“Eeeh... even Hunter Chae Soo-hyun is coming here?”

The A-Team was in an uproar. They were already struggling to adapt to the recent series of events, and now another huge development had been dropped on them.

“Isn’t Chae Soo-hyun part of Baekho Guild? Wasn’t she recruited to crush us? Why is she coming here?”

“No idea. Could it be because Hunter Lee Su-ah took the number one spot in the S-rank rankings?”

“No way! Would she really transfer to our guild just because of that? We’re rivals, aren’t we?”

“Exactly, right?”

“Having someone like her come from Baekho Guild feels strange. We’ve had people from top guilds like Zeus come over, but Baekho? That’s really unusual.”

“I don’t know. But I heard her transfer is already finalized.”

Everyone had gathered in the conference room, deeply discussing the current problem.

“What’s going on in here?”

Baek Ji-hoon made his entrance.

“Ah, team leader.”

“Yes?”

“Hunter Chae Soo-hyun is transferring to our guild, right?”

“Yes, I’ve heard.”

“Did you call her over?”

“No, I didn’t.”

Baek Ji-hoon shook his head firmly.

“Wait, then what’s going on? Why are so many S-rank hunters flooding in all of a sudden?”

“I’m not sure either.”

“Do you know which team Chae Soo-hyun will be joining? Isn’t A-Team already packed with too many S-rank hunters?”

Naturally, everyone thought she should be assigned to another team since the Blue Guild had more than just the A-Team.

“I believe she’ll be joining A-Team.”

“What?! A-Team? That would make it 11 S-rank hunters on our team!”

“Yes, I’m aware. But I’m requesting she be assigned here.”

Baek Ji-hoon grinned.

“Huh...?”

Everyone looked at him, confused.

“Well, I’ll be off. Continue your discussion.”

With that, Baek Ji-hoon hurriedly left the room.

“Wow... This is crazy. He’s not saying it directly, but this must be happening because of Ji-hoon, right?”

“Of course. Since Ji-hoon joined, things have been like this. There’s no other explanation.”

“It’s insane. It’s like S-rank hunters are just walking through the door voluntarily. What is he, honey to bees?”

“Unbelievable. Now A-Team has 11 S-rank hunters.”

“What’s his secret? Women are flocking to him like magic. I’m jealous, seriously...”

The A-Team members couldn’t wrap their heads around the situation.

 

“Hey, Hyung-seok, let’s go!”

“Yes, yes! Everything’s ready.”

I grabbed Hyung-seok, and we headed toward the S-rank dungeon. From today, I was going to start gathering S-rank items as fast as possible, aiming to increase my wealth at an incredible speed.

I was counting on Lee Jin-hyuk buying the items I put up for auction, likely at higher-than-market prices.

‘Who knows how long he’ll keep that up, though.’

It didn’t matter much. Even if Jin-hyuk didn’t buy them, there were plenty of others willing to pay exorbitant amounts for S-rank items.

What I was really looking forward to was Chae Soo-hyun’s reaction. When she came to the Blue Guild and saw me doing so well, it would definitely sting.

And when she saw how easily I could acquire S-rank items, she’d feel even worse about her situation.

‘Perfect. Let’s get started.’

“Alright, let’s go. Move out!”

“Yes, yes!”

 

Back in her office, Chae Soo-hyun began packing up her things.

‘This is it. A fresh start. I’m starting over.’

Her mind was filled with thoughts of Baek Ji-hoon. She had successfully secured her transfer to the Blue Guild.

Now, it was crucial for her to gradually approach Baek Ji-hoon from within the guild. If she could do that, everything would fall back into place.

She was confident that once she reclaimed her status as an S-rank hunter, bleeding Lee Jin-hyuk dry of his money would be an easy task.

‘For the past month, I’ve been a mess, freaking out over becoming an E-rank. I was so scared...’

She recalled the hell she had been through in the past month, struggling without any clear way out.

All she had done was butt heads with Jin-hyuk while her anxiety grew worse and worse.

But now, she felt like she could leave it all behind and make a fresh start.

Bang.

Lee Jin-hyuk barged into the office.

“Hey, Soo-hyun... Huh? What are you doing?”

He had been about to say something but stopped in his tracks, visibly confused.

“What’s with the packing? Are you moving out? Throwing stuff away or something? Where are you going?”

Lee Jin-hyuk’s sharp senses immediately picked up on the atmosphere. He quickly realized that Chae Soo-hyun was planning to leave.

“Yup, I’m leaving.”

“Where? What are you talking about?”

“I’m joining the Blue Guild.”

