Dancing Elementary Hunter (2)
"Hey, Yeonwoo. Did you finish what you were doing?"
"Hey, kid... Pfft."
I hurriedly ended the TokTik challenge recording and opened the door again. Seong-a noona and Chae-rin noona were standing right outside, both wearing awkward smiles as they started speaking to me.
"Puhup... Hehe..."
"Don't tease him too much."
"B-but... Hehe."
In the middle of it all, Chae-rin noona finally couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.
"Ugh..."
The embarrassment and anger hit me all at once. I clenched my teeth and swung at Chae-rin noona with everything I had.
"Ow."
"What the hell, kid? Did you just hit me?"
But of course, as the strongest A-class martial artist hunter, she didn't even flinch. My fist was the only thing that hurt.
"An S-class hunter violently assaulting his own bodyguard. This could turn into a scandal, you know?"
"I-I'm not S-class yet."
"Oh my, is that so?"
With tears pricking at the corners of my eyes, I blew on my aching fist. Chae-rin noona looked down at me with a half-lidded gaze.
"...Yah!"
"Kid, are you seriously trying to mess with me again?"
She looked so smug that I tried a surprise attack on her side, but this time she caught my hand completely.
"I-I could send someone like you flying if I really wanted to, you know?"
Caught off guard, I narrowed my eyes and started threatening her.
"Go ahead, then. Try it."
"......"
"I'll just keep holding on."
Chae-rin noona gripped both my arms tightly, her expression relaxed as she applied more pressure.
"Ugh..."
I struggled with all the stubbornness I could muster, but my weak nine-year-old body couldn't budge an inch from her grasp.
"Korea's seventh S-class hunter is actually a weakling."
"N-no I'm not."
"Can't even beat a female A-class hunter. And I didn't even use my abilities."
Chae-rin noona looked down at me with a mocking gaze and muttered in a low voice.
"...To be this weak and still call yourself S-class."
"......"
"The villains would be thrilled to meet you. Right?"
Her voice suddenly grew heavier as she tightened her grip even more. I swallowed dryly without realizing it.
"That's enough."
"As always, you're way too soft on this kid."
"I hear that a lot these days."
Seong-a noona, who had been quietly watching us from the side, finally stepped in.
"My thoughts differ from others on this. I believe strictness is necessary when the situation calls for it."
"You're right about that, but..."
Even as she said this, Chae-rin noona loosened her grip and let me go. She muttered with a slightly gloomy expression.
"I should have been stricter with my own little sister from the beginning..."
"......?"
"...Never mind. Forget what I just said."
Her face looked unusually dark, and I wanted to ask what was wrong. But Chae-rin noona quickly changed the subject.
"Anyway, kid, why were you suddenly dancing like that?"
"That's..."
"Do all elementary kids like that kind of thing?"
When I heard that, I rushed to explain before the humiliation could get any worse.
"I-I was doing it to get stronger!"
"Huh?"
"My ability works that way."
Chae-rin noona's eyes widened in alarm when she heard me.
"Hey, you can't just talk about your ability like that."
"What?"
"How do you know I won't betray you someday?"
Her expression turned serious as she began to explain.
"A skill is a hunter's lifeline. Even if the visible ability is public, you must never share how it works or its weaknesses."
"I-I see..."
"Well, at least you know now. This world isn't that forgiving."
Advice from an actual hunter really hit differently. I nodded, absorbing her words, then spoke up softly.
"Still... I think it's okay to tell you, Chae-rin noona."
"Why?"
"...Because I trust you."
It wasn't flattery. I genuinely meant it.
Chae-rin noona was always prickly and had a bit of a dirty temper, but even a short time around her made it clear that her true nature was kind.
"Don't say things like that so casually."
"......?"
"I'll pretend I didn't hear it. Got it?"
Suddenly her face hardened into a cold mask. She spoke in a low voice and immediately avoided my eyes.
She is currently maintaining intentional distance from the user. Continued interaction will only cause her to push you away further.
'As expected, Chae-rin noona still hasn't fully opened her heart.'
If it had been the old me, I never would have received this much care and affection. But I knew it was mostly pity for the pitiful kid with an S-class skill and a tragic past.
To truly become a star loved by everyone, just like the meaning of my Star of Heavenly Love, I still had a long way to go.
The conditions to view the target's information have not been met!
I glanced at Seong-a noona, who was tilting her head beside me. That thought had just crossed my mind.
'This is a bit of a shock.'
Seong-a noona had always been kind to me, yet it was strangely difficult to read what she was really thinking.
There were even rumors that she was congenitally unable to feel emotions.
Wait... did that mean...
Had I just been assuming we were close when it was completely one-sided?
"Um, noonas."
"What is it, Yeonwoo?"
"Spit it out, kid."
Cold sweat ran down my back as I gathered my courage and spoke to them.
"I... I have a favor to ask..."
"What kind of favor would our Yeonwoo want?"
"What, you want to play Rocketmon cards again?"
I needed to check whether my suspicion was true or not.
"W-would you film a TokTik challenge with me...?"
