Chapter 144

Yet strangely, he did not feel even the slightest regret. If anything, the longer he stayed, the more this new base grew on him. Perhaps he had reached a point in life where even he needed a place to breathe.

“…….”

Jae-i slowly turned his head—then stopped walking the moment he noticed the black sedan that had been trailing him at a careful distance.

The car, as if realizing it had been discovered, did not speed up or slow down. It simply pulled up beside him and came to a stop. A moment later, the front passenger door opened, and the driver leaned over.

“Hello, Jae-i. Fancy running into you here.”

Pretending this was mere coincidence—Hwang Suhyeon spoke with the casualness of someone on a stroll. Jae-i scoffed.

He opened the passenger door himself and climbed in, leaning back against the seat.

“I thought you’d come much later.”

“One of my meetings was canceled, so I took the chance to head out early. I also wanted to see my dear nephew.”

Switching off the engine completely, Suhyeon leaned back and reached for the bag placed on the back seat. She pulled out a tablet PC and a set of documents. First she handed the physical documents to Jae-i, then began scrolling through the tablet.

Jae-i began reading.

“…….”

Expressionless, he turned the pages one by one—until his eyes slid shut and his head fell back against the headrest. There was a moment of silence, as if a spike of blood pressure had left him frozen. A short exhale slipped out of him.

Even then, Suhyeon didn’t react.

That morning, she had received a call from Jae-i asking her to dig up certain information. The sudden task pushed back her schedule. She had claimed a meeting was canceled—but in truth, she had moved it herself. Afterwards, she sent several gift baskets to the company as apology and resumed catching up on unfinished tasks. But throughout, her attention remained fixed on the man sitting next to her.

When she finally slowed to a halt in her frantic typing, her phone vibrated inside her bag. She had set it to silent in case work-related calls came in while traveling, but for some reason, she didn’t want to answer this one.

The vibration continued. Persistent.

She sighed, opened the bag, glanced at the caller ID—

—and let out a sharp, derisive laugh.

“The Association President?”

“He must have noticed I’m away from Seoul again. Like a ghost, that one.”

Ever since Jae-i moved the guild headquarters, President Kim Wi had been contacting Suhyeon relentlessly. Not to ask why Jae-i made such a decision—no, he wanted her help in persuading him to undo it.

It wasn’t even funny.

The Association itself played a massive role in driving Jae-i to relocate.

She knew better. No matter how friendly people appeared, no matter how warmly they approached, there was always a hidden edge. She should have stayed alert, but she slipped. Kim Wi’s actions deserved outrage—but what concerned Suhyeon more was Jae-i.

If something triggered him again and made him push everyone away…

Suhyeon finally picked up the call.

When she lifted the phone to her ear, the person who had been blowing up her phone fell silent. If he had something to say, why wasn’t he saying it? Her expression hardened.

The man finally spoke, sounding half amused, half uncomfortable.

[Ah… chilly. How is it that I can feel the cold wind even over the phone?]

“…….”

[You’ve been busy lately? Working overtime personally too? Don’t overdo it. We’re not exactly—]

“You want to ask whether I’m with Jae-i. Stop circling around it.”

Silence again.

“I know exactly why you called. If you’re planning on wasting my time with useless small talk again, then do us both a favor and never call me again, President.”

[Why so cold? I’m starting to feel hurt—]

Suhyeon hung up immediately and powered the phone off.

She tossed it into her bag, shoved the tablet aside, folded her arms, and let out a deep sigh.

“I should’ve noticed sooner. I let my guard down.”

“We didn’t let our guard down. They were simply fast—and dirty.”

“…….”

“They’re the kind who will do anything to protect their own feeding trough.”

“How would they even know if they were feeding themselves rice or poison?”

Honestly, she hoped it was poison. Something that melted their insides, made them vomit black blood, and left them writhing before they died.

She glanced at Jae-i.

He was never the affectionate nephew. His personality, upbringing, and the damage caused by that bastard Hwang Hajin had shaped him into someone deeply guarded. She had hoped he might soften with age—yet he remained the same. If anything, he seemed even more determined to isolate himself.

If that had been all, she might have interfered more aggressively—dragged him out, forced him into social spaces, made him form ties with others. But she didn’t.

Because he was dutiful.

He was an S-class hunter who entered gates without fail. He inherited the Jae-i Guild per his grandfather’s will. And regardless of the noise, he always fulfilled his critical responsibilities.

His actions always seemed to carry the message, “I am doing everything expected of me. Don’t demand anything more.”

Interfering carelessly felt dangerous—like one more push might break the fragile balance and make him sever ties even with the few people he tolerated.

But now…

Now he was changing.

On her way down from Seoul, Suhyeon had seen his face everywhere: on massive billboards, magazines, promotional materials in stores, even bonus hologram cards packaged with products.

The day after the guild relocation, a major franchise café launched a collaboration with “Hwang Jae-i.” Despite the chaos, people lined up before dawn for early-release goods. One of the items—an exclusive hologram postcard—showed him with his chin resting lightly on his interlaced fingers.

The pose, the yellow knit sweater, the already striking beauty made him impossibly captivating. The postcard, originally free with purchases over 30,000 won, was now reselling for over 1 million won.

Extraordinary.

“…It’s a frenzy. Even my team—people who never speak about anything outside of work—have been dropping hints. ‘Do you see your nephew often? Any upcoming ads? Anything we should know?’”

She laughed faintly.

“At first I wondered why they’d ask such nonsense. Turns out the moment a product launches with your face on it, that company’s stock hits the upper limit. Capitalism at its purest. Or maybe… maybe your influence has always been that big, and neither of us realized.”

“…….”

“Thinking back… maybe that’s why they tried so hard to crush you. Your influence—your power—is enormous. They wanted to force your head down before it grew any higher. I’ve been so busy with your legal messes that I didn’t notice, but… hearing praise for you feels better than I expected. Even when I’m exhausted all day, new photos of you appear, people celebrate you, and the compliments pour in. I enjoy it more than I thought.”

If she had known earlier, she would have used his face much sooner—taken him everywhere, amplified his influence, elevated him so far beyond reach that no one would dare try to touch him.

People focused only on the “guild relocation.” They blamed media slander and unfair reporting.

If they learned the real reason…

What chaos would unfold?

She could use that. Sit at the negotiation table with that truth in hand.

And if he sat at that table, she knew exactly what he would demand.

Suhyeon looked at the documents on his lap.

“……They experimented on humans too. If they did that, they definitely didn’t leave the beasts alone. Everyone pretends not to know, but there are rumors that China is researching ways to combine hunter and beast abilities.”

The same people loudly declaring such research barbaric—violating human dignity—were the first to feign ignorance when evidence surfaced.

Cutting off their own tail before anyone else could grab it.