences a strange sense of pleasure whenever Yiwon’s obediently kneeling down and looking up at him, today, all Yiwon looks like is a suspicious bastard trying to play tricks.

“You’re making a scary face.”

“I am?”

Jiho casually shrugged as if he wasn’t aware and set the documents down on top of Yiwon’s head.

Hidden under the documents, Joo Yiwon’s eyes glinted dangerously. Just as violently as that night he was in pain and attacked Jiho.

“If you were good, I wouldn’t be having to make such a scary face.”

Jiho said indifferently as he moved the documents that covered Yiwon away. When Yiwon’s black eyes were revealed, they weren’t the ones of a dangerous predator, but had rather returned to those of a warm friend.

“Eung~ then there’s no problem. I’m always good to my Honey.”

“…”

This lying conman.

Jiho pushed away the annoyingly handsome face with his hand and returned to the documents. But because the guy next to him kept distracting him, Jiho couldn’t focus.

Just when he was thinking about returning to his room, Jiho’s terminal rang.

What popped up on his terminal was a message from Kyung Hyun.

The last time they messaged each other was three days ago, right after the dungeon raid. Kyung Hyun had congratulated him and, since they talk often, Jiho had sent an appropriate response back as well.

Kyung Hyun

Hey Jiho
	Yeah
Have you had lunch yet?
	No not yet
Heh make sure to eat
It’s nothing I just wanted to make sure you didn’t forget our dinner plans tonight
	Why would I forget that?
	Of course I remember
Yeah
It’s just that you’re so busy these days
I thought you might not be able to make it
	It’s been a while of course I should go
	Joo Yiwon said he’ll go too
This is the first time in a really long time that everyone will be seeing Yiwon
	This time
	I’m going to make sure Joo Yiwon doesn’t cause any trouble
Everyone already knows what Joo Yiwon is like LOL

Jiho was going to text that Joo Yiwon isn’t that bad of a guy, but, feeling a strange gaze on himself, Jiho turned around. At some point, Yiwon had come to stare straight at Jiho’s screen. Jiho reflexively covered his screen even though he had nothing to hide. 

“Why are you hiding?”

“Why are you looking?”

“You’re talking to someone else in front of me.”

“Then should I do it in hiding?”

Seeing the conversation head in a direction less advantageous for himself, Joo Yiwon stopped answering. This childish bastard.

“Do you guys talk to each other often?”

“Why are you asking so many questions?”

Suddenly, Yiwon snatched Jiho’s terminal away. It all happened in an instant. Shocked, Jiho tried to snatch it back, but Yiwon was unfair, and he used a defense skill in order to read through Jiho’s messages with Kyung Hyun.

“You guys text each other two or three times a week.”

“What are you doing right now?”

“You guys talk about all sorts of things. Why did he ask what you ate for lunch?”

“What’s the problem with a question like that? Hey, give it back!”

Thanks to Jiho’s urging, Yiwon finally handed the terminal back. Though he’s already seen everything he needs to see.

Even though Jiho was the one who should’ve been angry in this situation, for some reason, Yiwon looked angry.

“Text me often too. More often than this.”

“We call all the time….”

Dumbfounded, Jiho’s jaw dropped. Is this really something someone whose name makes up half of his call record should be saying right now? Jiho’s pretty sure he calls Yiwon more than he calls his parents.

“But you don’t send me as many texts as this.”

“That’s because you’re in dungeons over half of the week. I still answer you regularly.”

“Text me every day, even when I’m in a dungeon.”

“Ha. Why should I? Are you trying to give me more work to do?”

“Text me. If it isn’t from you, the only texts I get are work-related or spam.”

“…”

Is that something he should be sounding so proud about?

First, Jiho used the excuse that he was going to eat now to end the conversation with Kyung Hyun. Then, Jiho looked at Yiwon, who was still shamelessly stuck to his side, and sighed. Jiho might’ve lost a lot of friends too, but Joo Yiwon is… truly hopeless.

“Fine. Whatever. Let’s go grab a bite to eat and kill some time before we have to go.”

“Alright.”

Deciding to think that he was saving a pitiful soul, Jiho gave up on trying to finish his work today. Yiwon, who got what he wanted in the end, finally looked satisfied.

