“Ugh….”
Han Se-Ah opened her eyes on the cot set up in one corner of the training room.
It had been thirty minutes since she’d lost consciousness.
“Se-Ah! Are you alright? Nothing hurts, does it?”
When Lee Chae-Ha asked with a face full of worry, Han Se-Ah blinked a couple times and turned her gaze toward Kim Seo-Jun.
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
Kim Seo-Jun, who was standing a few steps back with Yoo Ho-Sung and Joo Kwang-Sik, only shrugged his shoulders in response.
“I was so angry at you earlier I could’ve killed you….”
Han Se-Ah bowed her head and let out a deep sigh.
Thinking back to how she’d flown into a fit of rage and attacked Kim Seo-Jun over a few words, she felt embarrassed.
“As soon as you wake up, the first person you look for is that student? Don’t you even hear your big sister talking?”
Lee Chae-Ha pouted, feigning a sulk.
“Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean to. By the way, Grandpa doesn’t know I fainted yet, right?”
“I haven’t told him yet, since he’d just worry. You should tell him yourself that you succeeded in your Awakening.”
“Thank you, unni.”
Han Se-Ah gripped Lee Chae-Ha’s hand tightly in gratitude.
At that moment, Kim Seo-Jun approached and held out his hand.
“Take this.”
In his hand was a necklace.
“This is a bit much. It’s the only keepsake my mother left me, and you broke it…”
Han Se-Ah still didn’t know that the necklace was a cursed artifact.
Everyone else present, however, had already heard from Kim Seo-Jun and knew the truth.
“If you have an artifact appraiser, check it with that. It’ll take at least an A-rank appraiser to get a proper reading.”
“Huh? What are you talking about all of a sudden…?”
Han Se-Ah was flustered by Kim Seo-Jun’s cryptic words, so Lee Chae-Ha added an explanation.
“That necklace… it’s a cursed artifact. It’s what’s been holding back your Awakening all this time.”
“…What? Is that really true?”
Han Se-Ah looked down at the necklace in her hand, her eyes wide.
Inside the pendant were photos of her mom and dad. Every night, Han Se-Ah would fall asleep while looking at those photos and recalling memories with her parents, so this was a hard story to believe.
To make matters worse, the necklace had been handed to her directly by her eldest uncle, Jung Tae-Wan, so the shock was even greater.
“That necklace is probably not the real keepsake.”
Kim Seo-Jun, unable to watch any longer, spoke up.
“It’s not a keepsake? Why would Uncle do something like that…?”
“It wasn’t just anyone—your mother’s own brother used a cursed necklace to prevent your Awakening. He even suppressed your talents so you couldn’t blossom. The question is, why?”
Kim Seo-Jun knew the answer but deliberately didn’t spell it out.
He wanted Han Se-Ah to find the answer herself.
And she did, soon enough.
“No way… Han Group? He wanted to push me out of the successor’s seat and take over Han Group for himself?”
At Han Se-Ah’s words, Kim Seo-Jun simply shrugged again.
“Sigh… To think Uncle was that kind of person. He always treated me so kindly…”
Anyone would find it hard to accept reality when betrayed by a relative they thought would never do such a thing.
But Han Se-Ah accepted the truth relatively quickly.
“Thank you. Now, thanks to you, I won’t have to let Grandpa down anymore.”
“Se-Ah. It’s not certain yet. Let’s look into it a bit more together…”
Lee Chae-Ha tried to put Han Se-Ah’s judgment on hold, but—
“Unni, I’m not a kid anymore. Of course, I’ll check into it more. But I can’t just pretend nothing’s happening when everything points to it. And don’t worry. I’m not stupid. I won’t make any rash moves.”
Han Se-Ah looked at Lee Chae-Ha with a slightly wistful expression.
“Alright. Got it. I’ll do everything I can to help you too.”
“Thank you, unni. For everything.”
Han Se-Ah was truly grateful to have someone like Lee Chae-Ha by her side.
If she hadn’t treated her like family all this time, those after Han Group might have already achieved their goal.
‘What should I do about this?’
The pendant containing her parents’ photo.
Now that she knew it was a cursed artifact, she couldn’t keep wearing it around her neck.
But if she stopped wearing it, her eldest uncle would notice something was wrong.
