Cyborg-tl
"Hmm~~"
Cha Isul was humming a tune, looking quite pleased with herself as she casually scrolled through her search results.
‘I can’t believe I’m finally dating Ji-hoon… I’ve been keeping it to myself for so long.’
She felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from her chest.
‘I knew switching to the Blue Guild was the right choice.’
She had spent a lot of time contemplating her decision. Leaving Zeus Guild, where she had worked for years, wasn’t easy. After all, there were societal pressures too. Typically, an S-rank hunter was seen as the face of their guild, so transferring required a great deal of determination.
‘Thankfully, things seem to be going well.’
Since her move to the Blue Guild, and the subsequent arrival of six more S-rank hunters, the public criticism of her decision had gradually died down.
Although the initial reaction to her transfer wasn’t entirely positive, she was content. She had resolved something that had been on her mind for a long time.
‘Now I just want to live happily with Ji-hoon...’
Bang.
“Cha Isul.”
“Yes?”
Cha Isul was startled by Lee Soo-ah’s sudden intrusion.
“What’s going on?”
Lee Soo-ah’s rude entrance felt strange to her.
‘What’s with her? Why is she acting like this?’
“I have a straightforward question for you.”
“Okay…?”
“Are you dating Baek Ji-hoon?”
“What…?”
Cha Isul was momentarily stunned. Lee Soo-ah’s furious expression and blunt question caught her off guard.
“Yes, I am. Why?”
“Hah. Unbelievable. Who said you could? What’s the reason behind this? You’re in Blue Guild now. Blue Guild is practically synonymous with Lee Soo-ah. You can’t just act however you please here.”
“What are you talking about…?”
Cha Isul was bewildered.
“Who gave you permission to date Ji-hoon? Do you have any idea how hard I’ve worked all this time?”
“I’m sorry… but are you interested in Ji-hoon?”
“Hah…”
Lee Soo-ah’s mouth dropped open as she grew even more furious.
“‘Our Ji-hoon,’ huh? Hah…”
“He is our Ji-hoon. I’ve known him for nearly 20 years. I think that gives me the right to call him that. I’m closer to him than you are. We’re childhood friends, after all.”
“Hah...”
Lee Soo-ah was left speechless, trembling with frustration. As much as she hated to admit it, Cha Isul had a point.
“I can’t stand this anymore.”
“And what are you going to do about it?”
Lee Soo-ah had no retort. She could only glare at Cha Isul.
“Cha Isul, did you join Blue Guild for this? Seriously?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Cha Isul spoke calmly. It wasn’t exactly untrue.
“Hah. You’re awfully confident, aren’t you?”
“I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong.”
“Hah… fine, Cha Isul. You’d better stay on your toes.”
“Why?”
“Why? Because I’m going to take him back.”
Cha Isul couldn’t help but look at Lee Soo-ah with disbelief.
‘What’s going on with her? Lee Soo-ah wasn’t like this before.’
To Cha Isul’s recollection, Lee Soo-ah had always been a level-headed, sharp woman. But now, she seemed like an entirely different person—someone obsessed with winning over Baek Ji-hoon.
‘Is Ji-hoon really that attractive?’
Cha Isul was confused. While Ji-hoon was a good match for her, she never imagined he’d attract the attention of someone like Lee Soo-ah. To her, he wasn’t the type to be overwhelmingly popular with women.
Though she found him compatible with her, she couldn’t be sure if others felt the same. Yet, from Lee Soo-ah’s actions, it seemed she had completely fallen for him.
‘He hasn’t even been at Blue Guild that long... what’s been going on? What happened between them?’
Cha Isul didn’t fully understand the situation, but she knew one thing: she couldn’t let her guard down. Lee Soo-ah was clearly determined to fight for Ji-hoon.
“Don’t think you’ve won just yet, Cha Isul. Let’s see how things go.”
With that, Lee Soo-ah shot a sharp glare before storming out.
“Whatever…”
Cha Isul stood there, dumbfounded, staring at the door Lee Soo-ah had just slammed.
“Hah…”
Lee Soo-ah let out a deep sigh as she sat in her office.
“What is even happening…?”
Knock, knock.
