How did Cha Seohu end up like this?
Let’s rewind thirty minutes.
“Are you sure this is okay?”
Kwon Taehyuk, who had personally escorted Cha Seohu to the reception room instead of sending a staff member, asked with a worried look.
“Hunter Yoon Jeha is infamous for being rude and doing things her own way. Of course, she likely understands the importance of an SS-rank Supporter and will restrain herself, but there’s still a chance something unpleasant could happen.”
“Come on, this is the middle of Yesung Guild HQ. What could possibly go wrong?”
Cha Seohu casually shrugged his shoulders and smiled at the deeply concerned Kwon Taehyuk.
“It’s just a short conversation. We just met for the first time—there’s not even that much to talk about. Don’t worry too much.”
“...All right.”
It felt awkward to worry further when the person in question was this confident.
‘It’s not like we’re even that close.’
That stray thought made Kwon Taehyuk feel a little down, but he straightened his back without showing it.
“Then I’ll be heading back upstairs.”
“Okay. Thanks for letting us use the reception room.”
“Not at all.”
Even as he turned to leave, Kwon Taehyuk glanced back at Cha Seohu with clear reluctance, his footsteps heavy.
It wasn’t just because Seohu was meeting an S-rank dealer that Taehyuk was this worried. It was because the one he was meeting was Yoon Jeha—unpredictable and volatile.
Even their encounter yesterday had been unusually intense.
Kwon Taehyuk’s attitude was understandable, but it would’ve been ridiculous for the Guildmaster of Yesung to hover around everywhere Seohu went.
‘Besides, if something does happen, Sahyeon will get there before Taehyuk even blinks.’
Sahyeon had assumed he’d be coming along, but after being firmly rejected by his older brother, he had reluctantly left behind a shadow tether. If Seohu were to get even slightly hurt, Sahyeon could appear instantly.
Today as well, Seohu was thoroughly guarded—by both the walking Catastrophe and the Guildmaster of Yesung.
Feeling confident, Seohu sat comfortably on the reception room sofa and sipped the tea that had been prepared in advance, waiting for his guest.
Knock knock.
Soon enough, there was a crisp knock and the door to the reception room opened.
A tall woman stepped confidently through the door opened by the staff member who had escorted her.
Red hair gleaming just like yesterday, Yoon Jeha approached Seohu with a faint smile.
“Hunter Cha Seohu—getting a glimpse of your face is tough, huh?”
“Oh, uh, hello.”
You saw me yesterday, what do you mean ‘tough’?
Grumbling internally, Seohu returned her smile.
Yoon Jeha plopped herself down on the sofa across from him with an audible flop and crossed her legs.
“The inspection coming up here was seriously tight. Wasn’t like this before. Is it ‘cause you’ve got an SS-rank Supporter now? Guildmaster Kwon’s gotten really uptight since I last saw him.”
Hah.
With an exaggerated smirk, she made it clear she wanted a reaction. Seohu kept his polite smile as he replied.
“Haha, who knows? Maybe it’s because you’re such a special guest, not because of me.”
“......”
“......”
Sparks flew between their locked eyes. Both were smiling, but the atmosphere in the reception room had already taken a nosedive.
Whether she realized she was the one souring the mood or not, Yoon Jeha calmly lifted her teacup.
“Ugh, I hate fancy tea like this. Should’ve brought me an iced Americano or something.”
She muttered irritably.
Meanwhile, Seohu, though he’d responded in kind to avoid seeming weak, was starting to feel uneasy inside.
I knew she didn’t exactly like me...
But he hadn’t expected her to make it so obvious.
This wasn’t a good start.
Great. This is gonna be a headache.
They’d be seeing more of each other from now on, so starting off on the wrong foot was less than ideal.
It was already unsettling to meet another core character out of nowhere, and now she was showing clear hostility.
He didn’t know why she was acting like this. As far as he knew, this was their first proper meeting.
I was planning to coax her gently to get her guard down, but that’s just gonna backfire now.
Adjusting his approach, Seohu calmly asked,
“What brings you here?”
“Ahh.”
Though she had claimed not to like the tea, Yoon Jeha drained her cup and set it down before speaking.
