Chapter 112

Alters.

A secretly formed organization by S-class Hunters.

I was currently having a conversation with Yoo Woo-jung, who is suspected to be a member of Alters.

The main topic of the conversation was a scouting offer.

It might seem strange if I showed any signs of noticing something here.

So, I decided to pretend not to know anything.

“By any chance, do you do YouTube, Ji-eun?”

“Ah, yes! How did you know, unnie?”

“Oh my, I was right! Animal Ji-eun! I’m your fan. Look, I’ve liked all your videos here.”

“Wow, really. Hehe, there have been a few people who recognized me recently, but you’re the first to say you’re a fan. I’m so shy.”

“I believe you’ll soon reach a million subscribers. Absolutely!”

Meanwhile, Yoo Woo-jung, who was chatting with Ji-eun, had become very friendly in no time.

Ji-eun is naturally sociable.

She becomes close to people in an instant, and since Yoo Woo-jung responded well, she seemed even more excited.

The problem was that it all looked like a setup to me.

“Ha-chan, you’re amazing too. It’s all thanks to you that Ji-eun’s YouTube channel grew.”

“It’s because of Ji-eun’s hard work.”

Since Ji-eun had become close to Yoo Woo-jung, she excitedly boasted about me, and Yoo Woo-jung skillfully turned the topic towards me.

“Oh my, of course, Ji-eun worked hard, but we can’t deny Ha-chan’s efforts either.”

“That’s right! Oppa worked so hard. I couldn’t have done it without him. Really.”

Ji-eun, even more excited because someone she likes was being praised, clung to me and spoke.

What should I do with our innocent Ji-eun?

Yoo Woo-jung seemed quite skilled at handling people.

Sip-

Meanwhile, Si-ho, who had been silent, took a sip of her drink through a straw.

Si-ho, who doesn’t easily get close to people, didn’t seem too pleased with Yoo Woo-jung either.

“Your name is Si-ho, right?”

But Yoo Woo-jung didn’t seem to want to leave Si-ho alone either.

As she smiled and spoke to Si-ho, Si-ho only nodded her head.

Seeing Si-ho like this reminded me of when I first met her.

“Si-ho, you’re so pretty. Unnie, when I first saw you, I thought a doll was walking around.”

“I know.”

Come to think of it, Si-ho has a subtly bold side.

Of course, she’s as pretty as she is bold.

Just today, all kinds of eyes were on Si-ho as she walked beside me.

It’s no wonder she’s so bold.

Meanwhile, Si-ho looked at Yoo Woo-jung as if on guard.

That’s so like Si-ho.

“Si-ho is pretty and cute. You must be really popular with older guys.”

“…Si-ho?”

“Yeah, the reason guys date younger girls is because they’re cute. Si-ho is not only cute but also pretty. It’s a given.”

“Really?”

Si-ho’s face softened slightly as she started to look at me.

…That’s so like Si-ho.

“Girls like Si-ho are the type to like only one person their whole life. Right, Ha-chan?”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

“Yeah, Si-ho, I only like one person. There’s only one prince.”

Si-ho leaned her head against my arm.

Yoo Woo-jung seemed to have a good sense of the situation.

In a short time, she had figured out what Ji-eun and Si-ho wanted and had them wrapped around her finger.

But there’s one obstacle.

She couldn’t get past me.

“Ha-chan, you seem like someone who enjoys games. Do you play any?”

Twitch.

My eyebrow reflexively reacted.

“I play various games. Like Road of Academy.”

“Oh, really? I play that too. Recently, I made a +18 weapon. My acquaintance has the Master Craftsman title, so the success rate was pretty high, and it was easy to make.”

“Shall we add each other?”

“Are you an idiot?”

Baek-san glared at me from behind, but I couldn’t resist this impulse.

Araman, this is a chance for Araman to reach +18.

The Master Craftsman title is so hard to get that even Juk-sim doesn’t have it.

Yoo Woo-jung in front of me was a god.

“Sure. Let’s add each other.”

I quickly took down her ID.

You never know, so it’s better to have it just in case.

“Back then, my friends and I really wanted to go to S University because of you, Ha-chan. We didn’t know we’d meet like this.”

That’s a bit too much praise.

Just from how she acts with Si-ho and Ji-eun, it’s obvious she’s trying too hard to be friendly with us.

At this point, it feels like she’s trying to scout us.

‘Is she trying to build goodwill to join the company and then have some ulterior motive?’

Games are games, but as I looked at her, I fell into thought.

Given the circumstances, she’s probably from Alters.

And according to Seo-ho, Alters is wary of Korea itself, and Si-ho and I must have caught their attention.

Then, this approach is likely all intentional.

‘Should I strike first?’

Or should I wait and see a bit more?

Ring ring!

Meanwhile, Yoo Woo-jung’s phone rang.

“Oh, sorry. Just a moment.”

She answered the phone and spoke to someone, soon making an awkward expression.

“Yes? No. I plan to refuse… That’s too arbitrary…”

As she spoke as if in trouble, the three of us turned our attention to her.

“You’re coming here? But, what? You’re already here?”

The moment she made a surprised expression, the café door behind us opened.

As my gaze turned there, a man in a jacket with a tiger design stood there.

A rather menacing-looking black man looked at us and walked over, lowering the sunglasses on his nose.

“Hey, is it you guys? The ones who sweet-talked the hunter we marked?”

