15 POWER OF FRIENDSHIP :'>

Of course, such news would bring a whole hoard of negative comments from Chu Wonhee's anti-fans.

<chu wonhee probably wanted to awaken as a guide for lee seodam~>

<pathetic much???>

<let her rot in jail!!!>

<so, chu wonhee is a drug addict and criminal? whew. thank goodness!!! i won't feel bad about shipping seodam oppa ruda now. my SeoDa heart so happy. kekeke>

<#chuwonheeisoverparty #chuwonheejailparty #seodacanfinallysail>

<civilians who are desperate to become awakened ones so embarrassing>

<hey, APA. don't set the criminal free later just because she's a celebrity, okay?>

"My kid isn't a criminal, you scumbag," Gong Yool, the Transmigrator, whispered to himself while almost crushing the phone in his hand. He knew reading comments under an article that announced Chu Wonhee's arrest was a bad idea, but he needed to do it to monitor the current situation. "I'll hack your accounts and track you down to make your lives a living hell."

He was a top idol in his previous life, so he used to eat hate messages from anti-fans for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even for midnight snacks. Hence, he eventually became desensitized to hate comments.

But reading hate comments directed at Chu Wonhee made him sensitive again.

That nice kid doesn't deserve this.

He was so stressed out about Chu Wonhee's situation that he was already in his second cigarette stick while smoking on his apartment's balcony.

Yool's monitoring was disturbed when Do Ahyeon's name flashed on the screen after he received a call from the kid. He picked it up right away. "Ahyeon-ah, what's the situation there? Have you and the lawyers finally met Wony?"

As soon as Chu Wonhee was arrested by that stupid Lee Seodam, Do Ahyeon called Yool about what happened.

Then Do Ahyeon contacted Chu Wonhee's agency and legal representatives.

<"Hyung, they won't let us see Wony Noona!"> Do Ahyeon reported in a voice that was already on the verge of crying. <"They even kicked us out of the APA HQ building!">

"What?! Are they crazy?! They can't do that when they didn't even have a warrant of arrest when they took Wony!"

<"A-APA has the right to arrest anyone suspected of breaking law, so…">

"That's bullshit. I'm going there myself."

<"Really, Hyung? You're finally going to leave your apartment? For real???">

It wasn't like he was stuck in his apartment all the time.

But what could he do?

The job he found in that world was an online job, and the delivery services there were also top-notch. In short, there wasn't a need for a homebody like him to go out unless he was in the mood to do so.

And unless I absolutely have to– just like now.

<"I left the HQ just now because I need to do something at my guild first. Should go back and meet you APA building, Hyung?">

"Nah, just meet that person first for Wony's sake," Yool said. "I also have somewhere I need to be first before I destroy APA."

<"Y-You'll destroy APA, Hyung? But you're too lazy to move…">

This brat…

"No, not me. I know people who'll destroy APA for free."

<"Huh? Who?">

"I'll commission the Watchdogs and inform them that APA is illegally detaining an innocent Civilian."

<"Hyung! The Watchdog Pack is a rebellion group!">

Yool knew that very well since he read a BL novel based on that world before he got transmigrated there.

So, I know that the Watchdogs would help me since they hate APA with a passion.

"Are you seriously saying you'll join a rebellion group in front of me, of all people?"

That wasn't Do Ahyeon– it was Yool's annoying neighbor who happened to be having a whole tub of mint chocolate ice cream on the balcony next to his.

"Ahyeonnie, I'll call you later."

<"Oh, okay, Hyung.">

"It's rude to eavesdrop on other people's conversation, Graham-ssi."

Yep.

Yool's annoying neighbor was none other than Graham– the red-haired member of the original Big 4.

"Well, it's not my fault that I have sharp hearing," Graham said defensively. "Plus, the walls here in our apartment complex aren't exactly soundproof."

"I know, right?" Yool agreed with the Hunter. "So why is a big shot like you living in a mid apartment building like this?"

That used to be a luxury apartment complex where celebrities lived.

But since Awakened People were more popular and "important" than any other Civilian celebrities now, the value of that building plummeted. Nowadays, apartment buildings that housed Awakened People were what one would call luxurious because of the tight security system implemented there.

Graham should be living in one of those fancy buildings instead of here.

"It's no fun living with other Awakened People," Graham said, laughing. "In the first place, it's stupid to gather all the crazy ones in one place. I'm telling you, Yool-ah. One day, we'll end up killing each other just for the heck of it."

Is that something to laugh about???

"Anyway, don't change the topic," Graham scolded Yool lightly. "Hey, Yool-ah. I may look like this, but I'm still the master of the Summer Guild. You didn't forget that, did you?"

Tsk.

Why is this big shot acting like we're close? Koreans are supposed to be reserved around strangers! Is it because he's Korean-American?

"So, what's good?" Graham asked. "Need help saving that friend of yours?"

This shameless bastard really eavesdropped well.

"You heard what I said earlier, Graham-ssi," Yool said indifferently. "I'm gonna fuck up APA. You know very well APA is the government. As a part of the Big 4 and the master of the Summer Guild, I don't think Graham-ssi is in the position to help me."

