The Guild Leader's Invitation
Jin Seong-ah had shattered four training dummies by mid-morning at the Yushin Guild’s training facility. After the training supervisor begged her to stop, she was now resting on a bench in the corner. “……”
She flexed and relaxed her fingers, breathing steadily. Somehow, her strength felt more responsive than usual. A dull ache pulled at the skin of her stomach whenever she moved, but her body felt lighter overall. “…Why?”
It was strange. The quality of the mana flowing through her seemed noticeably higher, as if someone had oiled her veins. “……Re-awakening?”
Re-awakening was rare, but it happened. Among S-rank hunters it was surprisingly common. The secretary Lee Chae-eun, for example, had been re-evaluated from the ambiguous space between A-rank and S-rank into a confirmed S-rank after her own re-awakening. “…I didn’t feel anything at all.”
Jin Seong-ah had never sensed the usual signs, so the possibility left her bewildered. If it really had happened, when? After returning from the gate? Before entering? Or… last night?
“……” Last night. The memory of being with her senior surfaced without warning. The punishment. From the stomach strikes to the sexual discipline. Even Jin Seong-ah knew it wasn’t normal. Corporal punishment had disappeared from schools years ago. She herself had never experienced it there. ‘…It definitely hurt.’
Yet she wasn’t entirely unfamiliar with being struck in the stomach. The girls in her class who bullied her for no reason, the ones who mocked her divorced parents and, when she didn’t react, escalated to throwing eraser shavings and scraps of paper during lessons. Eventually they grew bolder—slipping spoiled milk into her desk drawer, stealing her textbooks, then dragging her to a secluded corner of the school to hit her directly. It started with slaps and shoves against the wall, then punches to the stomach, then cigarettes…
“…Haa.” All because her parents were a little wealthier. All because they outnumbered her. She had wanted to pay them back in kind once she awakened, but when the power finally came, she felt nothing. It was hollow. She should have fought back while she was still weak. It would have hurt more, but at least she wouldn’t feel this emptiness now. After gaining strength, she simply had no desire to associate with them anymore.
‘But why is Senior… different?’ Thinking back should have been painful. The sensation was similar—organs being crushed, breath cut off, limbs going numb. Yet when Senior struck her, the pleasure outweighed the pain. ‘Because I know Senior won’t go too far?’
He had rushed into the gate alone to save her after her own stupidity. He had handled the aftermath without complaint and accepted every unreasonable request she made. Unlike the bullies, if she truly resisted, she could resist him. That was probably why. ‘Or am I really… that kind of pervert?’
The problem was that even pressing on her own stomach felt good. A tight, pleasant pressure built in her lower abdomen, and something warm trickled between her legs. “Ah, female…”
He had called it female juices. Senior’s voice remained vivid in her mind. Female… breeding stock for a male. Not a word for humans. A word for beasts. ‘I’m… a bitch, so…?’ Maybe that was it. Females instinctively sought a strong male to protect them. Perhaps she felt that toward Senior. As a female, seeking a powerful male as a mating partner…
“Ah…♥” Crazy. I’m crazy. Heat flooded her face and she clenched her fists tightly.
‘So I want to do it with Senior…?’ Her body, denied release because of its condition, was clearly craving it. The heat in her cheeks only intensified. “…Ah, good afternoon, Guild Leader!”
While Jin Seong-ah sat cooling her flushed face, the training supervisor bowed deeply toward the entrance. ‘Guild Leader?’ Drawn by the voice, Jin Seong-ah looked up as well. Shin Ji-hye. The leader of Yushin Guild. One of the nation’s strongest hunters, always mentioned whenever the topic of Korea’s top awakened came up. ‘…Don’t tell me she came to see me?’
Jin Seong-ah glanced around the facility. Aside from a few hunters who had come to train voluntarily outside regular hours, the place was nearly empty. Her guess proved correct. Shin Ji-hye was walking straight toward her. “Could you give us some space? I’d like to talk with Seong-ah.” “Understood!”
The supervisor gathered the other staff and hunters and left. The vast training hall emptied in moments. “G-Guild Leader…? Ah, hello…?” “Yeah. Seong-ah. How’s your body?”
Shin Ji-hye smiled and looked around at the broken equipment scattered everywhere. “Looks fine to me. Are you all better?” “A-Almost… fully healed.”
For some reason her face grew even hotter. She must have seen the way her clothes had ridden up yesterday. Maybe she already knew what had happened with Senior last night… “Hik?”
Shin Ji-hye’s hand rose to her forehead. It felt cool against her overheated skin, sending an odd shiver of pleasure through her. “Hmm. Still warm.” “Ah, that’s just… from moving around a lot. I-I probably sweated.”
Jin Seong-ah fumbled in her pocket and pulled out the handkerchief she had stuffed away earlier—a black one printed with a cat character. “I-I’ll wipe it for you.” “Huh? I can do it myself. Thanks, Seong-ah.” “N-No… it’s my sweat, so…”
She carefully wiped the sweat from Shin Ji-hye’s hand. ‘Her hand… is really pretty.’ So different from her own childish one. Slender, long fingers. Pale, soft skin. ‘Come to think of it, Senior and the Guild Leader seem really close.’
The scene she had witnessed yesterday flashed through her mind—the gentle hand stroking a cheek. This very hand. ‘That’s not something friends usually do.’ She had no friends, but she knew that much. No matter how close two people were, even if they were the opposite sex, they didn’t caress each other’s cheeks. ‘…Ah.’ So that was why she hadn’t done it. Because Senior already had the Guild Leader…
“Seong-ah, you’re going to wear my skin off.” “Huh? Ah, yes. S-Sorry. I spaced out…”
Only then did Jin Seong-ah snap back to reality. She had been rubbing so hard the once-soft hand now looked polished. “It’s fine. Felt like a massage. It was nice.” “Ah… I-I’m glad.”
