The Queen Bee's Second Move
The sun rose, and the exploration continued. Though our pace remained sluggish, we were making steady progress without any casualties. Until last night, I had been inwardly annoyed, fearing the exploration would drag on, but after witnessing that scene, those complaints melted away like snow.
'This is it.'
Things that hadn't been visible until yesterday were starting to come into focus. Oh Hana’s flirtatious behavior toward Jang Wooseok, which I had dismissed as mere intimacy between close friends yesterday, now looked entirely different.
"Wooseok, you've got blood right here."
Oh Hana was wiping blood off Jang Wooseok’s cheek with a tissue. The proximity and the way her fingers moved were far too intimate to be just about cleaning off a bit of blood; it was strangely erotic.
'And why is she making that expression?'
Jang Wooseok just chuckled, looking flustered and unsure of what to do. Meanwhile, if you shifted your gaze slightly behind them, Kang Yerin was watching the situation with a dark, cold expression. Kim Hajun, observing the three of them, just let out a deep sigh and shook his head.
'Kim Hajun is the most mature one here.'
Since yesterday, my heart had tilted slightly toward Kang Yerin. I wanted to grab her right now and say, "It’s hard to believe, but that guy you like... he’s not some loyal hero, he’s just a guy with a dick for a brain. If you act crazy and just pounce on him, you’ll win."
If Oh Hana was a seasoned seductress, worn and polished from being handled by many, Kang Yerin was like a young girl who couldn't even express her feelings properly in front of the man she liked.
'Show me the power of pure love.'
Every moment, a scene better than any drama was unfolding live before my eyes. 'The exploration should end by tomorrow, but to think this honey-jam show is ending so soon...'
The interesting turn of events happened sooner than I thought. Due to a mistake by Oh Hana, a monster’s attack landed squarely on Jang Wooseok. He wasn't seriously hurt and stood up, brushing himself off while saying he was fine, but Kang Yerin couldn't hold back and shouted at Oh Hana, triggering the confrontation.
"What were you thinking, trying to attack recklessly like that! If you're weak, just... just stay in the back!"
"Yerin, I'm fine, so...!"
"You, be quiet...! Isn't this happening because you always coddle her? We got lucky this time and you didn't get hurt, but if things had gone slightly wrong, it could have been really dangerous!"
Oh Hana scanned the situation, bowed her head deeply, and said, "I... I'm sorry. I was just trying to help, I didn't know it would end up like this."
'Wow...'
The acting was worthy of admiration. Oh Hana didn't stop there. When she lifted her head again, the crocodile tears streaming from her eyes were enough to reverse the situation. Kim Hajun stepped in between them.
"Hey, hey, everyone stop... Wooseok-hyung is fine, so Hana-nuna, please be careful next time, and Yerin-nuna, don't react like that..."
"Wh-what?!"
As Kang Yerin bristled, Oh Hana gently grabbed Kim Hajun’s shoulder and said, "Hajun... it's my fault, so... don't be mad at Yerin..."
"Huh? No, I wasn't being mad..."
'There it is. The Queen Bee’s first technique.'
Kang Yerin, seemingly dumbfounded, crossed her arms and let out a long, heavy sigh. Then, Jang Wooseok approached Kang Yerin and said, "Yerin... even if you have complaints during an exploration, it's our team rule to wait until we're outside the gate and have a reflection meeting together."
Jang Wooseok’s expression was firm. Kang Yerin couldn't bring herself to retort and just stammered. Internal strife inside a gate can escalate into a serious situation, so it's an unspoken rule not to voice complaints about team members during an exploration. Jang Wooseok’s point was perfectly reasonable and clearly something a leader should say.
'If only I hadn't seen what happened yesterday...'
Ever since I saw that, no matter what Jang Wooseok said, he just looked like a guy bringing royal jelly to the queen bee.
'Gasp!'
In the split second I looked away, I saw it... Behind Jang Wooseok and Kim Hajun, Oh Hana was looking at Kang Yerin with a relaxed, mocking smile.
Kang Yerin’s hands began to tremble. 'Is this what a catfight between women looks like?'
So far, it was a complete victory for Oh Hana. I couldn't just keep watching this, so I decided to step in.
"Everyone, stop... let's continue the exploration. The sun will set soon and we need to find a place to rest tonight, so stop wasting time."
I spoke with a deliberately annoyed voice. Everyone glanced at me, apologized, and resumed the exploration.
Night fell, and after finding a shelter to spend the night, we set up camp. I sent Kim Hajun and Oh Hana out for the first watch. Jang Wooseok, Kang Yerin, and I remained in the shelter. The two of them hadn't exchanged a single word since the incident. To be precise, whenever Jang Wooseok tried to talk to Kang Yerin, she ignored him or walked away.
