Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Unexpected Encounter (2)
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Jin Seohyeon was feeling down.
The man who had shown her those bizarre hallucinations that day.
At first, she'd been on her guard, but she'd quickly realized he'd saved her life.
How had he known the gate's internal layout? If he wanted to help, why go about it that way? What kind of ability had produced those hallucinations?
And ultimately, why help her at all?
She had plenty of questions, but she didn't dwell on them for long.
'Can't live owing someone my life.'
It wasn't as if she'd thrown herself into the search from the start.
She was just curious if any of her colleagues knew who he was. She'd figured it was only a matter of time.
This was someone who'd racked up that kind of merit. If he wanted repayment, he'd reach out first.
But no contact came.
That was when Jin Seohyeon started to get anxious.
She first asked her guildmates to check with their acquaintances if anyone came to mind.
She didn't stop there. Once she'd made up her mind to act, there was no hesitation.
Jin Seohyeon was a force of nature when she set her sights on something.
She even asked the guild master to inquire with the Hunter Association on the guild's behalf.
The guild master, ever one to separate work from personal matters, refused as expected. But poor man—Jin Seohyeon had no qualms about pushing.
There was an age gap between them like father and daughter.
And it wasn't limited to just their ages.
Her injuries had fully healed, save for a faint scar, yet they'd banned her from gate raids anyway. See?
Even the guild master, who seemed cold on the surface, couldn't bring himself to be harsh with Jin Seohyeon.
And so, the Arang Guild gained itself a filial daughter (dad not included).
"Uncle, you've had a tough day, huh? Let Seohyeon give you a shoulder rub."
She kneaded the guild master's shoulders after the meeting.
The key was her tone—two notches higher than usual—and referring to herself in the third person.
That seamless, devilish aegyo of hers was downright demonic...
But he was S-rank material, master of one of the Four Great Guilds, after all.
He saw through her ploy in no time and flatly refused once more.
But that wasn't enough to stop the demon of paternal love that had descended upon the mortal realm (dad not included).
"Hiiing..."
A sniffling voice. Teary eyes. Tiny droplets soon welled up in them.
One slid down her cheek in a trail of sorrow.
Jin Seohyeon special move: fake tears.
The guild master, weak to emotions, fell just like that.
"...Seohyeon, sometimes you scare me."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
She brazenly laughed off her close colleague-uncle's dismay and turned to reap the rewards of her efforts.
To think someone had maneuvered her this much.
He'd pay for it soon enough.
Hehehe...
Regrettably, that day never came.
All her requested acquaintances—even the Association—came back with "no idea."
The shock to Jin Seohyeon was beyond words.
She'd gone that far, and nothing? Life had been smooth sailing since awakening, so it hit her extra hard.
For days, she wandered the guild halls with a mopey look on her face.
Finally, unable to stand it, someone showed up: the previous raid leader, Oh Seung-hun.
"Association's got professional counselors, you know? Booked you one for tomorrow. Go."
"...Won't help anyway. Waste of time."
"Guildmates who've been say it's good. That's an order—you're going tomorrow."
She grumbled at his heavy-handed tone, but there was no refusing.
Left with no choice, Jin Seohyeon headed to the counseling center.
A middle-aged man greeted her.
He asked her to fill out the intake survey first.
She answered halfheartedly. She was only there because she was forced—no intention of cooperating properly.
"I've got an assistant here to learn the ropes. Mind if he observes?"
Already in a foul mood—what, an observer too?
She shot it down flat.
He didn't ask twice.
She entered the inner room with the counselor and sat across the table from him.
About ten minutes passed like that.
Knock knock. Someone opened the door and stepped inside.
The man brushed past me and handed a file to the counselor.
In that split second, her body froze at the sight of his face.
The man seemed about to take the chair off to the side.
But he abruptly straightened from his awkward stance and bowed toward her.
Unlike the man, who kept his eyes averted, Jin Seohyeon stared right at his face.
The guy who'd groaned like he desperately needed to poop during the gate raid.
That foolish face that had barged in out of nowhere, only to get dragged off to the standby group.
