Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Know Yourself and Know Your Enemy
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"Really? Is that true?"
"I'm sorry, Cafe Owner. I boasted that I'd stick around for over a year."
After receiving the cafe from Yura noona as a gift, I told the Cafe Owner I was quitting my part-time job.
To be precise, since even part-time work counts as society, I wasn't quitting immediately—I was giving notice that I'd work through the end of the month.
"Congratulations, Jun-hyuk. You've got your license now, so you're going to be a cafe owner yourself?"
"Nah, not yet."
"Hehe, there's no way someone as diligent as you would quit out of the blue. Unless your girlfriend opened a cafe for you or something."
Fortunately, the Cafe Owner understood.
No, she understood so well that her warm gaze pierced right through to the truth.
'Women's intuition hasn't changed no matter the era.'
Of course. She was one of the few outsiders who knew I was dating Yura noona, so she had every reason to think that way.
'Makes sense. Excluding Millennium Guild folks, she's the only one?'
The reporters hadn't leaked my info since I was a civilian.
Plus, with Yura noona and the Millennium Guild watching, no one would dare.
Even wearing matching rings with noona might tip someone off, but so far, no one had caught on.
'Rings with mana stones are common enough.'
Sure, a ruby-red mana stone like this was rare, but it was still just a couple's matching ring, like diamond ones. Nowhere near enough to guess my connection to noona.
'Though this one's purity is way higher than most red mana stones. The real deal.'
Anyway, I'd given the Cafe Owner notice.
Since I had to work through the month, I waited for downtime at the cafe today as usual.
"Phew. Finally some breathing room."
Seo-yeon hadn't shown up today, and fiddling with the ring earlier kept making me think of Yura noona. As soon as the customers left, I finished cleaning and checked the news on my smartphone.
[Choi Yu-ra Hunter heads overseas to lecture foreign Hunters.]
[National asset leak? Concerns over strengthening rival nations through her teachings.]
[Choi Yu-ra says: Gates are a global catastrophe. Not a leak of power. Humanity should rejoice at other nations growing stronger.]
Domestic schedule wrapped, now overseas.
As the world's first EX-Rank Hunter, foreign countries had begged for her secrets.
There was political back-and-forth, and noona had apologized to me, saying she had no choice but to agree.
'Not like that'll produce another EX-Rank.'
My hypnosis is essential, and even then, it requires insanely tough conditions.
Sure, it's great noona's getting recognition, but we've only been on one date since we started going out, and my side was starting to ache a bit.
'Even when I introduced her to the cafe, she squeezed out time and we couldn't stay till night.'
The enviable gripe of a guy with an amazing girlfriend.
Once the overseas trip ends, she'll have more free time. Just gotta hold out till then.
While I was at it, I skimmed other news to catch up on the world.
[University hospital fire of unknown cause: 28 casualties.]
[Hero Association Chairman: Over past 10 years, villain casualties outnumber Gate-related by 10x. Urgent need for more Hero training budget.]
[Sudden wildfire in Gyeongbuk mountains. Extinguished in 1 hour. 100 hectares burned. 1,000+ residents evacuated.]
The first and third were fire incidents.
'Fires have been frequent lately.'
Not just today—recent news was full of them.
Forest fires could be fall weather, but with hospitals and residential areas going up too, people were suspecting arsonists.
[No Face: Are the rising arsons truly villain work?]
Eager reporters were already dubbing it a villain's doing without proof. Definitely big trouble if true.
'If it's really a villain, that's one sick bastard.'
They say burns are the most painful agony humans feel.
If it's a villain, hope they catch the creep fast.
Ding-a-ling-!
Then the cafe door opened, door bell chiming.
Closing time soon—must be the last customer.
"Welcome."
I greeted with my customer-service smile, nearly dropping it.
"Hi there?"
Today's last customer was someone I recognized.
But not someone I was close to—or wanted to be.
"Jun-hyuk? We meet again?"
The school bully who traumatized Lee Seo-yeon, escaped without punishment.
A birth-discriminating elitist in Hunter garb.
