Free Web Novel‘Shit, no, that’s not it.’
I nodded and quickly corrected myself.
“I’m kidding.”
“Jehyun.”
Yeah, that didn’t work.
Im Haekyung stared at me with an expression that said quit spouting bullshit, then ran a hand back through their hair once.
“It doesn’t feel like you just said it for no reason. Can you explain what you meant?”
Sitting on the sofa, looking up at Im Haekyung, I thought for a moment.
‘They seem more annoyed than I expected.’
I did know that Im Haekyung and Song Hwayoung had been temporarily adopted into the same house, but even so, I’d never thought the two of them were close. Even Song Hwayoung didn’t she avoid Im Haekyung?
Of course, that was one-sided avoidance, and Im Haekyung didn’t keep Song Hwayoung in check or think badly of her. And at the same time, it was proof that Song Hwayoung had something that made her dislike Im Haekyung one-sidedly.
‘Even though I already know what it is.’
Wasn’t this what Joo Seowon had brought me a long time ago?
Im Haekyung used a brainwashing Skill on people around them. Mostly people they met often—reporters, interviewers.
‘They used it a fuckton.’
The purpose was clear. It made people feel that Im Haekyung was “safe.” The instinctive revulsion a mental-type Hunter gave off was bound ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) to be far more intense than the revulsion a physical-type Hunter gave off.
‘Obviously. Someone who messes with your mind is going to feel way more disgusting than someone who shoots fire in front of you.’
And among those “people around” Im Haekyung, Song Hwayoung—who’d been at a fairly close distance—had even had a significant portion of her memories messed with. It was a question why Im Haekyung had gone as far as doing it to Song Hwayoung, but I judged there was no need to resolve it and didn’t bring it up.
But for them to show this kind of strange displeasure....
‘Does Im Haekyung think Song Hwayoung is inside their boundary?’
Well, if they had sibling affection, that might be the case. Family affection, whatever else it is, includes a basic attachment relationship.
‘Logically, I get it.’
It’s just not the reaction I expected the Haeseong guild master to show.
Honestly, it was true that I threw the words out more hastily because I thought Im Haekyung would take it lightly. Partly because Im Haekyung had spoken with way too much certainty first, saying the SH Guild was going to collapse.
But if it had come to this, the best thing to do was deny it all the way.
‘I didn’t see that coming.’
I answered without hesitation.
“What explanation do I need?”
“I’m someone who can read nuance. Just now, because you spoke with so much certainty. That Guild Master Song is going to die?”
“Hm.”
“There’s no way it was a joke. A joke... it can’t be a joke, right? First of all, it’s not funny.”
Is that the problem?
When I just looked at Im Haekyung without answering, they quickly added,
“Of course I’m not telling you to tack on a funny joke here. I meant there’s no way that would be a joke.”
“Yes.”
“So, the explanation?”
I spun my head fast, trying to find an answer Im Haekyung would accept.
“You were the one who said first that the SH Guild was going to collapse.”
“I did.”
“Where did that come from, exactly?”
When I asked back, Im Haekyung answered readily.
“Guild Master Song was injured.”
“The articles corrected it and said it was minor.”
“You believe that?”
“Yes. It was Major Daily.”
When I replied without getting stuck, I could feel the gaze drilling into me. Im Haekyung reached out, picked up some papers on the desk, and fluttered them.
“I brought the medical records.”
“Isn’t that illegal?”
I asked seriously, but Im Haekyung didn’t even pretend to listen.
“A lot of people are curious about Guild Master Song’s medical records.”
“In Korea?”
“There are people overseas who want to know, too. But, Jehyun. Did you really say it without knowing?”
The way Im Haekyung asked that, they already looked like they’d reached a conclusion no matter what I said. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
“Just now, you asked me like you were sure. Whatever you answer here is going to sound like an excuse.”
“I don’t know either. I can’t see the future.”
