An S-Rank Shakedown and Room Service

"Me first, Hunter Lee Ji-hoon."

Ji-hoon said nothing for a moment. He simply looked down at Jin Seo-yoon's hand, resting beneath her chin. No real force behind it. And yet, strangely, the thought of running away never crossed his mind.

"That thing."

"Pardon?"

"Is that a threat, or a confession?"

The corner of Jin Seo-yoon's mouth curled up, just barely. "Which way does it sound to you?"

"Hmm." Ji-hoon tilted his head. "Too dangerous for a confession, and too polite for a threat."

"Then think of it as somewhere in between. A confession with strings attached. How about it?" She flashed a light smile.

"If strings are attached, isn't that the dangerous part?" Ji-hoon pulled his chin back and slipped free of her hand. "I don't really like dangerous things."

Jin Seo-yoon studied him quietly. What was dangerous was his gaze. Eyes that measured the person in front of them.

"But still," Ji-hoon spoke first. "If I go with you, what do I get out of it?"

"Plenty."

"For example?"

"Whatever it is you're holding onto, Hunter Ji-hoon."

"And what exactly do I have?"

Jin Seo-yoon took a single step closer. "Finding that out is the whole point of this business."

Ji-hoon's eyes narrowed, a fraction of a millimeter. "I have a lot of questions, you see."

"Then may I make one request of my—"

"Anything you like."

"This."

Ji-hoon pointed at the table and meal that had collapsed under Bae Yu-na's fist. "Can't we order room service again from the top and talk then? I'm starving."

"Shopping while you're hungry is always the most dangerous, you know."

Jin Seo-yoon's eyes wavered for an instant. Seeing that, Ji-hoon threw himself onto the bed.

"Ahh, I don't know anymore~ I'm just an F-rank. I don't know the first thing about anything, so what am I supposed to tell you, huh~"

"You really don't know anything?"

"I'm telling you, really! Hunter Baek Kang-hyun did all of it. I did nothing!"

At that, Jin Seo-yoon rose to her feet, saying it must have been a misunderstanding after all. Just as Ji-hoon thought she was finally leaving—

"Then is that necklace a spoil of war?"

This time it was her finger pointing at Ji-hoon's neck.

Ji-hoon glared at her. "Hunter Baek told me to guard this thing carefully, so I've been keeping an eye out."

Ji-hoon's gaze shifted to Bae Yu-na. She blinked rapidly, apparently unable to fathom what could possibly be hanging around his neck.

"What? What is it? Got some secret only the two of you share?"

"Ms. Yu-na, could you step outside for a moment? I'll tidy things up in here."

"You'll keep your word, won't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you?"

The moment Bae Yu-na's question left her lips, a cold chill climbed the air.

"Officer Bae Yu-na."

"I-I can't... breathe... ghk...!"

"Have I ever failed to keep a promise?"

THOOM—

Sweat poured down Bae Yu-na's face. And Jin Seo-yoon looked at her the way one looks at an insect. Caught between the two of them, Ji-hoon wrapped himself in the blanket and ordered more room service.

"Yes, yes. I'd like to order again, please."

Watching him, Bae Yu-na swallowed a hollow laugh. "...You're really not into this kind of thing, are you, Guild Master?"

She had reverted to her usual work-averse public-servant self.

"Do I need to share my tastes with you?"

"Fine, fine. Then I'll be going. Nobody heard any of this, okayyy?"

Bae Yu-na slipped out the door, and the chilly mana of her presence faded with her.

"Just as I thought."

"What is?"

Jin Seo-yoon smiled brightly. "You're interesting."

"If you mean 'isn't it weird that an F-rank is standing here all calm in front of an S-rank,' you're mistaken. You have a rough idea what this necklace is, after all."

A necklace made from a griffin's feather. An F-rank Gate had thrown off an anomaly and become S-rank. Baek Kang-hyun had put down the griffin, the boss of that Gate, and the necklace had been crafted from the spoils taken then. That was why he didn't flinch in front of an S-rank.

Jin Seo-yoon had drawn the same conclusion.

"But why would Hunter Baek Kang-hyun give this to you, Hunter Ji-hoon?"

"I suppose he likes me. Ah—does that make this a love triangle?"

"That would be quite interesting, but I suspect it's something else. Something more like... this."

Swish—

Jin Seo-yoon plunged her hand into Ji-hoon's pocket. Then she drew out what lay inside.

"This is Gate loot, isn't it?"

