EP.59
“Hello~~”
With a jingling sound, a woman entered the shop.
“Uh… Could it be… Hunter Lee Sooah, S-Rank…??”
The shopkeeper looked as if she was about to fall over in shock.
“No way. What brings Hunter Sooah here to Sillim…?”
“Oh, ho ho. Just a little errand… ho ho…”
“What kind of errand…”
‘No, I heard rumors about Hunter Lee Sooah showing up around here lately, but is it actually true…?’
The shopkeeper seemed unable to believe what was unfolding before her eyes.
“I, uh, have a favor to ask…”
“What is it?”
“Would it be alright if I installed some CCTV around here~~”
“Uh?? What CCTV?”
“Oh, that’s a bit of a secret… heh heh… I just want to install CCTV that monitors the street… heh heh… In exchange, I’ll compensate you like this.”
She sneakily handed over a piece of paper with an amount written on it.
“Eh?”
The shopkeeper wore a blank expression, unable to comprehend the situation.
“No… what the…?”
“You don’t have to worry about invasion of privacy. With AI, I’ll only target what I want filmed~ It’s just for tracking movement~~ ho ho.”
After pondering various matters at home for a while, Sooah had suddenly jumped up and began taking action.
“Ah… But I still need to get consent…”
*
“I… I want to do this…”
She also visited the landlord of the building where Baek Jihoon lived.
“Eh…? Hunter Sooah?”
Naturally, she was astonished to the point of nearly falling over.
“Excuse me… In room 203, there lives Baek Jihoon… ho ho. I’m his team leader…”
Sooah started explaining various things.
“Well, uh, Hunter Sooah… hmmm. I can approve most things, but I think you need his consent for this…”
“Ah… is that so?”
“Of course. But who is he? Why do you need to monitor him so intently…?”
“Oh. He’s a very important member of our Blue Guild.”
“Really…? He didn’t seem that impressive when I saw him during the contract…”
‘Oh no… I have no choice. Then…’
Sooah thought she would have to meet Baek Jihoon regardless.
*
Ding ding.
“Yes~ Hello.”
“Eh? Right now? Um… yes, sure…”
Not long after Hyungseok left, a call came in.
‘What’s up? Why? Suddenly? On a Sunday?’
Lee Sooah suddenly said she wanted to meet me. She said it was a very important and urgent matter.
‘What is it? Did something urgent happen?’
I had met with her yesterday and just this morning with Hyungseok. Again, she wanted to meet me?
I couldn’t figure out what it was about at all.
*
“Ha… Hello, Jihoon. Thank you for coming out~ ho ho. You’re not busy, are you?”
“Ah… I did have some things to do, but it’s okay. It’s not urgent.”
I was planning to take it easy this weekend and study about Hunter Points, but it seemed like Hyungseok and Hunter Sooah stirred things up.
“What’s the matter??”
“I… I need you to sign this…”
“Um. What is this about?”
Hunter Sooah, with a slightly embarrassed expression, handed over a piece of paper.
“???”
“If you sign that… It would help me manage Baek Jihoon.”
‘Huh? What is this…?’
The content stated that she wanted to establish a surveillance system around my house.
‘????’
“What is this?”
“It’s exactly what it says. To ensure Baek Jihoon’s safety, there are some necessary measures I need to take. I plan to build them one at a time. But everyone says Baek Jihoon’s consent is required for this.”
‘What is this crazy talk?’
She wants to install 500 CCTV cameras? To surveil me?
I couldn’t help but alternate my gaze between the document and Sooah’s face.
Isn’t anyone going to react to this situation?
It had only been a week since I joined the Blue Guild, and now I was faced with something absurd.
‘Why do they want to surveil me? Are they joking?’
“I can’t agree to this…? What on earth is…?”
Naturally, I returned the paper with a blank expression.
“Ah, why… why not?? I put a lot of thought into this.”
“Eh? What thought?”
“Ha… Baek Jihoon’s trait. They say you can handle status ailments of S-Ranks, right?”
“Yes. That’s correct…?”
“So, what if other S-Ranks come charging at Baek Jihoon…?”
“Eh?”
She was saying something totally incomprehensible.
