When he mentioned seeing the drunk message she had sent, her face turned as red as if it would burst, and the corners of her lips stiffened.

I had wanted to bring it up casually later, but seeing her dig her own grave like this made me hesitate.

‘But now that I’ve explicitly stated that she’s a party member, it should be fine.’

Previously, I had recruited Shin Se-hee separately as an external collaborator, distinguishing her from the other party members.

The reason for my approach was that, aside from personal preferences for certain characters, Shin Se-hee’s background and the dynamics she would bring to the party were important considerations.

The Shin family, to which Shin Se-hee belonged, was a peculiar bunch in the hunter world.

In the game, they only appeared in her personal story, but now that the game had become reality, they would undoubtedly exert influence on my party.

‘So, I wanted to avoid that hassle by bringing her in as an external collaborator…’

I’ve always been quite biased towards characters I handpicked and raised myself compared to those I didn’t. It was like that when they were just characters on a screen, so how would it be now?

The moment I recruited Shin Se-hee as the operator of my party, even though I called it an external collaboration, I had already accepted her as a member of my party.

After that, well, I will not dislike whatever this kid did.

She was a woman who had produced a lot of fans with her gap moe and mob DPS.

‘…This reaction now is quite cute, too.’

She bit her lip and cried out with an aggrieved expression.

“You said you deleted it after reading it, but how could you lie to me like that…!”

“Then let’s call it even.”

I chuckled and replied.

Shin Se-hee made a strange face as if she had heard something bizarre.

“Even… what…?”

“Yeah, you lied to me about my phone having a virus, and now I’ve lied to you once. We’re even now, so let’s just forget about it. And I apologize first. I’m sorry.”

At that, Shin Se-hee’s mouth snapped shut as if she had been struck dumb.

‘This kid values these small but important things.’

Fundamentally, Shin Se-hee was from a wealthy family in the game, so gifts didn’t really increase her favorability.

However, that didn’t mean that gaining her favor was difficult. It was simply a matter of showing her attention and letting her know that you would continue to believe in her no matter what she did.

Most of Shin Se-hee’s personal problems, excluding those related to her family, could be easily solved by doing just that.

“……”

Shin Se-hee covered her face with her hands, embarrassed.

A mosquito-like voice escaped from the gap between her hands.

“I’m sorry too. I promised at first, but I was too embarrassed…”

“It’s okay. So let’s not bring it up again.”

“……Yeah.”

Shin Se-hee nodded slightly.

.

.

.

Soon after.

Vrrrrrrrrrr─

A sleek black sedan with a lustrous finish.

Secretary Kim, who had received a call, was behind the wheel, and Shin Se-hee and Jin Yuha were seated in the backseat of the sleek sedan.

Glancing to the side, she saw Jin Yuha looking impressed.

“Wow! The ride is amazing! Secretary Kim, your driving skills are incredible!”

“Hehe, it’s average.”

‘…Weird guy.’

She was still reeling from the earlier shock and found it difficult to strike up a conversation with him. Embarrassment was still running rampant within her.

‘…And he keeps teasing me!’

─ Hey, Shin Se-hee. When you walk, your right hand and right foot move together.

─ Ack! Eek! Ugh!?

Squeak.

Shin Se-hee bit her lip, feeling the embarrassment rise again.

But she couldn’t bring herself to dislike him.

─ Let me make this clear right now. Shin Se-hee. You are a member of my party. And you haven’t done anything weird to me.

Grin.

Grin.

Even in her embarrassment, she couldn’t stop the corners of her lips from twitching upward. To be honest, what had been the reason for her anxiety?

Other party members had been recruited by Jin Yuha first, but she had forced her way into the party. Though she didn’t want to admit it, she had been feeling a growing sense of inferiority.

At that moment, Jin Yuha gave her the words she wanted to hear the most.

‘So now it’s my turn to repay you.’

Fortunately, what he had asked for today was one of her most confident areas.

‘Shopping.’

In fact, I’ve heard that men’s shopping takes a long time.

It’s said that when it comes to shopping, men behave as if they have infinite energy.

They examine the same items over and over, and it’s like an endless loop of hell.

So, it was common advice among women to avoid shopping with men unless absolutely necessary.

However, in Shin Se-hee’s case, none of that mattered. In this regard, she was more masculine than feminine.

‘Shopping is something you plan for a whole day, from start to finish.’

Moreover, she had the financial resources to get him anything he wanted.

