Clack, clack.

Chae Soo-hyun was busy searching for something.

She was certain that the person causing a stir at the auction house had to be Baek Ji-hoon.

‘Ji-hoon oppa... Why didn’t you tell me you were this kind of person?’

Chae Soo-hyun shut her eyes tightly. If she had known that Baek Ji-hoon would become this successful, she would have never left him.

‘This has to be Ji-hoon oppa. He didn’t do anything up until now, right?’

She was investigating all sorts of rumors and transaction records floating around online.

Although she didn’t find anything substantial, her instincts told her it was Baek Ji-hoon.

‘Ha... Okay... I should use the excuse of joining the Blue Guild to get close to him.’

Judging by the fact that S-rank items were being auctioned off anonymously, she thought asking directly could backfire.

Because of that, she decided to approach the matter very cautiously.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Yes.”

The door creaked open.

“Uh...”

It was Chae Soo-hyun’s face.

‘Shit...’

I wasn’t in a particularly good mood.

At the same time, though, I found some satisfaction in thinking about how Chae Soo-hyun would soon be ruined.

“What is it?”

“O... Oppa...”

Chae Soo-hyun looked completely different. She was utterly submissive now, entirely unlike how she had behaved toward me in the past.

Her face wore an innocent expression as she edged closer to me, pretending to be all pure and delicate.

‘Don’t give me that crap, you slut.’

I couldn’t help but laugh internally at how absurd it was, watching her act all innocent and fragile.

“What do you want?”

“O... Oppa... Have you been well?”

“Yeah, I’ve been doing great. Thanks to you.”

“Huh? Thanks to... me...?”

Of course, I was referring to achieving S-rank and other things thanks to retrieving points, but Chae Soo-hyun seemed to take it in a completely different way.

“You know... I just want to apologize...”

She spoke with a shy expression.

“Since I’ve joined the Blue Guild, I wanted to come by and say hello. We’ll be seeing each other often from now on...”

“No.”

I cut her off coldly.

“I don’t plan on seeing you often. I’m actually thinking of shoving you into a corner. So, it’d be great if you joined Team A.”

“Huh..? Uh...?”

She looked visibly flustered. I guess she had imagined a different scenario in her head.

“You... don’t get it, do you? We didn’t accept you into the Blue Guild for your sake.”

I spat out my words with an icy tone.

“Huh..? Then...?”

“You’re going down. Count on it.”

“D... down...?”

Her expression hardened even more.

Judging by the mood, she probably came here intending to reconcile with me.

Not a chance.

Considering what she did to me and how she treated other hunters like trash, there’s no way I’d ever accept her apology.

“Oppa, what’s wrong...? I’m telling you I’m sorry... I really am. What do you want me to do? I even left the Baekho Guild...”

Her desperate tone and pleading voice were obvious.

“Weren’t you kicked out?”

“Huh...?”

“Weren’t you kicked out of the Baekho Guild? You didn’t come to us voluntarily; you were dumped by Lee Jin-hyuk, weren’t you?”

I had heard bits of the story, and I knew very well that Chae Soo-hyun wasn’t the type to act like this unless she had to.

“...”

Chae Soo-hyun was speechless, looking utterly shocked.

“W... who said that..?”

“No one had to tell me. Isn’t that just who you are? An opportunist. Isn’t screwing around with different men your specialty?”

I decided to throw some jabs her way.

“W... What are you talking about? You were my first...”

“Cut the bullshit.”

Watching her try to weasel out of it, I couldn’t help but open the drawer and pull out some documents Hyung-seok had dug up.

“What about these guys?”

I glared at her sharply.

“Uh... uh... that... that’s...”

Chae Soo-hyun’s face went pale as she stammered.

I had never seen her this flustered before, ever since I’d known her.

‘So it was true. Looks like she really did mess around while acting like a damn succubus.’

My expression involuntarily twisted in disgust.

‘Ugh, to think I wasted so much time suffering over this bitch.’

Of course, now my life was going great, and I was on the verge of becoming filthy rich.

“No, oppa. That’s not it. Really, it’s not. Please believe me.”

