Chapter 74

If we were to describe Shin Se-hee’s personality in a few words, they would be ‘cunning’, ‘sly’, and ‘calculating’.

She enjoys using others as pawns, and if necessary, she will discard them without a second thought. She can be infinitely cruel if she so desires.

But how can such a negative character establish herself as a top-tier waifu in the game?

Thus, Shin Se-hee undergoes a three-step “laundering” process.

First.

A 180-degree personality change when drunk.

The usually calculating girl becomes a frank, cute nerd who says, ‘Calculating? What’s that?’ when she’s had a drink, lowering psychological barriers.

Second.

Trust when on the same side.

There’s a saying in the Velvet La community:

[Se-hee is a ‘superstar’.]

This saying came about because the evaluations of her were extremely polarized between users who had pulled her and those who hadn’t.

Those who pulled her in the character gacha react with, ‘Huh? Cunning? Sly? Calculating? How could you say such terrible things about this innocent, pure angel?!’ and shield her,

while those who didn’t pull her react with, ‘Ah, get rid of that snake b*tch!!!’.

She not only caused discord among the characters but also successfully played her role among the users.

This is because, due to her trait of ‘dichotomy’, her blade never points towards those she perceives as being on the same side.

Instead, she is dedicated to her allies and tries to take care of them more.

It gives a sense of psychological superiority to those who pulled her.

And for those who didn’t, it makes them curious about why people are so obsessed with that snake-like b*tch, eventually leading them to pull for her as well.

She truly had the qualities of a superstar who drove both fans and haters crazy.

‘Of course, I pulled her towards the end of the story, so I didn’t get the full effect of her advantages.’

And finally, the third step.

The washing machine.

It provides additional context to why she had to have such a personality.

In her personal story, it reveals how harsh her upbringing was and creates understanding and empathy for why she had to have such a personality to survive in that hellhole, completing the three-step laundry process.

I stared at the woman in front of me.

‘Ha, of all the washing machines, I meet the drum washing machine here.’

.

.

.

‘Why is this woman here…!’

Shin Se-hee wore a bewildered expression and panted slightly.

Had she been following me from the start?

Did she investigate me?

Since when?

I thought I had cut off all ties. Why, why, of all people, did she have to come here?

Her mind was in a tangled mess.

It was an unexpected encounter, to say the least.

The eldest daughter, who shared her blood and indisputably carried the name of the Shin family the most strongly.

An S-rank Hunter,

Shin Su-yeon.

‘When did she come back…? Isn’t she usually abroad for a few years at a time?’

She wasn’t supposed to be here. Shin Su-yeon was always busy with family matters. It was largely due to her long absence that Shin Se-hee had been able to come to the Academy without interference from her family.

From the moment she saw her face, the fear that had been ingrained in her over the years took hold of her throat. Her body started to tremble, and her voice failed to come out.

A hallucinated voice echoed in her head.

─ Se-hee, Se-hee. Do you really think you’re something special just because people praise and call you a hero?

─ It’s all thanks to the family. If you weren’t born into this family, do you think you could have achieved all this on your own?

─ So, our Se-hee. You have to listen to me, okay? You know what will happen if you keep acting like this, right?

─ I love you, Se-hee. You’re my little sister.

No matter how much she tried to shake it off, the unpleasant feeling that clung to her like sticky glue refused to leave.

She had been complacent.

The Velvet Hunter Academy was a sturdy fence that even the powerful Shin family had to respect. She thought that as a student, they wouldn’t be able to touch her. She also believed that she could handle it somehow if it were anyone else.

But an unexpected outing.

She never imagined that Shin Su-yeon would come looking for her herself as if she had been waiting for this day.

“How many years has it been? Se-hee. Have you been well all this time?”

Shin Su-yeon hugged Shin Se-hee tightly.

Then, she whispered in her ear with a sticky, low voice.

“While I was away, our Se-hee… you’ve grown quite willful, haven’t you? You really keep me on my toes, not letting me take my eyes off you for a moment.”

Huhuhu.

As she stroked her hair gently, Shin Se-hee had to suppress the nausea that rose within her.

“I thought you had forgotten about our family, Se-hee.”

Shin Su-yeon slowly let go of Shin Se-hee and reached out her hand.

Jerk.

Shin Se-hee’s body trembled slightly.

“You wouldn’t do that, would you?”

As she said this, her gaze locked with Shin Se-hee’s.

Even after all these years, the chilling blankness in her eyes remained. Her mouth was smiling, but her eyes were not. And those eyes were saying:

‘Did you really think you could escape the family?’

Tap. Tap.@@novelbin@@

Shin Su-yeon patted her on the shoulder.

