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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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[You. Who are you?]
…There was no way I couldn’t recognize this voice.
The star of the Hunter Union.
The top student admitted to the academy.
And above all… In-wook’s first remarriage partner.
It was Yoo Si-hwa’s voice.
[Then who are you?]
…It was strange.
During her time at the academy, Yoo Si-hwa was a woman who had no interest in In-wook.
A woman who always prioritized her achievements as a hunter.
Even after graduating from the academy, she never had a single scandal except for her remarriage with In-wook.
Why would she know In-wook’s number now, not long after entering the academy?
[…Yoo Si-hwa.]
Her voice was blunt.
[Then I’ll tell In-wook that Yoo Si-hwa called.]
[I’m not done talking. I asked who you are.]
Her tone was as cold as it could be.
And it also bothered me that she kept speaking informally, knowing who I was.
[I’m Yoon Ha-rin, In-wook’s pair.]
I thought I answered properly, but for some reason, there was no response.
Thinking the call might have been disconnected, I touched the phone to check again, but it didn’t seem to be disconnected yet.
[…Where is Choi In-wook?]
Her high-handed attitude was starting to annoy me.
[In-wook went to the restroom, so contact him later.]
I was in a bad mood and tried to hang up the phone abruptly.
[What are you doing there?]
She persistently asked.
Why was she so interested?
The two seemed unnecessarily close.
Then I’ll also respond more than necessary.
[What do you think we’re doing?]
I gave a slightly mocking answer and hung up the phone without listening to her response.
I didn’t want to admit it, but she was also a woman who stole In-wook’s heart.
I thought it would be better to stake my claim first.
* * *
I threw the phone with all my might.
[What do you think we’re doing?]
What do you think we’re doing?
My body trembled with anger.
I didn’t call to hear Yoon Ha-rin’s voice.
“Sigh…”
I let out a deep sigh and threw myself on the sofa.
Yoon Ha-rin and Choi In-wook getting together was a predetermined future.
Even if the two of them did something right now, there was nothing strange about it.
But because I knew that, I tried to take the lead first by any means necessary.
I approached him with the absurd reason of falling for him at first sight.
Knowing what he was weak to, I forcibly made him join the student council.
But still, first love is first love, I guess.
Choi In-wook was sitting together with Yoon Ha-rin in private.
…I couldn’t let the future flow as it was.
Although Choi In-wook in this life might be able to live without me,
I couldn’t.
I knew too well what life was like without Choi In-wook.
The day I found out about his infertility,
Despite Choi In-wook’s earnest request, I coldly left him.
Because I couldn’t forgive him.
He lied to me.
And it was a very, very important fact that he couldn’t have children.
His divorce with Yoon Ha-rin must have also been due to this issue.
If I had been the first, I would have tried to understand somehow.
Let’s find a way together. Let’s somehow try to build a future together.
Unfortunately, I was the second wife.
My pride was already hurt by the fact that I was second, but I still thought Choi In-wook was good.
I thought he was my once-in-a-lifetime love.
But the moment he revealed his secret,
…I was afraid.
That the numerous achievements I had built up until now would disappear.
The countless criticisms that would be poured on us.
That my life, which I had walked forward without hesitation, would be denied.
And he probably knew that I would react this way.
I knew he was my one and only love, but I hated him terribly.
…So I ran away, leaving him behind.
I chose my life, leaving him behind as he wailed.
I thought it was karma.
He had to pay the price for deceiving me.
But as they say there’s no free lunch for everything,
I also had to pay the price for abandoning him.
After divorcing him, I fell apart miserably.
His face, holding me and crying, haunted me in my dreams every night.
Saying he loves me. Asking me not to go.
Wherever I went, his voice echoed in my ears.
There was no way I could continue my hunter activities properly in this state.
I couldn’t make cold judgments even during battles.
And no other hunter who came to replace Choi In-wook’s position could fill his void.
Choi In-wook was the only hunter I acknowledged as better than me. No matter how much they were also S-rank hunters, it wasn’t satisfactory at all.
In the end, not long after Choi In-wook went into hiding, I also declared a suspension of my hunter activities.
Unable to endure it sanely, I ended up drowning myself in alcohol every day.
Even with a hazy mind, I kept resenting Choi In-wook.
Why did you let me know love if you were going to be like this?
If it weren’t for you, I would have lived well without knowing anything.
I could have just lived intoxicated by my own excellence.
Why did you let me know that human warmth is warm?
I had been sleeping well alone all my life until now.
Why didn’t you hold onto me tighter when I was leaving?
After making me unable to do anything without you.
In the empty house,
Even if I cried alone, In-wook didn’t come back.
I couldn’t find any trace of him, as if he had hidden himself tightly somewhere.
