episode_0029

[ Yura: This side is almost cleared up and is now going up. ]

[ Arin: Thank you for your hard work! ]

[ Yura: Is Joohee okay? ]

Seol Joo-hee, who was sitting on the living room sofa and looking at the messenger, slowly moved her finger to reply.

[Me: I’m fine]

[ Yura: Are you home now? ]

[Me: Yes]

[ Arin: Joohee, I’ll come to your house a little later! Let’s eat together! ]

“… … .”

Seol Joo-hee, who was looking at the message from Im A-rin naturally requesting a visit, recalled her recent strangely awkward relationship with Im A-rin.

After Lim A-rin hinted on a broadcast recently that she still had feelings for Do Ji-hyuk, a strange current began to flow between the two… .

Seol Joo-hee, who was involved with Do Ji-hyuk in this incident, could not bear to see Lim A-rin.

[ Me: It’s okay, I just want to rest for a while ]

[ Me: I’m going to sleep, so if you have anything to do, call me ]

“… ha… .”

Seol Joo-hee let out a heavy sigh, put away her phone, and glanced at the shirt on the table.

It was Do Ji-hyuk’s shirt.

‘Why on earth did I bring this… ?’

There were clear dark red marks on the chest of the shirt, which was torn in several places.

Even if you put it nicely, they are literally rags that cannot function as clothes at all.

Seol Ju-hee, who brought the rags with her, was in deep thought, covering her head in confusion.

‘Something is strange…’ .’

If I were to describe Seol Joo-hee’s current state of mind in one word, it would be chaos itself.

Every time she saw the blood stains on her shirt, she thought of Do Ji-hyuk, who had collapsed, and every time she saw his unconscious face in front of her, her heart sank.

however… .

What’s really ironic is that in the meantime, blind hatred for Do Ji-hyuk continues to bubble up.

“… … .”

Seol Ju-hee thought that her condition was clearly strange.

They are disgusted with Do Ji-hyuk, who betrayed them and enjoyed a promiscuous lifestyle, but at the same time, they feel worried.

Doesn’t this make no sense to anyone?

‘… stuffy… .’

At first, I thought it would be good for Seol Joo-hee to have a conversation with Do Ji-hyuk to resolve her frustration.

If you talk to the person involved, you might find some clues.

however… .

Unfortunately, Seol Joo-hee had no reason to go to Do Ji-hyuk willingly.

I haven’t contacted you until now because I don’t even want to talk, so why would I go see Do Ji-hyuk?

“… … .”

That was when Seol Joo-hee sighed in frustration and looked at her tattered shirt.

“!”

A rather plausible idea crossed her mind.

I think that if there is no justification, you can create it by force.

‘okay… . It saved my life, but it’s a cheap price.’

On the day the incident occurred, I was planning to mention the cost of repairing the clothes that were torn while rescuing Do Ji-hyuk.

Sigh-

Seol Joo-hee, who finally thought of a reason to meet Do Ji-hyuk, raised the corners of her mouth without realizing it.

So naturally, I picked up Do Ji-hyuk’s shirt and threw it into the laundry net instead of the trash can.

*

Do Ji-hyuk’s hospital room.

“Something, right?”

The Seoul City Hall team members sitting at a table in the corner of the hospital room were whispering quietly as they looked at Do Ji-hyuk and Lim A-rin, who were giving off a strange atmosphere.

“Unconditionally. Otherwise, I carry the intestines in my hands.”

They had originally planned to leave their spot for Im A-rin, but because Im A-rin had tried to dissuade them by saying that she would be leaving soon, they were huddled together and observing the two people.

“The other person is Lim A-rin… . I knew that, but the producer seems amazing again.”

Kim Jun-hyung, who listened to Han Gyu-ri’s admiration, continued the story in a familiar tone.

“When I was attending the academy, I followed the Sejin group’s daughter around as well.”

“Oh my god… . Really? Lee Hye-ri, leader of the Sejin guild?”

“At that time, there was a rumor that Queens joined the Cheonhwa guild because of Lee Hye-ri. But now that I see it… , I guess it’s not just a rumor.”

Bang Han-na, who was listening to Kim Jun-hyung’s story, was slightly shocked.

I knew that Lim A-rin liked Do Ji-hyuk, but it was unprecedented that she also liked the leader of the Sejin guild.

‘… Oh, how popular it is… ?’

There were even suspicions that even the other two people in Queens might have feelings for Do Ji-hyuk.

Bang Han-na unconsciously started comparing herself to Do Ji-hyuk’s girlfriend candidates.

‘… To my childhood friend of 10 years… . To the leader of a large guild… . Ugh… .’

Soon I realized how much I was lacking.

“… ha… .”

Contrary to Bang Han-na, who was shocked, Jin Seo-won was not impressed even after hearing the whole story.

“… … .”

Because it didn’t really matter who Do Ji-hyuk dated.

Perhaps because it was still closer to liking than love, I vaguely had the idea that it would be nice for Do Ji-hyuk to date Yoon In-kyung.

“Why did you do that?”

At that time, Lim A-rin’s slightly excited voice echoed in the hospital room.

“You know better than anyone how strong Joohee is.”

“That’s true, but… .”

“I knew it, but I was being so unreasonable… ?”

Do Ji-hyuk was conscious of the team members’ attention on him and tried to calm Lim A-rin down.

“Arina. As I said a little while ago, it is truly an unavoidable situation… .”

“If you have no choice, you don’t have to worry about your life being a waste… ?”

But Lim A-rin did not fall.

“You taught me to use my mouth. All operations must prioritize safety. An operation that cannot return is simply suicide. You taught me that. no… ?”

