EP.58
“Ugh. That’s…”
Park Hyungseok’s expression quickly hardened.
‘Should I say something about Chae Suhyeon? Or should I keep quiet? If I say something wrong, will Jihoon-Senior feel awkward? Hah… Sigh… But it also feels wrong to lie to Hunter Lee Sooah…’
His mind was racing, feeling like it could burst from all the thoughts.
“Hmm. So there was a girl?”
Seeing Park Hyungseok struggle to answer, Lee Sooah remarked with an understanding expression.
“Ah… Yes… Yes, that’s right…”
“Well~ It’s okay~ Isn’t it even stranger that you didn’t have a girlfriend? If someone hasn’t dated at that age, something must be wrong with them.”
Cough.
It felt like he’d been punched in the gut.
His heart ached for no particular reason.
‘Is she talking about me?’
His eyes were welling up inside.
“So… What happened with that girlfriend?”
“Ah… That’s…”
This was also difficult to talk about.
Everyone in the Blue Guild, not just Park Hyungseok, knew that Hunter Lee Sooah didn’t like Chae Suhyeon.
In fact, she didn’t like any S-Rank Hunter.
He had a strong feeling that speaking up would lead to a mess.
‘Hah… I need to navigate this carefully. If I blurt out something unnecessary, it could blow my chance for a movie date.’
Park Hyungseok thought it was crucial not to upset Lee Sooah’s mood.
What he needed most right now was to pass along just the right amount of information about Baek Jihoon and go to the cinema with Lee Sooah.
‘Hah. What movie should we watch? What new ones are out these days…?’
His mind was already somewhere else.
“Oh, I should probably ask this first. Just to clarify… he doesn’t currently have a girlfriend, does he? Baek Jihoon?”
She stared at him with a very serious look.
She seemed slightly surprised that she hadn’t thought of asking this until now.
“Ah. Nope. Definitely not.”
“Phew… That’s a relief.”
“Relief…?”
Park Hyungseok tilted his head slightly.
‘What’s this? Does Hunter Lee Sooah actually like our Senior?’
‘No way. That can’t be. The ice queen likes Jihoon-Senior?’
He shook his head desperately.
Even if it were true, he didn’t want to believe it.
‘She’s probably just acting like this because he’s part of her team.’
‘That has to be it…’
“Then, how did he break up with his ex-girlfriend?”
She continued questioning him.
“Well. That ex-girlfriend was really… a total witch. She betrayed Jihoon-Senior.”
“Betrayed…?”
“Yes…”
Lee Sooah made a complex expression.
“Hmm… So if she betrayed him, there wouldn’t be any chance for him to get back together with her?”
“That seems likely. That’s pretty certain.”
Park Hyungseok nodded.
‘Is this what Jihoon was talking about when he said he had regrets? That someone regretted their actions…?’
‘Hmm. This is quite interesting.’
“Then~ Please write down what Jihoon likes.”
Lee Sooah took out a paper she had prepared in advance.
On it were various categories like favorite fruits, favorite colors, and favorite foods.
“Uh… Do I really have to fill all this out…?”
“Just write down what you know~ I’ll take care of the rest. Hehe~”
Lee Sooah seemed in a good mood.
“By the way, Hunter Lee Sooah…?”
“Yes?”
“Is the reason you’re asking this related to HR management for Team A…?”
“Yes. Of course! That’s right…?”
“Ah… Yes…”
He had asked cautiously, and with her fierce response, he couldn’t help but shrink back.
“Phew… I’ve written down everything roughly.”
Park Hyungseok answered to the best of his knowledge.
“Hmm~~ Thank you. This was a huge help. Hoho…”
She smiled, looking genuinely happy to have gained good information.
“Well… So when should we go see that movie…?”
“Right now. Right now. I’m feeling really good, so let’s go.”
Lee Sooah flashed a bright smile.
*
“Senior! Thank you! ㅠㅠ”
As I was diligently studying the skill tree and upgrading my skills one by one according to the recommendations, I suddenly received a text from Hyungseok.
‘Huh? What’s he thanking me for?’
“What for?”
“I went to the movies with Hunter Lee Sooah!! ^^”
“Wait, what? With Hunter Lee Sooah? Why? And didn’t he say he was on a business trip to Busan? Why is he thanking me for this?”
I was perplexed by the sudden turn of events.
*
“Ugh. What?”
I couldn’t help but jump up in surprise.
In front of me was Park Hyungseok, who had just come from seeing a movie with Hunter Lee Sooah.
“Ah, what did you say? Did you tell her I was dumped by Chae Suhyeon?”
It was a rather embarrassing story.
There was no reason to go around telling people that I had been infatuated with a girl, only for her to break my heart.
“Come on, Senior, I’m not that foolish. I didn’t say anything like that.”
