'That Damn Scamming Bastard.'
"That damn scamming bastard."
She'd reluctantly accepted him, calling it a rare mental-type ability. But according to what Jeon Se-han had told her, the whole "impersonation incident" last time had been orchestrated by Kim Jae-won from the start.
"We were the ones being manipulated."
"What do you mean?"
"Hunter Kim Jae-won—no, that Kim Jae-won. He manipulated us into including him in the operation. He set up the whole thing himself."
They hadn't teamed up voluntarily under orders from above and then chosen Kim Jae-won. No, he'd manipulated them into choosing him from the beginning.
After hearing all that, her rage had doubled. It pissed her off that she'd gotten dragged into the mess because of a sleazy bastard like him, but Ryu Shin-ah had taken it to another level.
Ryu Shin-ah had massively altered the civilians' memories that day, preventing Gu Se-ji from getting lumped in with Kim Jae-won over that "boss" comment. Gu Se-ji might ignore public opinion, but being branded the ringleader of this mess was on a whole different level from just getting called selfish.
He could've ended up labeled an illegal hunter who'd staged a national hostage crisis.
Taking that into account, Ryu Shin-ah wasn't entirely without merit. But still...
'That slimy little shit...'
She'd shaken her head at Joo Young for being a fanatic stalker, but Ryu Shin-ah was subtly unhinged too. Subtly? No, the guy was straight-up crazy.
The guild's purpose was hunters' interests, and Daehwanjang was famous for sticking to that ethos. Financial trouble? Any hunter who knew how money-obsessed they were would've burst out laughing or doubted their ears.
They could handle victim compensation and repairs no problem. The issue was the amount Ryu Shin-ah had demanded as "service fee."
Gu Se-ji had grabbed his phone in disbelief at the number of zeros.
"Are you kidding me right now?! You think that's a reasonable amount?!"
"Since when has common sense existed in the hunter world? That shit got swallowed by a monster five years ago."
"Ryu Shin-ah, you worthless son of a—!"
"I let the last incident slide, but you just had to mess with my king?"
Be grateful I haven't toppled your golden tower yet.
He was genuinely furious, his voice icy. Ryu Shin-ah held the reins on public memory. In the end, Gu Se-ji had opened their deepest underground vault... and the guild's foundations had shaken.
'To think we'd open the vault for the first time since founding over something like this.'
Gu Se-ji shook off Ryu Shin-ah's voice echoing in his ears and shifted his thoughts. Using powers on civilians made a hunter illegal, no exceptions—a criminal.
Kim Jae-won was now publicly an illegal hunter, so soon...
"Guildmaster!"
His vice-guildmaster burst in, snapping him from his reverie.
"What?"
"It's urgent. The Management Bureau says Kim Jae-won—that illegal hunter—has vanished."
"...What?"
Gu Se-ji's purple eyes widened slowly.
Escaped? From the Management Bureau?
'Even if he's not C-rank... alone from there?'
She'd suspected he could dominate tens of thousands at once. But escaping the bureau was another matter entirely.
'...Something's fishy.'
More importantly, hiding his rank was secondary. With the real-time ranking system, it should've updated by now...
'Why hasn't the system changed anything?'
But such doubts were fleeting.
"That's not the problem. The bureau's ordering our guild to take responsibility and capture that illegal hunter bastard..."
"Get out!!"
Gu Se-ji's blood pressure was skyrocketing again today.
Double Black had earned a full month of official vacation after the incident. A string of mind-blowing events had worn everyone out, but things had calmed down now. Life for the five hadn't changed much.
The one noticeable thing...
Constellation 'Spear of Inevitability' mocks that human for being such a scaredy-cat.
"...Hey, Jun-yeol. You can come out now."
"I-It's fine! You go first, Sa-ha hyung!"
"You've lost it."
Their "houseguests" had doubled to two, making seven in total.
Whenever the constellations' gifts popped out of thin air, Han Jun-yeol flinched every time.
"Whoa, this is wild. Constellations...! And our brothers are hunters? I've only heard rumors."
The maknae Park Ho-young adapted quickly, as did leader Kim Yu-jun.