…It’s okay even if I don’t get pregnant.
I just desperately wanted him to be by my side.
If I could just see his kind face again, I could give up my position as an S-rank.
If he would just come back to me, I was confident I could give up my wealth and social status.
But the opportunity to apologize to me never came back.
Because…
When he returned, he wasn’t alone.
…It was a ridiculous story.
“…I absolutely can’t give in.”
Anyway, even in this life, when Yoon Ha-rin found out that Choi In-wook was infertile, she would abandon him.
I had no intention of allowing him to suffer a terrible heartbreak again.
Biting my nails, I began to study ways to turn Choi In-wook’s heart again.
* * *
“Ha-rin?”
For some reason, Ha-rin was looking at my cell phone on the table with a serious expression.
“Ah! You’re back!”
Ha-rin’s expression returned to normal when she noticed I was back.
“Did something happen?”
Ha-rin shook her head.
“No. Not at all. It was nothing.”
Ha-rin, who was staring blankly out the window, suddenly seemed to remember something and held out her phone to me.
“You know what… In-wook.”
“Yeah?”
“We don’t know each other’s numbers yet. Wanna exchange?”
Ah. Right. Since we’re a pair, it’s natural that we should know each other’s phone numbers.
I took the phone and entered my number.
“Can you leave a call to this number?”
“Ah… No! I’ll enter it myself!”
Hmm. I didn’t mind either way, but I wondered if there was a need to do that.
Still, I dialed and handed it to Ha-rin.
…It’s a pretty flashy hand movement just for typing a phone number.
What is she doing?
“Done!”
She smiled and returned my phone.
And on my phone screen,
[Lifelong Pair Yoon Ha-rin♥]
This was how Ha-rin’s number was saved.
…No matter how much of a pair we were, it seemed like there was excessive affection attached.
It was strange.
Ha-rin’s aggressive questioning.
And this kind of behavior she was showing now.
Of course, it wasn’t that Ha-rin wasn’t this kind of person.
But she showed this side of her when we were in the midst of dating.
Was there a reason for her to go this far for me when I hadn’t even properly expressed my interest?
…Suddenly, I had a thought.
Could this world, where I returned with the blessing of the primordial spirit, be a separate world from the one I lived in before?
I was also a different Choi In-wook from before.
It wasn’t just that I came back with memories.
I was not infertile.
I, who was the strongest hunter, could now confidently say that my only complex was gone.
Thinking that way, I could understand the changed attitudes of my ex-wives.
In other words, I shouldn’t try to understand these people on the same level as my ex-wives from my previous life.
It seemed necessary to view them somewhat separately from my previous life.
Let’s ask for now.
“Um… Ha-rin.”
“Yeah!”
“Is there a reason you saved the name like this?”
I asked her with an awkward face.
“Because you’re my first pair, In-wook! I saved it like that to mean let’s do well in the future, but… Why…? You don’t like it…?”
Her reaction seemed like she would sulk at any moment if I said I didn’t like it here.
“Eh~ I want to get along well with you too, Ha-rin! I like it. I like it.”
I thought there wouldn’t be many guys who would refuse if a beauty like Ha-rin said let’s get along well with a heart attached.
“Hehe! That’s great.”
“So Ha-rin, about our combat practice…”
“Ah! Right! We should properly discuss it now!”
We seriously shared information about each other’s combat styles and abilities.
Ha-rin specialized in long-range support. I specialized in close-range direct combat.
The combination wasn’t bad.
Indeed, the worst combination in pair activities was when both people specialized in close-range combat.
I remembered Si-hwa and I, who dominated the hunter world with that worst combination.
Even thinking about it now, it was an absurd achievement.
“The combination itself isn’t bad! Then let’s try to match well according to the plan during the practical training at the academy.”
Assuming Ha-rin’s skills were the same as in my previous life, it was a pointless conversation.
In fact, even this kind of conversation was unnecessary.
Because she would accurately support me in sync with my movements.
“Yeah! Let’s definitely get 1st place! In-wook!”
It seemed more difficult for us to lose when we were a pair.
What I thought was important was how to design it so that Ha-rin would stand out as much as possible and I would be less visible.
I had no intention of disappointing Ha-rin by deliberately holding back, but I still disliked excessive attention.
“Yeah, yeah. Then I think we’ve talked enough, shall we get up?”
“Yep, yep! Let’s do that!”
And so, we left the cafe.
* * *
“…Are they gone?”
“Yeah. But Ye-na, do you have some kind of grudge against those people? This has never happened before.”
The manager oppa asked me, who had locked myself in the kitchen and didn’t come out a single step.
“Not quite a grudge, but they’re a bad connection.”
…It’s annoying.
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