Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Chapter 8. Silver Screen Actor
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Lee Woo-yeon had finally returned home after a long while.
Three days had already passed since he emerged from the Irregular Dungeon in Sinchon, but he'd been so busy shuttling between the hospital and the guild for cleanup that he hadn't had a moment to stop by.
Sure enough, the moment he stepped inside, the stale air hit him, and he wrinkled his nose. His plan to shower right away went up in smoke.
First things first, he needed to air the place out. Run the vacuum too. And... well, once you start on household chores like this, they have a way of snowballing. Fix one thing, and another catches your eye.
Do the laundry that's piled up, sort out the ingredients in the fridge that had passed their expiration dates.
He could hire someone instead of doing it himself, but Lee Woo-yeon didn't.
Half of it was not wanting strangers in his home, and the other half was that he enjoyed the small sense of normalcy that came after these everyday tasks.
Sure, it was a hassle, but after swinging swords and casting spells at monsters in dungeons, these 'normal' sensations felt precious.
It was a way to strike a balance, you could say.
That's why these little moments were one of the rare treasures in Lee Woo-yeon's life.
"Hey, Lee Woo-yeon!"
As he went about his chores, someone started pounding on the door from outside, but Lee Woo-yeon paid it no mind.
He cast a soundproofing spell, and just like that, the noise vanished.
'While I'm at it, maybe shake out the blankets?'
A quick glance out the window showed the kind of afternoon sunlight perfect for it. Mild weather for winter.
Yeah, definitely shake them out. Lee Woo-yeon steeled his resolve.
After finishing up the chores and showering, he rummaged through the kitchen and found some dried seaweed he'd bought ages ago.
Thinking of the beef frozen in the freezer before heading into the dungeon settled the menu. Beef seaweed soup should be fine even for a patient.
Of course, that patient was Kang Ye-na.
Kang Ye-na had collapsed the instant she cleared the Irregular Dungeon and set foot back in reality, and three days later, she was still hospitalized.
He'd been terribly worried at first, but the medical staff said it was just extreme fatigue from accumulated exhaustion leading to total collapse, so he'd relaxed and left the hospital.
Yeah, decided.
While the soup simmered, Lee Woo-yeon's phone kept buzzing nonstop, but he ignored it.
None of the people who might call right now were worth picking up for, and if it was Kang Ye-na, she'd just use an item to contact him anyway.
That said, Kang Ye-na's a water-type, but weirdly frail stamina-wise. Does that even make sense?
Well, she's got more than one or two suspicious things about her.
Anyway, best not to dwell on it now.
As the soup bubbled away, the intercom finally rang.
He checked—it was the apartment management office.
Huh, they got smart.
He couldn't ignore that one, so he picked up.
The voice on the other end was trembling with tension.
"Uh, this is management. We got a noise complaint."
"Yes, thank you for your trouble. I'll handle it shortly. Within 10 minutes."
It was a weekday afternoon, so he'd planned to stall a bit longer, but looks like there was a neighbor home.
Still, he didn't rush.
First, he brewed a capsule coffee from the machine. His way of finding some peace.
Lee Woo-yeon took a sip and finally opened the front door.
"Hey, Lee Woo-yeon! If you don't open up, I'm seriously gonna... Gahk!"
The young man waiting outside smacked his head on the suddenly opened door and crumpled to the floor.
Lee Woo-yeon looked down at him pityingly.
Perfectly styled hair, flashy outfit that was a bit over the top. He could've gone on a broadcast as-is.
No surprise, since it was who he expected.
The young man's name was Baek Sa-hyeon.
Government-rated S-rank Hunter. Ranked 38th in the System.
Baek Sa-hyeon huffed and puffed as he scrambled back up.
"You bastard... Hey, Lee Woo-yeon, you punk! Who opens the door like that out of nowhere?"
"Weren't you pounding nonstop for me to open it? Shouldn't you be thanking me?"
With that, Lee Woo-yeon took another sip of his coffee.
Honestly, even dealing with him this much was just to avoid more noise complaints. Baek Sa-hyeon was a total pain.
