Lee Seol's Scheme (1)
I felt the weight of countless eyes boring into me as the Association President bowed deeply at the waist.
"Seonghyun-ah. Thank you so much. Once again, you saved Seol..."
"Please, sir. Everyone's watching. You can lift your head now."
The moment the President of the Korean Hunter Association lowered himself like that, every gaze in the room stabbed straight at me. It was uncomfortable as hell.
"I really don't know how much debt I owe you..."
The man who'd been ruthlessly beating down cultists earlier had turned into this gentle giant. It was jarring.
'This is going to take some getting used to.'
"By the way, how exactly did you manage to rescue Seol? And how did you even locate their base..."
"I'll explain all that later. For now, shouldn't we start by making these bastards talk?"
I pointed at the Demon Sect members tied up like trussed pigs. Lee Jun nodded firmly.
"Yeah. That sounds good."
And so, under the weight of Lee Jun's gratitude that somehow didn't quite feel like gratitude, we returned to the Association headquarters.
The interrogation room at the Association was cold and sterile. Normally, when Demon Sect fanatics got caught, they chose suicide without hesitation. They were that fanatical. But this time...
'Uncle really sharpened his knives for this.'
They'd knocked the prisoners unconscious in advance, then placed them under hypnosis. When they cracked open the mind of the one who looked like a high-ranking officer...
"Golden Aurora... Must find the sacrifice..."
Whatever protective measures they'd used, the hypnosis wasn't taking properly. The only saving grace was that we could still catch fragments of his words.
Lee Jun glanced at me briefly before turning his attention back to the cultist.
"Where is the altar?"
"Sealed... buried in the ground..."
"Give us the exact location."
"......"
Silence. Lee Jun changed the subject.
"What is that white book?"
"...I don't know. We only did what the cult leader ordered."
"Tsk."
In the end, only the cult leader knew the full story. The hypnotist placed his hand on the man's head once more.
"I'll try deepening the hypnosis. There's a mental protector on his brain, so I'm not sure how effective it will be..."
"Even if something goes wrong, I'll take full responsibility. Just do your best."
"Understood."
When the Association President stepped out of the interrogation room, he handed me a cup of coffee.
"Seonghyun-ah, you must be exhausted?"
"No, sir. This much is fine."
"Heh heh. I suppose it's silly for me to worry about someone who took down a cult leader."
The cult leader was obviously Han Jaehyuk.
"We'll call you as soon as we locate the altar. Since the possible locations are limited, it shouldn't take long."
"Yes, sir. Understood."
After exchanging farewells with Lee Jun, I left the Association building. Before heading home, I stopped by the rooftop of a nearby building.
A woman stood there, gazing out at the night skyline.
"You're late?"
"I was helping with the interrogation. Sorry about that."
"No need to apologize. After all, you're the one who knows the Demon Sect's base inside and out. I can afford to wait this much."
Under the moonlight, Camilla's face looked sharp. Her eyes held the glint of someone staring at a fascinating research subject. She slowly approached me from behind and rested her face on my shoulder.
"How did you find it?"
"Trade secret."
"Aww, come on. We're business partners now. Can't you at least tell me that much?"
Her hands slowly traced over my body. From the back of my hand, up my forearm. It wasn't bold skinship, but teasing, tantalizing touches. Soon her palm gently caressed my chest as she lightly nibbled on my earlobe.
"Big sis will do nice things for you. Things those little girls your age can't even imagine..."
Honey trap, huh?
"This is the second time."
"Hm?"
"There was a woman who tried this on me before. She's dead now."
"......"
When I said it casually, the hand stroking my body froze for a moment.
"You... The more I learn about you, the more fascinating you become. Most people can't say something like that to my face..."
"I'm just trusting Professor Irena and speaking my mind. If it sounded rude, I apologize."
At my apology, she pressed her lips to my neck as if to say it had all been a joke.
"I was just teasing too, so don't worry about it. Irena said a lot of fun things will happen once she gets here... I'm glad I came."
"You're leaving a hickey. Stop sucking."
"Chuuuurrp..."
The soft, wet sensation of her tongue licked along my neck. The way she moved felt like she was tasting me. I was about to push her away when Camilla pulled back first, looking disappointed.
She knew exactly when to strike and when to retreat.
"Keeping tasting you like this is making me dizzy..."
"I'll let you have the full course later. One big one."
"Pfft. You'll 'let' me? You're really something else~."
Camilla clutched her stomach laughing, then flashed a chilling smile.
"Really. So much fun."
The next day, Lee Seol finally returned to school. The classroom buzzed with excitement the moment the news spread.
"Seol-ah! Are you okay?!"
"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine."
"What happened to those Demon Sect bastards? They didn't hurt you, did they?!"
"Nope, nope. Thanks for worrying about me."
True to her status as the ultimate social butterfly, a whole crowd swarmed around her. Meanwhile, there was one person who couldn't get close.
"Hey, why the long face first thing in the morning? Seol's back safe and sound, just like you were so worried about."
"Even if Seol's back, we're still short a member... What the hell are we supposed to do now?"
Kim Jihun. He'd followed Lee Jeong-ah around trying to convince her to stay, but she'd still dropped out in the end. She'd already packed her bags and gone back home, which basically meant our team was finished.
"That's life for you."
"Ha..."
While we were talking, Seol finished making her rounds and came over to us.
