"What? Why?"

Lee Jin-hyuk was furious.

"Are you kidding? Double-check it. And find out exactly what happened."
"Y-yes, sir."

The assistant, with a hardened expression, quickly left the room.

"What is this? Why? The Hunter Association? What are they thinking? Wasn't this something I requested?"

After a moment, the assistant returned to explain what had happened earlier.

"Lee Soo-ah?"
"Yes... Hunter Lee Soo-ah from the Blue Guild personally..."
"Why? Why is she involved in this...?"

Lee Jin-hyuk looked suspicious.

"I don't know? Maybe it’s just a coincidence?"
"A coincidence? I purposely had it closed, and not even ten minutes later, Lee Soo-ah reopened it. How is that a coincidence?"

His demeanor became more serious.

'The one stalking Su-hyun is affiliated with the Blue Guild. But why would Lee Soo-ah get involved directly? It doesn't make sense. She's not the type to act like that, even if it's for her team. What's going on? What's her relationship with that man and Chae Soo-hyun?'

Lee Jin-hyuk felt there was something he didn't know.

'Could Chae Soo-hyun be deceiving me?'
'Is there a problem between them?'

He thought he should intervene in this situation, even though he didn't fully understand what was going on.

"Ha. Today's broadcast went well. Phew."

The broadcast was a bit nerve-wracking.

Chae Soo-hyun finished her stream with a satisfied expression.

'Now that I've shown my face to the public, I should start doing some commercials and work harder on my activities with the Baekho Guild.'
'Hmm... I just need to handle Ji-hoon oppa well...'

She seemed to be troubled by something, but she acted as if everything else was going smoothly.

'Even if oppa makes a fuss, it won't be easy for him to tarnish my reputation.'
'After all, I'm an S-rank Hunter on the surface, and oppa is only a D-rank. What can he do?'
'I'll just handle it carefully.'

She seemed to force herself to think positively. It must have been difficult for her to accept the tightening situation around her.

"Huh?"

She was startled when she looked at her smartphone.

[ Su-hyun. It looks like we have to hold a blacklist hearing. ]

"Whyyyy? Why is this happening?"

She looked very distressed.

'Ha... Damn it... Then everyone will be there, right? Baek Ji-hoon, Lee Soo-ah... There's no way Jin-hyuk oppa will come, right? I have to make sure he doesn’t. I have to stop him.'
'But more than that, why? Why did they open it? Can't our Baekho Guild control a single Hunter Association?'

She was trembling all over.

[ Why? ]
[ Lee Soo-ah interfered, so there's nothing I could do. I tried my best, but this time it’s tough. ]

'Lee Soo-ah...'

Her hand, holding the smartphone, trembled uncontrollably.

'Ha... This b****...'

She had a feeling.

When they met at Baek Ji-hoon's house not long ago, Lee Soo-ah seemed to be acting like Ji-hoon's guardian angel. It was clear.

'Ha... Really... Could she know about our relationship? No, that can't be it, right? Why is she protecting him so fiercely? Why is Lee Soo-ah personally stepping in?'

She couldn't make sense of the situation at all. But the most important thing right now was how to solve this problem.

'Fine. Baek Ji-hoon, let’s see what happens. What can you do anyway? Isn’t a woman’s testimony all that matters in cases like these? What will you do if you’re accused of stalking?'

Her attitude became reckless. She seemed to be in a "do or die" mindset.

"Hmph. This is ridiculous. Let’s see what happens. I’ll just stick to my story."

The process moved very quickly.

"Hmm? Everything's already handled? Does it usually go this fast?"

I couldn’t help but ask Lee Soo-ah.

"Yes. It usually does. I think the matter was dealt with swiftly and quietly. Hunter Chae Soo-hyun probably agreed to it quickly as well. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have moved so fast..."

Lee Soo-ah looked at me with an expression of slight anticipation.

"We might be able to settle everything today."

'Fine. Chae Soo-hyun. Let’s see what you have to say.'
'But there’s something I need to prepare first...'

"Shall we go?"

I headed to Lee Soo-ah’s office to prepare for the hearing.

"Huh? Ji-hoon, where are you going? The hearing room is this way?"
"Yes, I know. There’s something I need to take care of first."

"Good afternoon, committee members."

It was Chae Soo-hyun.

'Ha. That shameless face.'