“There are Hunters with precognition Skills. Of course, there’s a decent margin of error. But you... you’re appraisal-type, so you wouldn’t be.”
“Yes.”
If it ever comes out that I scammed Joo Seowon and Do Yehyun by claiming I had a precognition Skill, that reaction will be something to see.
Im Haekyung cut off and stared at me quietly.
“I don’t have a precognition Skill.”
“I know. I didn’t even consider that possibility in the first place.”
“Then what?”
So they were confident they didn’t have a precognition Skill, yet they were still asking.
I realized it the very next moment.
“Ah-ha....”
“Even if you don’t see the future, there are ways to be certain about the future.”
“Who do you think is going to kill Guild Master Song?”
“Surprisingly, high-grade Hunters have a lot of enemies.”
Was that something from experience?
If Im Haekyung had enemies, it probably wasn’t the kind of enemies made just because they were a high-grade Hunter.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“No, I just had another thought for a moment.”
“.......”
“If we get back to the point, it’s not that.”
“Certain?”
“Yes, how... how do you easily kill an A-rank Hunter?”
“She’s injured.”
When they came at me like that, it was also true, so I had nothing to say.
Anyway, I shook my head at Im Haekyung’s words and said firmly.
“Someone might have decided to kill Guild Master Song. But I don’t know. As far as I know, there isn’t anyone who’s decided on that, either.”
“You?”
“Me?”
“No, Guild Master Song.”
What bullshit is this?
I narrowed my brows and looked at Im Haekyung. Im Haekyung added with a gentle smile.
“Guild Master Song has strong pride. Strong responsibility, too, right? If the guild collapses because of her mistake, the guilt would be considerable. Still... I don’t think it’s likely, but because you were so sure just now.”
“I wasn’t sure. I was asking.”
“You asked like you were sure.”
It feels like it’s worth arguing, but why does it feel like I’m dealing with such a tiring bastard?
Im Haekyung briefly showed a troubled look, then asked.
“Did Guild Master Song say anything to you?”
“She’s not the type to share information with me all that well.”
“Really? Even though you’re an appraiser.”
“I’m involved with you, aren’t I? And Guild Master Song doesn’t really like you.”
“Oh, me?”
“Yes. You, Haekyung.”
When I shot back lightly, Im Haekyung finally laughed again.
“At this rate, later on you’ll drop honorifics with me....”
Dropping honorifics is possible even now. I just don’t particularly feel like it.
Im Haekyung touched around the corner of their mouth, thinking hard about something, then nodded.
“Alright.”
Is that it?
‘For how much they pressed me, they’re backing off way more easily than I expected.’
Sure enough, Im Haekyung immediately smiled and said,
“I’ll look into it separately.”
“.......”
“It’s not because I can’t trust you....”
“Yes.”
“Mm, it is, though.”
‘What the fuck?’
Whether I stared at them like they were ridiculous or not, Im Haekyung stood up and patted my shoulder.
“For now, first... got it, Jehyun.”
“Yes.”
“Will you go back today? I think I’m going to be busy.”
“Because you’re going to dig around?”
“Yes.”
I can’t tell if that’s honesty or nerve.
Anyway, I really had said everything I needed to. About the fiend merger, Im Haekyung said they’d keep their mouth shut, too.
I got up without any lingering attachment. Right before I opened the door and left, Im Haekyung’s voice came from behind me.
“See you soon, Jehyun.”
“Yes.”
It probably wasn’t just a polite send-off. Im Haekyung had no reason to do that.
***
After that day, I naturally got my rank re-evaluated. Since Haeseong already had data on me, the rank was corrected quickly through a simple questionnaire and procedure.
Of course, I informed the SH Guild of it too, but the reaction wasn’t all that huge.
‘Your rank got corrected? To what... B? Ah, well....’
‘Oh, really? Then your rank had been set way wrong before.... No wonder it felt weird.’
