Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Supernova (2)
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After a brief pause, I spoke with a face full of smiles.
"It's a secret."
I boldly concealed my circumstances, refusing to give them the reason.
Yoo Harin blinked her eyes like she'd been struck dumb by honey, then immediately pushed back.
"What?!"
"The second one is a secret."
"Secret my ass! Hey! Spill it already! You're not hiding it on purpose just to keep shocking us, are you?!"
Suddenly, Yoo Harin yanked at my collar.
As she said, it wasn't that I was deliberately playing the "hide the power" game.
It wasn't some clichéd reason where I hid my strength normally and revealed it with a bang in a dramatic moment to give the audience catharsis.
'No, it'd be a lie if I said there was zero fun in surprising them...'
My reluctance to become famous was entirely for revenge.
Revenge against this world's NTR men and women.
If my name and face, complete with an S-rank title, spread far and wide too early, those typical NTR guys would tuck tail and run.
There aren't many men bold enough to try stealing a woman who's an awakener of S-rank caliber.
They'd hide their ugly natures and shady intentions behind a mask of niceness, never even attempting an NTR.
In other words, I'd lose any pretext for revenge against them.
Even looking back at the original story, the protagonist guy topped out at B-rank hunter.
Anything beyond that level of fame or notoriety was best avoided, and I needed to remain the same old loser, Kang Woojin.
Well, not a publicly certified loser, but at minimum, I had to keep my ordinary citizen status to make revenge easier.
Unable to reveal all that, I gazed at the distant mountains, and Yoo Harin pinched my thigh.
"You sneaky bastard."
"Huh?"
"What, what's so amazing about the reason that you won't even tell us, of all people?"
"Us?"
I tilted my head, but Yoo Harin scowled fiercely.
"...You took my virginity!"
Cynthia hurriedly shushed her.
"Shh! Shh! Voice too loud, Harin-ah."
Fortunately, the others still seemed too busy to pay attention our way.
I ruffled the wildly flailing Yoo Harin's hair and grinned playfully.
"Next time I take your anal virginity too, I'll tell you then~."
"F-Fuck! What did you just say... Ah! Stop! Don't touch my hair!"
"Calm down, Koinu-chan~☆."
"Don't use that tone, hot damn!"
I suddenly kneaded Yoo Harin's ass, and she jumped like a live fish.
"What the sudden hell?! H-Hey, don't touch my ass! Ah! Not my tits either!"
"Man, so many no's."
"P-People are watching!"
"No one's looking right now."
"Th-they might."
"Wanna go to the car then?"
"......"
Yoo Harin's face flushed red as she bowed her head deeply.
She didn't seem opposed.
"Hanging out like this really feels healing."
I clamped a hand over the noisy girl's mouth and turned to Cynthia.
"You two head to the car first, Sia. I'll say hi to Ji-ho hyung and the others before coming."
"Y-Yeah, got it......"
"Why the face? More to say?"
"......"
"......?"
"Y-You'll do me too, right......?"
Cynthia fidgeted, twisting her whole body, and I couldn't help but chuckle.
What exactly was she asking for, Sia?
Maybe because they'd faced mortal threats amid blood and screams on the battlefield multiple times, the two women's breeding instincts seemed to surge, their subtle excitement plain as day.
'So lewd, so lewd.'
I let go of Yoo Harin and openly groped Cynthia's breasts as I said,
"Worrying about the silliest things. Even if you told me not to, I'd do you anyway, Sia."
"I-I meant later, but you're doing it out of nowhere without a word......"
She twitched harder, her elastic response making her add,
"Eek! Woojin, aren't you tired......?"
Tired?
Well, a man's got enough energy left for sex even on his deathbed, sadly enough.
'Tragic, really.'
I kneaded Sia's breasts harder without answering.
"Hngh! N-Not here! People will seeee!"
Cynthia pressed right up against me, glancing warily left and right.
First Yoo Harin, now Cynthia too.
As I toyed with both in turn, a few guys finally noticed and shot envious looks our way.
Probably because of what went down inside the gate, no scoldings or shouts came flying.
They weren't official Lunar Guild members anyway—just Ji-ho hyung's acquaintances' acquaintances or whatever.
Strangers I wouldn't see again anyway, they just muttered awkwardly, dripping with jealousy.
"Kids these days are so bold......"
"Fuckin' jealous, tsk. Maybe I should try dating too."
"Look in a mirror first, dude. Think you can just decide to?"
"What the hell, man. Just me? What about you?"
"Least I'm self-aware."
The two guys started bickering, drawing everyone's eyes.
Thanks to that, I got to enjoy Sia's breasts a bit longer, heading off to find An Ji-ho before her face burst from shame and embarrassment.
And then.
"...You saved my life back there, Woojin-ah."
He and the rest of the Lunar Guild folks tirelessly offered their thanks.
"Thanks. Really."
"No joke. If not for you, Woojin......"
After hashing out the official stuff like raid compensation and shares first, I finally wrapped up this gig once their gratitude was sated.
'This wears you out more than you'd think.'
Escaping the thanks, I headed straight for where Bolt Inc.'s large sedan was parked, leaving the gate entrance behind.
"Ugh, wiped......"
Like on the way in, I put Cynthia and Yoo Harin in the back seat and took the wheel.
The sun was already dipping low, and by the time we descended the mountain road, the sky was pitch black.
Maybe it was the quiet night vibe.
Glancing in the rearview, Cynthia and Yoo Harin had their heads leaned together, fast asleep in no time.
They must've been exhausted.
They came for a light part-time job and nearly lost their lives.