Graham laughed as if he heard something funny. "Yool-ah, I like you more than I like the government."

Eww.

Plus, Graham probably liked the original Gong Yool and not the current Yool.

"Don't look at me with a disgusted look on your face. You're hurting my feelings, Yool-ah," the Big 4 Hunter said, licking the back of the plastic spoon of his ice cream. "Lezzgo."

"Go where?"

Graham laughed again, then he opened his left hand.

Almost immediately, a ball of red flame materialized above the Hunter's palm.

"Where else, Yool-ah?" Graham asked, grinning. "I'm gonna burn down APA for you."

Graham was flabbergasted. "What do you want in return, Graham-ssi?"

"Call me 'hyung,' Yool-ah~"

"Eww."

***

DO AHYEON just finished his last meal at his favorite restaurant when an unexpected VIP joined his table.

No, he wasn't dying.

He simply had his last meal in his guild's famous dining hall.

"What do you mean by this is your last meal here?"

Ahyeon flinched when Ryung Dae, the Head Chef of Fall Guild's well-renowned cafeteria, questioned why he had returned his Food Pass.

Every employee in Fall Guild had a Food Pass that they could use every time they were in the dining hall.

To be honest, a Food Pass from the Fall Guild was more important than a company ID.

The whole country knows that the Culinary Hunters from the Fall Guild serve the healthiest and most delicious food made from monster meat.

So, the Head Chef was probably shocked that Ahyeon returned the Food Pass voluntarily.

"Do you have a problem with the food I cook here?"

Ahyeon immediately shook his head. "T-That's not it, Chef Ryung. I just sent my resignation letter to our boss. It may take a while before my resignation gets processed because the boss is raiding a dungeon, so I thought I should return my Food Pass and company ID first."

He was about to do something reckless, but he didn't want the guild to get dragged into it.

Hence, he wanted to sever his ties to the Fall Guild completely before he returned to APA and created a mess there.

"Does your decision to leave the guild have something to do with Chu Wonhee's arrest?" Ryung Dae asked, leaning against his seat while crossing his arms over his chest. "Are you going to rescue her yourself even though that means going against the government?"

Ahyeon gasped, his pupils shaking. "H-How did you know that…?"

"Chu Wonhee's arrest is all over the news. I heard APA refuses to meet her legal representatives," the chef said. "Even I find it strange that APA refuses to handle the case more professionally as if they've already decided Chu Wonhee is guilty."

"That's not fair– Wony Noona is innocent."

"Do you really believe that Chu Wonhee is innocent? I'm genuinely asking here, so don't be upset. The media make it look like Chu Wonhee is desperate to become an Awakened Person for Lee Seodam."

"That's not true!" Ahyeon said, frowning. "My Wony Noona wouldn't stoop that low for a man not worthy of her."

The chef looked surprised, then he laughed. "Lee Seodam is one of the strongest Hunters in our country. People say APA lucked out when Lee Seodam chose the government over the private guilds that tried to recruit him when he awakened. And yet, you're saying Lee Seodam isn't worthy of a Civilian?"

"Wony Noona is too good for Lee Seodam, and my opinion won't change even if Lee Seodam becomes the best Hunter in the country."

"Okay, I believe you, Ahyeonnie."

"H-Huh?"

"Let's go," the chef said, standing up. "You're headed to APA HQ, aren't you?"

"C-Chef, why are you coming with me?"

"Well, I'll be damned if I let a talented Hunter like you leave the guild," Ryung Dae said, unbuttoning the top three buttons of his white chef's uniform. "Let me just change clothes before we destroy APA."

Ahyeon gulped hard. "But why would you help me, Chef?"

Ryung Dae smiled and shrugged. "Let's just call it 'investment.'"

How is destroying APA an investment…?

***

UNFORTUNATELY for Kwon Jiwoong and the entirety of the Awakened People Association (APA), Chu Wonhee didn't only have reliable friends with strong connections.

<In a Hidden Workshop somewhere…>

"What did you say APA did to whom?" the Hunter, who could destroy the country's military force on a whim, asked– his glowing amber eyes turning into little crescent moons as he "smiled." "They didn't harm my precious Hee-ya, did they?"

<In an Isolated Laboratory somewhere…>

"If they so much as make my baby Hee-ya cry, then APA could kiss these babies goodbye," the Hunter whispered to herself while brewing her newly improved healing potion– a potion that APA and all the guilds in the entire country would kill for just to get their hands on. "Who died and made that roach Kwon Jiwoong the final boss anyway?"

What the government failed to consider was the fact that Chu Wonhee herself was well-connected.

There was a reason Choi Sumin called Chu Wonhee the 'Crown Princess,' after all.

***

sola_cola's thoughts on this chapter: The world-building for this story is pretty hard to execute since I want you to digest the system here without getting confused/overwhelmed. But I think everything is coming together now. The pacing will improve from here on. We'll get to see Chu Wonhee exacting her revenge on people who wronged her one by one. Kehehe.

***

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