"Huff... Huff..."

Lee Soo-ah was panting heavily, already completely exhausted. Hunter Team 1 had long since fallen behind, barely visible in the distance.

"Hah, I thought Hunter Team 1 was the best, but it seems like I’ve made them too complacent."

She reflected on her past decisions, now filled with a sense of regret.

‘I should’ve trained them harder... I never imagined something like this would happen.’

"Soo-ah, are you struggling?"

Yoo Hana also looked exhausted, barely able to catch her breath.

"Yeah... just a little. But it’s fine. Let’s get through all this today."

"Yeah, we have to hit Ji-hoon where it hurts. That guy is too much. I really thought I had lost my charm because of my age. I tried so hard to get his attention, but he barely gave me a glance. Hah… He has to be a spy. There’s no other explanation for why he’d treat me like this."

Yoo Hana’s eyes were filled with frustration. She was deeply offended that Baek Ji-hoon hadn’t responded to her efforts to win him over. She found it easier to believe that he was a spy than to accept that he wasn’t interested in her.

"Yeah, Yoo Hana. Let’s push through this!"

"Everyone, fighting!!!"

"Cross!!!"

“Hah… Hah… Manager… This is too much. Why is Lee Soo-ah acting like this all of a sudden? She used to be tough, but now… she’s lost it. It’s like she’s gone completely mad.”

Hunter Park Jin-soo complained to the Section Chief, his face filled with disbelief. He was clearly hoping the chief could do something to fix the situation.

"Don’t look at me. I’m just as surprised as you. She came into my office, dropped this massive pile of paperwork, and told me we had to finish it by tomorrow."

"By tomorrow?? All of it???"

Park Jin-soo gasped in shock, while the other members of Team 1 began trembling in fear.

"Hah… Manager, you should’ve said something! Like, ‘We can’t do this!’ How could you just accept it?"

"Hah... Jin-soo, if you were in my place, you would’ve shut up too. Have you ever seen Lee Soo-ah when she’s furious? It’s terrifying. It’s not the kind of situation where you can just speak up—if I had, I would’ve lost my head right then and there."

The Section Chief, usually bold and assertive, was reduced to a timid hamster in front of Lee Soo-ah’s wrath.

"Why was she so mad, anyway?"

Park Jin-soo tilted his head, confused. There was no obvious reason for her to be in such a rage.

"I don’t know, but from what I can tell, it seems like something’s going on between her and the team leader."

"Team leader? You mean Baek Ji-hoon?"

"Yeah. Do you know anything about him? You’ve always had a nose for this kind of thing—you were trying to get close to him before he even became popular."

"Well, yeah, that’s true…"

Park Jin-soo scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

‘Not that I did it on my own. It was because Cha Soo-hyun asked me to look into him…’

"You don’t know anything about Baek Ji-hoon?"

"No, not really. I haven’t had the chance to talk to him deeply."

"Ah, I see."

"So, what’s going on?"

"Well, from what I’ve heard, Lee Soo-ah thinks Baek Ji-hoon is a spy from Baekho Guild."

"A spy?"

Park Jin-soo flinched in surprise.

‘A spy? But I’m the spy. Could Baek Ji-hoon be one too? But then, why would a spy become an S-rank Hunter and a team leader?’

It didn’t make any sense to him.

"Yeah, that’s what she says. She thinks he’s here to steal her position and that she needs to get it back. Personally, I think it’s just a lover’s quarrel."

"A lover’s quarrel?"

"Yeah. The spy thing doesn’t add up, right?"

"Yeah, Baek Ji-hoon isn’t a spy."

Park Jin-soo nodded slowly, a thoughtful look on his face as he crossed his arms, firmly denying the idea.

"Huh? How can you be so sure? You seem pretty confident. Do you know something?"

The Section Chief looked at Park Jin-soo suspiciously.

"Oh, no, I just mean… Baek Ji-hoon doesn’t seem like the type to be a spy. Doesn’t he seem more like a… tofu-brain? Or maybe an udon-noodle brain?"

"Udon-noodle brain?"

"Yeah, you know, his brain is kind of like udon noodles."

"Hahahahahahaha!"

They both laughed heartily.

"Anyway, whatever’s going on, it’s because of Baek Ji-hoon. And it seems like he and Lee Soo-ah are having some kind of fight. Remember last week when there were rumors about them dating? I think it’s all part of that."

