Chapter 4 ….
There are countless smells in this world.
Someone’s perfume.
The smell of a wet rag that wiped the floor.
The sandwich that person just ate.
And—
Blood sausage?
Lee Yu-ji… no—Lulu, whom Yu-ji had possessed, snapped her head around quickly, sniffing. But as the scent began to fade, she drooped her ears sadly.
Yes.
Right now, Lee Yu-ji was possessing Lulu’s body. Using her skill!
So then, where was her real body?
Dog-form Yu-ji looked up with an absentminded expression at the real Yu-ji, who was holding her leash.
– During possession time, you can give simple commands to the ‘original body.’
That was what made this skill insane—she could give basic instructions to her own original body too.
So Yu-ji ordered her original self to walk around holding her leash.
Of course, the original body couldn’t do anything else, so she looked like a broken doll—but still.
Luckily, no one inside this building knows Yu-ji’s face, so she won’t stand out.
And thanks to having the lethally cute body of Senior Lulu, most people passing by stared only at the “dog” version of Yu-ji, then moved on.
Dog-Yu-ji crossed the lobby of the Hunter Investigation Bureau building, tail wagging, wearing the most harmless smile in existence.
Not knowing how ridiculous she looked.
Senior Lulu is way more chaotic than I expected…
Now she understood why Lulu was still stuck on Team 5 and hadn’t debuted for field work.
On the way here from the backyard, Senior Lulu had greeted countless employees and shamelessly fished snacks out of their pockets with adorable little tricks.
How many times did she roll over and show her belly?
What a loose, flirtatious dog.
You gave me affection! How could it all be a lie?!
Yu-ji wanted to simply use Lulu to sniff out the bomb rather than become a dog herself—but Lulu was impossible to control.
…And so things ended up like this.
When dog-Yu-ji raised her head to tap the staff ID card—hanging around her original body’s neck—against the scanner at the hallway entrance,
a sharp, metallic scent came from behind.
Yu-ji turned her head.
A pair of polished black dress shoes appeared in her view.
Above them—well-pressed suit pants, a crisp shirt, a fitted jacket, and…
A ridiculously handsome face sitting on broad shoulders.
“……!”
He crouched down in front of possessed-Yu-ji and gently stroked her head and back.
A rectangular staff ID swung in front of her eyes.
Hunter Investigation Division – Team 1
Team Leader: Kwon Ik-seong
It was Ik-seong… her favorite character.
Yu-ji’s mind spun.
He’s even more handsome than the illustrations. Is this allowed? Is it a crime to look like that? Should a civil servant be allowed to be this handsome? Am I wasting oxygen by breathing the same air as him? Should I hold my breath??
Without thinking, dog-Yu-ji almost rolled over and exposed her belly.
No! My dignity. I have pride!
But her body refused to listen.
Just then, someone behind Kwon Ik-seong spoke.
“Huh? Why is there a dog here?”
Ik-seong stared down at Lulu’s face and replied in his usual emotionless tone:
“It’s the detection dog from Team 5.”
He reached out his hand, as if signaling her to sniff.
Yu-ji stared blankly—then realized why his brow furrowed.
Ah… he wants me to sniff him.
Yu-ji quickly sniffed.
A floral laundry softener. His natural scent.
And—
A smoky, metallic smell.
What was that?
As Yu-ji kept sniffing at the cuff of his sleeve, Ik-seong’s lips twitched in amusement.
…Too… handsome…
Yu-ji noticed drool pooling in her mouth and quickly licked it away.
He and Lulu must be close…
She suddenly envied Lulu’s massive social network.
Ik-seong stood back up and naturally turned his gaze to Yu-ji’s original body holding the leash. He checked the staff ID.
“Investigator Lee Yu-ji?”
He said her name—her!—no wait!!
Yu-ji’s mind spun.
Her original body couldn’t talk right now!
And sure enough, “original Yu-ji” just stared blankly at Ik-seong with a stupid, empty expression.
Ik-seong was a fifth-year elite investigator and the team leader of Team 1.
With my current rank, he might as well be heaven itself…
Not responding properly was the kind of thing someone could be chewed out for days over.
