Cyborg-tl
“Hmm…”
Che Su-hyeon lay down on her bed after returning home, resting her chin in her hands while lightly swinging her legs.
‘Hehe... Ji-hoon oppa... You haven’t forgotten about me, have you...? Hehehe.’
She mulled over the conversation she had heard earlier. It was just a baseless rumor circulating at work, but it was exactly what she wanted to believe.
For someone desperate, even the smallest hint of hope can lead to self-delusion. Che Su-hyeon had no desire to investigate further.
All she needed was for Baek Ji-hoon to come back to her, unable to forget her, and her future would be perfect.
‘It’s okay if I give up on being a chaebol’s wife. As long as I remain the number one S-rank... Besides, I can just keep running S-rank dungeons, right?’
Her thoughts shifted to the auction that had caused such a commotion that day.
‘I can easily become a millionaire on my own as an S-rank. Who needs Lee Jin-hyuk anyway...’
She had already lost interest in Lee Jin-hyuk.
‘How could he speak to me like that?’
The memory of Jin-hyuk’s irritated expression surfaced in her mind, making her scowl in frustration. Unlike the men she had dealt with in the past, who fawned over her, Lee Jin-hyuk hadn’t done so.
‘What does he take me for? Did he just see me as his lackey? Hmph! Unbelievable. Fine! I’ll get Ji-hoon oppa back. You and your Baekho Guild, go live your lives!’
She logged into the auction platform.
‘Wow... It’s already up to 90 billion? As expected of Baekho Guild... They’re just throwing money around like it’s nothing…’
Che Su-hyeon couldn’t help but marvel at the financial power of the Tae-yang Group.
‘It’s fine. As long as I can get back to Ji-hoon oppa, none of this matters, heheh.’
For the first time in a while, a smile appeared on her face.
After the disastrous point deduction she had suffered, it felt good to receive some positive news for once.
‘Yeah, if I can sell items like that for 90 billion, I was a fool. If I’d just been working with Ji-hoon oppa collecting these, we’d have become rich in no time. We could’ve been like a walking corporation. Ugh, I was so stupid to stick around with someone like Lee Jin-hyuk.’
She began reflecting on her poor choices, realizing she had been playing the wrong hand all along.
‘Ji-hoon oppa... I’ll be waiting... Please sort things out with Soo-ah and come back to me...’
She fully believed the false information that Park Jin-soo had told her.
‘Hehehehe…’
The next morning.
‘Damn... It actually hit 100 billion.’
The fierce competition was palpable. I woke up and checked the auction, and sure enough, it had hit 100 billion in just one day.
It was hard to believe.
Of course, it didn’t seem like it would climb much higher. Baekho Guild must have set their limit at 100 billion, as they hadn’t raised the bid any further. The other bidders seemed to be in the same position.
‘Well, this is more than enough. Haha.’
I was in a great mood heading to work.
[ Hey Hyung-seok. Let’s just stop the auction here and sell it to Baekho Guild. No need to wait a whole week. ] [ Should we? ] [ Yeah. I think 100 billion is the limit. We were expecting 20 billion at most, but 100 billion is insane. ] [ Sigh. You’re right. I did some research, and the American bidders were hesitant to join. ] [ Why? ] [ It seems they weren’t sure if it was a legitimate item. They couldn’t trust a seller with no transaction history, and this was our first auction. ] [ Ah, that makes sense. ]
It was understandable. With such a high price on the line, it was natural for buyers to be cautious.
[ Hyung, let’s wrap it up with this. ] [ Okay! ]
With a pounding heart, I headed to work.
“Baek. Ji. Hoon.”
“?”
As soon as I arrived at the office, I was met with the sight of Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Hana, perched on my desk with their arms crossed and legs casually swinging. Their eyes gleamed with a haughty, confident look as they stared at me.
They seemed to be waiting for me, arms folded as if they had something important to say.
‘What’s with the attitude? Did they give up on the task I assigned them?’
I couldn’t help but glance at them with a confused expression.
