Chapter 40
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: A Soap Opera (4)
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After finishing my call with Park Si-woo, I went out to the living room.
My back ached, probably from sleeping on the floor.
As soon as I stepped into the living room, the smell of freshly cooked, warm rice greeted me.
I turned my head and saw the apartment building across the way through the veranda window.
This wasn't my place; it was Eun-young's.
After I ran away, she realized my place was too far and told me to stay the night.
Thanks to that, it took less than ten minutes to get to the Aria Guild headquarters, but I lied on purpose.
It's just good manners to play hard to get at least once!
“Breakfast is ready.”
“Can I eat?”
“Of course.”
Eun-young answered as if my question was absurd.
I sat down at the small dining table in the living room.
Rolled omelets, kimchi, seasoned bean sprouts, and spicy stir-fried pork. There was even soybean paste stew—a proper breakfast.
I'd thought most people living alone these days relied on delivery or pre-made meals, so this was a bit of a surprise.
As we sat across from each other and ate, the only sounds were the soft clinks of spoons and chopsticks against bowls.
After finishing my meal, I took a sip of water to cleanse my palate.
“Eun-young.”
“Hmm?”
“It's salty.”
I hadn't said anything while eating because I thought it would be rude, but honestly, it was a bit salty.
Actually, it was very salty.
She seemed to be a good cook, but she had no talent for seasoning.
At my confession, Eun-young's face flushed red with embarrassment.
“Oh, huh? Really? It was that salty? Come to think of it, Min-wook… no, my ex-boyfriend… that bastard might have said something like that before.”
Judging by her reaction, this wasn't the first time she'd heard it.
I had been worried my taste buds were the problem, but it seemed I didn't need to be.
“It's because I live alone! I've always lived alone!”
“Oof, Eun-young. I get it, so stop hitting me!”
Unable to overcome her embarrassment, Eun-young started smacking my shoulder.
I don't know if it was because I now knew she was a Hunter, but her slaps really stung.
I could finally understand why Choi Soo-hyun was always whining about how much it hurt.
“Still, thank you. It's been a long time since I've eaten breakfast with someone.”
I couldn't remember the last time I'd sat across from another person and shared a meal.
Maybe that's why her invitation to come and eat felt so welcome.
I was just grateful.
Even if the side dishes were a bit salty.
Let me correct that—not a bit, but a lot.
“How old did you say you were?”
“Twenty-two.”
According to the age on Kang Han-gyeol's ID, twenty-two was correct.
“What about your parents?”
“They're probably dead.”
I had checked his family registry just in case, and it showed his parents were deceased.
“Any relatives?”
“I'm not sure about that either.”
It didn't seem like he had any, and I had no intention or desire to look for them.
But why did this suddenly feel like an interrogation?
“Han-gyeol…”
My calm answers must have bothered her, because her eyes started to well up.
This is making me look like some pitiful kid!
Your family situation doesn't seem all that great either, so why are you doing this to me?
“I'll cook for you from time to time.”
“No, it's fine.”
I quickly backed away, shaking my head.
I could eat it once, but it definitely wasn't something I'd eat twice.
Since I had some time before I had to go to the guild, I decided to do the dishes.
“By the way, don't you have work today?”
It was a weekday.
A normal working person would either already be at work or on their way.
Sitting in a chair and sipping her coffee, Eun-young looked relaxed.
“I'm on the afternoon shift, so it's fine. Besides, I'm going to quit.”
Eun-young sounded excited as she answered. I turned on the water and gently started washing the plates.
Eun-young was sitting in a dining chair, looking at her status window.
A quick glance showed she was on the free board.
I haven't even looked at it since I created it.
[Community (Soter)]
Rank: Regular Follower
- Free Board (1)
There was nothing particularly special about it.
I don't have a hobby of posting in places like that. After finishing the dishes, I washed my hands.
[01. ??? — Unknown ago]
Author: Unknown.
What is this?
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“Eun-young, don't mess around on the board.”
In that short time, a post had appeared on the board.
But why are there so many 'Unknowns'?
Was this an anonymous site?
Eun-young washed the cup she'd used for her coffee and sat down on the sofa.
“I just took a quick look.”
Sitting on the sofa, she checked other things besides the board.
“How many followers does the god Soter have?”
“Two?”
Unlike me, who also serves as Soter's proxy, the status window Eun-young could see as a follower was slightly different.
She happened to be checking Soter's status window right then.
[Soter]
God's Name: *****
Position: Regular Follower
Level: 1
Attribute: Darkness
Ranking: 15486th
[Your current sponsorship ranking is No. 2.]
Sponsorship Contribution: 0
“Only two…”
“If you include Choi Soo-hyun, it's three.”
“Is Choi Soo-hyun with the same god?”
“Not yet. He's a temporary member.”
At my answer, Eun-young lay down on the small sofa.
Staring up at the status window projected on the ceiling, she let out a short sigh.
“So in the end, it's just you and me… I feel like I've been tricked. Is he really going to join?”
“I'm telling you, he is.”
“You said he's a temporary member. Don't you know? That guy is a pain in the ass, a crazy bastard who only cares about himself. But he's really, really popular.”
“Well, with a face like that, of course he's popular.”
He had that perfect 'church oppa' look, the kind who seems incredibly kind as long as he keeps his mouth shut.
