An S-Class Hunter Kneels
And so an S-class hunter dropped to her knees... Is this enough now?
Having pinpointed exactly where Jinhyun was and what he was doing, the S-class hunter Na Jiseon immediately took leave and headed straight there to meet him.
Along the way, however, she realized that in her rush she looked far worse than she'd thought. Before seeing Jinhyun, she decided she needed to at least make herself presentable.
She was going to apologize, after all—and more than that, she was going to see a man she held feelings for. Showing up looking like she'd just walked out of the barracks would be downright rude.
With that in mind, Jiseon ducked into a nearby department store...
And there, she witnessed a scene she never could have imagined.
As she wandered through the store, her eyes landed on him.
The man she had so desperately wanted to see again.
The man who had made her burn through her leave just to come all this way.
Lee Jinhyun.
But in that moment, the emotions rising in Jiseon weren't joy or remorse or the urge to apologize. Something else took hold first.
The reason was the woman standing in front of Jinhyun, who was dressed in a sharp suit.
A beauty she'd never seen before—one who, by looks alone, seemed even prettier than herself.
Apparently out shopping with Jinhyun.
The instant she saw the woman, a thick, boiling jealousy surged up from deep inside Jiseon's heart.
It wasn't simply because of the other woman's superior beauty.
The biggest reason was the bright, genuine smile on Jinhyun's lips as he looked at her.
A smile he had never once shown her.
A pure smile with not a single speck of pretense, rising straight from the heart...
He can smile like that...? Jinhyun Oppa... that clear, pure smile...
In front of them, he had always worn only a twisted, exhausted smile.
And now that same man was smiling so cleanly—it hit Jiseon with no small shock.
Even as the jealousy made her insides churn, she forced her emotions down as best she could and carefully approached where Jinhyun stood.
Then, in the most careful voice she could manage, she called out to him.
"Jinhyun... Oppa?"
"!..."
The moment he heard Jiseon's voice, Jinhyun's eyes flickered slightly.
Even so, he didn't turn toward her. Jiseon stepped a little closer and called again.
"Oppa... right? Jinhyun Oppa!"
Anxiety colored her voice as she called his name.
Only then did Jinhyun slowly turn his head in her direction.
But the pure smile from moments before was gone from his face.
What remained was an expression cold as ice.
No different from when he'd slapped her cheek at the bus stop.
No—in some ways, even colder and more terrifying than back then.
A flash of fear ran through her at his attitude, yet Jiseon forced an awkward smile and spoke to him.
"I-It's me, Jinhyun Oppa. Na Jiseon... I never thought I'd run into you in a place like this..."
"Shall we go, Are? There's nothing more to buy here, is there?"
"!..."
Before Jiseon could even finish, Jinhyun addressed the woman in front of him.
Completely ignoring her. Shocked, Jiseon spoke in a trembling voice.
"J-Jinhyun... Oppa. I... I..."
"Let's go. We're done here."
"..."
His voice carried a chill that went beyond cold—a faint killing intent that warned her not to push any further.
Jiseon's entire body felt like it was freezing solid.
It was the same sensation as the pain of that slap coming back to life.
The jealousy she'd felt toward the woman beside him suddenly became completely irrelevant.
The thought that filled her head: if this kept up, she'd be cast aside in cold indifference before she could even attempt an apology.
At the same time, she told herself she couldn't back down here. She clung to that resolve with everything she had.
Even after all this time, Jinhyun's reaction remained ice-cold.
If she let this chance slip away, she would never be forgiven—that thought slammed through her mind.
And so the action she chose was...
Thud!
"!..."
"..."
In the next instant, Jiseon dropped to her knees on the cold department store floor.
Her sudden move left both Jinhyun and the woman beside him looking stunned.
Realizing that the man who had been about to leave had turned his gaze on her, Jiseon spoke to him in a trembling voice.
"I-I'm sorry... I... I was wrong, Oppa... Really... I was really wrong. Taking my anger out on you just because I lost a game... dumping my laundry on you because I was too lazy... throwing the trash can at you because you hadn't cleaned the room... a-and... smashing your computer because I got mad when you ignored me..."
Tears began to fall as she listed every wrong she'd committed right there on the spot.
All the mistakes she'd stacked up in her head before coming here—she poured them out with everything she had.
Even as people started gathering one by one to stare at the spectacle, such trivial concerns meant nothing to her.
Whether this scene ended up online or made the news didn't matter in the slightest.
What mattered was only one thing: whether the man in front of her would forgive her or not.
That was all.
Then...
"I get it, I get it, so stop already."
"!"
A hurried voice reached her ears.
Jiseon's words cut off at once. Jinhyun grabbed her arm and urgently pulled her away from the spot.
His other hand still holding the hand of that beautiful woman.
Unintentionally holding Jiseon in one hand and Are in the other, I dragged them both as far as I could to a quiet spot.
It was the kind of situation where someone might joke about "flowers in both hands," but my feelings were far too complicated for any such lighthearted thought.
I'd been enjoying a pleasant shopping trip with Are when Jiseon suddenly appeared.
I'd planned to ignore that bitch who made my stomach turn just looking at her and leave with Are, but...
Her sudden full prostration and the following recitation of her criminal record left me with no choice but to take her with us.
When the crowd's attention started getting seriously intense, I finally couldn't take it anymore and hauled both of them out here.
"Haa..."
Once I confirmed no one was watching, I shook off Jiseon's hand like I was brushing away dirt and looked at her.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"I-I just... wanted to apologize to Oppa somehow..."
"Apologize? What good is that supposed to do? You think doing this will make me go back to that place?"
Honestly, even if every other S-class hunter came here and knelt begging, I had zero intention of ever going back.
There was no idiot who would walk from heaven into hell just because demons begged him to please come to hell.
Looking at me like that, Jiseon spoke in a frantic voice.
"N-No. Th-That's not it at all! Of course I'd be happy if Oppa came back, but... I didn't come here hoping for that."
"Then what? Why come all this way just to bother me? Is there still something you want from me?"
Adding the humiliating scene from moments ago, my insides were boiling. For a second I even forgot Are was standing right there and shouted with pure rage.
Then...
Looking at me, Jiseon let tears fall as she pleaded in a desperate voice.
"I wanted... forgiveness... That's... all."
"...What?"
Her unexpected words left me stunned.
Then Jiseon bowed her head to me once more and spoke in an earnest voice.
"I'm sorry... Really... I'm so, so sorry... Jinhyun Oppa... Everything I did over the past four years... from one to ten... all of it... From now on I'll do whatever it takes... anything... to make it up to you... so please... please forgive me."