Knowing that Han Se-Ah was troubled by this, Kim Seo-Jun casually offered a suggestion.
“It wouldn’t be a bad idea to use an artifact with cleansing properties.”
“Ah…”
A cleansing artifact.
Cleansing artifacts were made to counter Hunters who wielded mysterious powers related to curses.
Such artifacts were extremely difficult to make, so they were always in high demand, expensive, and hard to obtain.
But Han Se-Ah was Han Du-Ho’s granddaughter and the heir to Han Group.
If she wished, she could obtain a cleansing artifact anytime.
Of course, she’d have to make sure no one found out she was getting one.
“Thank you.”
Han Se-Ah sincerely thanked Kim Seo-Jun.
Thanks to him, she awakened her powers, discovered her uncle’s hidden malice, and was even given direction on what to do next. Just saying thank you didn’t seem enough.
“If you’re thankful, stop letting yourself be pushed around.”
“Yes. I won’t let it happen anymore. And… unni, I want to properly compensate these people for their help. Is that possible?”
“Of course. I was already planning to give them a nice bonus. Teacher Yoo Ho-Sung? I’ll send a big payment all at once to you and the two students using the account you gave me last time, in gratitude for what you’ve done for Se-Ah. As Se-Ah’s manager, thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
At Lee Chae-Ha’s prompt offer of a bonus, Yoo Ho-Sung gave an awkward smile.
Since Kim Seo-Jun was the one who contributed most to this success, he couldn’t refuse outright.
With that, the situation wrapped up, and Kim Seo-Jun and Yoo Ho-Sung prepared to leave.
Joo Kwang-Sik, who had packed up their belongings, walked over to Kim Seo-Jun and muttered quietly.
“It’s a shame private lessons end today, isn’t it?”
Kim Seo-Jun just smiled at that, but Han Se-Ah reacted differently.
“We’ll see each other again soon. Now that I’ve Awakened, I can enter the Academy as soon as the second semester starts.”
Han Se-Ah intended to enroll in the Hunter Academy right away, without waiting until next year.
But Kim Seo-Jun thought otherwise.
“With how things are, I don’t think enrolling in the Academy is a good idea. We don’t know how big or powerful the forces targeting you and Han Group are, but attending the Academy would just make you an easy target.”
“You think they’d actually do something at the Academy?”
“They’re brazen enough to hang a cursed artifact on you. And it might not be just one person.”
“But I can’t just hide at home and tremble in fear forever, can I?”
Han Se-Ah wanted to attend the Academy together with Kim Seo-Jun.
Unlike everyone else she’d met so far, Kim Seo-Jun saw her for who she really was.
Not as Han Group’s granddaughter, not as Sei from the idol group Rosefinch, but as eighteen-year-old Han Se-Ah. For that, she was truly grateful.
“Your grandfather is Han Group’s chairman. Someone like that can easily find ways for you to receive Hunter training even without attending the Academy.”
“Without attending the Academy?”
“If Rosefinch’s Sei went to the Academy, you wouldn’t have a single day of peace, you know?”
“It wouldn’t be that bad…”
Seeing Han Se-Ah’s disappointed expression, Kim Seo-Jun chuckled.
He wasn’t oblivious; he knew Han Se-Ah wanted to keep seeing him.
And truth be told, he felt the same.
“By the way, this house is amazing. It’s enormous. It would take several days just to look around properly.”
As Kim Seo-Jun glanced around and spoke, Han Se-Ah’s eyes sparkled.
She immediately caught on to what he meant.
“Of course! It’d take at least two full nights to see the whole place!”
“That’s what I thought. If I get a chance, I’d love to have a real tour.”
As Kim Seo-Jun let his intention show, Han Se-Ah nodded vigorously.
“Anytime. I’ll personally show you around.”
A radiant smile blossomed on Han Se-Ah’s face as she said that.
After leaving the mansion, Kim Seo-Jun got into Yoo Ho-Sung’s car and headed home.
In the back seat, with his chin resting on his hand as he stared out the window, Kim Seo-Jun held a note Han Se-Ah had given him.
[Se-Ah. 010-XXXX-XXXX]
Written on the note was Han Se-Ah’s personal phone number.
