Chapter 16: Is Your Name Hwang Eun-ha, Unnie?

Hehe.

I walked with a light heart, giggling to myself.

The situation of breaking free from the shackles of being a Hunter and melting into a somewhat civilian-like life brought me a good mood.

Thanks to that, I could even snicker while looking at the bullshit comments popping up on my phone.

[Comment]: Characteristic of Otakus: They daydream intensely about everything.

It seemed like a comment swearing at me, but whatever. Swear if you want.

The original me liked staying in the corner of my room, but taking this opportunity, maybe I should step into the sunli—

"Oh, Hwang Eun-ha?"

My mood sank instantly with that voice from behind.

Why did I forget?

The person who found out about my shameful secret yesterday—the one who made me hesitate about coming to school—is right here in this school.

"Ah, hello..."

"Did you get home safely yesterday?"

"Yeah. Thanks to you."

Is he really okay after hearing that yesterday? Or is he just being considerate because we are at school with many eyes watching?

"Hi Tae-woo!"

"Did you finish the assignment?"

He exchanged brief greetings with me, naturally dealt with the girls clinging to him, and instead of sitting in front of me as he usually would, he headed to a different seat.

As expected, he still minded what he heard yesterday...

'What is this subject again?'

Fortunately, the only hope was that this awkward time would end after enduring two hours.

But seeing him, who always approached me well, now avoiding me made me feel somewhat stifled.

Just as an Assa-like (loner) delusion popped up—Don't tell me he's going around telling other kids—

"E-Excuse me..."

A voice came from the side. I turned my head.

A girl who was always quiet was looking at me, fidgeting, perhaps because there were no seats.

"Could I sit next to you? There are no seats..."

"I don't mind."

It seemed the seat Kang Tae-woo took was originally hers.

The nameless girl glanced at where Kang Tae-woo was sitting a couple of times, then took out her book and began to focus.

'Hmm. I wonder what Jin-wook is doing right now.'

Introduction to Gates.

Even though it was a subject I instinctively hated just by hearing the name, seeing her study so hard made me recall my past self, obsessively chasing dungeons as if possessed.

'Me too, huh. I still have a long way to go to escape my Hunter days.'

While I was naturally thinking that and smirking to myself.

"Excuse me, Hwang Eun-ha."

Kang Tae-woo's voice came from behind again. I turned my gaze.

"Did something good happen? You're smiling to yourself."

It seemed my imagination earlier was just a lonely delusion. Looking at his expression, it seemed he had already forgotten about what he heard yesterday.

"Nothing good happened."

"Really? That's strange. You looked like you were thinking about something funny."

"Maybe I was thinking it's good that you aren't asking me to join the guild anymore."

"Wow. I really made that offer thinking of you back then, you know."

Kang Tae-woo looked slightly hurt, but since it was close to the playful side he usually showed, I smirked and tried to look forward.

"Oh, right. Do you have time this afternoon?"

"Time?"

"Yeah. Our guild has a raid, so if you have time, I wanted to ask you to observe."

"Teacher, if I enter a dungeon now, the Hunter Police will come and arrest me."

"...I feel like those police would get caught by you and sent flying instead."

He looked at me with a dumbfounded expression for a moment.

Recalling the appointment I made while talking on the way to school this morning, I grinned.

"Also, I already have a prior engagement this afternoon."

"You?"

"Are you looking down on me right now because I'm a loner?"

"N-No..."

"Anyway, can't do today."

If I just skipped without saying anything, I might get hit with a massive nagging bomb from Jin-wook at home.

If he were a guy who thought with his lower body, I would just do whatever I wanted later, but since he has a personality like a strict Confucian scholar, his nagging is a bit scary.

"That's a shame."

"Also, I told you it's illegal to enter without a license. Could you stop forcing me to commit crimes?"

"You didn't actually think the Association would stop an S-Class Hunter from entering a Gate just because they returned their license, did you?"

"Huh? Isn't violating that law punishable by up to 2 years in prison?"

Kang Tae-woo sighed as if lamenting, looking at me like I was hopeless, and put his hand to his forehead.

What, why, so what?

"Right. Up to 2 years in prison..."

It felt like he was saying, 'This kid is hopeless.'

Just as I was about to demand what he meant with full dissatisfaction...

There was a commotion outside, and the lecture hall door opened. A girl, presumed to be the same age as me at most, walked in with a determined expression, receiving the gazes of countless students.

"Ah, isn't that Yoon-jung?"

"Oh right. That idol Yoon-jung."

A celebrity.

Even living as a Hunter, I hadn't met many celebrities, so I accepted it nonchalantly and tried to turn my gaze back to my book.

But then, I felt like she was walking toward me.

No, judging by the gap between her and me narrowing through the waves of telekinesis, she was definitely coming toward me.

'What is it? Did I do something wrong? Even in my Hunter days, I only went around smashing Gates; I never made enemies, did I?'

Is there anything that would link me to such a famous person?

Did I unintentionally save her while beating up a monster during a Gate Break? But the last Break I handled was months ago...

"Excuse me, is your name Hwang Eun-ha Unnie, by any chance?"

My thoughts spinning tightly in my head snapped the moment a beautiful voice came from her mouth.

Like a broken machine, I turned my head creakily, looked at her, and asked cautiously. "Th-That is true, but who might you be?"

"Y-You really are that Hwang Eun-ha, right?"

"I am, but how do you know me..."

"Please help me! Please!"

What?

Because she suddenly burst into tears asking for help.

I couldn't possibly listen to the lecture, so I decided to lead her out.

...No, correction. Since she wouldn't move, I had no choice but to float her in the air and carry her out.

'Ah, seriously, is my grade for Introduction to Gates in danger?'

