Waking Up Way Too Late!
The next day, Mina was already bustling about from the morning. "You woke up way too late!!" Normally a heavy sleeper, she had set multiple alarms—including her main one—yet none had gone off. As a result, she only dragged herself out of bed when it was nearly afternoon. At this rate, she would definitely be late for work.
"Ah." While dabbing eye cream on, she froze as she remembered something she had completely forgotten.
"I quit."
She had already submitted her resignation to Hanshin Guild. There was nothing substantial to hand over, so no grace period had been required. She no longer needed to show up at the office at all.
Mina stopped applying her makeup and quietly faced the mirror. The woman staring back at her was frozen mid-motion, exactly as she had been.
"What am I supposed to do now?"
She lowered her hand and murmured blankly. No matter how hard she thought, no particular tasks came to mind. She glanced around the room to check for overdue chores, but since she never neglected cleaning no matter how much she dreaded it, nothing stood out.
Perhaps because the alarms had failed to ring, she noticed how unusually quiet Bomi was today. When she looked over, her dog was curled up in her usual spot, snoring softly.
"Bomi. Want to go for a—"
"Grrrrr!"
Thinking it was the perfect opportunity for the long walk they rarely managed, she had suggested it only to be met with a far more aggressive growl than usual. It seemed her pet had no desire to have her rare peaceful morning interrupted.
"Let's start with breakfast, then."
Mina opened the refrigerator just in case, but the inside was completely empty. Given her usual lifestyle, it was only natural. She left for work early and had no time to cook, so grabbing something from the convenience store was standard. Frequent overtime from processing paperwork was the bonus. On top of that, she had often been sent on business trips to support other hunters, so the fridge had never had a chance to accumulate real food. Even if it had, everything would have spoiled by now.
The sight inside—nothing but a few bottles of sparkling water, still water, and beer cans, with not a single side-dish container—perfectly represented the life she had been living.
"Guess I'll have to buy something."
It struck her anew that she had not cooked a proper meal for herself since her university days.
In the end, she finished the makeup she had paused, then reached for her suit and flinched.
"Right. I need to get it altered."
She had unconsciously moved to put on her work suit, but the memory of the reunion made her fold it neatly instead and tuck it into the shopping bag she had set aside.
"Then what can I wear…"
Mina pulled out some other clothes from the closet for the first time in a while. Even if she had not worn them recently, she still had the outfits from before.
She tried to put them on.
"Ugh."
But she quickly realized her mistake. The clothes that had once fit perfectly no longer suited her at all. At first she told herself it was possible, and tried on several more, but sadly none of her old clothes fit her current size.
"Nngh! Just a little more!"
She kept struggling, determined to force them on somehow.
-Riiip! Pop!
"…"
She had even tried stretching the fabric with brute strength, but instead of yielding, the clothes tore. At the same time, the top button burst off and pinged against the mirror. She was rendered speechless.
"None of them fit!"
Fortunately the skirts and outer layers were still wearable, so she had not simply gained weight. Though in a certain sense, one could say she had. Mina let out a long sigh.
"It's been quite a while since I last wore them."
The only thing that had changed was her underwear size. She occasionally had pieces custom-made, but she had never expected the situation to reach this point. Or rather, because she had only bothered altering and wearing her usual clothes, she had simply forgotten. Normally she would have left her equipment with Hanshin Guild for repairs, but now that she had quit, asking them to remove their logo would benefit neither side. That meant she would have to find a specialist shop, but she did not even know if one existed nearby.
"It's been a while since I went shopping… or has it?"
She had thought it had been ages since her last shopping trip for alterations, but then remembered a more recent occasion. The see-through sweater and pleated skirt hanging in her closet were items she had bought on a date with Seok-jun.
The plain white shirt without a logo needed no alteration, and wearing that with the new pieces would be perfect.
"What should I do?"
Thinking of Seok-jun now, Mina wondered if she should contact him. After all, those clothes had been purchased together, and she had heard he was currently on standby. After a moment's hesitation, she dialed his number.
