When Ian’s voice was heard, Vermouth’s shoulders, which had been emitting vicious bloodlust like a gatekeeper of hell just moments ago, flinched instantly.
“Who came? Why is it so noisy?”
Ian was rubbing his eyes and walking out toward the entrance. In a loose plain t-shirt with pillow marks on his cheek and messy bedhead. Unmistakably the appearance of an unemployed person who had slept in late.
But at just that one voice, Vermouth’s attitude changed in an instant. He withdrew the hand blade that had been aimed at Alexander’s Adam’s apple and turned to Ian with the gentlest face in the world.
“Ah, you’re awake. It’s nothing serious.”
“Really? But who’s that person?”
Ian pointed at Alexander, frozen beyond the open door gap. Vermouth dusted off the hand that had subdued Alexander while frowning as if filthy dirt had gotten on his hands.
“A peddler.”
“A peddler? But he’s a foreigner?”
“Yes. A vicious scammer who speaks Korean very well. It seemed like he came to force-sell useless items, so I was about to chase him out.”
While Vermouth answered Ian as gently as a spring breeze, he sent Alexander a gaze filled with intense bloodlust that said ‘if you open your mouth, I’ll behead you immediately.’
Alexander gaped with a face mixing injustice, anger, and the fear from the life-threatening situation he’d just experienced. For the great Empire Guild master, Alexander Gray, to not only be subdued by a mere bodyguard but treated as a peddler!
“H-hey! I’m not a peddler! I’m from Empire! Ack…!”
When Alexander couldn’t suppress his pride and tried to shout, Vermouth struck his solar plexus shortly and powerfully from a clever blind spot where Ian’s gaze couldn’t reach.
Though pure physical force without a shred of divine power, it was a perfect blow tempered through countless battlefields. Though not even a thud sounded, Alexander’s breath was cut off and his waist bent.
“See. He’s talkative and persistent. Ian-nim will be tired dealing with him, so don’t worry about it and go inside. I’ll handle cleaning this up neatly.”
“Hmm.”
Ian tilted his head. Somehow he felt like he’d seen such flashy blonde hair on the news once, but he didn’t want to rack his memory. Above all, he was mentally and physically tired from the commotion at the hospital yesterday. Annoyance beat curiosity. Since Vermouth said he’d handle it, there was no need to step forward.
“Really? Then send him back quickly and come in. I’m hungry.”
“Yes, I’ll come in soon.”
When Ian turned around indifferently, Vermouth slammed the front door shut without a shred of mercy.
Alexander, kicked out beyond the firmly closed iron door, trembled while leaning against the wall. His highest-quality custom suit was wrinkled, and because he’d been struck in the solar plexus, a metallic sound came with each breath. His white face turned red and blue with humiliation.
“That, that crazy bastard!”
How dare he turn away the American number one guild master at the door? While treating him as a peddler and striking him?
Alexander lost his reason and reached for the doorbell again. He intended to tear the door down by force and go in to rip apart the limbs of that arrogant gatekeeper. Just as he was about to draw up the vicious magic power of an S-rank again.
“Stop right there, Alexander Gray!”
As the elevator doors opened, a sharp shout rang loudly through the corridor. A man in a neat suit wearing irritable silver-rimmed glasses—it was Yoon Taegyeom of the Republic of Korea’s Awakener Management Bureau. He ran over with his necktie fluttering, catching his gasping breath while walking with a frightening air.
“What are you doing in someone else’s country!”
“Management Bureau? Hmph, move aside. I have business to discuss with the sai— no, the healer inside. I just came to make a legitimate scouting offer.”
Though Alexander arrogantly lifted his chin while restoring his crumpled pride, Yoon Taegyeom didn’t retreat an inch and blocked Alexander’s front.
“This is a clear rule violation! If an overseas guild official wants to contact a domestic S-rank awakener, they must go through official procedures and prior approval through the Management Bureau. Coming to a personal residence like this is a serious criminal act equivalent to illegal entry!”
“Rules? The path I walk is the rule. Do you think Korea’s mere Management Bureau can control me?”
