"Ah... why... why?"

Her expression was one of slight disappointment and confusion. She flinched a little.

"Well, you performed well, didn’t you?"
"Yes, I did, didn’t I?"

Her expression seemed to say that she thought she had done enough to be seen as charming.

"But I don’t need that."

I began chewing on my steak again.

"Sigh... Then what do you need, Ji-hoon?"
"Hmm. An S-rank Hunter working for our Blue Guild."
"Ha..."

It was a sigh filled with many thoughts.

"Alright then..."

She focused on her steak, slightly sulking.

"But still, I enjoyed your performance. That’s why I’m here, isn’t it?"
"Oh? That’s true. Hehe."

I glanced up at Yoo Hana as she ate. She seemed to be feeling a bit better.

"Sigh..."
"You did great today. Hehe."

Chief Cha looked at Lee Soo-ah with a big, cheerful grin.

"Chief Cha, your expression!"
"Ack."

His face immediately stiffened.

"Are you happy? About this situation?"
"No, no, it’s not that I’m happy. Isn’t it a good thing? That Hunter Lee Soo-ah is determined to reclaim the top S-rank position?"
"Ha... Why is that a good thing?"
"Because it means the Blue Guild will return to being the top guild, which is a good thing, right?"
"Haaaa...."

Lee Soo-ah rubbed her forehead, feeling completely puzzled.

She felt like she was firmly caught in Baek Ji-hoon’s grasp, unable to move at all.

‘That look in his eyes... I can’t do anything... Even if I want to, I can’t choose anything else... It’s overwhelming... Ha... What is Ji-hoon...’

She brushed her hair back.

"Sigh~ Baek Ji-hoon is the treasure of our Blue Guild~ See? I told you from the first day he joined that he’d be great~~"

Chief Cha struck a confident pose.

"You were right. You do have a sharp eye, Chief Cha."
"Chief Cha, keep up the good work!"

The members of Hunter Team 6 looked very pleased. Up until now, they had always looked exhausted, but today was different.

"Sigh..."
"Soo-ah, you did very well today. It’s time to go home."
"Yes..."

Lee Soo-ah slumped over, completely drained.

"But still, Soo-ah, wouldn’t Ji-hoon be happy to hear how hard you worked today?"
"Oh, that’s true."

Lee Soo-ah’s expression brightened again.

‘Hehe, I’ll wait for Ji-hoon to come. I wonder when Yoo Hana’s schedule will end today~’

Even though it had been a hectic day from the hearing to the dungeon raid, she suddenly seemed energized. She decided to wait in the office for Baek Ji-hoon.

‘Hehe, if I tell him how hard I worked today... will he give me some points? He’s probably just trying to impress me, right? Isn’t he?’

"Today was great. Your performance was amazing, and dinner was nice too."
"Ha... Thank you for having dinner with me. Let’s do it often!"
"I’ll think about it."
"Pfft..."

She pouted a bit as we said our goodbyes and parted ways.

"Hmm~ Now to clock out~"

I headed up to the office.

"Baek! Ji! Hoon!"
"Yes."

As I approached the office of Hunter Team 6, a thunderous voice rang out. Of course, it was Lee Soo-ah.

"Do you know what time it is?"
"Hmm, it’s 8:30."
"Ha... Does Yoo Hana usually film this late?"
"Ah, we had dinner together, so it took a bit longer. She performed really well today."
"????????"

Her face froze in shock.

"Dinner... with Yoo Hana?"
"Yes."
"What about me?"
"Did you have dinner?"
"No! Why did you have dinner with Yoo Hana and leave me out?"
"Why would I include you, Lee Soo-ah?"
"Ha!!! Unbelievable!!!!!"

She looked extremely annoyed.

"Never mind that!"
"Yes."
"Come to the office."

Thud, thud, thud.

"Take a seat. Let’s have a little chat."

‘What’s this about?’

The atmosphere was rather odd.

She seemed annoyed, but there was also an air of expectation. It was hard to tell if she was in a good mood or not.

"So, Ji-hoon, do you know how hard today was for me?"
"No?"
"Let me tell you."

She began to talk in great detail about what had happened in the Noksapyeong Dungeon today—how hard it was for her to take the lead alone, how tough the dungeon was, and how she managed to handle it well because she’s so skilled.

She chattered on without stopping.

"Ha. Today was really tough, but I worked hard just like you said."

She sounded like a kindergarten student seeking praise from the teacher. I was a D-rank Hunter, and Lee Soo-ah was ranked second among S-rank Hunters.

