Don't Doodle on My Stuff, Whoosh-
Wind whistled through the gaping hole that was once the convenience store entrance, carrying rain and gusts inside. But Han Siu had no time to feel the storm. The killing intent radiating from Baek Seol standing before him was far sharper than the tempest outside. Her appearance—having just torn apart a dungeon boss barehanded—was wretched yet grotesquely beautiful. Silver hair plastered transparently to her skin by the rain, wounds peeking through her torn suit, and the monster's dark crimson blood staining her entire body. Like a demon crawled from hell, she approached Siu with ragged breaths.
"You…."
Baek Seol's gaze slid past Siu's face and locked onto his right wrist. The red floral pattern left behind just moments ago by Hong Yeonhwa's surprise kiss. Flame Empress's Mark glowed vividly, as if flaunting itself.
Crack.
The hilt of the dagger in Baek Seol's hand screamed as if it might shatter.
"This… that fire fox Hong Yeonhwa's doing, right?"
Her low, suppressed voice dripped with madness. This wasn't a casual question tossed out lightly. It was the growl of a beast whose territory had been invaded.
"Daring to… slobber her filthy spit on my claimed prey?"
Krrrack! Frost spread from beneath Baek Seol's feet. The rainwater and goblin blood pooled on the convenience store floor froze in an instant.
Siu instinctively staggered back, gripped by primal fear.
No way… she already cleared the dungeon?
Through his glasses, Baek Seol's mana levels were off the charts—analysis impossible.
"Uh, hey… calm down? That woman did it on her own, I didn't ask for—urk?!"
His excuse fell on deaf ears. Baek Seol closed the distance in a flash and seized Siu by the collar. The stench of blood and icy chill assaulted his nose.
"Wipe it off."
"Pardon?"
"Wipe it off now! That disgusting rose smell is overpowering!"
Baek Seol yanked Siu's wrist and began scrubbing it furiously with her pale hand, as if wiping away filth. But an S-rank hunter's mark wasn't some casual doodle. The more she rubbed, the more the red flower gleamed mockingly, repelling her chill.
"Damn it…! She even coated it with mana?"
Baek Seol's eyes rolled back in fury. The man who should be hers bore the trace of her most hated rival etched into his flesh. She couldn't tolerate this disgust. The impulse to hack off Siu's arm and erase it surged within her.
But she couldn't. This man was the one and only scrollcrafter who had saved Yuri.
So there was only one way.
Overwrite it.
With something stronger, deeper, more primal.
"Hey, part-timer."
"…Yeah? Gyaaah!"
Baek Seol shoved Siu back. Thud! His back slammed into the refrigerator display behind him. Pinned in a wall-slam pose, unable to budge. Baek Seol's crimson eyes bore down on him like they would devour him whole.
"Stay still. I'm gonna disinfect it."
"D-disinfect? I have alcohol swabs right here, why go to the trouble…."
"That crap won't cut it."
Baek Seol tightened her grip on his collar, roughly yanking open his shirt collar. His pale nape lay exposed and vulnerable.
"Wait, what are you—!"
Siu had no chance to resist.
"Chomp!"
Baek Seol bared her fangs like a beast and sank them into Siu's nape.
Crunch!
"Gaaah!"
A scream erupted. Sharp pain as flesh tore. Then came the horrific chill. S-rank freezing mana flooded through her canines, racing along Siu's veins to engulf his body.
Warning: External mana forced injection.
S-rank skill Silver Wolf's Fang imprinted.
The searing heat of Yeonhwa's flames was crushed and extinguished by Baek Seol's absolute cold. On Siu's nape, alongside vivid bite marks, a gleaming silver wolf emblem etched itself.
"Haa…."
Baek Seol pulled her lips away with a ragged exhale. A drop of Siu's blood beaded at the corner of her mouth. She licked it off, curling her lips in satisfaction.
"Now the smell's finally gone."
Siu clutched his neck and slumped to the floor. His legs trembled.
"You people are insane! Why bite a guy?!"
"Be grateful. You're the first man to wear my bite marks."
Baek Seol grabbed Siu's chin, turning his head side to side to admire her handiwork.
"Now you're mine. If that fox Hong Yeonhwa touches you again, this mark'll react and freeze her damn hand off. Don't worry."
Worry? Fat chance. Left wrist: Flame Empress's flower. Nape: Silver Wolf's Fang. Siu's body was now a battlefield for S-rank hunters' territorial pissing contest.
That was when—
"Um… customers? Could you save the lovey-dovey stuff for after you pay and leave?"
From behind the counter, peeking out from a ramen box crate, store manager Choi Yujeong cautiously raised her head. She struggled to stay composed amid the half-destroyed store, goblin corpses strewn about, and the part-timer with a bite on his neck.
"Reporters and Association folks are swarming outside right now. If a kidnapping goes down here, I'll really have to shut this place down."
She was right. Weee-ooh, weee-ooh! Outside, sirens blared amid flashing lights. Right after the gate closed, Hunter Association cleanup teams and media vans had the store surrounded.
