Chapter 101. Someone Obsessed With the Manager...?
Chapter 101. Someone Obsessed With the Manager...?
The judges' monitors split to display those currently leading in their group.
Among them, Lee Chae-hyun of the Hanul Guild.
The son of the Black Faction Guild Master, Jang Yun-jae.
And soon the two were captured on a single screen, right before they met.
As Unknown's disciple, she'd drawn the spotlight, but the Black Faction Guild Master's son also attracted considerable attention.
"...They'll clash."
Jang Ho-jin stared intently at the broadcast screen.
His gaze was curious when it fell on Lee Chae-hyun, but whenever Jang Yun-jae appeared on screen, his eyes turned cold.
"Unknown, who do you think will win?"
"Jang Yun-jae."
There was no need to hesitate.
No matter how thoroughly you prepared, overcoming a two-rank class difference was extremely difficult.
And yet Lee Chae-hyun, who wasn't even in peak condition, would beat Jang Yun-jae?
'Absolutely impossible.'
At my answer, Jang Ho-jin looked surprised.
"That's unexpected."
"It's an objective judgment."
And finally, the two faced each other.
Lee Chae-hyun and Jang Yun-jae, their gazes intertwined.
Seeing that, Jang Ho-jin spoke quietly.
"That kind of cheap trick won't work on my son."
At his confident remark, I shrugged my shoulders.
And without adding a word, I folded my arms.
'There's no reason to fight. The preliminaries were just about placing within the rankings.'
---
After a brief standoff, the two reached different conclusions.
As soon as Jang Yun-jae spotted Lee Chae-hyun, he immediately charged at her.
─ Chang!
"Kheup...!"
Lee Chae-hyun quickly assessed the situation.
His combat experience and strength were a cut or two above hers.
'There's no reason to fight that guy.'
She feigned an attack and swiftly turned her back.
"...What?"
Bewilderment spread across Jang Yun-jae's face.
Just moments ago, Lee Chae-hyun had been trading blows and adopting an attacking stance.
And now she was running away without fighting?
'Wait... that...!'
Then his eyes caught the pouch of fingers dangling from her waist.
'If I take that... I'll secure first place by a landslide!'
He quickly pursued the fleeing Lee Chae-hyun.
"Don't run!"
Their speed was evenly matched.
But just as he was about to catch her, she would vanish from sight and then reappear.
Sometimes she'd run along walls, sometimes she'd block paths with obstacles, and occasionally she'd glance back and even smile.
"This bitch...!"
Jang Yun-jae's face turned red.
Forced onto her pace, his breathing grew erratic.
"I said stop!"
His movements were no longer strategic.
His body, heated by anger and rivalry, was losing its rhythm.
"Hoo... They said she's C-rank, but I got nervous over nothing."
"Wh-what...!?"
She deliberately provoked him.
And instead of taking a straight path, she dove between the fighting hunters.
"What's this?"
"Move it!!"
"What, are they here to plunder!?"
Complaints and curses flew from all around them.
But Lee Chae-hyun didn't even blink, timing her movements as she split through the crowd.
"Get out of my way!"
Jang Yun-jae shoved aside the hunters between him and Lee Chae-hyun and kept advancing.
And the distance between her and Jang Yun-jae was a mere three meters.
Lee Chae-hyun's back was right in front of him.
─ Bam!
He threw himself at her in a tackle.
Grabbing her shoulder tightly, he pinned her down, panting.
"It's over...! You're going to get knocked out of the preliminaries in disgrace!"
But Lee Chae-hyun, caught by Jang Yun-jae, didn't bat an eye.
On the contrary, a light smile appeared on her lips.
In a way, it was a highly provocative smile.
"Oh, really? But... what's the point of catching me now?"
Just then, a piercing match-end announcement rang out.
─ Beeeeep!
- Match over. All participants, please move outside the gate.
Lee Chae-hyun got to her feet.
Dusting off her arms, she looked at Jang Yun-jae and grinned.
"Too bad. If you'd been just a little faster, you would've caught me."
"You... fuck...!"
Finishing her words, she walked off leisurely.
And she gave the pouch containing the severed monster fingers a shake right in front of him.
"..."
---
Jang Ho-jin, who had been watching the match, frowned.
In the beginning, Jang Yun-jae had been very strategic.
If he had kept that up and caught her to take the collected fingers, he would have placed first.
'That idiot... falling for such a pathetic provocation...'
The gate opened and the participants emerged one by one.
Some were injured, some wore angry faces, and some wore joyful expressions.
Lee Chae-hyun was among the joyful ones.
She wasn't first, but she had secured a stable spot in the finals.
And right behind her,
Jang Yun-jae's face was beet red as he walked out.
Anger, shame, disgrace.
With a glare filled with all those emotions, he stared at Lee Chae-hyun's back.
'If we meet in the finals... I'll crush that pride of hers...'
