Ha-eun, wake up. Its time to go to the Association.

Ohjin, who had woken up at early dawn and finished his light training routine, woke Ha-eun up.

Uah. A little longer

Ha-eun pulled up the sheets and wriggled around.

Seriously youre not a child anymore.

Ohjin smiled and reached out his hand to her side. He was planning on waking her up by suddenly tickling her.

Ohjin~

However, that plan fell apart when she got up half-asleep with a dazed look.

Grab!

Huh?

Ha-eun grabbed Ohjins arm that was heading to her side and roughly pulled it in.

His body tilted helplessly as his face dug into her cleavage that was exposed due to the fact she was wearing light pajamas.

Ah, uhk!

Zzzzz Stay still.

Ha-eun pulled in the body of the struggling Ohjin with both arms and wrapped one of her slim legs around his hip.

She stuck to him like a cicada and pulled him into the blankets like an ant that was caught in an antlions pit.

Ehehe. Ohjin~ lets sleep together?

Ha-eun called out his name in a drowsy voice and increased the strength in her arms.

Argh

Ohjin, who had barely escaped from her cleavage, looked at Ha-eun, who was laid down on the bed with a dumbfounded expression.

Zzzzz

Ugh.

Ohjin was about to shake her awake but stayed still in silence once he looked at how Ha-eun had fallen back to sleep with cute snores.

Its a bit awkward to wake her up now.

I guess I have no choice.

Ohjin sighed and laid down next to Ha-eun with her arms still wrapped around him. He blatantly observed her sleeping face.

Long eyebrows. Small nose and pink lips. Red hair that flowed down her slim jawline.

Her breathtakingly beautiful looks that resembled a radiant ruby shone as usual.

Ha-eun.

His heart didnt beat like a youth who had met his first love.

The time he had spent together with her was too long for his heart to race from looking at her sleeping face.

Rather than nervousness or excitement

A serene happiness like calm pools of water after rain spreading out.

Hehe.

Like a ripple in the quiet and cozy atmosphere Ha-eun giggled openly with a stupid smile.

Was it because she was having a good dream?

Ohjin you shouldnt touch there

What kind of dream is she having?

That place is where things are supposed to come out, not go in

?

Ah, it wont go in any m

STOP!!!! STOP RIGHT THERE!!!

Kyaaaaaa!!! What the fuck!!!!!

Smash!!!

Ha-eun, who was drunk on sleep, suddenly opened her eyes and kicked Ohjin.

Bam! Boom! Bang!

Ohjin shot off like a cannon, smashed his head into the ceiling, and rolled around on the ground.

You surprised me!!!

I was even more surprised!!!

What kind of dreams is this woman having?

Ugh, my ears hurt.

My entire body hurts.

Ha-eun rubbed her ears and glared at Ohjin.

Seriously, you should have woken me up in a civilized manner.

I tried to.

Its just that your mouth wasnt civil.

So, whats the time?

Twenty-two past ten oclock.

Woah, when did that happen.

Tch I was having a good dream.

Dont imagine it.

You must not imagine it.

If thats a good dream.

Begone!!!!!!!!!

Ahhhhh!!! Why do you keep screaming!!!

That was dangerous. I nearly imagined it in detail inside my head.

Hurry up and go wash up, and also, get dressed.

Ugh. Okay.

Ha-eun sluggishly got up from bed and headed to the bathroom.

Phew.

[Hmm. Its noisy starting in the morning.]

Vega appeared from the necklace and naturally sat on top of his head.

Ha-eun wasnt getting out of bed.

[Tch, tch. What an undisciplined child. My proud child had already woken up at early dawn and finished his hard training.]

Vega patted his head while thinking it was strange, but thankfully, it seemed that she hadnt heard Ha-euns sleep talking.

[By the way, my child.]

Yeah?

[Just what is a place where things are supposed to come out and not go in?]

* * *

Mmh~! Its been a really long time since I came to the Association.

Ha-eun stretched after leaving the car and looked around the tall Association buildings that were lined up.

Hey, the buildings look pretty fresh, considering the fact they get looked down on here and there.

Its still the largest agency in regards to Awakeners in this country.

It was like how the police were looked down upon in the past. It didnt change the fact that they were an incredibly large-scale agency.

Hehe. I didnt ever think a day where I joined the Association would come.

Lets stop looking around and head inside.

Okay.

They both went into the staff-exclusive elevator and entered General Manager Hans office.

* * *

* * *

Click

Ah, you came together.

I wanted to see you since its been a while.

Hahaha. You wont get a bonus or anything like that, you know?

Unfortunate.

Hm first of all, here is the contract. Please read through it.

Alrighty.

Ha-eun received the contract and sat down on her seat.

She really doesnt know how to speak formally Well, I guess she does that to celestials, as well.

Still, as it could cause problems for one who belonged to the Association, he was planning to warn her later.

Even in a world where monsters ran wild, there were still people everywhere who would pick a fight over manners.

