Chapter 72 The Beginning of Regret

Yoo Eun-ha.

Until recently, Eun-ha had been drowning in debt.
She couldn’t even eat properly and was chased by loan sharks, rolling in filthy places. There were times she had to hide in garbage bins.

Not to mention sleeping on newspaper in dark alleys was a daily routine. There were times when dogs urinated on her while she slept.

It was a truly miserable life that Eun-ha had to endure after her fall from grace.

Everything happened after she lost her abilities in the Astaroth-class gate.

These were things Eun-ha had to endure after losing her powers.

She already had enemies everywhere, and when she lost her power, they all tormented her seeking revenge.

And honestly speaking, those days were truly like living in despair.

Her brilliant life as the S-rank #1 hunter plummeted into the gutter in an instant.

The fall of Eun-ha, who could do and enjoy anything she wanted as an empress. It was an incredibly painful time.

But even in such a life, Eun-ha endured by drinking a single bottle of cheap soju bought with money she found.

No matter how severe the situation became, Eun-ha never despaired or surrendered.

Because Eun-ha wasn’t like those common women who were everywhere.

Whether it was simple violence, threats, or starvation, no matter what situation she faced, she never bowed her pride.

Eun-ha is much stronger than people think. Even if it was a life others could never endure, it didn’t matter to her at all.

Eun-ha endured solely with her pride. She endured with the mindset that if the world abandoned her, she would abandon the world.

Of course, if she had just bowed her head and begged for forgiveness, she wouldn’t have fallen this far.

They would have still given her some respect as a former S-class Rank 1 hunter.

Even though she had lost her powers, it was her rough attitude that brought about this situation.

But even knowing this, this was who Eun-ha was.

A woman who could never abandon her pride even if it would make life easier.

That was who Yoo Eun-ha was.

Pride, that was Yoo Eun-ha’s way of life.

A woman who valued her pride more than her life, considering it far more precious than her own existence.

A woman who never submitted to anyone, never knelt before anyone, and just lived as she was even if she had nothing – that was Yoo Eun-ha.

However…

But even for such an Eun-ha, there was a moment she couldn’t endure.

That was Si-woo.

When she saw her ex-boyfriend.

Si-woo was so kind.

Eun-ha had definitely dumped Si-woo coldly.

She had firmly rejected the boyfriend who had devoted himself to her for seven years.

She must have been the worst person in the world to Si-woo.

But Si-woo was so kind to her.

Even though he should have hated her more than anyone else, he didn’t particularly dislike her.

Rather, he readily stepped forward to help her.

And Eun-ha really hated that.

Because it hurt her pride terribly.

Receiving such pity from a man she had dumped.

That was something Eun-ha’s pride could not accept.

That’s why Eun-ha couldn’t endure it.

Bursting into tears that she had been holding back, she thought she should give up on this shameful life.

So Eun-ha tried to throw herself from the rooftop of the Frozen Heart building.

However, at that dramatic moment, Eun-ha’s powers returned.

The power of S-rank #1.

The overwhelming power that would allow her to never lower her pride again returned.

The power that had made her S-rank #1 came back.

Thus, regaining everything she had lost was instantaneous.

The treatment of an S-rank #1.

She regained all the reverence from others that no one else could dare to covet.

And she could once again receive awe from others and regain her position as a tyrant.

She could once again live however she wanted.

So Eun-ha tried to be happy again, enough to forget her impoverished days.

She ordered lots of delicious food.

Played lots of games.

Built up her wealth again.

But…

Still, Eun-ha couldn’t be happy again.

Even with all that happiness, she felt something crucial was missing.

Somehow that void of happiness felt too cold.

Her heart couldn’t help but feel empty.

No matter how much delicious food she ate.

No matter how many games she played.

No matter how much wealth she had.

It could never be filled.

Eun-ha knew what this emptiness was.

It was Si-woo’s warmth.

The warmth that Si-woo had given her during her impoverished days.

That warmth had become a huge hole that now resided in her heart.

Only then did Eun-ha realize.

That she wanted to feel that warmth that Si-woo had given her.

However, Eun-ha deliberately denied herself.

That wasn’t how Yoo Eun-ha acted.

For Eun-ha, pride was more important than anything and she never regretted.

For such an Eun-ha, missing an ex-boyfriend was unacceptable.

Besides, Eun-ha had already dumped Si-woo.

She couldn’t easily do anything about it now.

Moreover, even if they dated again, she knew she would be dissatisfied with Si-woo.

Si-woo who didn’t worship her.

Her pride couldn’t accept Si-woo who treated her as an equal even though she was S-rank #1.

That negated all of Si-woo’s other good points.

Actually, she didn’t find Si-woo lacking at all in terms of looks or ability.

Si-woo’s appearance was handsome enough to be a celebrity, and had even become more handsome recently.

Moreover, his abilities were excellent. After all, even while working as her secretary at Frozen Heart, he never showed any inadequacies.

Anyone would say he was an excellent person and an excellent man.

Moreover, when Si-woo dated her, he loved her very much.

Even though she was selfish, Eun-ha could fully feel how much Si-woo loved her.

However, Si-woo lacked what Eun-ha wanted most.

That was reverence, awe, worship – what Eun-ha wanted most from Si-woo, he didn’t have.

Si-woo didn’t show any of those emotions toward S-rank #1 Eun-ha.

He just treated her as Eun-ha the person.

The way he treated her when she was F-rank and when she was S-rank #1 was exactly the same.

Eun-ha had been an F-rank hunter.

It’s not well known to the public, but Eun-ha, who seemed flawless, wasn’t originally S-rank #1.

Originally, she was an F-rank hunter, the lowest of the low.

She couldn’t even properly run dungeons, and her appearance was more ordinary than her current beautiful looks.

Though she was still quite pretty even then…

Anyway, she had been the lowest existence.

A person who couldn’t even enter dungeons properly, and an unremarkable being.

Eun-ha, who had been called the most pathetic person in the world.

She was just an ordinary person who didn’t care about her own humiliation just to survive day by day.

After she coincidentally gained power and became S-rank #1, Eun-ha couldn’t help but hate her past self.

Because she knew what it was like to be powerless, now that she had experienced overwhelming power, she couldn’t help but despise that weakness.

That’s why she wanted to erase all traces of her being an F-rank hunter as her first action after becoming S-rank #1.

She wanted to stand tall as an S-rank hunter and never look back.

And she never wanted to lose her pride again.

So she tried to give up on Si-woo.

Even though everything had changed between when she was a bottom F-rank and when she became S-rank #1, Si-woo’s attitude remained exactly the same.

She hated that so much.

But she couldn’t simply give up.

On the day she visited Si-woo’s company, she could vaguely feel that she missed him.

Honestly, it wasn’t something she could deny no matter how much she tried.

Si-woo, who had been devoted to her for seven years as her boyfriend.

Even after breaking up, that Si-woo had always reached out to help her when she was struggling.

Naturally, Eun-ha couldn’t help but… develop feelings for Si-woo again.

So Eun-ha seriously pondered this issue for a week.

About whether her pride or Si-woo was more important.

And she made her decision.

After long deliberation, what Eun-ha chose was her pride.

In the end, pride was too important to Eun-ha, so she tried to give up on Si-woo.

She resolved never to meet Si-woo again.

She promised herself that even if she ran into him on the street, she would never acknowledge him.

But why…

“Si-woo.”

Why did her body move on its own when she saw Si-woo?

“Want to talk for a bit…?”

Why couldn’t she ignore him…?