* * *
Wasn’t I kidnapped and tortured just two days ago?
According to those guys, there were plenty of people after me even overseas.
So how bad must it be domestically?
“If you really thought you could just help out at your father’s shop and live quietly, you’re incredibly naive. It’s honestly disappointing.”
But I had no reason to take such talk from someone who schemed so insidiously behind the scenes.
I downed the citron tea in one go and placed the empty cup on the table with a loud clack.
I’d already made my stance clear, so there was no reason to stay any longer.
“That’s for me to handle.”
With that, I got up and walked toward the door.
Behind me, I heard the clatter of a coffee cup.
“Are you sure you don’t want to reconsider?”
Not a chance.
The words reached my throat, but I didn’t bother responding and simply walked out the door.
Once the contract ended, I would officially add him to the list of people I never wanted to see again.
As soon as I left the building, I headed straight for The One Guild.
The One Guild, led by Do Soohyuk, was only five minutes away from the Hunter Association.
The Association building was large and grand, but compared to The One Guild, it looked like a neighborhood community center.
The One Guild building soared high enough that I had to tilt my head back to see the top — one of the tallest structures in Seoul.
No wonder it had become a tourist attraction even overseas.
“Guess this is why the association head’s so salty.”
The fact that it was located so close only made the comparison more painful.
I’d wondered why both ‘Seo Inho’ and Jang Sucheol were so desperate to bring down Do Soohyuk.
Unlike Woo Jaehyun or Cha Rui, who were already wealthy before their awakenings, Do Soohyuk had come from a humble, ordinary background.
With his own poverty complex, ‘Seo Inho’ probably couldn’t stand that someone who used to be in a similar position had risen so high.
While he barely made it into S-rank as a supporter, Do Soohyuk stood at the very top of the pyramid.
In short, both the association head and ‘Seo Inho’ were nothing but bitter, envious fools.
“Pathetic pair.”
Clicking my tongue softly, I entered The One Guild building.
As expected from its reputation as a tourist spot, the lobby was bustling with people, but thankfully, no one recognized me.
I was heavily disguised with a hat and mask.
I wasn’t some celebrity, for god’s sake.
Tugging my cap lower, I approached the elevator and glanced at the floor guide.
“The Guildmaster’s office is on the top floor.”
I muttered to myself while fidgeting with my mask, glancing nervously at the people waiting for the elevator.
Given what I’d done to Do Soohyuk in the past, it was hard not to feel self-conscious.
Soon the elevator arrived, and before I knew it, I was squeezed into a corner and reached the top floor.
A woman, who seemed to be the secretary, looked at my appearance and tilted her head, but when I briefly lowered my mask, she jumped to her feet, visibly flustered.
Was it really that shocking? I wasn’t here to cause trouble.
“Do you… do you have an appointment?”
“No. I don’t intend to meet him; I just have something to deliver.”
I had no desire to run into that S-rank face-to-face, so I hadn’t scheduled a meeting.
I just wanted to drop it off and leave as quickly as possible.
I took out two 1.5-liter bottles of ‘Simdaso’ water from my inventory bag and placed them on the info desk.
Naturally, they weren’t just bottled water — it was oasis water from the S-rank dungeon.
I’d originally planned to give only one, but I figured I owed him a bit more for saving my life, so I brought a second bottle.
Honestly, I felt a bit bad too.
“Do you have any Post-its?”
When I raised my gaze and asked, the secretary hurriedly pulled out a pen and a post-it note with an almost comical flurry.
I scribbled a few rough words onto the yellow sticky note.
[Just charge me for the antidote.]
I didn’t know exactly how much an S-Rank antidote cost, but somehow, I doubted Do Soohyuk would even want the money.
Ugh… I didn’t like this feeling.
It was like I owed him a debt—it left an uneasy knot in my chest.
“Just give him this.”
I stuck the post-it onto the bottled water and handed it over.
The secretary took it, looking a little bewildered, but nodded.
“Y-yes, understood.”
With a weight finally off my chest, I got into the elevator and let out a deep breath.
At last, today’s schedule was over.
Since I finished earlier than expected, maybe I could stop by and help out at my dad’s shop.
Feeling lighter, I started humming quietly.
Silence filled the guild master’s office.
Do Soohyuk sat in his office chair, staring into space, his dark eyes sunken deep.
His hand, once writing documents, had long since stopped, frozen in thought.
Seo Inho.
Just as that man had said, the water from the first S-Rank dungeon was practically a junior-grade elixir.
