"Huh? Training?"

I couldn't help but make a puzzled expression at the strange comment I just heard.

'Why is he suddenly talking about training?'

"Now that you're an S-rank Hunter, isn't it going to be easier to handle Hunter Lee Soo-ah?"

"Well, I suppose so."

"So, you're going to train an S-rank Hunter like Lee Soo-ah... Haha..."

'What is wrong with this guy?'

Hyung-seok seemed to be in a weird state.

"What are you talking about? Training?"

"Isn't training an S-rank Hunter every man's dream? Haha... Just thinking about it is thrilling."

"If I were to train someone, it should be Cha Soo-hyun. Why bother with Lee Soo-ah?"

"Why not both? Haha..."

'I think I get what his tastes are.'

"If it were me, I’d be having fun with Hunter Lee Soo-ah by now. Haha..."

He had a look of excitement on his face.

'Why is he telling me about his preferences?'

"But hey, I’ve laid all the groundwork for you."

"Groundwork?"

"Yeah, I think Hunter Lee Soo-ah is now eager to be trained by you."

"What?"

I couldn't believe the nonsense he was spouting.

"You know she’s always wanted to cling to you, right?"

"Yeah, that’s true."

"So, I've been giving her some tips on what might be good."

"Sigh... Let’s not do anything weird, Hyung-seok."

"It’s not weird! It’s a good thing!"

He looked at me with an expression as if he didn’t understand why I was objecting.

"Look, I can’t do it myself, so you should enjoy it for me."

He was really starting to sound crazy.

"What is this...?"

"Training... Training..."

The word kept echoing in Lee Soo-ah's mind, a word that Park Hyung-seok had mentioned.

Click, click.

She was scrolling through various searches on her computer.

[ I gave my boyfriend a special gift for our anniversary. It’s a bunny girl outfit! ] ㄴ Wow, that’s hot. ㄴ I wish my girlfriend would do that for me. ㄴ Where can I find a girl like that?

[ Day 135 of training my boyfriend. It was tough at first, but now I'm used to it... ] ㄴ Lucky boyfriend... ㄴ I wish my girlfriend would go through that for me...

'Sigh... What is all this...'

Knock, knock.

It was Chief Cha.

Lee Soo-ah, blushing furiously, quickly closed the internet browser.

"Lee Soo-ah, we're heading to the dungeon now. Are you coming with us? Though, with two S-rank Hunters in our department now, we could manage without you..."

"N-no!!! I’m going!!!"

Lee Soo-ah jumped to her feet.

"Were you looking at something strange? Why is your face so red?"

Chief Cha, ever perceptive, teased her.

"No!! What do you mean strange? It’s nothing!!!"

"If it’s nothing, why are you so defensive?"

Chief Cha chuckled.

Lee Soo-ah's expression was a mix of confusion and frustration. She felt like Baek Ji-hoon was drifting further away from her, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep up.

'Sigh... What does it mean that I need to be trained to hold onto him? Is that really good advice?'

She bit her lip. She couldn’t understand how she had ended up in this situation. Just last week, she was a top-tier professional, a workaholic woman at the peak of her field. Now, here she was, seriously considering training herself for someone.

'Sigh... This is all Yoo Hana's fault!'

She felt like she was being swept along by an unstoppable current.

'I have to stop this somehow.'

With a determined expression, she left her office.

"Ji-hoon!"

Yoo Hana called out to me sweetly.

"Yes?"

"I've prepared all the materials. This is your first time going, right?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Just follow the guide I’ve prepared, and everything should be fine. Hehe..."

In just one day, S-rank Hunter Yoo Hana had almost become my personal manager.

She was completely submissive, diligently gathering information for me.

I wasn’t sure how things had gotten to this point, but here we were in this strange situation.

"Okay, shall we get going?"

"Yes!"

Who could have imagined a celebrity following you around and assisting you like this? Just last week, the situation was the complete opposite.

"Alright everyone, let’s cover this dungeon thoroughly today and then wrap it up!"

Chief Cha took the lead.

"Teams 1 and 2, please back us up."

He smiled at the Hunters from Teams 1 and 2, who seemed unable to hide their grumbling.

"Let's go!"

The dungeon raid began.

"This creature is called Behemoth. It's weak to fire, so use this skill..."

Yoo Hana was explaining things one by one, helping me quickly adapt to my S-rank status.

"Uh... excuse me..."

Lee Soo-ah bit her lip and approached.

"Is something wrong?"