“I’ll protect Baek Jihoon. And I have to prevent other people from getting too close to Baek Jihoon unnecessarily. I think it’s necessary action for our Team A.”
Her expression was completely resolute.
No, her determination transcended that; it felt almost intimidating.
EP.59
“Explain it to me.”
She thrust the document towards me again with a very stiff tone.
“No, I don’t quite understand. Why are you surveilling me… And I heard you bribed Hyungseok to be an informant…?”
I shot Sooah a slight glare.
“Ah… that… when did he become so loose-lipped?”
She was pouting a bit.
“Sooah, are you really trying to manage me…? Is this what Team A does? Are there others you’re monitoring too?”
I decided to take a slightly more aggressive stance.
“Uh… um…”
She rolled her eyes as if deep in thought about something.
“So if you monitor everyone else, would you sign for me then?”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying…”
The conversation was becoming increasingly strange.
I felt like I was stepping into the tiger’s mouth.
Somehow, I felt the urge to resist.
‘Ha… What on earth is going on right now…?’
I was completely bewildered.
It seemed apparent that unusual events were occurring because of the Incubus trait.
“Sooah, are you really doing this because you like me?”
“Ha~ Jihoon, I think you’re sipping too much Kimchi soup. It’s not like that. I see Baek Jihoon as the core of our A Team. Your trait is very appealing to me. I really need it. That’s why I’m doing this. Please just sign the document.”
She looked like she was pleading for it.
Like there was a compelling reason for her to surveil me.
‘Wait, what? You want me to sign off on being monitored?’
I stared at Sooah intently.
“Heh heh… please… It’s all for your safety… Other Hunters might target you for no reason…”
“If other Hunters are targeting me, that could be a good thing, right? My value would go up.”
“Ah… that… No, you never know what they might do! They might kidnap you and use you as a status ailment removal shuttle!!”
She burst out in irritation.
‘No way that could happen…’
‘And how do you even think of that…?’
“Is it something you would want to do, Hunter Sooah?”
“Of course not!! How could you think that!!!”
She suddenly shot up, looking very flustered, her face turning red.
“Ha… Jihoon, you want to do well with the Blue Guild, right? I don’t get why you’re resisting when I, Sooah, the team leader of A Team, am offering special management? Isn’t it just a given that you accept it? Other people would have jumped at the chance if I offered it, clamoring for even more!!!”
Sooah looked like she could hardly contain her frustration over my behavior.
‘Well… she’s not wrong…’
Sure, when you strip down the situation, it sounds strange.
But at the same time, she had a point.
Just looking at Hyungseok, he would definitely be thrilled if he were in this position.
“Hmm… So you’re saying it’s for my safety…? Really…?”
“Yes!! Of course!! Isn’t that the function of CCTV…?”
“Hmmm…”
“Please…”
Her eyes were shaking.
‘Ha… This is ridiculous…’
Looking at her face, it didn’t seem like saying no would yield any results.
It felt like they were hell-bent on surveilling me.
‘And Hyungseok too as an informant… What is going on? And why give me a heads-up about the surveillance…?’
I was utterly perplexed but felt I had no choice.
‘Sigh. Well, I’m not the one directly getting hurt, so who knows. Maybe Sooah is genuinely worried about some potential situation that could arise.’
“Jihoon, you are a crucial member of our A Team. Your trait might be incredibly significant. It’s my job to manage the team’s core asset safely.”
She spoke with absolute conviction, leaning more towards me and starting to exert pressure.
‘Ha… I can’t not do this, but it feels weird to go along…’
‘There’s no helping it.’
I quickly signed the document.
It was an incomprehensible situation, but I thought surely she wouldn’t do anything too strange to me, so I hastily dealt with it.
Swish swish.
“Ha. Thank you. Now you’re safe, Jihoon. Phew…”
‘Is it really safe? Right…?’
I was getting guaranteed safety when nothing had threatened me yet.
“But Sooah, this only watches around my house and outside, right? Not inside my home or anything like that, correct?”
Sooah averted her gaze and looked elsewhere after hearing my words.
“Well… for now…”
‘For now…?’
To be continued…
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