I got sued (5): An Unexpectedly Cute Plaintiff

"Um, I'm really going now...?"

Glancing around timidly. At the sight of the adorable little creature looking up at her, Kim Yeeun's eyes flew wide open. The other party let out a small "eek" at her stare, but... well, if she liked it, that was what mattered, right?

"Y-you're not going to get home and suddenly decide to sue me after changing your mind, are you?"

"I won't, so could you please just go already?"

"A-and I won't delete the post either..."

"I said I understand?!"

When she raised her voice, the other party shrank in on herself. The way the tiny, frightened animal trembled like it was facing down a predator was... well, pretty cute. It made you want to take a bite, didn't it?

'I think I finally get why people say they want to bite cute things when they see them...'

Snatching the phone and entering her own number had been an extension of that feeling. Like she just couldn't let the reactive little toy go. Asking once had revealed it felt so good that she genuinely wanted to do it on a regular basis. Who would've guessed she'd walk away from a settlement visit with a prize like this?

"I-I'm heading back now..."

"I'll contact you."

"Please don't, if possible."

"Don't want to. If you ignore even one call, I'll sue you immediately, so keep that in mind."

"Ugh..."

The other party made a noise that was half groan, half word before slipping out of the room. But only for a moment. The girl who'd stepped outside poked her head back through the doorway.

"What? Forget something?"

"...Um, well."

Fidgeting. After her eyes darted around for a second, she slipped back inside, small body and all.

"Thank you so much for not suing meee."

"...Ugh."

The other party bowed deeply, even neatly folding both hands just above her navel. The sheer destructive power of that cuteness made a groan slip from Kim Yeeun's throat. She'd never dated or married, but it felt like the maternal instinct buried deep in her DNA was waking up.

'Snap out of it. The other party is older than you. A full thirty-three years old...!'

She scolded herself internally and clung to her sanity with everything she had. Come to think of it, the girl had said she was an Awakened. 'Could she be a psychic type? Trying to charm me and extract information?'

No way. Just look at those pure, innocent eyes. Did those look like the eyes of someone who would deceive people?

"If you're grateful, you better pick up when I call. Understand?"

"I'll think about it."

"If you don't want to come out, I can come to you. Then you wouldn't have to leave the house at all."

"...I'll think about it."

The first "I'll think about it" and the second one sounded slightly different. If the first was a flat refusal, the second carried a hint of actual consideration.

'Does she really just need an excuse not to go outside?'

Kim Yeeun shook her head as she thought of the girl—Seo Eunha—who had finally left for real. The bonus question of how to lure the kid out of her house came along for the ride.

"This girl is for real."

How could she already be posting when she'd barely left? Kim Yeeun clicked her tongue at the alert that rang from her phone.

No matter how sharp Civilian Informant A was, she probably never would've guessed that Kim Yeeun had joined the Hunter Gallery and bookmarked that exact user.

"...She actually wrote it pretty decently."

There wasn't anything in the post that could really be called slander. To summarize, it said she'd been kinder than expected, scarier than expected, more merciful than expected, and stranger than expected.

Someone could argue that was still badmouthing, but to Kim Yeeun this level of content was trivial enough to laugh off. There was no cursing, no mention of parents, and no prodding at her complexes.

'It's kind of admirable. Maybe I should leave a compliment.'

Normally Kim Yeeun only lurked on the Hunter Gallery, but this time she felt like leaving a comment herself. Just enough that it wouldn't be obvious it was her.

"This should be fine—"

"—What the hell?!"

Where exactly had she given herself away? Which part of that comment screamed "active hunter," huh?! Anger surged ahead of the confusion. What kind of nonsense was getting blocked the very first time you ever commented?

"Um, Hunter Kim Yeeun?"

"Yes?"

"If the settlement is finished, it looks like you can head out now... Ah, of course I'm not rushing you! Hahaha..."

"Sigh... I understand. I'll leave."

Only then did she remember she was still at the police station. Kim Yeeun felt a touch of embarrassment.

"This..."

After posting her review of meeting Kim Yeeun, she frowned slightly at the first comment that appeared. The username EunseoHubby. Zero posts, one comment. It could pass for an ordinary lurker account, but something else had caught her eye.

"...It's Kim Yeeun."

Why was an active hunter even on the Hunter Gallery? She couldn't just let it slide, so she logged in with a different account and blocked Kim Yeeun's. Of course it wasn't a sub-account. She simply knew the ID and password for the Hunter Gallery's deputy administrator account.

"Still, it all worked out. That's a relief."

Muttering to herself, she headed for the taxi stand. Maybe because the weather had gotten hotter, there were hardly any people walking around.

"...Let's not leave the house again until summer's over."

It was early summer now, so it was manageable. If this had been mid-August she wouldn't have been able to wander around outside at all. Ever since the Gates appeared and messed up Korea's climate even more, daytime temperatures would easily hit forty degrees by then.

'Anyway...'

She frowned at the contact saved in her phone as Yeeun Unnie.

What did she mean, Yeeun Unnie? She was thirty-three and the other woman was twenty-seven. Was there some new cultural trend where younger people called older ones "unnie" now?

"The world changed when the Gates opened, but I didn't expect common sense to change too..."

She pressed the name and changed it to Absolutely Don't Pick Up. This way she definitely wouldn't answer even by accident. A perfect precaution.

Vrrrr—

"..."

The moment she thought it... It wasn't a call, but the fact that contact had arrived at all sent a chill down her spine.

Whoa... She was suddenly bragging about her car. Since she had zero interest in vehicles, the name didn't tell her anything. Well, it was probably some expensive, fancy car. No matter how expensive a car was, it was still just a car.

"Should I block her?"

No, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠never mind. Doing that might get her dragged back to the police station for another lawsuit. Ignoring the messages would probably have the same result.

Was she the weird one here? She tilted her head at Kim Yeeun's reaction. If Kim Yeeun was a genuine sadist, she'd assumed the words carried ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that double meaning. 'Plus she's a fire ability user, so she's pretty good at burning things...'

The number of monsters that had fallen to her hands alone had to be in the triple digits. Unlike someone who'd never even caught a single monster.

What a self-centered way of thinking. How could someone be so inconsiderate of others?

'Kids these days...'

She clicked her tongue and sent a few random emojis. She wanted to end the conversation.

Click.

"Welcome~"

There happened to be a taxi waiting at the stand, so she opened the door and climbed into the back seat. The air conditioning was running full blast, making it incredibly cool. Actually, it was almost cold.

"Where to?"

"Ah, the Haseong Building, please."

The Haseong Building. A structure named after the country's first S-rank Hunter. People called the building packed with Hunter-related companies the Tower of Hunters.

Unlike the tower-type Gates that spat out hordes of monsters, this nickname came from the fact that it housed hordes of Hunters.

'I still think it's lame, though.'

Tower of Hunters? Please. It was obviously a nickname cooked up by people in power to steer public opinion.

'That man didn't like it much either.'

He'd said it felt weird having his name attached to a building that wasn't even his. A small smile slipped out as she recalled the old memory. Back then, yeah. It really had been like that.

"Mmm..."

Now that the tension had drained away, a yawn crept up. Maybe she should nap a little. If she wanted to stay up all night gaming and browsing communities, catching some sleep now was smart. With that thought, she slowly closed her eyes.

"Eh."

When she opened them again, she wasn't at home. She was in some strange place instead. Why?