She was shaking her hands wildly, denying it with her whole body.

“How could it not be? These guys already gave their testimony.”

“No!!! It’s not true!!! I’m not some slut!!! Why do you believe them and not me?!”

Realizing she was cornered, she shrieked at the top of her lungs.

“Enough. Just leave. You’re sinking fast now, so you’d better watch your step.”

“Huh...? No... oppa. Ji-hoon oppa, I’m really sorry. I’m telling you I’m sorry!”

“Get. Out.”

“Oppa... please...”

She refused to leave until I gave her a harsh, piercing glare. Seeing my expression, she finally backed off, retreating out of the room.

‘Whew... Now it begins. Chae Soo-hyun... I’ll bring you down piece by piece.’

In a way, it might be better for me that Chae Soo-hyun joined the Blue Guild. It’d be easier to trap her and destroy her.

[ Hey, Hyung-seok. Do you know anything about the hunter rank re-evaluation process? ]

[ Hunter rank re-evaluation? Why? What’s up? ]

[ Could you look into it for me? I’ve got something to take care of. ]

I began setting my plans in motion. For the grand finale.

 

“What’s wrong, oppa? Are you mad at me? I thought you missed me, couldn’t stop thinking about me?”

Clearly, she had been running fantasies through her head based on some ridiculous rumors. She seemed pretty shocked.

But even so, she couldn’t let go of her misunderstanding about Baek Ji-hoon.

People never want to believe they’re really going under. Even when it’s right in front of their eyes.

‘He’s just mad because he’s hurt, right? But those photos of the men...’

Images of the various hunters she’d seen earlier flashed in front of her eyes.

‘Damn... Those bastards... Did they talk? Why? My trait should’ve made it impossible for them.’

They were photos of hunters looking weak and completely worn out. She recognized every face.

‘Damn it... Ji-hoon oppa... Where the hell did you get those?’

What shocked her more than Baek Ji-hoon’s attitude was the fact that her past had been exposed.

Up until now, she had always pretended to be a virgin whenever she met someone new, so this was a serious issue for her.

‘Those bastards... They’re really going to ruin me.’

She had never paid any mind to the men she’d been with before meeting Baek Ji-hoon. After all, she had always been focused on gaining S-rank, and those men didn’t matter to her.

‘Ji-hoon oppa must’ve misunderstood. He misses me, can’t forget me. There must be someone working behind the scenes to turn him against me...’

Chae Soo-hyun clenched her fists and then thought of someone.

[ Park Hyung-seok ]

‘Him. He’s the one always hovering around Ji-hoon oppa, right? He must’ve fed him those photos to frame me. Even when we were dating, he didn’t seem to like me...’

Her eyes narrowed as she recalled Park Hyung-seok, analyzing every detail.

She had no idea that Park Hyung-seok hated her for the way she treated Baek Ji-hoon like a slave.

She just thought of him as someone who held a grudge against her.

‘First, I need to meet with him and clear up the misunderstanding... Seriously, why is my life like this? Every time things start going well, someone always gets in the way.’

Chae Soo-hyun’s thoughts were a mess. Everything revolved around her, and she felt like everything was just so irritating.

She had now set her sights on Park Hyung-seok.

 

[ Mr. Park Hyung-seok. This is Chae Soo-hyun. I’d like to talk to you about something. ]

“Huh? Chae Soo-hyun... hunter?”

Park Hyung-seok, who had been looking into the auction of the Golden Armor and the hunter rank re-evaluation process, was surprised to see his phone light up with her message.

‘Why me...?’

He couldn’t think of any reason why he’d be in contact with Chae Soo-hyun.

Plus, it was Chae Soo-hyun who had dumped Baek Ji-hoon, so there was even less reason for her to reach out to him.

‘Could it be... Am I some kind of power broker now?’

He started chuckling to himself.

For some reason, he felt like he was gaining power as one of Baek Ji-hoon’s closest confidants.

‘Whatever it is, this is great. Man, Ji-hoon hyung really is a lifeline for me!!!’

He grinned as he headed off to meet Chae Soo-hyun.