"Ms. Yoo Ha-na."

"Yes?"

Lee Soo-ah entered Yoo Ha-na's office with a serious expression, looking like a general marching into battle.

"I have something to say."

"What is it?"

"You know all the buzz around the auction house lately, right?"

Lee Soo-ah asked cautiously, looking a little nervous as she broached the subject.

"Of course I know. I’m actually looking at it right now."

Yoo Ha-na turned her monitor to show Lee Soo-ah what she was currently viewing.

“It’s been crazy lately, right? S-rank items going on sale. I could understand the Soul Fragment last time—it’s tough, but you can eventually get it with enough patience. But the Golden Armor... how did anyone get their hands on that? I’ve only ever seen it in my status window.”

Yoo Ha-na nodded knowingly, as if she understood the situation completely.

“Well, you know…”

“Yes?”

“Could that person, ID Parfaris...”

“Yes?”

“...be Ji-hoon?”

“Ji... Ji-hoon...?”

Yoo Ha-na's eyes wavered slightly.

“Yes... I think it’s Ji-hoon.”

“Oh, come on! You must be joking, Soo-ah.”

Yoo Ha-na waved her hand dismissively.

“No, think about it. The item was listed domestically, right? So, it must be a hunter from Korea.”

“Yes.”

“And look at the timing. The listing went up less than two weeks ago, right?”

“Yes.”

“So out of the 15 S-rank hunters in Korea, do you think anyone else but Ji-hoon could pull this off?”

“Um... no...?”

Yoo Ha-na’s expression slowly hardened.

“It’s Ji-hoon. He’s the one.”

“No way...”

They stared at each other, sharing the same strange expression.

“Sigh...”

They both let out a quiet sigh.

“So, it really is Ji-hoon...”

“Yeah, it must be Ji-hoon... Sigh...”

Yoo Ha-na looked as though she had come to a realization, her voice filled with regret.

“I should have treated him better.”

“Why...?”

“Sigh... when Ji-hoon was first assigned here, I was awful to him.”

“What did you do?”

Lee Soo-ah looked curious.

“Oh, you know... just like always... I ordered him around, forced him to do all the annoying tasks... sigh...”

“Ah... so that’s why so many people quit, huh?”

Lee Soo-ah’s expression showed understanding.

“If I had known Ji-hoon would turn out like this... I wouldn’t have acted so foolishly.”

Yoo Ha-na looked like she was painfully regretting her actions.

“So, I guess I’m ahead of you then?”

“What?”

“Well, I didn’t treat him that badly.”

“Wait, are you trying to rub it in?”

“No, no, I just wanted some comfort. After all, both you and I are equally distant from Ji-hoon now. We’re both in the same boat.”

The two women hugged each other, offering mutual comfort.

“But hey, why don’t we stop moping... What if we follow Ji-hoon on his next dungeon expedition?”

“Follow him...?”

“Think about it. If Ji-hoon really is ID Parfaris, then the best thing we can do is support him, right?”

“Uh...”

“Why don’t we just quietly help him out? Pretend we don’t know and just be there for him?”

“Sounds... good! I’m in.”

“Okay!”

 

Knock, knock, knock.

Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Ha-na entered the room.

“Uh... Ji-hoon...?”

“Yes.”

“Are you going to the dungeon soon?”

“The dungeon?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

It was suspicious that they suddenly brought up the dungeon.

‘What’s going on? They’ve never shown any interest in this before.’

It felt like they were hinting at wanting to accompany me.

“We were thinking... we’d like to assist you. You know, like we were asked to before, to support you.”

“Hmm. Yes, that’s true, but...”

Recently, I’d only been going to dungeons to get S-rank items. Although I had revealed my identity to Lee Jin-hyuk, it hadn’t been made public yet.

If I took them along, it might cause unnecessary complications. And I got the feeling that Lee Jin-hyuk didn’t want others to know about my identity either. He seemed like the type to want to monopolize everything for himself.

“I don’t think that’s necessary.”

“What? It’s not necessary?”

“Yeah. I can handle it on my own. Hyung-seok is enough.”

“But Ji-hoon, we’re S-rank hunters. Park Hyung-seok isn’t even a hunter! You’re taking a regular person but not us?”

They lightly protested.

“Hyung-seok is useful in his own way. But you and Soo-ah... well, I don’t really need either of you.”

