Tok-tok-tok-tok.

Lee Soo-ah lightly tapped her fingers on the desk as she waited for Jin-hyuk.

‘If I hear it directly from the Baekho Guild, it’ll be much clearer.’

Originally, Lee Soo-ah had almost no interaction with Jin-hyuk, but she couldn’t help herself due to her overwhelming curiosity. Suddenly, a massive thought had struck her.

‘Maybe this whole mess with the Blue Guild has something to do with Hunter Chae Soo-hyun and Hunter Baek Ji-hoon being involved in something together. I mean, didn’t the whole hunter industry get shaken up when they both became S-rank?’

Up until now, she’d been single-mindedly focused on Baek Ji-hoon. But once she opened the floodgates of thought, all sorts of strange ideas started flowing in.

‘And then there’s Parafaris…’

She held a significant amount of suspicion regarding the ID “Parafaris.”

‘It’s definitely Ji-hoon. It’s weird, weird. The entire hunter industry has completely shifted in an odd direction.’

“Hello...?”

A voice with a rather odd nuance called out.

“Hello,” Lee Soo-ah replied, accepting the handshake Jin-hyuk extended.

“What brings you here? The Blue Guild... requesting me...?”

Jin-hyuk seemed to have no clue why Lee Soo-ah had summoned him out of the blue.

‘What’s this about? Did Baek Ji-hoon send her as an emissary? Is this some secret negotiation regarding items? Or maybe he wants to accept the proposal I made to him ages ago?’

Long ago, Jin-hyuk had tried to recruit Lee Soo-ah. After all, she had once been the top S-rank, and he was determined to bring her into his team.

But he failed miserably, like a dog barking up the wrong tree. Since then, he hadn’t met with Lee Soo-ah alone.

“I have something I want to ask,” she said, preparing her voice to speak very seriously.

“It’s about Hunter Chae Soo-hyun.”

“Ha…”

The moment Chae Soo-hyun’s name came out of her mouth, Jin-hyuk let out a big sigh.

“Please, let’s not talk about her. She makes me sick.”

He clearly didn’t want to hear anything about her.

“Oh... did things end badly between you two? I read something in the news...”

“Yeah. We ended things really badly. Normally, I’m not one to handle things that way, but...”

Jin-hyuk recalled Chae Soo-hyun.

‘She spent an entire month just goofing off and doing nothing.’

He felt she’d been more of an obstruction to his plans.

“I heard something... has Hunter Chae Soo-hyun ever joined a dungeon raid while she was with the Baekho Guild?”

Lee Soo-ah fired off her question quickly, gauging Jin-hyuk’s reaction. She could immediately tell that the relationship between Jin-hyuk and Chae Soo-hyun was far from friendly.

In this situation, it seemed unlikely that the Baekho Guild would cover up any mistakes Chae Soo-hyun might have made.

“She didn’t. Not even once. Sorry, Hunter Lee Soo-ah, but we practically begged her to join us, assuming she was the top S-rank. But she wasn’t helpful at all. Ha…”

Jin-hyuk paused mid-sentence to glance at Lee Soo-ah.

“Actually, the Baekho Guild’s target was the Blue Guild. We wanted to surpass them...”

“Yes, I’m aware. I think everyone, not just me, had the same thought. The sudden announcement of Chae Soo-hyun’s recruitment was out of nowhere.”

Lee Soo-ah felt that her suspicions were aligning more and more with reality.

‘See? Hunter Chae Soo-hyun isn’t S-rank. If I look at this guy’s reaction, it’s clear she’s been deceiving even the Baekho Guild.’

Her eyes began to narrow.

“I apologize, but why was Chae Soo-hyun released? If she transferred freely…”

“Yes, she was so unmovable that we caught her contacting S-rank Hunter Seo Ji-soo. She transferred to the Blue Guild that very day. That damned woman.”

It seemed Jin-hyuk had completely given up on Chae Soo-hyun.

“Ah...?”

Lee Soo-ah’s suspicions were solidifying, and her actions started to make sense.

“Thank you.”

“But, is that woman doing well? Honestly...”

His words came out in a dissatisfied tone.

Seeing his face, Lee Soo-ah chuckled slightly.

“Not really. In our guild, she seems unwilling to put her strength to good use~ Maybe she isn’t an S-rank hunter after all?”

She casually let the information slip.

“What?”

Jin-hyuk laughed out loud as if in disbelief.

“Not an S-rank hunter?”

“Yes.”

Lee Soo-ah nodded with a look of absolute certainty.

