"Ha. Ji-hoon!"
"Yes."
"Why are you so late!"

Yoo Hana's voice had a hint of annoyance.

"I was busy. I told you earlier."
"Ha. That's true. But if possible, I'd like you to stay by my side. Where do you keep going? You’re supposed to be with me today."
"Yes, but I had the hearing and then met with Hunter Lee Soo-ah..."
"Huh? A hearing?"
"Yes."

Yoo Hana's expression changed suddenly, looking very interested.

"What happened? Was it with that Hunter Chae Soo-hyun you mentioned earlier...?"

She placed a finger on her lips, looking at him with curiosity.

"Yes. I completely won."
"Oh, really~?"

Her face brightened up, looking relieved.

"But, if it was that interesting, you should have taken me with you! You didn’t go with just Hunter Lee Soo-ah, did you?"
"I did."
"Oh."

She looked disappointed.

"Ah... Why... Why, Ji-hoon! Listen carefully from now on. Whenever there's something important like that, you must take me with you. Understood? I'm an S-rank Hunter, you know that, right?"
"Hunter Lee Soo-ah is also an S-rank Hunter."

I glanced at Yoo Hana. Hearing that, her expression turned more heated, her face gradually reddening.

"I'm ranked higher among the S-ranks, even while I'm busy with my entertainment activities. My rank hasn’t dropped at all."
"Hunter Lee Soo-ah is the same. She's ranked second, only behind Chae Soo-hyun."

I held up two fingers. Yoo Hana realized she had been caught off guard.

"Ha... Fine. Then just... The more, the merrier."

It seemed she decided to change her strategy.

"Take me with you too. Don’t just go with Hunter Lee Soo-ah. Include me as well."
"But Yoo Hana, you’re busy with your entertainment activities, aren’t you?"
"Ha..."

Her schedule was indeed packed, as expected in such a high-stakes industry. Although Yoo Hana was known to be the type who frequently canceled her commitments.

"Ha... But... How much busier can you get?"
"Very busy. I might not be around here much anymore."
"Why?"
"Why do you think? I have a lot of work to do."

I subtly looked at Yoo Hana, signaling her with my eyes.

‘Let’s see how you handle this.’

"Ha. Ji-hoon, you're officially dispatched by the Blue Guild, right? And I allowed you to go there today, so..."

I silently stared at Yoo Hana.

‘So what? What are you going to do? What can you do?’

"I see. So?"
"Ah... Well... Um... Just! Think about my position a little... Ha..."

Yoo Hana sighed again. It seemed she felt helpless, like there was nothing she could do.

"You want me to stay by your side, Yoo Hana?"
"Yes!!!"

I responded softly.

"Then you can follow me."
"..."

She suddenly fell silent, as if she’d been punched in the gut, contemplating.

"Well... I’ll think about it."

"Ha... What a mess..."

Lee Soo-ah looked at the massive stack of papers on her desk. They had been stored for so long that they were covered in dust.

"Am I really going back to the old days...?"

Back in the early days of the Hunter era, the structure was that the higher-ranked Hunters took the lead. Lower-ranked Hunters would "ride the bus" as a result.

But over time, and with S-rank Hunters suffering from various ailments, the structure began to change. It felt like harsh leadership.

‘Ha... So, I’ll have to work hard again...’

Knock, knock, knock.

"Yes..."

Lee Soo-ah answered weakly.

"Hehe. Hunter Lee Soo-ah?"

It was Chief Cha, smiling brightly.

"Are you ready? Let’s start right away."
"Ha... Chief Cha..."
"Oh, why~? Are you not going to do it?"

Chief Cha gripped his smartphone tightly, silently threatening to make a call if she didn’t comply.

"Ah!!! Chief Cha!!!"

Lee Soo-ah slammed her desk and stood up abruptly.

"Ah, you’re being too much! Why are you treating me like this? Was I really that bad?"
"Yes."

Chief Cha responded firmly.

"Ah. I just did it for Team A!!!"
"And I'm doing this for you, Hunter Lee Soo-ah."
"But thanks to me, the Hunters in Team A grew quickly, didn't they?"
"Making Lee Soo-ah great again."
"Ha..."

Everything she had said to Team A was now coming back to haunt her.

