After securely closing the pill bottle and putting it back in his pocket, Yoon Seo approached the couple, who were still glaring at him. The closer he got, the more tightly they clung to each other, their wariness evident.
"Hello, I'm Yoon Seo."
"..."
"..."
The couple glanced at Yoon Seo once, then at each other, then back at Yoon Seo, scanning him from head to toe before tightening their embrace even further, their guard up to the maximum.
They were originally from a European guild but had joined Seokyoung last year. While Yoon Seo hadn't known about them being under the protection of the God of Love or having powerful couple skills, it was obvious to everyone that they were deeply in love. As Yoon Seo stood there indifferently under their sharp gazes, Soo Jaehee whispered to him.
"Hyung, it's because you're too pretty… I mean, too handsome. Those two absolutely loathe anyone even slightly good-looking. They don't even talk to people, afraid they might get close to their lover."
"Do you get along well with them, Hunter Soo Jaehee?"
"We're close now, but at first, they were super wary of me. I mean, I'm ridiculously handsome."
Soo Jaehee's nose lifted high. In reality, rather than being handsome, he had more of a cute appearance. His face was baby-like, but his body was built like a beast, which was enough reason for the couple to be on guard.
"..."
The couple kept sneaking glances at Yoon Seo. It seemed like they wanted to ask something, but neither of them opened their mouths, hesitant. At that moment, Jaehee suddenly threw out a random question.
"Yoon Seo hyung, what's your ideal type?"
"Ideal type?"
Why was he suddenly asking this? Yoon Seo looked at Jaehee in confusion.
"My ideal type is an honest yet reserved woman. Since my ideal type is completely different from this couple, they stopped being wary of me. What about you, hyung?"
Yoon Seo didn't care whether the couple was wary of him or not, but he answered simply.
"My ideal type is someone who, in a life-or-death situation where everyone is about to die, can say, 'I still have 12 potions left,' then go destroy everything and return without a single scratch."
For a moment, the room fell silent. Then, laughter erupted. Alec chuckled softly, and even the couple smiled, but the one who laughed the loudest was Jaehee.
"Ah, what is this? Like some Admiral Yi Sun Shin? That's hilarious."
"You're gonna be single for life."
"You're never gonna be in a relationship."
As soon as the foreign couple realized that Yoon Seo's ideal type was nothing like their lover, they immediately relaxed and threw in teasing remarks. Soo Jaehee, still giggling uncontrollably, added.
"This is killing me. This is the most shocking ideal type I've heard since Jihan hyung's. When I first heard his, I thought he'd be single forever, but hyung, yours is even worse. Ah, hyung, you don't know, right? Jihan hyung's ideal type."
"Ugh."
"Ugh."
The foreign couple, who had been laughing in relief, suddenly let out strange noises and grimaced. Rio, in particular, recoiled as if he had just bitten into an unbearably bitter persimmon. Jaehee, realizing his mistake, glanced at Rio before turning back to Yoon Seo, who had no idea why they were reacting that way.
"Hyung, please understand. Jihan hyung has been pestering Rio hyung for fights non-stop lately, and Rio hyung has lost 10 kg in the past six months because of it. Just hearing the name 'Kwon Jihan' gives him trauma."
"So you were talking about Kwon Jihan."
"Yeah, the world's strongest hunter, Kwon Jihan. His ideal type is seriously funny. It's—"
"I'm not curious. Please, don't tell me."
When Yoon Seo cut him off with a firm expression, Jaehee laughed once more.
Next was the introduction with Alec Switch.
"Hello, I'm Yoon Seo."
"Greetings."
As if he had been waiting for this moment, Alec closed his book, which he had been unable to turn a single page of earlier. As if preparing for a proper conversation, he even folded his glasses and put them into his pocket.
"Come, have a seat."
Yoon Seo and Jaehee sat on the sofa across from Alec. Seeing this, the couple also quietly moved closer.
Crossing his long legs, Alec set the mood.
"I have something to ask you."
"Please, go ahead."
"As you may have noticed, we used perception skills to view your system profile. It was marked as B-rank. However, since you've joined Perfect Team 1, that must mean you're actually S-rank."
At this point, Yoon Seo felt like there was no meaning in insisting that he wasn't B-rank.
"By any chance, are you Seo Chaeyoon?"
All four pairs of eyes turned to Yoon Seo at once. Despite the tense atmosphere, Yoon Seo calmly shook his head.
"Unfortunately, I am not. Perhaps one of the other temporary team candidates might be."
['Alec Switch' has activated the
[The
Yoon Seo had already expected someone to use a skill to determine the truth, so he didn't flinch. Alec stared at the air in front of him, where only he could see the results, then spoke in a disappointed tone.
"Ah… So you are not Seo Chaeyoon."
At that, the couple let out disappointed sighs as well. Even Soo Jaehee let out a long exhale before speaking.
"Hyung, who do you think is Seo Chaeyoon among the temporary team?"
"Well, maybe Hong Euiyoon."