"Hyeon-ah. Hello."
"Hey. You feeling better?"
"Yeah. Just a little tired, but otherwise I'm good."
Lee Seol gave me a small smile, then walked over to Jihun. The serious look on both their faces told me they were definitely talking about Lee Jeong-ah.
'It would've been better if this happened in our second year.'
There weren't any teams that had fallen apart among the first-years yet. Which meant there were no reserve members available. So Lee Seol's party was now like a duck egg on the Nakdong River—completely stranded. Even if I wanted to help, there was nothing I could do.
As I was lost in thought, my phone rang.
[Shin Suyeon]
What could this be?
"Hello?"
-Seonghyun-ssi. You know how I was going to transfer to the Hunter Department?
"Yeah?"
-I... I'm going to try becoming a hunter!
......?
Sudden much?
"Hey, Jihun."
"What?"
"We got one."
"Got what?"
"Someone to fill the hole in your party."
That evening, at a cafeteria inside the Academy. Kim Jihun, Lee Seol, me, and Shin Suyeon sat together.
"Ah, hello. I'm Shin Suyeon from the Supporter Department."
"Whoa! Sister-in-law! I've heard so much about you!"
"Huh? S-sister-in-law?"
"This guy Seonghyun won't shut up about you every chance he gets..."
"There you go exaggerating again."
Even after my scolding, Kim Jihun kept grinning like an idiot. To Lee Seol and Jihun right now, Shin Suyeon was practically a savior. Not only that, she had buff and healing skills that didn't overlap with Seol's position. She was an incredibly valuable find.
"Unnie, you've gotten so pretty... You look like a completely different person!"
"N-no, not really..."
Shin Suyeon shrank back from their excessive attention. Her appearance had changed 180 degrees, but her personality was still the same timid girl.
After some brief small talk, we moved on to the main topic. Kim Jihun put on a serious face—one he only showed once a year—and clasped his hands together.
"So your transfer to the Hunter Department is confirmed?"
"Yes. There are a few professors who opposed it, but Professor Lee said he'll take responsibility and push it through."
"Nice~ As expected of Professor Lee! What a badass~!"
Kim Jihun's admiration was obvious. Lee Seol smiled softly as well.
"If things go quickly, I might move into the dorm next week. At the latest, the week after."
"Thank god... Unnie, I'm really so grateful. We were losing our minds trying to figure out what to do..."
"Oh no, I'm the one who's grateful that you're accepting me..."
Lee Seol held both of Shin Suyeon's hands tightly, visibly relieved. Even Kim Jihun, unlike his usual self, let out a deep sigh of relief while rubbing his chest.
'This bastard said he'd quit if he got tired of it.'
Just like in the first round, once he actually started something, he wasn't the type to give up halfway.
"Once your transfer is finalized, let us know. We'll help you move your stuff. We exchanged numbers last time, right?"
"Yes, yes. I'll contact you right away."
We decided to discuss the details later and wrapped up the meeting. After leaving the cafe, I sat down with Shin Suyeon on the grass in the plaza.
"What suddenly made you decide this?"
"You mean transferring to the Hunter Department?"
"Yeah."
When I looked at her curiously, a playful glint appeared in Shin Suyeon's eyes.
"Hehe. It's a secret."
She turned her head away pretending to be coy. It looked like she was daring me to do something about it. When I slowly slid my hand toward the hem of her skirt, she flinched and looked around.
Since it was the plaza, there were lots of people. And with Shin Suyeon's current appearance, several students kept glancing our way.
"If you won't tell me... you know what happens, right?"
"You're so mean... So mean..."
She pouted and turned her head away, but...
'She's insanely cute.'
People always say personality matters more than looks, but...
'Looks really are overpowered.'
If it had been the old her, I would've played along with her teasing. But now that she was this beautiful, everything she did just looked like adorable aegyo.
Just as I was about to use my secret weapon, Seol entered the plaza and our eyes met.
"Oh? You guys haven't left yet? Can I sit with you for a bit?"
"Ah. Yes, of course. Sit here..."
"Thank you, unnie. Oh! I bought coffee. Please have some."
"Thank you. I'll enjoy it."
"Here, Hyeon-ah."
"Uh... thanks."
Did she have something to talk about? But we were supposed to discuss party matters later. Something felt off.
Lee Seol fidgeted with her lips for a moment, then looked at Shin Suyeon with a serious expression.
"Unnie. I couldn't ask earlier because of Jihun, but..."
"Yes?"
"You and Hyeon... you're dating, right?"
"Y-yes! We are!"
Maybe because I'd given her a heads-up before meeting Seol, she managed to answer. But with Shin Suyeon's personality, lying didn't come naturally to her.
"How long have you been dating?"
"Um... about a month, I think!"
This was awkward. Fuck, it was way too awkward. Even Seol seemed to sense something was off and tilted her head. But then she smiled and asked again.
"Who confessed first?"
"I-I did!"
"Ah... but you two don't have couple items..."
"W-we're using these necklaces instead!"
It was clear Shin Suyeon should never become an actress. As I sighed internally, Seol looked back and forth between us with suspicious eyes.
Of course. It would be weird not to be suspicious when she was fumbling her words like that. I prayed desperately in my head for her to just let it go.
"I know this is really rude, but... could you two kiss for me? Just once?"
Lee Seol's eyes narrowed into slits.