“H-Hunter Cha Seohu, please calm down—just a moment...”
“I know what you’re worried about.”
Park Minhyuk tried to step in and mediate, but Cha Seohu cut him off coldly.
“Even if I’m not affiliated with the state, I have no intention of leaving the country. So let’s end it here.”
Because, frankly, this was exhausting.
He held back the rest of what he wanted to say.
He wanted to spit it out because the Association President was pissing him off, but Park Minhyuk pacing nervously at his side kept him from exploding completely.
The fact that Cha Seohu understood the exact reason for this meeting, even without it being explained, made the Association President go quiet.
“And how are we supposed to believe that? Anyone can make promises.”
“Should I write a contract for you?”
Cha Seohu smiled faintly.
“I don’t mind signing one. I’ve got no plans to go abroad. But honestly, it’s pretty ridiculous, isn’t it? Since when did the Association give a damn about me? Now I have to grovel and write you contracts for the sake of the Association and this country? That just doesn’t make sense.”
“......”
“Even if the President himself came and begged on his knees, I’d still need time to think. And here you are, chin raised, trying to pressure me. You think I’d feel good about that? I’m not some pushover idiot.”
The President could no longer hide his displeasure at Seohu’s biting words.
He glared at Cha Seohu and issued a low warning.
“Watch your mouth. Have you forgotten why you’re here in the first place? You’re a criminal. Anyone else would’ve been punished before even getting a re-evaluation.”
“Then punish me. There’s a Hunter-exclusive prison, right? Toss me in there. Sure, the media will blow up, and international forces will scream to extradite me, but hey—laws were broken, right? Can’t help that.”
Cha Seohu tilted his head, a hint of a sneer playing on his lips.
His expression practically said: You won’t do it. Will you?
The President clearly understood that too.
He couldn’t even manage his expression anymore—his face twisted with rage as he shouted:
“There’s a limit to how arrogant you can be! Do you think your skills were something you earned through effort? You awakened by luck and got this treatment—then you should be using it to serve your country and save people! How can you be so shameless and self-important?!”
“Serving the country, I don’t know. But I’m already saving people just fine, even without you breathing down my neck. Didn’t you get the reports? I’m the one who kept that Great Dungeon team from being wiped out. I’m the one who healed injured civilians at the front gate of the Royal Palace.”
“Hunter Cha Seohu!”
“I’m doing just fine on my own. You dragged me here just to bark orders.”
Sigh.
Cha Seohu let out a very deliberate sigh.
“I’m not going overseas. I’m definitely not joining the Association. I’ll decide where I belong. I think I’ve answered everything. I’ll be going now.”
He was clearly done with this place. Just as he moved to stand up and leave—
“Hunter Cha Seohu. Are you really sure you won’t regret this?”
“You’re saying you won’t regret how you treated me, or that you turned down this offer. Are you absolutely sure about that?”
His tone had shifted drastically.
Sensing something strange, Cha Seohu didn’t respond right away. Instead, he narrowed his eyes.
“You’re right. Even if you broke the law, we can’t just punish anyone. How could we possibly lock up the world’s first SS-rank Triple-Skill Awakened?”
The President leaned back slowly into the sofa.
“But anyone other than you? That’s different.”
“...What?”
“The Yesung and Circle guild leaders, for instance.”
Cha Seohu’s eyes twitched—just slightly, but noticeably.
“I heard you stuck pretty close to those S-ranks in the Great Dungeon. You've known them for quite a while, haven’t you?”
“What exactly are you getting at?”
“You deliberately concealed your skill and lied about your classification. Did you really pull that off all on your own?”
“......”
For the first time, Cha Seohu didn’t answer right away.
The Association President caught the hesitation and immediately [N O V E L I G H T] pressed in.
“From our standpoint, we can’t help but suspect. Maybe those three helped cover it up in exchange for receiving your buffs all this time.”
“...So what? You going to call them in and interrogate them now?”
“Haha!”
The President burst into laughter—out of nowhere—and stared at Seohu.
“Already did.”
“......”
“It was surprising, honestly. Usually, when you’re dealing with S-rankers or guild leaders, they can afford to ignore a summons or two. But the moment we brought you in under arrest—even if just for show—they all came running. Every single one. Loyal bunch.”