Yoo Hana entered after a polite knock.
“Hey, I heard you got rejected by Ji-hoon.”
Yoo Hana walked in with a sly grin. Though the news of Ji-hoon dating Cha Isul was serious, she was more than happy to revel in Lee Soo-ah’s rejection. At least she hadn’t been turned down.
“Hah. Who told you that?”
Lee Soo-ah’s voice was icy. Anyone who crossed her now would regret it.
“Oh, who else?”
“Park Hyung-seok…”
Lee Soo-ah gritted her teeth. Hyung-seok had been the only one present, so it had to be him.
“I didn’t expect that from him. He’ll need a lesson.”
“Think you can? He’s Ji-hoon’s assistant.”
“Ah, right…”
Lee Soo-ah’s expression grew even darker.
“Damn it… how did things end up like this?”
“Well, seems like you’re on the decline, Lee Soo-ah. Getting rejected by Ji-hoon.”
“What?”
“I wouldn’t get rejected like that.”
“Excuse me?”
“I wouldn’t get turned down. I’m sure of it.”
“Are you serious? This has nothing to do with me being rejected. The issue is that he’s dating Cha Isul. It wouldn’t matter who it was—he would’ve rejected anyone. You’d get turned down too.”
Lee Soo-ah smirked.
“Oh, come on. Stop justifying your failure. Think about it. If you had more charm, do you think Ji-hoon would’ve rejected you? Of course not. He would’ve left Isul and dated you. You’re just less attractive, and that’s why he said no.”
Yoo Hana was doing her best to tear down Lee Soo-ah’s confidence, clearly wanting to extinguish any hope she had of winning Ji-hoon’s heart.
“I told you, it’s not like that. You want to try? See if you get rejected.”
“Are you serious? I’ll do it, then. Do you really think Baek Ji-hoon would say no to Yoo Hana, an S-rank hunter and a top celebrity in Korea?”
“Korea’s top celebrity, huh? Doesn’t matter. He’ll still say no.”
“Haha, fine. I’ll try it, then.”
Lee Soo-ah hesitated. If Yoo Hana actually succeeded, her reputation would be shattered.
“Go ahead... but I don’t think you’ll succeed.”
Lee Soo-ah’s confidence wavered, clearly doubting her own words. Yoo Hana’s status as a celebrity gave her an edge.
“Hmph~ You’re just overconfident, Soo-ah.”
Yoo Hana hummed a little tune.
“Fine. Go ahead and try. Let me know how it turns out.”
Lee Soo-ah’s face was filled with frustration.
“Hah…”
Back in her office, Yoo Hana was deep in thought.
‘I talked a big game…’
Inserting herself into a new couple’s relationship wouldn’t be easy. She might have been a famous celebrity, but Baek Ji-hoon seemed immune to her charm.
‘What’s up with him? From day one, he’s never been intimidated by me.’
Every man she had ever met had been awestruck by her beauty, acting shy or deferential.
But Ji-hoon was different. Even when they first met at Blue Guild, he showed no signs of being fazed by her presence.
‘He’s such a unique guy… there’s something strangely attractive about him… I can’t help but be drawn to him.’
But now, the situation had become complicated. Baek Ji-hoon had just started dating Cha Isul.
‘Ugh... If only I had moved faster, he wouldn’t have been taken from me.’
Yoo Hana felt that she’d lost Ji-hoon because she had been too focused on her rivalry with Lee Soo-ah over the S-rank number-one title.
‘Can I win him back…?’
The thought gnawed at her. She wanted to try, but Cha Isul was no lightweight. Isul’s position was just as strong as her own, and Yoo Hana couldn’t easily surpass that.
‘And if Lee Soo-ah got rejected…’
On the outside, Yoo Hana pretended to be fine, but inside, she was deeply shocked. It wasn’t just the fact that Ji-hoon was dating an S-rank hunter. The real blow was that Lee Soo-ah, the number-one S-rank hunter, had been turned down.
‘If Lee Soo-ah got rejected, there’s no way I’d succeed either…’
Yoo Hana found herself growing increasingly uncertain. Her usual confidence and swagger seemed to fade away as the reality of the situation sank in.