The reason was simple.
Baek Sa-hyeon and Lee Woo-yeon's personalities were fundamentally incompatible.
'Well, better than Yang Tae-won, at least.'
What made him better? Baek Sa-hyeon's personality was so straightforward it was easy to handle.
"You punk! I'm five years older than you! Is that how you talk to your Oppa?"
"Baek Sa-hyeon Hunter, cut it out."
Lee Woo-yeon warned in a low voice.
When the Hunter profession emerged in Korea, the first unspoken rule was to address each other as 'Hunter' regardless of age.
In life-or-death battles, no one's input should be dismissed over something like age.
It was idealistic, sure, but from the young Lee Woo-yeon to the older Professor Kim Sook-ja, everyone agreed, so it miraculously held up even now.
And yet, there were always those old-timers trying to pull rank.
Lee Woo-yeon clicked his tongue at the Baek Sa-hyeon in front of him.
Annoying as hell, but he had to humor him somewhat—Baek Sa-hyeon was valuable talent, after all.
"Spit out why you're here. It's probably something trivial, so I don't need to hear it."
"It's important, you jerk!"
"So spill that important reason already. Within 30 seconds."
"Why you acting all high and mighty?"
"I'm busy."
He was in a hurry, truthfully. Seaweed soup tastes better the longer it simmers, but like any dish, fire control was key. Too vigorous after adding beef, and it'd turn murky.
His nearly empty coffee needed a refill too.
Baek Sa-hyeon bristled at Lee Woo-yeon's words but calmed down quick—must really be important.
Lee Woo-yeon waited exactly 20 seconds.
As he went to close the door after, Baek Sa-hyeon jammed his foot in desperately.
"Wait, wait! Not 30 seconds yet! Why so impatient?"
"Told you, busy."
You gonna take responsibility if the soup turns murky?
Lee Woo-yeon glared, and Baek Sa-hyeon gulped visibly, tensing up.
Finally, he spoke.
"Th-that dungeon raid you did yesterday. The fixed dungeon in Sinchon."
"Ga-18, right? And to be precise, it was a dungeon break inside a fixed dungeon. Official report'll be out soon. Later."
"Ah, wait, wait! Ow!"
Baek Sa-hyeon jammed his foot in the closing door again and yelped.
Damn, body too damn tough.
Lee Woo-yeon tsked.
"What else?"
"Th-the raid."
The moment their eyes met, Lee Woo-yeon knew what was coming.
Ah, should've just shot him through the door.
"Rumor has it you teamed up with Rank 1? Hey, if you know who it is, introduce me... Agh!"
No, he could still do it now.
One kick from Lee Woo-yeon sent Baek Sa-hyeon sprawling again.
Lee Woo-yeon looked down coldly at him groaning on the floor.
Annoyingly good at gathering intel. Who leaked to a punk like him?
"Don't poke around where you shouldn't. Get lost. No plans to get tangled with trash like you."
"Hey! How'd you know!"
Baek Sa-hyeon yelled from the floor, but shut up when Lee Woo-yeon summoned a sword mid-air.
"For old times' sake, you're getting off easy. Don't come back."
"Hey, Lee Woo-yeon!"
"And one more thing."
Pointless probably, but a warning couldn't hurt.
No way was he letting that guy taint his precious assets after finally tracking them down.
"If you even think of using Rank 1 for your attention-seeking crap."
"W-what? Attention-seeking?"
"Be prepared to actually die this time."
Lee Woo-yeon shut the door for real as Baek Sa-hyeon's jaw dropped.
A total door-in-the-face.
'Hope he gives up...'
Lee Woo-yeon sighed, tasting the soup.
Wishful thinking, probably. He'd figured out what Baek Sa-hyeon was like two years ago.
Looked like more hassle ahead.
'High-maintenance.'
Still, not a bad feeling.
Lee Woo-yeon cheerfully packed the beef seaweed soup into a thermos.
Meanwhile.
