* * *
“AGGHH! N-No…!”
The muscle brute and what remained of the other man vanished helplessly into thin air.
They were both clearly high-level A-Rank, and yet…
Rather than awe, all I felt was fear.
If Do Soohyuk’s Black Flame was grand and flashy, Woo Jaehyun’s power was the very embodiment of stillness.
The warehouse returned to silence as if nothing had ever happened.
From now on, once business is over, I’m never making eye contact with an S-Rank ever again…
Just as I silently vowed this, Woo Jaehyun’s gaze landed on my neck.
The collar made of Numen Stone crumbled into dust.
My hands were freed as well, allowing me to sit a little more comfortably, though my body was still too weak to move.
“You’ve lost quite a lot of blood.”
Without warning, Woo Jaehyun lifted my hoodie.
The fabric scraped against my wounds, sending a sharp pain through me—I bit down hard on my lip.
But instead of treating me, he simply stared down at my body.
Does he not have a potion…?
“Ugh…”
Finally, after a groan escaped me, Woo Jaehyun moved his hand again.
Thankfully, he did have a potion after all.
“Ah, sorry. Your body was just… too nice not to look.”
What the hell is he talking about?
Sure, Seo Inho had a decent body too, but he was nothing compared to Woo Jaehyun.
You couldn’t even begin to compare the sheer width of their frames.
Even as I tried to keep my head from spinning, I couldn’t hide the irritation on my face.
Woo Jaehyun took out a high-grade potion and started pouring it directly over my wounds.
He could’ve just dripped it on, but… Unlike me, who was wincing at the waste, he was already on his fourth bottle.
Judging by the state of me, I must’ve been stabbed at least seven times while I was unconscious.
Honestly, it was a miracle I was still alive.
I sighed internally as I watched the wounds quickly heal.
My head was still spinning from the blood loss, but thanks to my S-Rank body, my condition was improving rapidly.
“Finally, some color’s returning to your face.”
Woo Jaehyun curled his lips into a smile and lightly tapped my cheek with his finger.
What a strange guy.
I blinked awkwardly and slowly pushed myself up.
Well, gratitude was still gratitude.
“Thanks.”
But I couldn’t help my curiosity.
This place was clearly an abandoned warehouse in the middle of nowhere—how the hell did he even find me?
“By the way, how did you know I was here?”
“Mm… I just had a feeling.”
He obviously didn’t want to elaborate.
Seeing him answer so casually with a smile made me lose any desire to push further.
Not that I had any intention of interrogating him anyway.
“So, what’s your wish?”
“Hmm, I’ll think about it later. But since I’m younger than you, drop the formal speech.”
Younger?
I hadn’t even considered that with how intimidating he felt.
But now that I looked closer, he might actually be younger than me…
Unlike someone else who constantly radiated coldness, Woo Jaehyun seemed surprisingly approachable, so speaking informally didn’t feel all that uncomfortable.
“Can I call you hyung, then?”
I couldn’t really say no to the guy who just saved me, so I nodded awkwardly.
Just that one change in how we addressed each other suddenly made us feel much closer.
I started to regret it for a moment, but the die was already cast.
I pulled myself up from the filthy mattress.
My brows furrowed as I glanced around at what looked like a crime scene.
The sun was already setting, which meant my dad had likely already gotten home.
This was bad.
The house was practically demolished—he’d probably faint at the sight.
The front door had been ripped off, parts of the walls had caved in, and on top of that, his son had completely vanished.
But I couldn’t face him looking like this.
He might literally collapse from shock if he saw me now.
I looked down at my blood-soaked clothes with a helpless expression, then glanced over at Woo Jaehyun who was just standing there.
He was wearing a plain black T-shirt under a light trench coat.
Well… guess I have no choice but to shamelessly ask again.
“Um, since you’re already helping me… can I ask one more favor?”
Instead of answering, Woo Jaehyun raised an eyebrow, signaling me to continue.
Feeling a bit self-conscious, I hesitated before speaking.
“Can we switch clothes?”
His eyes widened for a moment before he burst out laughing.
His shoulders shook as he laughed so hard I started to get annoyed.
But then, without hesitation, he started stripping off his trench coat—and then his shirt.
When he reached for his waistband, I panicked and stopped him.
“Ah, no—just the top.”
There’s no one nearby, right?
I nervously glanced around and then turned my back to him as I slowly pulled off my hoodie.
For some reason, under his intense gaze, my shoulders tensed up.
I cleared my throat awkwardly and handed him my hoodie, but not without a warning.