"Um... Hunter Baek Ji-hoon..."

There was a noticeable change in her demeanor.

"Yes?"

"I... I'll do whatever you ask..."

"???"

'What? What's with Lee Soo-ah all of a sudden?'

Her expression was pitiful.

"Why? What’s going on?"

"I... I just want to... Please handle me however you like..."

Suddenly, I remembered what Hyung-seok had said earlier.

• "Hyung, Hunter Lee Soo-ah will soon want to be trained willingly. Just wait and see. I’ll keep shaking her resolve."

• "Sigh, you don't need to do that, you idiot."

• "Oh come on, you know you like it too."

'What on earth did he say to make her like this?'

It seemed like Lee Soo-ah was not in her right mind.

"Hey, Soo-ah."

"Yes, yes!"

"Do you see those guys over there?"

"Huh?"

"The forty mini-dragons down there."

"Yes, yes!"

"Could you take care of them? I’m too lazy to go over there."

"Yes, of course!!!"

Lee Soo-ah happily skipped off.

'What the heck? Why is she being so obedient?'

Everything was starting to feel stranger by the minute. It was almost as if I was becoming some sort of authority figure.

'Is this okay? I mean, she's the A-Team leader, after all. Can she really be acting like this?'

It was odd, but I had my own tasks to focus on.

"Yoo Hana, I’ll take care of these creatures now."

"Yes, please!"

I stepped forward to deal with the Behemoths as Yoo Hana had instructed.

"Wow... Ji-hoon, you really are an S-rank Hunter, aren’t you?"

I heard a voice of admiration from behind me.

Although I didn’t use any special items, it felt pretty satisfying.

Slash.

The beasts were quickly cut down.

'This is working out nicely, just as Yoo Hana said.'

Having a guidebook always makes things easier.

"Good job!!!"

Yoo Hana cheered from behind.

Clap, clap, clap.

The dungeon raid concluded successfully, and the members of Hunter Team 6 gathered together.

"Wow~~~ We finished so fast today, didn’t we?"

"Yeah, it usually takes us about three hours, but it hasn’t even been two."

"Awesome!! It’s all thanks to you, Baek Ji-hoon."

Everyone looked at me, clapping enthusiastically. It felt like they were welcoming me much more warmly than they had last week.

'This is nice. I feel like I’m really finding my place in the Blue Guild.'

"Yoo Hana."

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

I expressed my gratitude lightly. Yoo Hana seemed very pleased.

"And... what about me?"

Lee Soo-ah interrupted after hearing my words.

"Hmm..."

I pretended to think for a moment.

"I’ll keep an eye on you for a bit longer, Lee Soo-ah."

"Oh..."

Her face fell, looking disappointed.

"Sigh... Why... Why me..."

Back in the office, Lee Soo-ah slumped at her desk, pouting.

"What is this... It feels like there’s a wall..."

She felt as if she was up against something she couldn’t overcome.

'Sigh... This really isn’t going well... I need to call Hyung-seok...'

[ Hey, Hyung-seok... Could you come to my office? ]

It hadn’t even been three minutes after sending the text when Park Hyung-seok came running.

"What is it? Do you need my help?"

"I... can you tell me what it means to be trained...?"

"What? Huh...!"

Park Hyung-seok looked like he was about to burst with excitement, as if his dream had just come true.

"Sigh... I mean... What do I need to do to get closer to Ji-hoon? Please tell me!!!"

"Well... you see..."

Park Hyung-seok moved closer to Lee Soo-ah.

"Hunter Lee Soo-ah? Listen closely. Men like women who are completely obedient, who act like they’ve turned belly-up."

"Turn... belly-up?"

"Sigh, think about it. Ji-hoon is growing at an incredible pace, right? Isn’t he?"

"Uh... Yes, he is..."

"Last week, you might have been above him, but now, Ji-hoon is about to surpass you."

Lee Soo-ah didn’t want to admit it. But she could feel it too. Baek Ji-hoon was growing at an extraordinary speed.

"Sigh... That’s true, but..."

"Hunter Lee Soo-ah, you need to understand that you’re no longer the one ruling over other Hunters. You have to accept that if you want to move forward."

"Sigh... Ruling... I liked being on top..."

"Tsk. You still have a long way to go, Hunter Lee Soo-ah. I’ll be going now."

"Noooo!!! Don’t go!!! Tell me what to do!!!"

Lee Soo-ah had no choice but to hold onto Park Hyung-seok.

"What do you mean what to do? You just need to be ready to give up everything."