She wore the smile of victory. Not a boss's spoil, but one of those special items that only appear in S-rank Gates. "And you're the only one who can find them. I don't know how."

And Ji-hoon, his secret exposed, flushed red with embarrassment.

"Haah... honestly..."

"See? I was righ—wait. What is this?"

In Jin Seo-yoon's hand was a small tube.

"An L-Tower Hotel... toothpaste...?"

The other items were the same. An L-Tower toothbrush, towel, soap, shampoo.

"Those are hotel amenities..."

"...I'm sorry?"

A silence stretched out, as if time itself had frozen.

"...Why on earth did you pack these?"

"Well... it's my first time somewhere like this... and it was fascinating..."

And it was free...

As Ji-hoon's muttering trailed on, Jin Seo-yoon swallowed another hollow laugh.

"They're souvenirs! Souvenirs of my kidnapping! Argh, this is so embarrassing! Hand them over, right now!"

Ji-hoon hastily snatched the hotel amenities out of her hand. Jin Seo-yoon clearly had no desire to fight for them.

"Ha... haha... you really are unpredictable."

"Don't humiliate people. State your business quickly and go. Or what, are S-ranks allowed to torment F-ranks like this?"

"Hm. Very well. Join Orpheus, Hunter Lee Ji-hoon."

"What are the perks if I do?"

Jin Seo-yoon leaned in. "Confidentiality. And I'll let you run wild however you please."

"And what do I have to give in return?"

"Intel on the new Gates. And activation of the S-rank Gate management rights."

In other words, keep feeding the Management Bureau what you're already feeding them—only hand it over to Orpheus instead.

"I'll compensate you generously too. House, car, naturally. Personal security, and protection for your family if needed."

"Seriously, why are you going this far for me?"

"To catch you before your stock rises. You have to buy in at the low point."

What stock do I even have?

"Hunter Lee Ji-hoon. You're not actually F-rank, are you?"

"I am. Look at this."

Ji-hoon pulled out his hunter license and showed it to her.

"Numbers can be faked."

"And how would I know how to do that? I can't do anything like that."

"Then how does a hundred-year returnee end up F-rank?"

How should I know?

He'd wasted a hundred years in Hell thanks to an unfair contract, that was all.

"Does spending a hundred years in another world automatically make everyone the greatest martial artist alive or a Swordmaster? Plenty of them come back as ordinary little people, you know."

"That's true, but F-rank is just too extreme."

Jin Seo-yoon's hand reached for Poppi's necklace. "Taking that would be a big problem."

"Why?"

"Because it's a big prob—"

SNAP—

Jin Seo-yoon's hand severed the necklace's cord.

"...Ah."

"Well. Nothing happened."

Truly, nothing happened. A few seconds of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠silence. The moment Jin Seo-yoon shrugged her shoulders—

A chill ran down her spine—

Golden mana flared brilliantly outside the window.

"That light—!?"

BOOOOOOOM—!!!!

A massive shockwave tore into the hotel room. CRASH! CRACK-BOOM! Window and wall shattered as golden mana blasted toward Jin Seo-yoon.

"Oh no—!"

She scattered her mana to dampen the impact as much as she could, but—

Screeeech—

CRASH!!!!!

Jin Seo-yoon's palm, the one she had braced with all her strength, dropped downward. And at the same moment—

A rising nausea—

"Ghk—cough! Cough...!"

Blood spilling from her lips. And striding up before her—

Grrrrr....

Griffin King Poppi and Baek Kang-hyun stood side by side.

"Jin Seo-yoon. We agreed you wouldn't cross the line."

Baek Kang-hyun had his sword drawn, leveled at her throat.

At the same moment—

I told you to leave the necklace alone.

His blissful kidnapping (vacation) life, enjoyed after so long, had come to a pathetic end.

"I'm fine, Poppi. Is Choco all right?"

"What!? My parents!?"

At that, Baek Kang-hyun waved a hand telling him not to worry. "I've already given instructions to my subordinates. Orpheus Guild Master, what is the meaning of this?"

Jin Seo-yoon rose, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth. "Haah... Hunter Baek. The taming... it was real, wasn't it?"

"Did you not watch the news? I said I could contract with bosses."

"Wow. Really. Cough! Hoo... I thought it was, hahaha, a lie."

To her eyes it hadn't looked like she was being held at bay by Baek Kang-hyun at all—it had been Ji-hoon the griffin obeyed. Either way, the situation was badly against her now.

