Former S-Rank Shin Ye-hwa

Faint sunlight filtered through the curtainless window. His two-room apartment couldn't even be called well-lit by the emptiest compliment, so this level of brightness meant morning had long since arrived. If it weren't the weekend, he'd probably have to sprint to the company right about now. Fortunately, the sweet weekend morning still smiled down on him, cozy under the blankets.

"Ugh?"

Snap—

Normally, he'd squirm around a bit longer, savoring the comfort of the bed, but today was different. Something cold slithered up his spine, jolting his mind awake. It shattered the satisfying exhaustion and drowsy fatigue from last night's intense sex in an instant. Come to think of it, the softness in his arms felt strangely novel. For a man who'd spent years sleeping alone, it was pleasant yet awkwardly unfamiliar.

"Uh... good morning...?"

They were locked in a tight embrace, bodies pressed flush. Lowering his gaze, he saw a beautiful woman's face. Eyebrows arched high, tears beading at the corners. Her face flushed crimson, lips clenched tight. It was rage personified, glaring up at him from his arms.

"Y-you... y-y-y-youuuu!"

"Me?"

"You trash rapist bastard!!!!!!!"

"Guh!"

Bam!

With a sound no ordinary human flesh should make—or survive—Seong Ye-han was hurled into the corner of the room. Luckily, he hit a bare wall with no furniture, sparing his sparse belongings further damage, but his back took the full brunt of the impact. Given their position, it probably wasn't a full-powered strike. Even so, it rattled his bones.

'Still, this much...'

It was a sharp, stinging pain stabbing at his head. But considering it came from an A-rank hunter's fist? Not bad at all. His special ability must have worked overtime last night.

While Seong Ye-han was briefly dazed, Shin Ye-hwa didn't wait.

"You! Fucking! Dog bastard!"

She closed in on him sprawled on the floor and lashed out without hesitation. He instinctively curled up, shielding his face with his arms.

"Die! Dieee!!!"

Thud! Thud!

The impacts weren't flesh-on-flesh, but they weren't unbearable either. The genuine ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fury and killing intent chilled him to the bone, but that was it. As she rained down kicks, spewing curses, Seong Ye-han felt himself cooling into calm rationality.

Thwack—

"Ah?"

Without any technique, just raw strength, he grabbed Shin Ye-hwa's straightforwardly incoming leg.

"Wh-what?!!"

Had she never expected a counter? Her reaction lagged. Seong Ye-han seized the moment, yanked her leg with a surge of arm strength, twisted his body, and flipped her down.

"Kyaaak!"

She crashed down with a shrill scream. If she hadn't been blinded by rage or careless, the takedown wouldn't have worked. Unfortunately for her, she was in a state of mental and physical exhaustion on top of that—vulnerable even to his clumsy move.

"Hup!"

"Kyaak..."

Positions reversed. Using his whole body—arms, legs—he pinned and bound her tight with sheer force. Shin Ye-hwa thrashed with all her might, but the tide didn't turn.

"Whyyy...!!"

Unable to believe she was being overpowered physically, she writhed. Yet his hold didn't budge.

Shin Ye-hwa was renowned as a hexagonal hunter—even among ability users, her physical stats rivaled pure physical awakeners. Her mana was lower than peer psychics, but only relatively among S-ranks. Even demoted to A-rank recently, few in Korea could overpower her in specs.

And she knew that better than anyone. The realization she was being pinned by force shocked her into slowing her struggles.

Finally calming down? Sweat beaded on his back and forehead from the morning frenzy. She panted raggedly too.

She seemed docile now, but Seong Ye-han didn't dare relax. What to do...?

Something was off with Shin Ye-hwa. Just now, her strikes had been sincere. Each one heavy; without his special ability absorbing her stats, he'd have been gravely wounded at least.

Assuming her current ex-S-rank specs were A-rank, and his inherited ones matched... that scrap was a bare-knuckle brawl between A-rankers. Videos of such fights were all over the internet. Compared to those, their clash lacked impact—even accounting for her instinctively pulling punches indoors.

The walls should've crumbled when he was slammed into the corner and pummeled. And given her infamous temper, why hadn't she used her signature special ability yet?

"You. Why aren't you using your special ability?"

"!!"

He felt her flinch subtly in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his arms. Pinned tight, the tremor was vivid, hinting at something.

"And your physical stats are weaker than expected too..."

"Hic!"

A light probe, and such an honest reaction. Had her stats really dropped to B-rank? He sensed her body slacken, no longer poised to escape.

Now her demotion made sense. An S-rank unable to use abilities properly, physicals crashed to B? She barely clung to A-rank thanks to her past glory.

"Huuu..."

What the hell happened to her?

