IH Ch 113

Chapter 113

As though it were the most natural thing in the world, Jae-i settled onto one end of the sofa and reached out to Dohwa, who was standing. Once Ahn Yuna confirmed that Dohwa’s wrist had been taken, she repeated that everything was fine and ushered the employee out. The moment the door closed, she turned back.

There were five people in the spacious room: Hwang Jae-i, Dohwa, Ahn Yuna, and the hunters Yohan and Kangjun. Kangjun, skilled in hand-to-hand combat and defense, went straight to the refrigerator to prepare drinks. Yohan unpacked a box of desserts from the bag slung over his shoulder.

“…….”

Ordinarily, those desserts would have been used to calm the guildmaster when he became volatile. They were usually brought out strategically. But at some point, they had become mere snacks. That shift had begun after Dohwa appeared.

Even now—look at him. Even with the desserts out, his eyes were fixed on Dohwa. They probably thought their whispering couldn’t be heard on this side, but unfortunately for them, every word was clear.

“I’m fine. I’ll just go stand in a corner.”

“Why would you? There are plenty of seats here.”

“I’m here as a bodyguard, right?”

“…….”

“…Or was it a secretary?”

No one had ever formally assigned Dohwa a role.

The Jae-i Guild had been incredibly busy for a while, and Hwang Jae-i more than anyone. The enormous wave of content released recently was the result of countless people’s blood, sweat, and tears. While the guild scrambled day and night, Dohwa accompanied them naturally.

When at the guild headquarters, he stayed in the guildmaster’s office. But whenever they left the building, he waited in the car. And then, at some point, Dohwa began standing next to Jae-i outside as well. This was due to Jae-i insisting that “being with me is best.”

As South Korea’s S-rank hunter, Jae-i was right—staying by his side was the safest.

Ahn Yuna and the rest of the guild took an attitude of “do whatever you want.” Not that stopping him would have worked anyway. In fact, the only one who tried to refuse was Dohwa. He worried that being seen together publicly would cause trouble.

Indeed, Dohwa had more awareness than Jae-i. But even Dohwa couldn’t override Jae-i’s stubbornness. And so, things had come to this. At this point, Dohwa’s role was neither guard nor secretary—he was essentially the guildmaster’s emotional stabilizer.

Ahn Yuna had also figured out how Hwang Hajin—Jae-i’s father—had managed to enter the country. Making a gate disappear? No matter how she looked at it, it had to be some sort of trick. That alone was enough to give her a headache.

And then Hwang Jae-i said it—that they should collaborate with Haeseong on something. At first, she assumed he planned to form an alliance to counter Hwang Hajin. A formal agreement stating that Haeseong would never oppose Hwang Jae-i and vice versa, no matter what happened.

But what he proposed instead was modeling for all Haeseong-related products.

When she first heard it, she wondered if he had been drinking. Though as an S-rank, he couldn’t get drunk no matter how strong the alcohol. Or maybe he was joking to lighten the grim atmosphere.

But he was serious. Only then did she understand it wasn’t a passing comment.

What was he thinking? Even as the question ran through her mind, Ahn Yuna moved quickly. Ever since he became guildmaster, she’d regretted how he refused to work with corporations. It wasn’t like he’d lose anything—corporate backing and mutual promotion were generally advantageous. Many hunters with terrible field reputations polished their public images with CFs and media play. It wasn’t uncommon.

She thought this was the perfect chance—before he changed his mind, she wanted at least a few photo shoots or print ads. She contacted Haeseong, and then the scale ballooned out of control. Hwang Jae-i wanted something far beyond what either she or Haeseong had imagined. He wanted to model not just for Haeseong HQ but for subsidiaries and every product line.

Frankly, there was nothing Haeseong would dislike about this. His name alone was worth immense promotional value. After three years of begging him for even one appearance, the sudden flood of content was bound to create a sensation.

Still, Chairman Ma Jungseok eventually asked:

“Guildmaster, you seem to have a particular reason for this. May I ask what it is?”

Ahn Yuna had been equally curious and stared at him, not blinking.

Under all their gazes, Hwang Jae-i finally spoke.

“I need people’s attention.”

“…….”

“They need to reassess what position and level of influence I hold.”

At first, none of them understood. This was Hwang Jae-i. Why did his influence need reaffirmation?

As they stared at him in confusion, he continued:

“I need allies. A lot of them. And for that, an image overhaul has to come first.”

All these years, Hwang Jae-i had been a lone force. As long as he did his work well, he didn’t care how people gossiped or pointed fingers. But now, seeing how the world was shifting, he must have realized he couldn’t keep ignoring public perception.

Advertisement was indeed the fastest way to shift public interest. Just the fact that he was doing something he had never done before would make people pay attention. But would the effects be positive? And could a man who bristled whenever a camera got near him possibly film a proper advertisement?

She buried those worries and forced the project forward. Two days of preparation, three days of filming. It was not easy. As she feared, Hwang Jae-i frowned the entire time in front of the camera. The directors were terrified and couldn’t even ask him to relax his expression. They merely repeated empty praise: “Perfect,” “Magnificent,” “As expected of the guildmaster.”

Anyone could see it wasn’t fine. If this footage went out, it would be a disaster.

Eventually, Ahn Yuna grabbed the camera herself.

She wasn’t a professional, but she believed she could produce something better than what they had so far. Then the battle began. The moment she raised the camera, Jae-i caused an uproar, demanding what she thought she was doing. She retorted that he looked more like he wanted to fight than endorse a product, and that he was causing trouble.

Her scolding seemed to snap him out of it, because he relaxed his face very slightly—but it was still bad. After nearly an hour of struggle, the results were disastrous.

The director and crew tried to reassure her:

“The guildmaster is so handsome that people will love it anyway.”

But Ahn Yuna could not accept that.

How could he suggest doing advertisements if he was going to do them like this? This wouldn’t do. Should she just scrap everything?

As she debated quitting, she noticed Jae-i standing off to the side with his phone. It looked like he was making a call—then suddenly, his expression softened.

Immediately, a realization sparked in her mind.

It was Dohwa.

“Feels like I’m the only one standing.”

“If he wants to sit, he’ll sit. Just ignore him.”

“Take care of him a bit.”

As the guildmaster continued tugging, Dohwa finally sat down, voice retreating like a whisper. Jae-i turned around with clear displeasure.

“What are you all doing? Sit.”

“…….”

Should I punch him?

Suppressing that thought, Ahn Yuna pulled out a chair and dropped into it. Kangjun and Yohan followed, seating themselves nearby.

“Director, have this. No one else is going to take care of us, so let’s take care of each other.”

Yohan’s lips protruded in a pout as he handed them each a macaron. But when he glanced at Dohwa—now sitting snugly beside the guildmaster, nibbling on a macaron Jae-i had personally given him—Yohan’s expression instantly softened. Then, naturally, he leaned against Ahn Yuna.

“Dohwa looks cute even like that, doesn’t he?”

“…….”

At that, Ahn Yuna took out a macaron and stole a sideways glance.

Dohwa was dressed in a suit and wearing black sunglasses. If one could find awkwardness cute, then yes—he looked cute. The fit wasn’t bad, but next to Hwang Jae-i, he resembled a student borrowing an adult’s clothes.

He clearly found the outfit uncomfortable, but it couldn’t be helped. This was Dohwa’s chosen attire so he could stay beside Hwang Jae-i. During the previous three days of constant filming, following Hwang Jae-i around in his bright yellow hoodie would have stood out far too much.