Chapter 126

“Can we do it one more time?”

Seeing Seolhyang asking like a child pleading with her parents, I grabbed the back of her head and pulled her towards me. No matter what, letting her keep winning wasn’t good for my pride as a man.

As our lips touched once more, Seolhyang’s eyes widened, and she immediately wrapped her arms around my neck. Time seemed to stop for a moment, but the sweet breath that escaped her lips as they parted made my heart ache.

Our eyes met. Seolhyang’s gaze darted left and right, unsure where to look, before settling back on me.

“…One more time?”

This girl’s greed knows no bounds. Since I had my limits too, I decided to end it by giving her a kiss on the forehead, just like she had done for me before.

“You could do more, you know.”

Seolhyang pouted, then turned her body and leaned the back of her head against my chest. She grabbed my arms and pulled them around her, embracing herself.

“Even so, if you feel like it, I’m always ready.”

As she looked up at me, her upper body blocked my view of what was below. …Was that what she meant by being ready?

For a moment, I almost lost myself. Being with Seolhyang always made me feel like I was going to lose my mind.

“But something like today is okay, right?”

Seeing her looking at my lips again, I had no choice but to nod. If I didn’t allow even this, I could sense a dangerous aura in her eyes, as if she might do something more.

“By the way, there’s something I’m curious about.”

At that moment, Seolhyang asked a question. As I tilted my head, she lightly touched her lips and asked me, “If it were Ha-chan, you’d probably freeze up and not be able to do anything at first. So why did your kiss seem so oddly familiar?”

Just how much does she know about me?

“I wonder why that is.”

Seeing Seolhyang smiling but not really smiling, I rolled my eyes upward.

“…We did.”

“…Yeah.”

“With Cheonma?”

“…Yeah.”

I had become a yes-man.

“Hmm, well, I guess it doesn’t matter. After all, I was the first one to do it with you before.”

“Huh?”

At that moment, I was startled by her unexpected words and turned to look at her.

“Wait, you already kissed me? When?”

“Don’t you remember the day I left when we were in elementary school?”

I started fumbling through my memories. Eventually, I vaguely recalled the day she left, just before my parents passed away.

‘…That’s right, definitely.’

On the day she left, Seolhyang kissed me before she went. It was a faint memory, but it came back to me.

…My first kiss wasn’t in the hospital waiting room. It was in front of a moving truck. Wait, was that even a kiss? For someone like me who had never been in a relationship, it was all too confusing.

“Right?”

My childhood friend was scarier than I thought.

“…But if we’re going by that, my older sister used to kiss me every time she saw me before she was dimensionally transported.”

There was a significant age gap between my sister and me. She doted on me a lot.

“Are you going to argue about it?”

“No, of course not.”

In any case, I decided to let it go and smiled bitterly. It was both funny and cute how seriously she took the concept of “firsts.”

As I looked at Seolhyang, I realized I had something I wanted to ask her too.

“So, Seolhyang, I want to talk about something related to my sister.”

When I asked, she leaned against me and looked forward.

“Yeah, it’s okay. Go ahead.”

“Sorry, it’s your break time.”

“No, just being with you like this is a break for me. But hug me a little tighter.”

Not knowing what else to do, I hugged her tightly, and Seolhyang’s eyelids fluttered before she let out a soft sigh.

“Okay, so?”

“So, I heard from a Returner attached to me that my sister seems to be moving around with someone who has the ability to see worldlines.”

At those words, Seolhyang flinched slightly. After all, the power to see worldlines was none other than Seolhyang’s ability.

From her perspective, it must have felt like she was being accused of conspiring with my sister.

“So I wanted to ask you what you think about that.”

“…That Returner knows about my ability?”

I had no choice but to nod. For this conversation to proceed, I had to tell her.

Seeing my nod, Seolhyang, who had been silent, let out a faint sigh.

“Well, some Returners already knew about it anyway.”

I figured Ayu probably already knew. She had warned Seolhyang several times about the Crown appearing.

“Yeah, so. I also think that a situation similar to my ability is unfolding around you, Ha-chan.”

“I thought so.”

