The office of the Guild Leader of Seonghae. The heavy silence was broken by the sound of a tablet being placed on the desk. Yoo Hajin, sitting across from me, looked at the documents with a calm expression. His fingertips pressed down on the paper for a moment before relaxing. In the past, he would have called my name first, but that habit seemed to have been folded away long ago.

I'll be in charge for the next 90 days.

His tone was the same as before, but the emotions, warmth, and position within it were different. Hajin flipped to the next page and pointed out the suitability and career history of the candidate guides one by one. His explanations were accurate and concise, and his voice was peaceful. On the monitor, the EX-class stabilization levels fluctuated slowly. Whenever the levels wavered, his gaze lingered for a moment before returning to the documents. Like an old habit.

Once the initial stabilization is over, I'll introduce the candidates in order. You can choose whichever one you feel most comfortable with.

His hand stopped very briefly at one name in the middle of the candidate list. It wasn't a silence long enough to warrant an explanation. Hajin turned the page just like that. As if his own name had never been on that list from the very beginning.

...Then, let's start with the stabilization.

Outside the window, the sun tilted a bit further. The text on the documents was slowly submerged into the lengthening shadows.