This damn system.
The shock was quickly followed by a wave of helplessness.
‘There aren’t three main characters? Four? No way... there aren’t even more, are there?’
Was he supposed to go out and find all the main characters—without even knowing how many there were in total? Or would he keep encountering them like this? According to the system’s will?
Goosebumps rose on his skin.
Cha Seohu’s face turned pale, as if motion-sick. The fingers pressing against his forehead trembled faintly.
‘Eun Woojeong only barely cleared the hidden quest this time...’
He didn’t know whether he should think of it as simply gaining a useful collaborator, or as someone he now had to manage.
“Hunter Cha Seohu.”
“......”
“Hunter Cha Seohu!”
The firm voice pierced through his thoughts.
Gasp—Seohu involuntarily sucked in a small breath and quickly looked up. Everyone, including Park Minhyuk, who wore a worried expression, was staring at him.
‘...Shit.’
This wasn’t the time to zone out. He’d slipped up.
Hurriedly closing the status window, Cha Seohu forced his lips into a smile and replied.
“Ah, sorry. I just suddenly got a bit of a headache...”
“What?”
Park Minhyuk’s face turned pale in an instant.
“D-Did you get hurt in the accident earlier? Is it bad?”
“I’ll call a Healer immediately!”
As the visibly shaken Supporter wobbled unsteadily, the already-anxious two S-ranks began to fumble in a panic.
“Hyung...”
Young Cha Sahyeon, still holding his hand, looked on the verge of tears. The only ones observing the attention-swamped Cha Seohu with mild interest were Eun Woojeong and Yoon Jeha.
“I’d heard rumors that he was physically weak, but I didn’t think it was this bad. Doesn’t suit his build at all.”
Yoon Jeha tilted her head and sized Seohu up with open skepticism.
Kwon Taehyuk shot her a look of utter disbelief.
“What does a traffic accident have to do with his build? And Hunter Cha Seohu is quite delicate, in fact.”
“Delicate?”
Yoon Jeha looked Cha Seohu up and down again.
He had long limbs and a height that couldn’t possibly be called short. Though he wore a slightly oversized denim jacket, he was neither particularly skinny nor lacking in muscle to be described as “delicate.”
Realizing Kwon Taehyuk was clearly smitten, Yoon Jeha clicked her tongue.
‘Well, it’s not like he’s the first Dealer to fall for a Supporter.’
But even the rigid Kwon Taehyuk? SS-rank Supporters were terrifying indeed.
She inwardly scoffed at Taehyuk’s behavior—but she, too, had come all this way precisely because of that “terrifying” SS-rank Supporter.
So Yoon Jeha extended her hand again.
“Nice to meet you, Hunter Cha Seohu. I’m Yoon Jeha.”
“...That’s a sudden change to formal speech.”
“I was a bit hasty earlier, wasn’t I? Consider this my proper introduction.”
Seohu wanted nothing more than to get out of here immediately, but the woman in front of him wasn’t just a random stranger—she was now one of the “main characters” he had to manage.
With a stress-induced headache pulsing behind his eyes, Cha Seohu reluctantly accepted the handshake.
“I’m Cha Seohu.”
He considered adding that he was the head of the Won Guild, but decided against it. It didn’t hold much meaning anymore.
Whether to disband the guild or leave it be—just another problem piled onto his plate. Swallowing a sigh, he forced a smile.
“I’m glad to meet you as well, but we actually have a prior engagement. We’ll have to go for now.”
“Ahh~”
Yoon Jeha’s eyes gleamed as her lips curled into a grin.
“What a shame! I actually came by yesterday too, you know.”
“Pardon?”
“Requested a meeting, but the Yesung Guild coldly turned me away. Funny, isn’t it? I heard Cha Seohu the Supporter is just a guest at Yesung, not officially a member.”
When Seohu turned his head, he saw Kwon Taehyuk—who had been glaring at Yoon Jeha with a stiff expression—avert his gaze awkwardly.
‘So that’s what happened.’
He’d wondered why she was being so aggressive. Apparently, Kwon Taehyuk had already rejected her.
‘If you’re going to act unilaterally, at least be shameless about it. What’s with that guilty look?’
Jeez.
Cha Seohu answered in his stead.
“I was feeling under the weather yesterday, so I asked the Guildmaster in advance to decline on my behalf.”
“Hmm.”
Yoon Jeha looked thoroughly unimpressed by the half-hearted excuse.
Despite her flamboyant red hair and eyes, her expressionless face gave off a surprisingly cold, chilly air.
“What about tomorrow?”
Thud. Yoon Jeha placed a hand on Seohu’s shoulder and leaned in close.
“You’re not going to stand me up again, are you? I’ve been running around for three days just trying to meet you.”