A smirk crept across Jin Seohyeon's lips. Her mood lifted in an instant.
*
I'll say it now, but I had zero intention of getting further involved with Jin Seohyeon.
I'd saved her because she was a potential future party member, and I didn't want her dying off early.
Besides, even if I'd wanted to get involved, it wasn't possible.
She'd hit S-rank before long, while I was still stuck as an E-rank nobody.
So I'd vaguely assumed any real interaction would come way down the line, years from now.
I wasn't paying it any mind.
I glanced straight ahead.
Unlike me, fidgeting in my seat, the two of them were chatting amiably.
Jin Seohyeon's voice sounded bright, like something good had happened.
"Everyone's been overprotecting me ever since I nearly died on that gate raid. Even this counseling—my colleague booked it without asking."
"I heard about the Arang Guild raid. Thought it went off smoothly, but sounds like it wasn't so simple."
"Guild kept a lid on the info. We could've lost several people that day, and no one would've batted an eye."
"You and your team must've been exceptional to pull through. You all worked hard."
"Eh, not really. Truth is, someone secretly tipped me off about the gate before the raid. Without that, I'd probably be dead."
Flinch! My body shuddered involuntarily.
Part of me wanted to just duck my head or bolt from the room.
"Huh... Wasn't that Arang Guild's first raid? To have intel beforehand like that—must be one impressive person."
"I don't know much. He slipped me the info in this secretive 'way' and vanished. Searched high and low after, but no one knew a thing..."
She let out an exaggerated sigh that seemed to suck all the air from the room.
I was shaking so hard I thought my phone was vibrating.
"Looks like it was really weighing on you. All that pointless agonizing—it's sorted now, right? Should've come sooner."
"An honor that my ability could help Jin Seohyeon."
Jeong Dongsu smiled, scratching his head, pleased by the praise directed his way.
He had it wrong. The last part hadn't been for him.
For starters, I wasn't even sure his ability had worked properly.
So the "resolution" Jin Seohyeon mentioned wasn't emotional relief—it was solving the root problem.
The crushing pressure intensified.
Her gaze stayed fixed straight ahead the whole session, but a barrier had me pinned the entire time.
Probably to keep me from slipping away. But if she cranked the output any higher, it'd be like a small animal under an elephant's foot.
All I could do was tremble like a cornered rat.
Tap tap. Jeong Dongsu straightened the papers on the table.
"Thank you for sharing today."
Session over. Jin Seohyeon gave a casual farewell.
Finally, the weight lifted off me.
"When works for the next session?"
"No need. It's all cleared up today."
Jin Seohyeon flashed a bright smile.
Then she slowly began to turn her head,
and I shot up from my seat.
"I'll head out first!"
I threw open the door and bolted straight out of the counseling center.
No stopping—I dashed right to the bathroom.
Huff huff. Only then could I exhale the breath I'd been holding.
Why? Why is she so fixated on me?
Payback for the illusion? No, without it, she'd be dead.
I shook for a good while before reason started creeping back.
Thinking about it, hadn't I done absolutely nothing wrong?
I was her lifesaver. No reason to slink away in fear like this.
Once my thoughts reached that point, my mind eased bit by bit.
This was just me overreacting and running. Time to face the facts.
I'd saved Jin Seohyeon.
She'd gone looking for me.
Jin Seohyeon had found me.
If you asked a normal person what came next, there was only one possible answer.
'Jin Seohyeon thanks me.'
I splashed cold water on my face and stared into the mirror.
Yeah. It was all in my head.
She's not some psycho who'd suddenly snap and attack me.
Courage recharged, I took a step out of the bathroom.
"Gasp!"
Jin Seohyeon was standing right there.
Beaming at me.
Same expression as during the session with Jeong Dongsu—but one thing different.
Her eyes weren't smiling.
"You know me, right?"
All my second-guessing vanished. I reflexively tried to shake my head and deny it, but I couldn't.
Creak. An invisible wall clamped my head from both sides.
Silent pressure that wouldn't allow denial.
The only movement left to my head was up and down.
Jin Seohyeon's eyes narrowed.
"Answer."
Save me.