Constellation 'Spear of Inevitability' giggles that the human's constant startling makes him look just like a hamster.
It waves its hand, asking if it can squeeze him since he'd probably shatter in its grip.
Constellation 'The One Who Holds the Scales' marvels that your family is consistently rowdy.
It tilts its head, wondering what to do when the noise gets too much and muting is tempting.
'...Jun-yeol would've passed out if he heard that.'
'There are ways to mute people, but I don't want to imagine them.'
Park Sa-ha and Seo In-ah, who could see status windows, were silently filtering the constellations' words—beings light-years from common sense—in their own quiet war.
One thing they'd learned after days of this not-quite-cohabitation:
'Not bad people... or stars, I guess. Nice might be a stretch, though...'
'They're gods, so they think differently, I suppose.'
Getting close to these constellations would take time, all things considered.
"Um, Star God? Lord Constellation? My little brother's scared of stuff appearing from thin air... Yes? Oh, of course I'm grateful, but... Ah."
Park Sa-ha sweated bullets, staring into space and soothing his nagging constellation. Watching him, Seo In-ah recalled the moment he'd contracted.
"Hyung."
"...What."
"Don't worry. This is safer."
"How do you know? You'll end up a helpless hunter, got it?"
"No choice. And you awakened because of me."
"Shut up. It was my choice."
"This is too, hyung."
Park Sa-ha, who'd passed out from the heat, woke after Yul left. He announced he'd met a constellation and made his decision.
How could he argue against his little brother?
Kim Yu-jun and Park Sa-ha were Seo In-ah's sore spots. They'd shouldered the full consequences of his mistakes.
"Don't get hurt. Whatever you do, just live normally."
"I'll try."
Park Sa-ha had smiled faintly and drifted off again, becoming a contractor.
'...Same rank. Seems identical to his previous constellation.'
Seo In-ah rubbed his stiff neck for no reason. They didn't seem on bad terms now. He'd been tense around god-like beings, but they were more normal than expected.
'Well, I've never met one before anyway.'
Constellation 'The One Who Holds the Scales' asks if you didn't meet some big-name hunters before.
Even the one right next to you now—didn't you hear anything important about constellations? It wonders.
'They were strong. Yeah, but you know...'
Seo In-ah glanced at Park Sa-ha fiddling with his phone on the sofa next to Han Jun-yeol, then back to the status window.
'The one who told me anything at all... called himself a different kind of hunter.'
Ryu Shin-ah. RecordFudger. The one who'd shared bits and pieces with his past self.
Constellation 'The One Who Holds the Scales' nods.
It guesses those memories with him are deeply etched in your mind.
It winks knowingly that you must feel the same as a proxy.
And one indispensable from those past tales.
Seo In-ah, seeing the status window, quietly closed his eyes.
"Thanks for becoming my idol."
"We have to go back—to your members, In-ah-ssi."
Yul's voice from the dungeon recently lingered.
Blasé on the surface, but not merciless. That's why he couldn't understand.
'Why did she kill?'
The blood-dripping staff, her small but towering figure trampling the ruins. Clothes fluttering in the wind, her back as she walked away—that girl.
What had driven her to stain her hands with human blood?
A question he could no longer ask her or Ryu Shin-ah weighed heavy in his heart.
"Sa-ha hyung."
"What, Yu-jun."
"Time's about up. We gotta stream."
The broadcast fans craved. V-App Live. First time facing them since the concert incident and vacation announcement.
Yul woke to a voice calling her.
"Get up, you lazybug."
"...I'm not a lazybug."
"Sure you are. Skipping school and no part-time job? That's peak lazybug."
"Ugh, I do work..."
Yul staggered up, wrapped head to toe in the blanket she'd shared with the floor.
Constellation 'Blind Sovereign of the Sky' clutches its heart, saying our Yul is attacking this Star God's heart first thing in the morning, and topples backward.
Our blanket-burrito Yul is too cute; it descends from its throne.
"A pupa?"
Starkly contrasting opinions.
Yul groaned familiarly and hauled herself up. In the living room, the sea stretched clear beyond the window.
Ryu Shin-ah had returned to Seoul for cleanup, but Yul had come home and stayed put since.