“Let’s join forces? It’s a bit surprising to hear that from you,”

Kang Do-hee said, looking at the outstretched hand with newfound curiosity.

“Hmm, it’s true that I misjudged Jin Yuha at first, and your proposal does interest me,” she said, narrowing her eyes as if assessing Shin Se-hee.

“Flower garden. I don’t think I ever made a mistake in my judgment, as long I saw the situation correctly.”

“Hmm?”

“I just feel that if I take your hand, I won’t be able to give a proper apology to that guy. I’m not into scheming behind people’s backs. It’s not my style,”

Kang Do-hee said bluntly.

Shin Se-hee bit her lip at the firm rejection.

She let out a deep sigh, feeling dejected.

What more could she do?

Approaching him directly was out of the question due to that strange woman standing in her way. Trying to use his acquaintances didn’t work either, as Kang Do-hee refused to join forces. Even when she was straightforward, he pushed her away.

She was truly in a bind.

‘This is really frustrating,’ Shin Se-hee thought, feeling exasperated.

.

.

–

Late at night, after discussing the next sparring session with Baek Seol-hee and on their way back to the dormitory…

Two figures blocked my path.

“What brings you two here?”

The combination of Kang Do-hee and Shin Se-hee was unexpected, as they didn’t seem to get along well and hadn’t been seen interacting much. The two glared at each other with palpable tension.

“I wanted to talk to him first,” Kang Do-hee said.

“Did you make an appointment?” Shin Se-hee asked.

“And you, did you?” Kang Do-hee retorted.

Ignoring Shin Se-hee’s question, Kang Do-hee got straight to the point.

“I wanted to apologize to you,” she said, bowing her head deeply towards me.

I was taken aback by her sudden action.

“Oh, is it because of what you said to me before? Don’t worry about it. We didn’t know each other well back then, so I understand your reaction,” I said.

“No, it’s not that,” Kang Do-hee shook her head, still bowed.

“I also received a request from the Hunter Management Bureau to investigate you as a suspected Demon” she explained.

“Ah.”

Only then did I understand why she had glared at me so fiercely before. She had received a request to investigate me as a suspected Demon, and when it was quickly cleared up that I wasn’t, she must have felt bad about it.

“Oh, so…”

I glanced at Shin Se-hee, wondering if she was involved in this.

‘Has she done something?’

Shin Se-hee’s eyes darted nervously, clearly not expecting this turn of events.

“So, I wanted to formally apologize to you,”

Kang Do-hee continued, her voice steady and without any hint of groveling.

It was typical of Kang Do-hee, who was self-centered and strict with others but equally strict with herself.

I waved my hand dismissively. “It’s fine. I wasn’t really angry, and it didn’t cause me any harm.”

Despite my reassurance, Kang Do-hee still seemed hesitant.

“But…”

“I told you, you can come to me directly anytime and ask me anything,”

I said.

“And I said I’d answer if you asked.”

“Yeah…”

Only then did Kang Do-hee reluctantly lift her head, scratching her cheek awkwardly. She averted her eyes and asked in an uncomfortable voice,

“So… can you add me to your party…?”

My eyes widened in surprise.

‘I didn’t expect her to bring this up first…’

I had planned to ask her after recruiting Soup next week. After all, we had gotten to know each other and worked together. Even if she refused, I intended to get her number and stay in touch, periodically proposing the idea.

‘Hmm… but…’

As much as I welcomed the proposal, I had to consider it carefully.

‘The first person I promised to recruit was Soup, and breaking that promise to accept Kang Do-hee instead…’

Of course, Lee Yoo-ri would understand since she had rejected my offer first. But it still felt like breaking a promise, and that bothered me. Kang Do-hee valued loyalty and keeping her word in situations like this.

To catch both Kang Do-hee and Soup, the smart move here was to decline. I made my decision and said to Kang Do-hee,

“I’m sorry, but I can’t accept you right now because of a prior commitment. How about I resolve that and then make you an offer?”

“Is it because of next week’s sparring opponent?”

Kang Do-hee asked, raising an eyebrow.

“How did you know? Oh, you overheard my conversation with the instructor earlier,”

“Well, I guess I can’t take it easy then,” she said with a chilly smile.

Kang Do-hee nodded and extended her hand towards me.

“For now, let’s leave it at that.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry I can’t give you an answer right now, but I’ve wanted you in my party from the start,” I said, shaking her hand.