Watching the two men argue, Park Minhyuk, who had been nervously observing, finally intervened.
“Mr. President, this is—”
This was getting out of hand.
Bringing up people close to Seohu like this would only fuel resentment.
While he could understand the President’s reasoning, this was downright petty.
Cha Seohu already saw the Association as a bothersome nuisance. If this wasn’t handled carefully, that opinion would cement into something much worse.
Now wasn’t the time to act emotionally.
“P-please calm down for a moment—”
Park Minhyuk turned toward Cha Seohu but couldn’t finish his sentence.
Cha Seohu was looking straight at the President, eyes wide open, unmoving.
His pitch-black pupils held no light, and his pale face looked completely drained of life.
Maybe that’s why.
A chill ran through Park Minhyuk’s spine.
It was like he was staring at a corpse, propped up in a chair.
The Association President seemed to sense something similar. He didn’t say a word.
A heavy silence fell over the room.
BANG!
A deafening crash broke it. The table shook violently.
Clatter! Crash!
“...!”
The tea set rattled, then shattered across the floor.
Cha Seohu had kicked the bottom of the table with full force.
Still expressionless, he muttered in a low, flat voice:
“You really know how to fuck with someone’s mood.”
The smile that had never wavered no matter what was said—was now completely gone.
“W-what the hell do you think you’re doing?!”
The President was more shaken than Park Minhyuk, but tried to mask it by shouting.
Unbothered, Cha Seohu stood up and walked right out of the reception room without giving the President so much as a glance.
A perfect display of utter disregard.
“Aren’t you afraid of the consequences?! Stop right there! I said stop!”
The President pounded the table in fury and yelled after him, but Cha Seohu didn’t stop walking.
This is insane.
Not only was the relationship between Seohu and the Association beyond repair now—there was also no hope left of him ever joining.
Internally cursing the President’s idiocy, Park Minhyuk rushed after Seohu out of the office.
“Hunter Cha Seohu!”
He walked fast, almost running, to catch up with Seohu, who had already gotten far ahead.
When the hell did he get that far? No wonder I can’t take my eyes off him.
“Hunter Cha Seohu, please wait!”
There was no way his voice didn’t reach him at this distance, yet Seohu just kept walking forward without looking back.
His straight back, the slight sway of his black hair, the round curve of his head—Park Minhyuk stared at them anxiously and finally reached out, gently grabbing his arm.
“...I’ll escort you back to your room.”
“No need. I’m not a kid.”
His reply was indifferent, much like before—but this time, his tone was colder, and there wasn’t a hint of a smile on his face.
From Seohu’s perspective, it made sense to change his attitude.
He had just clashed with the Association President.
Why would he see his underling in a good light?
Even though Park Minhyuk had followed him out with good intentions, the colder treatment still stung unfairly.
“I know it’ll sound like an excuse—”
“......”
“But I didn’t know the S-ranks were summoned with that kind of intent. I was aware they’d been called in, yes. Falsifying your Awakening grade and failing to register skills are serious offenses. Even if they’re innocent, we have to follow protocol. If we try to sweep it under the rug and it comes up later, it’ll turn into a mess.”
The words spilled out faster than he could think. The explanation kept dragging on.
But Cha Seohu didn’t yank his arm away or scold him.
He just silently listened.
“All three of them are highly valued by the nation, and they’re guild leaders. It was genuinely for procedural purposes. That’s what I was told. It wasn’t meant to be an interrogation. In fact, yesterday...”
“Yesterday.”
Cha Seohu finally opened his mouth, after a long silence.
“They really all came to the Association?”
“...Yes. But they left within an hour. They answered the investigator’s questions sincerely.”
“That was yesterday. But starting today, it could change.”
Park Minhyuk had no reply.
Considering the President’s earlier threats... that possibility was all too real.
“I have one favor to ask, Team Leader.”
Cha Seohu looked up at him calmly.
Their eyes met, and Park Minhyuk had a strangely inappropriate thought:
Maybe this is the real Cha Seohu—not when he’s joking, not when he’s smirking. But like this: quiet, composed.

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