Of course, in Jin Yuha’s eyes, who had seen the future, the items he had given her were crude and inferior. But she could still showcase her taste and minimize the gap between their perspectives.

‘Hmph! All right, today I’ll show you a good time!’

As Shin Se-hee made a firm resolve, Jin Yuha spoke up.

“Oh, right, Shin Se-hee. Can you exchange this for money?”

Jin Yuha held out something towards her, and her eyes widened as she recognized what he was holding.

‘A top-grade magic stone!’

Shin Se-hee was surprised by the sudden offer of a top-grade magic stone, but soon nodded in understanding.

‘Come to think of it, it was Jin Yuha who gave Lim Ga-eul a top-grade magic stone, wasn’t it?’

“You want me to exchange this for money…?”

“Yeah, I’ve made some money here and there, but I don’t think it’ll be enough.”

Jin Yuha spoke as if he had never intended to rely on her financially in the first place. Shin Se-hee, who had been staring at the magic stone, looked up.

“I, I could pay for today’s shopping…”

“That’s not possible.”

Jin Yuha cut her off firmly.

“It only makes sense for me, as the party leader, to buy this.”

“……”

“Well, it’s like a signing bonus.”

“A signing bonus?”

At Shin Se-hee’s question, Jin Yuha nodded.

“Of course, I intend to distribute the profits we make fairly, but I haven’t given you any recruitment fees yet.”

“……That’s.”

“Kang Do-hee and you have pretty high price tags. As for Lee Yoo-ri and Lim Ga-eul, they have the potential to attract investors if we consider their growth.”

Ah, that’s true. The party had formed around Jin Yuha himself, and although they were listed as party members, no formal contracts had been drawn up.

“But I don’t want to pay your price with money. I’d rather give you a gift. And it wouldn’t make sense for me to give you a gift with your own money.”

Ah, he really is different.

‘He’s nothing like the trash who pursued me because of my money, power, or looks.’

Shin Se-hee slowly nodded.

“Okay, I understand. I’ll buy the magic stones and pay you for them.”

“Thanks. But take a small friend discount on the commission.”

Shin Se-hee agreed and exchanged the magic stones for money right there.

‘…But, seeing how he’s doing things today, Jin Yuha will probably only take care of our equipment and not his own.’

He didn’t invest in himself, as evidenced by his familiarity with Rohana Restaurant, casually pulling out top-grade magic stones, and the shabby life glimpsed in his lodging earlier.

‘I understand that you’ve already experienced the future and it’s not as exciting, but…’

Still, it bothered her.

‘I should get him something anyway.’

Honestly, it wouldn’t hurt to score some points by giving him a gift alone. It was only natural to want special treatment compared to others.

But,

‘Hmm, since Jin Yuha just told me I’m a party member… If I don’t say anything, they’ll probably try to return whatever they received.’

Shin Se-hee glanced down at her phone.

Group Chat.

[Yuha Party Without Yuha]

A group chat consisting only of girls, excluding Jin Yuha.

It wasn’t created behind his back; they had his permission long ago.

The reason for creating a separate room was simple.

Since they were of different genders, there were things they couldn’t say in his presence, and as the one entrusted with managing the party, she needed a place where she could speak bluntly.

‘We don’t want him to see that side of us.’

In fact, the girls-only chat room was less filtered than the one with Jin Yuha.

‘Huh? What’s this about…?’

Shin Se-hee furrowed her brows and read through the accumulated messages.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[Yoo-ha Party Without Yoo-ha]

【Warm Autumn Weather】 ─ Do-hee, what’s this about you losing?

【Fire Fist】 ─ ?

【Warm Autumn Weather】 ─ But does that mean you lost?

【Not Soup】 ─ Lost…?

【Fire Fist】 ─ …Who’s the bitch who said that? What position is she, what’s her name? Tell me now!

【Warm Autumn Weather】 ─ Hmm. I can’t really say her name, but she says you lost because of junior?

【Fire Fist】 ─ No!!!!

【Not Soup】 ─ Can I ask what happened? It seems like a serious conversation is needed.

【Fire Fist】 ─ Shit. I just sparred with the Little Fool and got careless!

【Fire Fist】 ─ If I had done it properly from the beginning, there would have been nothing!!!

【Warm Autumn Weather】 ─ Huh? But isn’t he…? He’s a male junior!

【Not Dog Soup】 ─ ……

【Fire Fist】 ─ ……