"What? What did you just say?" "Oh, Soo-ah, you've really lost your touch, haven’t you? In my opinion, the Blue Guild has become too old and tired. It’s turned into just another ordinary company. Where did the passionate and challenging spirit of the old Blue Guild go?"
Yoo Hana’s tone was sharp and sarcastic.
"Ha. Stop with the useless talk and repeat that nonsense you just said." "What I’m saying is, I believe Baek Ji-hoon will become the top Hunter in the country. That’s why I’m here, to stay by his side. I’m investing in him early."
Yoo Hana spoke as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
‘Hmm. Originally, the plan was to make Lee Soo-ah the number one S-rank and crush Chae Soo-hyun, but I suppose this works too.’
"But why do you need to do that? I’m fine with things as they are now. That way, Ji-hoon and I can..."
Lee Soo-ah’s voice trembled slightly.
"Oh, Soo-ah, it seems you’ve lost your mind a bit. I don’t care~ I’ll do things my way, and you do things your way. Ji-hoon, starting today, I’ll be your assistant."
"Assistant?"
"Yes, I believe Ji-hoon will soon rise to S-rank. Shall we head back to our seats?"
"Sure, let’s do that."
There was a slightly different look in her eyes today. We left the fuming Lee Soo-ah behind and returned to our seats.
"But, Yoo Hana... Our team’s youngest member is Baek Ji-hoon, and you’re saying you want to be his assistant?"
Hunter Kim, from Division 6, nervously spoke up.
"Yes, I’m going to make Ji-hoon an S-rank."
Everyone looked puzzled, as if they couldn’t comprehend what she was saying, no matter how many times they heard it.
"Is that even possible?"
"Yes, I believe it is."
"Ha... Well, it’s good for us, but... What’s going on, exactly?"
Everyone wore bewildered expressions.
"Ji-hoon, let’s start earning points quickly. I’ll help you out! Or... don’t tell me you already have a lot of points?"
Yoo Hana pulled her chair closer to mine, looking at me with an expression that suggested she knew something.
‘Hmm? What’s this? Does she know something about me?’
Last night, Yoo Hana.
[Sister, did you know?] [What?] [They say there’s a really unique Hunter that’s appeared.] [What do you mean? What’s unique about them?]
It was a fellow S-rank Hunter, Yeo Joo-ah, who had reached out. They had a friendly relationship.
[I don’t know the details, but they say he has about 1.5 billion points that he hasn’t used yet.] [Hmm? Why? Why hasn’t he used them?] [I don’t know~ But with that many points, wouldn’t he be almost SSS-rank?] [If that’s true, then yes.] [And they say he can also invest in others and accelerate their growth. I’m not sure about the specifics, though~]
Yoo Hana tilted her head slightly, hearing something like this for the first time.
‘Who is this? Who accumulates points like that? Even the current number one S-rank wouldn’t have more than 500 million points combined.’
She was confused. If what she heard was true, this person could probably take on any Hunter and win.
‘This isn’t just a gap, it’s an insurmountable difference.’
[But do you know this person’s name?] [Yeah. I’ve heard it roughly. It’s Baek Ji-hoon.]
?
Yoo Hana jumped up from her seat.
‘What? Baek Ji-hoon? Could it be the Baek Ji-hoon I know?’
[Where are they affiliated?] [I heard they work at the Blue Guild... That’s what I’ve heard. But don’t go spreading this around—it’s personal information~] [Uh-huh...]
Yoo Hana’s expression was one of pure shock.
‘What? Baek Ji-hoon? Ji-hoon? Ji-hoon has 1.5 billion points? What? How? Who is this person?’
Her first impression of him had been that he seemed rather naive, just a pushover... But something had changed this week.
And there was the way Lee Soo-ah and Chae Soo-hyun were clinging to him.
‘Who is he, really? What’s going on?’
Rumors that had been circulating among the S-rank Hunters were all about Baek Ji-hoon.
‘If this is true...’
Yoo Hana felt her heart race slightly.
‘I’m going back to the Blue Guild. I think I need to.’
"But, Yoo Hana." "Yes." "You said you’d be assisting me?" "Yes." "With what?" "I already told you everything earlier. I believe I need to make Baek Ji-hoon an S-rank Hunter as quickly as possible."
She spoke confidently, her expression firm.
‘Well, it’s fine by me.’
"I’ll show you how to build your skill tree, and your stats."
Yoo Hana started diligently writing something down.
‘Hmm. Maybe I should’ve done this sooner?’
I quietly watched her.
"What on earth was that hearing about?"
