“Hmm. Thank you, Baek Jihoon.”
The manager bowed slightly with gratitude.
It was quite different from the initial impression I had of him.
“No, I’m here. Until now, I couldn’t manage to curb Yoo Hana’s stubbornness. But now that you’re here, things have changed a bit.”
He was subtly inching closer to me.
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“I don’t know how you did it, but I hope you stick around.”
“Sure.”
It didn’t really bother me.
“However… why did our Hana go to the dungeon yesterday?”
“Well, I’m not sure. She came on her own, so I can’t say much.”
“Hmm… You don’t think Hana is trying to become a Hunter again, do you?”
I raised my eyebrows slightly without realizing.
He looked genuinely worried.
“But didn’t Yoo Hana often say she didn’t like dungeon activities?”
I had forced her to compete with Lee Sooah, but I thought it was probably just a fleeting action.
“Hmm. That’s true, but originally, Hana used to frown a lot. She said dungeons gave her headaches. But it doesn’t seem like that’s the case lately.”
He looked at me with a skeptical gaze.
“Hmm. I wonder if I can bring her back to the Blue Guild.”
Several thoughts were swirling in my mind.
“What if I could gather all S-Rank Hunters at the Blue Guild?”
It was just an idea for now, but I felt it could lead to something significant.
“For some reason, I feel like Yoo Hana will return to the guild soon.”
I stole a glance at Yoo Hana.
She was hastily eating kalguksu after finishing a shoot.
“Excuse me, Yoo Hana?”
“Yes?”
“Do you dislike dungeons?”
“Ha. Of course. Don’t even mention dungeons in front of me.”
“Hmm. So why did you go yesterday?”
“…”
Yoo Hana was at a loss for words.
“No, I just wanted to ask Baek Jihoon something…”
Her eyes darted around as she desperately tried to make excuses.
“Yoo Hana, would you like to go on a dungeon raid with me someday?”
I casually threw it out there.
After all, the reason she was dispatched to me was for this.
To reinstate Yoo Hana in the Blue Guild.
If I could succeed in that, my standing in the Blue Guild would surely be solidified.
Right now, I was merely a newly arrived D-Rank Hunter.
“Um… uh… yeah… sure!!”
“No. What do you mean by sure? And right now, Baek Jihoon, aren’t you being unreasonable? You’re not trying to steal Yoo Hana away, are you?”
The manager intervened.
He looked like he meant business.
“Oh oppa. Why are you like that? Move aside.”
Yoo Hana shoved the manager away.
“When? When would be a good time?”
She appeared a bit more eager.
“Hmm. But first, Yoo Hana, you’ll need to return to the Blue Guild… It’d be great if you could join Hunter Class 6…”
I let this slip out subtly, as if it were a random thought.
“Ha…”
She began to bite her lip.
“I’ll… think about it.”
“Ah, Hana, are you crazy? You need to be an entertainer. You’re under contract with our company.”
“Oh, oppa. I can handle both being a Hunter and an entertainer simultaneously.”
She was slightly irritated.
“Ah, Baek Jihoon, you can’t do that. Please, don’t touch our Hana. She’s our company’s top treasure.”
The manager appeared to be pleading now.
“Well, I do have my own position to consider.”
I felt that I really needed to bring Yoo Hana back to the Blue Guild before I could achieve anything.
Being stuck in this indecisive position wouldn’t yield results.
*
“Hmph.”
I was scrolling through my smartphone, searching for various things.
“Blacklist…”
I was reading through the various regulations about it.
Since it was meant for maintaining order within the Hunters, it wasn’t very easy to find comprehensive information.
“Should I probe with this?”
I thought of Chae Suhyeon.
And considered stirring things up a bit regarding this blacklist matter.
“Yoo Hana.”
“Yes?”
“Are you aware of the Hunter Blacklist?”
“Yes, I know it well.”
She laughed lightly.
“What happens if someone makes a mistake while writing it? If they were trying to slander someone…”
“Slander? Why? Who are you trying to slander?”
She began to show interest in my query.
“Oh no, I wasn’t the one slandering; I was the one who was wronged.”
“Really? Ha. Who would dare slander our Baek Jihoon? That’s absurd.”
She started to get annoyed.
Then she completely turned her body to face me.
“Who on earth is it? Ha. Tell me their name. I’ll take care of it. Even though I’m in the entertainment industry, I can handle that much. Any Hunter below A-Rank will be finished in one hit.”
“Unfortunately, it’s an S-Rank Hunter.”
“Pardon?”
Her expression stiffened slightly.
“Why is there an S-Rank Hunter involved…?”
“Exactly. I’m just as curious about why this is happening.”
“Hmm… Would it be possible to hold a public hearing about it? Privately. To contest it…”
“Does it matter if they’ve already been removed from the list?”