"How about it, Branch Director? Trade with me instead."

"You want me to send you off in exchange for keeping what I've learned a secret?"

"Yes, cough. You know me well."

Baek Kang-hyun began to raise his mana—then, hwook—drew it back in.

"Very well."

"Branch Director?"

"It's fine, Hunter Lee Ji-hoon. Even Guild Master Jin Seo-yoon won't be able to move rashly now."

"No, that's not what I—"

"Being Branch Director has made you smarter, hasn't it? And as for the information you'll keep secret, how about this?"

Jin Seo-yoon looked at the griffin standing at Ji-hoon's side. An overwhelming, crushing presence.

"An F-rank hunter with a close bond to an S-rank boss monster. I'll keep it a secret."

"You'd better keep it. Because if you don't—"

"You'll strip me of every Gate management right I hold, right? I'm not stupid enough to test that."

Jin Seo-yoon pulled herself to her feet. Her legs still trembled.

"One question."

Baek Kang-hyun nodded.

"That—" she pointed at the shattered wall and window "—did you break it, Branch Director? Or that monster?"

Baek Kang-hyun nodded again. "It was me."

Jin Seo-yoon's eyes narrowed for a long moment, then eased open. "Okay. Let's go with that. Then I'll be—"

"Hold on."

Ji-hoon grabbed her as she turned to leave. "You're just going to leave me hanging like this?"

"Sorry. The truth is, you're not really my typ—"

"Not that!"

Ji-hoon pointed at the staff member standing frozen at the door, staring blankly at the whole scene. "My room service! What are you going to do about it! Do you know how much I looked forward to it!"

"..."

"..."

Poppi's low growl. The standoff between S-rank hunter Baek Kang-hyun and Jin Seo-yoon. And the sound of Ji-hoon throwing a tantrum at two S-ranks, demanding his dinner.

Reality finally broke under the weight of it all, and the staff member—

Thud—

—collapsed on the spot, unconscious.

"Ahaha... ahahahahaha! Hunter Lee Ji-hoon, ahaha! I take back what I just said."

Jin Seo-yoon wearily pushed the room service cart inside. "Hunter Ji-hoon. You might be... my type after all?"

"Then I'll be going. I do hope we meet next time as partners."

Jin Seo-yoon walked toward the gaping hole in the wall—then whoosh—leapt down below.

Only then could Ji-hoon finally inspect his room service.

"...We're taking this to go."

Ji-hoon began packing up the food without a care in the world. Never mind that this was the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠room where two S-rank hunters had just been snarling at each other, where the hotel's window and wall had blown apart, where a man had fainted.

"The steak goes in a separate container, and... ah, this is dessert."

To him, this was simply a room full of precious food that shouldn't go to waste.

"...What am I going to do with you."

Baek Kang-hyun muttered under his breath. Ji-hoon looked up.

"Branch Director."

"Ah. Yes?"

"You said you'd find me a house, right?"

"Yes. That was part of the agreement."

"Then find one that doesn't blow up easily, please."

What am I supposed to do if it keeps getting blown up every time I'm ambushed?

At Ji-hoon's words, the corner of Baek Kang-hyun's mouth lifted in a suppressed snort. "I'll get you fire insurance."

"The insurance companies are going to go broke because of me."

Trading jokes like that, Baek Kang-hyun drove Ji-hoon home.

The Orpheus Guild Master's office.

Wiing— THOOM— CRACK—

Jin Seo-yoon barely managed to lean against the office wall—then ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠slid slowly down it to the floor.

"Haah... haah..."

Had Baek Kang-hyun's sword aura always been this strong? This wasn't the power from back when they'd been active as hunters together. No matter how he'd trained in the interim, no matter how much his skill mastery had grown—there was no way a gap this wide could exist.

It's not just Baek Kang-hyun, either.

The most suspicious piece of it all was that boss monster he'd supposedly contracted with in a Gate. Could a single contract really open a gap in power this vast?

Jin Seo-yoon, drained, pressed the button on her desk.

—Yes, Guild Master.

"Haah... call the medical team."

—Understood. Also, the dispatched team has returned. What should we do with them?

"Disciplinary action. They failed, didn't they?"

Bringing in Lee Ji-hoon had failed. Kidnapping his family had failed. And to top it off, the whole thing had been exposed to the Management Bureau.

"This defeat... I'll pay it back... slowly... for a very long time."

And with the sound of the medical team arriving—

Swoosh—

Jin Seo-yoon slumped over and passed out.