A bar is naturally a noisy place… but the room they were in had gone beyond mere noise—it was complete chaos.
Feeling relieved after his conversation with Lee Taeseong, Doman paid no heed to the stares of others and enjoyed his own drinking time.
“Heh. I should try using the food spirits I acquired this time. Some of them looked quite cute…”
No one knew exactly what he meant by that.
At the far end of the room, Xiao Yun had placed a hand on Taesan’s shoulder and was acting like a complete know-it-all.
“Taesan, are you seriously leaving a drop behind in front of your senior? The so-called Blood Sea Fist Demon leaving a drink unfinished? Huh?”
“Senior… What do you mean? When have I ever left a drop behind? Look, see for yourself. Is there any alcohol left? I, Taesan the man, have never once in my life left a drink unfinished.”
Managers were fundamentally different from ordinary humans. To put it more extremely, it wouldn’t be wrong to say they were practically a different species.
Of course, their abilities varied greatly depending on their rank, but generally speaking, most managers possessed an absurd level of alcohol tolerance.
Of course, exceptions always existed. After all, these were beings who could manipulate invisible forces, wield spectral powers at will, materialize drawings, and use all sorts of bizarre abilities. The idea that they would have the same alcohol tolerance as regular humans would be absurd in itself.
“Hahaha! That’s the spirit! Here, have another! Drink up, drink up! Let’s see who the real champion drinker is tonight! Lee Taeseong! Stop standing there like a log and get over here! Taesan! What are your team members doing over there?”
“They’re probably acting that way because of what you said, senior. It seems my team members like manager Lee Taeseong even more than I expected.”
“Aren’t you disappointed? A talent like him is about to leave for another country. And honestly, even though we’re all part of the same organization, I doubt the Korean branch is happy about losing someone to the Japanese branch…”
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t.”
The sheer number of empty bottles stacked around the room spoke volumes. The table was filled with strong liquor over 40% alcohol, with some bottles even exceeding 60%.
At this point, some fools might argue that drinking pure ethanol would be more efficient, but the taste, aroma, and experience were entirely different matters.
Returning to the main point—while it was true that managers had superhuman alcohol tolerance, they were still human, and thus had limits.
Drinking this much high-proof alcohol for hours on end was more than enough to get them drunk. In fact, the bottles currently piled up had already been cleared away several times before.
And this was the result.
Yu Gi-jun, clinging to Lee Taeseong’s left arm using telekinesis, had tears and snot streaming down his face.
“You can’t leave, Captain! Please, don’t abandon us! After all we’ve been through to reunite… I can’t bear to part with you again!”
Anyone listening in would easily get the wrong idea.
But Yu Gi-jun wasn’t the only problem.
Oh Haeyoung, gripping Lee Taeseong’s left leg with all her might, was in an even worse state than Yu Gi-jun.
She looked like a tragic heroine in a romance drama.
“Taeseong! You’re not really leaving, are you? We… we were happy together! I know I lack in some areas compared to you, but we were all happy! I’ll do better! Please don’t abandon us! Huuuaaaang!”
Some of the Japanese managers had started glancing over. Initially too busy with their own chatter, they perked up at certain intriguing words.
“No way… No, that can’t be it. I must be misunderstanding something… right?”
“For just a misunderstanding, those two are reacting way too intensely. Anyone would think they just lost a parent.”
“Tsk, tsk. You guys are so narrow-minded. Isn’t it obvious? It’s a romantic relationship. As an expert in romance, I can guarantee that those three were in love. That’s why they’re reacting so dramatically.”
“So you’re saying there was a love triangle involving Manager Lee Taeseong? That means Yu Gi-jun and Oh Haeyoung were rivals in love?”
“No, no. You’re thinking too small. With that mindset, how can you survive as a manager?”
“Then…?”
“Manager Lee Taeseong was dating both of them. Love knows no barriers of gender or age.”
For the record, the Japanese manager who made this last remark had read over 500 romance novels but had never been in a relationship himself.
Watching the entire scene in silence, Taeseong muttered with an incredulous expression,
“Wait… I haven’t even said I’m leaving yet. Is this really necessary?”
He then shifted his gaze to Lee Eunha. Since he already knew Yu Gi-jun and Oh Haeyoung were unhinged, he turned to the most reasonable person among them for help.
“……”
Lee Eunha stared at him blankly. Her eyes were slightly unfocused, and the heavy scent of alcohol surrounded her—it was a different atmosphere from her usual self.
‘Wait… is she drunk?’
That was when Taesung realized his last hope had crumbled.
“Lee Tae Seongggggg!”
“D-Deputy Lee Eunha?”
Startled by her sudden loud cry, even Taeseong, who rarely showed emotion, was taken aback.
