The Hunter's Od Chapter 87: The Wrong Smile

Chapter 87: The Wrong Smile

"If you’re tired, you can rest. I can keep watch," Soo-min whispered, her eye fluttering open.

The dim glow of the lantern painted her features in soft amber, shadows clinging to the curves of her face. She pushed herself up onto her elbow, strands of hair falling loosely across her cheek. With slow, unhurried fingers, she tucked them behind her ear, her gaze never leaving him.

Jagger turned to face her. "I’m fine. You can sleep." His voice was steady, but he turned back forward almost imdiately, as if distancing himself.

She didn’t move away.

Instead, she sat up straighter, sothing softer settling into her expression. "I just wanted to thank you. For saving us."

She shifted closer. The couch dipped slightly under her weight, the space between them disappearing inch by inch. Every movent was careful. Intentional. Testing.

"It’s nothing."

Soo-min shook her head. Slowly, she stood, her bare feet silent against the floor as she stepped toward him. She placed her hands on his knees, her touch light at first, almost hesitant, before she lowered herself onto the coffee table in front of him.

Her knees brushed against the outside of his thighs. Warm. Bare. Close.

"It’s not nothing," she whispered, her voice softer now, almost intimate. Her hands slid outward, resting on either side of him along the armrests, subtly closing him in. "You didn’t have to help us."

"Stop that," he said.

But he didn’t move her away.

Her lips curved faintly at that.

Then, slowly, her legs shifted, coming around him as she moved closer, straddling him. The movent was deliberate, controlled, leaving no space between them.

Her chest pressed against his, the thin fabric of her shirt doing little to hide the warmth beneath. He could feel it. Every breath she took. Every subtle rise and fall.

"You can push

away," she murmured, her voice barely above a breath. "But you’re not. Why?"

"I don’t want to wake the others up."

A soft laugh escaped her, quiet but knowing. "Is that the only reason?"

She leaned in, her lips brushing just beside his ear. Her breath was warm, teasing, sending a faint shiver down his spine.

"I’ll do anything for my guardian angel."

Jagger’s breath caught.

His entire body went rigid, fingers tightening around the armrests. He was hyper-aware of everything. The weight of her on him. The heat of her thighs against his. There was a faint scent of soap and sothing floral lingering in her hair.

’Jagger, what are you doing? Get her off you.’ Ophilia’s voice cut through his thoughts, sharp and intrusive.

But he didn’t move.

Soo-min pulled back just enough to look at him, her eyes searching his in the dim light. Her fingers spread against his chest, feeling the steady, heavy beat beneath.

"Will you," she whispered, her voice dipping lower, "or do you need so convincing?"

She leaned closer.

Closer.

Until there was barely any space left between them.

Her lips hovered just inches from his, their breaths mingling in the narrow gap. Warm. Uneven.

He could feel her heartbeat against him now. Fast. Unsteady. Mirroring his own.

And then, he closed the distance.

The kiss started softly. Almost hesitant.

But it didn’t stay that way.

Her lips pressed back against his, firr this ti, as if she had been waiting for it. Her hands moved imdiately, sliding up to the back of his neck, fingers threading into his hair, pulling him closer.

His hands found her waist, gripping her, drawing her fully against him.

She tasted faintly of mint... and sothing sweet beneath it.

Her breath hitched when his lips moved against hers, deeper now, slower, more deliberate. Her body responded instinctively, arching into him, pressing closer, as if she couldn’t get enough.

His hands traced upward along her back, following the curve of her spine, feeling the heat of her through the thin fabric. Every inch of contact sent a subtle tension through her body.

Her tongue invaded his mouth without warning. Soft. Wet. Eager. She explored with bold curiosity, and he t her with equal intensity. Their tongues danced, sliding together in a slow, deliberate rhythm that sent sparks through their veins.

She shifted against him, grinding her hips down in slow, teasing circles, a silent invitation that was impossible to misinterpret. A quiet groan escaped her, vibrating against his lips as her fingers tightened in his hair.

Jagger’s hands shifted, one sliding down to grip the firm curve of her ass, pulling her flush against him. The other moved upward, tangling in her hair as he pulled her head back in a violent tug. Soo-min gasped at the sudden control, her exposed neck vulnerable under the low light. His lips moved from her mouth, leaving a hot trail down her chin to the sensitive skin of her throat. He could feel her pulse hamring against his tongue.

SHATTER!

That is when a sound so sharp, clear, cutting through the quiet of the room like a shard of glass.

It ca from outside.

Jagger’s attention snapped toward the window imdiately, every muscle in his body tensing, "Entity Resonance!" He activated the instinctively.

