Chapter 74

Yeonhan Kim also seemed to be deep in thought about something. Then Cho-i spoke first.

“No matter what you say, I have no intention of getting close to Taehyeok Sa.”

“Ah.”

Yeonhan Kim blinked as if asking what she meant, then soon smiled.

“I misunderstood. I wasn’t going to tell you to get close to the Guild Master, Cho-i. I don’t know exactly what happened, but just by looking at the Guild Master’s attitude when dealing with something unexpected, I can pretty much guess what he did. I wouldn’t forgive him either.”

“Then what were you thinking about so much?”

“Just, a persuasive word to consider humanity to some extent, even if you hate the Guild Master?”

“Wow…”

Cho-i admired indifferently.

“You were thinking on a bigger scale than I expected?”

“I suppose so. Hunters protect civilians from the dangers of dungeons.”

“Are there any hunters these days who think like that? Most of them probably think of it as a job where they risk their lives to earn a lot of money.”

“Well, I think that way. Dongju probably does too, and surprisingly, the Guild Master also has quite a sense of responsibility in that regard.”

At those words, Cho-i scoffed.

“His acting like a guardian was ridiculous, but hearing that, I’m convinced. He really thinks he’s the only one, doesn’t he?”

“Probably.”

“Anything else you want to tell me?”

“Hate the Guild Master, but don’t hate me too much?”

“Okay, got it.”

Cho-i nodded. The atmosphere between the two was not bad at all. Meanwhile, Taehyeok Sa and Dongju Kim remained where Yeonhan Kim and Cho-i Hyeon had left. Taehyeok Sa looked at Dongju Kim and said,

“What do you think about the Calamity we don’t know about?”

“Excuse me?”

Dongju Kim asked back as if wondering what he was talking about.

” ‘The Entity’ said it. It asked if Scythe isn’t about sacrificing one’s body for a Calamity you don’t know about.”

“First of all, I can tell ‘it’ has a very aggressive nature.”

“Right. In the end, it tried to devour me, saying we were finally alone.”

“How big is the difference from the Guild Master?”

“It’s embarrassingly large. I can’t even say it’s one level higher than me.”

“Meaning it’s beyond that.”

“Yes.”

“…”

“We still don’t know exactly what’s inside Cho-i Hyeon’s body. We can’t cut her open.”

“Didn’t you already cut her open?”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Looking at your usual personality, it’s obvious. I know you have a soft spot for Hunter Cho-i, but you’re usually ill-tempered, aren’t you?”

“……”

Taehyeok Sa had to readily admit Dongju Kim’s words. Dongju Kim, with a face exactly like Yeonhan Kim’s, pondered in the same pose, then soon said,

“Still, I think it’s necessary to investigate that Calamity to some extent.”

“Yes. It seems to be related to the dungeon, somehow.”

“The dungeon research team will have to work harder.”

“With Ganansu, things will pick up speed now.”

And the two fell silent. They couldn’t know what kind of thing ‘the Entity’, so strong that they couldn’t reach it, would call a Calamity. But one thing was certain. Whatever came, they had to hold their ground. All the S-Ranks of Paehyeok were such people. Yes, including Cho-i Hyeon, of course.

“Oh, is someone talking about me?”

Cho-i scratched her ear as she walked into the apartment building from where Yeonhan Kim had dropped her off. Is someone badmouthing me? The only person who would badmouth her was Taehyeok Sa.

“Haha, you son of a bitch.”

Cho-i hurled insults at the absent Taehyeok Sa and fluttered into the elevator. As she rode the elevator up, she heard sounds from inside the house. Nara Shim must have returned. It felt like a very long time since they’d last met, so Cho-i flung the door open and shouted,

“My daughter! It’s been so long!”

“Why are you spouting nonsense as soon as you arrive!”

“I can because I’m happy to see you!”

Cho-i Hyeon ran to Nara Shim and hugged her tightly in one swift motion. Nara Shim struggled, disgusted, but couldn’t escape the S-Rank’s embrace.

“Why are you being so creepy!”

“No, seeing your face makes me feel like all the complicated things just fall away. This is why you shouldn’t hang out with S-Ranks.”

“Oh, please! I’d love to hang out with S-Ranks! You’re so spoiled!”

“Ahahaha.”

Cho-i Hyeon held Nara Shim and fell to the floor. A gasp escaped Nara Shim’s lips, but Cho-i paid no mind. Nara Shim continued to struggle within the embrace until Cho-i relaxed her grip, and she managed to escape.

“Why are you so high?”

“I’ve always been high.”

“Now that you mention it, that’s true.”

“Hey.”

Suddenly, Cho-i Hyeon called out to her. Nara Shim, feeling uneasy at the sudden call, replied,

“Why, why?”

“I got a text about an alumni gathering.”

“An alumni gathering? University?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s pretty obvious why they called you suddenly. Isn’t it a gathering just to get a look at you?”

