ICPBAG CH 07

It was certain that information had leaked.

‘No… was it leaked on purpose?’

There was a strong possibility that the Association had planted another informant besides her. If so, in the worst-case scenario, she would be the one facing a meaningless death.

If the Association was orchestrating things without giving even the slightest hint to her—the one most closely tied to Cha Wooshin on-site—

“Oh? You cleared it.”

Her mind was in hell, but her hands moved quickly. As she easily cleared the stage, Cha Wooshin leaned in close.

His eyes sparkled as they shifted between the clear rewards on the screen and her. In moments like this, he really was simple.

“Don’t sell the Hexion fragments you got as rewards. Save them. You’ll need them when upgrading to the next weapon.”

“There’s another upgrade weapon coming out?”

“According to the developer notes, it’s scheduled to be updated within the year. I’ll organize your inventory.”

“Ah. I just spent money not long ago.”

Cha Wooshin let out a sigh. He had been very serious about games lately.

Not that a wallet warrior like him had anything to worry about. If anything, it was more troublesome for her.

The reason she had been memorizing game guides day and night, despite having no interest in them, was because of him.

To deal with Cha Wooshin, she had to match his picky tastes and preferences.

Before mobile games, it had been figure collecting. Before that, rare loot collecting, monster taxidermy, and so on.

The list was endless, but ultimately, he was just extremely fickle.

Rather than an obsessive lover, he was more like an obsessive collector. Cha Wooshin was a man of extremes.

In any case, it seemed she had gotten past the immediate crisis.

The guild members believed she held the highest position of trust with Cha Wooshin, but that was both true and false.

It was worth reminding herself again: Cha Wooshin did not trust others. He simply kept her close because she moved exactly as he wanted without crossing him.

“Lee Seo-ya.”

His voice rang clearly in the quiet office.

“Don’t go around getting hurt carelessly.”

The twisted parts of her body throbbed.

“I never gave you permission.”

“I’ll be careful.”

She often imagined her throat being crushed or pierced by him.

It felt like that day would come eventually. Knowing the miserable end Kang Iseo met in the original story, she both wanted to please him and run away from him at the same time.

Every day felt like walking on thin ice.

The reason she infiltrated Ha Baek was to monitor Cha Minseung.

Approaching Cha Wooshin, who was lower in the family hierarchy, had been even riskier.

Cha Wooshin did not keep people under him easily. More accurately, people did not survive under him.

Even among top hunters, he stood apart.

The youngest S-rank ability user and the undisputed number one guild hunter, Cha Wooshin was considered the only active hunter who could rival Joo Inhyeok.

Her wish was to retire before that ever happened.

It was not long after she had infiltrated under Cha Minseung.

Cha Minseung was a different kind of unpleasant superior compared to Cha Wooshin, who hid his cunning beneath a smile. Perhaps it was something in the Ha Baek bloodline.

That day, as usual, she was preparing his meal.

That bastard Cha Minseung suddenly grabbed her backside while cutting his steak.

“Have you been working out? Why is your ass so firm?”

For a moment, she almost snapped his wrist.

She wanted to smash the wine glass on the table over his head. But she endured it.

Back then, she had no choice. She had to be especially careful with every action.

That evening, the guest at his dinner table was Cha Wooshin.

Their first meeting.

Sitting across the table, resting his chin on his hand, Cha Wooshin idly picked at his salad before looking at her.

Not out of interest—just because she happened to be in his line of sight.

Soon, he yawned and turned away.

At that time, instead of showing her contempt toward Cha Minseung, she responded with a smile.

It was humiliating.

She went out to the backyard to breathe.

Her teeth clenched on their own.

In reality, she couldn’t tolerate such unjust relationships, yet here she was living in one.

She even considered confronting Joo Inhyeok.

Saying she couldn’t do this anymore.

That she would rather burn the mansion down and live as a fugitive forever.

“Bastard.”

Tears fell, and she wiped them away with the back of her hand.

She didn’t want her wet sleeves to show, so she alternated hands.

There was no one to lean on but herself.

She repeated it in her mind.

There’s only me.

Just as she turned around—

A flicker of fire burned in the darkness.

Only then did she notice the smell of cigarettes.

There had been no presence.

Even with her sharpened senses, she hadn’t noticed him.

“Bastard.”

Cha Wooshin slowly repeated her muttered words, rolling them in his mouth like candy.

“Are you talking about my brother?”

He smiled faintly, flicking ash from his cigarette.

He looked exactly as she had imagined when she was a reader.

Delicate, handsome features. A smiling face that still carried a hint of danger. Tall, imposing.

A presence worthy of a protagonist.

The way he said “my brother” so gently made her think—

‘I’m screwed.’

Later, she asked him what he had been thinking when he took her in that day.

After a long pause, as if he had forgotten, he answered with a question.

“Because you called Cha Minseung a bastard?”

She had never said “crazy bastard,” just “bastard.”

“Is that all?”

“What else was there?”

“…Nothing.”

“Oh. I remember now. I thought you’d cry even prettier in front of me. You were really pretty.”

She shouldn’t have asked.

“Ta-da! Monthly Guardians, November issue, officially released!”

After finishing her report, something was suddenly shoved in front of her.

It was a magazine covering hunter-related information and gossip.

Already distracted, she was startled when the glossy cover filled her vision—and even more so when she recognized the model on it.

“I bought two on purpose. Take one, Iseo!”

Han Seolyoung, an A-rank guild hunter, said brightly.

She had been chatting in the lounge and rushed over the moment she saw her.

“I’m fine. I don’t need it.”

She quickly shut her mouth before it could fall open.

Han Seolyoung was extremely extroverted and often startled her like this.

This time, she had been especially surprised.

She hadn’t expected the person she had been thinking about to appear right on the cover.

“Why? You like Hunter Joo, don’t you?”

“No. Me? You’re mistaken.”

“You answered too fast. That means you do.”

“I don’t.”

“You do. Totally.”

Han Seolyoung waved the magazines with a mischievous grin.

If there was someone she didn’t want as an enemy after Cha Wooshin, it was Han Seolyoung.

“What’s wrong with it? It’s not like guild hunters get criticized for fangirling over national hunters. I’m a fan of our Yoongyoong.”

“It’s not about that. I just don’t like him.”

“I saw Joo Inhyeok merch at your desk. I saw it.”

“That’s because you bought too many random goods and left them there.”

“Then why haven’t you thrown them away after a month? You even placed them neatly next to your favorite plants.”

She had just missed the timing to throw them out.

That was all.

But despite trying to stay calm, heat rose to her face.