“Se-hee. Your mother and father are making such a fuss about you running away on your own…”

Then, as if worried, she narrowed her eyebrows, but her expression was awkward and out of place.

“Since you’re already out, let’s go home for a bit.”

At her words, Shin Se-hee’s eyes wavered.

Home…?

Absolutely not. It was hellish enough when Shin Su-yeon wasn’t there, but to go there with her…?

However, she couldn’t see a way to refuse. If she did, Su-yeon would just force her anyway.

Shin Su-yeon stood with her arms crossed, waiting for her answer.

It was as if she was daring her to refuse.

Her tightly closed lips slowly parted.

“I… al…”

Just as she was about to nod her head.

Kwaak—

Shin Se-hee could feel a heavy grip in her hand.

‘…Huh?’

Her head turned.

“Shin Se-hee.”

There, Jin Yuha was giving her sister, Shin Su-yeon, a vexed look.

“Who is this woman? Just by looking at her, I can tell she’s not here with good intentions.”

“What?!?”

The unfiltered words that came out of his mouth caused Shin Se-hee’s face to turn ashen.

“Ji, Jin Yuha!”

Shin Se-hee tried to protect Jin Yuha, but it was too late.

Shin Su-yeon’s head slowly turned towards him.

“What? Bad Intentions? Are you talking about me, kid?”

Then, tilting her head, she asked as if hearing it for the first time in her life.

“Well, who else is here besides you?”

“But who are you?”

“When you ask someone who they are, isn’t it customary to introduce yourself first?”

Jin Yuha didn’t back down and fired back at Shin Su-yeon’s words. Each time, Shin Se-hee’s face turned deathly pale.

Shin Su-yeon curled up the corners of her lips as if she had heard something amusing.

“Hmmmm…”

Her indifferent gaze scanned him up and down as if inspecting an object.

“Well, the looks are passable, and the spirit is not bad for a man. A bit rebellious, but that can be fixed… usable.”

She nodded as if she had picked out a reasonably good item.

“Can I ask what your relationship is with Se-hee?”

“Unni, I can explain that…”

Tep.

“Ugh! Eugh!”

Shin Su-yeon grabbed Shin Se-hee’s mouth.

The sound escaped from her blocked mouth, and at the same time, Jin Yuha’s eyebrows twitched.

“You seem to have backing since you’re so bold. Which family are you from?”

“Don’t have that kind of thing. Let go.”

Jin Yuha spoke to her with clear displeasure on his face.

‘Jin Yuha, no, don’t! If you talk to her like that…’

She tried to protect Jin Yuha, but the hand on her face didn’t budge.

Shin Su-yeon continued her questioning, ignoring her.

“What do your parents do?”

“Don’t have that either. Let go.”

“This is really an interesting situation…”

“I’m not interested, so let go. I’ve said it three times.”

A smile, as if to say, ‘look at this’, formed on Shin Su-yeon’s lips.

“Huh?”

It was clear interest.

Shin Su-yeon let go of Shin Se-hee’s face.

“Kheug!”

Jin Yuha immediately pulled Shin Se-hee’s hand and hid her behind him.

Shin Su-yeon, now seemingly uninterested in Shin Se-hee, looked at Jin Yuha and said,

“Kid, do you know who I am?”

“Don’t know. But I can give you an evaluation.”

Hmmmm…

“Since you evaluated me, let me evaluate you in return…”

Jin Yuha, like Shin Su-yeon a moment ago, scanned her up and down with cold eyes.

“Wouldn’t touch even if given.”

Suddenly,

Woooo—

A wave of energy radiated from her body, causing the surrounding space to tremble.

The oppressive aura of an S-rank Hunter weighed down on the area.

“Kyaaahhhh!”

The boutique’s attendants lowered their heads and hid.

Roar—

The displayed items rolled on the floor, and a powerful presence began to permeate the air.

“Ugh!”

Shin Se-hee couldn’t bear the pressure and let out a groan.

Shiver—

‘I have to get Jin Yuha out of here somehow…’

Shin Se-hee desperately wanted to get Jin Yuha out of this situation. She thought that she could explain things to him later at home.

So she grabbed his arm and tried to pull him away, but—

His body didn’t budge, as if rooted to the spot.

Jin Yuha just stood there, holding her hand, staring straight at Shin Su-yeon.

“Wow, an S-rank Hunter…”

Then, he snorted and laughed.

“Pathetic. Oh, but then again, what can you expect from a woman like you?”

He was sill standing tall.

The vibrations stopped.

“What the hell are you?”

Shin Su-yeon asked, her face full of bewilderment.