"Is there something wrong, Cha Haein-nim?"
"No, there is nothing wrong."
As the class was over, Min-Jun broke the silence as he asked Cha Hae-In about why she kept staring at him, but he knew that it would be embarrassing for her if he asked her directly, so he needed to be subtle.
"Really? I am worried that you will be bored here, as I haven't talked with you since I entered the class."
"No, it's fine." Hae-In lightly shook her head and even apologized. "Instead, I should be the one who apologized for having troubled you in class before."
"It doesn't matter, but what do you think?"
"What do I think?" Hae-In tilted her head, seemingly confused, yet such a ditzy reaction that came from the strongest female Hunter in Korea was cute.
"Do you want to study here, too? I can teach you, so you can enter the university, if you want to."
If he wasn't wrong, they should be about the same age, but unlike him, who went to university, Hae-In went straight into the Hunter Corps.
"Ah, no." Hae-In quickly refused. "I... I am... while it is embarrassing, I am not that good at studying..." Her face was crimson, revealing her unexpected weakness, which everyone had expected her to be perfect.
"...."
Min-jun was at a loss for a moment, but he quickly regained his calm as he tried to tease, yet downplay Hae-In's negative view of herself. "There is nothing to be embarrassed about when everything has its own strength, but I have to say, it is a bit unexpected."
In other words, her quiet, silent persona was nothing but a way to hide her dumbness.
Hae-In's face turned crimson as her shoulder lightly bumped into him. "Don't tease me."
"Ouch!"
"I didn't hit you that hard."
"I am a fragile archer, and you are a warrior. At close range, who is bullying whom?"
As Hae-In grumbled, trying to think of a comeback, Min-Jun was a bit curious. "By the way, when did you awaken as a Hunter, Cha Haein-nim?"
"Just call me, Hae-In."
"Is that okay?"
"I don't mind."
Despite having such banter, Hae-In felt comfortable talking like this normally, since, as if she had awoken as an S-Rank Hunter, everyone looked at her like she was above any of them, a different being than anyone. They had always put her on a pedestal when the truth was that she was extremely simple.
Yet, she also understood everyone's change, as she was the S-Rank Hunter, the defender, the one who stood above many, and if she had to be cruel with herself, they were just afraid of her, as they were weak in front of her.
At the same time, she was beautiful; many ordinary people considered her a monster, and this was also why it was comfortable to talk with Min-Jun, as their positions were equal.
Lastly, and the most important reason, the fact that he didn't smell disgusting like any others made her not want to leave him.
In this world, her nose, while it saved her from many dangers, was also the source of her discomfort, as it felt like she stood in the middle of a mountain of trash.
Yes, all the Hunters on her nose felt like a butcher, so disgusting that she wanted to throw up, but Min-Jun was different, as it was her first time to be able to walk without holding her nose.
This was the first time that she could take a deep, fresh breath, and because of that, she didn't want to go back and just wanted to stay beside him all the time.
Yet, watching her warm, gentle smile on her beautiful face, Min-Jun, who was a male, was unable to help but be affected.
"..." Min-Jun.
What was the unique thing about Hae-In?
If he was being honest, he wasn't sure, since Solo Leveling's story about Hae-In was minimal.
No, there was almost none, as in the story of Solo Leveling, it was just all about Sung Jin-Woo and his shadow soldiers, with him against the world, which made it harder for him to remember about Cha Hae-In, as she hardly appeared in the story except for in the beginning or in certain arcs.
Instead of Hae-In, Jin-Woo's followers seemed to have more of an action in the story, but as she would be his partner from now on, it wouldn't hurt to know more about her.
Yet, the impression he had of her was different from what the media portrayed, as the real her was a more active, slightly ditzy girl.
Also, except for fighting, she spent most of her time in her apartment on the high-rise, the tallest building, far away from anyone, as she didn't like the scent of the Hunters, as they were so disgusting to her nose, which was why she had always held the handkerchief on her nose, which hardly had any effects to hide the disgusting smells on her surroundings.
Still—
'Can you analyze her?'
[Affirmative.]
At that moment, the Manager analyzed Hae-In's entire body and concluded.
[Threat Level: S-Rank (South Korea's 9th S-Rank Hunter).]
[Class: Fighter/Swordsman.]
[Agility & Speed: Off the charts.]
[Mana Output: Massive, condensed aura.]
[Conclusion. She is one of the most lethal close-quarters combatants on the peninsula, known as the "Danger" due to her highly erratic behavior toward enemies, perfectly calculated for her. She experiences severe sensory overload around other Hunters and magical beasts. To her, mana smells putrid.]
'Severe sensory overload? In other words?'
[Cha Hae-In has a massive spike in her dopamine and serotonin levels when in proximity of the user.]
"..."
[Naturally, it is due to her registering the user's scent as a pleasant, clean scent.]
"...." Min-Jun.
While he was speechless, he also felt strange, realising that, instead of falling in love with Jin-Woo, he, himself, Cha Hae-In, had fallen in love with Jin-Woo because of Jin-Woo's scent.
However, Min-Jun's situation was the same, since he also had no such putrid scent that every Hunter exuded.
The stronger the Hunter was, the stronger the putrid scent was; yet he had no such scent, which made him an anomaly in Hae-In's eyes, but she was addicted to him.
Still, all of that happened because all of the Hunters in this world couldn't control the mana that leaked out from their bodies. It might be nothing for a normal person, but for her, it was like those Hunters farted continuously near her.
While this nose was part of her strength, Min-Jun felt sorry for her, as she had to smell such a disgusting scent every day, yet what could she do, as no one could save her until, in the original story, she met Sung Jin-Woo.
After all, unlike others, Jin-Woo could stop the mana leak from his body and put that mana to increase his status on the system, but in this world, Jin-Woo wasn't the only one who could do it, as Min-Jun could do the same.
'Damn, when is Hyung going to get his system!'
After all, if this continued, according to his psychology, he knew well that instead of Sung Jin-Woo, he was afraid Cha Hae-In would fall for him.
While he sighed inwardly, he tried to make his resolve even stronger. After all, he had never thought of a "waifu" when he joined the Hunters Guild, and his heart wasn't so easily swayed, as he knew well that compared to the "waifu," he needed to think about the future more, and because of that he came to the Headquarters of the Hunters Guild in Gangnam, and as soon as he entered—
"LET'S WELCOME OUR NEW S-RANK HUNTER, KIM MIN-JUN!"
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHH!"
"....." Min-Jun.
As expected, Choi Jong-In never gave up on boosting his company's stock price.
---
My head is almost burnt out from thinking of his scene fighting Gojo. It is full of physics, theory, and all other things, so look foward later when Suzuki JJK later appears after Solo Leveling!