The Goddess's Suspicion

Onhwa Guild had been unusually quiet lately. There were no raid parties heading out to gates, and Yu Hyejeong herself had stopped doing interviews entirely while rarely venturing outside. Various incidents had occurred, but the most damaging was the recent interview tied to Min Jiyeon, which had ignited massive controversy and public debate.

The internet was constantly buzzing with talk about Yu Hyejeong and Onhwa Guild, yet the more noise there was outside, the quieter the guild became. They understood that anything they did in this situation would only backfire.

Large guilds were always plagued with incidents and accidents. Since this was Onhwa Guild's first major controversy, it was simply receiving more spotlight than usual. Everyone wanted to believe that.

Being lumped together with Min Jiyeon and accused of sharing the same rotten nature was incredibly unpleasant for Yu Hyejeong.

Seething with rage, she scrolled through the articles when one plain title suddenly caught her eye. Amid all the sensational headlines attacking Onhwa Guild and Yu Hyejeong's character, this one stood out for its simplicity.

It was written so plainly, as if it had no interest in drawing attention, yet it was ranking surprisingly high.

The articles she had seen until now were never like this. Weren't tabloid writers supposed to slap on every sensational hook possible just to drive clicks and profit?

She had scrolled past it without interest, but for some reason the headline kept lingering in her mind.

She encountered the article again in an unexpected place—her search history for 'Han Junho.' Several articles came up under that name, and one of them was the plain headline that had been stuck in her head.

Startled, she quickly looked around, but the master office was empty except for her. If anyone had been there she would have closed it immediately, but the relief of being alone let her click on the article mentioning Junho.

The long, carefully written piece ultimately concluded that the E-class Hunter Junho had taken down the C-class Hunter in a single strike. He had suffered a cut on his arm, but the attacker had been sent flying with one blow. Video evidence was attached below...

The Junho that Yu Hyejeong remembered was a non-combat E-class Hunter. He had used his skill to lend her strength, but aside from that he was a pathetic man with no power of his own. That was how it had been for three years, and how it should have remained.

A disturbing thought suddenly flashed through Yu Hyejeong's mind.

There had been times recently when she felt as if power was leaking out of her. The unpleasant sensation made her shudder, and she had even had nightmares about falling back to D-class. And the reason for that was...

Since it was power he had given her in the first place, it wouldn't be strange if that were possible. The thought filled Yu Hyejeong with rage, but then another thought occurred to her.

When she thought about it, that made sense. She had thrown him away so cruelly back then. It didn't add up that he would only start siphoning the power little by little now.

She shook her head, telling herself she was overthinking it. Yet the urge to meet Junho only grew stronger, strangely so.

That was all it was. Why else would she waste time thinking about or going to see a pathetic man like Han Junho?

Lee Seonghun, who had already been hard to reach, had gone completely silent recently. She didn't know why, but she needed someone to vent her frustration on.

Still, she was slightly bothered by how her and Onhwa Guild's image had been affected lately. After all, she had no intention of giving up her position as Korea's Goddess.

After a moment of hesitation, Yu Hyejeong shook her head.

Incidents and accidents were nothing new for large guilds. It was simply that these were Onhwa Guild's first controversies, which had turned it into a prolonged battle. In time, people would forget and go back to obsessing over the Goddess. Thinking that lightly, Yu Hyejeong headed outside.

"Is this the area?"

She had tried to disguise herself with sunglasses and a hat pulled low, but she figured Junho would recognize her anyway.

He was the kind of idiot who would actually die if I told him to.

When she arrived near the raid party office where he supposedly belonged, she heard voices.

Ah, fuck... Should I just flip the table on them?

It was an ordinary conversation, but to Yu Hyejeong, who wasn't getting responses from Lee Seonghun, it only sounded like salt being rubbed in her wounds. She, who believed everything should revolve around her, suddenly felt something strange.

That man's voice just now...

It was far too familiar.

Feeling suspicious, Yu Hyejeong hid behind a wall and peeked at the lovey-dovey couple.

Han Junho? Isn't that bastard Han Junho?

There was no mistaking it. A short woman stood beside a man who looked exactly like him.

Hah, this is ridiculous. When did he stop going crazy saying he loved me and following me everywhere?