‘Did they say B is definitely measured right? Ah, you went all the way to Haeseong to do it?’
It was a peculiar reaction, but there was no reason to care, so I moved on quickly.
I was a bit worried about how Song Hwayoung would react, but maybe thankfully, Song Hwayoung didn’t even come near the SH building, using recuperation as an excuse.
And like it was some kind of natural procedure, an article came out.
‘I didn’t particularly want this.’
News│ First rank correction case this year... a whopping F→B increase, lowered trust in awakened rank measurement devices
(Picture.jpg)
∆ This is an illustration depicting the scene of someone taking an awakened-person test.
ㅤOn the 10th, the first awakened rank correction case of the year was received. Ever since the awakened rank reporting system was made mandatory, the rank measurement error issue that comes up every time has occurred again this time. It’s a case corrected from F-rank to B-rank, no less.
ㅤThe subject of this rank correction is Hunter Seo Jehyun (25), and according to the testimony of Mr. Seo ○○, there had been something suspicious from the time he received his initial rank. Hunter Seo added a speculative comment, saying, “I always felt like my mana (Gate energy) was suppressed, and maybe because I entered dungeons so often, my mana finally came out at my original rank.”
ㅤAs this is a case with an unusually large correction range, the issue of trust in awakened rank measurement devices is also being raised. Rank measurement errors occur about two to three times every year, but it’s the first time it has changed by this much. Accordingly, the public’s voice calling for the device’s credibility and inspection issues to be reviewed again has also grown louder.
ㅤMeanwhile, Hunter Seo currently belongs to the SH Guild, whose guild master is Hunter Song Hwayoung (36).
View follow-up article
I didn’t even scroll down to the comments and turned off my phone screen. It was a case worth noting, but the world already had plenty of interesting things, so this would be forgotten quickly too.
‘Let’s do something else instead of wasting time on this.’
***
Hunter/Dungeon | HOT list
[Notice] 『Notice Violation Notice』Excessive self-doxxing is prohibitedX
[Chatter] Did you see the rank correction Hunter photos this time?
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(Photo)
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They say it was taken when he went to get his Hunter ID
No... no...
573 comments
— He’s just fucking handsome
— No but he’s kinda scary, like I couldn’t even talk to him in personㅋㅋㅋㅋ he is handsome though
— But was it corrected from F to B in one go?? How is that possible?
└ Sounds like an error happened when he got his initial rank in the first place!
ㅤ└ Holy shit.. no but low-rank Hunters and high-rank Hunters have different risk levels, does that even make senseㅜ That’s why they made reporting mandatory in the first place;
ㅤ└ Yeah,, honestly it’s kind of too much
— Handsome, but kinda... looks like he’ll have a lot of scandals
└ What is this now...
— I looked it up and they say he’s an appraiser? So he’s probably not a physical-type
└ I assumed he was a body reinforcement-type Hunter because of his build...
ㅤ└ That’s prejudice, but honestly me tooㅋㅋ
ㅤ└ No, judging like that just from physique is kinda... but yeah, I did think that too
ㅤ└ It’s really prejudice, but I also thought he was a body reinforcement-type Hunter!
ㅤㅤ└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ freewebnovel.cσ๓
ㅤㅤ└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㅤㅤ└ Everyone thought thatㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
This time the rank correction Hunter’s face dropped
(Photo)
Reposted
Comments
— His face, holy fuck, I almost pissed myself
— Fuck, I almost pulled out cash to go buy bread at the convenience store
ㅤ└ Loser ass bitch, your trauma acting up?
ㅤㅤ└ Yeah;
— He’s fucking handsome, holy shit
— This is insane ㄷㄷ...
— Fuck, I’m so jealous
— But why is B-rank a high-grade Hunter?
ㅤ└ Get out
ㅤㅤ└ No but I’m right. It’s not A or S-rank, since when is B a high-grade Hunter?
ㅤㅤㅤ└ I said I get it, so fuck off
