Chapter 762: Recollection (1)

Guild leader of Eun & Ok Co., Ltd. The first SSS-class Hunter in Korea. The current strongest Hunter in Korea. An initial member and party leader of the legendary S-class Hunter party. A living legend in the Hunter world, maintaining an active career for 20 years as an S-class Hunter and nearly 30 years as a Hunter overall.

All of these were titles referring to a single Hunter named Seo Ok-hee.

Seo Ok-hee, a Hunter who had achieved everything a single person could achieve through a long and extensive career as a Hunter and as the guild leader of a Hunter guild.

However, no matter how much time passed, there was one thing lacking in her heart: Seo Ok-hee could never be truly sincere when it came to forming relationships with people.

Her awakened ability, which manifested at such a young age, had easily pushed Seo Ok-hee towards the convenience of her awakened powers from childhood. Among them, her ‘Mind Reading’ ability, in particular, provided much help in forming relationships with people. After all, it wasn’t difficult to read what the other person was thinking about her and act accordingly.

However, relationships formed by adapting herself in such a way never lasted long. Moreover, they always ended with the other party harboring ill will towards her. Consequently, it was an inevitable side effect of her ability that young Seo Ok-hee became sensitive to even the slightest malice from others that echoed in her mind.

‘She’s first place again? She’s really ruthless.’

‘What nerve, a little runt like her…’

‘Hunter? What hunter? Someone like her is bound to fall apart soon. How could she possibly be a Hunter with that kind of ability anyway?’

‘If only that bitch wasn’t here, I would have been first place…’

Reaching the pinnacle was akin to always having many enemies.

Although there were almost no people who showed ill feelings towards her face-to-face in her childhood, from middle school onwards, Seo Ok-hee increasingly felt considerable malice in the inner thoughts of those she encountered. People who smiled brightly and spoke to her face while cursing her in their minds, or those who were already planning betrayal during a collaborative task. Encountering such people inevitably caused her heart’s door to close naturally.

Of course, thanks to this Mind Reading ability, Seo Ok-hee was never truly betrayed or used by others throughout her life. If anyone approached her with ill intentions, Seo Ok-hee would either drive them away or, rather, use them to her advantage, never falling victim to their schemes.

However, the overwhelming loneliness she gained in the process was something Seo Ok-hee couldn’t escape. Thus, she was always secretly thirsty for affection from others.

Even if someone approached her with a seemingly friendly attitude in their heart, after knowing them for a while, envy and jealousy inevitably arose. Seo Ok-hee was always at the top in the Hunter specialized training school. Naturally, observing her up close, it was basic human instinct to compare oneself to others. Especially during their school days, children tend to compare themselves to others, so Seo Ok-hee, who never missed the top spot in the entire school, inevitably became the target of envy and jealousy.

…Therefore, Seo Ok-hee thought.

On the first day of high school, after finishing middle school, she believed this child approaching her would eventually feel jealous of her and drift away.

“Hi! Are you Seo Ok-hee? Nice to meet you!”

‘So this is Seo Ok-hee. She looks really cute.’

“……Yeah.”

“Oh, by the way, my name is Kang Eunyoung. I was the student representative at the entrance ceremony the other day, did you happen to see me?”

‘I hope she recognizes me. I want to be friends.’

“……Yeah.”

“But I found out later that you were originally supposed to be the student representative, Ok-hee? Why did you refuse?”

‘…Was that a slip of the tongue? There must have been a reason she refused, did I ask unnecessarily?’

“…No particular reason.”

To Seo Ok-hee, Kang Eunyoung’s first impression wasn’t particularly special. There were quite a few people who approached her with favorable intentions on their first meeting, besides her. No matter how relationships ended due to envy and jealousy, Seo Ok-hee fundamentally possessed elements that attracted others’ favor. Her excellent abilities as a Hunter, her quiet personality, and her cute appearance, which hadn’t grown much due to her early awakening, initially drew the favor of many people.

However, as time passed, people around Seo Ok-hee, who seemed to have everything, inevitably began to feel jealous one by one. Each time, Seo Ok-hee gradually distanced herself from them.

Therefore, Seo Ok-hee casually thought that this relationship, which began upon entering high school, wouldn’t last long either. However, unexpectedly, the connection lasted a bit longer than she anticipated.

“Ok-hee, Ok-hee! Did you solve math problem 22 earlier?!”

‘Ok-hee must have gotten it right. I ran out of time and just guessed, I really hope she got it right.’

“…Number 3.”

“Aww, too bad! I was debating between number 1 and that one!”

“Ok-hee, how did you arrange the field trip teams for next week?”

