Chapter 55

EP.55

“Alright, action!!”

The director, with a beaming smile, shouted confidently.

“Jinseok, could you look at me one more time… if you don’t, I might just die!!!”

Her expression was fierce, with tears overflowing from her eyes.

Yoo Hana, playing the villainess, looked as if she could no longer endure her pain.

“Please… please. How can I convey my feelings? It’s all my fault.”

And then, she collapsed to the floor.

“I don’t need that. You’re trivial.”

The male actor coldly spat out those words and left the set.

“Hic… hic…”

On the ground, Yoo Hana began to cry hysterically.

All the staff watching her expression covered their mouths, fully focused on the performance.

“Why… why did I do that… blinded by greed… hic hic…”

‘Right. Chae Suhyeon. That b*tch. You should end up like that too.’

I was feeling a cathartic release as I watched Yoo Hana’s performance.

‘Just wait a little longer; I’ll climb my way up step by step. You’re completely finished anyway, aren’t you?’

100% recovery.

Chae Suhyeon could be considered done for.

It was obvious.

She must be trying desperately not to be found out.

But that wouldn’t help her escape.

“Okay!!!!”

The director yelled out, practically bursting with excitement.

“Wow. Yoo Hana~~ Ah~~~ amazing, really amazing!!!”

It felt like he was about to embrace her.

“How could you perform so well? Were you hiding your talent all this time? Why did you do that? I want to give you a kiss!”

“Oh dear, director. Was I really that good?”

“Not just good. This is going to explode in viewership ratings, I’m sure.”

“Really?”

“Yes, yes. It feels like it’s definitely going to double, right?”

Hearing the director’s words, Yoo Hana’s expression brightened.

“Thank you~~”

*

“Baek Jihoon.”

“Yes.”

“About that trait of yours.”

“Yes.”

“If you’re far away, does the effect diminish?”

“Uh…”

That was something I had never thought about.

I had never considered it before.

‘Could it be?’

After hearing Yoo Hana’s words, I began to contemplate as well.

I had assumed it was permanent, but what if it wasn’t…?

“Oh? Is that so?”

“No. Baek Jihoon, are you silly? How can you not know your own trait well?”

“Haha…”

I couldn’t help but scratch my head.

Checking my status window revealed that it was indeed as Yoo Hana said.

The effect could decrease when you distant from someone.

‘What’s this? I can’t tell if it’s good or bad. It feels like it’s permanent yet also not permanent?’

I started to feel uncertain about how this condition would affect me moving forward.

“Baek Jihoon?”

“Yes, yes.”

“Um… could you please be my manager?”

“Excuse me?”

“I really… wanted to perform well. But today, I got such praise for the first time.”

Suddenly, her expression turned very serious.

She gazed intently at my reflection in the mirror.

“I… really… really… need this… Jihoon… please… I’d love for you to stay by my side.”

“Are you acting right now?”

“Ah. No!!!”

She snapped back in irritation.

“Ha… now I understand why the Blue Guild Master sent you to me. Baek Jihoon, please stay by my side. Don’t go far away. I need you to be right beside me during filming. Got it? Absolutely?”

“Uh… yes. For now, I understand.”

I could sense that Yoo Hana’s expression and attitude toward me had slightly changed.

It seemed she was beginning to understand my trait little by little.

‘Hmm. What could it be? Perhaps it’s because I’ve distanced myself from Chae Suhyeon?’

If the traits that could influence others were related to distance, then this situation of being separated from Chae Suhyeon might have had an effect.

‘Well, that works in my favor.’

*

With light steps, I was heading home.

‘Hmm, tomorrow I’ll try to rank up, and for my points, I should invest everything I can.’

The weekdays had been too frantic.

Naturally, I had no time to focus on my Hunter specs or skill trees.

There are over 100,000 kinds of Hunter skills.

There are even the tiniest of things categorized as skills.

Reading all of that and investing in it is not an easy feat.

“Jihoon!!”

As I was about to reach the Hunter Class 6 office, a cheerful voice called out to me.

It was Lee Sooah.

“Eh?”

I couldn’t help but be a bit surprised when I saw her.

She was wearing a white dress.