Lets see it isnt bad. The salary isnt high, but thats only a given since I dont go to work. Wait, what? Tax exemption??

Thats why I became the Associations dog.

Huh? Then am I their bitch?

Kyaha!! Im just kidding, man. Dont give me that serious look.

Please dont say those kinds of things, even as a joke.

Alright~

Hahaha! The two of you are really close. Its tough for a single man like me to watch.

General Manager Han laughed broadly and took a sip out of his coffee.

Once I find my partner, I hope that well give off as much of a friendly vibe as the two of you.

Hm. Looks like our general manager has a little bit of a misunderstanding.

Ha-eun and I arent a couple.

Pardon?

General Manager Hans eyes opened wide. His face expressed that he couldnt have imagined it.

Even Ha-eun, who was reading through the contract, suddenly flinched and looked at him with shaking eyes.

Uhm Then are you two perhaps already engaged?

Nope.

Then uh, siblings?

Thats not it either.

They were too affectionate to be called simple couples,

And cherished one another too much to be family.

They werent couples, siblings, or married.

He had never treated her as one of those predefined relationships that could disappear easily at any given time.

Then what kind of relationship are the two of you in?

Im not sure.

Ohjin had never thought deeply into it.

Being together with her just went without saying and was as natural as breathing.

He had never even thought about defining his relationship with her with a fixed term, but if he were to express his relationship with Ha-eun in words

Lets just say that were in a relationship where staying together goes without saying.

The two of them looked at Ohjin with embarrassed expressions.

Ha

General Manager Han chuckled and soon covered his face with his wide palm.

I didnt think you were the kind of person that would say such embarrassing words as its nothing.

He shook his head as if he couldnt listen any longer as he felt more second-hand embarrassment than the one who said it.

O-O-Ohjin, seriously, you!

Ha-eun covered her reddening cheeks and stepped on his foot.

There really is nothing you cant say!!

What its not like I said anything wrong.

Aah!! F-Forget about what he just said!! Okay?! Or else I wont sign the contract!!

Ha-eun pulled on her hair and unreasonably shouted at General Manager Han, who was sitting there doing nothing.

Hahahahaha!! It looks like I asked an inconsiderate question.

I I said forget about it!

Okay, okay. I understand.

Han Joonman smiled and nodded his head.

In any case, hows the internal situation within the Association recently?

Um.

General Manager Hans eyes slightly glanced past Ha-eun.

Its okay. You can talk about it.

Ohjin had already explained about Cheon Woosung and the internal factions within the Association to Ha-eun.

Hmm. First off, Cheon Woosung has been quiet lately.

General Manager Hans expression sank heavily.

So quiet to the point that its worrying.

It could have been because he didnt have the spare time to pay heed to the Association due to the incident with Isabella.

And if that wasnt it

He might be preparing something else.

Whatever it was, the fact that he couldnt be relaxed was the same.

Well the biggest thing hes done recently is expand the Unawakened Safety Management Center.

Unawakened Safety Management Center?

Its a center where they provide support and protect the unawakened who reside in areas susceptible to monsters. The board of directors do everything starting from planning, managing, and even operating the center.

Are they planning to copy what Isabella did in Italy? But considering that

Ohjin narrowed his eyes.

Are they not advertising? To be honest, I havent heard of it even once.

As far as I know, they arent going out of their way to advertise with the reasoning that its public welfare.

Just what are those bastards planning?

Well there isnt much we can say in regards to the center. Even if that Cheon Woosung bastard did all kinds of vicious deeds until now, not once has he laid his hands on the unawakened.

Im starting to get a rough idea.

The Black Star Organizations established plan was killing all Awakeners and turning all of the oppressed unawakened into apostles of the Black Stars.

Its only natural that theyre preparing measures to increase the quality of life for the unawakened.

Whatever their true goals were, as the goal on the surface was based on the sense of inferiority and hatred the unawakened felt towards the Awakeners, it was right to take care of them first.

The problem is what their true goals are

Ohjin narrowed his eyes.

Well, Ill find that out eventually.

The possibility was very slim, but

That nonsensical goal it might actually be their true goal.

He didnt have enough information to deduce the Black Star Organizations true goal yet.

Then well now take our leave.

Yes. Ill notify you when Cheon Woosung and his side make any other moves.

Okay.

He nodded his head and exited the office.

Hmm. So what kind of person is Cheon Woosung?

I dont know.

He seemed like an extremely twisted person based on what he had seen in the memories, but

Im not sure since Ive never met him in person.

It wasnt possible to grasp what kind of person Cheon Woosung was yet.

I should just focus on the quest for now.

When he got on the elevator while having those thoughts

Huh? You are Ohjin correct?

A youth with neat, sharply-measured business attire and a well-kept organized pomade hairstyle.

The tall, handsome man that gave off a likable impression walked out of the elevator.

Ive always wanted to meet you, but I didnt think itd happen like this.

With an innocent smile like that of a child, he extended his hand forward.

Nice to meet you. Im Cheon Woosung.