Sigh of Relief

Just as Joo-Hee heard the commotion outside, her heart raced.

She glanced at Ji-Hoon, who looked momentarily caught off guard, but then a grin spread across her face.

"Guess I'm in trouble. Bye, for now, Ms. Joo-Hee," he said with a chuckle, releasing Joo-Hee's hands as he stepped away.

"That crazy bastard," Joo-Hee whispered under her breath, relief flooding over her as she sighed.

'At least I can breathe for a moment. It seems the heavens have yet to forsake me.'

She turned to Kang Ho, who was shaking her head with an amused smile.

Joo-Hee could see the laughter in his eyes.

"I knew it. That bastard must have stolen that mana meter."

Joo-Hee shot a look at Kang Ho, her mind racing.

'You knew?! then why didn't you intervene much earlier? I almost became a criminal for goodness' sake.'

She couldn't help but put on an act of innocence.

"Really? Stole? So does that mean the warrant was fake?"

Joo-Hee let out a light laugh, adding a playful tone to her voice.

"What a bummer. I wanted to check whether my mana changed after all these years."

Kang Ho laughed heartily, seemingly unfazed by Joo-Hee's subtle attempts to gauge the situation.

"Well, I guess that's it for now. Joo-Hee, you should also head back to your team. They might be worried about you."

Joo-Hee nodded, grateful for the distraction.

"Right. I'll catch up with them. Thank you again for the sword, Mr. Kang."

With a deep breath, she gathered himself and headed back to the main area, where she could see the other teams lining up to sell their loot.

'Time to get the money~'

As Joo-Hee turned to head back to her team, she was stopped by a hunter with a familiar face.

"Ms. Lee? It seems you're doing okay now. I'm rather glad to see you returning to being a hunter."

Joo-Hee froze for a moment, trying to place the face.

'What now—wait, I know him. This guy looks familiar. I've seen him before in the manhwa.'

Realization struck her as she blurted out, "Woo Jin-Chul?"

Jin-Chul's eyes widened, a look of surprise flashing across his face. "Yes?"

Joo-Hee quickly composed himself, offering a polite smile.

"It's nice to see you too, Mr. Woo. I didn't expect to run into you here."

'So this is Woo Jin-Chul. He was good-looking in the manhwa, but…' Joo-Hee couldn't help but notice the receding hairline.

'Not to judge, but I guess the reality is rather... different?'

Jin-Chul smiled with a hint of malice in his eyes.

"I'm just here to get someone. Seems there's been some theft from the Association."

'I see,' Joo-Hee thought, catching on immediately.

'So he's after Han Ji-Hoon. Good luck, you bastard.'

She gave Jin-Chul a polite nod.

"I see. I didn't know. Sorry for taking up your time, Mr. Woo. See you around."

As Joo-Hee walked away, she could feel Jin-Chul's gaze lingering.

He watched her with narrowed eyes, a suspicion forming in his mind.

'I see, so it was all because of Joo-Hee that he stole that mana meter? What could she have done to catch that heretic's attention…'

After looking for her team, Joo-Hee spotted them waiting by the entrance, waving at her.

Relieved, she hurried over, eager to finally get her share of the payment.

Da-Sol grinned as she approached.

"Took you quite a while. We were starting to think of running off with the money if you didn't show up!"

Eun-Bi and Min-Soo chuckled and nodded in agreement, while Jae-Sung, who had been quiet most of the time, suddenly spoke up, his eyes fixed on the sword strapped to Joo-Hee's side.

"That sword…?"

Joo-Hee glanced down and smiled.

"Oh, this? Mr. Kang gave it to me as a gift for healing that hunters earlier."

The team looked at her in surprise.

It wasn't typical for hunters to dabble in multiple weapon types or techniques, so her words took them aback.

Da-Sol's jaw dropped slightly.

"Unnie, you use a sword? are you planning to become an all-rounder??"

Joo-Hee laughed, scratching the back of her head.

"No, no, I just practiced a bit. I thought it'd be handy in case a monster ever lunges at me up close."

Yoon-Ji, the archer, raised an eyebrow.

"But, I didn't see you use it in the dungeon."

Joo-Hee shrugged sheepishly.

"I'm still not very good with it, so I didn't want to risk using it yet," she said, a little embarrassed.

She touched the back of her head.

They all laughed at her honesty, the tension easing as they chatted.

After a bit more chatting, Da-Sol handed Joo-Hee her share.

"Here, Unnie, we've already split ours. Just give me your bank QR code."

Joo-Hee scanned it, watching with satisfaction as 1.08 million won appeared in her account, bringing her balance to a nice 3 million won.

She grinned with stars in her eyes, thinking to herself, 'Finally! Some money at last.'

Da-Sol clapped his hands.

"So, how about a little celebration?"

Before Joo-Hee could answer, Yoon-Ji and Jae-Sung both shook their heads.

"Gonna have to pass," Jae-Sung said.

Joo-Hee also politely declined, to which Da-Sol gave her a dramatic pout.

"You too, Unnie?"

"Sorry," she said with a sheepish grin. "I actually already have plans tonight."

Eun-Bi leaned in with a teasing smile.

"Oh, I see... Is it your boyfriend, Ms. Joo-Hee?"

Joo-Hee's eyes widened.

"What? No! He's just my friend."

Eun-Bi raised an eyebrow, smirking.

"He? Mmhmm, a friend..."

Joo-Hee could only roll her eyes, laughing it off.

"Think whatever you want," she said, shaking her head as they all chuckled.

With that, they said their goodbyes, each heading their separate ways.

Joo-Hee, meanwhile, was already thinking about the evening ahead.

'A long bath sounds perfect before meeting up with Jin-Woo.'