Why Ha Yeeun Must Be Corrupted (2)
Choi Hana froze right where she stood.
Why does it have to be that song?
There was no mistaking it. It was a cover she'd uploaded under Naharing's name — a bright, catchy Korean idol track with relatively little of that hardcore otaku flavor, the kind Korean VTubers covered all the time.
I'm going to lose my mind!
She wanted to vanish on the spot. A few years back, when Scarlet had been training to become an idol, the two of them had gone through idol training together, so hearing her own voice wasn't entirely unfamiliar. But of all people, the one listening to it was Lee Junwoo — watching the video of Naharing dancing in full character, no less.
"Lee Junwoo… do you, um, like that kind of music?"
The question slipped out on reflex. Thinking about it, it was better if he liked it than if he hated it. In Korea's subculture scene, VTubers still lived in the deepest shadows. So if the absolute worst happened and her identity as Naharing ever came out, a strong aversion to VTubers on his part would mean she'd never be able to party with him again.
"This song? It's not bad. The algorithm auto-played it — first time I've heard it, honestly."
"I see. That's a relief!"
"A relief? Why would you be relieved?"
And just like that, she had nothing to say. He still had no idea she was Naharing, after all.
"W-well… Scarlet unnie likes VTubers, so I've gotten a little interested in that sort of thing myself…"
"Ah, got it. Hobbies come in all kinds."
His expression was easy, relaxed. Just as he'd said a moment ago, he seemed to have no particular interest in VTubers. And somehow, that left a small, hollow ache in a corner of her heart.
What is wrong with me…
Silence settled between them. They'd planned to study theory together today. Baek Jiyu — Junwoo's friend — was supposed to join them, but an Assassin Department schedule had pulled her out of the session.
Baek Jiyu…
She and Junwoo seemed very close. Childhood friends, she'd been told. Baek Jiyu had a cute face, too, and there were rumors that plenty of Middle Class cadets had their eyes on her. It bothered Choi Hana a little — but she was one of Junwoo's closest friends. Jealousy had no place here.
Lee Junwoo doesn't seem to be seeing anyone yet.
If he were, he wouldn't have spent that weekend with her the way he had.
Ah… no. Why am I thinking like this again?
She hastily shut the thought down. Today's study session was time spent receiving his help. Impure thoughts would be disrespectful to him.
"Shall we head to the library, then?"
"Let's grab drinks and snacks first."
"Yes! Of course!"
They walked over to the campus store right beside the lounge. Watching him pick out snacks, she found herself replaying a conversation from a few days earlier — the one she'd had with Hwang Yonggyun, the organization's vice-boss.
Boss. Lee Junwoo is talent we absolutely must bring into the organization. Your eye for spotting him first is remarkable.
That had surprised her. It was true that she'd recognized Junwoo's potential and kept watching him — but Hwang Yonggyun acknowledging him was another matter entirely. Hwang Yonggyun was the one who actually ran the organization in place of Choi Hana, who was still just a cadet. As an Awakened, he was strong enough to be called a powerhouse in his own right.
As you know, our organization is short on talent. But the Pure White Festival gave us a chance to grow.
Choi Hana remembered that saintess-visit incident vividly. Blood Jaguar had been critically short on Awakened personnel, and in their territory Junwoo had performed brilliantly — bomb disposal, fighting villains and monsters, even leading their members and raising the efficiency of the entire operation.
And at the end…
Junwoo had done something enormous. Because he'd stopped the villain fleeing with the holy relic, Hwang Yonggyun had been able to make the arrest. That single event had flipped the standing between Mad Knife and Blood Jaguar. If Blood Jaguar hadn't been there, the foundations of every organization tied to Mad Knife would have been shaken to the core.
If we hadn't protected that holy relic, we'd have made enemies of not just the Association, but the Goddess Sect itself.
Hwang Yonggyun's stock had soared. People started flocking to Blood Jaguar of their own accord. Before long, he'd told her, he'd be in a position to swallow Mad Knife whole.
If we can bring Lee Junwoo into the organization later… we might soar even higher.
Those words had steeled her resolve. She would recruit him, no matter what. Hwang Yonggyun had even asked her to pass along his business card personally.
If Lee Junwoo ever needs my help with anything — I have to say yes to all of it!
Midterms were coming up soon. The main exam was a party-based dungeon clear, and she fully intended to help him earn an excellent score. Today's theory study was essential preparation for that dungeon run.
The two of them moved to the library and sat side by side in the free study zone.
"I know fire magic theory better than most, so if there's anything you don't get, I'll help."
"Ah — yes, understood!"
