Chapter 22

“Hm, it’s delicious.”

“Haa…”

As I talked with Hyungseok, I let out a deep sigh.

“This jerk… it was already secondhand from the start. Not just any secondhand, but a well-worn rag.”

I was incredulous.

It felt like ordering a new product and receiving a secondhand one instead. No, that’s not quite it.

It was like ordering a brand new car, lovingly maintaining it, and riding it, only to realize it was actually a flooded secondhand car that had changed owners multiple times, sold with just the outer shell replaced.

I was completely blindsided.

I hadn’t sensed a thing.

Right now, it felt like the fog in my mind was slowly starting to clear.

I couldn’t shake the thought that Chae Suhyeon had pulled some tricks on me.

The strange actions I had taken. The absurd behaviors.

Now I was even confused about who I really was.

“Hey. So, Chae Suhyeon, this f*cking woman, you know there are at least 32 victims, right?”

“Yes. That’s correct.”

“Haa…”

Unconsciously, I started scratching my head.

I had no feelings left for Chae Suhyeon; instead, I was burning with a desire for revenge.

This was something I needed to do.

Some might say, “What kind of guy seeks revenge on a woman?”, but I really wanted to.

I had been completely fooled.

And it was clear that she had set something up for me.

I couldn’t just sit idle.

“Hey. How much time is left?”

Now I decided to actively get involved.

“This f*cking woman. Just you wait. I’m coming for you.”

*

Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuu…

Chae Suhyeon was racing down Olympic Boulevard at a crazy speed, almost reaching 120 km/h.

At this speed, the police would definitely be on her tail, but there was no other way. It was urgent.

She hadn’t expected to be hit with the surprise of “retrieval.”

She couldn’t stand the cracks forming in her plan anymore.

“What the hell? What’s going on? Has Baek Jihoon suddenly gotten his act together or what?”

“It doesn’t make sense. No man has ever been able to escape me. It’s completely impossible.”

Even while driving at high speed, she kept running scenarios in her head. What mattered now was figuring out how to seduce Baek Jihoon and stop the point retrieval.

“Ha. Should I revise the plan a bit?”

“Do I still need to keep him around?”

“No way. There are too many eyes on me. I’ve already been exposed too much in the media.”

“And besides, with Lee Jinhyeok…”

She recalled the press conference.

Until now, she had been operating secretly, so the public didn’t know Chae Suhyeon. But after yesterday’s press conference, she had suddenly become a celebrity. Now, stepping onto the streets meant someone would likely recognize her.

“If only I hadn’t held the press conference…”

She bit her lip tightly. She had been carefully executing her plan step by step, only to hit the absurd barrier of Baek Jihoon’s point retrieval.

That didn’t mean she could go back now.

“At this point… even if I try to make Baek Jihoon fall for me again… Hmm… It seems safer to keep him by my side… but then there’s Jinhyeok…”

“Ugh, why can I only handle one guy at a time!”

She gripped the steering wheel tightly, expressing her frustration.

“It would be great if I could upgrade regardless of the situation.”

“Why does it have to be that I can only handle one person at a time…”

Ding ding ding.

As she focused and thought, the alarm rang, indicating she had only 10 minutes left.

“Ah. I’m late, I’m late.”

“I’m already late. There’s no way I’m making it in 10 minutes.”

“Ugh, why are you making me do such ridiculous things, you jerk?”

Her heart was filled with anger towards Baek Jihoon. But she decided to drive as fast as possible to reach her destination.

*

“Senior, time’s almost up. Given how quiet she’s been, she must be driving like a madman.”

“Hey, what if she ends up late?”

“Well, then you can just stir things up by saying you’re late.”

He looked excited, almost gleeful.

“Hey, Hyungseok.”

“Yes.”

“I’m going to mess with Chae Suhyeon from now on, so you need to join me.”

I stated my position clearly, without hesitation. There was no need to be wishy-washy anymore. I declared my intention to treat Chae Suhyeon harshly.

“Hehe. Can we really do that?”

Hyungseok beamed. He had always liked this kind of thing.

“Yes. Let’s discuss how we should take her down. I feel like we need to send her crashing down.”

“Yes!”

S-Rank Hunter, number one.

