Has My Friend Been Living Strangely Hard Lately?
S-class hunter Seo Jiyun.
Lately, she had been feeling puzzled in more ways than one.
The endless relay of adjutants transferring out had finally come to an end, and the guild atmosphere seemed, at last, to have settled into something resembling order. The man currently serving as adjutant did not appear particularly motivated — yet he still carried out their errands without fail, and showed no sign of wanting to leave. Lukewarm, for lack of a better word.
Even so, thanks to him, the guild that had been thrown into chaos every month by a revolving door of adjutants had managed to find some footing. Sena and Yujin both seemed reasonably satisfied on that point — and Jiyun felt the same. The new adjutant might not measure up to Jinhyun's tactical brilliance, but compared to the days when the guild had been floundering without direction, this was a vast improvement.
And yet… separate from that improved situation, something else entirely had been nagging at Jiyun.
Lately that bitch has been in a weirdly good mood… What the hell is going on?
The object of Jiyun's attention was none other than her fellow S-class hunter, Na Jiseon.
Only a few weeks ago, Jiseon had been drifting through each day like a walking corpse — drained of all will, all thought, all purpose. Even in the middle of combat she had looked as if her soul had wandered off somewhere else. Then, after returning from leave a few weeks prior, she had transformed overnight. The hollow-eyed ghost of a woman had suddenly started grooming herself with care and taking an active interest in her duties as a hunter. She asked about upcoming missions, made an effort to grasp the overall operational picture — she had begun, quite abruptly, to study the internal state of the guild and the military with a diligence she had never shown before.
Did something shift in her while she was away? I can't know the details… but at least she's pulled herself together. I suppose that's something to be grateful for.
Jiyun and that anger-management disaster of a woman had clashed at the drop of a hat, but that did not mean she felt no sense of camaraderie toward her. After Jinhyun left, Jiseon had lost not only her drive but every last scrap of her venom, becoming little more than a doll. Watching her recover some of that fire and throw herself into her work again, Jiyun felt — if only a little — glad.
I don't know for sure… but maybe the trip helped her put her feelings for Jinhyun to rest. You can't cling to someone who's already gone forever, after all.
Having decided that Na Jiseon had more or less sorted out her heart, Seo Jiyun found herself thinking that she, too, needed to refocus on her work as a hunter.
Right… Lee Jinhyun being gone is a shame, but I can't keep dwelling on someone who's left either. Once I adjust a little, even if S-class missions are out of reach, I should be able to handle A-class ones well enough. I can't just sit around like this forever…
And so Jiyun allowed herself a modestly hopeful view of the future.
Meanwhile — contrary to everything she imagined — the mind of Na Jiseon, who was even now gathering information with a zeal she had never shown before, remained utterly consumed by thoughts of Jinhyun.
No. "Consumed" was not strong enough.
Every thought she had, every action she took, was focused on one person alone: Lee Jinhyun.
Good… At this rate, I should be able to meet the standard Oppa asked for.
The information she was collecting concerned the general trends and currents inside the military. Nothing that rose to the level of top-secret material — but still the kind of intelligence difficult to obtain through ordinary channels. As an S-class hunter who had always simply followed orders, she had never paid attention to such things. Now she was working at it with genuine sincerity, and the reason was obvious: the man she was prepared to devote herself to for the next four years — longer, if necessary — had given her the order himself.
As the price of his forgiveness, he had asked her to use her authority as an S-class hunter to monitor the military's internal situation and report back. The overall mood and flow of things — and, crucially, the timing and methods of the large-scale total war that would soon begin. Jiseon did not fully understand why he wanted this information. She could only roughly guess that it had something to do with his work as a Black Hunter.
And from that perspective, she had a faint sense of how far this path might eventually lead.
Right now he's only asking for things that don't violate confidentiality… but later he might demand something more serious. Something more secret.
She did not need to look far ahead. Once the total war began in earnest, a flood of missions — and with them, classified intelligence whose disclosure would mean punishment — would pour down on Jiseon as an S-class hunter of the 28th Guild. Some of that information might prove useful to Jinhyun and the Black Hunters, which meant he was more than likely to ask for it.
She had hesitated over that possibility for a moment. Then she steeled herself.
If I just list out everything I did to Oppa, I'd already be looking at the brig. Compared to that, this much risk is nothing…
And more than that — even if Jinhyun never asked, she was already prepared to hand over whatever related information she could, given the chance. The reason, of course, was to atone for the mountain of guilt still weighing on her heart… or so she told herself. That was, honestly, only the second reason.
The greatest force driving her to push herself past every limit for Jinhyun's sake was something else entirely: a peculiar sense of rivalry toward the beautiful woman who, even now, stayed at his side.
From what I can tell… that woman clearly has some feelings for Oppa. Any woman would see it at a glance. If I want to pull even a little of his attention away from a beauty like that stuck right next to him, I have to help him — even if it means overreaching.
He had gone far away. And yet the affection — the lingering attachment — she felt for him still remained. After meeting him to apologize, that feeling had only grown stronger. With those emotions as her foundation, Jiseon had firmly resolved to help Jinhyun with everything she had, even if it meant risking punishment.
When it comes down to it, you never know how things will turn out until someone walks into the wedding hall…
With that thought, she set out to deliver the materials she had gathered to Jinhyun. None of it was classified, so even if word got out there would be little real trouble — but she moved carefully all the same, mindful of what lay ahead.
To wash away the guilt still lodged in her heart, and to find the light again. And to achieve the one goal in her life that, however difficult, she would never allow herself to abandon.