Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: The Saintess's Stalker
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“Haa...”
A heavy sigh escaped her lips, scattering over the beautiful dessert like it could bore a hole in the ground.
Han Yoo-jung set down the fork in her hand and glanced sidelong at a table by the window, far across the room.
Beneath a dazzling chandelier, a man in an elegant suit and a woman in a red dress were enjoying a picture-perfect meal.
It was Lee Sang-hyuk and Yoo Na-yeon.
Sang-hyuk...
Han Yoo-jung bit her lip with a pang of bitterness.
She hadn't exchanged a single word with Lee Sang-hyuk lately.
He'd turned down all personal requests to focus on studying English for the upcoming forum.
Busy studying, my ass.
What she saw was a perfectly matched couple leisurely savoring a two-and-a-half-hour course meal.
Pathetic.
Of course, she had no right to demand he only study.
What was wrong with grabbing a meal with a friend?
But.
Why did it have to be with Yoo Na-yeon of all people?
He drew a strict business line with her, yet with that wild tomboy, he was all smiles and chatter, sweet as could be.
A sharp ache twisted in her chest. Was this what it felt like to be sick with jealousy?
“Hoo...”
Han Yoo-jung swirled her wine glass, staring at her own miserable reflection in the liquid.
Her mood had been foul lately.
And it wasn't just jealousy.
Ever since the figurine shelf collapsed, the relentless harassment hadn't stopped.
She'd wake up to find her windows wide open.
Come home to her closet standing ajar.
Someone was watching her every move, tormenting her.
Damn stalker bastard...
The hidden cameras in her house hadn't caught so much as an ant.
Which meant it was an inside job—someone who knew the cameras' blind spots and her routines inside out.
“Yes. Come now, please.”
Han Yoo-jung called the new security chief over the phone, then stood from her seat.
She hadn't replaced him because he was weak or failed to catch the stalker.
She was 99% sure the previous security chief was the stalker.
[Saintess. I love you. Please accept my feelings. I'm the only man who can protect you.]
A month ago, she'd rejected his tearful confession.
Politely, but firmly.
That's when it started.
The incidents never letting up.
I have my suspicions locked down.
No other guards had access to her private spaces.
But he did.
Kim Chang-seok, with his perfect mimicry trait that let him impersonate his protectee flawlessly.
You fucking prick. Let's see how long you can keep playing games.
Sometimes, she felt frustrated playing the saintess cosplay even in front of trash like him.
Maybe she should've just confronted him outright—demanded if he was the stalker and let loose.
Firing him quietly had only made him lash out like he didn't know his place.
“Miss? Is there a problem with the food?”
“No. I'm just not feeling well. I'll take my leave for today.”
A black van waited in the underground parking lot, emergency lights flashing.
“Saintess. Hop in.”
The new security chief stepped out of the driver's seat and opened the rear door.
“Looking forward to working with you, Chief.”
“I should be the one saying that.”
The new guy looked more reliable with his stern, no-nonsense face—unlike that mimicry creep.
No more smiles and boundary-crossing from creeps who didn't know their place.
“Haa...”
Leaning back against the leather seat drained her energy all at once.
Mana seemed to leak from her entire body.
Silence filled the car.
Half-bath and bed when I get home.
Her hand fumbled over her lap—and found nothing.
“Ah.”
Her handbag.
Blinded by jealousy, she'd rushed out and left it hanging on the chair.
A staff member might've called usually, but her smartphone was in the bag too.
“I left my bag at the restaurant. Be right back.”
Han Yoo-jung spoke toward the glass partition separating the driver's seat.
But the car began to move slowly.
“Chief? Didn't you hear me?”
That's when it happened, her voice laced with irritation.
Screeeeech—!
Gray smoke started billowing from the AC vents.
Han Yoo-jung sensed danger instinctively.
It's a trap!
Without hesitation, she gripped the red gem necklace hidden in her bosom.
A workshop masterpiece: an artifact scroll that forcibly teleported the wearer outward in emergencies.
Insurance she'd bought at great expense after her humiliating villain encounter.
Fwaaash!
The gem lit up—only to shatter against an invisible force inside the vehicle.
Crack!
“......!?”
Space transfer blocked?
But that wasn't all.
As a seasoned S-Rank Hunter, she could apply 16 buffs to herself in under 0.5 seconds.
Normally.
Only a few succeeded; the rest failed.
This dizzy spin, strength draining from her body...
Just like when I wore mana suppression cuffs.
Were the seats made of the same material?
Yoo-jung tried to stand, but the smoke made her head swim.
Mana backlash too...!
Her mana circuits clogged, suffocating.
Thud! Thud!