Everything turned slow; he did not stare outside, but his eyes remained on Soo-min’s face. "Why did you have to go and do that, guardian angel?" Her voice was different now. It was no longer the soft, gentle whisper he had heard monts before.

It was cold. Hard and devoid of emotion.

’She is one of us! ATTACK HER!’ Ophilia’s voice was a scream in his head, a blinding flash of pure, unadulterated rage.

Soo-min raised her hand as her finger turned a shade of black, with nails like claws.

Jagger moved, pushing Soo-min off him with a brutal, unthinking force. She flew back, her feet hitting the coffee table with a sickening crack, splintering the wood as she flipped backward and slid to a stop.

"What the hell!" Nico’s voice was a sleepy mumble as he sat up in fear, rubbing his eyes. "What was that noise?"

Then he saw Soo-min on the floor on one end and Jagger standing over the other end, a dark look on his face.

"What’s going on, hyeong-nim?" Jung asked, already on his feet, his shield materializing in his hand.

"All of you better stand down and move to one side, because if you don’t, I will also put you down alongside her," Jagger said, his voice low and dangerous.

Soo-min weakly pushed herself up, wincing and gripping her side. She looked at the broken table, then at Jagger, then at the others who were now staring at her with confusion and fear. "W...why? You...he attacked !"

"Jagger?!" Abdul asked, his voice trembling as he got to his feet, backing away slowly. "What’s... what’s happening?"

"Why are you attacking her, Hyeong-nim?!" Jung asked, his shield held up.

"Oppa, please," Soo-min whimpered, her gaze on Jung, her eyes wide with terror and tears welling in them. "I don’t understand..."

’They won’t believe you. She has already woven her web around them,’ Ophilia said, her voice a venomous whisper. ’Finish her. Before she finishes you.’

He took a step forward, his blades materializing in his hands. "Jung, I am going to say this one more ti. Get out of my way."

"Hyeong-nim, don’t!" Jung shouted, moving to block him, his shield materializing in front of him. "What are you doing?! She’s one of us!"

Soo-min scrambled back, pulling herself to her feet, her expression shifting back to the cold, hard mask it had worn before. The tears vanished. The fear was gone.

"Jung, now is not the ti to play hero," Jagger said, his voice dangerously calm.

Jung did not move.

His shield stayed raised, broad fra planted between Jagger and Soo-min, chest heaving as confusion and desperation warred across his face. The lantern’s dim glow caught along the curve of the shield and painted the room in trembling amber, throwing long shadows across the walls and broken table.

"Hyeong-nim, stop," he said, voice tight now, almost pleading. "Just calm down for one second and explain what the hell is going on."

Jagger’s eyes never left Soo-min.

She had already changed.

Not fully. Not in so dramatic, monstrous way that would make the truth easy for everyone else to swallow. That would have been too convenient. Too rciful. Her body still looked human, still wore the sa damp clothes, still carried the sa familiar face that had smiled softly and spoken in careful whispers. But sothing essential had fallen away. The softness was gone. The warmth was gone. What remained behind her eyes was flat and predatory, like a blade hidden behind silk.

"She is not human," Jagger repeated.

For half a second, no one moved.

Then Soo-min smiled.

It was small. Crooked. Wrong.

"Ouch," she said softly, brushing dust from her side as though she had rely stumbled. "That’s a cruel thing to say after the mont we had."

Jung flinched.

Not because he believed Jagger, but because so instinct in him recoiled anyway. So animal part of his brain, buried beneath fear and exhaustion, had finally started screaming that sothing was off.

Jagger saw it.

Too late.

Soo-min moved.

One mont, she was standing several feet behind Jung, shoulders slightly hunched, one hand still pressed to her ribs. The next, she blurred.

The room seed to fold around her speed.

A black streak crossed the space between them, silent and vicious, and before Jung could even turn his shield fully, her hand punched past the edge of it. Her fingers, those darkened fingers tipped with claw-like nails, drove straight into the gap beneath his collarbone and tore across his chest.

The sound was wet.

Sharp.

A violent ripping of flesh.

Jung’s body jerked hard as if yanked by invisible wires. His eyes widened, mouth falling open in soundless shock before the scream ca a heartbeat later. Blood exploded across the front of his shirt in a hot, bright arc, splattering the floorboards, the couch, and Nico’s legs.

He staggered backward.

The shield slipped from his grip and hit the floor with a thunderous clang.

Soo-min’s claw had carved from shoulder to sternum, opening him deep. Too deep. Flesh peeled back in jagged strips. Blood poured down his torso in heavy sheets, fast and relentless, soaking his waistband, pattering onto the shattered table remains below.

"JUNG!" Abdul shouted.