Yoon Seo deliberately mentioned one of the two names Yoo Juncheol was most suspicious of. The four of them immediately looked serious.
"Well, Guild Master Yoo Juncheol also mentioned Hong Euiyoon. But I just can't stand Hong Euiyoon's personality and the way he talks. He's not dignified enough to be Seo Chaeyoon."
"And his hunter name, 'Hellfire,' is way too childish. Even my darling, who's an actual vampire, doesn't use a name like that."
"Seo Chaeyoon has been avoiding attention for ten years, but Hong Euiyoon is a total SNS attention seeker. Why would someone who supposedly wants to avoid attention behave like that? The only person in the world who should want attention is my darling."
"Darling…"
"Honey…"
The couple embraced each other and began a deep kiss.
What the hell are they doing?
29-year-old lifelong single Yoon Seo frowned deeply. But Alec and Soo Jaehee, as if they were used to this, didn't react at all. They simply continued their serious discussion about how Hong Euiyoon lacked dignity and how Seo Chaeyoon might not even be among the candidates. Their conversation was as grave as if they were discussing international affairs.
Yoon Seo forced himself to maintain an indifferent expression and listened in silence. Soo Jaehee, noticing his face, laughed.
"Hyung, you're not surprised, right? Actually, we're all Seo Chaeyoon groupies. Alec ahjussi used to be the president of the biggest Seo Chaeyoon fan club in Europe, and noona and hyung were branch managers."
"The most disappointing thing about moving to Korea was having to resign as the president. If I ever meet Seo Chaeyoon, I must get him to sign my resignation letter."
"If it's Seo Chaeyoon, I'd even forgive him for making eye contact with my sweet apple pie."
"If it's Seo Chaeyoon, I'd even forgive him for shaking hands with my cute bluebird."
Not wanting to sign anything, make eye contact, or shake hands, Yoon Seo vowed to never let his identity be exposed.
"Well, if it's Seo Chaeyoon, dignity doesn't even matter. If you think about it that way, doesn't Hong Euiyoon's rudeness seem kind of cute? Don't you think so, Yoon Seo hyung?"
"Hunter Hong Euiyoon… does have some cute aspects."
Yoon Seo was willing to tell any lie necessary to avoid suspicions that he was Seo Chaeyoon.
"Hmm, it can't be Hong Euiyoon. I placed my bet on Hunter Hwashim."
Alec said.
So these people had even made a bet.
"Damn it, saying he has a cute side… My sweet pumpkin pie, never even glance at that Hong Euiyoon person."
"Of course. My lovely nightingale, you must never shake hands with him either."
Meanwhile, the couple was kissing again. For the first time since arriving here, Yoon Seo felt the urge to use a skill. A skill to seal their mouths shut. Or maybe just break their translation items.
Unlike Yoon Seo, who was fed up, Jaehee, already used to their excessive displays of affection, continued the serious discussion.
"Actually, I also bet on Hwashim. Yoon Seo hyung, what kind of person is Hwashim? Guild Master hyung said he's also someone to keep an eye on."
"He doesn't talk much and has a heavy presence, but… I don't think he's Seo Chaeyoon. I even doubt if he's truly a powerful awakened."
"I really want to meet him soon. I wanted to enter the dungeon with the temporary team, but Guild Master hyung absolutely refused to let me."
"Well, we just finished a dungeon raid yesterday, so that's only natural. Seokyoung has good hunter welfare policies, so they don't allow back-to-back dungeon entries. Once your break is over, you'll be entering the dungeon with your new teammates, so be patient."
At those words, Yoon Seo was slightly surprised.
"You cleared a dungeon yesterday?"
"Yes, hyung. We finished it last night. It was an S-rank dungeon, but no one died. Though it was a green one."
"We took the full seven days. The Guild Master said since it took us seven days, we should rest for seven days, but with a Seo Chaeyoon candidate joining the team today, there's no way we could stay away from the guild. If he really is Seo Chaeyoon, missing the first meeting would be unthinkable."
Without realizing it, Yoon Seo let out a small sigh of amazement. The fact that Perfect, currently the center of public attention, had gone on a dungeon raid without any news coverage was surprising. Even more shocking was that they had cleared an S-rank green dungeon in just a week.
"Did you raid it together with Team 2?"
Alec nodded.
"Four members of Team 1, excluding Hunter Kwon Jihan, and twenty-five A-rank hunters from Team 2 participated."
"Ugh."
"Ugh."
As soon as Alec mentioned Kwon Jihan's name, the couple let out strange groans and recoiled again.
"I let my guard down. My apologies."
Alec sincerely apologized. His voice carried genuine regret.
Just how much of a nuisance was he…
Come to think of it, Park Soobin had told him to ask the Team 1 members how to avoid fighting Kwon Jihan.
"Why does Hunter Kwon Jihan like fighting so much? He even challenged me to a fight."
"…Ah. He did?"
A chilling silence filled the room. Then, all at once, they spoke in unison.
"My condolences…."
"My condolences…."
"My condolences…."