Chapter 98
Chapter 98
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: Instagram Debut
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Time to eat, time to eat!”
Lee Yu-eul shouted as she came out to the outdoor table carrying a massive pot.
Lee Yu-chan quickly cleared space after setting down the curry pot he’d been holding.
Peering inside, I saw she’d boiled five whole packs of ramen—the portion was enormous.
The spicy aroma smelled delicious, at least.
“Hey, aren’t you guys full yet?”
“Even if we’re stuffed, we’ve gotta have dessert, right? That’s the Korean way.”
“That’s not what ‘the Korean way’ is for. Dig in.”
“Oh, really?”
I shook my head at the three high schoolers charging in like the meat from earlier had never happened.
That was when Im Cheong-su yelled.
“Ah, wait! Photo! Photo!”
He proceeded to snap several shots of the utterly ordinary ramen and the twins I saw every day.
“What’re you even gonna use those for?”
“Instagram, duh.”
“Instagram? You guys made Instagram accounts?”
“The kids at school kept asking, so yeah. It’s fun, though.”
And he wasn’t kidding about it being fun—Im Cheong-su fiddled with his phone even with ramen right in front of him.
Picking out the best shots from the bunch, tagging the twin siblings, the works.
You’d never guess these were kids who’d only gotten their first phones when we came up to Seoul. Kids really do learn fast.
But something was even faster.
“Huh? Where’d all the ramen go?!”
“Right here~.”
“Ah, shut your mouth! Gross!”
“Heh heh heh heh.”
In the blink of an eye, Lee Yu-eul had devoured nearly all the ramen and was now clutching her belly, teasing Im Cheong-su while laughing.
In the end, the trio scampered off to the kitchen to boil more ramen, and I pulled out my phone to download the Instagram app.
Then I searched for Im Cheong-su’s username from earlier.
“Pretty impressive follower count already?”
It hadn’t been long since he made it.
Im Cheong-su’s followers were pushing past 30,000.
This time, I checked out the list of people he was following.
Mostly students from the Awakener Academy, including Lee Yu-chan and Lee Yu-eul.
“Whoa? 40,000?”
These kids were popular.
Made sense, though.
In a world where hunters outshone celebrities in popularity, even if on a smaller scale, they were from the famous Justice Guild.
Plus, Justice Guild didn’t even have an official account yet.
So anyone curious about Justice Guild news would naturally peek at these kids’ profiles.
“Hmm. An official account, huh.”
I’d only thought about promotion via media and gate raid broadcasts—never through SNS.
I pondered for a bit, then searched for major guilds’ names.
“Whoa, it’s a total battlefield.”
On top of that, they updated almost daily with photos pretending to be everyday life snaps of their hunters and training videos—plenty to keep eyes glued.
And.
“They’re even selling merch right here?”
I’d totally overlooked this!
Ugh, Nayeo-ju, reflect on yourself for real.
A simple way to handle promotion, image management, and sales all at once, right under my nose, and I missed it.
Sure, I’d been busy solidifying the guild’s foundations and hadn’t paid much attention to the outside world, but a blunder was a blunder.
I stopped overthinking and created the Justice Guild account on the spot.
I’d heard verification for the official blue checkmark takes time, so I applied right away.
‘What photo should I post first?’
I scrolled through my gallery: nothing but baby spirit beast pics and flowers I’d snapped on street walks.
But it was the first post—I couldn’t just throw up anything, so I agonized a bit until the three who’d finished boiling more ramen returned.
‘Oh, this’ll work perfectly.’
Of course, snapping before the meat would’ve been even better.
Still, with everyone except Seong Yo-na, whose face we couldn’t reveal yet, gathered together, it felt spot-on.
“Okay, everyone, look here.”
I pulled my phone camera back as far as possible and said.
Click!
It wasn’t the cleanest shot, honestly.
The three high schoolers had looked up mid-bite of ramen, and Jang Su-ho was standing, tidying beer bottles, glancing at the camera.
‘But that’s exactly what makes it pop.’
Plus, with Justice Guild’s flowers—Kang Han and Han Ji-seong’s handsome faces coming out perfectly, I was thrilled.
Han Ji-seong had a few beers and was leaning his chin on his hand with a loose smile; Kang Han caught the lighting just right, making his sculpted face even more striking.
‘This is it.’
No need for filters or edits.
I tagged the three with Instagram accounts on the raw photo and announced.
“Made the Justice Guild account, so follow it quick.”
That one line pulled the high schoolers out of their ramen trance, and they piled a heap into my bowl.
Tomorrow’s gonna be busy, so I’d better eat up.
And meanwhile that cart looks ready to explode lololol
Insane ㅠㅠ All so handsome and pretty, chaos
Account’s brand new and followers already ㄷㄷㄷ
The morning after the massive party.
After breakfast, the guild members gathered at the pool.
The group splashing around, already changed into swimsuits bright and early, surprisingly included Kang Han.
“Guild Master, you like the water?”
“Somewhat. Nayeo-ju-ssi isn’t coming in?”
“I’m not big on water.”
Remembering how I got a cramp in my leg playing at the pool when I was little made goosebumps rise again.
I was about to tell Kang Han, who was watching my grimaced ‘eugh’ face, that it wasn’t a big deal.
When from the other side of the pool, Jang Su-ho and Lee Yu-eul came charging toward us, kicking up huge splashes.
“Nayeo-ju unnie!”
“Nayeo-ju, you gotta come in too!”
They’re definitely trying to dunk me.
I struck a defensive pose and said.
“No, I’m good.”
“How could you not!”
“Yeah! We’re coming to grab Nayeo-ju—ack!”
Jang Su-ho’s bold hand reaching for me slowly drifted away.
Kang Han had grabbed his waist.
Even in the water, one arm around Jang Su-ho, the other around Lee Yu-eul.
Doesn’t that weigh anything?
“Go play over there.”
“No, we gotta dunk Nayeo-ju…!”
“Want me to dunk you instead?”
“Eek, no!”
Luckily, Kang Han was the perfect repellent for Jang Su-ho.
As I watched them splash tirelessly, the sun climbed higher.
Hiding deeper under the shade from the blazing sunlight, the table holding our stuff buzzed with a jiing.
The phone linked to Justice Guild’s main line was vibrating.
‘Here it comes.’
I hurriedly checked the screen.
Sure enough, the Awakener Association’s number.
I connected the call, switched to speaker so everyone could hear, and spoke.
“Yes, hello. Nayeo-ju from Justice Guild.”
[ “Hello. This is the Association. Your location shows as Gangneung—is that correct?” ]
“Yes. We’re on vacation. What’s up?”
The guild members, who’d been laughing and chatting loudly, quieted down and turned to me.
[ “An A-rank guerrilla gate opened nearby, and the first raid failed. Per regulations, priority raid rights go to the closest guild, Justice Guild.” ]
An A-rank guerrilla gate.
And a failed first raid.
Everyone’s faces went blank.
I didn’t need to look to know what they were thinking.
Dungeon break.
The Association staff soon asked over the phone.
[ “Gangneung City A-rank guerrilla gate—will you proceed with the raid?” ]