“Don’t throw this away. Give it back later.”
It was the first piece of clothing my dad ever bought me.
No matter how ruined it was, I couldn’t just toss it.
It might still be salvageable with some repairs.
Woo Jaehyun nodded obediently and started putting on the hoodie, despite how completely soaked in blood it was.
He didn’t complain and just quietly slipped his arms through.
But somehow, it looked completely different on him.
The hoodie that had always been a bit loose on me now clung to him like a tight fit shirt.
That’s when I started to feel uneasy.
No matter how I looked at it, his clothes were probably going to be way too big on me…
And unfortunately, my prediction was dead on.
“Bit big, huh.”
That was an understatement, but I said it while glancing at Woo Jaehyun, trying to save face.
Seo Inho wasn’t exactly small either, but seriously, just how broad was this guy?
As I awkwardly smoothed down the oversized fabric, Woo Jaehyun suddenly shoved his phone in front of my face.
I looked up, confused, and saw him motioning towards it with his eyes.
“Hyung, give me your number. So I can contact you.”
“Ah…”
Fair point. I wasn’t exactly thrilled, but I had no choice.
I took his phone and began punching in my number, when suddenly, he spoke right above my head.
For some reason, it sent a slight chill down my spine.
“But you’re really different from the rumors.”
No kidding.
Seo Inho and I basically lived polar opposite lives.
We could never possibly understand each other.
If the real Seo Inho saw how I was living right now, he’d foam at the mouth and charge at me on the spot.
I shrugged and handed the phone back.
Woo Jaehyun smiled, satisfied.
“Anyway, I’ll get going. I only stepped out for a bit from work.”
Ah, right—Woo Jaehyun was the guild master of Arion Guild.
That meant he was crazy busy, yet he still came looking for me.
Why?
The question I’d shoved down started creeping back up again.
I narrowed my eyes slightly, and he leaned in unnecessarily close with that annoyingly perfect face.
“Need me to walk you home?”
“No, it’s fine…”
I turned my head away with a reluctant expression.
He did this back at the hospital too—he really had no sense of boundaries.
Was he always this outgoing?
He didn’t act like this in the movie.
Seeing my reaction, Woo Jaehyun grinned and slowly stepped back.
He gave a playful wave before disappearing in an instant.
Honestly, I was starting to doubt if we were even both S-Rank.
“Yeah… S3, I’ll give you that.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at myself for being so annoyed by the HUNTUBE comments before.
It hadn’t even been a full month since I got here, and somehow I was already tangled up with two damn S-Rankers.
Hopefully, I wouldn’t have to meet the third one.
Probably just my imagination, but I had a bad feeling about this.
Why can’t I catch a break?
Never in my wildest dreams did I think my peaceful, ordinary life would include kidnapping and torture.
I just wanted to work at a snack shop—was that really too much to ask?
Lost in my thoughts, I finally arrived near Dad’s house.
“Huh?”
That’s when I saw a familiar figure in the distance—Dad, drenched in sweat, frantically looking around.
Judging by how pale he looked, he must’ve seen the wrecked house and had been running all over looking for me.
Seeing him like that made me fall silent.
“Inho!”
The moment he spotted me, Dad ran up and grabbed my shoulders tightly.
“My god, are you okay? Where on earth did you go without saying anything? I was so worried!”
His sharp eyes scanned me from head to toe, searching for any injuries.
I flinched a little inside but had no choice but to lie.
“Uh… I was just chasing after a robber.”
“Robber?”
At my words, Dad’s eyes widened as if he’d been deeply shocked.
I was worried he wouldn’t believe my hastily made-up excuse, but he seemed to accept it far too easily.
“There was a robber at home, and I fought him off. He ran away.”
“Why would you chase after him! What if something terrible had happened…! Your eyes — can you see properly now?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
At my calm response, Dad shut his eyes tight and let out a sigh of relief.
Seeing that I looked unharmed and in one piece seemed to put his mind at ease.
The way he kept his hand on his chest as if still trying to steady his racing heart made him look a little pitiful.
Glancing towards the direction of the house, I watched his reaction carefully.
It wasn’t technically my fault, but since the house was pretty much destroyed because of me, I couldn’t help but feel a little guilty.
The household items probably didn’t survive either…
That muscle monster really went overboard.
“But… what do we do about the house?”
Dad looked quite troubled too.
He must have been so focused on finding me that he hadn’t thought of any solutions yet.
Maybe this was my chance.
“Dad, would you like to come live at my place?”
* * *
