Chapter 8

Drrr drrr.

Lee Sooah scrolled the mouse wheel with her chin resting on her hand, deep in thought.

She seemed a bit rattled by the massive incident that had just occurred.

“That could have been a really big problem.”

“I should have done something…”

Even though she was an S-Rank Hunter, she found herself unable to act.

She didn’t have any useful skills.

“Why on earth was there a Medusa in that dungeon?”

“We should have conducted thorough research beforehand…”

The Blue Guild operated much like a corporation, and thorough research before tackling a dungeon was a given.

“Something terrible could have happened.”

“A-Team could have been completely wiped out… and I too…”

“If we hadn’t had Baek Jihoon, we would have been completely erased from this world.”

She slightly bit her lip.

And she grimaced, as if her head hurt a little.

“This damn status ailment… I wish it could be resolved somehow.”

It had been a symptom that had tormented her for quite some time.

Before it really started to hurt, Sooah used to soar through dungeons.

Everyone admired her.

“Hah… Damn it… I can’t do anything like this.”

Almost all S-Ranks, including Sooah, were afflicted by status ailments.

It seemed that they could no longer continue with their Hunter activities.

“How on earth is that person so vibrant?”

She looked at the monitor with a slightly displeased expression.

On the screen was Chae Suhyeon, holding a press conference.

She looked very cheerful.

“Hunter Sooah has held the number one spot for quite some time now. As of today, the rankings will change. Would you like to say a few words?”

“Um. First of all, I’d like to express my gratitude to Hunter Lee Sooah for her hard work up until now. From now on, I will take responsibility for domestic safety as the number one S-Rank Hunter representing South Korea.”

She seemed to respond positively to the reporter’s words.

Crack.

She accidentally broke the mouse she was holding lightly in her hand.

She seemed to be in a very bad mood.

“There’s not a single thing that pleases me.”

“I can’t believe I’ve dropped to second place…”

“Ha… If only these pains didn’t exist…”

Then the Blacklist caught her eye.

“Hmm. It says Chae Suhyeon put Hunter Baek Jihoon on the blacklist.”

Typically, a certain kind of review is required to blacklist someone. However, if an S-Rank Hunter requests it, the individual gets tentatively listed.

“For what reason was he added to the blacklist?”

“So suddenly?”

She suddenly became curious.

“Sexual harassment… attempted sexual assault… stalking…”

She began reading the words one by one.

“Hmm…? Was he such a person?”

It gave her a slight sense of cognitive dissonance. She definitely hadn’t felt this way when she saw him in the dungeon during the day.

“It seems I shouldn’t judge based on appearances alone…”

She appeared slightly confused.

“Hmm… and…”

She continued reading, her finger tracing down the Blacklist paper.

“When he requests to join a guild, please refrain from accepting…”

“Normally, this isn’t something that’s noted separately…”

“Why…?”

It felt slightly odd. The vibe was quite different from usual.

“Hmm… Joining our guild…”

“It must have been a special recruitment with Hyungseok’s guarantee.”

She quickly checked how he had come into the guild. Then she thought of Lee Hyungseok.

A total fanatic when it came to Hunters. That was exactly his image. Also, his dedication to the guild.

“Hmm…”

“If Hyungseok is vouching for him, he probably isn’t a strange person…”

“We’re not that lenient of a guild either.”

“This feels strange. Strange… I should investigate further.”

“It feels like there’s something more to him, doesn’t it?”

“Why do I feel so uneasy…?”

Lee Sooah was not someone to be underestimated.

“Since Baek Jihoon had joined my team, I felt the need to accurately assess the people around me.”

*

“What the hell. This fucking woman.”

I couldn’t help but close my eyes tightly.

I was holding the paper so hard that it felt like it would crumple and tear.

“What? Sexual harassment? Rape? Stalking?”

“No way. Chae Suhyeon was far more outrageous than I had imagined.”

“Wow. How the hell did she manage to endure it all for such a long time without showing it?”

Since I was in the guild office, I couldn’t make any noise outwardly and was internally simmering with anger.

All I could do was crumple the paper and tremble.

Chae Suhyeon was doing almost everything I could think of that was utterly ridiculous to me.

No, it was beyond that.

It seemed she was skilled at tormenting me without meeting me directly.

“Ha… the HR department must know all about this.”

My face flushed with heat.

I felt a mix of guilt and gratitude towards Hyungseok.

After all, he hadn’t shown any signs of knowing how I felt.

