Tensions at the S-Rank Summit
Kim Seol-bi attended the S-rank meeting. It was a gathering where S-rank hunters occasionally came together to discuss national affairs. Ostensibly created out of concern for the nation's future, with S-rank hunters leading the way in the right direction, in reality, it was little more than a playground for their vested interests.
The meeting was led by Jo Dong-geun. He was Korea's undisputed top hunter. But no one present was unaware of his true nature. With a man like that presiding, constructive or positive discussions were out of the question.
Kim Seol-bi found every visit here a ordeal. She would just mark her presence appropriately and slip out as soon as time was up.
"Seol-bi!"
As she entered the conference room, Park Hye-na—the closest thing she had to a friend among the other S-rank hunters—approached her.
"Hey, how've you been?"
"Same as always. But you..."
"Yeah?"
"How'd that go?"
"What do you mean?"
Kim Seol-bi gave her a puzzled look, prompting Park Hye-na to whisper in her ear.
"You asked me about it, remember? If there's no way for S-ranks to have sex with hunters of other ranks."
"Ohhh, that?"
"Did you try it?"
"Yeah. They let me have it sooner than expected, so I did."
"For real? Did it work?"
Park Hye-na asked with intense curiosity.
"Nah, it flopped."
"Seriously? Wasn't it expensive? How much?"
"Seventy billion total, mine and the guy's."
"What? You got scammed? Who sold it?"
"It's fine. What's the point of making a fuss?"
"Still~~"
Park Hye-na looked more outraged than Kim Seol-bi herself. It wasn't just anger over an expensive item failing; she seemed genuinely disappointed too. If it had actually worked, the potential uses would have been endless.
Kim Seol-bi didn't care much. Kang A-jin had told her from the start that such items were useless. The recipe itself was flawed, and even the makers and sellers probably didn't know. What was there to complain about if even the sellers were innocent? No one would dare scam an S-rank hunter anyway.
'And...'
Kim Seol-bi smiled faintly to herself. She had already slept with Kang Sung-gi. It might not have been thanks to the item, but she'd gotten what she wanted, so there was no need to dwell on it.
"Anyway..."
Park Hye-na sat beside her and poked her side.
"Who the hell is he, really? What kind of guy made the great Kim Seol-bi fall?"
"I'll tell you later."
"Promise?"
"Yeah..."
Truth be told, Kim Seol-bi didn't want to tell anyone about Kang Sung-gi. It wasn't because he was a low-rank hunter; reflecting on everything so far, she saw no benefit in introducing him to other women. She didn't know exactly how his ability worked, but he was already shared with Kim Eun-bi and Kang A-jin. She had zero desire to add more to that number.
"Thank you all for coming."
Jo Dong-geun made his appearance. Kim Seol-bi involuntarily furrowed her brow. There was an inexplicable unpleasant aura about him. It felt worse than usual today. She recalled the text from Kang A-jin. It said everything was fine and resolved, but there was a lingering unease in the message.
The Park Hyun-jun issue had arisen because of her. The shock of him sending hunters to kidnap Kang Sung-gi was one thing, but feeling guilty that it had put Kang Sung-gi in danger and forced Kang A-jin to meet Jo Dong-geun weighed on her.
'Still...'
Kang A-jin was wise. Park Hyun-jun was an S-rank hunter, after all, and controlling him wasn't easy. To fix this, they had no choice but to leverage someone more powerful. Who else but Jo Dong-geun, the S-rank above all S-ranks?
The meeting proceeded as usual. It seemed like they were discussing weighty matters at a glance, but it boiled down to S-rank hunters claiming more interests. The conclusion was always to act decisively for that purpose.
Here, enemies and allies were simply divided: those who opposed S-rank hunters were enemies; those who sided with and revered them were allies. Leave allies alone and make examples of enemies—that was Jo Dong-geun's constant refrain.
Kim Seol-bi glanced at Park Hyun-jun. He looked no different from usual. If Jo Dong-geun had reprimanded him, you'd expect some sign of it, but there was none visible.
As the meeting neared its end, Jo Dong-geun changed his tone.
"And there's something I must say to you all."
The hunters, expecting a routine wrap-up, turned their attention to him.
"I don't mind other hunters, but I hope there's no infighting among us S-ranks. Especially if it involves forcing unwanted romantic feelings on someone, making them uncomfortable, and even causing physical harm—that would be truly shameful."
Park Hye-na poked Kim Seol-bi's side.
"Who's that about? Know anything?"
Kim Seol-bi just shook her head without answering. She looked toward Park Hyun-jun, who was staring right back. His face showed shock and panic. He knew exactly who Jo Dong-geun meant.
"I'll make it clear here: if anyone causes issues after my warning, I'll consider it a direct challenge to me."
Jo Dong-geun's gaze unmistakably fixed on Park Hyun-jun, who bowed his head in fear.
Kim Seol-bi breathed a sigh of relief. It had been an uncomfortable process, but the incident was settled for now. As far as she knew, Park Hyun-jun would never dare fall out of Jo Dong-geun's favor.
"Hoo..."
She just wanted to escape this place and see Kang Sung-gi as soon as possible.
Not long after returning home, a text message arrived.
My heart warmed a bit, but there was also a touch of worry. The pattern felt similar to ones I'd seen several times before.
I asked Kim Eun-bi,
"What's A-young like personality-wise?"
"Hmm... She's endlessly kind to close friends, but she warms up slowly to others. People who don't know her well often call her cold."
"So she's warmed up to me?"
"Dunno? You've only met once, so probably not by her standards. It took me a while to get really close to her too. Why?"
"Nah, nothing."
Kim Eun-bi knew Jo A-young better than I did. Her personality wouldn't have flipped completely in just one or two months; it was normal for her to be reserved with someone she'd just met. There was definitely something unnatural about her attitude toward me.
Anyway, I replied.
A reply came back in one second.
Kim Eun-bi and I sat on the sofa and resumed the movie we'd paused last time. Having drunk on the way home, the mood was relaxed. She brought a huge bowl overflowing with popcorn and placed it between us.
It was a horror movie. I personally enjoyed them and wasn't fazed, but Kim Eun-bi kept jumping in surprise beside me. It was kinda cute, in a way.
I absentmindedly reached into the popcorn bowl and felt something soft. I jolted in surprise. Glancing over, Kim Eun-bi's hand was in there too. Right then, a ghost leaped out in the movie, making her jump up with me.
"Eek!"
She leaped straight into my arms.
'Ah...'
Kim Eun-bi's body was small and warm. It felt different from Kim Seol-bi or Kang A-jin's. With her innocent image, if she wore a school uniform, no one would bat an eye thinking she was a middle schooler.
Realizing what she'd done, Kim Eun-bi didn't pull away immediately. Instead, she looked up at my face. The atmosphere shifted to something subtly charged in an instant.
On the TV, a breathless chase with the ghost was unfolding, but here, it was suffocating for a different reason.
"Oppa..."
Kim Eun-bi's pupils trembled wildly.
"Eun-bi..."
I'd never really had any skinship with Kim Eun-bi up to now. Sure, I'd done something major when she was unconscious, but setting that aside, we'd never crossed into intimate contact.
I'd had sex with Kim Seol-bi, and even with Kang A-jin, we'd gone pretty far even if not all the way. Kim Eun-bi surely harbored the same boiling lust. It filled her gaze toward me now.
Kim Eun-bi gently closed her eyes. I pressed my lips to her cute ones.