[Notice: The Two Guild Masters Are Meeting Tonight]

Jae-min marked a gate before dawn, then hid the proof in dyed cloth only the right hands could read. He worked as a gate weather analyst, but his real skill let three major guilds move before the gates opened, and none of them knew how much they owed him. That kept him valuable. It also kept him alone. His life had two sides, the clean public side of reports and meetings, and the private side where a brass token, a school shoe, and a candle sat where only he could reach them. When Kang Seung-hyun began watching him too closely, Jae-min had to balance pride, fear, and the old habit of caring for people who gave him nothing back. The first wild plum of the season stayed with him as a small pro...