“Right…?
A public hearing…”
“Should I help you? I’m pretty good at those; I’ve been to quite a few hearings, especially because of the fight with Lee Sooah…”
Her expression twisted slightly.
“It would be great if you help.”
“Which Hunter are we talking about?”
“S-Rank Hunter Chae Suhyeon.”
Upon hearing the name, her expression twisted even further.
*
“What the…”
Yoo Hana was tapping her lips and pacing back and forth.
“What could it be… Why is it always Chae Suhyeon?”
The name kept lingering in her mind.
Chae Suhyeon.
The recent encounter with Lee Sooah and the other two in front of her house was still unsettling.
And now she was on the blacklist because of Baek Jihoon.
“Hmm. What could it be? It doesn’t seem like it’s just a coincidence. Her expression was definitely tense. What could it mean?”
“Anyway, if I help, there should be a result, right?
It seemed like Yoo Hana was determined to help Baek Jihoon as much as possible.
“And… going back to the Blue Guild…”
Her heart was wavering greatly.
The biggest reason she left the guild.
An unknown pain and status ailment.
But now, she felt fine.
It was oddly refreshing.
Of course, sometimes when Baek Jihoon got distant, she felt like she might revert to how she used to be.
But still, it was better than before.
“What’s going on… Should I be near Baek Jihoon to feel good?”
“Maybe… it would be better to return to the Blue Guild?”
She was deep in thought.
*
“Hmm. A public hearing…”
I figured it would be a great way to strike back at Chae Suhyeon.
Of course, since it was related to the blacklist, it wouldn’t be public knowledge.
But if I applied and had a chance to face Chae Suhyeon, I could see a seriously twisted expression on her face.
“Shouldn’t you pay for what you did?”
“And… Now I need to act based on my interests.”
This was my plan.
Though I couldn’t know for sure, it was clear that S-Rank Hunters were fixated on me.
Then? I’d just gather all the S-Rank Hunters to Hunter Class 6.
Of course, the members of Hunter Class 6 would be completely shocked.
“And Hunter Classes 1 and 2 will definitely look at me suspiciously.”
I could sense the atmosphere about me changing.
The order within Team A was completely being altered because of me.
They were looking at me with disdain in Hunter Classes 1 and 2.
And I could feel their growing anger directed towards me.
“Park Jinsoo… who is this guy? Could he be trying to extract information by getting close?”
I wondered if I had read too many novels.
Hunter Classes 1 and 2 had always treated Hunter Class 6 as garbage.
But Park Jinsoo approached me with an unusually friendly demeanor.
It didn’t seem like a situation for warm greetings.
“Hmm… Could he be in cahoots with Chae Suhyeon?”
As a male Hunter, he would fall within Chae Suhyeon’s range of influence.
Who knows what kind of schemes he might be up to?
She would definitely be devising ways to get at me.
“Well, I’ll check that out. I can casually feel him out.”
*
“Excuse me, Yoo Hana?”
“Yes~”
“Can I step out to the guild for a bit?”
“Why?”
Her voice was annoyingly sharp.
“I have something urgent to attend to.”
I stared at Yoo Hana intently, trying to exert pressure with my gaze.
“What are you going to do about it?”
“Ah… You made a promise, didn’t you? You said you’d be here for at least half the time!”
With just my gaze, she quickly deflated.
“Okay, okay!! You can go!!!”
After continuously looking at her, she had no choice but to surrender.
“Thank you.”
*
“Wow. Baek Jihoon, what do you need me for?”
Hunter Park Jinsoo looked remarkably cheerful.
He seemed pleased that I reached out to him in less than half a day.
“This guy definitely has something going on.”
His suspiciously positive reaction didn’t seem natural.
If he genuinely wanted to be friends, or if he really wanted to offer kindness, he wouldn’t have such an expression.
He definitely had a motive behind it.
“Well, whether it was Chae Suhyeon’s doing or not, I’ll find out.”
“I wanted to ask you something.”
“What is it?”
“Are you familiar with the Blacklist hearings?”
“Yes, quite well. They don’t occur often, but I know the procedures and requirements. Would you like me to explain?”
“Oh, not that. I’m looking to apply for a Blacklist hearing in order to contest a certain Hunter…”
At this point, I noticed Park Jinsoo’s expression rapidly hardening.
His lips seemed to seal shut.
It was clear.
“This guy was sent by Chae Suhyeon…”
No one in the Blue Guild would be unaware of my name being on the blacklist at Chae Suhyeon’s request.
He definitely knew about it.
There was no doubt.
“I’m looking to bring it up with Hunter Chae Suhyeon, you know. The Blacklist hearing. You know her? S-Rank Hunter, Chae Suhyeon.”
I directed a cold gaze at Park Jinsoo.
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