“There’s a high chance of that, isn’t there?”

“Why would you go to something like that? We could order chicken instead.”

“Right?”

Then Nara Shim suddenly asked, as if curious,

“What were you like in college?”

At that, Cho-i Hyeon chuckled.

“What do you think? I was just Hyeonchan An’s girlfriend.”

“Hyeonchan An’s girlfriend?”

“She’s that person. Hyeonchan An’s girlfriend. That’s usually what I was called.”

“That’s subtly annoying.”

“A classmate introduced us, but the story got twisted somehow. Like I tried really hard to get introduced to him or something.”

“Huh, why did that rumor start?”

“Now that I think about it, it might have been Hyeonchan An, but I don’t know the details. Hyeonchan An came from a wealthy family, and I was an orphan with no parents, so it might have looked that way to others.”

Nara Shim listened to the story and looked a bit annoyed.

“If it was that bastard Hyeonchan An, it’s possible. It was always his habit to say whatever was advantageous to him, that bastard.”

“Right?”

Then Nara Shim suddenly picked up her smartphone, as if something had just occurred to her.

“Hey, just a second.”

“Why? What is it?”

“There’s always something that makes an appearance at times like this.”

“What?”

“Just hold on.”

Nara Shim opened the gate board, not anything else, and started searching for something. After searching for Cho-i Hyeon, Cho-i, and H.C.Y., Nara Shim finally found a post and furrowed her brows.

“I was wondering why not.”

“What is it?”

“Read it.”

Cho-i looked at Nara Shim’s smartphone. There were posts like, “I went to the same university as Hyeon-cho-i,” and “I went to the same high school as Cho-i Hyeon.” The one Nara Shim chose was the post about going to the same university.

[I went to the same university as Hyeon-cho-i]
[She was really gloomy when she was in university. But her face was definitely pretty, right? So she was really popular with guys. But whether it was a mystery or something, she played hard to get. But then she started dating a rich guy who was popular in her department.
As soon as the article about her came out this time, there were dating rumors with the Pa-hyeok Guild Master and another hunter, so I guess she’s just a girl who lives by sucking up to men.]

Nara Shim read the post and said, frowning,

“Hey, let’s just go out.”

“Why, should I shoot a drama and come back?”

“Yeah, why not? It’s not bad. Let’s just stand a handsome new boyfriend next to her, just like this post says, and cleanly step all over her.”

“How can you think exactly like me? Did you turn on brain networking?”

“Ugh, that’s unpleasant. Everyone’s thoughts are all pretty much the same. So, who are you going to choose to go out with first? The Guild Master, of course?”

“You’re slowly getting used to me treating him like the Guild Master, aren’t you?”

“If it doesn’t change, what else can I do but get used to it?”

“That’s a wise choice.”

Cho-i Hyeon giggled and flopped onto the floor. Nara Shim sat on the floor, looking down at her, and asked,

“So when is the alumni gathering?”

“Next Tuesday.”

“Not much time left!”

“Why?”

“Hey, if you’re going, you have to go all out. Full makeup, brand-name clothes, and hair!”

“Eh. That’s too old-fashioned.”

Cho-i grinned and rolled around on the floor. Nara Shim crossed her arms and watched Cho-i rolling around, saying,

“Then how are you going to go?”

“Can’t I just wear anything?”

“If you’re going to do that, why even go, why even go?”

“Hmm, to show off my beautiful face?”

Cho-i Hyeon stopped rolling on the floor and cupped her face with both hands. Anyway, she knew she was pretty. Nara Shim grumbled but agreed with her. It was a little unfair, but what could she do when it was true?

“It’s definitely the Guild Master for a guy, right?”

Then Cho-i blinked and smiled broadly.

“No?”

“What? Then who is it?”

“Ah, well…”

***

A woman was looking at her smartphone. On a post she had written recently, there were comments like, “She’s really that kind of person, isn’t she?” and “Hey, isn’t that an unfair attack? She can date whoever she wants. Don’t you guys look at conditions when you see a guy?” She soon exited the gate board and looked at a text message.

[Is she coming?]

That was the only text message left, without a subject. Hanna Joo, who went to the same university as Cho-i Hyeon, scoffed as she looked at the message.

“She’s doing well these days, so she must not see anything in her way. She couldn’t even meet my eyes before.”

Hanna Joo deleted her message from the message box as if she didn’t like it. Throwing her smartphone onto the bed, she had already prepared the clothes and accessories she would wear for that day.

“How can she be so consistent? She tries so hard to benefit from men.”

She had disliked that aspect of Cho-i Hyeon for a long time. The girl who always hid behind Hyeonchan An and did nothing. The girl who would just keep her mouth shut or stammer if no one stepped up for her. Hanna Joo couldn’t understand why such a girl was now a hot topic on internet news and Ansta.

“This time too, she’ll probably just cling to some decent guy and keep her mouth shut.”

She tidied her hair. The day she would see that girl again was not far off.