Shin Jeong-hwa smiled and ordered from me.
"One espresso, please."
＊＊＊
'Lucky me.'
Sipping the steaming espresso at her seat, Shin Jeong-hwa smirked inwardly.
After her vacation approval, she'd even hired a firm to track Yoo Jun-hyuk.
'Thought I'd never find him since they came up empty.'
But scouring the internet yielded nothing on Yoo Jun-hyuk.
He didn't do SNS to begin with, so info was scarce.
Plus, after the last party, wary Lee Seo-yeon had hidden whatever traces of him remained, just in case.
'Is this fate?'
Vacation's final day—she'd nearly given up.
[You went to that cafe again today? Off to ogle your crush?]
[Hehe, obviously! Just seeing him heals my soul. My daily pick-me-up lately.]
[You're such a simp. Did you get his number?]
[Jun-hyuk's a keeper, sweetie. Can't just ask for his number. And that ring lately? Means another girl's in the picture. Praying for a good woman in my dreams before bed.]
Seo-yeon could only hide online info.
Real-world traces were fair game, and as she'd hoped, Shin Jeong-hwa lucked out, got the intel, and found his cafe.
'Oh yeah, he really is wearing a ring.'
Pretending to sip coffee, she sneakily eyed Yoo Jun-hyuk.
The ring on his left ring finger confirmed a lover.
'Seo-yeon wasn't wearing one, I think?'
Too flustered by his entrance and inferiority to Seo-yeon last time to notice.
Now calm, Shin Jeong-hwa pieced it together with a nasty grin.
'Jackpot!'
Seo-yeon wasn't his main squeeze.
Not even a girlfriend—just an acquaintance, probably.
Her contempt for Seo-yeon fueled optimism, turning to drive propelling her forward.
'Of course. As if a roach like her deserves this guy?'
Obviously the ring meant someone else—not Seo-yeon—but Shin Jeong-hwa didn't care.
Whoever it was, making a guy like this work cafe shifts meant she was worthless anyway. No woman credentials.
So I can steal him, right?
Rip off that ring, claim the main wife spot, make him mine so no other girls eye him.
"Um, Jun-hyuk? No other customers, and I'm bored. Mind keeping me company?"
The woman perfect for this flawless man...
"We're practically friends, right? Pretty please?"
...had to be someone equally flawless: me.
Shin Jeong-hwa beamed with confidence.
＊＊＊
"So yeah, I'll probably get promoted to team leader soon."
"I see."
Thirty minutes to closing.
At her request, I sat across from Shin Jeong-hwa as her chat buddy.
"Everyone's making such a fuss about me becoming Aris Guild's youngest team leader. Not even a big deal, but who knows why."
The talk wasn't fun.
All her words subtly boasted to inflate her value.
The intent was so obvious it wasn't infuriating—just absurdly funny.
'Here to get revenge on Seo-yeon?'
She knew we weren't casual acquaintances.
Even if the ring clued her we weren't dating, there's still the flirt phase, right?
Not really, but I'd played it that way.
Yet here she was, slyly self-promoting.
'Figures she'd seduce me to soothe her inferiority complex over Seo-yeon.'
Seo-yeon too? NTR again?
Polygamy exists, so not quite NTR, but she wasn't sharing—she wanted to steal me outright. Textbook NTR.
"But whose ring is that a match for? Seo-yeon wasn't wearing one last time."
"It's with Seo-yeon. She lost hers recently, so only I'm wearing mine now."
"Oh... I see. Well, she's always been a bit scatterbrained."
Testing her reaction with a lie, she jumped right in, slyly bashing Seo-yeon.
"She's smart and a good friend, but terrible at adulting, you know? Got bullied in school because of it... Oh, did Seo-yeon tell you?"
You were the bully.
Unaware Seo-yeon had witnessed the truth in the bathroom, she acted innocent. From my informed view, it was disgustingly fake.
"She doesn't talk much about school. I'd love to hear more if you're okay."
"Sure! Back in school, Seo-yeon was..."
She lit up, chattering away.
