11 AM.
It’s time for a somewhat early lunch. Jin Se-ah was driving towards Yoo Seon-woo’s counseling office in the sports car that was provided to her as an S-rank hunter by Hae-tae.
A surprise visit.
Won’t he be happy when I show up unexpectedly?
The sunlight pouring through the window was dazzling. It was a bright, sunny day, perfect for having a meal with Seon-woo.
Originally, she had planned to visit him yesterday, before he went on his first official mission with the Union Guild. However, not wanting to interrupt him on his first day, she held back until today. As a result of her patience, her anticipation was even more heightened.
Jin Se-ah knew that he had awakened a new ability. The thought of his awkward and cute attempts to test it out on her made her smile involuntarily.
She was curious. About him and everything regarding his new ability.
‘There’s no need for me to ask first.’
He would definitely be feeling guilty about using his ability secretly, even without her asking. And when he saw her, he would probably fidget and apologize for that.
Yoo Seon-woo has that kind of personality. He’s incredibly kind, which sometimes worries her.
Lost in thought, she realized she had arrived at the building.
She parked the car haphazardly and walked into the office.
However, just then, at the moment she turned the corner on the floor where Yoo Seon-woo’s counseling room was located—
– Creak!
With the loud sound of the counseling room’s door swinging open, someone nearly bounced out into the hallway. With white hair and a bright red streak, it was a face Jin Se-ah recognized. Luna, the outsider from the Union Guild.
Her face was flushed bright red from neck to cheeks, and she was running down the hallway, only focused on moving forward, seemingly unaware that Jin Se-ah was right next to her.
However, S-rank hunter Jin Se-ah heard it. And she was listening at that very moment.
– Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
The sound of Luna’s heart was pounding as if it would burst at any moment. All of Jin Se-ah’s senses were picking up the sounds emanating from Luna.
“……”
The playful smile that had been on Jin Se-ah’s face slowly faded away. She alternated her gaze between Luna’s disappearing figure and the firmly closed counseling room door, her expression becoming emotionless.
Her golden eyes glinted coldly, like a predator that had discovered traces of another female intruding into her territory.
She recognized it.
Since the moment he officially became a counselor, it was inevitable that there would be contact with female patients. However, at least how Jin Se-ah felt about the sound of that heartbeat was…
But then—
– Creak.
Once again, the sound of the counseling room door opening echoed.
“Uh?”
A male voice. It was Yoo Seon-woo.
As soon as Jin Se-ah heard that voice, her expression immediately changed.
Her previously cold gaze softened like a crescent moon. Her tightly closed lips formed a lovely smile. She had returned to the ‘Jin Se-ah’ that everyone knew.
“What’s going on without any contact?”
Yoo Seon-woo, who seemed to have come out to check the hallway, discovered her and smiled as if he was pleased to see her.
“I came to eat!”
Jin Se-ah beamed brightly and reciprocated the greeting.
***
A room filled with pink furniture. Soft pastel wallpaper and candy-colored curtains.
And at the head of the bed, there was a giant carrot-shaped doll as tall as she was, along with her only friend, the stuffed bunny Tosun, quietly keeping watch.
This place was her rabbit hole, always protecting her from the dangers and prying eyes of the outside world.
Luna lay in the deepest part of that rabbit hole, on her fluffy bed, covered with a blanket up to her head, staring at something.
It was her laptop.
She had been here for quite a while, and now she had learned to handle this strange internet thing. Of course… she had refrained from intentionally looking up information about herself.
Because she was afraid. She didn’t have the courage to face the hatred and contempt-filled articles that would emerge if she searched for the word ‘beastman,’ just like those she had heard in the Empire.
But today was different.
She would confirm with her own eyes whether what her teacher said was correct.
With trembling fingers, Luna searched for the source of the video he had shown her yesterday.
[Hunter Gallery]
“En…ter….”
She swallowed hard and whispered very quietly, almost inaudibly.
– Click.
With the sound of a click, the screen changed. A world unfolded that Luna had never experienced before.
[Title: Day 119 of Hunter Awakening.]
[Title: Isn’t it inevitable that outsiders will keep increasing?]
[Title: If you’re going to keep posting pictures of male hunters, go to the male hunter gallery, you bastards.]
This place had no races, borders, classes, or statuses. Only chaotic freedom. A space where anyone could raise their voice as long as they were alive and could write.
“Ah….”
Luna let out an involuntary gasp. She felt an odd sense of freedom.
And on one side of the screen, an icon shaped like a magnifying glass caught her eye. The magnifying glass had the word ‘search’ attached to it.
Carefully, Luna… entered that small space, the word that had chained her her entire life.
‘Beastman.’
Enter.
Immediately, countless articles began to appear in her view.