Thanks to skipping too many classes last semester, I got Fs in 3 credits out of 12.

Because of that, hearing my parents' threat that they would make me work at the family store if I got even one F this time, I attended school thinking, 'Let's just not get an F this year.'

But I unintentionally skipped the lecture again.

'Shit, my life.'

But postponing the cursing for now.

I ended up bringing her to a cafe near the school because I needed time to hear why this beautiful idol singer burst into tears as soon as she found me.

"Kang Tae-woo, that disloyal bastard..."

In the meantime, I vowed to crush Kang Tae-woo later for slipping away alone saying he had to attend the lecture.

"Would you like to drink this for now?" I slid a Strawberry Frappuccino in front of her.

"Th-Thank you."

"Uh, you said you were Yoon-jung, right?"

"Yes, Unnie. My real name is Lee So-hee, so please call me So-hee, and you can speak comfortably."

"O-Okay..."

Unnie.

It was a word I couldn't get used to, perhaps because I hadn't heard it many times in my life.

"By the way, the person next to you is..."

"I am Yoon-jung's manager, Lee Hyuk-jin."

The man introducing himself as Manager Hyuk-jin handed me his business card. It had detailed information like which agency, which department, Manager Team 2, and so on.

"Ah, nice to meet you. But why are you looking for me? No matter how much I think about it, I don't think I have any reason to be involved with such a famous person..."

I glanced at the card, put it in my pocket, and asked Hyuk-jin cautiously.

Just as Hyuk-jin sighed and was about to explain, So-hee grabbed my hand reaching for coffee and asked in an urgent voice.

"Unnie! You're the Hunter who smashed that Ghost Steel Frame, right?"

"Ghost Steel Frame? I don't know what that means... And I'm not a Hunter..."

"The Association refused to reveal Unnie's information so no one knows who it is, but I know. Please, answer me that it's you, okay?"

"Uh."

How should I answer this?

I broke into a cold sweat at her attitude, as if she already knew everything.

The Association would definitely protect my information thoroughly, so it couldn't have leaked from there. Even thinking it might be Kang Tae-woo or Jung Jin-wook, they weren't the type to blab about me.

"Th-That is correct, but..."

"See, Manager-nim. I told you it was right."

"No, coming to find her like this is a nuisance in the first place, Yoon-jung-nim."

"That's true, but Manager-nim knows too. What's happening to me..."

It seemed my information had leaked from somewhere other than official routes.

I decided to look into that later. Since it was certain from her words that something was happening, I asked her cautiously.

"No matter how much I think about it, this is the first time Yoon-jung-yang and I are meeting. Is there a reason you absolutely must find me?"

"Yes? Ah, that is..."

"As the Manager-nim said earlier, suddenly coming and crying like this is quite a nuisance. I even skipped a lecture because of you, so I don't think you did it without a reason."

"I will explain. Could you please look at this screen first?"

Seeing Yoon-jung about to cry again, the manager soothed her, "Please calm down while drinking this. Eun-ha-nim is flustered, stop crying!"

Then, he presented a tablet screen in front of me and showed a video that looked like CCTV footage.

A bustling street.

And behind Yoon-jung walking through it, a person following at a certain distance, then fading away and disappearing.

A person wearing a mask, hat, and even sunglasses, as if preventing their face from being revealed on camera was all that mattered.

"Is this right now... Stealth (Invisibility)...?"

"That is correct. She has been stalked for the past few days by a Stealth Ability User."

"A Stealth User is stalking just an idol singer?"

"Yes."

Hearing the explanation up to that point, countless puzzles began to fit together in my head.

No matter how much the social perception of Hunters has improved.

It's not like there are zero criminals among Hunters.

Low-ranking weak Hunters are essentially freelancers, sometimes earning just enough to scrape by each month. Because of that, there are cases where they easily fall for the temptation of Awakened criminals unless they give up the path of a Hunter to make a living.

But this case wasn't even that.

"Hmm. This is a bit of a pervert bastard."

Reason unknown, but using a Stealth ability for stalking implied there was a purpose.

Someone with Stealth is considered top-tier talent, practically scouted by the police via the Association for criminal elimination. Their image as the "universal good guy" catching criminals through undercover work had been established for a long time through media.

"We don't know the purpose, but it is certain that he is targeting our agency's treasure, Yoon-jung. But there was nowhere to ask for help."

"So you came to find me?"

"Among the S-Class Hunters currently in the country, Eun-ha-nim was the only one officially retired from active duty..."

"But if that's the case, there are many Hunters more capable than me. Why did you insist on finding me? Did you not consider that I might have retired because there was a problem?"

"The other Hunters... except for one who is currently abroad, are all men..."

Yoon-jung said that, looking at my hand she was still holding tightly.

So, basically, since she's being stalked by a man, she couldn't ask male Hunters for help. Is that roughly the story?

'Ssssp, this is a bit of a dangerous thought.'

Oi, oi.

The female college student ex-Hunter in front of your eyes used to be a man too, you know?

But that wasn't something to say to anyone, so I swallowed it.

I had already sensed the location of the guy who had been watching us quietly using Stealth for a while now. I was about to open my mouth.

"I'll give you whatever amount of money you want! So please, couldn't you help me just once?"

"No, well, I can earn money if I want to, so I don't really need it... Shall I catch that bastard for you? That guy is watching us from over there right now."

"Yes?"

The moment she tilted her head blankly at my words.

The guy must have realized I noticed his location and tried to run away.

Crash!

But with the sound of the window shattering, he was flung outside.

"Uwaaack!"

"Wh-What is this!"

Before anyone knew it, I was stepping on the back of the guy whose stealth had been forcibly dispelled, pinning him down.

I greeted him cheerfully.

"Hello, stalking criminal?"