“Hmm…”

Yoo Hana couldn’t come to a conclusion easily. Lee Soo-ah’s words were shocking, after all.

Both Yoo Hana and Lee Soo-ah had undeniably felt a strong attraction toward Baek Ji-hoon recently, almost as if they were under a spell.

Yoo Hana had even given up her successful career in entertainment to return to Blue Guild, which had certainly resulted in significant losses.

“Yoo Hana, just look at this. Isn’t this you? The beautiful S-rank Hunter!”

Lee Soo-ah waved a picture of Yoo Hana from her days as a celebrity, showing off her flawless appearance.

“We were both played by Baek Ji-hoon. I don’t know exactly how, but we need to wake up. This is Blue Guild. I built this guild. I can’t let it slip away.”

“You didn’t build it alone, Soo-ah. I played a big part too…”

Yoo Hana’s voice trembled. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, Lee Soo-ah’s argument was starting to make sense.

‘Why was Cha Soo-hyun there that day?’

Yoo Hana began recalling the time when the four Hunters had gathered in Sinlim-dong.

‘It was obvious… They knew each other, didn’t they?’

At the time, she hadn’t been close enough to Baek Ji-hoon to ask directly, so she had let it go. Besides, Cha Soo-hyun had left abruptly, almost like she was fleeing.

‘If they weren’t already acquainted, why would Cha Soo-hyun show up at his house?’

Yoo Hana was thinking quickly, piecing things together in her head.

“Soo-ah, you might be right… Cha Soo-hyun was still the number one S-rank Hunter last week, wasn’t she? And at that time, Ji-hoon was still just an E-rank.”

“Exactly!!”

Lee Soo-ah clapped her hands in agreement.

“But… it doesn’t make sense for Cha Soo-hyun to be sent to scout an E-rank Hunter…”

“See? There’s something fishy going on with her! Trust a woman’s intuition! Right?”

“Could she have been giving him orders…?”

“I think so.”

Both S-rank Hunters grew more serious. They were beginning to treat this situation with the gravity it deserved.

“And another strange thing…”

“What is it?”

“I kept trying to visit Ji-hoon’s house last week. I practically begged him to let me in for dinner, but he kept refusing.”

“What? You’ve been to Baek Ji-hoon’s house? When? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Yoo Hana’s competitive spirit flared up a bit at the thought.

“Hey! That’s not the point right now!”

Lee Soo-ah quickly interrupted, worried the conversation was veering off course.

“Fine, we’ll deal with that later. So what’s your point?”

“Well, think about it. I might have dropped to number two in the S-rank rankings, but I’m still the most famous S-rank Hunter, right? Beauty, physical prowess, skills—I’m not lacking in any department.”

“Hmph. I’ll give you that.”

Yoo Hana snorted slightly in agreement.

“So why would he reject me? Think about it. Unless he’s gay, wouldn’t a healthy man be thrilled if someone like me wanted to come over? I mean, wouldn’t a normal guy want to kidnap me and bring me inside?”

“Hm…”

Their suspicion deepened as everything started to click into place.

“Do you think Ji-hoon’s awkwardness was all an act?”

“Exactly! It’s because he was working as a spy. He had to be cautious about how he handled things in Blue Guild.”

“Hmm…”

“It all felt strange from the start. The rumors about me and him dating on the first day…”

Lee Soo-ah frowned.

“What? What rumors?”

“I don’t know, but apparently the rumors were all over the guild’s intranet from day one.”

“Ha. Did you start them?”

“Why would I do that? Are you crazy?!”

She vehemently denied it, clearly frustrated.

“Alright, fine. I get it now. I agree with you. Thinking back, there were a lot of strange things. It’s clear now. Baek Ji-hoon has been playing us all along. He dragged me back into the guild, only to take advantage of us.”

“And… now that you mention it… Cha Soo-hyun is making her debut in the entertainment industry this week…”

Lee Soo-ah’s face stiffened, and so did Yoo Hana’s.

