* * *
“Just finish eating.”
For some reason, Cha Rui let out a small sigh and pushed a bowl toward me.
Then, almost simultaneously, he turned his head toward the window.
Is it raining?
I looked outside but didn’t notice anything unusual.
Just blinking neon signs and a dark, empty street.
What is it?
Even at that moment, Cha Rui’s gaze was slowly tracking something invisible.
“What a pain.”
Woo Jaehyun, who had been drinking his tea with his eyes closed, muttered irritably.
Judging by their reactions, something was happening—but I had no clue what.
I looked at Do Soohyuk to see if it was just me, but he was leisurely checking the time like nothing was going on.
I glanced between the three of them in confusion, and just then, the door suddenly burst open.
A man I’d never seen before stood there, a smile tugging at his lips.
He looked at me with a strange excitement and began rattling off something in Chinese. I blinked in bafflement, unable to understand a word.
The man seemed to realize belatedly and attached a small device to his ear.
“Well, well. I didn’t think it was true, but here you are.”
As his voice came through the device, my eyebrows twitched instinctively.
Judging by the atmosphere, he seemed to know “Seo Inho”—but I had no memory of that face.
His oily eyes and monkey-like features didn’t exactly scream trustworthy.
Not knowing what kind of relationship he had with Seo Inho made me uneasy.
“You said you hated dealing with S-classs, no matter how much I reached out… so what happened?”
The man walked toward me, his tone greasy with fake friendliness.
His hair was so stiff with gel it reminded me of a porcupine.
“Rumor has it you’ve changed lately—and I guess it’s true. You’re completely surrounded by S-classs now.”
“Who are you?”
It was an innocent enough question on my part, but Woo Jaehyun suddenly burst out laughing.
He was always quick to laugh, but seeing him actually collapse on the table, shoulders shaking, was kind of embarrassing.
“Ha, hahaha!”
“…That’s a cruel joke. Has it been that long? You forgot my face, Inho?”
In an instant, the hedgehog’s face flushed bright red, a twitch tugging at the corner of his lips.
Anyone could tell he was humiliated.
Even Do Soohyuk’s lips curled up slightly, which meant I must’ve embarrassed him without even meaning to.
I messed up…
Feeling guilty, I was about to apologize when the hedgehog placed a hand on my shoulder.
Then, in a voice barely holding back anger, he whispered in my ear.
I could swear I even heard his teeth grinding.
“Do you know how much effort I put into you? You can’t treat me like this.”
Effort?
The first thing that came to mind was bribery.
What made ‘Seo Inho’ such a bastard in the past was how he never outright refused bribes from around the world.
Even if he had no intention of supporting them, he left just enough room for hope, all while raking in more and more.
This guy was probably one of those victims too.
From what I heard earlier, he was an S-class—pretty much confirmed it.
If I were in his shoes, pouring in rare items only to get hit with a cold “Who are you?”, I’d be fuming too.
Yeah… I definitely messed up.
The more I thought about it, the guilt kept piling up, and I slowly lowered my gaze.
Maybe returning the bribes was the right thing to do.
“You deaf or what, asshole? I asked who you were.”
But before I could respond, Cha Rui, who’d been quietly watching with his arms crossed, suddenly grabbed the Chinese guy and tossed him effortlessly over his shoulder.
The hedgehog crashed to the ground in a pathetic heap.
Even though they were both S-class, the gap between them felt absurd.
It wasn’t someone else’s problem anymore—it stirred a weird sense of camaraderie in me.
I watched the hedgehog, now flattened like a paper doll, with a flicker of sympathy.
“You dare lay a hand on the ‘Azure Dragon’ of the mainland?!”
The hedgehog sprang up, yelling like an overcooked sweet potato.
Movies never featured China, so I wasn’t entirely sure, but ‘Azure Dragon’ probably meant S-class.
Like North Korea, China seemed to use its own ranking system.
“You’ve got some nerve. The ‘Azure Dragons’ I know don’t even recognize you.”
Woo Jaehyun chuckled, reclining back in his chair.