I offered a condition that couldn't be fulfilled with mere pity. It had to come from genuine friendship.
*****
About ten minutes later. Inside Yeonwoo's room.
-♩♪♫
Yoo Chae-rin stood in front of the phone propped on the desk, her face blank as she held a ridiculously cute pose with her whole body trembling. It was a pose she clearly never imagined doing in her lifetime.
"Fuck."
The moment the song flowing from the phone ended, she spat out a curse and collapsed onto the bed, head hanging low.
"That's not appropriate language in front of Yeonwoo."
"...No, but still."
Beside Yeonwoo, Do Seong-a held an equally mismatched cute pose with a completely expressionless face.
"I didn't become a hunter for this..."
"You're actually quite good at it. Have you done this often?"
"...Shut up."
At first she had scolded Chae-rin for swearing, but then she smiled and offered praise. Chae-rin's face twisted immediately.
"...I only helped my little sister with it a few times back then."
She trailed off, closing her eyes tightly for a moment.
"Haa... Haa..."
"By the way, kid. You seriously need to train your stamina."
After finishing the challenge dance, Yeonwoo was panting heavily. Chae-rin turned to him with a grumpy expression and started picking on him.
"Chae-rin noona."
"Yeah, what?"
"Here, take this!"
Yeonwoo suddenly jumped up, ran over to her, and stuck something on her hoodie.
"What is this?"
"I-it's a praise sticker!"
"...Ugh."
It was one of the cute praise stickers Yeonwoo had bought five whole sets of using the VVIP card from the Star Group.
"You helped me, so I'm giving you one as a special reward."
"...What am I supposed to do with this?"
Even as she complained, Chae-rin gently touched the praise sticker on herself with a complicated expression.
"You helped with the recording, so of course I have to give you one!"
"What? You were recording?"
"Yes! Obviously!"
At Yeonwoo's words, Chae-rin shot up from the bed, eyes wide.
"Hey, kid! Delete it!"
"Hehe, no way."
"How dare you...!"
She looked extremely flustered and started to lunge at him.
"Yeonwoo, it's time to give the phone back now."
"Ah."
"It's almost bedtime."
"Okay..."
Seong-a's gentle voice resolved the situation before Chae-rin even needed to intervene.
"You did well. Now delete that video quickly."
"...Wait a second."
"Hm? What is it now?"
But that calm only lasted a moment. Right after receiving the phone from Yeonwoo, Seong-a's expression froze solid.
"This... is a live broadcast."
"What?"
"It wasn't a recording... It was streaming live the entire time."
Chae-rin's face went blank. She slowly turned her gaze toward the phone screen.
Viewers: 1,390
"This... this is a lie, right...?"
"......"
"K-kid. What the hell happened?"
Chae-rin stumbled backward with a dazed look before desperately grabbing Yeonwoo.
"Th-there was a recording button with a sound function in the app, so I pressed it..."
"That wasn't the recording button. That was the streaming button."
"...Ah."
Yeonwoo, who had been wearing the same panicked expression, stood frozen with his mouth hanging open at Seong-a's explanation.
"Th-then... no way."
"......"
"That childish dance I did... it all went out live?"
Her voice trembled as she asked Seong-a the question.
"The video from when Yeonwoo first started dancing until we were discovered. After that, the footage of us dancing together was broadcast."
Seong-a delivered the death sentence in a calm, flat voice.
"This... this is a lie..."
"...Several clips have already been created."
"H-how...?"
Chae-rin collapsed to the floor, completely devastated. At the next terrifying piece of news, tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at Seong-a.
"It appears the stream went up under my account, which manages the Hunter Association channel. That's why it drew so much attention."
Even in this catastrophic situation, Seong-a remained completely composed as she explained and pressed the end stream button.
"Still, don't worry too much."
"......"
"Both Yeonwoo and I were on screen with you. You won't be the only one feeling embarrassed."
She gently stroked the hair of the rigidly frozen Yeonwoo beside her and gave a bright smile.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!!!"
Chae-rin's scream echoed through Yeonwoo's room.
The constellations are extremely pleased and have provided a gift.
Bestowal of the Star of Heavenly Love
*****
-Ding...
That dawn, in a shabby officetel.
"What the hell is this video?"
Seol Ha-yoon lay alone in an old bed, blanket pulled over her head. Dark circles hung heavily under her eyes as she scrolled through her phone. She tilted her head quietly at the recommended feed that popped up as a notification.
"What's wrong with these women?"
What filled her vision was the TokTik challenge dance featuring Do Seong-a, Yoo Chae-rin, and Yeonwoo. It was already spreading rapidly everywhere.
'But...'
With messy hair and bloodshot eyes, she watched the absurd video with a cold smile. Then her body suddenly flinched.
'...Why does that kid in the middle look so familiar?'
The cute child standing between Do Seong-a and Yoo Chae-rin looked strangely familiar no matter how she looked at him.
"Ha."
A moment later, her face hardened like stone. She lowered her head and muttered in a low voice.
"...Have I finally gone crazy?"
Her deeply shadowed eyes trembled quietly with a guilt that no one else knew about.