“That’s right… I saw that broadcast too… causing quite a stir. Some news outlets are even saying Cha Soo-hyun is going to replace me…”

Yoo Hana clenched her jaw, feeling a growing sense of betrayal.

“That’s it. I thought Ji-hoon was a brilliant Hunter for gathering four S-rank Hunters for Blue Guild. That’s why I admired him, even liked him. But now I see… he wasn’t after me. He was trying to replace me with Cha Soo-hyun.”

“Hana…”

“Yes?”

“We’re in this together now. We’ve both been stabbed in the back by Baek Ji-hoon. It’s time to wake up.”

What had started as Lee Soo-ah’s suspicion due to her strange behavior had now escalated into a nearly unshakable certainty.

“So, what should we do?”

“Well, I’ve already confronted him.”

“What did you say?”

“I told him I knew about his relationship with Cha Soo-hyun and that he should leave Blue Guild quietly. I don’t want to cause a scene here.”

“And what did he say?”

“He denied everything, of course. He’s stubborn.”

“Hah… Baek Ji-hoon really is something else, isn’t he? Even when the former A-Team leader asks him to leave, he holds his ground.”

“I told you, he’s dangerous. I thought his awkwardness was just a personality quirk, but it was all an act. He’s been deceiving us from the start.”

“Hah… so all those little flirtations were just part of his plan.”

Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Hana were now completely in sync. They had joined forces, their sights set on Baek Ji-hoon.

“Hey, Hyung-seok.”

“Yeah, yeah?”

“You didn’t… betray me, did you?”

“Huh?? N-no...?”

He looked genuinely startled.

“What did you tell Hunter Lee Soo-ah?”

Naturally, I assumed that if anyone had spilled the details about Cha Soo-hyun and me, it had to be Park Hyung-seok. None of my other friends had any contact with Hunters, let alone knew about my past.

“I… I’m sorry!!!”

“Ugh… I’m disappointed in you. Do you know what Lee Soo-ah thinks of me now?”

“I just thought you’d like it if she started dominating you…”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“You know… when I suggested you let her dominate you…”

“No.”

I stared at him in disbelief.

“Then what?”

“She barged into my office and told me to leave Blue Guild.”

“Why?”

“She said she knows about Cha Soo-hyun and me. And she was mad—furious, even. But why?”

“Ehh?”

Park Hyung-seok looked puzzled. Then, after a moment of deep thought, his face lit up like he had found the answer.

“Hyung, I know exactly what’s going on.”

“What?”

“Hunter Lee Soo-ah… she’s in love with you. Like, crazy in love.”

“Pfft.”

I couldn’t help but spit out my drink.

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Think about it. She found out about your past with Cha Soo-hyun, then she told you to leave, and she got mad. Why would a woman get mad in that situation?”

“Uh…”

I started to get what he was implying.

“There’s only one reason—Lee Soo-ah is insanely jealous. She’s furious that you hid your relationship with Cha Soo-hyun from her.”

“How would you know? You’ve never even been in a relationship.”

“I’m a web novel and light novel master. I’ve read over 200,000 of them.”

“You’re nuts.”

In a weird way, I had to admire him.

“Live in reality for once…”

“I can’t succeed in reality, so I’ve chosen to excel at what I know.”

His expression was one of someone who had given up on real-life relationships.

“Sigh… Still, I can’t agree with you. Lee Soo-ah in love with me? Isn’t it just a passing attraction?”

I couldn’t easily accept such a wild idea. After all, Lee Soo-ah was one of the most famous Hunters in the country.

She was so famous that even people in remote villages knew her name. Accepting that someone like her could love me seemed impossible. If I accepted that too easily, wouldn’t I be delusional?

“Think about it. Has Lee Soo-ah ever given you signs that she’s in love with you? I’m sure there must have been something. You’ve even had meals together.”

Park Hyung-seok was giving me a suspicious look.

“Well… that…”

I started thinking deeply.