What’s this now?

A foreigner suddenly appeared, mixing Korean and English.

For a brief moment, I felt a headache and turned to Yoo Woo-jung.

“Yoo Woo-jung, who is this?”

“…That’s someone from Beom who made a scouting offer to me.”

As Yoo Woo-jung spoke with an awkward voice, I looked at him.

Certainly, his attire, a leather jacket, clearly showed he was from Beom.

“Hey, I’m asking. Is it you guys?”

He had a threatening appearance that would make an ordinary person scared.

As evidence, Ji-eun was panicking and tightly holding onto my collar.

Meanwhile, I observed Yoo Woo-jung’s expression.

Perhaps because I’ve been emotionally clashing with women a lot lately, I’ve become better at noticing others’ emotional changes.

Yoo Woo-jung clearly looked awkward on the surface.

But her slightly trembling lips indicated something else.

‘This woman is enjoying this.’

It was obvious she orchestrated this situation.

It seemed like she wanted to stimulate a sense of competition to make herself more scouted.

‘Plus, she can play the tragic heroine.’

If I defeat him here, she can accept the scouting offer out of gratitude.

The problem is, she seems unaware of one fact.

The relationship I have with that company.

I rummaged through my pocket and took out my wallet.

What I pulled out was a black card with the word “Beom” marked in gold.

I held out the card to him.

At that moment, the foreign man froze, unable to say anything.

“You’re from Beom, right? Shall we talk?”

“Uh, uh?”

He let his sunglasses slide down to his nose and alternated looking at me and the card, then took off his sunglasses.

He bowed his head respectfully and spoke.

“…Yes, boss!”

This guy was deliberately mixing English.

Yoo Woo-jung’s eyes widened.

In an instant, the situation had changed.

6

David, the foreigner from Beom, and I stepped outside and stood facing each other.

He had been respectfully holding his hands together since I showed him the Beom card, and I scratched my cheek as I looked at him.

“You don’t need to be so tense.”

“No! I’ve been rude to the benefactor of Big Sis and Big Bro!”

The big sis and big bro he’s referring to must be the Eva twins.

I didn’t expect the card Hyuk-seo gave me to have this much impact.

“Is this card that powerful?”

“That’s what Big Sis recently told us. If we meet a man in his mid-20s with a Beom card during company business, he’s a great benefactor of Big Sis and Big Bro, so we must treat him with the utmost respect.”

It must have been Eva noona’s doing.

Since I work for Rodri Company, she must have thought we might cross paths and gave them a heads up.

I’m grateful, but it’s a bit overwhelming.

“Ahem, let’s go with that. Mr. David, you came to scout Yoo Woo-jung, right?”

“Yes, we have many foreigners, and except for Beom, who operates in Korea, many of us can’t officially work as hunters yet.”

Korea is one of the countries where foreign hunters are prohibited from working immediately.

“We’ve applied for visas with the Korean Hunter Management Bureau, so they’ll be approved soon, but we need manpower to fill the gap until then.”

I see.

That explains why Beom has been so aggressively scouting hunters recently.

“…Can I ask one thing?”

“Yes, ask anything.”

“Why did you mix English earlier?”

“Ah, that’s because Koreans freeze up when a foreigner comes and speaks English, so it’s good for a preemptive strike, according to the bros…”

What a strange education.

Or is it Koreans who are strange?

Anyway, I understand Beom’s situation now.

“Boss, you want Yoo Woo-jung, right? I’ll report it to the higher-ups.”

“Ah, wait a minute. I need to talk to Eva noona, I mean, Se-hee noona, about this.”

“Big, Big Sis?!”

David looked panicked and didn’t know what to do.

Ah, from his perspective, it must feel like meeting a rival company employee and suddenly having to contact the CEO of his own company.

As a fellow employee, I gave a bitter smile and told him not to worry.

“It’s okay. I’ll speak well of you, Mr. David.”

“Hieek! I’m sorry!”

He seemed to interpret my words differently and bowed his head with a scream.

…Is this why higher-ups hesitate to speak to subordinates?

“Really, it’s okay. Sorry, I won’t say anything, so don’t worry. I just need to discuss something personal.”

“Yes, yes!”

After calming David down, I picked up my phone.

I already had Eva noona’s number, so I dialed it and called her.

Ring ring-

After a while, a click sounded from the other side.

[Domi?]

A familiar voice came through, and I smiled and replied.

“Eva noona, it’s been a while since I heard your voice. You’ve been busy lately, are you doing well?”

Eva noona, busy with Beom affairs and cleaning up after Hyuk-seo, only exchanged texts with me occasionally and had no time for calls.

So, hearing her voice after so long made me smile, but Eva noona was oddly quiet.

[…Is this still a dream? I keep hearing Domi’s voice.]

“Noona, were you sleeping?”

It seems I woke her up, as her voice sounded groggy.

[Domi, why do you keep appearing in my dreams…]

“Am I in your dreams, noona?”

[Is it because you’re my benefactor…]

“It’s rewarding to be your benefactor.”

[I don’t have any ulterior motives…]

“Ulterior motives? Don’t worry. I never thought you’d betray me.”

[…]

“Noona, go back to sleep?”

Eva noona didn’t respond.

Did she really fall back asleep?

[Domi.]

“Yeah, noona.”

[How long have we been on the call?]

This noona was sleep-talking.