The Seongwoon Group, Part 2

Having been suddenly summoned to the Association lobby because the Association President grandpa told me an S-class Ranking Battle request had come in, I had only asked a question out of sheer terror.

"...Kid, what did you say your name was?"

"D-Do Yeonwoo."

"Ah, right. Yeonwoo."

But President Han Serin, who had been standing there in a daze, breaking out in a cold sweat upon hearing my words, suddenly put on a gentle expression and began to speak to me.

"It seems our Yeonwoo has misunderstood something?"

I had mentally prepared myself to fight as hard as I could, so what on earth was she talking about?

"Our Seongwoon Guild came here today to introduce a new S-class hunter to everyone."

"...Really?"

"Yes, yes. A ranking battle? Heavens, no. The rumors that our Seongwoon Guild enjoys that sort of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thing are nothing but slander. Pure slander."

Fortunately, hearing President Han Serin's explanation, it seemed there had been some sort of misunderstanding.

"Hello, fellow hunters!"

"...?"

"Now, Yeonwoo. Why don't you copy me?"

As I was sighing in relief, President Han Serin suddenly threw her arm around my shoulder and flashed a V-sign at the cameras in the distance.

"Look at that camera over there and tell them your name and age."

"Uh..."

"Aww, there's a good boy. No need to be nervous, okay? Now, say cheese~!"

She began forcing me to say these suspicious lines in an unfitting, nasal baby voice. I was awkwardly smiling and trying to look away when it happened.

"...Excuse me, President."

"Yes, hunter mister over there! Ask away!"

"The, uh, cameras are off."

At the words of the staff member fiddling with the camera, President Han Serin, who had raised her hand high and spoken like a child, froze mid-gesture.

"They weren't broadcasting in the first place."

"It, it seems... to be a broadcast error."

And for a moment, silence descended upon the lobby.

"...What?"

In that silence, President Han Serin's expression instantly turned ice-cold as she asked back in disbelief.

Of course, the reason the camera broadcast was cut was because I had already activated the proposed skill.

"Ha, bullshit..."

"Pfft..."

"...What?"

Naturally, President Han Serin had no way of knowing this. Spitting out a curse in frustration, she whipped her head around at the sound of laughter coming from behind.

"That was quite a show, Serin."

"..."

"Personally, I wanted to watch a bit longer. Hoho."

The Association President grandpa spoke, holding back tears as he desperately suppressed the laughter leaking from his lips.

Grind...

In this situation, President Han Serin ground her teeth with a slightly terrifying expression.

"...Ah, haha. I guess I acted a bit foolishly."

But that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was only for a moment. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she soon returned to her previous state, wearing a relaxed smile.

"By the way..."

Her gaze then shifted toward me.

"What might our new S-class hunter's ability be?"

"Uh..."

"Don't worry about the hunters over there. Why don't you tell only this Ajumma?"

And at that moment, a strange warmth began to spread through my body.

It was immediately after that when the status window message popped up before my eyes.

Soon, the hot energy invading my body rapidly cooled down and vanished.

"Fufu... How cute."

As I tilted my head in confusion, President Han Serin narrowed her eyes and began to stroke my hair.

The moment I felt frustrated at not knowing her true intentions, Han Serin's information appeared before my eyes.

I knew that checking another person's information was only possible with at least an A-class skill or an extremely expensive magic tool.

Yet today, my out-of-spec ability, the Celestial Star of Love, shattered common sense once again, delivering information I probably shouldn't even know.

What's more, even though I was just standing still, it was guiding my actions as a tutorial benefit.

I wondered when this tutorial, which handed out suspiciously bizarre abilities for free, would ever end, but for now, I had to focus on the situation at hand.

To prove that I was worthy of being loved, I was still confident that I could do absolutely anything.

Although her original plan had gone spectacularly awry, President Han Serin was a very quick calculator.

I can't just go back after being humiliated like this.

Thus, immediately revising her plan, her eyes gleamed as she began to use her ability on the kid before her.

Well, bewitching a single kid is child's play.

With that thought, her eyes gradually dyed the color of moonlight. She was quietly curling the corners of her lips when it happened.

"...Aren't you a Noona, not an Ajumma?"

"Huh?"

Out of nowhere, the kid in front of her threw a question that was a bit too interesting to ignore.

"Are you talking to me?"

"Yes, Noona."

"...Pfft."

Looking at Yeonwoo with a slightly dumbfounded expression, President Han Serin let out a chuckle and spoke.

"Kid, do you even know how old I am?"

"...I don't know."

"Ha, what a funny little kid."

She smiled with her eyes for a moment, then resumed speaking in a much softer voice.

"Right, I should introduce myself first, shouldn't I? I'm Han Serin, the President of Seongwoon Group."

"Yes, Serin Noona!"

"...Uh, right."

But as Yeonwoo called her Noona again with his eyes sparkling, her eyebrows twitched slightly.

He's kind of cute...

And soon, President Han Serin began to slowly scan Yeonwoo's face.

Now that I look at him, he's quite handsome for an elementary schooler...

True to the assessment of someone with an eye for beauty, the boy before her possessed an objectively very cute and lovely appearance.

If he had been active as a child model or actor instead of an S-class hunter, he could have easily melted the hearts of older sisters all across South Korea.

"So, what is our Yeonwoo's ability?"

"I can talk to magic beasts!"

"...What?"