"Alright... Alright... Let’s go... Where are we going today?"
"We’ve prepared something light. The Noksapyeong Station Dungeon."

Chief Cha made a polite gesture, like a butler, extending his arm toward the entrance.

"Are you kidding? How is that light?"

Grumbling, Lee Soo-ah headed outside.

"Hmm... Hana? Do you think you’re ready today?"
"Yes!"

The director looked at Yoo Hana with a skeptical expression, likely due to her inconsistent performance.

‘Ha... She was amazing in the middle of last week.’

"I can do well today."

She glanced over at Baek Ji-hoon.

She smiled.

Baek Ji-hoon, seemingly uninterested, focused on his own work.

‘Ah, come on. Just pay a little attention. It’s okay. If I perform well today, maybe he’ll take an interest in me. This is my chance to show my skills.’

She was resolute.

"Director, please capture this moment well, okay? I want to make sure the audience roots for me too."
"Ha... Really? Can I trust you?"

"Alright, let's start filming!"

The set bustled with activity.

Yoo Hana sat down on the floor, beginning to sob.

"Jin-seok... What did I do so wrong? Is it such a crime to be crazy in love? I just loved you so much... I did it because I loved you too much!!! I only wanted your attention!!!"

She quickly immersed herself in the scene, tears streaming down her face as she grabbed the male actor’s pant leg.

"I’m sorry. I was wrong. Please, just give me one more chance. I won’t do it again. You know you’re the only one I have. How can you just abandon me like this? Please... If you don’t take me back, I’ll die right here!!!!!!"

Yoo Hana pulled out a prop and pretended to stab herself in the neck.

"Oooookay!!!!"

The director ran over to her with a handkerchief.

"See? You can do it so well!! Yoo Hana, are you crazy? You almost made me forgive you just now! You’re incredible."

He was making a big fuss.

"Director, was it good? I really put my heart into it."

Yoo Hana wiped her tears and spoke to the director, glancing over at Baek Ji-hoon. He was still focused on his work, seemingly unbothered.

‘Ha... He must have seen it, right? My acting? He must have, right? Ha... I kind of imagined I was doing it for Ji-hoon...’

"Ah~ Yoo Hana, you’re amazing. You nailed that climax!!!"

The nearby crew members approached, clapping.

"Wow. With that performance, he really should forgive her."
"Yeah. Can’t we just change the story? Let them reconcile, and everyone will be happy."
"No way~ The ending is already set."

Step, step, step.

The male actor approached.

"Yoo Hana, you were incredible today."

It was Lee Ho-joon, a very famous actor.

"Oh, really? Thank you."

Yoo Hana seemed uninterested.

"Hmm. But do you have time tonight? Your acting was so amazing, and I’d love to learn from you. How about...?"
"I’m busy..."

She smiled and brushed him off. It seemed like Lee Ho-joon had mustered up the courage to ask.

"Ah... Okay..."

He left without another word.

‘I should go see Ji-hoon.’

"Hmm... The rankings..."

I was busy researching. There was so much to learn about Hunters.

‘Well, Lee Soo-ah will handle the rankings herself. I've set her on the right path. It’s not urgent, but applying some pressure on Chae Soo-hyun...’

The Blue Guild had a reputation as the number one guild. But after recruiting Chae Soo-hyun, the Baekho Guild had taken that image.

‘We need to take it back. How dare they.’

To do that, I had to push Lee Soo-ah. It was all about image in the end.

[ Lee Soo-ah, are you heading to the dungeon? ]
[ Ha... Yes... I'm going. ]
[ Good luck! ]
[ Good... luck... ]

I sent her a message just to check, and she replied almost immediately.

‘Good. It seems like getting Lee Soo-ah back to the top rank is just a matter of time.’

"Excuse me... Ji-hoon..."

I was absorbed in my work when I heard Yoo Hana's voice calling me. I looked up at her.

"Did you happen to see my acting just now? How was it?"

She seemed tense, as if her heart was racing.

"It was fine."

I answered somewhat indifferently. My focus wasn't really on that at the moment.

"And...?"
"?"
"Don't you have anything more to say? Like a review? A compliment? Something like, it touched your heart, or maybe you were impressed by Yoo Hana, or even that you fell for me~?"

It was clear she was fishing for a specific response.

"No, nothing more."