He was tall, rich, and his only flaw was his shitty personality.
My reply made Eun-young snap.
“Not because of his face! With the gods! I don't care if he's popular with other people! You're so laid-back. We have you, me, and okay, let's count the temporary member Choi Soo-hyun, so three followers. What in the world are you planning to do from now on?”
“What do you think about this game?”
“Game?”
The players, the heroes, or the NPCs, only interfered minimally. The rest was left to the characters within the game. It was that kind of system.
The more the hero, the character, grew on their own, the more benefits the user outside the game received.
What if the hero who brings me a lot of points dies? It might take some time and be a hassle, but you can just raise a new one.
To the outsiders, the insiders were nothing more than replaceable game pieces.
But we are human.
Beings that cannot be replaced by anything or anyone.
“That's our situation.”
We are not disposable pawns in a game, to be judged by the whims of outsiders and discarded without even knowing what we worked so hard for.
Even though there are only three of us now, the number isn't what's important.
“Just watch.”
The butterfly effect starts with a small movement.
This may be just one small step now, but its meaning is significant.
“You might even find out why you weren't chosen, despite having Awakened.”
“I don't need to know anymore.”
“Didn't you want to know?”
“You chose me.”
Eun-young avoided my gaze and turned her head to the side.
Seemingly out of things to say, she opened a video site on her phone.
A moment later, she brought her phone over, as if she'd found something.
“Han-gyeol, look at this.”
I moved closer and checked the video and related information on the screen.
#1 Rapidly Trending Video
「Gangnam Mothman One-Kill Hunter」
Comments 33k (+)
└ Isn't Mothman a B-rank dungeon boss? Holy crap, he took it down just like that. Didn't the Raon Guild put up that barrier?
└ If you look closely, it's not a one-kill. He used two skills. He fried the barrier with a flame skill, then killed the Mothman. Still, pretty damn smart.
└ It's still a one-kill, yeah. But is that even allowed? A Raon Guild Hunter put up that barrier to trap the Mothman. Technically, that's a team kill.
└ lol what team kill? they aren't on a team lol. first come, first served. isn't it the fault of the guy who was taking too long? but is that dude an A-rank Hunter? he's strong as hell. anyone know anything?
└ All I know is that he's an Aria Guild Hunter.
└ Aria? That place with all the no-name gods?
└ But Park Si-woo is an S-rank Hunter.
The video was one thing, but the comment section was an absolute mess.
Most of the comments were about how amazing it was, or about the Raon Guild and Park Si-woo.
As I scrolled through the comments without much thought, I found something unexpected.
I stopped scrolling and read the comment.
└ Hey, my friend's a Hunter, and he said that ring might be the Ring of Ishtar. What do you guys think?
└ Losers who just type on keyboards in their rooms always have friends who are S-rank or SS-rank Hunters lol. My friend is the number one tough guy in the world, you psycho.
└ Why are you picking a fight?? What did I say? How do you live life being so twisted?
└ If that ring is the Ring of Ishtar, then my ring is the Gnade Ring, you crazy bastard lol. The Ring of Ishtar is crazy expensive.
└ You probably can't even buy it with money. More importantly, there's no way Choi Soo-hyun would sell it.
The comment section was chaotic, and the video had already surpassed five million views.
Disclosing or filming internal information about dungeons was forbidden, but monsters and battles from the rifts known as dungeon breaks were mostly open to the public.
For dungeons, all you had to do was keep the guilds and Hunters quiet, and it had little to do with the general public. But rifts were different.
In fact, the fastest way to gain recognition wasn't clearing high-rank dungeons, but dealing with rifts and getting public exposure.
There were even cases of Hunters who became celebrities that way.
It wasn't my intention, though.
I knew it would become a topic of conversation, but I didn't expect it to cause this much of a stir.
‘Still, he could have controlled it a little.’
Even though information was more open compared to dungeons, the Association could still regulate any information about rifts and monsters that might cause public panic.
I was counting on Choi Soo-hyun, the Association's hidden powerhouse, but this wasn't him pulling strings; it was just negligence.
What is that guy thinking?
Ah, right. I was supposed to give him the fragment, but I forgot.
How was I supposed to know I'd walk into a soap opera the moment I got there?
“What are you going to do?”
Eun-young put down her phone and asked worriedly.
I waved my hand in the air, signaling it was fine.
“It's not a big deal.”
“Really?”
“I'll take care of it.”
“Choi Soo-hyun?”
“Ah, not him. There's someone else who can handle it. I have a feeling he might have already done something by now.”
I'd find out when I got to the guild.
I reassured Eun-young.
It was about time to head to the guild.
“I'll call you.”
“Okay.”
I left Eun-young's apartment and headed for the guild headquarters.
I was sitting on the sofa in the office when, not long after, Park Si-woo opened the door and came in.
“You should be grateful it didn't make the news.”
I knew what Park Si-woo was talking about.
The video was uploaded just a short while after I ran off.
To make matters worse, the account that posted the video belonged to a channel owner with three million subscribers, so it spread even faster.
I pointed at my phone screen.
“But they're making money off this video. I'm the one who fought hard, but they're the ones cashing in. Isn't this a copyright violation?”
“I have three things to discuss. A nuisance, an order, and an apology you owe me. Which do you want to hear first?”
Park Si-woo ignored me.