TSOT#1 Chapter 28

Seo Joo-ah decided to choose the most unremarkable and boring response in this situation.

“I’m sorry.”

At her soft apology, Lim Hyuk-jae let out a small scoff.

The fact that she had to apologize for something so absurd stung her pride, but she had no intention of taking back her words. Angering him would bring her no benefits.

Seo Joo-ah was merely a D-rank Hunter, while Lim Hyuk-jae was a member of an elite team, untouchable even by most top-ranked Hunters.

However, perhaps she had underestimated him.

If he were someone to let things slide with just a simple apology, he wouldn’t have caused an issue over a light brush on the shoulder in the first place.

“I don’t really feel moved by such a bland apology,” he said, crouching slightly to meet her eyes with a sinister grin.

“An apology should be sincere, don’t you think?”

It happened in an instant. Hyuk-jae’s hand, which had been gripping her chin, moved to the back of her head, forcing her down relentlessly.

He laughed maniacally, pushing her to her knees.

“Apologize again, properly this time. On your knees. Beg for forgiveness like you mean it.”

“Urgh, stop…!”

His grip was forceful, almost violent.

The ponytail she had neatly tied was now completely disheveled under the pressure.

Choi Kyul clicked his tongue in boredom and turned his head away, evidently losing interest.

Joo-ah bit her lower lip hard.

This was humiliating. If she had been in her original body, there was no way she would have let someone like Lim Hyuk-jae overpower her so easily.

“…What the hell?”

He cursed lowly, and for some reason, his hand, which had been pressing her head down, was suddenly lifted into the air.

Joo-ah took a small gasp of breath and looked up.

“I’ve told you countless times.”

A calm, low voice echoed through the now silent space.

Someone was walking toward them, tracing magic patterns with their long fingers.

“Don’t disgrace the elite team.”

Joo-ah’s eyes widened as she recognized the man dressed in the same uniform as Hyuk-jae.

It was someone she knew very well.

“Han Se-hyun, you son of a—!”

Hyuk-jae, his face twisted in rage, tried to use magic against him.

However, the dark energy emanating from Hyuk-jae was immediately suppressed as if blocked by something.

“Damn it, Yoo Tae-jun…”

It was likely because of the red curse mark engraved near his wrist.

The chairman, Yoo Tae-jun, had forcibly involved Hyuk-jae in association events and placed restrictions on his magic to prevent him from causing incidents. Hyuk-jae’s powers were too dangerous to leave unchecked. Even with his magic partially sealed, he could still harm other Hunters with minimal effort.

Se-hyun lowered his hand, which had been raised in the air, and smirked lazily as he stood firmly in front of Joo-ah.

“What did you do this time to have your magic restricted again?”

It was Choi Kyul, not Hyuk-jae, who answered.

“One of the Hunters he ‘favored’ reported everything to Yoo Tae-jun. That’s why our poor Hyuk-jae got his magic blocked overnight, reduced to an incompetent fool.”

“Shut up.”

Hyuk-jae snapped irritably, glaring at Choi Kyul, who laughed softly.

Since Se-hyun was now standing between them, there was no longer a need for him to keep his telekinesis active.

Joo-ah held her breath, staring at Se-hyun’s broad back in front of her.

Her heart was pounding painfully, a mixture of unease and an unfamiliar warmth.

…Han Se-hyun.

He had no idea who she really was, yet he was protecting her, a complete stranger.

Her expression turned somber as she raised her gaze to his broad shoulders and caught a glimpse of his neatly cut hair.

And then, the sight of the black eye patch peeking out from his hairline made her chest ache.

Though his face was partially obscured, the side profile and the eye patch left her deeply unsettled.

“Hey, let’s be honest. Isn’t your team the one that tarnishes the elite team’s reputation?” Hyuk-jae sneered.

Se-hyun’s face hardened ominously.

Pleased with the reaction, Hyuk-jae exaggerated his gestures and laughed before continuing.