Of course, since he had known about the relationship between Chae Suhyeon and me for quite some time, he might have just thought it was a funny situation and laughed it off lightly.

Ironically, the more it became like this, the angrier I grew, feeling even more provoked.

Somehow, it seemed Chae Suhyeon was pulling this stunt to thoroughly dissuade me.
It was obvious.

She wanted to completely cut ties with me to make a fresh start with the chaebol man Lee Jinhyeok.

Drawing a line and pretending to be neat and tidy was likely Chae Suhyeon’s goal.

However, I couldn’t tolerate it.

There was no way I would remain silent after being struck like this as if nothing had happened.

Maybe under normal circumstances, I would have.

But today’s incident was not something to be brushed aside lightly.

It was an event that nearly ruined my entire life.

“Ha… is she really planning to press charges against me as a rapist or something?”

At this point, I was curious about what her next move would be.

From the flow of things so far, it seemed that Chae Suhyeon wouldn’t simply end it here.

It seemed like they were trying to completely bring me to the bottom and prevent me from rubbing against myself.

“Cleanse”

It was the only word that popped into my head.

Clearly, they were in the process of cleansing their own life.

They took in so many points from me and then ran away.

And then they did this filthy thing.

“Wow… I’m beyond angry now; it’s reaching the point of admiration.”

I couldn’t help but scoff.

And then, the corner of my lip naturally lifted into a smile.

It wasn’t on purpose; it just happened that way.

“Hey, Chae Suhyeon. You’re screwed. Those points of yours are about to dwindle. No matter what nonsense you pull, I will rise in the end. And I’ll shove you back down to where you originally were.”

If my calculations were correct, once all my points were recovered, Chae Suhyeon would probably become a C-rank.

Of course, there’s usually no such regression, so I was unsure how the national system would process it.

But I thought there must be all sorts of ways to drag them down.

“Let’s see what happens to you.”

“I’ll live well from now on.”

Though I felt a bit anxious, I still thought I had joined the Blue Guild nicely.

I believed that as long as I landed safely, there wouldn’t be major problems.

“At least Hyungseok is holding up strongly.”

I decided to trust Hyungseok, who knew a bit of the truth, and work hard in guild activities.

“I’ll steadily climb up.”

*

“Yaaah! I’m so happy!”

As Chae Suhyeon entered the enormous mansion, she shouted.

She raised her arms in delight and was thoroughly enjoying her happiness.

Having just finished her breathless schedule of the day, she had just arrived home.

“Hey, Chae Suhyeon. Thanks for your hard work during this time. It must have been tough, right? Oh, don’t worry~ now it’s time to enjoy life.”

“Of course, there’s still a bit of a way to go.”

She recalled Lee Jinhyeok in her mind.

“Ha. No matter what, as long as I can cook him well…”

“Once I get pregnant, it’ll all be over.”

“Well, it’s okay. It’s just the beginning, so there are plenty of opportunities!”

She was patting herself on the back.

“Hmm. I feel a bit sorry and regretful for Jihoon Oppa, though…”

“I’m just a greedy woman.”

“Thank you for everything up until now. Unfortunately, you’re not a chaebol man.”

Still, it seemed like her conscience was slightly pricked, as her expression turned dark.

“Well. He’ll manage just fine.”

“At this point, he won’t dare come at me again, will he?”

She stared blankly at the Hunter Blacklist application form.

“He’s not the type to stir up trouble.”

“He might get angry a bit, but at least he won’t have any thoughts of bothering me.”

“This is enough of a warning that he won’t spread rumors about how we dated or had fun at night.”

Chae Suhyeon wanted a clean image.

And she quickly thought of devouring Lee Jinhyeok and integrating into the chaebol family.

“I really don’t want to leave a stain on my image.”

“Dating an E-rank Hunter just seems wrong…?”

“I’m now the top S-rank Hunter, after all.”

“From today, it’s a completely fresh start. Chae Suhyeon. Fighting!”

She seemed to be celebrating as she glanced around her status window.

She looked quite proud of achieving the top rank in S-rank.

“I should be able to sleep quite soundly today. I was somewhat anxious that something might go wrong in the meantime.”

She lightly turned off the status window and got into bed.

In her joyful state, she hadn’t managed to read the small text floating in the corner of her status window.

[All points used by Hunter Baek Jihoon will be retrieved from Chae Suhyeon.]

[Estimated time: 100 days]

[Progress: 1%]