“That’s right. That’s true… .”

“But why didn’t you do that…? ?”

“Uh… .”

“And what if he really died? If Joohee didn’t save me… ? That was also in operation… ?”

Do Ji-hyuk suffered from what is commonly referred to as ‘absence of the stomach.’

No matter how I answer, I end up trapped in Lim A-rin’s sand hell, where I get bogged down.

“… Sorry.”

In the end, Do Ji-hyuk kept his mouth shut and tried to end the story with an apology… .

“I asked you to apologize now… ?”

Lim A-rin had no intention of stopping nagging.

“No, it was my fault… .”

“What did you do wrong?”

Lim A-rin, with a firm expression on her face, raised her voice and pecked Do Ji-hyuk as if she had forgotten that her teammates were in the hospital room.

“Do you know how surprised I was when I heard you were hurt… ?”

“Arin… . That’s not… .”

“Will you understand my feelings if we really have to go to the funeral together?”

“… Uh, huh?”

Do Ji-hyuk was startled by Lim A-rin’s remarks, which brought up an extreme example.

“Arina. Even as a joke, I said that… .”

“Joke?”

Do Ji-hyuk was entranced by Lim Ah-rin’s surprisingly cold voice.

The team members who were watching this inadvertently held their breath at Lim A-rin’s cold appearance.

“… Don’t ever say that again.”

Do Ji-hyuk, who had been nodding absentmindedly at Lim A-rin’s warning, belatedly remembered that his teammates were also watching, and was in a hurry to calm down the strange atmosphere.

“Anyway… . Since I came back safely, I’ll stop here for today.”

Lim A-rin slowly stood up, looking at the clock with a strangely satisfied expression, as if she had done everything she had to do.

“I want to stay longer, but I have a schedule so I think I have to go first… .”

“… uh? Are you going?”

‘No, you’re leaving like this without even taking care of things?’

Do Ji-hyuk was a little surprised by Lim A-rin’s behavior of trying to cause controversy and then walk away, but he couldn’t bear to catch her because she had a schedule.

“I’m sorry. I feel like I just ruined the atmosphere… .”

“Oh, no. Jihyuk did make a mistake.”

Lim A-rin greeted her teammates with a rather shameless expression.

“Thank you for taking good care of Jihyuk… !”

“It’s okay. Of course, the producer is also on our team… .”

“I feel really relieved because they seem like nice people… ! ah. Buy me some for dinner tonight.”

“Trigram, it’s okay! Even if you don’t take care of it… .”

“No. Please buy something delicious and buy Jihyuk a snack with the leftovers… !”

As if she were a wife supporting her husband, she naturally put money into an envelope and left a strong impression on the team members.

“Then, please take care of me… ! Jihyuk, see you tomorrow… !”

Drurk── thump──!

After a storm passed like that.

Do Ji-hyuk, who predicted what would happen in the future, struck the player in advance.

“Just in case, I’m telling you, it’s not like that.”

“Producer! How is this not possible! Anyone can see that it’s true!”

“Hey… ! You can get hurt more! This envious bastard… !”

The hospital room became heated due to the relationship between Im Ah-rin and Do Ji-hyuk.

“Well, it’s not like that… .”

“What are you regretting about not dating me!?”

“I was so upset! When Im A-rin asks me out, there are tons of men lined up!”

“I don’t know.”

Do Ji-hyuk kept talking round and round, avoiding the attacks of Han Gyu-ri and Kim Jun-hyung.

“I think Arin Lim really likes the producer… .”

“… Iknow, right… .”

Na-rae Kim and Hannah Bang were talking quietly a step away.

and.

“… … .”

Jin Seo-won, who was far away alone, stared blankly at the hospital room where Im A-rin had left.

As if there was someone standing beyond it.

*

Knock… Knock…

Hong Yu-ra, submerged in a bathtub, fell into deep thought while listening to the calm sound of water.

“… … .”

She said there was something unnatural about this incident,

To be precise, I thought the process by which the case was resolved was somehow unnatural.

On the day of the incident.

Hong Yu-ra went down to the countryside according to a schedule that had been set for quite some time.

While she was resting after getting her makeup done as usual, a gate opened in a nearby area, and Hong Yu-ra was called by the Hunter Association and personally handled the gate.

The size of the gate was small, and it was something I came across by chance, so I didn’t think much of it at first… .

I started to feel something strange about the fact that Lim A-rin, who happened to be passing by, handled the gate that opened in Seoul, and that Seol Joo-hee closed the gate that opened in Chuncheon.

‘Something is strange…’ .’

It feels as if they knew in advance where the gate would open and placed high-level hunters nearby.

There was such a feeling, but there was no confirmation.

There’s definitely something bothering me, like when I questioned Cheonhwa Guild and Gook-il, but I haven’t found any evidence.

“… ha… .”

Hong Yu-ra gently hugged her chest, which was slightly floating in the water, and recalled the news about Do Ji-hyuk that she had heard from Im A-rin.

‘… I heard you were hurt a lot… .’

Her heart sank when she heard that Do Ji-hyuk was injured.

Aside from feeling hateful, I was worried about him.

‘Let’s go find it… .’

The excuse itself was enough to meet.

This time too, he accidentally got involved with the gate.

There was ample reason to go to see him for the purpose of investigation.

‘… No, let’s not do anything stupid.’

However, Hong Yu-ra ultimately decided to hold off on meeting Do Ji-hyuk.

Because I didn’t want to meet him and blush for no reason.

instead… .

Personally, I decided to dig up some information about the Cheonhwa Guild.