“What should we do, hyung?”

Park Hyung-seok asked, looking quite excited.

“Hmm...”

I had a lot of thoughts swirling in my head. Lee Jin-hyuk. He wasn’t someone I liked.

He gave off the vibe of someone who stole Chae Soo-hyun from me. Although Chae Soo-hyun was a bitch, there was no denying that thinking about him brought up memories of her.

“Hmm. Do I have to meet him in person?”

“Well... it seems like we’ll have to. The auction system doesn’t have a proper setup for this kind of transaction.”

“Alright then. Tell him we’ll meet to negotiate.”

“Hyung, but won’t that reveal your identity? Is that okay?”

“Yeah, it’s fine now. With Chae Soo-hyun already here, I might as well reveal everything and end it.”

Things were slowly falling into place, step by step.

 

“What...? Baek Ji-hoon...?”

The moment Lee Jin-hyuk saw me, he was visibly shocked. I couldn’t tell if it was because he hadn’t expected this or because he was hoping it wouldn’t happen. His expression was a mix of emotions.

“Are you the one who anonymously listed the items for auction...?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

The transaction proceeded swiftly. For me, this was an opportunity to not only meet Lee Jin-hyuk but also to reveal my identity naturally. I accepted right away.

“Mr. Lee Jin-hyuk, you know about me, right? About Hunter Chae Soo-hyun...”

I decided to bring it up first. I didn’t know exactly how much he knew or what his thoughts were.

“Ahem... I don’t know the details, just that she’s your ex.”

It seemed like he was hiding something, but I didn’t think there was any need to press him further.

“Before we proceed with the transaction, there’s something I’d like to ask.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“Was Hunter Chae Soo-hyun kicked out of Baekho Guild, or did she leave on her own?”

This was an important question for me. I was curious about why she had come to Blue Guild.

“Hmm... It’s a bit of both, I guess.”

“Both?”

“Yes. Sigh... I pushed her too hard...”

He explained what had happened. He seemed to be telling the truth without hiding anything, probably fearing that I might back out of the deal if I sensed any lies.

‘Hah. So Chae Soo-hyun was tossed aside by Lee Jin-hyuk after running to him and abandoning me? Serves her right.’

I couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh. Once, I had truly believed I could be happy with Chae Soo-hyun. I had worked like a slave for her.

But she had thrown me away so easily. In the end, I came out on top, while she was discarded by Lee Jin-hyuk.

‘So Seo Ji-soo has become the main hunter of Baekho Guild.’

“By the way, how’s Hunter Chae Soo-hyun doing in Blue Guild?”

I was deep in thought when Lee Jin-hyuk asked, his tone carrying a complicated mix of emotions.

He didn’t seem to want Chae Soo-hyun to succeed in Blue Guild. I could hear the frustration in his voice.

“She’s about to fall.”

“Fall?”

“Yeah. She’ll sink to where she belongs.”

I left him with those words.

“Anyway, thank you for agreeing to the meeting. I didn’t expect you to actually show up.”

“Well, I haven’t agreed to the deal yet. To be precise, I’ve only agreed to the meeting.”

Lee Jin-hyuk flinched, clearly taken aback by my response.

“What do you mean by that...?”

“I’d like to change the terms of the deal.”

“How so?”

“I think 25 billion won isn’t enough.”

“Then...”

“35 billion.”

I quoted an outrageous price. I didn’t expect him to accept; it was more of a ploy to mess with him.

Whether he accepted or not didn’t matter to me. Either way, I would win.

“Kuh...”

Lee Jin-hyuk looked flustered.

The man who always appeared calm, gentle, and collected on TV now seemed genuinely shaken by my proposal.

“Sigh... I’ll have to look into...”

“Then I’ll take that as a refusal and proceed with the auction.”

I cut him off bluntly.

“I believe the item could fetch 50 billion if I auction it. As you know, even the U.S. has caught wind of it. You understand what that means.”

I was just bluffing, but I figured the pressure would make Lee Jin-hyuk squirm.

‘This is what you get for trying to get with Chae Soo-hyun, bastard.’

I smiled slightly, waiting for his response.

“Alright.”

After a brief moment of contemplation, he answered seriously.

