Chapter 59: I Can’t Live Like This

“Hyunji, please think it over once more, okay?”

The desperate voice of the Team Leader-level Manager came through the receiver.

“No, you’re at the peak of your career right now. Isn’t it a waste? Honestly, you can live doing things you’re good at without having to work as a Hunter.”

At the Manager’s attempt to persuade her once more, Seohyeonji replied with certainty.

“For now, I want to focus on the Hunter side of things.”

-….

Hearing her unwavering decision, the Manager could say no more.

“Alright, let me know if you change your mind, even a little. There are stacks of movie and drama scripts waiting for you to appear. I’ll just tell them you’re carefully picking your next project. Got it?”

Still, this Manager had been with her since the very beginning.

After becoming an S-rank Hunter, Seohyeonji was literally walking the path of a top star.

Nevertheless, Seohyeonji declared she would be taking a temporary break from the entertainment industry.

At first, she mentioned retiring from showbiz altogether, but after seeing her Manager nearly foaming at the mouth, she changed her stance to taking a break.

She called it a break, but in truth, she was deciding to focus on being a Hunter.

“Choose. Celebrity Seohyeonji or S-rank Hunter Seohyeonji.”

“Which Seohyeonji will be able to protect you and your family?”

Seohyeonji recalled the words the Team Leader said in the park last night.

The Government had declared war on the Villains.

In a place like the Republic of Korea, with its densely concentrated population and limited land, it was impossible to know how long anyone could evade the Government’s watchful eyes.

‘The power to protect.’

That didn’t just mean prestige or status.

She knew of her other Status Window. But the two powers couldn’t merge.

If she used one, the other would go into a sleep mode, and if she tried to use the sleeping one, the other would be turned off and disappear.

So, she thought it was simply impossible. But after hearing the Team Leader’s words, it seemed that might not be the case.

‘A Hero, he said.’

The Team Leader’s words, so unexpected.

They said he’d also traveled to another world and returned.

She couldn’t trust him blindly, but he seemed to know a lot about Transferees, and the fact that he was absurdly strong for just a porter made sense.

In any case, she decided to trust the Team Leader.

Transferees were always wary of others. She was raised that way too.

But the Team Leader was different, somehow giving off a vague sense that he was truly trustworthy, unlike anyone else.

Before she realized it, Seohyeonji had arrived at the Hanul lobby and was going up to the team waiting room.

Even with a hat on, people’s gazes pierced her like arrows from every direction.

“Ah, hello.”

“Good morning. Or is it good afternoon?”

She gave a gentle smile in reply to the person who bravely greeted her.

The man’s face turned as red as a ripe persimmon, and he could barely breathe, just opening and closing his mouth.

She was used to such reactions. Only one person ever reacted much differently.

Even without the aura of celebrity, or the weight of being S-rank, her looks alone exuded presence.

“I’m here.”

When Seohyeonji opened the door, she saw the scene of ongoing training.

“You’re here?”

The regular members who were always in the training room. The Team Leader, Kim Taeyang, Kim Inho. And there was an unfamiliar member as well.

“Urgh…!”

A young girl was struggling to do sit-ups.

Seohyeonji recognized her face as well.

“Is that the student who’s your niece, Team Leader?”

“Yes.”

As far as she knew, the girl was still a teenager attending Raon Academy. She couldn’t understand why she’d be here working out.

“Why is she doing that here?”

“She doesn’t really like eating rice mixed with soy sauce.”

Seohyeonji looked at the Team Leader as if to ask what on earth he was talking about.

The Team Leader grinned mischievously and continued.

“She’s joined the team as a Supporter, a healer.”

“Ah.”

She remembered the girl from the time they fought the Dragon. She’d seen her use Buffs on the Team Leader back then too.

‘Strange.’

Seohyeonji felt a sense of unease.

Usually, it’s more stable to have at least one high-level Supporter like a healer on a team.

But having such a young student participate in real combat, where it could be dangerous, was hard to understand.