I nodded along, pondering Shin Jeong-hwa's fate.
If this were when I first got hypnosis, I'd have reformed her like Seo-yeon.
But now, I hesitated.
'What to do with this one?'
I could mind-wipe her into reform, but that wasn't true change.
True reform: keep the ego, make her suffer her own crimes firsthand, let her repent herself. That's how I reformed Seo-yeon.
'Want to pay back what she did to Seo-yeon. But that party humiliation wasn't enough to break her.'
Not treating Seo-yeon well for nothing.
First reform subject; her experiments taught me my skill's weaknesses. Call it payback.
Forgiving her kidnapping, not erasing her recovered memories—all the same reason.
Like creators cherishing their first work. Similar vibe, and those trials taught me plenty.
'Especially the weaknesses.'
Seo-yeon's reform was pure luck.
Hikikomori, rarely left home, no relations beyond Go Jin-yo subscribers.
No one sought her for over a week; no one fretted over her mental breakdown.
'Lucky breaks.'
But not this one.
Reform via intact ego and self-reflection takes time, wrecks mentally—draws worried eyes fast. That's the flaw.
Tough to use on Shin Jeong-hwa.
B-Rank Hunter in famed Aris Guild.
Rising ace; guild site full of her stories—lots of eyes on her.
'Try Seo-yeon method, and suspicion lands on me.'
She'd mentioned today was last vacation day.
Vanish tomorrow, Aris Guild searches; I'd get caught.
Or maintain daily facade, punish only in sleep/dreams?
Mental ruin tanks her condition; fellow Gate-diving Hunters notice, force treatment.
Bad luck, skill traces emerge in treatment, hypnosis exposed.
Then I, who'd met her, become suspect.
'Know thyself and thy enemy (知彼知己)—should make it easier, right? Knowing flaws made it harder.'
Nodded to her chatter, shifted thoughts.
'Don't overcomplicate.'
If reform environment allows, stick to winning formula.
If not?
'At least make her body experience her crimes firsthand. Let her feel how evil it was.'
Punishment over reform, but oh well?
If reform's off-table, punishment it is!
Last chance: one question.
"But you said Seo-yeon got bullied in school?"
"Yeah. I always tried to protect her, but... I only have one body. Couldn't block it all."
"Was it because she's factory-born?"
Shin Jeong-hwa stayed cool. Thick mask on, actress eyes teary, grabbed my hand.
"Did Seo-yeon tell you? That she's factory-born?"
"Yeah."
"Figured she wouldn't—big trauma. But yes. Funny, right? Birth shouldn't matter. Human or factory, same life. Who cares?"
Should've been an actress, not Hunter.
Sly mood-set with hand-holding skinship.
'Sure you won't regret that?'
Even better.
My skill said: perfect hypnosis for her in just 2 stages.
'If you truly think that, nothing happens.'
Trigger: tomorrow, post-guild return, after 9 AM.
Long duration risky—one week limit.
Failsafe: special circumstance dissolves it.
'But if that's a lie, you'll suffer big time.'
Squeezed her hand; her cheeks flushed.
'Your ideology's bullshit—your body will learn.'
＊＊＊
'Hehe.'
Vacation over, heading to team leader for return report.
Shin Jeong-hwa's light steps nearly skipped.
'Jun-hyuk's into me, right?'
Chat skinship test.
Just hand-holding, but he gripped back tight.
'No feelings, he'd have pulled away.'
Men love capable women, huh.
Throat dry from self-promo paid off. She entered the office.
"Back, team leader."
"Vacation fun? You look great."
Wall clock hit 9 AM.
[Cannot lie.]
Her usual mask firm, she told the team leader:
"Was feeling good till I saw your face. Kinda ruined it."
"...Jeong-hwa? What’s that mean?"
Her heart skipped—wait, what did I just say?
But her mouth gave no excuse time.
[Must answer all questions.]
"No idea why I'm like this, but..."
Pale face aside, her mouth spat venom.
"Means seeing a factory-born roach first thing sours my mood."
Till now, hidden under her mask.
Her secret true heart.