“This isn’t America. If you don’t step back immediately, I’ll escalate this to a diplomatic issue right away. I have the authority to suspend all of Empire Guild’s business activities in Korea and deport you.”
Though Alexander normally wouldn’t have cared about Korea’s Management Bureau, he could only click his tongue at Yoon Taegyeom’s terribly firm attitude.
Inside the door, a monster of unknown identity who had overwhelmed him by force was standing firm. And outside, the Management Bureau was tightening the noose while citing legal procedures. If he caused more trouble here, there was a high risk of being permanently deported from Korea before properly facing the ‘saintess’ he so desired.
“…Fine. I’ll play along with your measly Korean-style rules.”
Alexander ground his teeth and turned around. His cold blue eyes glared at Yoon Taegyeom as if to pierce him.
“I’ll submit a formal visitation request by today, so hurry up and stamp your approval.”
Watching Alexander’s retreating figure leading his attendants and disappearing into the elevator, Yoon Taegyeom finally sighed and leaned his back against the cold corridor wall.
“Haah, I thought my lifespan was shortening. Choi Jaeheon, why did this crazy bastard have to turn off his phone today of all days and make people run in circles.”
Meanwhile, inside the house so peaceful one couldn’t imagine the commotion outside. Vermouth was humming as if he’d never emitted bloodlust, skillfully wielding a knife in the kitchen.
“Hey, you only have one arm, what are you trying to do? It’s dangerous.”
Ian got up from the sofa and approached while scolding. The left sleeve of Vermouth, who was concentrating on cooking, was empty and fluttering. It was the arm he’d lost protecting Ian.
“Don’t worry. Even with one arm, I can serve a feast a hundred times better than Earth’s weak cooks. I’ll perfectly match Saint-nim’s taste, so please sit.”
“Forget it, move aside. I’ll chop the onions.”
Ian lightly picked up the knife on the cutting board. Vermouth anxiously circled around Ian.
“Ian-nim! It’s dangerous. Haven’t you never cooked before!”
“What do you mean never? I’m pretty good at cooking too, you know? You’re noisy, so you set the dishes.”
Ian put down the knife and firmly grabbed Vermouth’s remaining wrist as he stubbornly resisted.
“I almost forgot. Come here.”
Vermouth tried to pull back in surprise, but Ian was faster in applying force to his grip and pulling him. Ian’s gaze turned below the skin of Vermouth’s wrist. Faint, darkish traces flowing along the thick blood vessels. It was wriggling inside the vessels like a living snake. As time passed without purification, it had spread to the other arm.
‘Still terrible.’
Vermouth hadn’t simply lost an arm. Poison still remained in his body, not completely detoxified. A deadly poison that would melt bone and flesh on contact for ordinary people or low-rank hunters, but Vermouth was enduring it by suppressing it with superhuman mental strength and aura beyond S-rank.
“Ian-nim.”
“Stay still.”
If Ian put his mind to it, he could regenerate the severed arm right away and purify in one go even the poison that had seeped to the bone. That was the true power of a ‘saint,’ after all. But he’d kissed in front of hyung, and he didn’t want to do something even more than that. So he’d left it alone, and now the suppressed poison was starting to wriggle again.
Ian grabbed Vermouth’s collar and pulled him to match their heights. Then he pressed his lips against him. He planned to quickly finish this while hyung was away.
“Let’s go to the room.”
At those words, Vermouth’s lips curved up.
“What about meal preparations?”
“Forget it. This is more urgent.”
Vermouth lifted Ian up and immediately headed to the room. And he laid him on the bed and climbed on top of him.
“How far will you permit?”
“Don’t ask things like that.”
Even at the curt voice, Vermouth smiled. He skillfully removed his top with one arm and bent down. Then he tried to remove Ian’s loose t-shirt, but that part was rejected.
“…Foreplay is fine.”
“But that side is more effective though.”
Ian pulled over the pillow beside him and hugged it tightly. At the clear refusal, Vermouth shrugged and lowered his body a bit more. Then he bent his head down.
