Chae Soo-hyun sat in her office, tears streaming down her face.

Since entering the Blue Guild, she’d felt the stares and heard the whispers that followed her everywhere.

• “What? Chae Soo-hyun isn’t really S-rank?”
• “How did she even get that ranking?”
• “Did she fake it to get in here?”
• “Is that why she got kicked out of Baekho Guild?”
• “I knew something was off when she kept calling in sick.”
• “You can tell a lot from someone’s face.”
• “Unbelievable. How did she manage to fool everyone into thinking she was S-rank?”
• “The Guild Leader must be furious.”

She could hear every word as she walked through the hall, everyone turning to look as she passed. Not long ago, she had been their idol, an S-rank hunter. Now, she was the subject of ridicule and scorn.

‘It’s over... It’s all over... It’s all over...’

She couldn’t stop herself from replaying those thoughts.

Her mind wandered back to the chaotic A-rank dungeon earlier.

• “Hunter Chae Soo-hyun! Please answer a few questions!”
• “Can you confirm what you just said? Are you really not S-rank?”
• “Please, answer us! Is it true you’re not S-rank?”

Reporters swarmed her, bombarding her with questions. In the face of the onslaught, she could do nothing but apologize and flee, having no one to turn to for help.

‘Ji-hoon oppa...’

She thought back to the times when Baek Ji-hoon had always been there to rescue her from difficult situations. He would have defended her against those reporters, just like he used to.

But this wasn’t the same Baek Ji-hoon. When she had looked at him in the dungeon, hoping for help, all she’d received in return was his look of disdain.

‘Oppa…’

She realized it was truly over. The last shred of hope she had clung to—her feelings for Baek Ji-hoon—was slipping away.

“No! What the hell is going on?!” Cha Team Leader stormed around his office, face flushed with anger.

“Team Leader Cha, please calm down.”
“Calm down? Chae Soo-hyun isn’t S-rank?! Ugh…” He rubbed his forehead, fuming over the recent scandal.

“Does it matter? We have ten S-ranks.”
“It’s not about numbers; it’s about reputation! Ji-hoon, how stupid will we look now? People are going to say we just recruit anyone without proper vetting!”

No matter how much I tried to reassure him, he couldn’t seem to calm down.

‘Well... Since things have already blown up, maybe I should just go for it.’

I’d always wondered if Cha Team Leader was actually the Guild Leader in disguise. It was a crazy thought, but something about him always gave off that vibe.

“Excuse me, Team Leader Cha?”
“What is it now?”
“I have something I’d like to ask you.”
“What?”
“Are you... the Guild Leader?”

As soon as I asked, his face went blank. He stopped dead in his tracks, his rage about Chae Soo-hyun momentarily forgotten.

“Isn’t that right, Team Leader?”
“Ji-hoon... have you told anyone about this?”

‘So it’s true... Damn.’

“No.”
“Good... Let’s keep it that way.”

His eyes darted around, clearly nervous.

‘Wow... So Cha Team Leader really is the Guild Leader…’

The Blue Guild was in total chaos.

“Hahaha! See? I was right, wasn’t I? Hahaha!” Lee Soo-ah laughed, looking over at Yoo Ha-na with satisfaction.

“Ugh. Are you seriously gloating over this? Fine, you were right. I just can’t believe you were actually right for once.” Yoo Ha-na crossed her arms, grudgingly acknowledging her friend’s intuition.

“Heh heh. Yoo Ha-na, you have no sense for these things. You’re just clueless.”
“Soo-ah?”
“Yes?”
“Just because you were right doesn’t mean Ji-hoon is going to notice you any more.”
“Ugh... You’re such a killjoy.”
“I’m just stating facts.”

They continued bickering.

“Anyway, did you see Chae Soo-hyun’s face earlier? She looked like she was about to cry. She wanted someone to help her, but no one could.” Lee Soo-ah looked smug, clearly delighted by what had happened.

When Chae Soo-hyun had taken the number one spot from her, it had left a deep scar. Seeing her humiliated now felt immensely satisfying.

“Looks like it’s my time again. I’ll reclaim the number one S-rank spot.”
“Nope. It’ll probably be Ji-hoon.”
“Huh?”

Lee Soo-ah paused, considering Yoo Ha-na’s words.

‘That’s right... Last I heard about him…’

It made sense.

‘He was moving up to S-rank so quickly...’

Her eyes sparkled.

‘Fine. If I can beat Ji-hoon, then maybe he’ll start paying attention to me.’

“What the hell?!”

Jin-hyuk was slammed with a piece of news that brought his busy schedule to a halt.

“She’s not S-rank?! That lying…!”

He glanced at his phone, cursing under his breath. It was unbelievable.

“She really lied to me?”

He was practically shaking with rage as he thought back to Lee Soo-ah’s recent visit.

‘How did she know? If even she could figure it out, but I couldn’t, then I’m an idiot.’

He felt foolish for focusing on the wrong things and overlooking something so close.

‘So that’s why she did nothing while in my guild...’

It was all coming together. The countless times he had tried to coax and persuade Chae Soo-hyun to take on dungeons now made sense.

‘So she tricked me to get into the guild? Then what was the evaluation center even doing?’

Jin-hyuk had thoroughly checked her over, using three machines for cross-verification just to be sure.

‘Was it some skill? Did she manipulate the results? Damn it...’

Despite his anger, he knew the past couldn’t be undone.

As he scrolled through the internet reactions, it was clear public opinion was against her.

• “Wow. Not even S-rank? That’s shameless.”
• “Is she at least A-rank?”
• “Any follow-up? What’s happening with Chae Soo-hyun?”
• “How’d she get into Baekho Guild? Didn’t they put her through rigorous testing?”
• “Heads are gonna roll at the evaluation center. Were they bribed?”
• “I doubt she’s even A-rank. Saw the footage, and she looked helpless. Probably C-rank.”
• “If she’s C-rank, that’s an insane amount of fraud.”
• “Baekho and Blue Guild really dropped the ball on this one.”
• “She kept complaining about being sick, so I guess they just let it slide.”
• “She’s probably facing a massive penalty for breach of contract.”
• “Didn’t she have, like, twenty endorsements? That’s over.”

The backlash was intense.

‘Should I be grateful she left when she did?’

Jin-hyuk felt a twisted sense of relief. He had been blindsided, but at least the heat was on the Blue Guild now, not Baekho.

• “Well, Blue Guild was getting too big anyway.”
• “Think the other S-ranks there are frauds too? They should all be investigated.”
• “Definitely. How are there that many S-ranks? This world is full of lies!”
• “Let’s start a petition.”
• “Blue Guild’s gotta be sweating. Will they have to cover her penalties?”
• “Probably. They’re raking in cash, but they’re in trouble now.”

‘This could have been worse… I should be thankful.’

Creak.

“Oh, oppa…”

Seo Ji-soo entered, smirking.

“Did you hear about Chae Soo-hyun? Turns out she isn’t S-rank. Pfft…”

She let out a snicker.

“Oppa, why do all your picks end up being disasters? Can’t even verify hunter ranks now?” She gave him a sympathetic look.

“I’m in no mood, so quit it.”

“Oh, oppa~! This just means Baekho Guild can refocus on me. I’m your only real S-rank now. Start promoting me already.”

Seo Ji-soo flashed a grin, delivering a final jab.

‘Fine. I’ll rebuild with Seo Ji-soo. As for that traitor, she’s dead to me.’

He decided to cut ties completely.