Hiccupping, Eunha staggered toward him.
“Hic.”
Seated in his chair, Taeseong was unable to move due to Yu Gi-jun and Oh Haeyoung clinging to him. Sure, he could easily fling them off into the wall if he wanted, but he didn’t want to ruin the mood on a rare enjoyable night.
“Hey.”
“…Yes?”
Seeing her half-lidded eyes, an ominous feeling crept up his spine. Before he realized it, she had approached right up to his face and grabbed his tie, pulling him forward.
“Do you have any idea how much I’ve cleaned up after you? And now you’re going to pretend you don’t know me and run off to Japan?”
“…I only said I received an offer. I never said I was going.”
Looking into Eunha’s dazed eyes, Taeseong felt unease creeping in.
‘Was she always this bad when drunk?’
They were extremely close. Even if she didn’t speak, the scent of alcohol mixed with her perfume was overwhelming.
If she got any closer, he’d be able to feel her breath.
“That’s the same thing! Who gets an offer from the branch director and turns it down?”
“……”
“Why do you think I’ve been putting up with all this crap in a foreign country? It was an investment, an investment! Lee Taeseong! You were different from the start! I knew if I held out, you’d make it big! You were the foundation of my stable future! And now what? You’re just going to Japan? Says who? Fucking hell. You’re kidding me, right? You’re not going anywhere. You hear me? You’re going nowhere!”
At that moment—
“Urp.”
In the middle of her passionate rant, Eunha suddenly gagged… and proceeded to throw up.
“……!”
Even before the vomit could scatter through the air, Taesung’s body moved instinctively.
With movement akin to a divine feat, he shot up from his seat and pressed himself against the wall.
“……”
“……”
The hall quickly fell silent.
Everyone was too shocked to speak.
But that silence didn’t last long.
As soon as Xiao Yun burst into laughter, Taesan, who was sitting beside him, followed suit, and soon, like a round of musical echoes, the other administrators also erupted in laughter.
“Puhahahaha!”
“Ahahahahaha!”
“Sis, look at that! There’s a noodle stuck in that girl’s hair!”
“Ito, I told you to be careful with your words. You know I have a weak stomach.”
The only ones who couldn’t laugh were the two administrators drenched in vomit—Oh Haeyoung and Yu Gi-jun.
They had fought through countless battlefields together, and now, they were covered in vomit together, staring at each other.
A bond forged through shared suffering.
Tears welled up in their eyes.
Real tears.
“…Gi,Gi-jun-ssi.”
“…Hae, Haeyoung-ssi.”
Without a word, the two embraced each other at the same time.
Their hair and clothes were already drenched in the half-digested contents of Lee Eunha’s stomach, so there was no point in worrying about who had it worse.
As they sobbed in each other’s arms, the administrators chattered and laughed around them.
A party should have moments like this, they said.
Fuelled by excitement, Xiao Yun climbed onto the table and started dancing.
He had long since thrown away the dignity of a Beta-ranked administrator; tonight, he was simply enjoying himself to the fullest.
Lee Eunha, who had finally come to her senses, frantically apologized to the two sobbing administrators before dragging them out of the bar to clean up.
Meanwhile, Sooah, who had been hesitant and reserved at first, seemed to have adapted as she now chatted and laughed with the Japanese administrators.
Taeseong let out a sigh and looked around from his seat at the far end of the table.
“Hoo.”
At first, these people had regarded each other with deep hostility, ready to tear one another apart.
But now, they sat together, engaged in cheerful conversation.
This was the kind of camaraderie that could only form between those who had shared life-and-death battles.
It was a chaotic mess, but Taeseong didn’t dislike this kind of atmosphere.
No matter how powerful a person was, no one could keep running forever.
Rest wasn’t an option—it was a necessity.
The drinking continued deep into the night.
After sending Sooah home first, Taeseong drank until dawn before finally returning to the dormitory.
The bed he hadn’t slept in for a long time felt unbelievably comfortable.
There was no end in sight.
Why was this damned continent so vast?
How many fragments of souls were there to collect?
He had no idea how many people he had killed.
He had no idea how long it had been since he arrived here.
He had no idea why he was even doing this anymore.
500 years.
At some point, he stopped counting.
The only thing left in his mind was an intense desire for ‘return.’
Even if he forgot everything else, he forced himself to remember his name and the fact that he had to go back.
Name: Lee Taeseong.
Born in South Korea.
This was another world.
He had a family to return to.
He had a home to return to.
This was not his world.
“…Long ago, my master told me a legend of a demon in the distant west that devoured humans.”
“A demon, huh… Well, it’s not entirely wrong.”
“And now, you set your sights on this land? Demon King.”
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