She pounded the window desperately, cracking the reinforced glass.
“No use, Saintess.”
The security chief met her eyes via the rearview mirror.
“Who the hell are you...!”
His facial skin melted like candle wax, revealing completely different features.
Sharp eyes.
A mad grin.
A face Han Yoo-jung knew all too well.
“Even an S-Rank priestess can't break this without buffs. A custom mobile prison, made just for you.”
Kim Chang-seok cackled, gripping the wheel.
He'd disguised himself as the new chief to wait for her.
“Knew it was you, stalker!! You pervert!!”
No lone stalker could get a car like this.
A villain group was involved— a dangerous one.
“Why'd you do it, Yoo-jung? Huh? Why fire me? You knew how much I love you... How could you?”
“This is love? You steal women's underwear, you fucker?”
Kim Chang-seok only laughed harder at the insults, getting more excited.
“I'm the only one who can protect you. I'll guard you forever.”
No point talking anymore.
Han Yoo-jung drew the dagger strapped to her thigh and stabbed at Kim Chang-seok's neck from behind without hesitation.
Sylphid.
A dagger made from an A-Rank gate boss—but she couldn't infuse mana to activate its special ability now.
Still, slicing through the partition glass was child's play.
Krunch!
Maybe she should've smashed the window instead.
But in that moment, all Han Yoo-jung could think was killing the stalker.
“Kukuku. That's my girl... Fiery as hell...!”
“Ugh... Urgh...!”
The blade dug into his neck—then stopped abruptly.
Objectively, it was reckless.
He was an A-Rank Hunter stacked with buffs.
“Stop the car, you son of a biiiiiitch...!!”
“Hahahahahaha!”
Even stabbed, Kim Chang-seok laughed.
The car scraped the walls but exited the parking lot smoothly.
Sang-hyuk...
This time, even he couldn't make it.
He was dining under sparkling chandeliers; she'd sunk too deep into dark mire.
The Saintess's head lolled limply.
“Hoo.”
I popped the last dessert into my mouth and let out a satisfied sigh.
From a time when even a bowl of kkukbap was a luxury, now here I was, critiquing a course meal costing over 700,000 won per person.
Life's full of ups and downs.
Delivering one more package, sleeping one more minute.
Efficiency was everything back then.
Cheap and fast food was the best.
No time to savor flavors in my life.
But sometimes, like now... spending two hours tasting food like a movie scene? A nice change.
Adds some color to life.
“Hey.”
I smiled contentedly, but Yoo Na-yeon propped her chin, asking curtly from across the table.
“You two. Fight or something?”
“You two?”
“Did you and Han Yoo-jung have a falling out? She looked like the world ended.”
Yoo Na-yeon tapped her empty plate with her fork.
“Really? I was eating, didn't notice.”
Truth was, I'd seen everything.
Her shoulders slumped extra low when she left.
But I couldn't butt in.
Alone, maybe—but Yoo Na-yeon was here too.
“Look. She even left her bag. So scatterbrained.”
She really had.
Leaving a luxury bag like that meant she was seriously out of it.
“Acts all perfect, then pulls this. Hey, you get it for her.”
“Me?”
“You're way faster than me. And...”
Yoo Na-yeon hesitated, then added,
“She looked like she had something to say. Hear her out.”
Unexpected.
Growling like mortal enemies in the measurement room, but actually close?
S-Rank camaraderie, maybe.
“Got it. Be right back with it.”
I stood in slowed time, grabbed Han Yoo-jung's bag.
Good meal recharged my mana fully.
I reached the parking lot at light speed, but no sign of Han Yoo-jung.
“Should I drop it off at her guild?”
Right after releasing Swiftness.
Bzzzzt!
Vibration from the bag.
I pulled out her smartphone and checked the screen.
Caller: Security Chief.
Perfect timing. I answered.
“Hello.”
[......? Who is this?]
“Friend of Han Yoo-jung's. She left her bag. Want me to hold it?”
[Her bag?]
I looked around while talking.
And locked eyes with the security chief doing the same.
Not the shoulder-shot guy from before.
New hire?
“Bag's here.”
“But... have you seen the Saintess? She told me to wait in the lot...!”
“Dunno. Maybe stopped at a convenience store?”
“What the...”
Pitying his panic, I Swiftness-checked every nearby shop.
No trace of the Saintess.
Her pure white dress would've stood out.
Only spot left: women's restroom.
No way I'm checking that...
Waiting with the chief, some guard uncle stormed out, fuming.
“Damn bastard scraped everything on the way out. Drank fancy wine? Should've called a driver.”
I followed the chief's gaze to the parking lot wall.
A bad feeling crept in.