Then Jang Yun-jae felt a gaze from somewhere.
A man standing with arms crossed, silently watching.
The Master of the Black Faction Guild, Jang Ho-jin.
"...Father."
Jang Yun-jae stopped in his tracks.
And slowly bowed his head.
"I'm... sorry for disappointing you..."
At those words, Jang Ho-jin's eyes narrowed.
He stared at his son in silence for a long moment, then spat out a short remark.
"Disappointing."
"Father, in the finals I'll definitely..."
"Show me with your actions."
Jang Ho-jin turned away coldly.
And he threw a remark that stabbed Jang Yun-jae in the heart.
"Tch... If it had been your little brother... he would have crushed her head-on from the start without using such cheap tricks."
Silence.
Jang Yun-jae looked up.
His expression was rigid, but his pupils trembled slightly.
"Pathetic fool..."
Jang Yun-jae silently watched his father's retreating figure.
Without even letting out a heavy breath.
He stood as if his entire body had frozen.
'...'
His shadow stretched long.
And beyond it, Lee Chae-hyun was laughing and talking with the Unknown Hunters.
'If it weren't for that bitch...'
That laughter grated on his ears.
Jang Yun-jae's eyes slowly, then surely, grew cold.
---
"Hah, whoever taught her, we sure picked a good manager."
"Chae-hyun, good work!"
Lee Chae-hyun momentarily forgot her fatigue and smiled brightly.
"Sis, Chairman... thank you!"
[Wow that was insane lol]
[But seriously, the strategy was just crazy]
[People were ignoring her at first, but as the rankings went up on the board they changed their tune lol]
[ Overflowing Holy-Power Pouch has donated 100,000 Watts! ]
- Manager, go on to the finals and get to the top ranks go go
Now all that remained for her were the finals.
The rules for the finals were truly simple and clear.
'They said it's one-on-one fighting, right?'
A straightforward tournament-style competition.
[ Anonymous has donated 10,000 Watts! ]
- But I'm not trying to be a hater, but she ran away from that guy earlier, can she actually win? It's not like I'm trying to mock her...
As the viewer's donation message was read out, the chat momentarily went quiet.
It hadn't been mentioned, but everyone knew to some extent.
[It's not wrong, but to bring it up now...]
[Doing this when we're celebrating her making it to the finals is a bit;;]
[Read the room]
[ Anonymous has donated 100,000 Watts! ]
- If I offended you, I'm sorry... It's just that I'm worried about the Manager...
"I know you weren't trying to subtly insult me. Your chat history has always been clean, after all."
As she read the chat, Laila sidled up to her.
And linking arms with Lee Chae-hyun, she smiled brightly and said,
"You don't need to worry! Chae-hyun has a tremendous secret move that I taught her!"
[???]
[What secret move??]
[Since Unknown Hunter calls it a secret move, that's making me frickin curious lol]
Then, just as Laila was about to speak, I approached and covered the screen.
"It won't be fun if we say it in advance. If Manager gets to use it, check it out for yourself then."
[Ugh, get out of the way!!!]
[Are you seriously crazy?]
[Damn, he's literally forcing us to watch the live stream lol]
What I taught her was exactly a way to break through her limits.
'Literally a secret move...'
I hoped she would not have to use it if possible.
---
When he opened the front door of the huge mansion, the familiar silence greeted him.
As he walked into the living room with heavy steps, his younger sister, sitting on the sofa, looked up.
That gaze.
That stare.
That cold glare, as if she were looking at an insect, stabbed him in the chest.
"Struggling against a mere E-rank hunter, and you couldn't even catch her... You should be ashamed."
He knew.
That her words were not wrong.
And that only made him angrier.
"What...?"
He gritted his teeth and approached.
Without hesitation, as soon as he got in front of her, he grabbed her by the collar.
"Done talking? You've been way too lenient just because I'm your brother...!"
But she didn't bat an eye.
On the contrary, she shook off his hand in an instant.
"Lenient?"
She scoffed and poked Jang Yun-jae's chest with her index finger.
"Don't you remember what you did to me when we were young? The guy who acted like that under the pretense of training..."
"..."
"Now that you're weaker, you can't touch me. Your skill, your spirit, your judgment—all lacking."
For a moment, Jang Yun-jae's fists trembled.
Unbearable humiliation and even more unbearable inferiority mixed together.
Then the strength in his fists loosened again.
Because he remembered the cold reality that he could never beat her no matter what.
"You bitch..."
"Both of you, stop. Dinner is soon."
Their father approached and stated curtly.
Even seeing his children fighting, his gaze was indifferent to the point of being cold.
He took neither's side.
No, he didn't even seem interested.
"But you listen to Father like a well-trained dog."
She uttered this offhandedly as she brushed past him.
'Fuck...!'
"Idiot... That's why you're still such a mess."