Republic of Korea's Strongest: Kang Sung-gi (14)
Park Hye-na looked troubled as she spoke. I placed a hand on her shoulder.
“That's enough now. From now on, never take those drugs again. Even an S-rank hunter can get careless and end up like this.”
I gave her the advice from the heart. Honestly, she'd spent far more time as an S-rank hunter than I had, but even in my short stint, I'd seen plenty of this world's ugly underbelly. On top of that, I'd witnessed the abilities of countless powered individuals here—and absorbed some into my own body. Without that, I never could have cured Park Hye-na. If I'd stayed a civilian, I might not have even known these things were happening. Eventually, I'd have watched someone like Jo Dong-geun or Baek Seonghun drag this country to ruin.
Today was the S-rank hunter meeting. We could've gone straight there together from here, but I decided to meet two more people first.
“The S-rank hunter meeting?”
“We're going there?”
I'd called Kim Se-in and Kim Eun-bi to the hotel cafe. They'd become S-rank hunters, but they still didn't quite grasp it. When I suggested heading to the S-rank meeting together, their reactions were pure wonder.
I filled them in on everything that had happened.
“In the world, something like that...”
“Oppa really has women flocking to him everywhere he goes...”
Their responses were a tangled mix. It couldn't be helped. As Kim Eun-bi pouted and pointed out, it wasn't like I was chasing them—women just kept showing up, and more often than not, it led to sex. If I needed an excuse, it was what Valentina had said: a massive energy balance existed, and with an SS-rank dungeon in development, maybe this was my way of ramping up my hunter energy too. But no way could I say that in front of them.
“If I'd known stuff like that was going down, we should've gone to the last meeting together,” Kim Se-in said politely.
But who could've predicted it? If I'd realized their presence would help position me as leader of the S-rank hunters, of course I'd have brought them.
“You haven't renewed your licenses yet, right?”
Neither had. We'd swing by the Hunter Management Office first, then head to the meeting together.
A commotion erupted at the Hunter Management Office. No surprise there. The S-rank hunter count—stuck at ten for years—had spiked lately. And today, both renewals were fresh evolutions from A-rank to S-rank.
I pulled the Hunter Management Office director aside. “This doesn't leak anywhere. Not a word until we make the announcement ourselves.”
Honestly, even if I asked nicely, it'd get out eventually somehow. So I hadn't held out much hope when I spoke to him. But he snapped to attention, face serious, and bowed deeply.
“Absolutely not! We'll guard the secret with our lives!”
“No need to get so rigid. Leaks happen, I get it—just be extra careful for a bit.”
He was so stiff, I ended up reassuring him.
“Ah! It's S-rank!”
Kim Eun-bi suddenly held her license aloft like a trophy. “I can't believe this day actually came. Feels like a dream.”
Kim Se-in stared at hers in a daze, mouth agape. I got it completely—their joy, the disbelief. Hell, I'd gone from regular awakener to S-rank. No one else in the world had a story like mine.
“Time to head to the meeting room. After the vote, dinner's on me—something good.”
“Yay!”
“Hee hee, can't wait.”
Walking into the S-rank Hunter Building with two unfamiliar women set the staff on edge. The desk crew especially couldn't hide their shock when they confirmed two new S-ranks that day. Still, they kept it professional—bowed to Kim Se-in and Kim Eun-bi with a simple “Congratulations.” Elites were elites, alright. The cafe barista, everyone here—they were all top-tier in their fields. Waste of talent, really, since S-ranks only gathered for these meetings once a week at most. But hey, now I was one of them.
Having been here before, I led them straight to the cafe. Grabbed three cups of killer free coffee and made for the meeting room.
“Wow, this coffee's amazing,” said Kim Se-in, who'd lived pretty simply as an A-rank not long ago.
“I'd come back just for this,” Kim Eun-bi chimed in, though her palate wasn't refined enough yet to fully appreciate it.
I timed our entrance late on purpose. Last time taught me newbies drew stares. Plus, the impact I'd made lingered: unknown guy glued to Kim Seol-bi's side, outed as a fresh S-rank; Seo Na-yeon straight-up backing me; tying Baek Seonghun 5-5 in the leader vote. I'd been slammed since, but I was buzzing among the S-ranks for sure. With two new faces flanking me today, might as well drop at peak effect—like when Baek Seonghun was crowing about his sure win.
Shiiiik—
The meeting room's auto-door slid open. I stepped in. Everyone was already there, eyes flicking to me like clockwork. Baek Seonghun up on the podium glared daggers—no one had even prompted him.
He'd probably hustled to flip votes. My bet: Park Hyun-jun and Kim Hyun-cheol were his prime targets. Kim Seol-bi and I screamed couple vibes to anyone watching; Seo Na-yeon was no pushover and had gone public pro-me last time. One more swing vote? Those two were low-hanging fruit.
Sneer curling his lips, Baek Seonghun glared. He figured at least one—or both—would back him.
I knew better. How slippery those bastards were. They'd yap all day about joining him. But they had a secret he'd never suspect: castration. That emasculating truth alone meant no vote for him. And he had no clue about Park Hye-na's turnaround these past two days—the woman he dosed and assumed was his, now poison-free.
Those cards would drop at the vote. But right now, pre-vote despair was incoming.
Eyes locked on the two women trailing me. Way more stunned, baffled stares than I'd gotten.
“What the hell is this?”
Baek Seonghun's voice dripped irritation.
“Kang Sung-gi, you think we're all free agents? You can just stroll in late to a meeting?”
Five minutes tardy, and he nitpicks like a child.
But he wasn't done.
“This is S-rank only. No randos allowed. Who the fuck are they?!”
He hadn't clocked Kim Se-in and Kim Eun-bi as new S-ranks. Not even a flicker.
So I spelled it out.
“No randos. Both S-rank hunters. Recent awakenings, same as me.”
“What?”
Shock rippled out—not just him. Everyone but Kim Seol-bi, who'd been in the loop, went wide-eyed.
S-ranks weren't like the dozens popping daily in lower tiers. For years—until Jo Dong-geun vanished and I joined—it held steady at ten. Two more in days? Insane.
“You screwing with us right now?!”
Baek Seonghun barked, fury cracking his cool. His freakout screamed nerves. It should've wrapped last meeting. Park Hye-na's intel painted him as power-mad for years, itching to lord over Korea's hunters—foreign muscle, drugs, whatever it took.
“If it feels like a prank, verify it yourselves.”
His meltdown? Not my problem. I sat with Kim Se-in and Kim Eun-bi.