Lee Seo-yoon's Story

Today was an especially shitty day. Though ever since I became an adult, there hasn't been a single day that wasn't like that for me...

Six years ago, right after turning twenty, I suddenly had a fiancé. It was hard to believe we were in 21st-century Korea—my family was so conservative they tried to marry off their barely adult youngest daughter to a man over thirty.

My fiancé, who drew crowds of fans with his striking looks and kind demeanor, seemed perfect on the surface. His age and modest background might have been drawbacks, but his S-rank status more than made up for it.

At first, I didn't resent the elders' unilateral decision. Looking back now, I think I was actually counting down the days to meet him like a girl on the cusp of her first love.

Raised like a flower in a greenhouse until adulthood, I'd never even had a private conversation with a man. Even same-sex friends from slightly less prestigious families weren't allowed in our home.

So my expectations soared when I finally met my fiancé face-to-face for the first time—and that's when I confronted human malice head-on for the very first time in my life.

He didn't see me as a pure, lovely woman. To him, I was just an untouched whore to use for his pleasure.

It was so blatant, even the innocent virgin I was could spot it instantly. My parents, who were right there with me, must have noticed too. There was no way they missed that gaze he didn't even bother hiding.

That's when it all clicked for me. Even his lust was exactly what the family elders wanted.

His eagerness to throw me into bed, that tongue flicking like he couldn't wait to impregnate me—it was all the image my family desired for him.

In that moment, every question I'd ever had about my life unraveled at once. Why I'd been forgiven no matter what I did growing up. Why no amount of spending ever earned me more than a light scolding. Why I alone was exempt from studying, Hunter Academy, training my abilities—everything parents demand of their kids. Why, unlike my siblings, I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had no duties, only the family's privileges.

They'd turned me into a debtor... raised me so I couldn't refuse the family's one future request.

To bear the child of a high-potential hunter as young as possible... they'd molded me into a woman with no choice but to accept.

Hunter potential is partly hereditary, so from the start, my high-potential birth had been the family's sole hope for me.

It was an offer I couldn't refuse.

The mother I'd thought felt some maternal love toward me had been meticulously recording every extravagance and mistake I'd made in my foolishness.

The moment I left the family, the media would paint me as trash. Even as a high-potential hunter, I was a useless woman who'd never honed that potential.

My only real value left was my beautiful looks and young body that could recover quickly after childbirth.

What guild would take in a worthless whore like that, even tiptoeing around Two Moon Group's influence? I had no foundation to settle abroad on my own.

I couldn't refuse. I had to accept a life at the side of the sleaziest man I'd ever met, as a doll endlessly giving birth year after year.

If I got really lucky, I might earn a scrap of pity or love from him. That was the brightest future twenty-year-old me could hope for.

That night, the family servants dragged me kicking and screaming to his house.

From the moment we arrived, lascivious moans from women poured out nonstop, enough to give anyone a migraine.

Then the door burst open, and out came that repulsive man, dick swinging, who hauled me upstairs to a middle-aged woman.

"I don't plan on knocking up some sloppy seconds," he said, leaving with a promise to see me tomorrow night and that same lecherous grin.

The woman, wearing a strange expression, approached and ran some unknown test on me.

Tears were streaming down my face without me realizing, and she sighed heavily before speaking.

"Why did you come here?"

"..."

"You think staying quiet like that will make things better?"

"..."

"Kid, say something so I can at least try to help."

"Help? You? Help me? Don't talk like you know shit when you're in the same boat."

"Sigh... Kid, I'm that man's mother."

"Wh-what? Your mom? And you just let your son act like that? Ah, right... mothers are all the same, huh?"

"Whew... Kid, you seem to be misunderstanding. Those girls next door? They all came here of their own free will."

"What? You expect me to believe that lie in front of—"

"It's true. He has me, his mom, check them for STDs to keep it from leaking out... But looks like he went and screwed up anyway. No unwilling girls have come before now..."

"Then you should've stopped him! Why the hell do I have to—hic—why do I have to go through this shit!"

"Sigh, I regret it too. When he was little, raising him alone without a dad, I thought he was so mature... Between work at the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hospital and raising him, I thought I'd done my best. Maybe wishing he'd grow up decent was asking too much."

"No excuses! Do you even know what I'll go through because of your son?"

"That's why I'm here, kid."

"What?"

"I've always known a girl like you would show up eventually. You're right—it's my fault, so I have to take responsibility."

"How? How the hell are you gonna help me?"

"Don't worry, nothing bad will happen to you. The pile of crimes my son's committed is a mountain... including stuff with big corporations. By the time he gets out of prison, it'll be at least fifteen years. A greedy guy like him bringing home a wife? In that time, you can become a hunter even more influential than him."

"Then why didn't you report him sooner? If you'd—"

"Heh... Kid, sorry, but that's how the world works. A stranger's pain means less than my own flesh and blood, no matter how rotten. And if I reported everything... even I might not survive it. He's the type who would."

"What? Then how can I trust you? What if you betray me—what happens to me then?"

"Fair point. But kid, there are things more precious than life. Mistakes from my son I swore to stop even if it kills me. I gathered these files not even sure I'd ever need them..."

"Your life as a mom? Don't feed me that bullshit. Do you know how I ended up sold here? If my mom hadn't recorded my screw-ups, I never would've been sold to a creep like this!"

"Really? How interesting. Both moms recording their kids' mistakes, sending them to the last place they want... So kid, get out of here, succeed spectacularly... and take revenge on that woman unworthy of being your mother with your own hands. Live desperately every day with that as your goal."

"You crazy old hag! How can I trust you?!"

Then she grabbed my shoulders, locking eyes with me intently.

"Kid, remember this. If you don't try, nothing changes. Submit to reality, and you'll regret it someday. I don't want you making the same mistake as me."

I had no choice but to accept her words. The eyes staring into mine were filled with the deepest regret in the world.

"Fine... I'll believe you'll put that guy in prison. But what about my family?"

"I figured... you're from quite the family, huh? His case is airtight anyway. No matter how powerful they are, they can't stop a mother with solid evidence from exposing it. And you—take this money, hire doctors from the hospital where I worked, and do medical volunteer work."

"I've saved my whole life, plus what he gave me to cover things up. It should be enough to build a foundation. After that, you'll have to seek sponsorships somehow."

"Medical volunteering? Me?"

"Yes. Looking at you, you're a healing-type hunter, right? With sky-high potential... I planned assuming he'd bring a combat-type, but this suits you better. A healing hunter volunteering as a doctor for free at a hospital that size? Even the Heo family won't touch you. Nothing trumps the cause of saving lives."

"Can I even do that? I've never properly used my abilities before..."

"It'll be harsh, kid... but standing up ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to conglomerates means that. I'm no hunter, but I've worked with them long enough—I'll guide you tonight. With potential rivaling my son's, one night is plenty to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠get the hang of it."

"C-can I really trust you? I've never accomplished anything with my own hands..."

I still remember the sensation of her stroking my hair then—the touch I'll never feel again.

"Hee hee, up close, you're not just pretty, you're adorable too. If things get so tough you feel like dying... come find me then. I'll wrap up the exposé faster and try to be by your side."

After that, she kept every promise perfectly... except that very last one.