“By the way, isn’t that merch? Are you sure it’s okay to use it as a sweat rag?” “This…?” Jin Seong-ah unfolded the crumpled handkerchief in her palm. The black cat character stared back at her. She had simply grabbed it because it was on her desk. “What’s merch?”
“…You’re not an otaku, Seong-ah?” “O-Otaku…?” People who carried around character pillows? Jin Seong-ah tilted her head in confusion. Shin Ji-hye gave a wry smile. “Seong-ah, do you at least know what animal that character is?” “A rabbit…?” “It’s a cat.” “…Oh.”
“Interesting. I thought you liked it. You even had a phone keychain of it. Wait, the keychain’s gone?”
The phone resting on the bench beside her had a pink rabbit-shaped case, but the keychain that should have been attached was missing—only the broken strap remained. “Ah… I must have lost it.” “Real fans would freak out if they lost something like that. Guess you’re not actually an otaku?” “…M-Maybe not?”
“Makes sense. You don’t have any piercings, you don’t smoke or drink, right? Never even tried alcohol?” “N-Never… I-I only drank once after turning twenty…” “Wow. So it was all just cosplay.”
Shin Ji-hye chuckled and sat down beside her. ‘Huh…?’ At that moment, a scent brushed past her nose. The heat from training had faded and her tension had eased, allowing the smell to hit her fully.
The smell of sweat and something sweet. The moment she inhaled it, her mind went blank. It was Senior’s scent. ‘Why…?’ She could smell Senior on the Guild Leader. It wasn’t just from sharing the same space. A hunter’s keen senses could distinguish the difference. It wasn’t on her clothes—it came from her body. The kind of scent that couldn’t be transferred by a simple handshake or cheek caress. Come to think of it, the Guild Leader wasn’t wearing her usual stockings. Her legs were bare. That meant…
“Seong-ah, you always wear clothes like this. Is there a reason?” “……Ah, well…” “If it’s hard to explain, that’s fine. Hunters sometimes have weird conditions for using their powers, right? Like Baek Seol. You’re the same, aren’t you?” “Baek Seol… Team Leader?” “Yeah. She’s a returnee, so her conditions are special. Same with me.”
Baek Seol, leader of Team 1. If raw combat power alone was considered, she was undeniably the world’s strongest hunter. Even Jin Seong-ah, who prided herself on her strength, felt like a child in front of her. “This is a secret, but… I’m actually not that strong?” “…H-Huh?”
“People think of S-ranks as people like Baek Seol or you—someone who can destroy everything with one sword swing or one punch. I need a really long time to use my power.” “Ah…”
……A secret about the Guild Leader that she could never have imagined. “Is it okay to tell me?” “That’s why it’s a secret. You’ll keep it, right?” “O-Of course.”
Hearing Shin Ji-hye’s confession made Jin Seong-ah’s heart drop. ‘…I’m not like that.’ Her own power didn’t require any special conditions like Baek Seol or the Guild Leader. Yet she didn’t want to explain. …She didn’t want to show the Guild Leader her weakness. Of course, the Guild Leader was someone she could trust. She knew she wouldn’t tell anyone else. But… knowing how close the Guild Leader was with Senior… imagining that she had done the same things with him last night… she didn’t want to say anything.
“…I’m sorry.” “It’s fine. I understand.” “It’s weird, right…? Me.”
The Guild Leader was someone she was grateful to. She had taught her how to control her power when she was confused after awakening. She had helped her cut ties with that man who called himself her father. When she had nowhere to go, the Guild Leader had converted an entire floor of the company building into a room just for her. Jin Seong-ah knew it was ungrateful to feel jealous of someone like that, but… she still couldn’t bring herself to speak. “That’s normal. It’s okay.” “…Ah.”
“By the way, Seong-ah, you still haven’t found a place of your own, right?” “……No.”
Was she going to kick her out? Because she hadn’t answered just now? …Maybe. The Guild Leader had shared her secret first, and Jin Seong-ah had stayed silent. But what came out of Shin Ji-hye’s mouth was the opposite of what she expected. “Then would you like to come live at my place?” “…Huh? Y-Your house, Guild Leader?” “Yeah. It’s huge, plenty of rooms. Even if the company is comfortable, it’s better to leave work behind. You seem really stressed. What do you think?”
……So that wasn’t it. Why was she like this? “C-Can I really…?” “I wouldn’t offer if you couldn’t. Oh, and Seong-eun’s been staying there too lately.” “Senior… is?” “He said he’d stay until his contract ends and he finds a new place. Since he’s a guide, it’d be better if you were together, right?”
As she spoke, Shin Ji-hye leaned closer. Her shirt was unbuttoned at the top. Mixed with the scent of skin was Senior’s smell. ‘…So Senior lives with her. That’s why.’ …Unlike her, she had gone all the way with Senior. Jin Seong-ah recognized the childish jealousy for what it was, yet she couldn’t resist the temptation. If it was the house where Senior lived… the entire place would smell like him. Even if Senior never paid attention to her, even if she was kept like a pet… that alone would be enough. “…Yes. I’d like that. Please.” “Good. Let’s go home together starting today. I’ll contact you later.” “Thank you, Guild Leader…” “It’s nothing.”
Shin Ji-hye stood up, then paused as if she had just remembered something. “Ah, right. Seong-ah.” “Yes?” “Seon-yul asked you to stop breaking the training equipment. She said the development team works hard making them.”
Only then did Jin Seong-ah take in the state of the training hall again—the pitifully shattered dummies strewn across the floor. “Ah.” “Go easy. Gently. Got it?” “Yes…”
Blushing with embarrassment, Jin Seong-ah lowered her head.