“Think about it. An elite team with one member who was in a coma for three years, another who randomly disappeared, and finally…”

He paused, smirking as he looked Se-hyun directly in the eye.

“One who lost their vision in one eye.”

Behind Se-hyun, Joo-ah’s expression twisted with anger as she glared sharply at Hyuk-jae.

He lazily stuffed his hands into his pockets and continued.

“They still haven’t found Kwon Eun-young, right? I heard rumors she’s haunting people as a ghost.”

Hyuk-jae chuckled, and Choi Kyul, with a defeated look, spoke up.

“Hey, watch your mouth. If something happens to Eun-young, what will I have left to live for? Just the thought breaks my heart.”

Clutching his chest dramatically, Choi Kyul declared with resolve, “I’ll find Kwon Eun-young before Z Team does and bring her back to our team.”

Hyuk-jae’s face twisted in irritation at that.

“Stop it, you know how much I hate her.”

“So what? I love Eun-young.”

“She finds you creepy, you know?”

Unbothered, Choi Kyul shrugged, making Hyuk-jae glare at him in disgust.

“She could be dead for all we know.”

To this, Choi Kyul muttered under his breath with a smirk, “I’ll bring back her body if I have to.”

Hyuk-jae looked at him like he was crazy before turning his gaze back to Se-hyun.

“Don’t give me that look. Even if you beg me to bring Kwon Eun-young back, I won’t.”

Smirking, he added, “She’s probably already dead anyway.”

Before walking away, Hyuk-jae glanced briefly at Joo-ah.

“See you next time.”

As he left, Choi Kyul trailed behind, still muttering to himself.

The silence that followed was heavy.

Joo-ah stared at Se-hyun’s back as he stood motionless, his gaze fixed on the space where Hyuk-jae and Choi Kyul had disappeared.

With a faint sigh, Se-hyun ruffled his hair, the dark strands scattering softly. Without a word, he began walking back toward the building.

“Thank you for saving me!”

Joo-ah called out belatedly, her voice earnest.

But Se-hyun didn’t look back.

He simply walked away, slowly fading from her view.

The encounter with Se-hyun had been entirely unexpected, but it left Joo-ah even more curious.

Was Se-hyun truly the one who had hidden her original body somewhere?

“D-rank, are you zoning out again?”

Yoo Chan-hee’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts. He easily dispatched a virtual monster with his sword and slung the massive blade over his shoulder, giving her a crooked smile.

“I told you to keep casting reinforcement magic. Who told you to daydream?”

Joo-ah adjusted her stance and spoke calmly.

“Hunter Yoo Chan-hee.”

He raised an eyebrow, signaling her to continue.

“At the academy, do you know why classes are divided by time slots?”

“What kind of random question is that?”

“It’s because there’s a set amount of time each age group can focus,” she explained.

Chan-hee let out a small laugh.

“And what’s your point?”

“Let’s take a break.”

She gestured to her watch.

“It’s been five hours straight. We haven’t taken a single break.”

While the rest of the team had finished earlier, Joo-ah’s one-on-one training with Chan-hee had continued nonstop.

He was relentless. Even when her stamina dwindled, he used his abilities to amplify her endurance. While it kept her body from exhaust, it couldn’t prevent mental exhaustion.

Joo-ah decided that if he refused to stop, she’d use the power of her constellation to knock him out if necessary.

“Fine.”

Surprisingly, Chan-hee nodded without much resistance.

“Really?”

“Yeah, let’s rest for 30 minutes.”

He started walking toward the training hall exit, leaving Joo-ah momentarily stunned.

She stared after him, puzzled.

As much as she had trained, he had also refrained from resting.

How many people would go to such lengths for a lowly D-rank Hunter like her?

For the first time, Yoo Chan-hee seemed different in her eyes.

“What are you doing? Aren’t we taking a break?”

He stopped at the door and turned back, frowning slightly before tilting his head with a mischievous grin.

“Or are you so pumped now that you don’t want to stop training?”

His devilish smirk instantly made her expression stiffen.

“No,