Chapter 26

“Hey, what’s going on?”

One of the benefits of our guild is the flexible working hours.

As long as work isn’t affected, it’s possible to go somewhere else at any time.

Well, I mean, the primary job is to be a Hunter tackling dungeons.

Unless there’s an urgent dungeon raid, I felt it wasn’t a big deal.

Hyungseok had a completely sulky expression.

“I’m sorry, but I think I need to refrain from meeting with you moving forward.”

“Huh? Why?”

I couldn’t help but wonder if Chae Suhyeon had said something unreasonable to Hyungseok.

“What did Chae Suhyeon say? Did she contact you?”

Since yesterday, I had been ignoring Chae Suhyeon’s messages.

It was clear she would probably be throwing a fit.

I just needed to sit back and enjoy the show.

“Ha… I just met Hunter Lee Sooah.”

“Hmm? Hunter Lee Sooah? Why?”

Well, since we’re in the same guild, it’s possible to meet for work-related reasons, but Hyungseok’s tone didn’t seem like that.

“She called me out and started asking all sorts of things about you.”

“Huh, me?”

My confusion deepened.

It felt like things were getting really tangled up.

“But do you know what she said after asking about you?”

“What?”

“She asked if I was gay.”

“Ha!”

I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

Anyone who knew Hyungseok’s situation would likely react the same way.

He had been singing about wanting to escape being single for years.

He was more serious and interested in dating than anyone else.

And yet, to hear that he was thought of as gay…

“Why? Suddenly? What’s the reason?”

“I don’t know. It seems that based on what she said, she thinks it’s because of you. It seems she thinks that you and I are dating.”

‘???’

‘What kind of nonsensical notion is that?’

I hadn’t ever expected that.

In my life, I had never even thought about it once.

‘What the… how absurd…’

“Anyway. I think I need to hold back on going out with you. Hearing something like that from my favorite person is too shocking. I suddenly want to quit.”

He looked like his enthusiasm had just completely drained.

“Hey, come on. It seems like Hunter Lee Sooah misunderstood something. Get a grip. For now, let’s not go out together near the company. I think she might have misunderstood because I got the special hiring guarantee.”

Besides that, I didn’t think there was any reason for such a misunderstanding.

Honestly, I didn’t even know why she would think that.

‘Does she really have any interest in me…? Why did she ask so much about me? Surely it can’t be just for managing team members?’

From her actions, it seemed like she might have some sort of interest in me.

But for various reasons, I couldn’t wrap my mind around it.

Hunter Lee Sooah was notoriously known for being cold and unapproachable.

There simply weren’t any clear reasons explaining why she would suddenly show interest in someone like me.

“Hey. I’ll explain it well, so don’t worry too much.”

Of course, I was at a loss and felt helpless about what to do.

‘Um… Hyungseok isn’t gay.’

‘I know.’

‘How do I know he’s not? Uh… um… good question.’

No matter how I phrased it, it sounded strange.

Why should I even have to prove my relationship with my junior?

“Ha…”

Still, I felt that I had to step up and clarify things.

I had joined this guild thanks to Hyungseok’s special hiring guarantee.

Without it, there was no way I would have been allowed into the guild as someone on the blacklist.

In that case, without Hyungseok, I would have had to leave the Hunter industry altogether.

I’d be a total failure of a jobless bum wasting several years of my life.

“Phew. I had no savings either.”

In any case, I had to make a clarification.

*

‘Hmm, what’s going on… Lee Sooah…’

On my way back to my seat, I couldn’t help but think about Lee Sooah.

‘What if she really is interested in me? What if she likes me?’

‘Nah. You’re being ridiculous. That makes no sense.’

‘Even if I told my mom, she wouldn’t believe it.’

Right. Exactly. It’s absurd delusion.

‘Focus on making things difficult for Chae Suhyeon instead.’

‘You should be messing with that girl instead.’

That’s right.

This was not the time to be leisurely contemplating about Hunter Lee Sooah.

I needed to prioritize making things difficult for Chae Suhyeon.

It wasn’t a selective concept.

It was absolutely essential.

That girl had been doing several things to completely bury me.

[ Hunter Blacklist ]

‘Damn that b*tch. She actually put me on the blacklist. Are you serious? After enjoying everything, how can she say something like that? Besides, you were the one who kept pushing for it.’

Fortunately, it doesn’t have any legal ramifications.

It’s merely gossip exchanged between guilds.

Just a warning saying, “This person is that kind of person, so be cautious.”

Regardless, it still feels very unpleasant.

Chae Suhyeon is the top S-Rank female Hunter.

On the other hand, I’m just an E-Rank male Hunter.

If she wanted to bury me, I felt that she could easily do so.

In matters like this, testimonies from women are overwhelmingly beneficial.

‘Sigh… if only that b*tch becomes C-Rank…’

I started to consider a few things in my head.

In my opinion, Chae Suhyeon is undoubtedly aiming to become a chaebol’s daughter-in-law.