“Hey, you lucky dog. You even got Han Se-Ah’s private phone number! Aren’t you glad you came today? If things go well with Han Se-Ah, you owe me a treat, got it?”
“Keep your wild fantasies to yourself. What if weird rumors spread?”
“Oh, worried about a scandal with Han Se-Ah already? Relax, I won’t leak anything. More importantly, if you get invited next time, take me with you too. I kinda like Chae-Ha, you know?”
“We’ll see how you behave.”
Joo Kwang-Sik was already shifting his attention toward Lee Chae-Ha.
Listening to his two younger friends’ banter, Yoo Ho-Sung, at the wheel, chuckled to himself.
“Both of you, stop counting your chickens before they hatch. If you get your hopes up too much, you’ll just end up disappointed.”
“C’mon, hyung, you were looking at Lee Chae-Ha with special eyes too, you know. I’ve never seen you look at a woman like that before.”
Now Joo Kwang-Sik was dragging Yoo Ho-Sung into it.
Yoo Ho-Sung responded by giving Joo Kwang-Sik a knock on the head.
“Instead of wasting time on that stuff, why don’t you focus on bettering yourself like Seo-Jun? He’s already way ahead, and you’re still stuck in the same place. Summer break just started—why not take some special lessons with me? I’ll even make them free for you.”
“No, no, no. I’m already signed up for a training program during break, so I’m busy.”
“Training? Isn’t that one of those dating programs that tour around with equal numbers of guys and girls?”
“Hey! It’s a legitimate training program, okay? Our distinguished Professor Shim Jae-Deok set it up himself.”
“Professor Shim Jae-Deok?”
Yoo Ho-Sung was familiar with that name.
Known for his lack of real skill, greedy for money, and infamous for playing favorites among students.
“I did hear he’s changed a lot lately…”
“It’s more than a little. I’ve seen it for myself. He’s super passionate in class, treats all students fairly, and his skills seem to have shot up too. Our classmates are so surprised by the change, some even worry Professor Shim is going to die soon or something.”
Listening to Joo Kwang-Sik and Yoo Ho-Sung discuss Shim Jae-Deok, Kim Seo-Jun suddenly had an idea.
“Hey, Ho-Sung hyung. I have a question.”
“Yeah? Do you think Professor Shim is acting weird too?”
“No, it’s just… Professors at the Academy can tutor students privately too, right?”
“They can. These days, money talks. Professors do a lot of private tutoring for big fees. For students who have trouble attending the Academy, if they follow the official process, it’s possible to get credits through private lessons. Of course, it costs a lot.”
“Just as I thought.”
“You’re not… thinking of assigning an Academy professor to Han Se-Ah, are you?”
Watching Kim Seo-Jun through the rearview mirror, Yoo Ho-Sung asked, and Kim Seo-Jun just shrugged and grinned.
Yoo Ho-Sung was spot on.
Kim Seo-Jun really was planning to introduce an Academy professor to Han Se-Ah.
‘Professor Shim Jae-Deok… seems like he could be quite useful.’
In his mind, Kim Seo-Jun was already making detailed plans to help Han Se-Ah using Professor Shim Jae-Deok.
Back at home, Kim Seo-Jun headed straight to the rooftop to focus on his training.
Forgetting all other thoughts, he immersed himself in practice, losing track of time until the day was gone.
As evening fell, he began packing a few things in preparation for the Jaeger Special Training, which was only two days away.
Then, an alarm rang on the special phone he’d received from Choi Kyung-Moon.
It was a message from Jaeger Headquarters.
[The Jaeger Exclusive App has been activated. Please connect and proceed with the update.]
At last, he could use the app.
Kim Seo-Jun logged in immediately. After going through the authentication process, the update began automatically.
A few seconds later, the updated app launched, and a notice appeared in large text.
[Notice]
1) Training camp admission date: Monday, July 24th, 2034
2) ‘Candidate No. 10, Kim Seo-Jun’ must arrive at Gapyeong Terminal by 10:00 a.m.
3) All further information will be announced through this app, so pay special attention to messages received on your phone.
4) Be sure to keep the phone secure and prevent anyone else from using it.
Reading the notice, Kim Seo-Jun felt a surge of tension—as if something was truly about to begin.