Drained to the bone with tension fully released, they slept so deeply you could've carried them off unnoticed.
'But wait, is this right?'
I did all the heavy lifting, yet here I was driving. Felt off.
Shake, shake.
I shook my head and stopped at an EV station, fully charging the battery in seconds using mana.
Vrrr.
Meanwhile, completely spent myself, I switched to autopilot and moved to the back seat to catch some Z's.
'No need for scented candles.'
I wedged between Yoo Harin and Cynthia, hugging them tight like favorite plushies.
"Can't... do more......"
"Pervert... Woojin......"
Their cute sleep-talk gave away exactly what they were dreaming.
'Too bad, car sex next time.'
And a few days zipped by.
As hyung Chang-sik predicted, all of Korea flipped out.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Five days had passed since the A-rank gate incident in Gyeonggi Province.
The whole affair hit the news, and every media outlet was abuzz.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say the entire nation was in an uproar.
The hot topics boiled down to three main ones.
First: the future of Lunar Guild, showing steep growth.
People buzzed about a guild that solo-cleared an A-rank gate, of all things.
Second: the downfall and disgrace of Hwaryong Guild, who'd tried to check them.
One of Korea's top four guilds, Hwaryong, exposed its ugly side by driving Lunar into a death trap.
The public pointed fingers at Guild Master Choi Jong-yoon's power-mad antics, sparing no criticism or condemnation.
Guardians of humanity, yet utterly lacking duty or justice, scrambling just to protect their rice bowl.
They deserved the hate.
And third: the identity of the new awakener who saved Lunar Guild.
[He's truly a promising boy☆.]
You could tell just from the billboards.
[He might even be my equal... or more.]
All of Korea buzzed about the mystery awakener.
[I see. For our viewers, could you share just a word on his identity, Mr. Kim Chang-sik?]
The neat-looking anchor subtly smiled, prying at Kang Woojin's identity.
But alas, Kim Chang-sik wasn't swayed by beauty.
Handsome guys, maybe.
[Sorry, but we have an agreement. I want to respect our boy☆'s wishes~.]
[Ah, understood.]
The anchor flashed brief disappointment before finishing the script and wrapping the broadcast.
[Once more, thanks to Kim Chang-sik for the interview. This has been HBS (Hunter's Broadcasting System). Thanks for watching.]
The whole world was hunting for Kang Woojin.
Ding!
Stella Academy was no exception.
"You see that news just now?"
"Yeah, caught it on xStar."
"New awakener. Might be S-rank."
The academy students had been abuzz these past few days.
College prep classes, job classes, hunter classes—no exceptions.
"Wasn't Cynthia the one who awakened recently? The class president from general college prep."
"Yeah. Even that caused a huge stir since Korea hadn't had an A-rank in ages."
"This'll be way louder."
"Why keep the identity secret? Attention whore?"
"If it was, they'd have spilled already. Why hide?"
"High-level strategy, maybe? Keep people curious for ongoing buzz."
"Nah, for an S-rank? No need."
Kang Woojin listened to the students' chatter with interest, gazing out the window.
'Didn't expect this much noise.'
They'd never dream the mystery awakener shaking the world(?) was their same-class classmate.
'Hunters' popularity rivals top celebs, huh. Feels real now.'
Unintentionally deceiving them all, Kang Woojin felt a bit bittersweet.
'So that's why Choi Si-hyeok too......'
But that lasted only a moment.
"Um, Woojin-ah."
The twin-tailed vice class president approached him.
"Homeroom teacher wants you. In the staff room, now."
Kang Woojin nodded lightly and stood.
"Got it."
But waiting for him at the staff room wasn't his half-bald homeroom teacher.
"Huh?"
Men blocking the staff room entrance.
"You're the student—no, Kang Woojin, right? From the Hunter Management Bureau."
Kang Woojin was dragged(?) by the bureau's surveillance division hunters—who'd barged into the academy—to an empty auditorium.
"This way."
Following the hunters' lead, a man greeted him.
"You're......"
"Hello. I'm Lee Dong-hyun, chief of the Surveillance Division at the Hunter Management Bureau."
The polite 30-something handed over a business card. With his long hair neatly tied back, he was a tall, handsome guy.
"Hope our sudden visit didn't startle you too much."
When he offered a handshake, Kang Woojin curtly shook his head.
Kang Woojin couldn't fully trust this world's pretty boys.
"State your business. Class starts in minutes."
Lee Dong-hyun nodded at his indifferent tone.
"Understood. Straight to the point, then. Place your hand on this mana gauge here."
"Mana gauge?"
"Actually, we received official reports from Lunar Guild and S-rank hunter Kim Chang-sik."
"Ah, yeah. Figures. I know."
"You've probably heard through various media too. They say there's a new awakener."
"And you're saying that's me?"
Kang Woojin jokingly pointed at himself.
"Enough theatrics. Normally we'd grill you for bringing a civilian into a gate, but we'll skip the trivia and proceed with new awakener registration. Do you consent?"
For now, only those in the know were aware of Kang Woojin's identity.
Lee Dong-hyun, knowing it all, pointed to the mana gauge again. Kang Woojin—who'd expected them—shed his ordinary student mask.
"Sure, whatever."
With Kim Chang-sik on broadcast and An Ji-ho prepped beforehand, he naturally placed his hand on the gauge as requested.
Of course, he wasn't wearing the mana suppression artifact.
Voooong—!
The blue-glowing mana gauge hummed loudly, displaying Kang Woojin's mana as numbers.
"This is......"
Lee Dong-hyun alternated between the gauge and Kang Woojin, face stunned.