Her Perspective
The first time she saw Kang Hahwi.
Seo I-eung thought to herself:
That he was insanely handsome.
That his looks outclassed every man she had ever seen.
But she didn’t react the way the other girls did.
Honestly speaking, she had no particular interest in him.
Handsome or ugly—it made no difference to her at all. She was destined for a life without any connection to men, and she believed she would never have a single point of contact with Kang Hahwi either.
After that came the way he silently scrawled his name across the board and finished his self-introduction without a word, and the faintly unpleasant expression he wore the entire time the groupmates were talking. Watching him, Seo I-eung didn’t form a negative impression so much as a strange sense of kinship.
It felt like looking at herself.
The moment she thought he resembled her, a little interest in Kang Hahwi began to take root. Even so, she couldn’t bring herself to show it openly. After secretly observing him for a while, she reached a conclusion: Kang Hahwi seemed to hate women. At least, that was how it looked through her eyes.
Even after they were paired together, she only managed a polite “Nice to work with you” at the start and never exchanged another word after that. She had quietly hoped he might speak first. Of course, that hope proved empty. Far from talking to her, he wouldn’t even glance her way.
Still, she didn’t know for certain yet. Seo I-eung carefully tested him, asking whether driving off those women who had been hunting him had been a bother—trying to gauge whether he truly disliked girls.
“...It wasn’t a bother. Thanks.”
Kang Hahwi answered.
Ah. So he does hate women after all.
Then this would just continue exactly as it was until it ended. The thought left a bitter taste. Why had she taken an interest in him? He was never going to look her way even if a hundred days passed. Seo I-eung swallowed something that wasn’t quite regret.
After lunch, Seo I-eung stepped out to the restroom for a moment. On the way back, she witnessed it: Kang Hahwi petting a cat, grinning like an idiot.
Does he like animals?
She had been trying to shut off her interest. Instead, it only grew stronger.
I love animals a ton too…
Another common point had appeared. Maybe, she thought, the two of them were more compatible than she’d realized. She wanted to know more about him. Seo I-eung allowed herself a little hope. If she made an effort, couldn’t they become close?
From that moment on, she started bombarding Kang Hahwi with questions, trying somehow to close the distance. And then a new worry surfaced: what if he preferred guys? With a nervous heart she carefully asked. The answer came back negative. Relief washed over her—he didn’t like men. Still, it seemed certain he disliked women.
There’s clearly some kind of story there.
She was curious, but she couldn’t ask. Seo I-eung wasn’t close enough to Kang Hahwi to pry into whatever had happened in his past. Questions that crossed the line had to be avoided.
At least it doesn’t seem like some weird preference… Instead of trying to close the gap all at once, if I approach slowly, maybe someday we can actually become friends.
Clinging to that hope, Seo I-eung resolved to carefully draw nearer.
Her interest in Kang Hahwi—her fondness—swelled even further.
It happened when she tried to pay the dungeon entrance fee. He hastily slapped her hand away and paid in her place. Seo I-eung was completely thrown. She had never once experienced a man spending money on her. It was a first in her life.
Could it be… he hated women, but she was a slight exception?
For a fleeting moment even that delusion crossed her mind. The second she learned Kang Hahwi was the type who insisted on repaying anything he received, the fantasy shattered on the spot.
Kang Hahwi activated his Shinbi.
He transformed, becoming something else entirely.
What… is that…
Her mouth wouldn’t close. Kang Hahwi now possessed looks that simply should not exist in this world. Of course he had already been an unparalleled beauty of a man. But now—now he was beyond even daring to approach. A celestial face for which the word “handsome” was laughably insufficient, an appearance that defied description.
Did he turn into some kind of male god…?
Until then she had nearly developed romantic feelings after only a single day of knowing him. The moment she saw that form, though, she felt she had been entertaining emotions far above her station.
Her? Daring to like Kang Hahwi? A worthless, ordinary human?
It was blasphemous. And dangerous. The half-undressed state was dangerous, and the even more devastating beauty was dangerous in its own right. If other girls saw him like that? She didn’t even want to imagine it. Those filthy women would lose their minds, kidnap him, and do unspeakable things. It wasn’t fantasy—it was something that could actually happen. His appearance was that mind-melting.