“I’ve got something I’m curious about.”
“Go ahead and ask.”
“If I ask, are you actually going to answer?”
“That depends on the question, doesn’t it?”
“You really don’t let a single word go, do you, Supporter Cha?”
That’s my line.
“This is a secret, but actually—”
Leaning forward and resting her chin in her hand, Yoon Jeha smiled darkly.
“There are some people I’ve been chasing.”
“People you’ve been chasing?”
“Very, very bad ones. I don’t care much about world peace or any of that, but taking them out would bring us a step closer anyway.”
At that, Seohu instinctively thought of °• N o v e l i g h t •° the cult.
No way... but it’s unlikely.
Information about Nox Lab or the cultists hadn’t leaked outside.
The lab where he and Sahyeon had been rescued had gotten some media coverage, but nothing had connected it to the cult. All the recent rift incidents and dungeon breaks were still seen as natural disasters, not deliberate acts.
And she’s been overseas this whole time.
It was hard to believe she was linked to the cult.
Weighing his options, Seohu went for the safest possible response.
“So you came to ask for my help? To buff you while you go after those bad people?”
“Oh, if only it were something that cute! Sorry, but you’re wrong.”
Wrong?
As he looked at her in confusion, Yoon Jeha’s eyes narrowed.
Her lips were still curved, but the red eyes behind her thick lashes had gone ice-cold.
“Supporter Cha, I’m very interested in you. But it’s not because I want your buffs or heals.”
“...Excuse me?”
“I’ve been looking into a lot of different things. Or more precisely... as I looked into various things, your name kept popping up.”
Something was off. The air had changed.
Cha Seohu blinked slowly.
“You were kidnapped and subjected to human experimentation at a lab, weren’t you?”
“...!”
“After that, you showed up at the site of the Uidong Rift.”
Yoon Jeha’s smile faded slowly downward.
“Then Gyeongbokgung.”
“......”
“You even went to Mount Taebaek, didn’t you? That place was so cold even I couldn’t go near it easily.”
She rose from her seat.
“And finally, the dungeon break near Mount Cheonma.”
“......”
“How did you manage to be at every single disaster site? Is it ‘cause you’re close with Guildmaster Kwon? Were you helping him out? Or are you just a volunteer Supporter? Or maybe... is there something between you two?”
“Hold on, argh—!”
The figure of Yoon Jeha in front of him vanished in a blink, and something grabbed his throat with overwhelming force.
Thud!
Her hand on his neck, Seohu was slammed violently into the sofa.
His hand instinctively flailed, crushing the leather beneath his fingers. Yoon Jeha had completely subdued him in an instant—and she chuckled.
“You’re a precious Supporter, so I’ll be nice and use the sofa instead of the floor.”
“Khak—gh!”
“Let’s try this again. How did you end up at every single incident?”
Cold energy flooded down Seohu’s spine. Cold sweat dripped down his skin, and his fingertips trembled.
“It’d be best not to try lying. I’m sure you’ve heard—I don’t have much patience.”
“......”
“If you’re really connected to those goddamn cult freaks...”
Murderous intent flashed in her red eyes.
Even while being choked, Seohu could instantly recognize the killing intent radiating from her.
“You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that.”
“......”
“If it were me, I’d have dragged even that screw-loose Guildmaster Kwon in here just in case.”
No kidding.
I should’ve just brought him along.
What kind of confidence had made him think meeting this psycho S-rank dealer one-on-one was a good idea?
Deeply regretting it, Seohu managed a weak smile. His body was frozen with instinctive terror, and his trembling lips barely curled upward.
“My... gk, my throat... If you don’t let go, I can’t... answer...”
“You’re talking just fine, though?”
“If... you don’t mind it taking... thirty minutes... khm, to get one answer... that’s fine too.”
Seohu deliberately coughed mid-sentence, drawing it out as slowly as he could.
“S-rank dealer... sure is a scaredy-cat...”
“Ha!”
Even while he was pinned, Seohu didn’t back down and provoked her. Yoon Jeha let out a sharp scoff, clearly amused.
Still, it seemed she did want to hear his answer—her grip around his neck loosened slightly.

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