'She's really angry.'
From my perspective, rooting for Kang Yerin, it was agonizing. I knew that refusing to communicate was the absolute worst thing you could do in a relationship. Just looking at her expression, it felt like Kang Yerin would leave the team after this exploration.
That’s why I devised a new scenario. That’s why I had deliberately sent Oh Hana and Kim Hajun on watch. If I had sent Oh Hana and Jang Wooseok together, it was certain she would have unleashed the Queen Bee’s second technique: 'Gaslighting.' So, I isolated them.
When I told Oh Hana to stand guard with Kim Hajun, she looked at me with a genuinely flustered expression, as if she had realized my intentions. In the awkward silence, I spoke first.
"So... shall we talk about what happened earlier?"
Jang Wooseok looked a bit surprised and replied, "Supervisor... I'm very sorry, but it's our team rule to discuss complaints from inside the gate only after we're outside..."
"I know. The teams I've been with were the same."
"Then why..."
"Discussing things outside is for minor complaints. Moments where lives are at risk, like earlier, are the exception. Wooseok-ssi, you were lucky not to be injured, so you're talking like it was nothing, but as Yerin-ssi said, if it had hit a vital spot or the monster had been slightly stronger, it could have been truly dangerous."
Kang Yerin looked at me with sparkling eyes. It was the expression of someone who had met a savior, the only person to tell her she had made the right choice when everyone else was blaming her.
"But in the end, it ended without any injuries."
"Ha!"
As Jang Wooseok refused to back down, Kang Yerin let out a sarcastic sound. 'I need to be firmer.'
"Yes, well... you were lucky. May I offer some advice born from my experience?"
"Yes."
"I'm sorry to say this, but people like you, Wooseok-ssi, are the first to die once they become official hunters."
"..."
The atmosphere inside the shelter turned icy.
"Dying is your own responsibility, but Oh Hana’s actions are extremely dangerous, putting not just herself but the entire team at risk. Most people who brush off such things as 'no big deal' don't last long. No, the people I knew like that are all dead now, or living with their limbs cut off, or they survived by using their teammates as bait and were blacklisted from the hunter society."
"Ah..."
Jang Wooseok looked quite shocked by my harsh tone.
"Of course, since you're the leader, how you handle that situation is up to you, but what I'm saying is that there's a problem with brushing it off like it was nothing."
"Yes, thank you."
Fortunately, my words seemed to hit home; Jang Wooseok’s expression turned serious. 'Kang Yerin... I've done as much as I can.'
I had sent a pass to Kang Yerin, who was standing in front of the goal. Now, everything depended on her. Jang Wooseok buried his face in his hands, sighed a few times, then stood up, approached Kang Yerin, took her hand, and said, "Yerin... I'm sorry. I should have been firm in that situation, but I feel like I always push that role onto you. I don't think I'm qualified to be a leader."
"Eh?"
Kang Yerin made a strange sound, her face turning red.
"No, no! I was the one who spoke too emotionally back there... I could have talked to you about it separately..."
"No, we've been together for so long, and I was too..."
"I told you, no! I was the one who acted problematic first!"
Watching this heartwarming scene, I shed tears in my heart and gave them a standing ovation. "Then... I'll take my shift a little early."
With that, I left the shelter, leaving the two of them alone. As I walked away, I glanced back and saw them talking with bright faces at close range.
'Ah, this is it.'
I felt proud of myself. I was also proud of Kang Yerin for receiving the pass I had sent without missing it. Grinning to myself, I arrived at the guard post, but my smile vanished.
"Ah, fuck, seriously."
The two of them were nowhere to be seen. My brain began to send out danger signals, as if it had intuited the worst-case scenario. I sharpened my five senses and searched the surroundings like a bloodhound until I found the source of the sound.
'There...'
I silenced my footsteps, hid in the bushes, and focused my gaze on the source of the noise.
"This is driving me crazy, seriously."
There was Oh Hana, caressing Kim Hajun’s dick.
"Nuna, it's dirty down there..."
"That's why I'm saying I'll clean it for you, aren't I?"
"You shouldn't do this... doing this between team members...!"
"Why not?"
'I got played...'
Oh Hana was definitely a step above me. As soon as I isolated her from Jang Wooseok, she had targeted Kim Hajun. Fortunately, judging by the atmosphere, it didn't seem like Kim Hajun had had any sexual contact with Oh Hana yet.
'Hajun! Resist! You can do it!'
I began to cheer for Kim Hajun in my heart.