The Best Treatment is Financial Therapy
"…Sorry. For making you misunderstand."
"…It is a misunderstanding, right?"
A sharp question in a youthful voice.
Yoo Do-ah, at a loss for words, shot an SOS signal at Kim A-rin right in front of her.
It was true that she liked Lee Ji-woo's floppy ears and squishy cheeks—true that she'd wanted to touch them if possible.
But that was all because Ji-woo was just so cute.
There weren't any other shady thoughts.
"A-Arin, you think she's cute too, right?"
"…Yeah."
"I-I'm not the bad guy here, am I? Right?"
"But you didn't think about how Sis would feel, Senior. No matter how cute she is."
"Urk."
Once again at a loss for words, Yoo Do-ah deflated like a punctured balloon.
The strict, serious vibe from the meeting room earlier was completely gone.
Still, she couldn't let Ji-woo think she was some pervert, so Yoo Do-ah hemmed and hawed before forcing her mouth open.
"Ji-woo, you're… impressive too, y'know? You're still so young, but you fought so bravely… right? Yeah. That's why."
"…I'm not young, though."
"Anyway, whatever. Thanks to you, no one died, huh? It could've gone wrong and everyone could've been wiped out."
As Haetae Guild's guild leader, Yoo Do-ah formally expressed her gratitude.
She added a belated explanation that her fondness for Ji-woo was a bit over the top for that reason too.
"…I just can't help myself when I see someone as cute as you. I didn't have any weird thoughts or anything."
"Hmmm, how am I supposed to believe that?"
"I'm not like those perverts. I'll prove I'm a good person."
Tap. Yoo Do-ah whipped out her phone in an instant, and a photo popped up on the screen.
A picture of her smiling with some beastkin kids.
Yoo Do-ah smiling with beastkin children.
"S-See? I like beastkin kids. I do volunteer work with them sometimes…!"
"…I'm not a beastkin, though?"
"Oh, I know. But you look similar, right? You've even got ears and a tail right now… …Anyway, sorry."
Yoo Do-ah apologized repeatedly, insisting she really hadn't meant to offend Ji-woo.
Ji-woo felt a bit awkward hearing it.
If she kept rejecting the apologies, she'd feel like the jerk here somehow.
Plus, she could hear murmurs from down the hall—people watching and whispering.
No matter how starved for attention Ji-woo was, this wasn't the kind she wanted.
"L-Later."
"Huh?"
"We'll talk later. Okay?"
It was still a rejection.
She reached out to Yoo Do-ah, who was still slumped on the floor, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her up.
Time to get her back to the meeting room.
But almost at the same moment, Ji-woo saw it.
A notification floating in the air.
Entity: Yoo Do-ah's Favorability has increased. (150 → 170)
"Eek."
Staring at Yoo Do-ah's eyes in disbelief, she saw the guild leader gazing at her like she was the cutest thing alive.
Her lips trembled with barely contained delight.
Then, another no way moment—she checked her skill window, and there it was: Haetae Guild leader's name.
❮(P) Let's Be Friends❯ : Active
Currently Applied To: Yoo Do-ah
"…Oh my god."
Maybe, just maybe.
Maybe Yoo Do-ah's scary glare earlier wasn't because of her skill at all.
Somehow ending up hiding behind Kim A-rin again without realizing it, Ji-woo pondered very seriously.
She really needed to learn more about her own skills.
"Alright, you can head out now."
Haetae Guild's leader was back in strict mode.
No—Yoo Do-ah thanked the Luther Guild hunters for making time today.
Seemed like there was nothing more to discuss with them.
"Um, but… what about Ji-woo? What happens to her from now on?"
"Our Ji—er, Miss Lee Ji-woo will be under Haetae Guild for now. She agreed to it too."
"Oh… g-good for you, Ji-woo. Right?"
Luther Guild's B-rank mage hunter, Park Se-rin, asked—and I seriously mulled it over.
Was this really for the best?
Should I really join Haetae Guild just like this?
Whisper whisper.
"…Think about the hunter signing bonus, Sis."
"!"
Kim A-rin's voice right next to me made me nod immediately.
No more money worries from now on! Details weren't set yet, but I'd heard I was getting VIP treatment upon joining Haetae Guild.
