Lee Ha-na
Lee Ha-na.
She was definitely different from the two bastards before her.
I didn't have to agonize over how to deal with her like I did with Kim Jun-su, nor did murderous intent surge the moment I saw her like it did with Shin Jae-jun.
The true feelings I'd heard from her through the Magic Eye's mind control ability were enough to make me hesitate on the eve of my final revenge.
Lee Ha-na, sobbing uncontrollably and begging forgiveness.
I stared silently at her for a moment as she wept and poured out her remorse.
My two partners in the mental world were unusually rowdy.
The left head, who would normally demand I kill her without question, was showing an uncharacteristically soft response today.
In stark contrast, the right head—who usually cared about nothing but food—was voicing its opinion for once.
Both were reacting very differently from usual.
Was Lee Ha-na's display that shocking to them?
Honestly, even I was a bit stunned, having never anticipated this scenario.
...It was just a hypothetical. I never thought it'd actually play out like this.
The right head opposed in its usual laid-back tone, prompting the left to screech 'Kyaaak!'
The right head spoke with uncharacteristic calm, silencing the left with a grumbled 'Euuung—.'
Was this the right head's victory in the debate?
Just as I thought that, the left head piped up urgently.
...True. She gave favors and grudges. Why not call it even?
I nodded slowly in agreement.
The left was right—her small kindnesses had been a great comfort to me then.
Wasn't she the one I relied on most alongside Park Kwang-yeol?
The left groaned 'Euuuk—' in frustration at the right's calm rebuttal.
Having lost the logic battle, the left grumbled for a while before exploding in its usual temper.
...Enough.
As their debate heated up, I finally intervened.
Any longer, and they might actually fight.
The left shouted urgently at my mediation, while the right waited calmly.
Wait a moment.
The left muttered 'But, but...!' at my even tone but held back further argument.
As auxiliary personalities, they respected my final choice.
With both calmed, I turned back to Lee Ha-na.
"Lee Ha-na. Look at me."
She slowly raised her head, her eyes still glistening with unshed tears.
Though much changed from the past, traces of my memories lingered in her face.
The gentle eyes that always smiled warmly were now swollen with tears.
"Do you recognize me?"
Lee Ha-na stared silently.
Even in the pitch darkness, she gazed at me entranced—then suddenly sighed.
"...Jun-young... Jun-young-ssi...?"
"Yes, that's right."
"H-How...? How is Jun-young-ssi...?"
Even she couldn't grasp this part, same as the other two?
No—their dead comrade returning hale after three years was bound to shock anyone.
I had no intention of spinning my long tale for her either.
Something more important remained.
"Is that all you have to say?"
"...No. No... I didn't mean to say this... I was just, so shocked...."
Clearly stunned, she stammered incoherently.
I waited silently as her eyes shook wildly.
"...Hic... Thank... Thank you... Hic... For coming back alive like this... Really, really... Hic...."
Her words after a long pause were neither apology nor excuse—but gratitude.
With the Magic Eye's effect lingering, it had to be sincere.
I stared at her as she collapsed before me, sobbing anew.
Their bickering reignited, disrupting my quiet contemplation.
I let out a soft sigh and called to her gently.
"...Ha-na-ssi."
She flinched at the unfamiliar address after three years.
"Y-Yes! Jun-young-ssi! Hic...! Th-Thank you. For coming to find me... And, and I'm sorry...! Really...! So sorry...!"
"...Do you regret it?"
"Yes...! I've regretted it every day...! I felt so, so sorry to you, Jun-young-ssi...!"
"What if you could go back to that moment?"
"I'd... run away together. Escape the labyrinth together... Share a nice meal... Remembering the late Kwang-yeol ajusshi like that...."
She spoke fluidly, as if she'd pondered it for three years straight.
"Do you know about Shin Jae-jun and Kim Jun-su?"
"...I lost contact with them... I fled to France like a coward back then...."
"Then you don't know what happened to them."
"......"
Lee Ha-na gazed blankly up at my face.
I met her eyes steadily.
"...You heard from them first... I was last."
She finally spoke after a long pause.
As if guessing, she looked at me humbly.
"...How were the two of them?"
"Very different from you, Ha-na-ssi. Not worth agonizing over."
"...So I'm different?"
I fell silent at her serene question.
That alone seemed answer enough; she smiled faintly.
"I'm relieved. Different from those two."
"...Do you know what I'll do next, Ha-na-ssi?"