It felt like an overly strong force was applied to our joined hands, but I endured the pain and forced a smile.

“Yeah, I prefer to be direct like this,” she said, nodding firmly.

With that, she turned and walked away, her business apparently concluded.

‘Wow, the Demon misunderstanding with Kang Do-hee has led to this…’

And that left Shin Se-hee.

“What about you?”

She looked flustered, holding a stack of documents in her arms.

Frowning, she eventually sighed in resignation. “Ugh, I’m screwed. I’m really screwed.”

I understood her sigh.

She probably intended to use her connection with Kang Do-hee as leverage for another proposal. But with Kang Do-hee’s sudden confession, it became clear that Shin Se-hee’s contribution to our deal was minimal. Instead of creating a debt that I owed her, she ended up owing me one.

“There’s no way out of this… How did things get so tangled?”

Shin Se-hee grumbled in frustration.

“But you can’t really be with Lee Yoo-ri, can you?” I asked.

“That weird woman,” she said.

“Yeah, you seem unable to speak properly when she’s around. How do you plan to work together if you join my party?”

Shin Se-hee snorted at my question.

“Hey, Jin Yuha.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m going to ask you a quiz, so try to guess the answer.”

she said, not waiting for my consent.

“I have one part of my body that I’m most confident about. Can you guess which one it is?”

Shin Se-hee pushed her chest forward as she asked the question. I had to forcibly pull my gaze upward, as it had naturally started to drift downward.

“Your eyes,” I said.

“Wow, nothing gets past you, does it?” Shin Se-hee laughed.

“I don’t know how you knew, but that’s the correct answer. I only trust my eyes. They’re my most valuable asset,” she said.

“So, do you want to guess how you appear in my eyes?” she asked, her lips curving into a moist smile.

“I don’t know,” I replied honestly.

To be frank, I still didn’t understand why Shin Se-hee was so interested in me. It was true that he had initially grown quickly due to his early resource advantage, and his sword skill specialization of S was quite high among men.

But when considering both men and women, my level was ultimately that of a 4-star. I fell just short when compared to 5-star Kang Do-hee.

Shin Se-hee took a step forward, closing the distance between us. It was an intimate proximity.

“You look like a rough diamond to me. With just a little polishing, you could shine brighter than anyone else,” she said, maintaining eye contact.

Shin Se-hee’s moist lips parted as she gently caressed my chin with her fingertips.

“I’ve never seen a diamond like you anywhere else. I really want to possess you. If I can’t have you, I’d rather destroy you… you shine so brightly…”

Suddenly, her smile intensified.

“But there doesn’t seem to be any way to do that,” she said with a kick.

“If I were truly serious, there might be a way, but I’m not willing to go that far yet,” Shin Se-hee said, taking a step back and smirking.

“Is that a threat?” I asked.

“No, it’s a plea,” she replied nonchalantly.

“Please understand. It’s my first time wanting something so badly, and I don’t know what to do because it’s so unfamiliar,” she said, looking directly into my eyes.

“So, Jin Yuha. Please answer me. What should I do? How can I get even a little bit of your attention?”

I couldn’t help but look at her with a complicated expression.

‘I could just add her to the party in name only and not use her…’

In the character gacha, there were dozens of characters to choose from, and some students were inevitably left unused. They didn’t complain about being neglected, either. But this wasn’t a convenient character draw; it was about building relationships. And I knew that Shin Se-hee wasn’t the type of girl who could handle being treated like that.

‘Ugh, what should I do about her…?’

As I hesitated, her pride seemed to have reached its limit.

“Well at least you are thinking about it, and not rejecting me straight away.”

she said with a bitter smile.

“Well, that’s all right. If I can’t let go of my pride like this, I can’t get in your party.”

she shrugged.

With a resigned expression, she scattered the papers she had been holding onto the floor. “Haa, what was the point of preparing all this…?”

The papers fluttered towards me, carried by the wind.

“From now on, I won’t stand in your way. But I’ll still do my best in this group sparring match, so don’t worry, party leader,” she said, turning and fleeing.

Whoosh─

A single piece of paper landed at my feet, carried by the wind. I stared at it for a moment before picking it up.

‘Wait, is this…?’

My eyes widened in surprise.

“Lee Yoo-ri’s party’s status window…?”