Reason being, I'd solo-cleared the Gangseo-gu Dungeon, final rank S.
Yoo Do-ah's gaze worried me a bit, but it beat stressing over cash.
"…See you later, Ji-woo! Thanks!"
"I'll text you~!"
"Ah, goodbye."
In the end, the Luther Guild hunters exchanged brief farewells with me and headed back to their guild.
They'd testified about everything from two days ago, so no reason to stick around Haetae anymore.
But I hadn't been in that dungeon with them two days ago.
Now I was a Haetae Guild hunter (prospective).
"Alright, Ji-woo. Wait here a sec? We have some stuff to talk about."
To join Haetae Guild, there were contracts, training, all sorts of procedures.
Lots left to do at Haetae Guild HQ.
"Just a quick break. It'll be over soon."
"Okay."
Nothing else to do anyway, so I'd wait till Yoo Do-ah finished.
Seemed like the execs still had business about the Gangseo-gu Dungeon gate.
Nothing to do with me, so I'd just scroll the galleries in the corner of the meeting room.
Time flies when you're gal-ing.
Or so I thought.
"Um, well, cases like this aren't totally unheard of…"
"Hm… go on."
"The Yellowstone Gate in the US… it started as B-rank too, then jumped to S, right…?"
One of the execs discussing the Gangseo-gu Dungeon gate dropped a bombshell.
Another case of a dungeon rank upgrade.
A massive incident from a few years back that rocked the world.
The Yellowstone Dungeon gate.
"It suddenly shot up to S-rank, so the US called in every S-rank hunter they had and barely stopped the gate shock…?"
"Yeah. That's right."
"Maybe this is something similar…!"
With Guild Leader Yoo Do-ah listening intently, the timid voice gained a burst of confidence.
Her darting eyes now faced Yoo Do-ah straight on.
But.
"So, you're saying Gangseo-gu Gate had a hidden boss too?"
"Uh, probably…?"
"Then why didn't anyone die? Half the team got wiped at Yellowstone. And it wasn't scrubs—they had the US's top guilds."
"Th-that part, I don't… …Sorry…"
Another Haetae exec raised an objection, and the confident voice shrank back.
But I knew.
That timid exec was spot on.
Not for nothing was she an exec.
Damn, she's smart.
Glance.
Glance.
I shot a tense look at Kim A-rin, who glanced back.
We'd agreed to keep my hidden boss encounter two days ago a secret.
If the truth got out, Haetae would go on high alert (etc.), and I'd get hunted down or locked in an internet-free cell.
N-No way, that'd be the worst.
"Even at Yellowstone, if that guy hadn't tanked up front, everyone would've died. That's why they barely contained the gate shock."
"But this time, everyone came back alive. Even though it was just a B-rank raid team."
"A hidden boss shows up, and a bunch of B-rank scrubs all survive without a scratch? You think that makes sense?"
"S-Sorry… Sorry…!"
Luckily for me, the timid exec's theory got shot down.
Under relentless pushback, she started sniffling and eventually hid under the table.
Good thing she was so timid.
If she'd had even a shred more backbone, I might've been done for already?
…Nah, invincible skill means no insta-kill. But they'd seal me for sure.
Anyway, it worked out great for me.
Even the time a centipede popped out of the sink felt less scary than this.
"Alright, Ji-woo. Let's go."
"Where to?"
"My office. I'll explain the contract there."
My dungeon clear reward and hunter signing bonus would be paid out in Yoo Do-ah's office too.
No time to hesitate.
Gotta go!
I bolted to the elevator ahead of everyone, waving Yoo Do-ah and Kim A-rin to hurry.
"So, what floor?"
"60th."
"?"
Clunk.
"Eek!"
This "elevator" was actually a rocket shooting straight up.
I could feel the g-forces crushing me.
No non-awakener elevator?
Having to ride this terror daily? Dizzying.
"Sis. You're an awakener now too."
"Anyway…!"
How does she have zero empathy?
I shoved past the probably-T-type Kim A-rin and escaped the elevator.
A massive penthouse stretched out.
"…This is the office?"
"Office and my personal quarters."
"Whoa…"
There was a desk in the middle, but otherwise it looked like a five-star hotel.