One 1.5-liter bottle of it had extended his younger brother’s life by five years. It was nothing short of a miracle.
Seeing his brother, once withered like a dying tree, regain vitality—it was a feeling beyond words.
And yet, that only deepened Do Soohyuk’s doubts about Seo Inho.
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t understand Inho’s actions inside the dungeon.
How had he known there was an oasis out there?
How did he know the golem was asleep?
Even Do Soohyuk himself hadn’t noticed any of it.
Until now, his impression of Seo Inho was nothing more than a lowlife who constantly pulled cheap tricks.
The Seo Inho he knew would never admit fault or share food with others.
But in that dungeon, everything about him had been different—so much so that it felt like looking at a completely different person.
He had never fought monsters before, yet he faced them head-on without flinching.
Do Soohyuk had expected him to eventually throw a fit and demand protection, but instead, Seo Inho was drenched in blood, silently enduring without a single complaint.
Because of that, everything deviated from Do Soohyuk’s plan.
That day, he had fully intended to kill Seo Inho with his own hands.
If it were the Seo Inho he knew, it should’ve been easy—he would’ve surely tried to manipulate the situation, giving him the perfect excuse to dispose of him quietly.
But instead of scheming, Seo Inho shared the healing potion.
And when that wasn’t enough, he even used a skill right before the final boss struck him down—all while looking at Do Soohyuk with eyes full of concern.
Overwhelmed by an unfamiliar rush of emotion, Do Soohyuk had lost control of himself, only coming back to his senses when black ash was already swirling all around him.
Amidst the ashes, Seo Inho’s collapsed figure was visible.
Lying there against the blackened ground, Seo Inho’s body looked strikingly pale, almost unnaturally so.
Even as Seo Inho lay dying with a gaping wound in his chest, Do Soohyuk couldn’t let go of his suspicions.
After all, the Seo Inho he knew—
But time passed, and nothing changed.
Seo Inho was truly dying.
His whole body had turned pale from the massive blood loss.
As his breathing grew weaker and weaker, Do Soohyuk had no choice but to save him.
He used up three bottles of the precious elixir meant for his brother.
Lost in thought, Do Soohyuk’s eyes suddenly sharpened.
A familiar presence was rising slowly from below the building.
Seo Inho?
But Seo Inho never opened the door.
He must’ve known Do Soohyuk was inside.
The presence hovered near the door for a moment, as if teasing him, then gradually retreated.
Just as Do Soohyuk instinctively considered going after him—
Knock knock.
The one who appeared after the knock was none other than his secretary.
Holding something in his arms, he seemed unsure whether he should even be delivering it.
“What’s that?”
“Ah… It’s something Hunter Seo Inho asked me to give you. It didn’t seem like just regular bottled water…”
It was oasis water.
The priceless healing water—so valuable that Do Soohyuk had to silence his brother’s physician—was handed over to the secretary just like that, with Seo Inho disappearing right afterward.
Rising from his seat, Do Soohyuk picked up one of the bottles.
A post-it note was attached to it, with a message written so carelessly it was almost laughable.
Had anyone ever treated him like this since his Awakening?
“…Ha.”
Seeing the scribbled handwriting, Do Soohyuk let out a hollow chuckle.
“Do you want your fried snacks dipped in the tteokbokki sauce?”
Scooping the crispy fritters onto a strainer, I glanced at the group of students standing in front of me.
They looked like they were in middle school, each holding up their flashy phones, filming me.
When would I ever get used to this?
It had already been days, but I still felt awkward and embarrassed.
The kids, unaware of how I felt, bounced on their feet excitedly.
“Yes, please!”
Their flushed faces glowed with excitement.
One student, who had his hair slicked back, fidgeted with his lips for a while before speaking in a trembling voice, like a goat:
“Inho-oppa, are you feeling better now?”
Oppa? I nearly choked.
I quickly glanced around to make sure no one else heard.
We had to be at least ten years apart.
The way these kids talked was dangerous.
Oblivious, the student pushed the phone even closer, getting more assertive.
“I started a HuntTube channel! Could you please say hi for my subscribers?”
“Say hi…?”
I paused while slicing the fritters, not sure what to do.
Even the smallest gesture could turn into drama in the HuntTube comment section.
Not long ago, one video of me simply smiling led to a flood of nasty comments accusing me of flirting again.
Ever since, even a simple survival-smile came with caution.
Nothing ever comes easy.
I clicked my tongue inwardly and awkwardly raised my hand.
That’s when a large shadow loomed over the kids.
* * *