Baek Sa-hyeon, who'd yelled at the door for three straight hours with nothing to show, got in his car screaming.
"Aargh, Lee Woo-yeon, that psycho bastard!"
His manager in the driver's seat sighed as he started the engine. Even now, they'd be 20 minutes late.
"Sa-hyeon-ah, cool it. Shooting's soon."
"Fuck, can't we just no-show?"
Of course not.
He badly wanted to snap that, but the manager was a pro. He swallowed his anger and soothed him.
"Come on, it's a big get. The healing interview you wanted."
"Healing my ass, I'm pissed right now!"
Damn, power-tripping again.
The manager endured thoughts of quitting ten times a day by thinking of his credit card bills. Baek Sa-hyeon was such a handful that the agency head gave fat bonuses.
"Why always like this, our pro? Last time you wanted an MC interview 'cause you liked them."
"That was before rankings dropped!"
His huffing breaths filled the car.
He realized his slip and clammed up.
Then.
The manager's phone rang.
He glanced at Baek Sa-hyeon and answered. On speaker, since he was driving.
"Yeah...?"
"Get Baek Sa-hyeon on the phone NOW!"
The agency head's bellow echoed through the car. Baek Sa-hyeon griped hearing it.
"Ah, what now!"
"Baek Sa-hyeon! Take down that Insepar post NOW!"
Third year managing him. The manager got the picture from the boss's tone alone.
He thunked his head on the wheel at a red light.
Meanwhile, the back-and-forth raged on.
"I just said my piece, why take it down! I'm terminating, for real?"
"I'm sick of you threatening to terminate every time, you punk! How am I supposed to clean this up!"
Pissed as hell, the head recited the post verbatim.
"Instead of cheering Hunters risking life and limb on raids, those worthless scum spewing hate should all get tossed in a dungeon... This what you post? Huh? You're a public figure!"
"Did I say anything wrong? It's true!"
"Fine, all true. But this has zilch to do with Hunters! You think that's how you talk to people ragging on you over underage soju pics?"
The manager just stayed silent.
Yeah, fatal for a celebrity.
The head yelled more before realizing it was hopeless and hanging up. But the fuming Baek Sa-hyeon remained.
The manager was miserable.
Baek Sa-hyeon was still ranting.
"Everyone praises me when I do something right!"
That was it.
After the System and dungeons appeared in Korea, interest in raiding Hunters skyrocketed. Their every move lit up like celebrities.
Baek Sa-hyeon was one such spotlighted star Hunter.
Handsome enough for a brief stint as an idol trainee in high school, top-tier skills as a Hunter. Agencies swarmed him.
The manager's company landed the contract.
All good so far.
Great even.
The agency cheered landing a star Hunter amid floods of CFs and shows, manager building cred managing celebrity Hunter #1.
Problem: The pushed concept clashed hard with his real image.
Public image: 'Nation-saving Hunter'.
Early raids, it worked. Young as he was, he threw himself in without holding back.
Rough speech flew under the radar amid the chaos.
But as society stabilized, the submerged flaws bubbled up.
'Boss was greedy too.'
Baek Sa-hyeon's public image rivaled top tiers like Lee Woo-yeon, Kim Seong-yeon, Professor Kim Sook-ja. Young, hot—popularity-wise, he could take Lee Woo-yeon.
But the rankings hit: way below Lee Woo-yeon. Backlash crushed the built-up image.
No ad renewals, variety shows probing 'thoughts on rankings?' with awkward smiles.
"Damn, what do they want from me!"
And at the storm's eye, Baek Sa-hyeon was losing it.
Even today, a major paper snarked he'd stolen Rank 1's glory.
That dead-end rage turned to the sudden Rank 1.
"Hmph, think Lee Woo-yeon not telling means I can't find out? Just watch!"
Find them, prove he's the 'nation-saving Hunter' regardless of rank!
The manager eyed Baek Sa-hyeon's trembling fist uneasily.
'Ah, total no-show vibes today.'
Forcing a schedule change? His stomach already hurt.
Gotta quit next year for sure. The manager resolved.