To love and to Hate

12: A deal

Four days. For four days, Jisung practically lived in front of the bulletin board at the guild, and all that time, not a single job in Agrook showed up. Apparently the only one that did was snatched up by a mage that could fly, a mage that had only been a part of Goldenspire for eight months, a mage that wasn't banned. Jisung had to go home for the rest of the day after hearing about that. If that mage returned while he was around, he would probably disintegrate the little weasel on sight.

Seungmin was unsuccessful in convincing Ells to let Jisung leave, which wasn't a shock, but the healer mage gave Jisung a small amount of money from his last job to make up for it. The fire mage refused it, but it still appeared on his doorstep hours later. Forcefully taking care of someone was sort of Seungmin's style.

For the fifth day in a row, Jisung made his way to the guild, hauling the sack of vegetables Jeongin shoved into his arms on his way out of the city. The free food was appreciated, and he planned on cooking himself a nice meal with it before throwing himself off the tallest building if he didn't find a job today.

Ells was just inside the doors of the main hall, and he gave Jisung a cold, unimpressed once-over. "Can't find anything, so you've become a supply boy?"

Jisung dropped the sack of food directly on the Enforcer's foot, making him jolt back and yank his foot free with a hiss. "Oh, oops. I would apologize, but since you're the reason I haven't been working, I think I'll have to pass." He brushed past him, casually picking the food up again.

"Continue this behavior, Mage Jisung, and I will see to it that you are placed under a permanent ban."

"Try me," Jisung snarled without glancing back.

Ells huffed loudly.

Jisung calmly set the sack of food under one of the tables, and then hopelessly scanned over the job board. The closest job was a few towns over, but of course, that was out of bounds.

"There's nothing new since yesterday. Just so you know."

Jisung glanced over his shoulder and froze up a little when he saw the Cold Devils lounging at a table nearby, empty plates sitting between them. The taller one was leaning back in his seat, one leg propped up on the table. He was clearly the one that spoke, as he had a small smile on his face.

"I suppose you would know. You're banned too, right?"

"Yeah, but we're used to it." He threw back the rest of his drink and glanced at the other Cold Devil. "Felix even predicted this."

Felix shook his head. "I knew we would personally have a ban set on us, not everyone else."

Jisung was surprised by how deep his voice was, and he felt himself approaching the Cold Devils. "It seems you two didn't have the greatest welcome back."

The taller one, Hyunjin, shrugged. "What else would you expect? We weren't always widely admired before the Island."

Felix's gaze flickered over Jisung. "I've heard you're a fire mage. The only one in the surrounding areas."

"I am," Jisung confirmed, dropping into a seat across from them, "that's why Ells personally hates me."

"Eh, don't bother with him," Hyunjin said with a wave of his hand, "he's always been an ass. He was happy to lock us in irons when we were sentenced."

Jisung laughed slightly. "I'm sure he was very happy about your return. By the way, that's a hell of an achievement, escaping the Island."

"More like pure luck," Felix countered, turning back to a book Jisung hadn't noticed he had open on the table.