“WHAT?!”

Lee Jin-hyuk’s face turned red with rage. Another guild, and not just any guild—Blue Guild.

“Say that again. What did you just say?”

He was barely holding back his anger. The Blue Guild was a sore spot for him, something he absolutely couldn’t tolerate.

“I’m transferring to the Blue Guild. The deal is already done. I’m leaving today.”

“What?! Are you joking? You’re part of Baekho Guild! What’s this nonsense about the Blue Guild?”

Lee Jin-hyuk stormed toward her.

“Step aside. It’s already over.”

“What...?”

“I’ve already signed the contract with the Blue Guild. If you want to dispute the contract termination, take it to court.”

“What???”

Lee Jin-hyuk was utterly dumbfounded.

“Court? What the hell are you talking about?”

“Seo. Ji. Soo. Did you think I wouldn’t find out?”

Chae Soo-hyun enunciated Seo Ji-soo’s name clearly, looking up at Jin-hyuk with cold, sharp eyes.

“You know about that...”

Lee Jin-hyuk’s face was filled with shock. He had tried to secretly recruit Seo Ji-soo behind the scenes.

“How do I know? Go ask Seo Ji-soo herself. She came to me personally and told me everything. She said you were planning to dump me and replace me with her. Did you think I was an idiot?”

“What?! No, that’s not true. Not at all!”

“What do you mean, not true? You even knelt before her, didn’t you? She’s your ex-girlfriend, isn’t she? The one you dumped? And now you’re groveling to her? What else could it be?”

Chae Soo-hyun’s voice was icy.

“Ugh, what nonsense has she been spouting now?”

“The story is all over Baekho Guild already. There’s no point in pretending anymore. We were both uncomfortable with each other anyway, right? I wasn’t doing any hunter activities, and that must’ve frustrated you. So I’ll leave on my own. But I think the court should decide on the contract termination fee since I don’t believe I’m at fault here.”

“What...?”

“You tried to recruit another S-rank hunter without informing me, someone who was promised my spot. I doubt you’ll have much to argue in court, right?”

Lee Jin-hyuk was momentarily flustered. There was a clause in the contract that promised to prioritize Chae Soo-hyun over other hunters to secure her loyalty.

“Well... that...”

“I’m not interested in hearing excuses. I’m going to the Blue Guild. It’s booming right now. This place is just pathetic. You guys treated me like a criminal just because I took a month off. What am I, a slave? Did you think I came here to be your workhorse?”

Chae Soo-hyun glared at him, seemingly forgetting how she had once treated Baek Ji-hoon like a slave herself, speaking now with righteous indignation.

“A criminal? No, it’s just that the contract—”

“Forget it. It’s over. The moment you tried to bring in Seo Ji-soo, it was done. Good luck with her. From what I’ve seen, she’s just as rude as you. You two will be perfect together. Hmph.”

With that, Chae Soo-hyun cut the conversation off. She grabbed a few of her things and headed for the door.

“Hey!!! Chae Soo-hyun!!!”

Lee Jin-hyuk roared in anger, but Chae Soo-hyun ignored him completely, walking out without a second glance.

“Are you serious? You’re really leaving like this?”

“Yes. I’m leaving. Send the rest of my stuff to my house. Hmph.”

With an expression completely free of regret, Chae Soo-hyun left the office. Her face was full of hope and determination.

‘I’m going back to Ji-hoon oppa. I’m going to rebuild my life, step by step!’

“Ha... Fine, get lost. You bitch. I should’ve never taken in garbage like you in the first place. No class, no nothing.”

Lee Jin-hyuk cursed after her, but it made no difference.

 

“Hey, what the hell did you do?”

“Huh?”

Seo Ji-soo was sitting cross-legged, gently stroking her dog.

“What did you say to Chae Soo-hyun?”

“Why? What happened?”

Seo Ji-soo smiled, as if she was expecting something interesting.

“Chae Soo-hyun transferred to the Blue Guild! Because of you!”

“Oh my. She really went through with it? Hoho, good.”

Seo Ji-soo laughed lightly, covering her mouth with her hand, pleased with how things had turned out.

“So now there’s no other S-rank hunter in Baekho Guild? Except me? Well, that works perfectly for me. I’ll be the queen of Baekho Guild.”

She slowly stood up and wrapped her arms around Lee Jin-hyuk.

“Didn’t I tell you, oppa? We’re destined to be together. In the end, you’ll always come back to me. Chae Soo-hyun was never right for you anyway.”

Seo Ji-soo whispered into Lee Jin-hyuk’s ear.