Even if it wasn’t her, if a team with two S-rank Hunters was looking for a healer, people would line up for the spot.

“Team Leader.”

“Yes?”

“Is she really your niece?”

The Team Leader’s face seemed to say, ‘Why are you asking that?’

To be honest, it wasn’t really her business. But Seohyeonji felt a strange sense of foreboding.

“It’s just, isn’t it dangerous since she’s still so young?”

“She’s very good at taking care of herself, so she’ll be fine.”

But if that counted as taking care of herself, the way she was gasping for air after doing just one sit-up seemed questionable.

When the Team Leader had collapsed after defeating the Dragon.

The girl had given him her lap as a pillow.

When people cheered for the hero who had felled a monster and tried to approach, not a single one dared to come near.

A cold glint in her eyes, out of place with her innocent face.

No one dared approach the girl, whose chilly aura radiated from her.

Even Seohyeonji herself had stepped back.

Until the ambulance stretcher arrived, the girl stayed by the Team Leader’s side, continuously infusing him with radiant light and whispering something.

She couldn’t hear what it was from afar.

“Lee Seoyeon is really bad at sports, huh?”

“You’d better mind your manners.”

At Kim Taeyang’s teasing, Seoyeon snapped back sharply.

She tried to sound fierce, but her face was nothing like the ferocious look Seohyeonji had seen before.

Now, she just looked like a cute and lovely girl. But in that moment, the cold impression she’d seen before still lingered in her mind.

‘A mask…’

That adorable-looking face was a mask. For some reason, Seohyeonji found herself oddly conscious of it. Maybe it was because, as a dimensional Transferee, she was used to watching others’ reactions to her.

“Ah? Wah! It’s Seohyeonji unni!”

At that moment, Seohyeonji met Lee Seoyeon’s eyes. She flinched without realizing it.

Beaming brightly, Lee Seoyeon ran over and circled Seohyeonji as if she were some sort of marvel.

“Wow, amazing! Unni, you’re so pretty! Can I, can I get your autograph? You have to give me one, you can’t say no!”

“Ah, nice to meet you.”

Seohyeonji laughed awkwardly.

Even seeing her again, it was hard to believe this was the same girl from before—the vibe was so completely different.

“Hey. You aren’t finished yet.”

“What? I finished exactly 10 reps, didn’t I? Can’t you count, old man?”

“That was just sit-ups.”

“Uh…?”

“Another 10 minutes of running.”

“Wait, no way. I’m tired.”

“Whew….”

Lee Hyunbin pulled out the Coupon Book from his pocket. Seeing it, Lee Seoyeon bit her lip and trudged weakly back to her spot.

Seeing this, everyone in the training room burst out in knowing laughter.

“Ah, right. Even S-rank Hunters aren’t exempt, huh. Work has gotten a lot lighter lately, so I’ve had a lot more free time.”

“Really?”

“Yes, so I’m thinking of taking a break from showbiz for a while. Since I don’t have much to do, I might come here more often for self-care.”

Saying she made the decision because of what the Team Leader said last night would have stung her pride. So, Seohyeonji intentionally phrased it differently.

“Ah, I heard from your Manager earlier.”

“My Manager oppa called you?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, I see….”

It was probably a complaint call.

Embarrassed, Seohyeonji lost her words for a moment, then quietly moved her lips.

“What should I do? Is everyone in special training?”

“I’m grateful you seem to have taken my words seriously.”

“W-what are you saying? I just wanted to rest for a while. It’s hard to get into a role when you keep filming projects back to back….”

Seeing the Team Leader smiling so gently, Seohyeonji felt awkward.

It felt like the first time he had smiled at her that way.

It was a stark contrast to the way he always grinned wickedly while working Kim Taeyang to the bone.

“Looks like we’ll be seeing each other a lot more now.”

“I’m just planning to exercise a little for self-care…”

Something was odd about him today.

No, ever since their conversation in the park late last night.

“Shall we start with a light jog?”