Baek Seol's brow furrowed. As one of Korea's top three guild masters, getting caught kidnapping a civilian here would balloon into an uncontrollable scandal.
Tch, worst timing ever.
She wanted to drag this man off, lock him in her basement, and make him her slave—but societal scrutiny chained her ankle for now.
"…Tch."
Baek Seol released Siu reluctantly. She irritably pulled out a black card from her wallet and tossed it at Yujeong.
"Repair fees, settlement, hush money. No limit—spend whatever."
Yujeong caught the flying card like a pro baseball player.
"Yes, ma'am! Thank you! Your secret's safe with us!"
"And you."
Baek Seol jabbed a finger at Siu.
"I'll let it slide today. Don't think about running. That mark on your neck's more accurate than GPS."
With a final growl of warning, Baek Seol swept out, silver hair whipping behind her. Camera flashes exploded toward her, but she vanished into the crowd without a backward glance.
A strange silence settled over the store once more.
"…Haa."
Siu felt the throbbing in his nape and sprawled flat on the floor.
"Manager… does this count as work injury? Or first, retirement pay and night shift bonus…."
"Of course! Hey, thanks to you, we're getting a remodel! It's too risky here today—head home quick! I'll handle cleanup."
Yujeong rubbed the black card against her cheek in bliss. The part-timer's neck wound apparently didn't register.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm going…."
Siu hauled his wobbly body up, grabbing his stuff: two discarded lunchboxes, his torn notebook, and his shattered sanity.
The night streets were cool after the rain. Siu pulled his hoodie low and wrapped his scarf tightly around his nape to hide the mark as he trudged down the alley.
Worst day ever. Absolute trash.
His plan to live quietly as an F-rank had shattered in a single day. Marked by two S-ranks. Viciously so.
Clunk.
Siu opened the door to his familiar rundown semi-basement villa. Instead of mold, faint scents of ink and paper greeted him.
"I'm home…."
He greeted the empty place and flicked on the light. The cramped living room-cum-bedroom brimmed with items revealing his true self. Whiteboards covered the walls, crammed with intricate magic formulas. His desk held disassembled artifact parts mingled with limited-edition figures in odd harmony.
This was Siu's sanctuary. A tiny world no S-rank hunter or dungeon could invade.
"Gotta shower first. Reeking of sweat and blood—driving me nuts."
Siu stripped haphazardly and headed to the bathroom. He cooled his head under cold water, then checked his nape in the mirror. The silver-glowing wolf fang marks. Scrubbed with soap, toweled roughly—nothing. Etched like a tattoo beneath the skin.
"Argh, what a shitty situation. Biting people like animals."
Siu toweled his hair as he exited. Time to forget it all, eat those lunchboxes, and binge backlog anime.
He grabbed a beer from the fridge, popped it, and opened the door to the bedroom with the bed.
"Phew, this quarter's new releases…."
Creeeak.
The door swung open. Siu's steps froze.
"…Huh?"
Someone was on his bed. A woman, having kicked off the covers, wearing only his white dress shirt he'd tossed aside earlier. Smooth legs gleamed brazenly beneath the loose hem, and her damp hair carried the scent of his shampoo.
"You're back, honey?"
She closed the manga she'd been reading and turned. Cat-like upward-slanting eyes, a charming mole under one. A sweet eye-smile curved as she saw Siu.
Hong Yeonhwa.
Why—and how—was she in his house? This place barely showed on maps. Siu had hunted it down himself, even warding the entrance with perception-disruption scrolls.
"That shocked face is cute too."
Yeonhwa rose from the bed and sauntered toward Siu. With each step, the shirt hem swayed precariously, flashing pale thighs.
"How… did you…."
"Told you. Big sis can find you anywhere."
Yeonhwa snatched Siu's wrist. The red floral mark twinkled. A tracker. Just as Baek Seol had warned.
"But… this pisses me off a bit?"
Yeonhwa sniffed near Siu's nape. Her smile chilled instantly.
"You showered, but it still reeks. That pungent bitch stench."
Her finger traced the Silver Wolf's Fang mark on his neck. Baek Seol's claim of ownership.
"So that Baek Seol bitch finally marked her territory, huh?"
Red glint flashed in Yeonhwa's eyes. Jealousy. And competitive fire.
She shoved Siu's chest, toppling him onto the bed. Straddling him, she pinned his wrists like restraints.
"This is illegal trespassing…!"
"Shh."
Yeonhwa pressed a finger to Siu's lips. Her face descended to inches from his. The loose shirt gaped, filling his view with ample cleavage.
"Nice cozy place? I won hide-and-seek, so time for my prize?"
She licked her lips seductively, bringing them over Baek Seol's bite mark on his nape.
"Tonight… until this mark's covered… wanna do some advanced lessons with big sis?"
Click.
She snapped her fingers. The door locked on its own.
A night when S-rank hunters took turns invading. The F-rank nerd's virginity teetered on the brink of annihilation.