“Hah… I mean… that or this…”
I lightly tapped my forehead.
I was worried that Hunter Lee Sooah might get the wrong idea or that relationships could get tangled.
“Anyway, thank you, Senior. Because of you, I got to watch a movie with Hunter Lee Sooah!”
While I was feeling troubled because of Sooah, he seemed to be just smiling about going to the movies with her.
‘Hah… What is Hunter Lee Sooah even thinking?’
She seemed to have developed an interest in me… yet she keeps denying it on the surface.
Now she’s even approaching Hyungseok to extract information.
What on earth is she trying to do?
A slightly scary thought crossed my mind.
‘Sigh… She’s not trying to manipulate me or anything, right…?’
Her behavior certainly felt like it was heading in that direction.
It sent chills down my spine thinking about how she was waiting in front of my house yesterday.
‘Wait a minute. Why was she there yesterday anyway?’
I had been so immersed in preparing for the rank assessment that I hadn’t thought about it at all.
‘Why was she loitering in front of someone else’s house on a Saturday morning? Someone who lives in Cheongdam-dong coming all the way to Sillim?’
‘Sigh…’
‘It couldn’t be… No way…’
My concern stemmed from the thought that Hunter Lee Sooah might be obsessively infatuated with me because of my incubus traits.
That would be something I didn’t intend, yet that could still happen.
“Aah, man. You shouldn’t say unnecessary things from now on. Hunter Lee Sooah has been acting a bit strange lately.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, she’s been following me around quite a bit. It’s weird.”
“Oh, she probably just has a high attachment to her team members.”
‘Hah… He thinks that too.’
He spoke in a tone as if it wasn’t a big deal.
“And isn’t that a good thing? I’d love to experience that… If only I were a Hunter…”
Hyungseok gazed into the air with a dreamy expression.
“No. I swear she’s way too obsessed with me.”
“Isn’t that a good thing then?”
“?”
The communication was breaking down.
“Anyway, thanks, Senior. I think I can live happily now. I’ve decided to work as an informant for Hunter Lee Sooah.”
“?”
Once again, the conversation wasn’t going through.
“What do you mean by informant?”
“She said she’d occasionally meet just the two of us in exchange for information about you. It’s like a dream come true.”
“Come on, you crazy guy.”
It was funny that he openly called himself an informant, but he really seemed to be infatuated with Hunter Sooah, leaving me speechless.
‘What the heck is an informant even supposed to mean?’
I had no idea what Hunter Lee Sooah’s true intentions were.
‘Sigh. It feels like things got chaotic because I carelessly broke the status ailment…’
‘But I couldn’t not do it, right?’
“Senior, I’ll help you with all sorts of things from now on. You can treat me like a slave. Just give me information in return. Haha.”
This guy must have totally lost his mind after meeting Hunter Lee Sooah today.
Of course, he was never normal to begin with.
“But how about Hunter Yoo Hana? It’s been about three days since she got dispatched there, right?”
“Yeah. It’s pretty similar here~ She seems to have a strong interest in me.”
“Wow. Senior, what a popular guy you are! You’re totally an incubus.”
That was an unexpected jab.
‘C’mon, am I really that popular with women? And they’re all S-Rank Hunters at that? How envious… What’s your secret?’
“Haha… I can’t say it’s thanks to Chae Suhyeon because that would be awkward… Plus, it’s not even confirmed. I’d be so embarrassed if I ended up spilling a secret like that.”
“Does Hunter Yoo Hana show a lot of interest in you? Hmm~ So why not take this chance to flirt with her and bring her back to the Blue Guild? Then the Guild Master will definitely treat you well. You might even rise to the vice guild master position!”
He spoke, laughing as if he was daydreaming.
“Vice guild master? I just barely became D-Rank.”
“Oh, you’ve been promoted to D-Rank? Wow, that’s fast. It seems like everything’s going smoothly ever since you joined our guild. Good call on breaking up with Chae Suhyeon~”
He clapped in admiration.
“Wow… If I keep going this well, I worry you might abandon me later, Senior. I’m gonna make sure to stick to you. I’ve got a keen eye for when you’re hiding something, heh.”
He looked at me with a peculiar gaze.
“If I’m right… You might just become the scout manager for the Blue Guild.”
“Scout manager?”
“Yeah. Hehe… There are many S-Ranks they want to recruit to the Blue Guild. You could be the one charming them all.”
“No, how could that be…?”
It seemed he was seriously misunderstanding something.
*
“Hah… As expected… Sundays are so boring… I wish Monday would come soon.”
“I have to go to work to leave with Jihoon.”
“Maybe I should just get dispatched to Yoo Hana’s side…?”
Lee Sooah suddenly began to look deep in thought.
To be continued…
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