“Yeah, no matter how you look at it, the way Returners are gathering around you seems intentional. It feels like fate is being forcibly drawn together. I’ve also seen you wearing the Crown when I brushed past you while wearing it myself.”

So that’s how Seolhyang became aware of my existence.

“And Mari unni appeared and tried to stop me from wearing the Crown.”

“My sister tried to stop you?”

“Yeah, it seems like the person currently wielding power around you doesn’t want me to see the worldlines. And she said something that bothered me a bit…”

As she spoke, Seolhyang slowly twirled a strand of her hair. I wondered what that “something” was.

I wanted to ask, but she seemed reluctant to answer, so I didn’t press further.

“But since Mari unni is involved, I don’t think she has any bad intentions towards you.”

“It’s still bothering me.”

She nodded, then looked up at me with concern.

“Ha-chan, you want to find Mari unni too, don’t you?”

Hearing that, I thought of my sister. As Seolhyang said, I did want to find her.

At first, I thought it was just a misinterpretation of the prophecy Baeksan had sent, that my sister couldn’t be by my side because of it. But now, it didn’t seem like that was the case.

Since she had started appearing more frequently recently, I wanted to rush out and find her immediately. But even Seolhyang, the head of the World Returner Association, who had been chasing after Mari unni, hadn’t been able to find her.

I had zero tracking abilities. And it seemed like my sister was avoiding me for some reason.

No matter how much I searched, the chances of finding her were slim.

“I want to find her, but I think now isn’t the right time.”

So I decided to wait instead.

“Anyway, I feel like I’ll be able to see her again soon.”

Hearing my words, Seolhyang gently cupped my cheek with her hand. The warmth from her touch felt incredibly soothing, melting my heart.

“I’ll look into it more for you too.”

“Sorry, I’m always relying on you.”

She let out a small sigh. That sigh was filled with concern for me.

“Why does the person I love have to live so harshly? You could just like me, and that would be enough.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Plus, there are so many women around you. Do you like all of them?”

Hearing that, I straightened up. That was absolutely not the case.

“It’s because it’s you.”

I could say that with certainty. Even though I’ve become trash, the reason I said I liked Ayu and Seolhyang was because of who they were.

And there might be one more person soon. But this much was certain.

Seolhyang, who had been looking into my eyes, finally couldn’t hold back and got up.

“One more time.”

In the end, I had to kiss Seolhyang one more time. Once I allowed it, it seemed like there was no limit, and that scared me.

“Ah, right. There’s one more thing I need to tell you.”

“About the Dimensional Invaders?”

“You already knew?”

“We’ve been monitoring the dimensions since the Jung-gu incident. It’s complicated, but we’re working on it. Asura and the Giraseong members we successfully persuaded have also been deployed there.”

“So they have to take responsibility for what they did.”

“We’re short on hands for this kind of thing.”

Seolhyang seems to be the best at handling work in the world.

A true career woman. It’s almost admirable how she manages both work and love.

“The problem will be Cheonma.”

“Ah, now that I think about it, since Eun-hyeon is by your side, Dohwa must be doing well too.”

“Yeah, since you’re here, Ha-chan, it should be fine. But when Cheonma returned, she was quite unstable. She was missing a screw.”

Seolhyang shook her head with a tired expression.

“I made her, but every time she sees me, she bristles. Does she think I like it?”

Despite her confident demeanor as the head of the World Returner Association, Seolhyang pouted like a spoiled child in front of me.

Thinking that this was a side of her only I could see, I felt a surge of possessiveness, but I knew I shouldn’t let it show.

“Don’t hate both of them too much.”

“…Are you telling me to get along with your women?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Hmm, I guess I have no choice. It’s our lord’s command, so I’ll listen. Right? We’ll all gather and kiss later.”

I had nothing to say to Seolhyang, who was teasing me like that. Even if I had ten mouths, I wouldn’t be able to respond.

“Alright. If Ha-chan likes it, I’ll try to like it too.”

“Sorry, I’m such a scumbag.”

“It’s okay. Honestly, it’s not like we’re completely blameless.”