The pleasant ringtone played in her ear as she waited, and soon Seok-jun answered.
"Mina?"
"Yes, I need to get my equipment repaired. I was wondering if you knew any good places nearby."
She added that she would appreciate his guidance, then fidgeted with the ends of her silver hair while waiting for his reply.
"Hmm?"
"Is something wrong?"
The doubtful tone made her wonder if he was busy.
"Not at all. I'll come pick you up. Stay inside and wait for me."
"Yes? All right."
Mina wondered why he was acting that way but did not suspect anything. She ended the call. The knowledge that he was coming to get her personally had already sent her heart racing wildly, filling her with giddy excitement.
"What do I do!"
She threw herself onto the bed, hugged a pillow, and rolled around with it.
"…Bomi?"
"Sniff."
Only when she met Bomi's somehow judgmental gaze did embarrassment wash over her. She quickly set the pillow back in place and stood up. Her dog was far too intelligent; whenever Mina acted without thinking, those knowing eyes always felt especially piercing.
"Oh right—makeup!"
She sat back down at her vanity to finish what she had started earlier and began moving busily once more, unaware that Bomi continued to watch her back the entire time.
"See you later!"
After finishing her preparations, she was heading outside to wait for Seok-jun in front of the house when something caught her eye.
"Mail?"
A few envelopes were sticking out of her mailbox. Assuming they were tax notices, electricity bills, or water bills, Mina pulled them out. But one of them made her freeze.
"A lawsuit?!"
For some reason, a formal summons had been delivered. Wondering who on earth would be suing her and why, she tore open the envelope and checked the contents.
Hanshin Guild Legal Department hereby notifies Hunter Lee Mina of pending charges regarding suspected embezzlement of public funds and involvement in the death of Director Gu Gang-woo.
You are required to respond within the designated period.
It had come from Hanshin Guild—her former workplace. Mina stared at the document in utter disbelief. Of all possible times, it had arrived right when she was planning to have their logo removed from her equipment.
"Haah… I should wait for Seok-jun first."
She had stepped outside with fluttering expectations of a date, only to be greeted by this. It was the worst possible start. She tucked the summons away and was about to search online for how to respond before he arrived when she noticed something else.
"Why are there so many notifications?"
The sheer number of alert badges at the top of her screen left her stunned. When she opened the app, the list stretched on with countless numbers and text summaries.
"Bubble Star?"
They were alerts telling her that comments had been left on the post she had uploaded yesterday. Wondering why there were so many, she tapped the notification and opened the post. What she saw left her speechless.
Not a single comment mentioned the photo she had posted. Instead, the thread was filled with pure venom.
Plenty of comments spoke as if they had personally witnessed events that had never happened. In reality, Mina had barely spoken to anyone except Min-ji. She had been too busy focusing on magic training and exams to pay attention to her classmates.
She was still staring at her phone in utter confusion when it began to ring.
The number on the screen looked vaguely familiar. When she answered, an unfamiliar woman's voice came through the speaker.
"Hello, is this Hunter Lee Mina?"
"Yes, speaking."
The woman skipped all common courtesy and immediately confirmed her identity. Before Mina could recover from her surprise, the next question came.
"Did you embezzle public funds?"
"What are you talking about? Who is this—"
The demanding tone made Mina ask for the caller's identity.
"Answer the question."
"I asked who you are."
When she pressed more firmly, a small sigh came through the line before the answer.
"This is the Hanshin Guild Legal Team."
"The legal team?"
Only then did Mina remember where she had seen the number. Back when she worked in administrative support for hunters, she had frequently been in contact with the legal department. It was not the usual person she dealt with, but it was definitely their shared line.
"Answer truthfully. There are circumstances suggesting your involvement in the death of Director Gu Gang-woo…"
While she stood there, unsure how to respond, a hand suddenly reached out, took the phone from her grasp, and ended the call. Startled, Mina looked up and met a pair of murky teal eyes.
"Seok-jun?"
"They are not judges," he said, looking down at her. He had approached without her noticing. "You don't need to politely answer their baseless accusations."