RFH Chapter 11

Episode 11

Chapter 2 Author, This is a Romance Fantasy, But There’s No Romance?

[First Quest!]

[Find the Savior.]

[Find the one who saved your life!]

“This is ridiculous, no matter how much I think about it.”

Just as she was about to fall asleep, Min Hyemi shot up from her bed, muttering to herself.

“What am I supposed to do once I find this savior?”

Was she supposed to say, ‘Wow! Thank you so much!’ and bow in gratitude? Or was this supposed to lead into a romance arc? Either way, the quest made no sense to her.

On top of that, the fact that this so-called 'savior' was likely one of the hunters from Security Team 1 drove her crazy.

Unable to sleep, Min Hyemi sat in front of her laptop. She needed to gather information about them.

Perhaps she could find a clue about this 'savio' along the way.

[Kwon Anna]

The first person she searched was Team Leader Kwon Anna.

The only non-returnee hunter in Security Team 1.

A charismatic leader and a role model with impeccable character.

That was about all the publicly available information on her.

However, Min Hyemi stumbled upon an intriguing video clip.

It was an interview with Kwon Anna, where she talked about her relationships with the hunters on her team.

“Ah, to be honest, it wasn’t easy forming this team at first. Everyone is so unique and headstrong...”

“I see. In what ways was it difficult, specifically?”

“With Seon Sejun, for example, he’s so reserved that it’s hard to figure him out. In the beginning, he wouldn’t even express himself properly, which was frustrating. But after spending so much time together, I realized he’s a kind person. Now we can even communicate through eye contact.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“As for Han Ian, his friendly personality made it easy to get along with him, but sometimes he’s so excessively kind that it catches people off guard.”

“Now that you mention it, Han Ian is well-known as a sub-male lead returnee.”

“Yes, I think those traits carry over to some extent. And as for Kang Jinhyuk…”

“Kang Jinhyuk?”

“He wouldn’t listen to me at all at first, so I just fought him and won.”

“Excuse me?”

“Well, he’s from a male-oriented world, so establishing a hierarchy was necessary. Haha.”

Oh, so she wasn’t all sweetness and light after all.

To handle someone like Kang Jinhyuk, she couldn’t possibly have a mild personality.

Min Hyemi couldn’t help but hold a certain level of admiration for Kwon Anna.

Now that Kang Jinhyuk had been mentioned, it was time to search for him next.

[Kang Jin-hyuk]

Terrible personality.

His reputation was consistently negative.

It was almost too transparent, as if he had no hidden layers.

She could sum him up with the keywords “lone wolf,” “SSS-rank,” “legendary,” and “genius.”

[Han Ian]

Sub-male lead vibes.

What exactly does it mean to have “sub-male lead vibes”?

Tilting her head in confusion, Min Hyemi did some digging and discovered the answer.

Han Ian occasionally appeared on variety shows, one of which had a romance theme.

In that show, he somehow ended up being chosen as “everyone’s second favorite” and wasn’t picked by anyone in the end.

“Truly a sub-male lead…”

She muttered in admiration.

Finally, it was time to search for the most mysterious individual.

[Seon Sejun]

And then, Min Hyemi stumbled upon something shocking.

“That… really was a secret…”

Nothing about Seon Sejun’s “background” was disclosed anywhere.

No wonder she hadn’t heard anything about it before.

The fact that Seon Sejun was Prometheus, who had his liver eaten for 30,000 years, was something only she and Lee Ruri knew.

Sure, maybe his close acquaintances knew about it, but the important thing was that she was now privy to his significant secret.

“Well, he knows my secret too… So I guess it’s best if we just keep quiet about each other’s secrets.”

She muttered with a somewhat uneasy expression.

Learning someone else’s secret always left her with a strange, uncomfortable feeling.

***

The next day, when Min Hyemi visited the HR office, she encountered an unexpected person.

“Huh…?”

She glanced at HR Team Leader Kim Misook with a look that clearly asked,

“What’s going on?”

Because the person in the room was none other than Kwon Anna.

The HR team leader shrugged and motioned toward her with her eyes.

“Kwon Anna wanted to talk to you, Hyemi.”

“Oh, okay…”

Min Hyemi nodded with a slightly uneasy expression.

This didn’t feel right. Her “ominous pathway” was lighting up.

“Hello, Min Hyemi. You’re the team leader of Recovery Team 2, right? I’m Kwon Anna.”

“Yes, I’ve heard a lot about you…”

Trying to appear calm, Min Hyemi greeted her. After all, it was always best to be cautious around strong hunters.

“You went into the dungeon with our Jejun yesterday, correct?”

“Um, yes…”

“He didn’t say anything unnecessary, did he? He’s someone I worry about in many ways.”

Min Hyemi could guess what she meant.

Seon Sejun often seemed spacey, like he wasn’t fully present.

“No, there weren’t any problems. In fact, I’m grateful to him for saving one of my team members.”

“That’s a relief. The reason I wanted to meet with you, Hyemi, is…”

Kwon Anna continued, looking slightly troubled.

“You’re aware of Exodus, the largest terrorist organization in the country, correct?”

“Yes, they attacked headquarters not long ago.”

“That’s right… Actually, my team has been getting stalked by Exodus recently.”

“What?”

Even hunters as powerful as them were being stalked?

“We’re tracking Exodus, and they’re trying to uncover our weaknesses.”

“Oh…”

“In the process, they don’t hesitate to exploit people connected to us. While we try to minimize contact with others…”

Wait a minute, this didn’t sound good.

“I’m worried that your entrance into the dungeon with Jejun yesterday might have drawn their attention. If anything happens, please contact us immediately.”

“This is insane.”

Min Hyemi muttered reflexively.

Her “ominous pathway” was blaring warning signals. In other words…

“Are you saying I could be blackmailed or kidnapped by Exodus?”

“Well, yes, but the chances of you actually being kidnapped are low…”

“Ugh, blegh!”

At the word “kidnap,” Min Hyemi gagged reflexively, unable to contain her reaction.

“Are… Are you okay? There’s really a low chance of you being kidnapped, so you don’t have to worry too much…”

“P-please, just don’t use that word.”

“Pardon?”

After a moment, Min Hyemi managed to calm herself and wiped her mouth before asking,

“Are people close to the Security Team 1 hunters often threatened?”

“Yes. Not long ago, they even tried to pry information out of a convenience store clerk about what items we purchased. That’s why I wanted to warn you to be careful; they might try to approach you the same way.”

She froze, her face blank with disbelief.

‘I know where this is going. This is classic romance fantasy development.’

No doubt she’d be threatened, and then the supposed male lead would swoop in to save her…

As her lips twitched involuntarily, Kwon Anna handed her a small, round gem.

“It’s an artifact for location tracking. If anything happens, just break this.”

“Oh, uh, thank you…”

Damn it. Why did it feel like her life was steadily turning into a romance fantasy plot?

***

On her way home, Min Hyemi was more cautious than ever before.

She avoided places with few people and remained on high alert until she reached her car in the parking lot and got inside.

“Whew…”

She finally let out a sigh of relief once her car started moving.