Lee Jin-hyuk asked Chae Soo-hyun in a voice tinged with irritation. He had never spoken to her like that before.
But he was starting to feel like things were going wrong.
"Ah... Oppa. It was a closed hearing, you know. Closed, closed. Just calm down, okay?"
Chae Soo-hyun’s eyes wavered.
"This isn’t something to calm down about, is it? You asked me to try and block the hearing, but now our guild looks like a complete fool."
He placed his hand on his hip, clearly showing his anger.
"I know, I know... I get it, but..." "If you knew, then why did you act like that? And what was the hearing about?" "Ha. I can’t tell you what it was about. And that’s not the issue here, is it?"
Chae Soo-hyun started to snap back at Lee Jin-hyuk.
‘Ha... Should I just take advantage of him right now?’
Chae Soo-hyun was waiting for the right moment to completely capture Lee Jin-hyuk, but she didn’t think that time had come just yet.
"Ha. Why are you getting angry? Just calm down." "Isn’t the content of the hearing irrelevant? Shouldn’t you be more concerned about how I feel right now? What about me? What am I supposed to do?"
Chae Soo-hyun shouted loudly.
"Ha. Fine. Fine. So what do you want me to do?" "I don’t know. Just do something about the Blue Guild. Why do they keep interfering with us at every turn?" "That’s how they’ve always been. That’s why I hate them the most." "Ha... Seriously." "So what do you want me to do?" "What do you mean, ‘do something’? Just make sure this closed hearing doesn’t become public. And work on sweet-talking the committee members. I need to manage my image, right? I’m the mascot of Baekho Guild, after all. I’ve just started my broadcast activities, and I can’t afford to mess this up." "Fine. I’ll take care of it somehow, so don’t worry." "Okay."
Lee Jin-hyuk was clearly annoyed, but he seemed determined to deal with the immediate problems.
"I’ll handle it."
Lee Jin-hyuk left.
‘Ha... Seriously... Baek Ji-hoon... What’s going on? What’s happening?’
Chae Soo-hyun sat down on her bed with a perplexed expression after finishing her conversation with Lee Jin-hyuk. Her mind was in a whirlwind.
‘Ah. Maybe I should have stayed by Ji-hoon oppa’s side? I probably didn’t even need to join Baekho Guild. Maybe I should have just focused on becoming the number one S-rank...’
She opened her status window. It was completely empty, an E-rank status window.
‘Ha... When am I going to fill this up again? No matter how many male Hunters I absorb, it’s still difficult...’
She bit her lip hard.
‘Ha... Seriously... I was too greedy. If I go and apologize to Ji-hoon oppa, will he take me back? If there’s even a little bit of feeling left... Still...’
She recalled her visit to the Blue Guild.
‘Sigh... He must be totally disappointed in me. That’s why I was turned away at the door, right?’
Click, click.
She started reading various posts on the internet.
How to win back an ex-boyfriend ㄴ Were you the one who broke up with him? ㄴ Yes. ㄴ Then, if he still has feelings, it’s easy. If not, it’s a bit difficult. Can he trust you after being hurt?
Can I be forgiven after betraying my boyfriend? ㄴ If he’s a fool, maybe. ㄴ You must be a real piece of work if you’re asking that. ㄴ Want to feel what it’s like to be backstabbed too?
I thought he was trash, but he turned out to be a Benz... ㄴ That’s your fate. What are you going to do after throwing him away? ㄴ That’s just your level. You’ll probably never meet a Benz again. ㄴ That was your last chance. Goodbye.
How to soothe a wounded boyfriend ㄴ Why are there so many manipulative women these days? You hurt him first, and now you want to make it right? ㄴ Just accept it. It’s your destiny.
She searched for various situations similar to hers, but the responses were overwhelmingly negative.
‘Ha... damn... Was I too hasty? Or was I just too greedy?’
She looked around her room.
The house that Lee Jin-hyuk had provided for her. She liked it very much.
‘Ha... But honestly, I could have just made money as an S-rank Hunter... right...’
She smacked herself on the head.
‘Why did you do that, Chae Soo-hyun? You caused all this trouble, and now you’ve ruined everything.’
Regret was slowly consuming her. And then.
“Huh???”
[Breaking News] S-Rank Hunter Yoo Hana Returns to the Blue Guild.
“What?”
Her eyes widened, and she shot up from her seat.
"Yoo Hana??? Returning to the Blue Guild?"
Naturally, a thought quickly flashed through her mind.
‘This is Ji-hoon oppa. This happened because of Ji-hoon oppa.’
With a bewildered expression, she started frantically reading through the news articles.