President Han Serin had asked the question while feeling a bit regretful about his mismatched talent, but Yeonwoo's next answer forced her to immediately retract her thoughts.

"And I can tame magic beasts."

"...Really?"

"Yes, Noona."

At the same time, the profit-and-loss calculator in her head began to spin rapidly.

This kid... we must bring him to the Seongwoon Guild at all costs.

Having concluded that the boy in front of her would soon become the next mascot of South Korea, President Han Serin's eyes curved even narrower.

"Um, Noona. But..."

"K-Kid. Could you stop calling me Noona?"

However, her rationally operating mind began to creak at the sound of Yeonwoo's bright voice once again.

"I'm not really used to being called that anymore..."

"Noonaaa."

"Ugh, I told you not to do that!"

In that situation, President Han Serin, her face turning red for no reason, pleaded with Yeonwoo to stop.

"Noona, Noona, Noona, Noona..."

"...Sigh."

But when Yeonwoo smiled brightly with his hands behind his back, repeating the word with childish, elementary-schooler playfulness, she felt her face burning. Biting her lip, she finally threw up her hands in defeat.

"Fine, call me Noona."

"Okay!"

"What on earth am I doing with a kid like this..."

Bowing her head, she let out a sigh of self-deprecation.

"Anyway, Yeonwoo. Do you have any interest in joining the Seongwoon Guild with Noona?"

"...The Seongwoon Guild?"

"If you come to our guild, I'll support you so you can live in luxury for the rest of your life."

Having regained her pace, she threw out the proposal with a smile.

"Hmm..."

"Fufu, you don't have to decide right now."

And as Yeonwoo appeared to contemplate, her eyes flashed momentarily.

"Let's see. Since you don't have any money right now... Here."

"What is this?"

"It's pocket money."

Opening her wallet, President Han Serin handed over a card embroidered in black and gold.

"If there's anything you want to buy, feel free to spend as much as you want with this."

"Wow..."

"By the way, there's no limit on that."

What she had given Yeonwoo was none other than the limit-free Seongwoon Group VIP Credit Card.

"...If you join our guild, benefits like this are just the baseline."

"..."

"And there are lots of pretty Noonas, and friends your age who are hunter apprentices..."

Holding Yeonwoo's hand as he toyed with the card in fascination, she seized the opportunity to maximize her charm ability and whisper tempting words. It was then.

"...Are there people as pretty as you, Noona?"

Yeonwoo, who had been staring at her quietly, asked with an innocent expression.

"Kid. Are you hitting on me right now?"

"Yes!"

"Huh? Really...?"

President Han Serin, who had asked the question out of sheer disbelief, pointed at herself in flustered confusion when Yeonwoo nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Y-You shouldn't do that..."

"Why?"

"W-Well... First of all, there's the age difference..."

Mumbling in a voice that was trailing off for some reason, she suddenly snapped out of it.

What on earth am I doing?

And once again, a wave of immense self-deprecation washed over her.

Why am I reacting like this to the words of a kid who doesn't know any better...

Of course, having an ability that charmed others meant she had absolutely zero experience being charmed herself, so she couldn't help it.

"Our Yeonwoo is quite the player, isn't he?"

"...?"

"I thought you were just an innocent kid, but you're a total fox."

Shaking her head vigorously to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dispel the strange sensation, she narrowed her eyes and leaned in close to Yeonwoo.

"If you want to date me, come back when you're ten years older, kiddo."

"Okay!"

"Haha, cute. So cute..."

And finally, barely reclaiming her dignity as the older one, she stood up.

"Anyway, Noona is going to head out now, okay?"

"Are you leaving already?"

"You'd better think carefully about my offer."

Waving to Yeonwoo, she walked toward the lobby exit.

"Goodbye!"

"Right, bye."

"Ah, wait a second!"

But Yeonwoo suddenly trotted up to her and lightly tugged at her clothes.

"Take this!"

"...Chocolate?"

"It's a present!"

As he pressed a small chocolate into her hand, President Han Serin looked down in disbelief at Yeonwoo, who was still holding onto her hem.

"Please remember the promise we made today!"

"...Y-Yeah."

Hearing Yeonwoo's words as he smiled brightly once more, she replied in a low voice and turned away.

"Ha, ridiculous."

The moment she stepped out of the Association building, she frowned for no reason and climbed into the waiting limousine, crossing her legs and leaning back in the rear seat.

"...What's so good about a yokai like me anyway?"

She toyed with the chocolate in her hand, turning her gaze out the window as she muttered. It was then.

Poof!

Suddenly, with a puff of white smoke, her form in the back seat of the limousine transformed in an instant.

"Ah, damn it."

Catching sight of her reflection in the rearview mirror—complete with fox ears and a tail popping out—she hurriedly covered them with her hands and ducked.

"I haven't felt yokai energy in so long, I can't even control it..."

She blushed, muttering in a low voice in that state.

I did what I was told, but...

Honestly, even as I followed the status window's instructions, I couldn't help but worry if it was really okay to act like this toward the head of the nation's top conglomerate.

Fortunately, according to the status window that popped up, it seemed I had achieved a passing grade.

As I quietly sighed in relief, messages formatted like a report card suddenly began to appear before my eyes.

Since it was a cute design decorated with praise stickers and a "Great Job!" stamp, I couldn't help but feel a little proud up to that point.

However, upon checking the final message that appeared, I froze completely in my tracks.

"Ah."

Because I never expected to see the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠name of my younger sister, Hayun, on the status window again.