Yu Hyejeong was exactly that kind of person. If she did it, it was romance. If someone else did it, it was an affair. The epitome of double standards.

She had been certain she felt nothing for him anymore, but seeing him with another woman made her stomach churn with rage.

How long has it even been since we broke up? What a pathetic womanizer.

She didn't know why, but her mood had turned utterly foul.

Unable to watch their disgusting display any longer, she whipped her head away.

Han Junho, his girlfriend, it didn't matter. Just as she was about to step forward to ruin everything, murmuring voices reached her ears.

Whatever her external image was, she was still the Goddess. She had never intended to completely abandon that image. But if she caused a scene here where Junho and his girlfriend were, everything she had built up so carefully would come crashing down.

Leaving behind that third-rate villain line, Yu Hyejeong hurriedly fled the area.

While Jiyu and I were in the middle of a heated debate about whether to go to Jeju Island or just see the East Sea, I felt someone's gaze and turned around. I caught sight of a woman who gave off a similar vibe to Yu Hyejeong. The similarity alone was so unpleasant that I instinctively frowned hard.

Of course, there was no way it was actually Yu Hyejeong.

From what ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Jia-noona and Heeyeon had told me, public opinion was pretty bad these days. There was no way she would be wandering around in a place like this.

Still, even though I'd only thought about her for a second, it really killed my appetite.

As expected, Jiyu was adorable. Just looking at her was enough to bring my ruined appetite back. The phrasing was a little strange, but the point was that I should live my life looking only at good things like this.

Wait a second. Where exactly are we going?

Huh...? The airport?

That... was true. It's not like we had any skills that let us fly.

Jiyu frowned slightly. I scratched the back of my head. She had already made the reservation, so... there was nothing I could do.

It would be a waste to pay cancellation fees. Besides, I figured I could afford to splurge a little. No—simply thinking about Yu Hyejeong made me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠want to enjoy even better days. Whether that woman's situation got worse or better was none of my concern, but at the very least I would be happy.

Living an incredibly happy life with Jiyu and the other raid party members to the point where I wouldn't even think about someone like Yu Hyejeong. That was my life goal, if I had to name one.

"It's farther than I expected. If I'd known, I would have driven."

Anyway, the reason Jiyu and I were walking outside together was—

—because we were heading there to receive our re-awakening assessment.

Having your rank judged was simpler than expected. The only problem was that we had thought it was close by and decided to walk.

After entering the Association, the re-awakening assessment proceeded smoothly. Of course, the staff member's attitude when we first arrived was extremely unfriendly.

Well, even if it was annoying, I could understand the skepticism. A lot of people came claiming they had re-awakened, but ninety-nine percent of them were told it wasn't true and sent home.

But Jiyu and I were different.

Once the assessment began, the small orb that reacted to mana started glowing brightly. When it displayed A-class—

The two staff members who had been mocking people for claiming re-awakening had their mouths hanging wide open.

Even after Jiyu received her A-class confirmation, the two staff members still couldn't close their gaping mouths. Well, I suppose it was understandable.

Re-awakened individuals were extremely rare to begin with. Cases where someone's rank jumped more than one level in a single re-awakening were even rarer. In fact, it was safe to say they were almost nonexistent.

Yet Jiyu had jumped two levels at once, and I had gone from E-class to A-class. Four whole levels in one go.

After the flustered pair left the room, we could hear murmuring from outside. It was probably the people waiting for assessments and the other Association staff who had overheard the words "re-awakening" and "A-class."

After we wrapped up our conversation, we heard that the licenses were ready. Times really had improved. Everything got issued so quickly these days. In the past it used to take a whole week just to get a single ID card.

...Did I just sound like an old man? Ahem.

While listening to the murmurs for a bit, our hunter licenses were finally issued. We took them and practically fled the building. Thankfully, since it wasn't S-class, it seemed the reporters hadn't caught wind of it yet. We escaped before the sound of camera shutters could reach us and headed back toward the office.

We had arrived at the office feeling good, ready to proudly show off our new A-class hunter licenses, but the moment we stepped inside—

The office atmosphere was anything but normal.

...A thug-like person? All of a sudden...?