Chapter 18

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud.

How long had I been running?

Hoo… hoo… hoo…

I exhaled roughly.

I had just been near Gangnam Station, but by the time I regained my senses, I was at Apgujeong Station.

I ran frantically with a very embarrassed expression.

There was no way I could stay in that place any longer.

“Is that… Lee Sooah?”

“Huh? Lee Sooah? Where?”

“What’s up? Why is she in such a hurry?”

“Is it really Lee Sooah?”

Amidst my desperate run, I heard people around me recognizing and calling out to me.

On a normal day, I would have paid attention, but today, that was impossible.

I was definitely someone who managed myself meticulously.

I would never act so recklessly.

My image was tied to the guild’s image.

The Blue Guild was one of the top five in the country.

I couldn’t afford to act rashly.

But today, just today…

“Hah… what… what’s going on…?”

The events from just a moment ago left me completely disoriented.

It felt like I had been given some strange drug.

I couldn’t regain my composure.

It felt like being hit in the head with a hammer.

I couldn’t think or make judgments properly.

“Ah… no… what on earth have I done…?”

It felt as if my body was moving of its own accord.

Like some marionette being controlled by strings connected to my arms and legs.

“Soo… Sooah… Lee Sooah. Get a grip. Why are you acting like this…?”

“But… I just can’t contain it… this strange… pull…”

“I felt like I had to do it!!!”

As I exhaled heavily, I was lost in thought.

Having blitzed from Gangnam Station to Apgujeong Station, recovery would take a long time.

I never wanted to recall the situation from just moments ago.

I wished to forget it in a state akin to amnesia…

“No… that wasn’t me. But the result was even worse.”

It had been a series of very impulsive actions.

Yet the outcome was embarrassing enough to make me want to scream.

“Uh… let’s go home together.”

“Oh, but I have prior plans?”

“Aaaaah!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Without realizing it, Lee Sooah screamed right in the middle of Apgujeong.

She felt so embarrassed.

“What’s going on? Is that Lee Sooah?”
“Yeah. Right…? What’s up with her? Is she sick?”
“I heard those S-Rank people get all sorts of illnesses. Could it be that?”
“Oh, that’s too bad… She is a hero, but she really has it tough…”
“Should we report this? It seems like she needs to go to the hospital…”

The people around were looking at Lee Sooah with very worried expressions.

Anyone screaming in the middle of the street would generally be viewed negatively, but it was Lee Sooah in this case.

It felt like everyone understood to some extent the hardships and struggles of being an S-Rank Hunter.

Some were watching her with pitying looks.

“It seems like dungeon raids have been pretty tough lately…”
“Well, if she’s S-Rank, she must be tackling only the really tough dungeons. It must be exhausting.”
“Just how hard must it be for her to act like that…”
“Seems like the dungeon they raided today was extremely difficult…”
“Look at her face… so red…”

Lee Sooah didn’t have the capacity to care about the people watching her from afar.

Right now, she was too busy trying to mentally cope with her embarrassed outburst.

“No… Hey. Lee Sooah… why did you do that…? Why did you invite someone you just met two days ago to walk home with you?”

Even when she tried to think it through slowly, she couldn’t understand her own actions.

[ I don’t even know myself~ ]

The lyrics came to mind.

“Besides, the other party is an E-Rank Hunter. The lowest tier in our team. As the leader of Team A, you need to lead and manage your team members well. What were you thinking…?”

She couldn’t forgive herself.

She had done something utterly nonsensical.

In her whole life, she had never acted like this before.

No, she had never even thought of or imagined doing something like this.

For some reason, despite having unfinished business that needed to be dealt with today, she simply left work without a second thought.

From that very action alone, she couldn’t forgive herself.

A completely irresponsible and nonsensical impulse.

And yet, it was to the rookie who had just joined the team…

“Why did you do that?!!!”

She thumped her head with her fist and shook it left and right vigorously.

Trying to shake off her thoughts.

But it was difficult.

She felt overwhelmingly embarrassed.

The embarrassment was just too much to bear.

She thought even Baek Jihoon’s response was ridiculous.

“Hyungseok and his prior engagement…”

It seemed like he had absolutely no interest in me…

Or rather, it felt like there wasn’t even a hint of affection.

His response was completely cold.

In fact, it even felt like he was angry about something.

“Is he… mad at me? Did I call him too much today…?”

I felt as if I were staring at a stone.

“No, does he… not care about me at all…?”

“Or was there something urgent…?”

“What could be so urgent? What’s the hurry about drinking with Hyungseok?”

Lee Sooah was completely shocked, left in a state of disbelief.

This was the first time she’d ever experienced such a reaction in her life.

She had never faced anything like it, not even once.

“Could you bring this for me?”

“When are we doing this?”

“I’m asking you to do this.”

“Let’s go here.”

“Would you like to do this with me?”

“I think this would be better.”

For over twenty years of her life, she had always been in the super, super, super top position.

It was because of her stunning beauty.

On top of that, her abilities were exceptional too.