"Sigh… So, we’re just caught in the middle of their lover’s spat?"

"Pretty much."

"And what about Yoo Hana?"

Park Jin-soo pointed to Yoo Hana, who was far ahead, working with Lee Soo-ah.

"Who knows? I don’t get how those two became a team. They used to hate each other’s guts."

"Right? I thought they’d kill each other."

"What could it be? Maybe they made a deal? Like, helping each other out in exchange for a guy?"

"Who knows…"

Hunter Team 1 was completely confused. They had no idea why Lee Soo-ah was acting this way.

"Let’s just catch up. We don’t have time to stand around. We’re falling behind…"

"Sigh… Alright…"

Team 1 followed with a sense of dread, their faces full of despair.

"Sigh… If we stay up all night, we should be able to finish this by tomorrow, right?"

Yoo Hana sounded a bit more hopeful.

"Y-yeah… we can do this if we push ourselves a little more…"

Lee Soo-ah was drenched in sweat as she replied. Both women had resolved to finish everything Baek Ji-hoon had assigned, even if it meant pushing themselves to the limit.

"Fighting!"

"Fighting!!!"

"Oppa…"

"Hmm?"

Cha Soo-hyun sidled up to Lee Jin-hyuk, trying to initiate some skinship as she pressed her body against his.

‘I… I have to… get pregnant!! That’s the only way out now… Ji-hoon oppa won’t take me back…’

She was planning to use her final cheat—pregnancy. After all, once she was pregnant, she would be exempt from most responsibilities.

No one could force a pregnant woman to raid dungeons or take on heavy tasks.

"What is it?"

"I… I have a wish…"

She slowly started to touch him, subtly trying to seduce him.

"What? Do you want me to buy you a bag?"

"No… not that…"

Cha Soo-hyun’s hand moved lower.

"No."

Lee Jin-hyuk immediately caught on to her intentions and shut her down coldly.

"We’re not even married yet. There’s no reason to rush. And you…"

His gaze sharpened.

"You’re not planning to quit being a Hunter, are you?"

In the world of Hunters, pregnancy often meant the end of a career, especially for high-level Hunters who couldn’t risk the aftereffects of childbirth in dangerous dungeons.

"I… uh…"

Cha Soo-hyun’s face turned pale, completely caught off guard.

"You just became the number one S-rank Hunter. You need to maintain that spot for at least five years. Don’t you know what’s going on with Blue Guild? There’s talk that Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Hana cleared an S-rank dungeon together recently."

"I… I heard something about that…"

She had heard bits and pieces of the rumors.

"But… I… I want to have your baby, Jin-hyuk oppa…"

"I get that, but later. Right now, Baekho Guild is about to get crushed by Blue Guild, and you’re thinking about babies? What are you thinking?"

His expression made it clear he thought her request was ridiculous.

"F-fine."

"Listen, instead of focusing on that, get out there and raid some dungeons. Start with an A-rank dungeon, and once you’re back in shape, try an S-rank one. We can’t lose to Blue Guild, can we?"

"B-but… that’s a bit much right now…"

"Too much?!"

Lee Jin-hyuk’s temper flared. He was clearly frustrated after watching her do nothing for nearly two weeks, wasting time while their guild struggled.

"I’ve worked my ass off to make Baekho Guild number one, and what are you doing? Thinking about getting pregnant? Go raid some dungeons! Lead a team! What have you even done since joining? You’ve contributed nothing, and now you want to slack off again? Is your dream to be a housewife?"

His anger spilled out, unleashing all the pent-up frustration he’d been holding in.

"Fine… I get it…"

Cha Soo-hyun, cowed by his outburst, turned and left.

‘What the hell… This is ridiculous…’

Cha Soo-hyun was fuming, frustrated that her plan to manipulate the situation had failed.

‘And he wants me to raid dungeons? How am I supposed to do that when I’ve been demoted to E-rank? I want to raid dungeons too! But I’m an E-rank now!’

Her situation was becoming more and more dire. She couldn’t tell the truth, but hiding it was pushing her closer to dangerous dungeons.

‘This is getting dangerous… If I’m not careful, I could get killed in a dungeon…’

Cha Soo-hyun realized she had to change her strategy quickly.