Rank demotions were rare in the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hunter world. Injured or aging hunters usually retired cleanly—facing death daily against monsters, it was natural. The Association often preserved their rank in respect for contributions, like not stripping a soldier's rank upon honorable discharge.

Shin Ye-hwa's case blew up not just from her personality and unprecedented S-to-A drop, but this context too.

As he pieced it together, movement stirred in his arms again. Her bonds loosened as she relaxed; startled, he tensed to re-grip—then heard sobs by his ear and reflexively released her.

"Huuu... sniff..."

Drip— Drip—

"Hey, you don't mean..."

"Waaah! You dog bastard! Hic... you shitty jerk..."

Tears sparkled in the sunlight from the window, tracing her beautiful face before splashing to the floor. She muttered "dog bastard, fucker, scum" while bawling. Pitiful, unrecognizable as the woman who'd just pummeled him.

And tears from a beauty like her packed devastating punch regardless of gender. Seong Ye-han released her fully, fumbling for tissues from the corner and offering them.

Smack! Smack!

She snatched them, wiped her eyes, then blew her nose with a honk. As things settled, they both realized they were still naked—bodies marked vividly from marathon sex. Obvious, after pounding her all night... The reality and embarrassment hit Seong Ye-han.

"Um..."

Same for her; her sniffles quieted. He spoke.

"Wanna wash up first?"

"...Yeah."

Shhh—

Seong Ye-han steadied his churning thoughts amid the shower's roar filling the small apartment. Last night, he'd been lost in Shin Ye-hwa's allure, forgetting to check his ability's results. Now was different.

Calming his pounding heart, he focused. Her specs he'd felt firsthand were far from S-rank. If his power keyed off her current state, his gains might fall short of expectations.

Still, even that brief fight proved he'd leaped beyond yesterday's self. No regrets, though—time to reveal the hand.

A window only he could see materialized before his eyes.

Several new lines had been added to his once one-sentence ability description.

"Heroine confirmed, huh."

Irrevocable now? No issue—he'd never swap Shin Ye-hwa for another anyway.

Storing and inheriting stats—unclear why separate, but acquisition succeeded.

Stats too big, needs more sex? Like his dick was a USB port. A weird thrill, but he moved on.

Next. "Whoa—"

Shin Ye-hwa's specs were dazzling. His own from a year ago? All E's. Hers: two S's, two A's. S-rank details were classified, but media frenzy over any S stat showed her monstrosity.

So even eyesight's S-rank? A stray thought; he shook it off and continued.

Sexual prefs... self-explanatory. Her true tastes or shaped by her first time? Unknown, but useful—memorized.

Current status showed her emotions. "Anxious, depressed makes sense, but amazed?"

Odd outlier. Skip.

Finally, abnormal status. Stats locked at B's, mana E—reeking of tampering. Brainwashing.

"My power's got that vibe too, huh..."

Brainwashing. Hypnosis's big brother. Awakeners around for decades, yet mind powers rarer than rare. Famous ones: early Gate hero 'Archangel' Park Hee-mang, who stabilized chaos with mental soothing; and 'Hypnotist' Lee Ki-seung, killed by Association President 'Diamond' Jeong Beom-ho for abuses.

No big names since—how scarce they were.

Others probably hid them; non-healing mind powers drew suspicion, surveillance. Lee got cocky and caught.

"A brainwasher lurking by an S-rank national asset..."

Not overwhelmingly strong, or it'd have crushed her outright—no "long-term, continuous" note.

"This is..."

Shin Ye-hwa had enemies galore from her villainy; hard to pinpoint without connections. An E-rank like him? Powerless.

"That's why you don't make enemies..."

Watch and wait. His purification neutralized it anyway. Repeated attempts? Bonus— she'd cling harder for relief.

"Things are twisting weirdly..."

Pure coincidence stacked. Her drunken collapse? Probably this. Erasing it would melt her defenses easier.

Gratitude to that nameless villain—though no payback planned. That hypnotist was his enemy for sure; no way they'd abandon their prized hexagonal S-rank beauty.

And neither would he.

Unexpected luck sketched the blueprint. Improvise the rest...

As Seong Ye-han sorted his thoughts, Shin Ye-hwa emerged from the shower.

Her clothes from last night needed heavy washing from booze and grime, so she wore his: crisp white men's dress shirt. Damp skin and hair, faint blush on her cheeks—adorable.

"This all you got?"

Pouting, but eye ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠candy to him.

"You're insane."

Thumbs up—he didn't hide picking the perfect fit. No options anyway; she didn't complain further.

"Details after I shower."

"..."

She bowed her head silently as he headed into the steamy bathroom.

Shin Ye-hwa... too prime a bitch to settle for just her stats.

"I'll take it all."

Fierce desire surged, surprising even him. But he didn't hate it.