"Baek Ji-hoon."

A sharp voice rang out, a tone so different from what Lee Soo-ah usually had that it was hard to believe it was hers.

'What the...? Is that really Lee Soo-ah’s voice?'

When I looked up, it was indeed her. She was fuming, practically seething with anger.

In the past two weeks, I hadn’t seen her get angry at me, so this was definitely a first.

'What’s going on? Why is she mad? I haven’t done anything new...'

There hadn’t been anything out of the ordinary, so I was completely puzzled.

"Ha. Baek. Ji. Hoon."

"Yes? What’s the matter? What can I help you with?"

"I know everything. About your relationship with Cha Soo-hyun."

"What??"

She was glaring at me with a terrifying expression, almost like she wanted to kill me. Seeing her like that, I couldn’t help but be startled.

'What the heck? Did she investigate my relationship with Cha Soo-hyun? How could she know? Unless she asked my friends, there’s no way she could find out.'

It was shocking that she knew anything about my relationship with Cha Soo-hyun, and I was also curious about who could have leaked it. Except for Hyung-seok, there’s no way Lee Soo-ah would know any of my friends. The thought that she somehow found out was more disturbing than anything else.

"Uh... How do you know about this? Who told you?"

I couldn’t help but frown slightly.

'Damn... She knows about Cha Soo-hyun? Does that mean she also knows about my traits, about being an Incubus? Does she know I got dumped? What is this? Does she know we used to date?'

I decided to remain as calm as possible. After all, there’s a saying about how even if you enter the tiger’s den, you’ll survive as long as you keep your wits about you.

"Ji-hoon, I’m really disappointed in you. How could you do this to me?"

"It’s not like I hid it on purpose... It’s just an embarrassing situation."

"Embarrassing? It’s not just embarrassing—it’s downright wrong!!!"

Lee Soo-ah screamed at the top of her lungs.

'Wrong? Why? I didn’t dump anyone—if anything, Cha Soo-hyun was the one who wronged me. Is she talking about Cha Soo-hyun? No, it sounds like she’s blaming me...'

"I want you to leave Blue Guild."

"What?"

The sudden demand to leave was completely out of nowhere.

'What is she talking about? Out of the blue, she wants me to leave Blue Guild? But I’m the one who’s been improving this guild.'

Gathering four S-rank Hunters is unprecedented. Naturally, this makes me a valuable asset to the guild. And yet, she’s asking me to leave? It was absurd.

"Why?"

"Because you’re a danger to our guild!"

"Why? I’ve brought four S-rank Hunters to the guild, and I’m planning to recruit more."

"Ha. That’s not for the guild—it’s for your own benefit. I’m so disappointed. How dare you use our guild like this!!"

She started getting more agitated, her anger escalating.

"Baek Ji-hoon, please leave quietly. I’ve already tried to persuade the Guild Master, but he won’t listen. If you don’t leave, I’ll expose everything I know to everyone!! I thought you were a good person, but I can’t believe you’d deceive me like this. I’m so disappointed. Don’t think you can just toy with me and make a fool out of me!! Forget the mistake I made, and stop playing games with me!!!"

With that, she stormed out, screaming at the top of her lungs.

'What the hell? What’s going on all of a sudden?'

The situation had taken a bizarre turn. Lee Soo-ah had unleashed all her anger on me and then left.

'What did I do wrong? I’ve actually made Blue Guild better by being here, haven’t I?'

Knock, knock, knock.

After Lee Soo-ah left, Assistant Manager Cha knocked on the door and came in.

"Ji-hoon~"

"Yes, sir."

"Did Hunter Lee Soo-ah just come by?"

"Yes."

I frowned slightly, wondering if they had some sort of connection.

"What did she say?"

"Well... She acted like she knew something about my past..."

"Your past?"

"Yes."

"What’s your past like?"

"Uh... It’s kind of... hard to explain..."

The story involving Cha Soo-hyun was something I wanted to keep hidden. I didn’t want to be known as the S-rank Hunter who got seduced and dumped by a Succubus. As long as Cha Soo-hyun and my friends kept quiet, I figured I could avoid any major issues.

After all, I’m currently one of the hottest rising S-rank Hunters. I’m on my way to becoming the most famous S-rank Hunter.

"So, what happened?"

"She told me to leave the guild."

"Oh my! Hunter Lee Soo-ah is talking nonsense."

He slapped his thigh in surprise.

"Baek Ji-hoon, you’re the pride of our guild. You’re not going anywhere. Don’t worry—she’s probably just frustrated. Just ignore it."

"Frustrated?"