She has already seduced at least 32 people.

‘Hmm. Does she get points based on how many she has seduced?’

She had acted like a madwoman, as if addicted, often going for it 15 times a day.

‘This is definitely suspicious.’

Come to think of it, I knew absolutely nothing about Chae Suhyeon’s characteristics.

I hadn’t even thought to ask about it until now.

‘You idiot.’

It was like some fog had settled in my mind, preventing me from thinking clearly.

Up until now, I had devoted all my efforts to making Chae Suhyeon the top S-Rank Hunter.

Even if it was tough, I couldn’t take a break.

Even if it seemed enough, I couldn’t rest.

It was all about working harder and more than others.

Whenever I felt exhausted and drained, she would engage with me.

Strangely enough, it felt like I regained my energy.

‘Hmm… Is 15 times a day really normal?’

I had never really discussed this topic with anyone, so I didn’t have much to compare it with.

‘What on earth has she been doing…’

[ Hey Hyungseok, can you find out if there are others who have been played by Chae Suhyeon? ]

[ Hmm. I’ll look into it. ]

Phew.

I returned to my seat.

The atmosphere in the office was unusually tense.

Everyone was sneaking glances at me.

At the same time, they were snickering quietly.

‘What’s going on?’

“Hey, Baek Jihoon, you really are talented, huh? Were you trying to deceive us? If you’re going to deceive us, at least do it well. Your acting skills are lacking!”

“Right? Don’t you know the saying that even a copier knows about office romances? Oh, look at you enticing our guild’s hottest and most sought-after, Hunter Lee Sooah.”

“Did you know? Everyone in the guild knows now.”

The staff surrounding me chuckled as they spoke.

“Wait? What do you mean by that?”

“Well, rumors spread fast. This is the IT age, after all. Hehe. Don’t worry~ our solidarity is super strong. We’ll just pretend we didn’t see anything.”

“No, wait a minute! I think there’s been a misunderstanding. This isn’t true. Really.”

No matter how much I shouted, no one would listen.

‘What the hell is going on?’

The Blue Guild, including hunters and all other staff, has over ten thousand members.
Of course, our A-Team is a small elite unit, so we’re fewer in number.

But the fact that everyone knew about it was distressing.

Instead, they pretended not to know.

‘No. It’s not pretending! You are misunderstood!’

A bewildered expression naturally crossed my face.

It was quite disrespectful to Hunter Lee Sooah, and isn’t a rumor just a way of forming a person’s image?

I had suddenly become the guy who had seduced the iron-walled Lee Sooah upon joining the guild.

‘Ah, sh*t.’

*

“Oh my! Hahaha. Hello, Baek Jihoon! I saw your face on the intranet~~ Hahaha.”

“Oh my, so you’re Baek Jihoon? Wow… impressive, impressive.”

“Wow, can you give me a handshake? What’s your secret?”

On my way to pick up some documents, I met a lot of staff.

They all seemed delightfully teasing, smiling at me.

Whenever I asked how they knew me, everyone gave the same answer, as if they had all made a pact.

“Isn’t he the one who saved the A-Team from hell?”

But their expressions said something completely different.

“Oh my~~ so sly.”

“Wow… you’re really dating Lee Sooah. I’m so envious of you…”

“How did you even do that? I want in.”

The atmosphere felt overwhelmingly dizzy with their taunts.

“Wow… the intranet system of the Blue Guild is really impressive.”

It felt like everyone knew within moments.

‘How did this even happen…’

I heard footsteps approaching rapidly.
The sound was definitely getting closer.

It was Hyungseok.

He looked flushed, as if he had just urgently searched for me.

“Huff, huff. Senior… is it really true?”

“Huh?”

“Are you… dating Hunter Lee Sooah?”

He looked as if he might grab me by my collar at any moment.

‘Didn’t you say that we were going to get together? Didn’t you say Lee Sooah likes me?’

Park Hyungseok’s face was completely stunned.

It seemed he didn’t want it to be true.

“No! Senior. How could you do this? I’m so disappointed! You know how much I like Lee Sooah!”

“Ha… this is troublesome.”

I could only scratch my head.

“Hey, Hyungseok. I’m being serious; it’s really not true. I think everyone has misunderstood.”

“Stop lying. You’re just trying to gloss over this. Are you underestimating our intranet’s information network?”

He clearly seemed to find it hard to believe.

‘Damn it. Why believe the intranet gossip while not believing my words?’

I felt like he was almost forming a cult-like faith in this.

“It’s true! I swear!”

I managed to gradually convince Hyungseok.
If it was hard to convince my close friend, I could only imagine how difficult it would be with the other staff.

“Is… is it really not true? Right? It’s fine, isn’t it?”

“Ha… it’s really true. I’d stake everything on it.”

‘Sigh. Things have turned into a total mess.’

“And also, I found out some things regarding the guys who were played by Chae Suhyeon. It’s more than I expected. She’s quite the handful.”

“Hmm?”

That moment became particularly engaging.