She was studying the Marksman class as a new path after Alchemist. The theory she needed to raise her marksmanship firepower was fire magic. But Choi Hana was tense. Sitting right next to him, her mind went completely blank. She was hyper-aware of Lee Junwoo in a way that made no sense.
When I stream, I don't get nervous no matter how many viewers I have…
She'd pushed today's regular broadcast later because of this study session. She'd wanted to take the day off, but Naharing's popularity had climbed too high for that.
How did it even get like this…
All she'd wanted was to help her organization members — the Underdolls. So she'd set Choi Hana aside completely and streamed with zero filter, zero overthinking. Like a complete maniac. And overnight, she'd become famous.
No. Right now I need to focus on Lee Junwoo's explanation!
In that moment, their eyes met.
"Is the explanation too hard?"
"No! I'm just… not very smart…"
And instinctively, she looked away again.
Lee Junwoo has no interest in girls! I can't — I shouldn't be thinking weird things…
To hide the pounding in her chest, she kept twisting a lock of her long hair around her finger. And no matter how hard she tried not to notice, the constant stream of DM notifications lighting up his phone kept snagging her attention.
I studied with Choi Hana for a few hours. She didn't seem able to focus very well, though — constantly dodging my eyes, twisting her hair around her fingers.
She's got to be exhausted.
Naharing's stream times ran late into the evening or night, often past midnight. Filling audio for an entire broadcast burned through stamina in a way most people didn't appreciate. And Naharing reacted to chat with almost startling skill.
That's raw talent, honestly.
Responding to chat and firing off the right jokes in real time — that alone kept viewers feeling like they were actually talking to the streamer. Plenty of people thought they filled audio well, but never looked at chat and just monologued the whole time. Every time I watched Naharing's stream, I was genuinely impressed by Choi Hana.
Come to think of it, even in the original, her streaming stats were solid.
But running face-cam content as Choi Hana herself never worked nearly as well. It was the Naharing persona that let her crack the shell and take off.
"So if you pre-load the fire spell formula into the rounds…"
I kept those thoughts to myself and continued explaining the theory. Midterms were coming. Both of us needed real scores.
Midterm results decide which activity missions you get assigned later.
There was a reason the Academy was considered elite. Theia gave cadets access to high-quality dungeons ordinary hunters never saw. Even Middle Class parties got preferential treatment if they ranked high enough — good for me, good for Choi Hana.
There's a reason I recommended the Marksman class.
Her old weapon had been a chain — alchemically transformed to carry explosive damage. But Choi Hana had excellent focus and reaction speed. Swap the chain for bullets, pair it with a firearm, and her potential would bloom far further.
"Alright, let me break it down a little simpler."
Fire magic theory was my strong suit. I'd studied hard since high school academy days, and holding the authority Fire Blazing from the Mana Heart made understanding fire magic even easier. Teaching someone else, though, was harder than expected. Or rather — it wasn't that teaching was hard. Choi Hana was just strangely distracting.
Hope she didn't think anything weird earlier.
I'd smoothly claimed the YouTube algorithm had queued the video, so she probably wasn't suspicious. But honestly? Lately I'd been seeking out Naharing's cover songs on purpose. Not just her live streams — her YouTube videos, too. That soft, gentle way of speaking unique to Naharing, and then the way she sang like a real idol… without meaning to, I'd become a regular viewer.
So sitting next to the person inside Naharing made me a little more aware of her than I should have been.
What's wrong with me. Side effect of the title, maybe.
I'd felt it when I took down the villain Running Claw, too. Whenever Unknown woke up inside me, my personality shifted somewhere. Walking the path of a villain, it was only natural. Villains were twisted in some corner of themselves — so developing a slightly unusual taste wasn't that strange.
…Yeah. That must be it.
If I didn't explain it that way, the fact that I — someone who kept his composure even facing the three of Aegis — was currently hyper-aware of Choi Hana would be deeply inconvenient.
We finished studying and left the library together.
"If there's anything you don't get, DM me anytime."
"Is that really alright?"
Her voice brightened. Feeling oddly embarrassed, I just nodded and hurried off toward the café where I'd arranged to meet Ha Yeeun.
She must have been desperate. Even after I'd agreed to see her today, the DMs kept coming.
Corrupting a saintess candidate, huh.
I re-read the description of my newly acquired four-star authority and, in my head, started organizing methods for corrupting Ha Yeeun — a nun of the Goddess Sect.
Then I pulled out the business card Hwang Yonggyun had given me through Choi Hana.
This'll come in handy.
A short while later, I walked up to the table where Ha Yeeun was waiting.
"Lee Junwoo!!"
She greeted me in a voice overflowing with pure happiness.