* * *
What?
Did I hear that right?
Kang Yigeon’s face was deadly serious.
His heavy, purple eyes looked straight at her.
He was a man who would never throw out empty tests or light words.
That gaze told her everything.
“If your assistant offers advice, will you listen to it as a Guild Leader?”
“Uh…”
Seohwa hesitated.
“Does that… mean you’re coming to our guild?”
“If you promise to listen to my advice.”
“But when I asked you to come before… you said no.”
“I can no longer watch you move your body so lightly with other men. If this happens again, that person will surely die by my hand.”
Seohwa’s heart thrashed.
Does this man truly know what he’s saying?
This is practically a confession of love.
“Answer me.”
‘Director Go Hyeyeol, I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have been late today.’
Seohwa was a Guild Leader who was always sincere about recruiting talent.
“I promise. If Mr. Kang Yigeon comes to our guild, I’ll cut down on this ‘light behavior’ as much as possible.”
Kang Yigeon let out a cold breath—Ha!—and then slammed his hand onto the table—Kwang!
“Cutting down as much as possible is not enough. You must stop entirely.”
Cr-crack.
The tabletop splintered.
Seohwa’s eyes traced his long, thick fingers.
The back of his hand where blue veins pulsed, the Ministry watch tightening around his wrist, and the crisp sleeve of his shirt.
Her gaze traveled past his intimidating forearms and shoulders to the nape of his neck where his Adam’s apple stood out, his masculine, strong jawline… and finally reached his lips.
Seeing his tightly set mouth and twitching cheek, Seohwa felt a tickle in her stomach.
Looking at his straight bridge of nose and those purple eyes full of longing, words tumbled out of her before she could stop them.
“Then I’ll need someone else to be my partner.”
“…….”
“A handsome man with a good body.”
“…….”
“And he happens to be right in front of me.”
Seohwa reached out slowly and placed her hand over the back of Kang Yigeon’s.
“I wonder if Mr. Kang Yigeon will do it for me.”
She had liked him from the very beginning. Hair as black as night and eyes containing the prettiest color in the universe.
He was a hot-blooded man who created an eternal flame, yet at the same time, a cold man who was indifferent to everyone.
Yes. Except for me.
Seohwa had wanted to sleep with this man from the start.
She had an instinct.
An instinct that their sexual chemistry would be a perfect match.
Kang Yigeon stared intensely at Seohwa, as if gauging her sincerity.
Seohwa smiled brightly, intertwining her fingers with his thick hand.
Kang Yigeon didn’t think long.
He grabbed Seohwa’s wrist with his hot hand and declared urgently, in a very strong tone.
“I understand. I will go to Danbaek. However, once I go… there will never be another man for you again.”
In that moment, a chilling yet thrilling pleasure wrapped around her entire body, from her toes to the top of her head.
It was an intense sensation she had never felt in her life.
“That’s a very good idea. Wait a moment, Assistant Gam.”
Seohwa wanted to be crushed under this man and moan right this second.
Fingers still intertwined with his, she used her other hand to turn on her phone and immediately called Go Hyeyeol.
“Ah, Director. Let’s meet in an hour. Something urgent just came up.”
Click.
She hung up before even hearing an answer.
“Is there anywhere secluded around here?”
‘I need to do it right now.’
As she whispered, Kang Yigeon pulled her wrist with forceful strength.
The place Kang Yigeon led her to was a private duty room.
It wasn’t shared; it was a place only for Kang Yigeon where no one would come—the perfect location.
Seohwa stripped off Kang Yigeon’s jacket.
The beast-like body he had been hiding—no, a body that couldn’t actually be hidden—was revealed.
“I actually didn’t like Mr. Genie that much.”
The moment she mentioned another man, the veins on his temples bulged.
Even though she said she didn’t like the man, he was swept up in jealousy.
It was so close to murderous intent that her skin tingled.
Still, Seohwa had to finish what she was saying.
“That man had too much manners.”
“…….”
“Don’t you dare go easy on me. Torment me roughly, persistently. Ransack me recklessly. Can you do it?”
“Do not worry, Guild Leader.”
Kang Yigeon grabbed Seohwa’s long hair, pressed his lips against hers, and whispered.
“Violating you until you faint is what I have wanted all along.”
The Sejong Hunter Headquarters has as many classified areas as it does vast grounds.