“We’ve finished everything.”
Lee Soo-ah slammed a stack of documents onto the desk with a loud thud.
“Baek. Ji. Hoon. Don’t think we’re pushovers. Do you really think we’ll submit to you? Now, come clean! Are you a spy from Baekho Guild, Baek Ji-hoon?”
She was spouting nonsense.
‘What is she talking about? Has she lost it?’
“You finished everything... with just the two of you? That’s a bit hard to believe.”
Of course, I looked at them with suspicion. Anyone would.
“Hmph. We did it with eight people.”
“Eight... people?”
I was shocked.
‘Eight people? Did they recruit other S-rank hunters behind my back?’
“I brought in some friends to help. Lee Ha-ru, Lee Ye-ji, Lee A-reum, Cha Ah-yeon, Park Ye-eun, Jo Soo-ji.”
Those were some serious names. Every one of them was an S-rank hunter that the whole nation knew.
‘What? She brought them all in?’
The situation was becoming more intense by the minute.
“We completed everything. What do you think of us now?”
Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Hana smirked, their lips curling up as if they’d triumphed over me.
‘What the hell? They actually did it?’
My strategy had been to follow Hyung-seok’s advice and put as much pressure on them as possible to make them crack. But now it felt like my plan was falling apart.
Of course, they weren’t all that important to me anymore. As long as I kept doing my job and making money, that was all that mattered.
But in their eyes, I needed to maintain a strong position.
“Hmm. Well done. It seems like you could’ve done this from the start but chose not to.”
I spoke coldly, trying not to show my surprise. Leading eight S-rank hunters and completing such a massive mission was impressive, but I couldn’t let them see that.
“What...?”
Lee Soo-ah’s expression faltered at my frosty tone. Yoo Hana’s reaction was the same. Their crossed arms loosened a bit.
“So, Hunter Lee Soo-ah and Hunter Yoo Hana... You were capable of doing this all along, but you just didn’t?”
I gave Lee Soo-ah a sharp look.
“Wha... no... That’s not... what...”
Lee Soo-ah started to stutter, clearly taken aback.
“Good. This mission was a test, and you passed. At this pace, our A-team’s performance will soar.”
“What??? No... wait, Baek Ji-hoon...”
Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Hana’s faces hardened as they rushed toward me.
“You’re misunderstanding something. We completed something incredible, isn’t that impressive?”
“I had faith in both of you. I knew you could handle it.”
I kept my responses firm and cold.
I remembered what Hyung-seok had told me.
“Hunter Lee Soo-ah, Hunter Yoo Hana. This is just the beginning.”
“What???”
Their faces grew more serious.
“Wait for the next mission.”
I pointed to the office door, indicating that they should leave. Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Hana looked stunned and uneasy but had nothing more to say as they quietly left the room.
‘Phew... They really did finish it...’
I was speechless as I looked over the report they’d left on my desk. It was absolutely ridiculous.
The mission they completed was difficult enough for two S-rank hunters, but this... this had required the efforts of eight S-rank hunters.
‘I mentioned recruiting S-rank hunters into Blue Guild... Could this really happen?’
I felt uneasy as I considered the possibilities.
Ding!
Just as I was lost in thought, I heard a notification sound.
[ Hyung. ]
It was a message from Hyung-seok.
[ After the guild fees, we made 10 billion. ]
Despite the chaos with Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Hana, it seemed the transaction had been processed smoothly.
‘Holy crap. 10 billion...?’
Even seeing the number with my own eyes, it felt unreal. But there it was—real money, sitting in my account.
[ Good work. I’ll give you 1 billion. You earned it. ] [ Thank you ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ ]
‘Wow... It’s only a matter of time before I’m rich…’
Everything seemed to be falling into place. It felt like I could control the world.
“Noooo!!!”
Back in her office, Lee Soo-ah was trembling with rage.
“What... what just happened???”
Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Hana exchanged bewildered looks, unable to process what had just taken place in Baek Ji-hoon’s office.