“Hehe. Jihoon, are you finishing work now? Looks like you wrapped up a bit early today since you finished right on time?”
EP.56

Lee Sooah approached, hands clasped behind her back, her skirt swaying gently.

“Ah, yes. Today, Yoo Hana acted really well.”

“Ha. What does she know about acting? I could do that level of performance. Isn’t she just a bad actress? People only praise her because she’s pretty.”

When the topic of Yoo Hana came up, Lee Sooah’s expression immediately turned serious.

“No, she acted quite well today. The director even said she might be in contention for the Best Actress award.”

“Really?”

Her face showed disbelief.

“Anyway~ let’s finish work and go home.”

“Yes, but don’t you have anything planned with me today?”

“Aww, I want to hear more about what happened with Yoo Hana. I need to know what the team member on assignment did~”

‘Hmm… it feels like Sooah is almost infatuated with me…’

‘Not that it’s a bad thing.’

“Sure, that sounds good~”

*

“NO!!! Are you saying that Yoo Hana asked you to be her manager!!?!!?!?!”

Lee Sooah nearly yelled, her voice almost a shout.

I simply recounted what happened with Yoo Hana, but it seemed to provoke her significantly.

“So? What did you say? Ha. You didn’t actually agree to that, did you?”

Her expression was filled with irritation.

“Uh, no. That’s impossible.”

“Phew…”

Lee Sooah sighed in relief.

“I believed in you, Baek Jihoon. You are definitely part of our team.”

“Haha…”

It didn’t seem like she believed that much.

“Ugh. That sly bitch. She’s trying to steal our team member again. She did the same when she was part of our guild.”

She complained about Yoo Hana with a hint of frustration.

“But why did she ask you to be her manager? What’s the point? She’s not someone who’d do that. Plus, she has plenty of managers, doesn’t she? Does she need another servant? That’s unlikely. Could it be that she wants to date you?”

“Ugh. No.”

I felt that this could lead to unnecessary misunderstandings.

So I naturally explained again about my trait.

I held a tiny hope that this time, Sooah might understand.

“Eh? So you can see other people’s status windows…? And you can invest in them?”

‘Huh? Today feels different.’

She hadn’t taken me seriously during our last conversation when I explained it.

But today, she seemed more receptive than before, at least more than during our last discussion.

A sense of doubt lingered in her expression.

“Well… isn’t that a really good trait?”

“Haha… well, I don’t know…”

‘There was someone else who said that to me.’

Of course, Chae Suhyeon immediately came to mind.

I had thought of her as the only woman who understood my trait.

But that b*tch was just trying to use me and then leave.

“No~ it seems like it could be an excellent trait! If that’s true, then we could really help each other out. Hmm~ Baek Jihoon, could it be that you’ve invested in me as well?”

Her gaze suddenly sharpened.

She looked thoroughly suspicious.

‘Hmm… Honestly saying the truth seems better? I don’t feel like there’s any reason to hide it anymore…’

It felt a bit strange to say this on our first meeting, but I thought we had become somewhat friendly.

After all, we had shopped and had dinner together.

“Yes…”

“Gasp…”

I could only vaguely explain about the red label to Lee Sooah.

“WAIT!!!!!!!! Are you saying that you treated that red label condition???”

“Yes…”

Her face was completely surprised.

And then she looked incredibly grateful.

“Jihoon… thank you so, so much.”

Without any warning, she enveloped me in a hug.

‘Huh? I did not expect that at all.’

I became flustered and my face turned red, unable to do anything.

“I’ve struggled so much because of that! After becoming an S-Rank Hunter, I just couldn’t escape from that hell… I see now…”

Her expression transformed to one that showed complete understanding.

“But…”

Suddenly, her face contorted into a scary look.

“Yoo Hana knows about this, doesn’t she? That’s why she asked you to be her manager…?”

“Yes.”

She bit her lip.

Her expression grew darker and scarier.

“This is a crisis.”

“Excuse me?”

“Yoo Hana, that sly b*tch, is trying to steal you away, right? We can’t let that happen!”

“Wait??”

“Baek Jihoon?”

“Yes?”

“In the future, I’ll be watching your every move.”

“????”

“Don’t even think about running away.”

She began to exhibit a fearful smile.

*

To be continued…