She refused to let anyone steal the man she had claimed first. That was absolutely not allowed.
I have to stop it somehow.
Seo I-eung agonized over and over, searching for a way to protect her Kang Hahwi from dirty women.
In that short span of time, a great deal had happened to Seo I-eung.
Kang Hahwi suddenly closing in and thrusting his face toward hers. Herself nosebleeding and fainting. The revelation that his transformed form wasn’t a male god but an angel. The angel’s power proving far more formidable than expected. And so on.
After all of that, Seo I-eung was currently searching for the boss together with Kang Hahwi.
But will he be okay…
Worry arrived late. What if he died to the boss and ended up with trauma? She herself would be fine, but she fretted that Kang Hahwi might abandon his dream of becoming a hunter because of this. Still, it already felt too late to suggest they turn back now.
If this leaves Kang Hahwi with trauma… I’ll just stay by his side and take care of him until he overcomes it. If he drops out, I’ll find his home address and go nurse him myself.
While she was chatting with Kang Hahwi and thinking those thoughts—
…That is—
The boss appeared right in front of them. And it wasn’t a monster. It was a demon.
Seo I-eung flinched with fear for an instant, then quickly pulled herself together, activated her transformation magic, and settled into a combat stance.
“I-I’ll attack first, so step back…”
They were going to die anyway. Still, if she was going to go down, she wanted to look cool doing it.
“Huh? Where’d he go…?”
Kang Hahwi had vanished. Seo I-eung looked around frantically for a long moment. When she finally turned forward again, Kang Hahwi was standing behind the demon. In his right hand: the demon’s heart. In his left: the demon’s head.
……He killed a demon that easily?
Did that even make sense? She couldn’t believe it. Had Kang Hahwi actually been an incredible fighter all along?
Not only handsome, but ridiculously skilled too……
Her eyes had been drawn by his looks. Interest had grown from their common ground. Fondness had deepened from his actions. She had admired his angel form. Anxiety had bloomed into possessiveness. And finally—this was the moment she fell completely for his awe-inspiring skill.
When I came to my senses, the demon’s head and heart were in my hands.
…What the hell is this?
I had no memory of it, but apparently I had subconsciously taken the demon down. It seemed that when I became an angel, I had an ability that made me go berserk the moment I faced a demon.
I had no idea I even had a power like this… Not that I’m getting full of myself, but maybe my ability really is on the outstanding side…
The thought crossed my mind for a second, but I decided not to get arrogant. At the end of the day, all I had done was kill a demon that shows up in an F-grade dungeon. Compared to high-ranking hunters, it wasn’t anything special. It was true that an ordinary student couldn’t pull it off, but it wasn’t completely impossible either. There were plenty of students better than me—like the ones from the First Academy, for example.
But why was it so easy? Seeing how I finished it in one go, maybe angels are just strong against demons?
That seemed plausible. It wasn’t confirmed information, but the idea that angels held an advantage over demons was pretty common.
Anyway, I’m glad I paid a fortune to enter the Illusion Dungeon.
I felt satisfied. Through this dungeon run I had realized a lot of new things. I learned for the first time that seeing a real demon stirred up a flood of negative emotions—when I only looked at photos, I had felt nothing.
Let’s see, the wings…
I turned my head slightly. They were still small; they didn’t even enter my field of vision.
As expected, no change.
One of the ways for an angel to grow stronger was demon subjugation. The more demons you defeated, the stronger you became. But this was the Illusion Dungeon. The demon itself was nothing but an illusion. It was only natural that catching a fake wouldn’t grant any growth.
Still, I was kind of hoping… Too bad.
As I was swallowing that quiet disappointment, Seo I-eung carefully edged up beside me.
“I never thought you’d actually take down the boss… You’re seriously amazing. You were so fast I couldn’t even see you.”
She was offering sincere praise when a mechanical voice suddenly rang out from the sky.
Attention. This announcement is for students Kang Hahwi and Seo I-eung, currently experiencing the F-grade Illusion Dungeon.
Please report to Professor Santoto’s office immediately.