‘We should have seduced you sooner,’ Seolhyang muttered to herself. Honestly, I think the pressure from those around me was too strong.

“Most importantly, all three of us depend on you in ways that are no small matter. That’s why I allowed it. If you were only dating one of us, the others would probably cause trouble.”

Even though we’re step-siblings, I don’t know why Baeksan and Seolhyang think so similarly. In this case, did Baeksan end up being influenced by her?

“For now, take care of the second wife for a while.”

“Got it. …Wait, second wife?”

Finally getting up from my embrace, Seolhyang said that, and I looked at her in confusion.

“Yeah, the first confession, the first kiss, the first time I heard ‘I love you’—it was all me, right?”

Seeing her casually make such a statement, I was left speechless as Seolhyang smiled slyly.

“So I’m the first wife.”

Why are these girls so obsessed with being first? Overwhelmed by their excessive fixation, I couldn’t say a word as Seolhyang checked her phone.

“Hoo, it’s been almost an hour. Why does time fly so fast at times like this?”

Looking at me with regret, Seolhyang approached and kissed my cheek. Like she was savoring dessert, she gently cupped my cheek with her hand.

“If you add more than three, even I’ll get angry.”

“Come on, I’m not that shameless.”

“There are so many around you. Just like how the three of us ended up falling for you.”

As she said that, she shook her head as if remembering something.

“Everything is hard at first. Once one falls, two and three follow. That’s why wives have so much to worry about, my lord.”

“I’m really embarrassed by you calling me ‘lord.'”

“Then I’ll keep saying it until you get used to it, my lord.”

Please don’t.

I got up, looking at Seolhyang. It was time for her to get back to work, so I couldn’t take up any more of her time.

“Let me know if you want to take a break again. I’ll come running right away.”

“Okay, thank you for today. For indulging all my whims.”

“It’s not like there’s anyone else who would indulge you.”

Hearing that, Seolhyang raised her eyebrows slightly and then smiled brightly.

“Really.”

—

“Are you done?”

After Seolhyang finished her work, Baeksan appeared beside me as I left the World Returner Association. He must have been waiting at the entrance because he let out a long yawn when he saw me.

“Baeksan, about that…”

I couldn’t bring myself to tell him that after Ayu, I had also ended up in that kind of relationship with Seolhyang. Baeksan looked at me with a bored expression.

“Whatever, I expected it. I told you from the beginning, didn’t I? If you’re not going to date all of them, don’t even think about it.”

“I’m such a scumbag…”

“Since you’re the one who seduced them, it’s only right that you take responsibility.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you.”

Baeksan glared at me as if to stop me from saying more, and I scratched my head.

Has the magnetic man Kang Ha-chan, the homme fatale, been born? Oh, how filthy.

“So how many are left?”

“How many what?”

“The members of your harem.”

I thought of Si-ho.

“No, more importantly, what do you mean ‘how many’? I don’t plan on adding more!”

“If things went according to your plans, there wouldn’t have been three in the first place, right?”

I was left speechless.

“Just handle it carefully.”

Handle it carefully. Isn’t that the hardest thing in the world?

“…I should go to the company.”

Just as I was about to step forward, a car suddenly stopped in front of me. It was a black sedan, the kind that important people ride. As I stared at it, the door creaked open.

Inside was a middle-aged man in a suit. His face had deep dark circles, and he looked extremely tired.

“Are you F-class Hunter Kang Ha-chan?”

“…Yes.”

He seemed to already know who I was, so I answered, and he bowed his head to me.

“I’m Jin So-yeop, an agent from the Korean Hunter Management Bureau. Could you spare some time?”

Is this about the Hunter issue Seolhyang mentioned?

“Sure, why not.”

I wanted to have a conversation with them at least once, and since Eun-hyeon was with me after leaving the World Returner Association, I decided to go along.

‘After all.’

With the World Returner Association backing me, they had no reason to harm me. Plus, I wasn’t someone they could easily restrain anymore.

And so, for the first time in history, an F-class Hunter was being treated as a state guest by the Korean Hunter Management Bureau, creating an unprecedented situation.