Legs crossed, body slouched—it suited him annoyingly well.
His demeanor was completely different from how he treated me.
It was the Woo Jaehyun I’d seen in movies, but somehow it struck differently in person.
The hedgehog’s temple twitched with a visible vein—he must’ve been hit hard by the open mockery.
“Fucking little country punk!”
As he stepped forward, worked up and spewing nonsense, he suddenly froze—then bolted back at breakneck speed.
What the hell?
Confused by the sudden shift, I stared at him—then noticed blood trickling between his fingers, which clutched his cheek.
At some point, he’d been hit.
But the culprit was obvious—one person rested his chin on his hand, watching the chaos unfold like it was mildly amusing.
Flustered, the hedgehog hurriedly poured a potion onto his face.
“There was a fly. Must’ve smelled something nasty.”
Woo Jaehyun flicked his foot lazily, a faint smirk curling beneath the fingers brushing his lips.
Wow…
I let out a silent gasp, for many reasons, and shook my head.
In my past life, I wouldn’t have gone near someone with that kind of personality.
Still, given the situation, it was kind of… justified.
The hedgehog’s eyes sharpened, his rage boiling over.
His bared canines practically screamed his fury.
“Do you not know what happens if you attack a national hunter in China?”
“You think I care about that crap?”
Unbothered, Woo Jaehyun replied flatly.
The hedgehog clenched his fists and looked around, probably hoping someone would step in.
But the room wasn’t on his side.
Do Soohyuk calmly warmed the teapot.
Woo Jaehyun openly mocked him.
Cha Rui rubbed his eyes like he was tired of this nonsense.
And I?
I was just watching the show with interest.
No one seemed to take this situation seriously.
Still, the Chinese hunter didn’t dare attack.
He just trembled with rage, gritting his teeth, eye twitching uncontrollably.
And no wonder—those three weren’t just S-class.
They were the pinnacle.
This world was built intentionally, and they weren’t main characters in the movie for nothing.
Ridiculously overpowered—who in their right mind would pick a fight?
Even with far fewer S-classs than other nations, Korea wasn’t to be looked down on.
That hedgehog knew it too, which was why he stood there, fists clenched, but made no move.
Eventually, after all that pointless posturing, he turned on his heel and stormed off, teeth clenched tight.
All that flair when he walked in… now he just looked pitiful on the way out.
“We’ll be seeing each other again soon, Inho.”
Just before vanishing past the door, his eyes caught mine with a strange, venomous glint.
I had no intention of seeing him again, but I couldn’t shake a feeling of unease.
No, it’s just my imagination…
I forced myself to dismiss the crawling sensation, turning away from his retreating figure.
“What if this becomes a problem?”
Still, I couldn’t help worrying. Hurting a national hunter on their turf wasn’t something to take lightly.
China could file a formal complaint, demand massive reparations…
But Woo Jaehyun looked absolutely unbothered—if anything, he seemed delighted.
His long eyes curved into perfect crescents, and it felt like the whole room brightened with him.
“You’re worried about me?”
“….”
When I stared at him silently, unimpressed, he laughed, genuinely entertained, and rested his arms on the table.
His expression, unlike earlier, had softened considerably.
Something about it made my chest ticklish, and I scratched absently at my sternum.
“Don’t worry. That bastard doesn’t have that much influence.”
“Influence?”
“China’s all about hierarchy. There are so many ‘Black Tortoise’-level A-classs, and even ‘Azure Dragons’ aren’t news unless they’re really strong.”
Brutal.
Basically, even S-classs didn’t get attention unless they were exceptional.
Harsh, but kind of enviable.
If only I could fly under the radar like that.
But after getting kidnapped and all, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy.
Woo Jaehyun poured tea into the overturned cup, then spun the round table to send it my way.
A fragrant jasmine scent rose with the steam.
“He’s too embarrassed to even talk about this publicly.”
With that, our conversation drifted toward lighter topics.
We stood, leaving most of the food untouched.
I briefly considered sneaking some away in a box but gave up.
Pushing aside my regret, we soon arrived at a dazzling five-star hotel.
* * *