“Excuse me?”

At Seohyeonji’s surprise, the Team Leader answered with the kindest expression in the world.

“You need to get in shape, Ms. Hyunji.”

“Whew….”

Seohyeonji slumped into a chair, head hanging low.

“Wow, our Hyunji is really good. How about a little more? More, more. One last time for real, just once more.”

“As expected, having danced and acted, your muscle elasticity is great. Wow, it’s different. Different. Would you like to try this exercise as well? Hey, Seoyeon. It doesn’t mean anything to steal that Coupon Book. Why do you think I only brought one? I have another one right here?”

Seohyeonji had tasted hell itself. She was dragged along by the Team Leader and worked like a ghost, not even knowing how it happened.

Whenever she tried to snap at him out of irritation, he’d smile gently and say it was all for her own good, so she couldn’t say anything.

When she came to her senses, over two hours had passed since training began.

Her whole body was drenched in sweat, and her legs trembled so much she couldn’t even make it to the shower.

Now she knew exactly how Kim Taeyang felt on a regular basis.

“I’m tainted now… I can’t even feel like I’m really training unless the Team Leader torments me… sob sob.”

Kim Taeyang was in even worse shape.

“Heuhuh…”

The ever-bright Lee Seoyeon was now sobbing into her delivery Coupon Book, grieving the coldness of society.

“Evil man…”

Seohyeonji muttered without meaning to. He’d sweet-talked them and made them all work out until they were half dead.

“…!”

One of the victims, Kim Inho, heard Seohyeonji’s words and looked around the training room anxiously.

The Team Leader hears everything spoken by day, and everything whispered at night.

His ears were so sharp, if you ever talked badly about him, he’d always pick up on it. Not only that, but he was so good at manipulating people, the whole guild was like a network of living CCTV cameras.

“Are we really going to live like this?”

….

At Seohyeonji’s words, silence fell.

“There’s a limit to training, you know.”

“Right, right!”

Lee Seoyeon chimed in agreement.

Kim Taeyang’s eyes were already dead, and Kim Inho, afraid the Team Leader might overhear, looked like a nervous meerkat.

“This is too much. He doesn’t even train himself, just has us doing all the work.”

Seohyeonji pictured the Team Leader’s sly face, smiling cheerfully as he watched.

“It’s no use… Whenever you speak up, you just get swept along….”

“Enough, I’ll talk to him. Just trust me.”

Seohyeonji took the initiative. At that, the dead light began to return to Kim Taeyang’s eyes.

Even Kim Inho looked hopeful.

Seohyeonji boldly threw open the training room door.

Just then, the Team Leader’s voice could be heard nearby. Thinking it was perfect timing, Seohyeonji put her hands on her hips and spoke up confidently.

“Heyyy—”

“Ms. Seohyeonji. She’s working really hard, isn’t she? So talented and diligent, I’m sure she’ll adapt to the training in no time.”

He was climbing the stairs while talking to someone on the phone. Seohyeonji was embarrassed, closed her mouth, and quietly went back into the training room.

“Of course, I trust and rely on my colleagues to follow along well. Yes, yes, let’s cooperate and stay safe together.”

As she quietly closed the door and stepped back, Seohyeonji felt someone looking at her and turned around.

The two Kims and Lee Seoyeon stared blankly at her. Seohyeonji laughed awkwardly and said,

“I mean, it is only the first day, so it seemed a bit much to complain right away.”

….

“What? Why? What’s with those looks?”

Lee Hyunbin put the phone, which hadn’t even been on, back into his pocket and showed a twisted grin.

Then he energetically opened the door and spoke.

“Alright, everyone! It’s time for a fun afternoon session. Let’s give it our best, okay?”

And so, three days passed.

They realized the truth.

Slaves aren’t born that way; they’re made.

And so, for the dawn of rebellion, Kim Taeyang rose up.

“Seoyeon.”

“Yeah.”

“Tell me Team Leader’s weakness.”

We have to survive.