[Title: Alice Hunter’s twitching tail collection. gif]
[Title: Dating experience with a wolf beastman.]
[Title: Rebuttal post against the speculation that beastman mating season is 365 days a year.]
[Title: Current rankings of beastman outsiders as hunters.]
There were various forms and ways of expressing themselves, but there were no negative comments about beastmen to be found. If anything, it leaned more towards adoration.
But.
[Title: Honestly, isn’t it a fact that beastmen’s physique makes it harder for pure-blood hunters to compete?]
Luna’s heart dropped for a moment. Given the flow of the discussion, it seemed likely there would be criticism against beastman hunters who narrowed the opportunities for the native citizens.
Steeling herself, she clicked on the article.
[Author: ㅇㅇ] [Views: 212314] [Likes: 1971]
To cut to the point, existing pure-blood awakened hunters have significantly lost their positions in the community.
‘…Thief of Toilet Paper?’
Luna tilted her head. It was an incomprehensible phrase. Why was there talk of thieves when discussing the status of existing hunters? She scrolled down with a confused mind.
I’m really sorry to say this, but beastmen’s physical abilities are just insane.
Starting with the rabbit beastman Alice, to the fox beastman Elena. Their physiques are already f***ing GG.
Below that were multiple photos of her twin sister Alice and another swimsuit photo shoot of a fox beastman hunter, which was about to burst.
(Photos)
(Photos)
(Photos)
Bang!!! lol
I can’t hold it in anymore…
At that moment, Luna realized everything. The meaning of the phrase thief of toilet paper. What status meant. The reason there were discussions about physiques and appearances.
Luna’s face turned bright red once again, down to her neck.
“Se…Teacher!”
Without even realizing it, she called out to a teacher who wasn’t even present at that moment with a voice mixed with heated breaths. Slowly, Luna’s hand began to rise, feeling around her shoulders—exactly where Yoo Seon-woo had gripped her earlier that morning. However, Luna hadn’t even realized what actions she was performing.
So this article didn’t mean that beastmen were taking away existing hunters’ jobs. It meant that beastmen were usurping the position of being the object of male desire, replacing the existing hunters.
As she was hidden under her blanket and looking at that chaotic scene, it happened.
– Bang!
The door swung open roughly without any knock.
“Sis!!! What are you doing!!”
The only being who could enter her rabbit hole without permission, her twin sister and another rabbit, Alice.
– Woosh!
Without a moment’s hesitation, she flew onto the bed and directly onto Luna, who was curled up under the blanket.
“Eek?!”
Startled by the sudden weight, Luna screamed. Alice, finding Luna’s reaction amusing, laughed and whipped the blanket off of her.
“What were you watching so intently by yourself… Oh? What’s this?”
What was revealed outside the blanket was Luna, whose face had turned a bright red, and the laptop screen showing a fashion magazine theme on S-rank hunters.
It was a photo shoot of Alice herself, licking ice cream in a swimsuit. They had taken it during the last event.
“What is this??”
Alice leaned in with a playful expression to confirm the identity of the image. Her mischievous gaze naturally landed on the comment section below the laptop screen.
“…?”
Alice began to read through them. Her eyes grew wide for a moment, then she burst out laughing.
“Hahahaha! What is it, sis? Were you looking at my photo? Reading these lewd comments too?”
“N-no! It’s just… I was just checking if it was real….”
Luna desperately tried to close the laptop, but Alice was faster.
She firmly hugged Luna’s waist, trapping her movements, and began whispering the wicked comments one by one into her ear with her hot breaths.
“Oh~ for rabbits, we need to secure our ears… and immobilize… then like this… ugh… ah….”
“No! No!! That’s not it!!”
Luna began to squirm, on the verge of tears, but Alice only held her more tightly and joyfully. It had been a long time since her sister had reacted so fiercely, which excited Alice. In that state, she read the next comment aloud.
“Okay, let’s see… is there a rabbit beastman blushing on the street? Just 100% drag her… wow…… these guys are something else!”
She chuckled.
Alice was familiar with the lecherous stares from nobles of the Empire as well as the teasing of fans, but this raw, primal desire was something she hadn’t encountered in a while.
She looked down at her sister, who had now stopped resisting and was sprawled out in her embrace.
Luna’s face was bright red, like an overheated engine, and she lay limp in Alice’s arms. It seemed her mind had half-drifted away, and the focus in her red eyes was hazy.
Alice prepared one final line. The strongest, most powerful final push to thrust her sister, who was finally about to take a step towards the world, forward.
“Oh, but there’s actually one correct piece of information here. Right, sis?”
Luna lifted her dazed eyes, and Alice leaned in to whisper softly into her ear.
“Our racial instinct awakening… if we set our minds to it, it can last for 365 days….”
“……”
“How did they find out…?”
With those words, Luna fainted.