No matter what Lee Sooah said, people always nodded and listened with endorsement.

As if they were entranced.

She had never been turned down even once.

Her beauty was flawless.

Of course, Lee Sooah had never exploited that.

She had always proposed things she believed were beneficial.

There shouldn’t have been any problems.

However…

Today, for the first time in her life, she was met with a complete lack of concern and a rejection.

“Prior engagement…? With Hyungseok…?”

“Why… um… how…? That can’t be…?”

Lee Sooah’s mind was in complete disarray.

She had never flaunted her looks or her S-Rank status.

Yet, it was always so incredibly obvious that everyone liked her.

This was clearly a bizarre situation.

It wasn’t just one or two oddities; it was a total catastrophe.

While her own state was peculiar, the shock of rejection was overwhelming.

She was growing increasingly dazed.

It made her feel so dizzy that she had to hold her head and shake it.

“Ah… Lee Sooah… how did it come to this…?”

Ever since Baek Jihoon the Hunter joined the guild, she felt like strange things had been happening all around.

“No, what I don’t understand is… why did he reject me…? Why…?”

She hadn’t been flaunting her pride, but it was clear her appearance was striking.
Even the physical aspect.

I had to endure frequent sexual harassment in various communities, where they called me “Sooah’s Boobs.”

But then came the shocking rejection.

“Alright. Lee Sooah. Let’s think this through calmly.”

Lee Sooah plopped down onto a chair on the street.

She felt like she couldn’t do anything in this state.

“So, besides my actions, I need to figure out why Baek Jihoon Hunter acted that way.”

“Surely… he mentioned having a prior engagement with Hyungseok.”

“Yeah, that could be it. He must have wanted to leave work with Hyungseok. It seems like they were planning to leave together.”

“And we did meet in our guild’s lobby…”

Lee Sooah nodded as she thought it through step by step.

She understood this much.

“But… why? Did he reject my proposal?”

“Well, I mean, he doesn’t have to accept my proposal. Who am I, Lee Sooah? Just because I suggest something, do all the men have to comply? That’s not how it works, right?”

She tried to think coldly and rationally.

She didn’t see herself as a woman who acted foolishly with ridiculous confidence.

“But wait. Has there ever been a man in my life who rejected me?”

Every man had always glanced at her chest and quickly accepted whenever she made a suggestion.

“But… Baek Jihoon Hunter… didn’t even budge…”

“It seems like he had not the slightest bit of interest in me…”

“Could it be…? Was I too out of his league…?”

She thought about whether her high social status might have been the problem.

She vaguely recalled reading similar content in a newspaper article.

[Men tend to avoid women who are too successful or higher than them…]

[As a result, women who were obsessed with social success end up being avoided by men as they age…]

[Excessive success can actually be poison in terms of marriage or relationship opportunities…]

The memory was vivid.

The article implied that if a woman is too successful, men might find it burdensome.

“No, but those men who have worked under me or alongside me have never reacted like that.”

It was a hypothesis she found difficult to accept.

“So then… what could be the reason…”

Lee Sooah was in a situation where she couldn’t bear her confusion and embarrassment.

She needed to find the reason somehow, no matter what.
I was thinking that I couldn’t go home unless I did something.

No, I thought that I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep today without kicking my blanket in frustration.

As Lee Sooah was ruffling her hair in a frenzy, someone caught her eye.

In the middle of Apgujeong, there were two ordinary men holding hands and walking affectionately together.

‘Ah…’

Lee Sooah’s expression was like a light bulb had gone off above her head.

It looked like she had realized something big.

And a sense of relief followed.

A short gasp.

It was clear.

Earlier, when she had fiercely glared at Hyungseok for interrupting her companion, the action he had taken was bewildering.

With a flustered expression, she grabbed Baek Jihoon’s wrist.

Lee Sooah understood.

She had to rationalize everything somehow to cover her own embarrassment.

Otherwise, she felt like she would either want to hide in a mouse hole or just die.

Seeming completely out of sorts while feeling her heart race and heat rise, she had to eliminate her embarrassment first.

And she thought she had finally reached the solution.

‘Yes. Lee Sooah. You haven’t died yet.’

‘Don’t lose your confidence.’

‘For women, confidence comes from the chest.’

‘Right. I am not being rejected by Hunter Baek Jihoon.’

‘Could it be that I would ever be rejected?’

She was thinking crazily with no clear thoughts.

The end of a long contemplation.

And a profound conclusion came to her.

‘Yes. Hunter Baek Jihoon is gay.’

‘Yeah. That’s right.’

‘It has to be.’

‘And I’m still hungover… so I made a mistake.’

‘I drank way too much for the first time in a while…’

Lee Sooah nodded as if she was completely convinced.

She absolutely could not acknowledge the current situation.

An embarrassing mistake she had unwittingly made.

Unable to comprehend her state, she decided to think randomly.

Of course, that wouldn’t solve the situation.

‘No… right… let’s say the rejection is fine… then why do I keep thinking about it…’

She bit her lip slightly, with an expression of not understanding.