‘Huh? He accepted?’

I couldn’t help but feel a bit surprised.

I’d heard that chaebols receive dividends in the hundreds of billions each year, but I didn’t think 35 billion won would be such a light amount. Especially since he had already spent a fortune buying the Soul Fragment for 10 billion last time, I thought he’d be strapped for cash.

‘No wonder Chae Soo-hyun went after him.’

It was a world of wealth beyond my imagination.

“Very well. Let’s proceed immediately.”

 

“Whoooaaah!!”

Park Hyung-seok was so excited he was practically hyperventilating.

“H-Hyung... 35 billion won? 35 billion?? Huff...”

“Yes.”

“So... if I get 1% of that... that’s 350 million... Is... Is that right...?”

“Yeah.”

While Park Hyung-seok was practically losing his mind with excitement, I remained calm. At this point, money felt like just numbers to me.

‘Man, making money is way too easy.’

To be honest, money itself didn’t matter to me. All I cared about was showing off my success to Chae Soo-hyun. That was satisfaction enough.

“How on earth did you manage to pull this off?”

He looked at me with a mix of awe and confusion.

“Well, I guess they’re in desperate need of the item.”

I casually brushed it off.

“Wow... You’re amazing. Although, I wonder if we could’ve gotten more if we had gone through the auction.”

“No, this way is better. I got to hear about Chae Soo-hyun, after all.”

From my perspective, this was a huge win. I’d learned why Chae Soo-hyun had come to Blue Guild.

“Ah... Hunter Chae Soo-hyun...”

Park Hyung-seok’s expression shifted slightly.

“What’s up? Did something happen?”

I quickly picked up on his reaction and asked.

“Well, actually...”

He began recounting the conversation he had with Chae Soo-hyun.

“Sigh... Unbelievable.”

I wasn’t sure what expression I should make.

It seemed like Chae Soo-hyun was completely delusional.

According to Hyung-seok, she thought that all this misunderstanding was simply because of him, and that I had just misinterpreted things slightly.

‘Not even close.’

And on top of that, she seemed to think I was still hung up on her.

‘Not even close again.’

The day she left me, it was like something snapped inside me, and all the feelings I had for her disappeared completely.

‘What a joke. Is she stupid, or just clueless?’

In any case, it didn’t matter. My life was moving forward, smoothly and successfully.

Meanwhile, Chae Soo-hyun was spiraling down into oblivion.

‘She’s going to wish she stayed with Baekho Guild.’

“By the way, did you look into that hunter rank re-evaluation?”

“Oh, right. I did some research like you asked, but it doesn’t seem like the Hunter Association can enforce anything.”

“There’s no regulation?”

“No. So even if someone was cheating, it’s usually handled through individual lawsuits. And cases like that are pretty rare.”

“Hmm.”

“Why...?”

Hyung-seok looked curious as he noticed me deep in thought.

“You know Chae Soo-hyun, right? She’s an E-rank hunter.”

“What?”

He tilted his head in confusion.

“I mean, she only became an S-rank hunter because of me. I gave her the points. But I took them back, so now she’s an E-rank again.”

“Uhh...?”

Even though I explained it to him, he still didn’t seem to fully grasp it.

“Anyway, that’s not the point. What I mean is, I’m going to reveal that Chae Soo-hyun is actually an E-rank hunter.”

“You’re going to do that through a re-evaluation?”

“Yeah, exactly. The issue is how to get that to happen.”

“Uhh...”

He didn’t fully understand, but he seemed to be catching on.

“So, you’re saying Hunter Chae Soo-hyun isn’t actually an S-rank hunter... but an E-rank? And you’re the real S-rank...?”

“That’s right.”

“Whoa.”

He looked genuinely shocked.

“So if it gets revealed that she’s an E-rank...?”

“She’ll be finished.”

I felt this would be the ultimate act of revenge.

In just a short time, I had sold two S-rank items for nearly 45 billion won.

That’s something no S-rank hunter has ever done.

I was on the road to success, but for Chae Soo-hyun, it was the end.

‘If I can just get the Hunter Association involved...’

My eyes drifted to the logo of the Hunter Association hanging in the corner of the office.