But Kwon Ik-seong merely nodded and said,
“You must be the new recruit on Team 5. Good work,”
then walked away without a hint of annoyance.
…An angel.
Yu-ji watched his broad back disappear down the corridor…
Remaining Possession Time: 00:08:50
The golden retriever tail wagged wildly.
Still in Lulu’s body, she returned to Team 5’s office.
But there was no sign of any “special” smell.
Then—
Sundae… the smell of blood sausage!
Her body reacted instantly. Eyes wide, nose twitching—
and worst of all—
I’m drooling!
It smelled delicious.
Then she discovered another important detail of this EX-grade skill:
While in possession, her personality and instincts became similar to the target.
Which explained why she almost rolled over in front of Kwon Ik-seong.
In other words… she was partially a dog now. Just a bit.
Footsteps approached with the scent of sundae.
“Delivery!”
A delivery guy in a helmet casually walked right through the secure gate—only passable with a staff ID—and shouted.
And at that voice, Ma Deok-ho and Byun Gu-do suddenly crawled out from wherever they’d been hiding.
…Cockroaches.
Time kept ticking, but she couldn’t sense anything like a bomb smell.
Her head was filled only with—
Sundae! Sundae! Sundae! Sundae! Snacks! Sundae!
Enough!
She forced herself to think logically, to erase the word echoing in her skull like a siren.
The Hunter Investigation Building didn’t allow outsiders to bring things past the security checkpoint.
Even staff had to put their bags through it.
And the security scanner was a type of “detection artifact,” easily detecting magical bombs.
So the bomb had not gone through the scanner.
Then how?
What item could enter without scans?
Maybe the culprit wasn’t a staff member.
Maybe they placed it somewhere else first?
Or maybe—
Sundae! Snacks! Sundae! Snacks!
STOP!!
Panting, she stared at the desk where the delivery man set down the bowl of blood sausage soup.
“Ki-yoong…?”
Sundae! Snack! Sundae! Snack!
Wait.
She smelled something else mixed in.
A smoky, metallic scent.
The same smell she caught from Kwon Ik-seong.
She remembered what someone said earlier as he passed by:
“You shot only ten rounds today as well, sir.”
Ik-seong had come from the live ammunition practice range.
Which meant—
That smell was gunpowder.
And this scent wasn’t delicious—but why did “snacks” keep coming to mind?
Because Lulu had been rewarded with treats whenever she detected that scent.
A detection dog’s reward.
This smell was similar to gunpowder… and also…
…similar to whatever Lulu got snacks for finding.
Her mind snapped into place.
The “accomplice.”
She had been imagining something grand.
But the accomplice didn’t have to be a staff member.
They didn’t have to place the bomb themselves.
All they needed to do was let the bomb pass security.
“If you wanna order late-night delivery, tell me first. I’ll let them through the back. The security chief is too fussy—no need to worry.”
She remembered the security guard who always snuck delivery drivers through the back door.
An item that didn’t pass the scanner.
That could reach the office naturally.
Even if carried by a stranger.
Delivery food.
“…!”
“Woof!”
She barked at the bowl of blood sausage soup. Byun Gu-do jumped.
“Whoa! When did you get here? And why’d you bring Lulu in? Ugh, this mutt goes crazy for sundae.”
No time.
He thought Lulu was barking because of the food, so he tried to hide it.
Two minutes left on possession.
Yu-ji leapt onto a nearby plant pot, sprinted, and launched herself at Byun Gu-do.
“Wha—?!”
Her body slammed into him, knocking him over.
The bowl of soup he was holding dropped to the floor.
Sundae! Snacks! Sundae! Snacks!
Her head buzzed—
And then:
Possession has ended! See you next time!
With a smug little window, her real self returned.
And then she saw—
“AAAAAAAH!!”
Byun Gu-do screaming, covered in blood sausage soup.
“Woof! Woof woof!”
Lulu barking at a small object that had fallen on the floor while holding mouthfuls of sausage.
Ma Deok-ho staring at the chaos.
A dog-and-sundae disaster.
Total madness.
I…