“That’s impossible. I personally took her to the rank assessment center. To be sure, I had her tested on three different machines for cross-verification.”

Jin-hyuk slowly shook his head, firm in his belief.

“Well, maybe she was back then, but now she might not be. Right?”

Lee Soo-ah, for once, had a clever response.

“No way. You’re saying ranks can regress? Besides, she’s never entered a dungeon to trigger any nerf effect, so that’s impossible.”

Jin-hyuk maintained his stance of disbelief.

“Hmm, we’ll have to look into it. Anyway, I think it’s clear: Hunter Chae Soo-hyun isn’t an S-rank. No way someone with such a slow recovery could be...”

Lee Soo-ah recalled a conversation she’d had with Chae Soo-hyun.

“Hmm? Slow recovery…”

A memory flashed through Jin-hyuk’s mind. He remembered that when Chae Soo-hyun joined, she’d collapsed at home, and her recovery took ages.

‘What’s going on...?’

“Um? Do you know something?”

Jin-hyuk shared a bit of that memory with her.

“Ah-ha...?”

Hearing it, Lee Soo-ah’s expression brightened.

“I think I’m right. Chae Soo-hyun isn’t an S-rank hunter. Absolutely!”

She quickly wrapped up the conversation and left.

 

“Phew…”

Chae Soo-hyun took a deep breath after finishing her live interview.

‘If I keep cornering Ji-hoon like this... he’ll have no choice but to take my side. After all, I’m charismatic enough to be a successful celebrity... if I harness the power of the broadcast...’

She felt she couldn’t just sit back anymore. She had to do something, fearing that Cha I-seul might actually snatch Baek Ji-hoon away if she wasn’t careful.

Then there was the recent dungeon raid. She felt an inexplicable pressure surrounding her.

‘Didn’t he say he knew I was E-rank? If he knew, did he set that up on purpose... for me to be at risk of death...? What’s his angle...?’

She couldn’t grasp Baek Ji-hoon’s intentions.

As a result, she thought it best to act, signaling to Baek Ji-hoon in her own way.

‘From now on, I’ll appear on TV often. I need to cement my image as a celebrity. That way, I’ll have an excuse to dodge anything dangerous by saying I can’t afford to get hurt.’

As long as no one discovered she wasn’t really an S-rank, she figured she’d be fine.

Of course, she’d hoped the Blue Guild wouldn’t pressure her into dungeon raids like the Baekho Guild had. But, in reality, the pressure was even more intense.

‘No way I’m going back to Baekho Guild.’

She recalled Jin-hyuk’s face, which had grown cold toward her.

‘Even a worm will wriggle if stepped on. I’ll do what I have to.’

She decided she couldn’t keep whining and clinging to Baek Ji-hoon forever. So, she resolved to pivot, highlighting her charm and appeal.

 

“Uh... Park Hyung-seok.”

Lee Soo-ah had called upon Park Hyung-seok, the third most trustworthy person in her circle.

“What is it, Hunter Lee Soo-ah? If it’s not a confession, I’ll be on my way.”

Park Hyung-seok stood with his shoulders practically bursting through the ceiling.

‘Hahaha. I might even make more money than those S-rank hunters at this rate.’

Just by sticking to Baek Ji-hoon’s side, he’d quickly amassed almost a billion won. He was elated, almost to the point of madness.

“A confession?”

Lee Soo-ah squinted with a look of disbelief.

“Why would I?”

“What do you mean, why? I’m Park Hyung-seok! Ji-hoon’s right-hand man! A soon-to-be rich man. I’ll take care of you, Hunter Lee Soo-ah.”

He pounded his chest with confidence.

“I can take care of myself, thank you very much. Now stop with the nonsense and listen to what I have to say.”

Lee Soo-ah dismissed his absurdity with a look of mild exasperation.

“Uh, yes.”

The stern response left him speechless, closing his mouth.

“I’ve been investigating some suspicious things, and I’ve come to a conclusion that’s a bit unusual.”

“Which is...?”

Park Hyung-seok’s curiosity was piqued.

“Well... you know Hunter Chae Soo-hyun?”

“Yes.”

“I’m not trying to slander her...”

“Yes.”

“Nor is this out of any inferiority complex...”

“Yes.”

“It’s not because I feel inferior in looks...”

“Yes.”

“But... I don’t think Hunter Chae Soo-hyun is an S-rank hunter!!!”

Lee Soo-ah stared intensely at Park Hyung-seok, as if she’d just dropped a bombshell.

“How did you know?”

“???”

To Park Hyung-seok’s response, Lee Soo-ah was left dumbfounded.

‘What? He knew???’