Chapter 32: Yeom Haneul is smiling

“Ngh…! Haa…”

Yeom Haneul paused her work and stretched.

After sitting blankly for a moment, she got up to get a cup of coffee, and heard a giggling sound.

Hearing a sound that should never be heard during work hours, Yeom Haneul headed towards the source of the sound like a ghost.

“Pfft… Khuhuh…”

Jeong Hana, the swordsman of the Flame of Upheaval party, was desperately trying to hold back her laughter while watching a video on her smartphone, with the party’s uniform, a long suit coat, pulled over her head.

Yeom Haneul approached Jeong Hana, making the clicking sound of her heels.

But Jeong Hana was so focused on something that she didn’t notice Yeom Haneul’s footsteps.

Finally.

Thud-.

“Uhek.”

Yeom Haneul placed her hand on top of Jeong Hana’s head.

“What are you doing, you crazy b*tch? What are you doing during work hours?”

“Ah, Ahaha…! U-Unnie! It’s not what it looks like, aaaaagh!!!!”

Yeom Haneul put strength into the hand holding Jeong Hana’s head, and Jeong Hana screamed terribly, grabbing Yeom Haneul’s thin arm and struggling to get away.

“Aaaagh! I’m dying! I’m really dying!!!”

Looking at Jeong Hana, who was overreacting even though it didn’t hurt that much, Yeom Haneul inadvertently smirked.

“Aaagh…! Th-This is blatant abuse by a superior! I will never stand for this!”

“So. What were you watching?”

Ignoring Jeong Hana’s words, Yeom Haneul turned her eyes to the smartphone she was watching.

Black hair, black eyes, large features, and a somewhat mischievous appearance.

A girl with not much of a chest and even short stature, who somehow made you want to flick her on the forehead.

Tianmo was sitting blankly, staring into the air.

Yeom Haneul had never seen Tianmo in person, but she knew the rumors well.

The head of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, which controlled half of China, Tianmo.

She had a deep-seated, bitter relationship with the British princess, Charlotte Grace.

And above all, her strength was among the best in the world.

For Yeom Haneul, she was an opponent she definitely wanted to face someday.

The more Yeom Haneul faced strong opponents and experienced the fear and crisis of death, the more she felt something thrilling deep inside her heart.

That’s why that day too…

‘… Ugh…’

Again.

Her thoughts are drifting to a strange place again.

She shook her head vigorously to scatter his face, which kept flickering in her mind.

She still had work to do today.

Having a happy time thinking about him could wait until the evening.

“Why are you watching Tianmo? Was this funny enough to make you giggle during work hours?”

“Ah. Look at this mesugaki Tianmo. She’s like this because her Hunter’s World record was broken, you know? It’s a video from about two days ago, but the views are already over 90 million.”

Tianmo was a hunter famous enough for her every move to be plastered in numerous articles.

And Hunter’s World was the most popular virtual reality game in the world.

The records set by the top 10 rankers, all of whom were S-rank hunters, were shattered by a single player.

“His nickname was Dr Pepper…? The nickname sense is terrible… Anyway. It’s a bit less so in Korea, but in the US server and overseas where this person appeared, it’s complete chaos, you know?”

“They’re saying things like a hidden master who honed his skills in seclusion has appeared! Or a retired veteran has returned!”

Jeong Hana couldn’t hide her excitement and passionately explained to Yeom Haneul.

But Yeom Haneul couldn’t understand Jeong Hana’s explanation.

“Hunter’s… What?”

“… Ah. Our unnie, despite her pretty appearance, is an old fogey who’s behind on new-age things, eeeeek!! St-Stop…! Kyaaaak…!”

She couldn’t deny that she wasn’t interested in games or video media, but she couldn’t just let the words “old fogey” slide.

“I-I didn’t say old fogey!!!”

“Shut up, you b*tch.”

Actually, there was no particular reason, and Yeom Haneul, who was addicted to teasing Jeong Hana, rubbed her head.

“Stop watching and get back to work. Work.”

“… Yes…”

Yeom Haneul gently patted Jeong Hana’s shoulder, who was stroking her own head, and headed to the break room.

And she detected a very faint voice.

“… Haa… I shouldn’t… … bu… nim, but…”

“What shouldn’t you do?”
Yeom Haneul flung open the curtains of the break room.

There was Go So-hye, looking at her smartphone with her face bright red.

“Hiek! U-Unnie?! Huak?!”

Go So-hye quickly tried to hide her phone, but she dropped it from her hand and it fell to the floor.

Go So-hye’s mind went blank at that moment, and she froze, unable to do anything.

“Huh. What are you doing? Like a b*tch caught jacking off.”

“N-No, it’s not…”

Yeom Haneul looked strangely at her, whose complexion had turned pale, and tried to pick up the phone Go So-hye had dropped.

That was before she saw Han Suhyeon’s smiling face on the screen of the dropped smartphone.

Yeom Haneul also flinched momentarily at the sudden appearance of Han Suhyeon’s face.

Then, she blankly grabbed the smartphone, lowered her head, and stared intently at Han Suhyeon’s smile.
Without even glancing at Go So-Hye, Yeom Haneul asked.

“…What… is this…?”

“Ah… Well. Ah. Unnie. It’s not what it looks like. This. That…”

Go So-hye stammered in embarrassment, then met Yeom Haneul’s eyes and slumped down.