It’s a position that could earn the greatest honor and fame in South Korea. She had trampled over at least 33 men, including me, to reach that position. Completely used us as tools.

It would be unacceptable to let this go unchallenged.

I need to gradually pull her down to C-Rank.

After all, the retrieval will progress on its own.

In my estimation, Chae Suhyeon would probably try to avoid the grade reassessment by any means necessary. The regular government reassessment of grades.

Of course, there hadn’t been a single case of demotion until now.

Chae Suhyeon was already an S-Rank Hunter.

There wouldn’t even be a reassessment process, but…

If there isn’t one, I’ll have to induce it, right? So I’ll need to make it obvious.

Plans began to form gradually in my mind. There was still some fog clouding my thoughts, but I felt like everything would become clear one day.

And.

I instinctively felt the need to avoid meeting Chae Suhyeon. I had to steer clear of her as much as possible.

I didn’t know how the Succubus Queen lured men into her trap. If she met me, she would undoubtedly try to enchant me again, either by stopping the recovery or coaxing me to invest points in her again.

My position was very clear.

“Wow. Looks like it’s time.”

I had been lost in various thoughts when Hyungseok’s voice reached me.

“It seems she failed to arrive on time, as expected. But that’s great. Now I think we can put more pressure on Hunter Chae Suhyeon.”

“Yeah. I should keep an eye on what she’s up to.”

*

Screech.

She practically abandoned her car in a rush, leaving it parked haphazardly, and dashed inside the store.

“Hey, isn’t that…?”

“Yeah. Isn’t that the person from the press conference? The number one S-Rank Hunter…?”

“I think her name was Chae something?”

“Right. The girl who joined the Baekho Guild.”

“Wasn’t she with Lee Jinhyeok?”

The people inside the store reacted with surprise and amazement at Chae Suhyeon’s sudden appearance. It seemed that, since her nationwide broadcast, quite a few people recognized her in just one day.

“Um… Excuse me, are you Hunter Chae Suhyeon? I’m a fan. Can I have your autograph?”

Even though she had just become famous a day ago, customers were already approaching her, asking for autographs.

“I’m sorry, but I’m a bit busy.”

With a look of irritation, she brushed past everyone.

‘Baek Jihoon… Baek Jihoon? Where the hell is Baek Jihoon? Where are you?’

She scanned the store, trying to maintain her composure. When she found Baek Jihoon, she would have to force a bright smile and hide her hostility, but it wasn’t easy.

‘Where is this bastard? Not here? This f*cking bastard…’

With a faint hope, she approached the store owner.

“Oh my goodness. Are you… Hunter Chae Suhyeon? I saw you on TV yesterday! You look so much better in person. Oh my, it’s such an honor.”

The shop owner greeted Chae Suhyeon cheerfully.

“Uh… Excuse me, did this person just leave?”

She pulled up a photo of Baek Jihoon on her smartphone.

“Huh? Who is that?”

The shop owner looked at the smartphone.

“Huh…? I’ve never seen someone like this. I’m really good at remembering faces. There are just too many guys who run off after skimming money.”

“Ah… Is that so…?”

Chae Suhyeon trembled slightly, as if she vaguely understood the situation.

‘Baek Jihoon. This f*cking bastard… deceived me? How dare he?!’

She clenched her fists tightly.

After breaking various traffic laws—speeding, cutting in, and driving on the shoulder—she covered the distance from Apgujeong to Gimpo in less than 40 minutes. But upon arrival, Baek Jihoon wasn’t in the store at all.

‘Ugh… f*ck… I got played. Did I just get tricked? Wow… Chae Suhyeon, you’re such an idiot.’

It was the first shock she had ever experienced in her life, and an immense anger. She felt irritated with herself, and at the same time, a significant annoyance was rising regarding Baek Jihoon.

‘This bastard… I will hold it in, I will hold it in… sigh…’

But she quickly regained her composure. Usually, she would have displayed her strength and vented her anger right away, but this wasn’t the time for that.

‘Chae Suhyeon. Focus. What should I do now?’

Tap, tap, tap.

She calmly composed a message.

[Oppa~ I’ve arrived, but where are you? I might be a little late?]

Her hand holding the smartphone trembled slightly.