"Ms. Chae Soo-hyun, did you receive the notice? We were just urgently convened."
"Yes."
"Are you aware of the situation?"
"Yes."
"You originally applied for a blacklist and then withdrew it, correct?"
"Yes, that’s right."
"Could you explain the situation to us?"
"Yes."

Chae Soo-hyun calmly explained to the committee members. She claimed that she had no choice but to apply because I kept following her.

'Ha. Ridiculous.'

She was putting on a good act as the victim.

'Hey, have you given up? Shouldn’t you be begging me for forgiveness?'

I watched her, curious to see what she would say.

"So, you’re saying that E-rank Hunter Baek Ji-hoon from the Blue Guild kept following S-rank Hunter Chae Soo-hyun, stalking her, and trying to sexually assault her?"
"Yes, that’s correct."

She was doing her best to play the victim.

'What a farce.'

There was no point in speaking up and claiming we had dated; I’d just be treated like a lunatic.

"Hunter Baek Ji-hoon, is this true?"
"No, it is not."

I spoke firmly and confidently.

"Then why did Ms. Chae Soo-hyun withdraw her application?"
"Well... I applied as a warning, but then I thought it would just harm my image, so I withdrew it..."

'Lies. She panicked when I retrieved it, so she withdrew it.'

The corners of my mouth lifted involuntarily at her deceitful actions.

"So, Hunter Baek Ji-hoon, why did you request this hearing?"
"Because I didn’t do it."
"Even if the application was withdrawn, you still wanted this hearing?"
"Yes. I believe the committee’s judgment is necessary to restore my honor."

'I wanted to see that shameless face.'

"Since the application was filed, we’ve opened the hearing. However, because the matter was withdrawn, a private agreement between the parties is essential. But given that your positions are so contradictory..."

The committee member scratched his chin.

"Does Ms. Chae Soo-hyun have any evidence to support her claims?"
"Ah... I’m sorry... I didn’t think to record or film anything... I was too busy trying to avoid him..."

She was pretending to be pitiful.

"Ah, I see. So, Hunter Baek Ji-hoon, do you have any evidence?"
"Yes, I do."

I responded confidently. Finally, the question I had been waiting for.

Chae Soo-hyun quickly turned to look at me when she heard my voice.

Since she insisted on keeping our relationship secret, she held all the photos and records of our relationship. She looked quite flustered at my words.

She had a "What the heck is this guy up to?" expression.

"Could you show us the evidence?"
"Yes."

I started laying out the materials I had brought from Hunter Lee Soo-ah’s office. These were the things that had been monitoring me.

"What is this?"
"This is my home near Sillim Station."
"Ah, I see. But what were you filming...?"
"Hunter Lee Soo-ah set this up with the consent of the people around me to monitor... or rather, protect me."

As soon as I finished speaking, Chae Soo-hyun’s face stiffened rapidly.

"You installed surveillance cameras near your house?"
"Yes."

The committee members looked puzzled.

"Oh, committee members, please don’t misunderstand. Since poaching key talent is a serious issue among guilds, we sometimes resort to such measures. It’s not just us; other guilds do this too."
"But isn’t Mr. Baek Ji-hoon a D-rank Hunter? How could he be a key talent?"

Lee Soo-ah, who had been explaining, looked slightly embarrassed.

"Ah... Well... That’s not important! Please look at the photo!"

She pointed to the photo with her finger.

"As you can see, this is Hunter Chae Soo-hyun."

Chae Soo-hyun's face had turned bright red.

"If Hunter Chae Soo-hyun’s claim is true, then our Hunter Baek Ji-hoon is a vicious stalker who tried to assault her. So why did Hunter Chae Soo-hyun visit his home?"

The committee members murmured among themselves. Even from a distance, I could see Chae Soo-hyun trembling with anger.

"Hunter Chae Soo-hyun? Do you have anything to say about this photo?"
"Uh... uh... well... that..."

No matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t come up with a good excuse.

"This seems to contradict your blacklist application, doesn’t it?"

The members looked puzzled, and Chae Soo-hyun’s expression showed she was losing face.

It seemed that no matter what she said, it would be difficult to escape this situation.

"It was for Baekho Guild business..."
"What kind of business?"

The committee member asked sharply.

"Ha... So... for talent scouting..."
"Really? You were ordered to recruit someone who was stalking you? Can we confirm this with Baekho Guild?"

Chae Soo-hyun bit her lip. No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t come up with anything more to say. The pressure from the committee members seemed overwhelming.

"I... I’m sorry. I think I was mistaken."

She bowed her head deeply.