A look as if looking at the greatest traitor of all time.

“… Don’t tell me… you too…?”

Go So-hye felt deep fear as she looked into Yeom Haneul’s empty red eyes looking down at her.

But Go So-hye’s excellent survival instincts found an escape route even in such a situation.

“N-No. No, unnie! Actually, I found this channel to show it to you~ Re-Really…”

Go So-hye explained in detail, with a slight mix of lies, how she came to know about Han Suhyeon’s channel and why she was watching his video in the break room.

If she told the truth as it was, she might really be stabbed to death by Yeom Haneul.

“Th-That, Suhyeon-ssi. Ah, no. Brother-in-law~ seems to be doing iTube~ I really saw it by chance! By chance.”

“I-I couldn’t not show this to you, right? S-So I checked it out for a bit to show it to you… Wh-What was it? Video food taster…? Like… Th-There might be poison in the video…”
In fact, there was poison in Han Suhyeon’s video.

Go So-hye fell into that poison and spent two hours last night watching Han Suhyeon’s smiling video and having delusional masturbation.

‘Brother-in-law… Hng… I shouldn’t… Unnie is sleeping next to me…’

Go So-hye, who had a good time having such delusions, couldn’t look Yeom Haneul in the face.

“… Was that it? Then… I’m sorry. I misunderstood.”

Yeom Haneul’s eyes returned to normal.

Surprisingly, Yeom Haneul was easily convinced by Go So-hye’s words.

Yeom Haneul had always thought that she had done a really good job picking her subordinates.

The elite of the elite, carefully selected.

The Flame of Upheaval was a party she had built with four people she thought she could trust to cover her back.

Among them, Go So-hye was special.

She was the first party member Yeom Haneul picked, the one she had been with the longest, and practically the second leader of the party.

Yeom Haneul thought she could trust and entrust anything to Go So-hye.

For reference, the remaining two party members were on long-term leave due to injuries sustained during the Ogre incident.

“By the way. How do you watch this? Show me.”

“Ah. It’s like this…”

Go So-hye manipulated Yeom Haneul’s phone and pressed the subscribe button on Han Suhyeon’s iTube channel.

“What’s this number next to it?”

“Ah. This is the number of subscribers. It shows how many people have subscribed to brother-in-law’s iTube.”

“…Suhyeon-ssi… by 150,000 people…”

“…Don’t be jealous in a weird place.”

“I should have been the first to press the subscribe button…!”

“…”

“I can’t. I’m going to storm the iTube headquarters right now…!”

“No, no! What are you going to do when you storm in!”

“Of course, I’m going to get rid of all the subscribers and become Suhyeon-ssi’s first subscriber.”

Go So-hye barely managed to stop Yeom Haneul, who was spouting nonsense, and played a video of Han Suhyeon for her.

Looking at Yeom Haneul, who soon turned her attention to Han Suhyeon’s video, Go So-hye felt a deep sense of relief and guilt.

‘I’m sorry, unnie… But brother-in-law is too f*cking hot…’

And she admired Yeom Haneul, who was watching the video with a straight face, thinking, “As expected of unnie.”

How many women could watch that video without their hearts pounding or their faces flushing?

There were so many people who became fans of Han Suhyeon after seeing that smile that there was even an unofficial fan cafe.

Yeom Haneul didn’t have even the slightest change in expression while watching the video.

Of course, that was an illusion caused by not knowing what Yeom Haneul was thinking right now.

‘Haa… Suhyeon-ssi… How… So…’

Yeom Haneul desperately suppressed the corners of her mouth, which were trying to rise like a fool, every time she saw his appearance in the video.

This is it for tonight… she thought while watching the video, but she felt something strange.

Why is it familiar?

Why is that video familiar?

Feeling an inexplicable sense of wonder, Yeom Haneul went to the video list of Han Suhyeon’s channel.

And there, in addition to the E-rank gate video she had been watching, there was another video.

Yeom Haneul clicked on that video.

As expected, the video she had seen at the hospital was playing.

‘…Yu Ayeon…’

So that’s where he went with Suhyeon-ssi, to film this video.

But strangely, she didn’t feel as frustrated as before.

Yeom Haneul recalled the conversation she had with Han Suhyeon in the car.

• Are you and Ayeon-ssi in a relationship? Hey. Absolutely not. It’s just a business relationship. Business. Rather, I prefer someone like Haneul-ssi over that kind of woman… Ah, never mind…

It wasn’t that Han Suhyeon and she really had that conversation, but Yeom Haneul had already finished distorting her memory and self-rationalizing after seeing Han Suhyeon and Yu Ayeon walking away with their arms linked.
Just a business relationship.

Han Suhyeon didn’t even see Yu Ayeon as the opposite s*x.

She couldn’t imagine losing Han Suhyeon to a gloomy woman who was just a little… j-just a little… busty.

Besides, she would soon be appointed as an S-rank hunter, recognizing her achievements so far and her contribution to the Incheon Ogre incident.

Once she achieved the feat of S-rank, she wouldn’t even need to care about that kind of b*tch.

S-rank hunter VS a gloomy woman who’s just a little busty.

An incomparable, guaranteed victory.

It was a shameful match to even be compared as rivals on the same level.

She hadn’t even gotten Han Suhyeon’s phone number yet, and they had only exchanged a few words.

But Yeom Haneul was already smiling victoriously and returned to work.