Not that I'd ever stayed in one.
But probably like this?
Huge windows, fancy sofa, bookshelves—everything screamed luxury.
Hit home again how much money hunters like Yoo Do-ah raked in.
Whisper whisper.
"…Kim A-rin. Is your place like this?"
"…………."
A nod—meaning yeah, about the same.
I felt pathetic for freaking out in the elevator earlier.
But whatever. Soon I'd be an S-rank like Kim A-rin, swimming in cash.
Base salary in the billions, she'd said.
Penthouse life was coming soon.
"Oh, about that, Ji-woo."
"Yeah?"
"Our guild provides housing. Think of it as a basic perk?"
Hunters were precious manpower, each and every one.
S-ranks especially got the royal treatment.
Otherwise they'd jump ship.
The words hit me like a jackpot.
"A-rin asked special, so probably next to her…"
"What."
Is this what financial therapy feels like?
Whatever look Yoo Do-ah gave me, I didn't care anymore.
When Kim A-rin and I toured the place next door later, I even thought:
If they were gonna give me a free massive penthouse, who cares if they wanna poke my cheeks or pat my head?
My cheeks weren't worth more than this.
"Th-this is really…?"
"Yup. Your place now."
Not as fancy as Yoo Do-ah's, but heaven compared to the rooftop room.
Treatment so good I started second-guessing.
…What if they back out later?
What if it's not free, but billed to the guild, and they nickel-and-dime me forever?
"…No, Sis."
"Huh?"
"What Haetae gives you is way less than the money you made them."
"Huh?"
I glanced at Yoo Do-ah in shock, and she nodded like Kim A-rin was right.
What'd I even do?
"You stabilized the Gangseo-gu Dungeon gate, right?"
"Uh… so?"
"Management rights transferred to us."
The explanation was simple—but mind-blowing.
"You know the gate's final rank was S, right?"
"Yeah."
"Stabilized gates let you mine magistones. What rank come out of an S-rank dungeon?"
"…S-rank?"
"Bingo."
Haetae Guild had gained an S-rank magistone mine thanks to me.
This penthouse? Pocket change compared to future earnings.
"You're not in our debt—we owe you."
"Senior's right, Sis. This is what you deserve."
"…!"
Hahat, convinced.
All lingering doubts and anxiety vanished.
Past me from two days ago? Amazing job.
Instead of waiting for gate shock, stepping up and retrieving the dungeon core? Best call.
"Sis."
"Yeah?"
"Crash here tonight. We'll move tomorrow. …Cool?"
What wouldn't be cool?
I nodded enthusiastically.
Bye-bye, rooftop room.
Wasn't fun anyway.
Won't miss you either!
"O-okay. Enough heartwarming stuff for now~. Let's finish the formalities first."
A few procedures left for my Haetae join, Yoo Do-ah said.
That's when I sensed it.
The flower of hunter awakening: rank measurement time.
"Now we go to the Association for rank testing?"
"Huh?"
"Like, smash the rank machine, reporters swarm, new S-rank hunter—!"
"Hold up, Ji-woo. Can't go today."
"Huh?"
"Association's closed."
It was 6 PM now.
Hunter Association business hours ended at 6 too.
Government offices were strict like that.
My puffed-up excitement deflated with a sad psshhh.
"Then… where now?"
"Profile photo shoot."
"Profile photo?"
"Yup. For your hunter ID."
Time to get dolled up, she said—grabbing my shoulders with those dangerous eyes again.
Felt like a trap.
"K-Kim A-rin! You didn't mention this!"
"…Just photos, Sis. Doesn't hurt."
"My heart hurts…!"
But suddenly, a stylist and makeup artist Yoo Do-ah called were in front of me.
Surrounded, I got done up to the nines.
"It's the guild's pride to make hunter profile pics as gorgeous as possible," they said. I couldn't agree.
But I desperately vetoed the skirt.
"Lee Ji-woo, age 11. Died…"
The man Lee Ji-woo, surviving on baggy hoodies and black tees, finally breathed his last.
A tragic end.
"…If the pics come out good, new computer. Smile for now."
"…………."
"Wait, not this one. Check the earlier shots."
"Hm…"
"This one's the cutest, right?"
"…Yeah. Let's go with this."