"Yes... Tie up our ill-fated knot."
She gazed at me with a gentle smile evoking old memories.
Her eyes were bold, unflinching.
I felt like averting mine instead.
"...You're not begging to live?"
"Like you, Jun-young-ssi, I came here to untie this knot."
"......"
She smiled softly at my silence.
"Teacher Charlotte told me to let go of everything... This is exactly it. Though she wouldn't have wanted this...."
—Still, I'm truly relieved.
That I could finally apologize to you like this.
Lee Ha-na was fully prepared to accept everything humbly.
I was the unprepared one.
"...You weren't my ill-fated foe, Ha-na-ssi."
"...Thank you. To me, you were a truly good connection, Jun-young-ssi."
The revenge was over.
Lee Ha-na was worlds apart from the previous two.
No refreshment, no pride.
Just a hollow emptiness.
Thus ended my revenge as the human Yu Jun-young.
Early morning at the Galaxy Guild and Rose One Guild campsites—a sudden scream shattered the quiet.
Raid members from both guilds rushed over in an instant.
The scream's source: the tent of Rose One Guild leader Lee Ha-na.
Inside, a hunter acting as her aide wailed in grief.
"Guild leader! Guild Leeeader—!!!"
Lee Ha-na's corpse lay cold.
Rose One members were stunned, as were Galaxy's.
Kwon Je-na and Yoon Myung-ho, arriving at the commotion, shared the shock.
Yoon Myung-ho's reaction was especially fierce.
"Ha-na-ssi! Ha-naaa—!!"
He shoved through the crowd into the tent and seized her.
No warmth remained from yesterday.
"What... What the hell is this...?! How did this happen...?! The sentries—what were the sentries doing?!"
His roar of mixed emotions made the gathered raid members flinch.
Even veterans recoiled from an S-rank hunter's aura.
"Calm down, Yoon Myung-ho."
"Calm down? You think I can calm down now? A hunter dead in the middle of a secure camp... a guild leader...!"
"...I said calm down."
A chilling cold—far beyond Yoon Myung-ho's aura—made everyone, including him, freeze.
Only then did he turn to the voice's owner.
Not his usual playful mentor or big sister, but Kwon Je-na as Galaxy vice-guild master and SA-rank powerhouse.
"I understand your feelings. But now's not the time to grieve—we need to uncover the truth."
"...Yes, Vice Guild Master."
She patted his slumped shoulder lightly.
Then addressed the crowd.
"Who found her first?"
"...Me."
The aide who'd been cradling and wailing over the body.
Kwon Je-na glanced at her and pressed.
"Any peculiarities at discovery?"
"...None. No signs of struggle... Her face was so peaceful, I thought she was just asleep at first."
Kwon Je-na examined the corpse as the aide choked back tears.
No marks, as described.
Her faintly smiling face looked like she was dreaming sweetly.
Kwon Je-na bit her lip unconsciously.
"...Last sighting of Hunter Lee Ha-na last night? Who was with her last?"
"...Light chat with other hunters, then straight to her tent. Sentries watched the front continuously—no intruders."
A groan escaped Kwon Je-na.
"...An intruder fooled the sentries and my senses to sneak into an S-rank hunter's tent...? And she died without resisting...?"
She muttered, then asked a nearby raid member.
"Ghost-type monsters from the Desert Zone?"
"...Mostly Wraiths. Higher ones like Banshees appear, but a Banshee couldn't do this."
"...Yeah, chaos would've erupted if one entered. And if a monster, why only her?"
Her gaze flicked to Yoon Myung-ho, pale and staring blankly.
A sigh slipped out.
"...We're halting this investigation here. No objections. As Galaxy vice-guild master and investigation lead, I declare it suspended."
—Return to your spots and pack.
We're exiting the labyrinth ASAP.
"...What about Hunter Lee Ha-na's body?"
"...We'll take it. Someone needs to see it confirmed."
Kwon Je-na glanced at Yoon Myung-ho, then looked away.
This was a headache for her.
Beyond Yoon Myung-ho or past ties with Lee Ha-na.
An S-rank guild leader died during her investigation, cause unknown.
Return decided, but leaks would cause uproar—her head already throbbed.
Worse, one place would react massively.
'Charlotte Michelle. She won't stay quiet.'
Her prized disciple dead—her rage was unimaginable.
And Galaxy/Kwon Je-na would bear it fully.
Kwon Je-na's face crumpled as she stared at the distant sky.