I glanced at them.

“We won’t get in your way. We’ll just follow behind and take care of the stragglers... Please?”

“Sigh... it sounds like it’ll just be a hassle.”

I couldn’t help but feel like this would become more trouble than it was worth.

“We’re going to follow you whether you like it or not.”

Lee Soo-ah declared boldly.

 

‘Sigh...’

I let out a deep sigh as I glanced behind me. Sure enough, Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Ha-na were following me.

‘They really followed me...’

I had come into the dungeon with Hyung-seok, hoping to pick up another S-rank item, but they had stubbornly tagged along.

“Wow, hyung. It looks like Soo-ah and Ha-na are really going to stick with you to the end, huh? Lucky you.”

“Right... but isn’t this just going to be a nuisance?”

“I don’t think it’ll be that bad. Honestly, maybe it’s time to just reveal the truth. It could work out for the best.”

What bothered me was how much chaos they were already causing, even though I hadn’t revealed anything yet. If I did reveal the truth, things could get even messier.

‘It probably wouldn’t be a bad thing, but...’

“Soo-ah?”

“Yes?”

“Could you not stick so close to me? Go over there, please. Over there.”

“Oh... okay...”

“What’s going on? Is that Soo-ah? Isn’t that Ha-na with her?”

I overheard other hunters whispering as we passed.

This dungeon was a double-layered one. We hadn’t yet entered the S-rank zone.

On the surface, it was a B-rank dungeon, but hidden inside was a separate S-rank dungeon.

“Is that really Soo-ah? What’s going on?”

“Are they going into the S-rank area?”

“Seriously?”

People started murmuring as they gathered around us, curious about what was going on.

Of course, Soo-ah and Ha-na were popular hunters.

‘This is going to get annoying if more people crowd around.’

“Soo-ah, Ha-na.”

“Yes, sir!!”

“Look at all these people gathering around us. Could you two go kill 300 kobolds over there?”

“300 kobolds?”

“Yes. And while you’re at it, take care of 500 of those brown moles and 400 mocking bats. Oh, and 300 dark specters too.”

If they stayed near me, it would cause all sorts of headaches. Having regular hunters around me could interfere with my quest for S-rank items.

So, I decided to give them some busywork.

“Yes, sir! We’ll do exactly as you say!”

Soo-ah and Ha-na eagerly ran off to complete the tasks, looking thrilled to finally have something to do for me. It was like they had been waiting for this moment.

“What the...? Is that guy... Baek Ji-hoon?”

“The one who was on TV?”

“Yeah, but did you see him just now? He was ordering Soo-ah and Ha-na around like they were errand runners!”

“No way...”

“Come on, did you see them running off when he told them to?”

“There’s no way that’s possible...”

People couldn’t believe what they had just witnessed.

‘Phew. At least that’ll keep them occupied for a while. Now I can...’

I quickly picked up the pace to avoid further complications.

“Hyung-seok, let’s try to find some new weapon gear today.”

“Got it, hyung. But what about Soo-ah and Ha-na?”

“Let them do their thing. While they’re distracted, we’ll grab another S-rank item.”

“Ah, I see~”

He seemed to understand what I was getting at.

“Alright! While Soo-ah and Ha-na are busy, let’s go after that S-rank item.”

“Okay.”

 

Rrrr, rrrr.

Cha I-seul was scrolling through the internet, looking pensive. She rested her chin on her hand.

‘Who could this be...?’

She was well aware of the recent auction news.

‘Baekho Guild bought this for 35 billion won? Who is this... who’s able to get their hands on S-rank items so easily...?’

It wasn’t common for anyone to acquire S-rank items so consecutively, so it puzzled her.

‘I’ve never even gotten one in my life... This person must be amazing... Whoever it is, I wish I could be like them... Then maybe Ji-hoon and I could live happily together...’

Cha I-seul’s painful past came flooding back. Although she was doing well as an S-rank hunter now, she had been heavily pursued by debt collectors in the past, all because of her family.

That’s why her dream was to earn enough money to live without worry. Becoming an S-rank hunter had eased her burdens somewhat, but...

No matter how hard an S-rank hunter worked, it was hard to make a fortune. After taxes and fees, they earned only a bit more than doctors.

“Sigh... I’m so jealous of this person...”

Cha I-seul gazed at the screen, murmuring softly.