The roles were completely reversed.

"I see. You did very well."
"Right? I did really well, didn’t I?"

She looked at me expectantly, as if waiting for a reward.

"So?"
"Uh... don’t you have something to do?"
"Hmm..."

I thought for a moment.

‘What does she want?’

She had eagerly reported her achievements and was now looking at me expectantly.

‘Does she want a reward? But I’m a D-rank Hunter, and she’s my superior, so what is she expecting?’

"Well, do even better next time."

Not knowing what she wanted, I just offered some generic encouragement.

"Huh??"
"Do your best. It’s your first day, right? You’ll get better as you get used to it."
"Ah... yes... haha... I see..."

She had been brimming with expectation, but now she looked completely deflated.

"I’ll be going now."
"Ah... okay..."

I left her behind, looking somewhat sad.

"What? Why? Wasn’t I supposed to get points? Didn’t Ji-hoon say he could give points? Did I misunderstand? What’s going on? Is this a game of push and pull?"

Lee Soo-ah paced anxiously around her office, biting her nails.

She was replaying the short interaction that had just taken place.

"What’s going on? I thought for sure he’d say, ‘Soo-ah, you worked so hard today. Let me reward you with some points.’ I really thought that would happen."

She had been so full of expectation. It was a scene she had dreamed of since childhood.

But things had gone in a completely different direction.

"Do better...? You’ll do better next time? What does that mean? Is he not satisfied with today’s results? Does he think the Noksapyeong Dungeon isn’t good enough? Is he just observing? What is it?"

She rested her chin on her hand, looking utterly confused.

"Ha... this is tough. I have no idea what he meant. Ugh..."

She crossed her legs and began tapping her foot.

"But still... dinner with Yoo Hana? That’s so annoying."

Suddenly, she felt a surge of anger.

"I worked so hard in the dungeon today, and he’s off having dinner with Yoo Hana? Why? Shouldn’t he be having dinner with me? I was the one who had a tough day!!"

She felt a bit resentful.

"Ha... no, Soo-ah, get a grip. You were just doing your job, right? You’re an S-rank Hunter, so this is what you’re supposed to do. And maybe Ji-hoon just prefers S-rank number one."

She started muttering to herself.

"Huh? Wait a minute..."

Something suddenly crossed her mind.

"Could it be? Chae Soo-hyun? S-rank number one? Is there a connection to Baek Ji-hoon? Huh?"

As she thought more, her mind began to wander in a strange direction.

"What? So does he only like the number one S-rank? Huh. Maybe he doesn’t care about second place. Hmm. I guess I need to become number one?"

She clenched her fist determinedly, drawing her own conclusions based on her wild speculations.

"Hmm. Maybe his comment about working harder... was that what it meant? No, what is it? If I work harder, will he help me? Or was it a hint to hurry and become number one?"

She kept tilting her head, puzzled.

"Hmm. I guess I’ll have to try a few more times. Maybe then I’ll figure it out."

Lee Soo-ah decided to strengthen her resolve.

"Hmm... so he plans to make Lee Soo-ah the number one S-rank..."

In the car on the way home, Yoo Hana’s expression was deeply troubled. The things Baek Ji-hoon had said earlier had clearly shocked her.

"It seems like Ji-hoon only thinks about Hunters... He doesn’t seem to care much about me..."

Her heart was wavering. She had given a stellar performance today, thinking she would earn points with Baek Ji-hoon, but it didn’t feel like that at all.

‘It felt like I didn’t matter to him at all, like his mind was somewhere else...’

She pouted, frustrated by how things weren’t going her way.

Up until now, she had always been able to get what she wanted, but Baek Ji-hoon seemed like an insurmountable wall.

"No, it’s strange. He wasn’t like this last week. He suddenly feels so different this week. Why? What changed? Ha... really..."

She felt lost, unsure of what to think or do next.

‘Hmm... recruiting S-rank Hunters to the Blue Guild... What does that mean? Is he planning to win over all the S-rank Hunters?’

She rested her chin on her hand and stared out the window.

‘Could it be... do other S-rank Hunters have feelings for Ji-hoon too? He seemed so confident, but what is it? If all the other S-rank Hunters really do go to Ji-hoon... what about me? Will I be the only one left in the entertainment industry...’
‘No, no, that can’t happen.’

Her expression was one of deep confusion.

‘Ha... maybe I should contact the Blue Guild...’

She stared at her smartphone, her fingers fidgeting with it as she pondered deeply.