There is the 5th basement floor where no one leaves alive once dragged in, the rare byproduct research lab, the secret training room for high-ranking hunters, the Alpha N prototype storage, and more.
And while it lacks that level of mystery, the server room where the computer network is kept is also a classified area accessible only to high-ranking officials.
The server room is located beyond the annex behind the headquarters, an area nicknamed the “Backyard.”
Information on anyone who enters South Korean territory, airspace, or territorial waters—even for 0.05 seconds—is immediately registered in the network.
Even if you just briefly pass through the airspace on a plane, your data falls into the hands of the Ministry.
Knowing this, many Awakened individuals had tried to break in to delete their information.
Because of this, the front of the server room was heavily armed with A-rank security personnel and defensive items.
There were no blind spots for the surveillance cameras, and being high-ranking agents, they never let their guard down during shifts.
A frontal assault was necessary, but it had to be done without leaving a trace—a frontal assault where the opponent wouldn’t even realize it was one…
“It would be best for Hunter Seohwa to handle the people.”
“Right. Most of your skills are for killing, Mr. Kang Yigeon. I’ll take care of the security guards, so you neutralize the items.”
“Yes.”
“I’m asking just in case, but you’re not going to burn them, right? No matter how much you say you don’t leave ash, a smell remains. You’d be the first one suspected.”
“Do not worry. I have another way.”
Seohwa, who could roughly guess what that way was, already felt pity for the items in her heart.
Darkness fell. A total of ten security guards were guarding the server room building.
Seohwa and Kang Yigeon hid behind a tree in front.
The agents didn’t engage in small talk at all, monitoring the surroundings with sharp gazes like wolves guarding a pack.
The job had to be done so that they wouldn’t even know they had been hit. Seohwa had two skills perfect for this.
Using Skill [Time Flight].
Absorbing your existence value.
Would you like to apply?
‘Apply.’
Applying your existence value to [Time Flight].
The maximum time you can move with current energy is 5 seconds in the future.
Would you like to move?
Existence value accumulated slowly to begin with, and since it hadn’t been long since she last used the skill, the available time was short.
But it was enough to get the job done.
‘I’ll stop time.’
The maximum time you can stop with current energy is 5 seconds.
Would you like to stop?
‘Stop.’
With time stopped by [Time Flight], she ran out in front of the security guards.
She whispered to the two guarding the entrance, who were glaring around with fierce eyes.
Using Skill [Silent Night].
“You see nothing. You hear nothing. A silent night passes, just like any other, where not even an ant stirs…”
The security guards’ eyes turned glassy for a moment before returning to clarity.
Time resumed, and Seohwa stood in front of the agents, waving her hand.
The agents continued to monitor the Hunter Headquarters on what appeared to be a silent night, just like any other.
Seohwa put her face right up to the agent on the left.
“Can’t you see me? I’m the legendary Seohwa. If you let me in, I’ll take a picture with you.”
“…….”
“It worked. Come out, Mr. Kang Yigeon.”
At her signal, Kang Yigeon, who had been hiding behind the tree, appeared.
The agents, seeing a scenery that looked exactly like usual, failed to perceive the presence that shouldn’t have been there.
Kang Yigeon strode over and grabbed Seohwa’s shoulder, turning her around.
“Did you really have to check by putting your face that close?”
“Are you cracking down on me?”
“I am being jealous.”
“If this ends in flirting again, I’ll have to lose.”
“How much time travel is currently possible with [Time Flight]?”
Since it wasn’t something she needed to hide, she answered honestly.
“A few seconds at most. Whether it’s stopping time or moving through it.”
“Even to the past?”
“Yeah. 5 seconds to the past, too. Even if I saved up for a lifetime while hiding my identity, maybe 3 minutes max? Not even enough time to eat a cup of ramen. But even if I save up a lot, I plan not to turn it back if possible. Because even turning it back 1 second will bring back 4,294,967,296 HT this time.”
Even 65,536 HT had been this difficult. There would never be a seventh timeline.
Seeing Kang Yigeon lost in thought, Seohwa tapped him on the back.
“Now, it’s your turn. Move out.”
Kang Yigeon clenched his fist and then opened it.
A sphere of dark energy formed in his palm.
When he clenched and opened it once more, the sphere split into dozens of smaller ones.
They looked like black beads containing only the darkest parts of the night.
As Kang Yigeon scattered them, they spread out in all directions!
* * *
