Chapter 133 - Chapter 133 (1/2)

Did he hear that right? Jin-Woo ended up doubting his own hearing, then.

Cha Hae-In was the Vice-Master of South Korea's top Guild, and her skills were ranked to be among the very best, but she willingly walked into a Guild that hadn't even taken its first baby step yet?

Unless she was being threatened into coming here, how could this situation make any sense? But then again....

'Uh, well, just who'd be brave enough to threaten her?'

Jin-Woo decided to bring up the one person with enough clout to potentially threaten her in South Korea.

"Did the Association President order you to do this?"

Cha Hae-In formed a confused expression, evidently not understanding why Goh Gun-Hui was being brought up in this discussion.

"Why would he....?"

It was Jin-Woo who couldn't understand what was going on here, so why was she making that face even though she was the reason for all this confusion?

'No, hang on. Let's calm down.'

It was a situation where most people would've been left too stunned or get overexcited, but Jin-Woo was able to stay calm as he pulled out a chair to sit on Cha Hae-In's opposite side. He then wordlessly stared at her.

He only needed to focus for a short while. As the time visibly slowed down in his perception, various bits of information about her flowed into his brain, one at the time.

'She's restless.'

Her heartbeat, her breathing, even the glow within her eyes. She was doing her best to look composed, but there was no fooling Jin-Woo's sky-high Perception.

So, the question was – why was she forcing herself to this extent and trying to enter the tentatively-named 'Solo Play' Guild?

Jin-Woo had to ask her.

"Don't you still have some time left in the duration of your contract with the Hunters Guild?"

Now normally, the Guild would negotiate contracts with Hunters in five-year terms. Cha Hae-In joined the Hunters Guild two years ago when she was evaluated to be a rank S, so at a bare minimum, she should still have three years left in her contract.

"I have enough money to pay the penalty for breach of contract."

Cha Hae-In's collected answer only elicited Jin-Woo's head-tilting.

Most of the time, such a penalty fee would be between two to three times the original signing fee.

Thinking about the exorbitant sum the Hunters Guild must've forked out in order to sign up a rank S Hunter like her, one didn't need to be a genius to figure out that the breach of contract penalty fee would be absolutely horrendous, as well.

Since he was about to speak to her about harsh reality, Jin-Woo's attitude became very business-like.

"Our 'Solo Play' Guild simply can't afford to pay the kind of signing fee your skill set warrants, Cha Hunter-nim."

"T-the name of your Guild is 'Solo Play'??"

"You have a problem with the name that the Vice-Master and myself came up with?"

"...No, not really."

Cha Hae-In let a soft sigh escape from her, and continued on.

"It doesn't matter. It's fine if you don't pay me the contract signing fee."

She didn't mind signing a contract without any payment, even though she'd have to pay an enormous breach of contract fee to the Hunters Guild?

'What is she scheming here?'

Jin-Woo's eyes narrowed to a slit.

When their eyes stayed locked for a while, Cha Hae-In could no longer endure the silent pressure and averted her gaze. Her heart was beating a step faster than before, too.

Jin-Woo's ears perked up. His acute sense of hearing didn't miss out on a single change taking place inside her.

'Is she hiding something?'

At this point, he simply had to ask her or he'd die of curiosity.

"Why are you willing to go through such a wringer just to join our Guild?"

"...."

As expected, Cha Hae-In couldn't easily answer him and kept her mouth resolutely shut. And seeing her face redden like that, it became oh-so-obvious that she was hiding something from him, too.

'Wait a minute...'

Now that he thought about it, he remembered sensing that something was different about her even back in the funeral venue. He couldn't tell what she was thinking of, but she could have been planning to do this for quite some time already.

Jin-Woo quietly waited for Cha Hae-In's answer. However, she kept her head lowered and for a long while, didn't say a single word.

'….But, how can I even explain myself to him?

….That I sensed your presence next to me even after I lost my consciousness from the attack of that mutated ant monster?

….That, I felt safe and warm after picking up on your scent as I sank deeper into an empty and endless dark void?'

There was no word in this world adequate enough to describe what she felt back then.

'Even if I explain it, he'd only say that I've gone mad.'

Her heart began beating faster after she learned of Hunter Seong Jin-Woo really being there. She felt so relieved, knowing that she wasn't imagining things.

And also....

'What if....'

She discovered that she wanted Jin-Woo to be by her side in the worst case scenario of her being unable to escape from the cold blade of death.

'….To think, it'd be like 'please be right by my side until my final moments'.'

How could she even attempt saying that, when just thinking about it made her blush uncontrollably?

That was an impossible task for Cha Hae-In who didn't know anything about a normal girl's sensibilities. That was why she finally spoke up an answer she cooked up before coming here.

"...To be more comfortable."

She raised her head to meet Jin-Woo's gaze and continue on with the rest.

"I wish to be live more comfortably...."

Although it wasn't exactly what she tried to say, it wasn't a complete lie, either.

She couldn't even lift her head properly from all the horrendous stink when high-ranked Hunters were standing next to her. But, in contrast, she felt her mind getting peaceful in the presence of Jin-Woo.

The meaning of Cha Hae-In's 'comfortable' was precisely that.

Jin-Woo didn't interpret the meaning that way, but still, he could understand where she was coming from. He slowly nodded his head from her answer.

She apparently wanted to leave a big Guild like the Hunters, and spend a more 'comfortable' time in a far smaller Guild like his.

According to Jin-Woo's knowledge, Cha Hae-In was either twenty-two or twenty-three years old.

'I'm sure the burden that a rank S must carry would be pretty heavy for a woman in her early twenties.'

Especially more so, after she felt the threat of death during the Jeju Island raid.

Jin-Woo could easily understand her feelings as he too felt like abandoning everything and running away from it all countless times, back when he still worked for the Association.

Unfortunately for her....

'Although her plight is pitiable, but.....'

But, he couldn't just accept her like that.

Why would he have named the Guild 'Solo Play'? That was because he planned to book dungeons using the name of his Guild and clear them all by himself.

If the minimum number of team members proved to be a stumbling block, then he'd simply hire temps to fill the headcount, just like how it was back when he cleared those rank C Gates with Yu Jin-Ho. That was the smartest thing to do in his quest to level up higher.

However, if Cha Hae-In entered the picture, things would become rather complicated in many ways. Even if they forget about her contract signing fee, wouldn't she still need money for her daily necessities?

By hiring a rank S Hunter with huge salaries, someone he didn't even need in the first place and wasn't planning to put to work either, he'd be committing a massive wastage on a national scale.

However...

'If I reject a rank S Hunter who's willing to waive the contract signing fee and join my Guild without a proper reason, it's going to look pretty suspicious.'

That was why Jin-Woo quickly came up with a plan.

"Actually, our Guild has an admittance test you need to go through."

"Pardon? But, the job posting didn't specify anything li...."

Jin-Woo quickly cut off Cha Hae-In's flustered words.