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Shin Woo Jin is in a rather good mood today. 

That’s because it’s been a very long while since he’s last seen Shin Jiho.

Kyung Hyun and Min Jae, who were sitting next to him, as well as Dong Hyuk were also excited. In particular, Kim Min Jae, who tends to be on the noisy side, was rambling about the things he’s seen on internet community sites on Jiho recently with a wide grin on his face.

That it’s funny Jiho’s become like a hero, that it’s funny but he’s glad, that he hopes everything goes well for Jiho now, but that he hopes Jiho isn’t overworking himself.

Since Kyung Hyun works for the Hunter Association, he helped separate the truth from the rumors and supplied more details. Even Dong Hyuk, who’s usually more reserved, responded readily. Although their conversation was centered around Jiho, the conversation didn’t end. 

Woo Jin jumped in every once in a while, but he was feeling pretty nostalgic.

Though everyone considers Jiho a special friend, Shin Jiho is a little more special to Shin Woo Jin.

That’s because Shin Jiho was Woo Jin’s first love.

Woo Jin’s first image of Shin Jiho was clean. Not only was Shin Jiho’s skin fair, but something about his aura felt uniquely white and pure. Like freshly-laid snow that has yet to be stepped on.

While the other boys their age acted like monkeys, Shin Jiho was somewhat mysterious, as if he had popped straight out of a manga. His frail body, as well as the rumors of his status as the youngest son of a chaebol family all strangely suited Jiho.

From as far back as Shin Woo Jin can remember, Shin Jiho was popular. And although they hadn’t met in preschool, there’s no doubt that Jiho was popular then too.

Jiho’s gentle personality that shows he grew up receiving lots of love, his good grades, his friendly personality, and his pretty looks all made it hard to hate this young boy. Not only their classmates, but even their teachers liked Jiho. 

There were tons of people who confessed to Jiho after their affections surpassed mere friendship. Of course, every single one of them had been rejected.

Woo Jin realized that he liked boys thanks to Shin Jiho. And as soon as he understood his feelings, Shin Woo Jin was rejected before he could even confess. Because the result was obvious.

‘Sorry. I’m not thinking about dating anyone. Let’s stay friends.’

Jiho’s rejection was famous for being consistent. If the person continues to cling to him from there, Jiho starts a tirade unusual for his age: that students should be studying and that it’s not too late to start dating when they’re older.

Being able to picture Jiho rejecting him, Woo Jin couldn’t bring himself to confess.

Plus, even before Woo Jin realized his feelings for Jiho, Yiwon was relentless in claiming ownership over Jiho. Joo Yiwon said all sorts of things; saying that they should date, calling Jiho “Honey,” asking when they should get married, suggesting that they travel all around the world for the honeymoon.

Everyone thought that Yiwon was playing around. However, as Jiho’s friend and as someone who observed Jiho closely on account of him being his first love, it was clear to Woo Jin. Jiho also likes Yiwon quite a bit.

If Shin Jiho really were to start dating anyone, wouldn’t that be Joo Yiwon?

After all, there’s no way Joo Yiwon would let anyone else get close to Jiho.

As they talked, time drew closer. When the minute hand reached the 11, the door opened and the people they had been waiting for entered.

The two quietly closed the door and pulled off the rings on their hands. It must’ve been an item that stopped them from being recognized, as their slightly hazy appearance came into focus.

It was like a world full of fog had suddenly cleared.

Shin Jiho is still pretty. Though his features are more mature than they were in his tender junior high days, his delicate looks which still fit “pretty” over “good-looking” have become even more beautiful. Because Shin Jiho is often expressionless in front of the news, he tends to come off as sensitive. However, in front of his friends, Shin Jiho’s warm and gentle personality is perfectly portrayed.

Jiho’s well-defined, elegant hands slipped the ring into his pocket, then reached up to take off his tightly-worn hat and lightly ruffle his hair. Jiho’s hair, which had lightened slightly after awakening, fluttered, and whenever Woo Jin saw Jiho’s eyes peek under his hair, his heart thumped.

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LaZ Bird Corner

Jiho has such good friends ( ;´ – `;).

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