‘If she hasn’t arranged them yet, I need to get her into our team right away!’

“…I was just going to go alone.”

“Yes! Then come to our team! We still have one spot open too! Let’s go together!”

“No, I’m more comfortable alone…”

“Guys, Ok-hee is joining our team!”

“……”

“Ok-hee, today’s the last day of the school trip, let’s go buy souvenirs! Hurry, hurry! Let’s go!”

“…No thanks, I don’t really have anyone to give them to…”

“Then buy one and give it to me! As a gift for me!”

“Then it kind of defeats the purpose of a souvenir…”

‘Ah, come to think of it, this sounds a bit pushy. But if I want to get Ok-hee all the way there, maybe there’s another way…’

“…Alright, I’ll go.”

Unlike other relationships that usually lasted a few months at most, or a year if they were long, the connection with Kang Eunyoung lasted throughout their entire three years of high school. That duration was enough time for even Seo Ok-hee, who distrusted people, to open her heart.

There were even times when she felt more comfortable being alone with Kang Eunyoung than when she was by herself. Thanks to her unique personality, Kang Eunyoung often had times when her inner thoughts were ‘unreadable’ from Seo Ok-hee’s perspective.

Usually, the reason Seo Ok-hee couldn’t read minds was mostly when the other person was thinking about something other than her. However, there were often times when she couldn’t read Kang Eunyoung’s mind, even though it was clear she was thinking about her. Those were the times when what Kang Eunyoung said and what she thought perfectly matched.

“Ok-hee, Ok-hee! Look at this hair tie! It’s shaped like a tangerine, isn’t it cute!”

‘I actually found it earlier, but I should pretend I just discovered it now!’

“…Yeah, it is.”

“Then come here! I’ll tie your hair with this!”

“…What?”

“Excuse me, sir, how much is this?!”

“No, I don’t need…”

‘Ok-hee is cute, so pigtails would suit her well, right? I hope she likes it.’

“……”

Kang Eunyoung was a completely new type of person for Seo Ok-hee, who had never experienced pure goodwill in her entire life. She didn’t hide her feelings and simply said what she wanted, and her emotions were so genuinely kind that she was always popular. She was the complete opposite of Seo Ok-hee, who always watched others’ reactions, determined whether they were friendly or not, and quietly ended relationships if they went sour beyond a certain point.

Even after becoming a Hunter, there were occasional acquaintances with whom she could build enough goodwill to trust them temporarily, but Kang Eunyoung was the only friend she could truly open her heart to.

“Ta-da, done! How is it?”

“Just… I don’t really feel anything special…”

‘This side looks cuter, as expected. But I didn’t do anything weird, did I? What if Ok-hee starts to dislike me later?’

“…It’s… not bad. Yeah.”

“Right?! I knew you’d like it!”

“…I said it’s not bad, not that I like it.”

To Seo Ok-hee, who always weighed and judged the goodwill of everyone approaching her, Kang Eunyoung’s presence was already deeply ingrained. To the point that when she had the chance to establish a guild, she unconsciously named it ‘Eun & Ok’, taking one character from her name and Kang Eunyoung’s.

Later, she apologized to Kang Eunyoung for using her name without permission. However, the response she received was enough for Seo Ok-hee to feel that Kang Eunyoung was a true friend once again.

“I-I’m sorry, Eunyoung-ah. It just slipped my mind… If you’re uncomfortable, I’ll change it somehow, though it might be difficult right now…”

“Can’t be helped. Then I guess I just have to work hard from now on too.”

“Huh?”

“My name being in Ok-hee’s guild means I have to become as strong as Ok-hee, right? I need to work harder than before, don’t I?”

“Ah, no… I didn’t put it in with that meaning…”

“So, how do I apply for a transfer to your guild?”

“…Transfer?”

“It’s a guild with my name in it, so of course, I have to work here, right?”

“Ah, no! Y-you don’t have to go that far… I-I didn’t do it hoping for something like that…”

‘Maybe Ok-hee dislikes me transferring? Well, I am getting older, so she probably thought I was going to retire. Why did I assume Ok-hee would be happy about it? I just got excited thinking I could be active in the same party with Ok-hee again after so long…’

“Y-you don’t need to formally apply! I-I’ll handle it, so just come…”

“Oh, I can transfer?!”

“Yes…! I-I’ll use my guild leader authority to maintain your previous guild rank, so you can just come…”

And so, Seo Ok-hee hastily arranged an ’employment interview’ for Eun & Ok. Solely for the extremely personal desire to bring her friend Kang Eunyoung into her guild.