Her ruby-red eyes gleamed inches from his face, sending a chill down his spine.
Just for a moment, Cha Seohu caught the clinging obsession behind those eyes. Cold sweat trickled down his temple.
“Well, since you have a prior appointment today, I guess I can’t help it!”
“......”
“I’ll come to the Yesung Guild again tomorrow, so I hope you’ll spare even an hour to meet me~”
With a bright smile, she withdrew her hand and stepped back. Then, without hesitation, she turned her back.
“Civil Servant, let’s go!”
“God, you really... Wait—don’t sit in the driver’s seat!”
Park Minhyuk bowed briefly toward Seohu, then hurried after Yoon Jeha toward the car.
As soon as their car began pulling away, the silent Kwon Taehyuk finally spoke up.
“Are you alright? I can still call a Healer.”
“I’m feeling better. And we’re almost out of time—we should head to Circle first.”
“But...”
“Circle has a Healer now, right? If I feel worse, I’ll get treated there.”
It wasn’t a physical injury but a tension headache—no Healer required.
Kwon Taehyuk, guessing immediately who Seohu meant, couldn’t bring himself to argue. After all, that newly arrived Healer was indeed an S-rank.
“As for Hunter Yoon Jeha, you don’t need to bother. I can handle her myself.”
“No.”
Cha Seohu ran his hand through his messy bangs and took his brother’s hand as they walked to the car.
“She clearly wants to meet me. It’ll be better to just talk and figure out what she wants.”
“You really think that’ll be enough?”
“Yes. So this time, don’t step in.”
Cha Seohu recalled the look in Yoon Jeha’s eyes moments ago.
The obsessive gleam in her ruby-like irises was immediately familiar.
He didn’t know what she was after, but she reminded him a little... of himself.
‘What the hell does she want that she’s coming after me like this?’
Since the system had already confirmed her as a main character, avoiding her was pointless. It’d be smarter to just figure out her motives as quickly as possible.
‘Ugh, what a mess.’
He sighed and got into the back seat with Cha Sahyeon, just about to close the car door—when suddenly, a large hand blocked it.
Looking up, he saw Eun Woojeong standing right beside the car.
He was holding the door as if to help close it, leaning slightly over Seohu.
Then, so Kwon Taehyuk—who was giving orders to the driver—wouldn’t hear, he asked in a low whisper:
“Do you know about Cover?”
“...What?”
What the hell is he bringing up Cover for?
Cha Seohu furrowed his brows at ➤ NоvеIight ➤ (Read more on our source) the unexpected question.
Eun Woojeong, wearing a stiff smile tinged with clear discomfort, murmured softly:
“You stared at me like that... and your excuse was just a headache?”
“...?”
“Please. Even a kid wouldn’t believe that.”
What the hell is he on about?
Muttering nonsense to the end, Eun Woojeong didn’t wait for a response and closed the car door for him.
Staring dumbfounded through the window at Eun Woojeong outside, Cha Seohu reached up to his throbbing head again.
‘That bastard or this bastard...’
He really didn’t understand why everyone was acting so damn crazy.
Maybe trying to make up for earlier, the driver showed impeccable focus and delivered his passengers smoothly and safely to the Circle Guild.
Ryu Sunghyun and Song Jiwoon were waiting at the guild building entrance, right on time for their scheduled meeting. As soon as they saw Cha Seohu getting out of the car, they hurried over.
“Hunter Cha Seohu!”
“Vice-Guildmaster, Mountain Keeper.”
Seohu’s dark eyes lit up the moment he saw Ryu Sunghyun and Song Jiwoon approaching. A faint blush of life bloomed across his exhausted face.
If he weren’t holding young Cha Sahyeon’s hand, he might have run to hug them right then.
‘So good. This is healing—literal healing!’
Even though it hadn’t been that long since he’d last seen them, after being battered by S-rank squabbles all this time, Seohu was overwhelmed with emotion.
“You didn’t sleep? You look tired.”
“Looks like you lost weight...”
Enjoying the reunion after a few weeks, both Jiwoon and Sunghyun each had something to say.
‘Anyone watching would think it’s been ages since we met.’
Kwon Taehyuk, who’d been watching the warm scene from the side with growing displeasure, stepped in smoothly.
“We had a bit of an incident on the way. But he’s been eating well—three good meals a day—so there’s no need to worry.”
“Ahh.”
Even at his veiled jealousy and boasting, Ryu Sunghyun and Song Jiwoon simply smiled, unbothered.
“He was eating just fine in the mountains too. Let’s get you some good food while you’re here.”
“Whatever happened, he needs rest first. Let’s go up, Hunter Cha Seohu.”
“Yes.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Seohu placed his hand firmly in Ryu Sunghyun’s.
“......”
Kwon Taehyuk’s brow furrowed even more.

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