"Think about it—up until two weeks ago, Hunter Lee Soo-ah was the top S-rank in our guild, right? Then she got overtaken by Cha Soo-hyun, and now, with you becoming an S-rank Hunter, the whole hierarchy has flipped. It’s no wonder she’s losing it a bit. She’s been the representative of S-rank Hunters for a long time."

Assistant Manager Cha seemed to be trying his best to reassure me, urging me not to take Lee Soo-ah’s words too seriously.

"Hmm. Is that so? But the way she spoke didn’t feel like frustration... It felt more like a threat... It was suspicious."

"Come on~ What other reason could she have for suddenly changing her attitude toward you?"

"I don’t know. It’s confusing... Why is she acting like this?"

It felt like the situation was entering a new phase.

'I mean, one moment she’s hugging me, and the next she’s furious. What’s going on with her?'

"Um... Yoo Hana."

"Yes?"

"Can we talk for a moment?"

Lee Soo-ah approached Yoo Hana, looking visibly upset, her arms crossed.

"Um, what do you want to talk about?"

"Do you know? Baek Ji-hoon… is a spy."

"What? A spy? What are you talking about?"

Yoo Hana looked genuinely baffled.

"I’m sure of it. Baek Ji-hoon is a spy. I think he’s done something to me. He’s keeping quiet now, but I’m going to make him confess eventually. I’ll keep applying pressure until he cracks."

Lee Soo-ah continued to speak with determination.

"I think he came here to take my position. After taking my spot, he plans to push me out..."

"Hold on a second, Lee Soo-ah. You’re saying some strange things right now..."

Yoo Hana interrupted her, unable to comprehend what she was hearing.

'Why would Baek Ji-hoon be a spy? What kind of spy is that obvious? Wouldn’t it make more sense to stay hidden...?'

Yoo Hana found Lee Soo-ah’s words odd, thinking they were completely baseless.

"Think about it, Yoo Hana. Remember when we met at Baek Ji-hoon’s place last week?" "Yes." "Who else was there?" "Hunter Cha Soo-hyun...?" "Exactly. Those two knew each other." "And...?" "Sigh… How can you not see it? Baek Ji-hoon is a spy for Baekho Guild. You know there are a lot of spies from Baekho Guild in our guild, right?" "I know there are Baekho Guild spies, but... Baek Ji-hoon a spy? That doesn’t make any sense to me..."

Yoo Hana still trusted Baek Ji-hoon. To her, what Lee Soo-ah was saying didn’t add up at all.

"Sigh... Just think about it. What’s happened since Baek Ji-hoon arrived? Haven’t things gotten weird between you and me?"

"Weird...?"

"You’ve developed feelings for Baek Ji-hoon, right? That’s why you came back to our guild, isn’t it?"

Yoo Hana blushed slightly. She hadn’t intended to make her feelings so obvious, but Lee Soo-ah’s blunt words left her feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Th-that’s not it! I just wanted to return to Hunter work!!!"

"Don’t lie. Just be honest."

The tension between Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Hana was palpable.

"Sigh. Anyway, what does that have to do with Baek Ji-hoon being a spy?"

"My theory is that Baek Ji-hoon used some kind of ability on both of us. That’s why we’re acting out of character."

"I’m not acting crazy."

"Well... I made a mistake... Didn’t you make any mistakes too, Yoo Hana?"

"What mistake? I haven’t made any."

Yoo Hana’s eyes widened as she started to argue back. She couldn’t understand what kind of mistake Lee Soo-ah was talking about.

"Sigh... I... I couldn’t help myself and ended up hugging Baek Ji-hoon."

"...?"

Yoo Hana stared at her in disbelief.

"Why would you do that on your own?"

"That’s exactly what I’m trying to figure out. Why did I do something so out of character? You know I’m not usually like this."

"Hmm… Well, that’s true, but..."

Yoo Hana found Lee Soo-ah’s behavior strange, scrutinizing her closely. Although they were rivals, this was indeed odd behavior. It wasn’t like her at all.

"Exactly. That’s why I’ve come to the conclusion that Baek Ji-hoon is a spy for Baekho Guild. He must have targeted me. He took my position in less than two weeks—that’s no easy feat!"

"Well... That’s true, but..."

"And he might be trying to pull something on you too. Think about it, Yoo Hana. Didn’t you have to pay some sort of penalty when you came back?"

"Uh... Th-there was a small fine..."

"Think about it. You’ve been affected by Baek Ji-hoon too. We both have. We’ve both clearly suffered losses because of him."

"Uh..."

Yoo Hana was slowly starting to be convinced. She, like Lee Soo-ah, wasn’t the type to normally act irrationally. She wasn’t the kind of woman to get all worked up over a man.

'Hmm... Now that I think about it... This is strange...'

Yoo Hana’s expression grew serious as she began to process everything.