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It was a relatively normal day at the hangover soup restaurant.
Well, relatively normal according to the new normal for this past week wherein Lee Sa-young had suddenly decided to be a good person and sit in the corner instead of the very center of the restaurant where no one wanted a guy who breathed poison and wherein the part-timer had suddenly became a lot more tolerant of the S-grade hunter still sort of obstructing his business with his mere presence.
But no one could force the scary Pado Guild Leader out and the part-timer said nothing so they left it at that.
Thanks to the good hearty combination of the best hangover soup in the world and many soju bottles, it was relatively easy to return back to having warm conversations with friends and acquaintances over the table and to forget that the Pado Guild Leader existed...
Until one day, suddenly, they heard an uncharacteristically loud shout from the normally calm and expressionless part-timer.
"I didn't raise you like this!"
Ah, uh huh, the part-timer didn't raise someone like something, Team Leader Han absently thought mid-conversation, before he freezes when he registers the words and realizes who the part-timer is talking to.
The entire hangover soup restaurant freezes and then turns to look over at the table in the corner.
What.
Even Honeybee is silenced, her eyes wide as she takes in the part-timer yelling at Lee Sa-young.
And what did he just say?!
He didn't raise who like this?!
Was this some sort of new insult? Was the part-timer so daring to be yelling at Lee Sa-young? Did the part-timer really say that to Lee Sa-young?
And was Lee Sa-young really not as pissed as they all thought he would be?!
Like his brows still furrowed in annoyance, but that was a lot milder than the entire restaurant melting from his poison.
Lee Sa-young frowned as he snapped back. "You didn't raise me in anything."
The part-timer gasped and leaned closer into I-can-breathe-out-poison man's face.
"How can you say that?! I totally did raise you! I still remember when you were this small!" The part-timer said as his hands measured out a toddler size in the air.
Lee Sa-young finally looked a lot more irritated, though still nowhere close to how they thought he would be for this conversation.
"I was 16. I was not that small."
Honeybee and many other hunters' jaws dropped even more. Wait! So did that mean the part-timer did raise him?! That they did know each other before?! 16-
Some people rapidly did the mental math and wasn't that before Lee Sa-young even Awakened?!
"Did they know each other?" Kang Ji-soo, who had just given in and tagged along for a day (a day which she was currently not regretting), whispered to her Vice Guild Leader.
Bae Won-woo's eyes were wide. Extremely wide as he dropped his spoon in his hangover soup and, despite the blasphemy of doing so, forgot about it.
"N-no! Well, I don't think so- but this couldn't be possible- how? I mean Guild Leader didn't have anyone back then, but he doesn't look like he's lying - what-"
Bae Won-woo looked like he was facing a blue screen of death and having a mental breakdown at the same time as he rapidly tried thinking of how all of this could make sense.
Either not noticing them or completely ignoring them, the two main focuses of attention in the restaurant continued their conversation.
"That was small to me!" The part-timer yelled, looking hysteric as he held his head. "You were so cute back then. How did you become like this?!"
"I was never cute." Lee Sa-young glared.
"Is this the result of bad parenting?!"
"You have never raised me." Lee Sa-young repeated, looking exasperated and highly done with the part-timer. For a long moment, he looked like he wanted to throttle the part-timer or leave the restaurant.
The long moment never ended as the part-timer's hysterics continued.
"Is it your rebellious age?!"
Lee Sa-young groaned, holding his head like he had a headache for a moment.
"What is wrong with you? Why are you suddenly like this?" Lee Sa-young finally demanded after a long moment of breathing to calm himself down.
"Nothing's wrong with me!" The part-timer denied, still looking hysterical. "It's just- You were so cute back then! And then- and then you turned out like this! Is this my fault?! They say neglect can be very damaging to children-"
"I was not cute or a child." Lee Sa-young repeated empathetically, "And you didn't raise me."
"So it was neglect-"
"How can it be neglect if you're not my parent?! Hyung, calm down. Why are you like this?! Breathe."
The part-timer forced himself to at the suggestion and while he still looked a little like he was in a panic attack or meltdown, he ordered.
"Eat your green onions."
Lee Sa-young pinched the bridge of his nose, looking like he needed to breathe to calm down too.
"If I eat the damn green onions, would you calm down until you close shop and we talk about this privately?"
All of the hangover soup restaurant regulars wanted to demand-plead-cry to keep this conversation public and let them listen. You couldn't just start juicy mind-blowing gossip and throw shocking information here and there and just shut up at the good part!! They wanted to know everything! Were so curious!! What happened and how did they know each other?!
But no one, not even Honeybee, dared to vocalize any of their intense curiosity at Lee Sa-young's momentary burning glare towards their direction, his hands a vivid purple with threats of releasing poison into all of their lungs and hangover soup.
The part-timer thought about it before nodding smally.
Lee Sa-young ate his green onions and glared, crossing his arms and his legs. "Alright, there. Now fulfill your end of the deal and we can talk later."
"Okay."
Talk now!! All of them wanted to scream. Did he really raise you?!