C-Rank Man, A-Rank Woman
"Mr. Seong Junpyo, your application for the promotion exam has been processed. Would you mind taking a seat over there and waiting for just a moment?"
"Y-Yes, of course..."
I had finally set foot inside the Hero Association Headquarters. It was an imposing 555-meter skyscraper towering straight into the sky, commanding prime real estate right in the heart of the city.
In truth, working heroes rarely have any reason to visit headquarters. Our primary domain is out in the field; protecting assigned territories often means being dispatched across the provinces on a regular basis. Whenever a hero does come to headquarters, it is always with a very specific, deliberate purpose. In a sense, the Association is much like a bank to people like us.
...Though I suppose that might be different for heroes with higher ranks.
My leg rattled in an uncontrollable tremor against the floor.
"Oppa, take a deep breath. Stop worrying so much."
Seeing my leg bounce, Yoona placed a calming hand on my arm. I knew she was just telling me to loosen up, but my nerves simply refused to settle.
Under normal circumstances, hero promotions happen automatically. They are determined by accumulated field achievements, total years of active service, and rigorous internal data analysis. The Association publishes an official hero ranking leaderboard every month, which usually allows people to forecast who is slated for promotion well in advance.
Because of that, applying manually like this was an extraordinary exception. It was the hero equivalent of an employee marching into executive offices to demand an individual salary and title renegotiation against the entire corporation.
If it went well, I would return home in glory with a shiny new promotion.
If it failed, it would be sheer humiliation.
"Um... excuse me."
"Y-Yes! I'm ready!" I scrambled to my feet the instant the receptionist approached.
I wanted nothing more than to rid myself of this suffocating tension. My chest felt like it was about to burst, and I just wanted to throw myself into the test and get it over with.
And yet—
"Oh, no, it's not that... We have already forwarded your testing request upstairs, but..."
"Then...?"
The receptionist cast a discreet, sidelong glance toward Yoona. She took a step closer, lowering her voice until it was barely a whisper meant only for our ears.
"If you don't mind me asking... are you by any chance the A-Rank hero, Swan Blade?"
The Association strictly guarded hero aliases and civilian identities under high-level confidentiality, which was why the receptionist had approached so cautiously. Caught completely off guard by having the spotlight suddenly swung onto her, Yoona gave a bewildered nod.
"Uh... yes, that's correct."
"Ah, I knew it! I'm such an enormous fan of yours!"
"Oh... thank you... haha..."
"Ah! But that wasn't what I came over to say." Clearing her throat with a dignified little cough to compose herself, the receptionist leaned in again. "Yoona-ssi, would you perhaps be interested in taking a promotion test today as well?"
"...Pardon?"
"Come on, the promotion test! Your last comprehensive hero medical checkup was two years ago, and if your physical metrics look good, you might actually qualify." The woman took a deliberate breath before dropping the bombshell. "S-Rank! You might actually be placed on the promotion roster this cycle."
"What!?"
"S-Rank...!?"
S-Rank hero.
That was a realm floating high in the stratosphere—an echelon of transcendent icons that lower-tier heroes could only gaze up at in reverent awe. Even heroes who claimed not to care about rankings harbored a secret dream of reaching it at least once in their lives. Merely being elevated to S-Rank fundamentally transformed a person's entire existence: public reputation, corporate valuation, endorsement deals, societal influence—every single facet of life changed overnight.
"No, thank you. I'll pass."
Yoona's refusal was crisp and unequivocal. She drew a firm boundary, cutting the conversation off before anyone's imagination could run wild.
"I only came here today to support Minor Man beside me. I would appreciate it if we kept the focus off my personal affairs."
Her eyes were narrowed in a polite smile, but I could tell she was genuinely bristling. She had come strictly for my sake, and having the spotlight aggressively redirected onto her made her furious. Above all, she deeply despised being treated as a superhero while dressed in casual civilian clothes; even within Association headquarters, it was considered a serious breach of etiquette.
"I know it's presumptuous of me to meddle," the receptionist persisted, "but it's just such a terrible waste. Yoona-ssi, you certainly have both the popularity and the field achievements to back it up..."
"Even if you say so, I really—"
"Rumor has it that up to two vacancies might be opening up in S-Rank very soon. You were ranked thirteenth among all A-ranks last month, so you are well within striking distance."
"No, I truly don't need to go that far..."
"Why don't you take it?"
Unable to just sit there and listen any longer, I chimed in. Forcing a self-assured grin onto my face, I offered an easy chuckle.
"If it reflects well on your official record, it's great for you, and there's nothing to lose, right? Even if you don't make the cut, you can just treat it as a routine health checkup."
"B-But still..."
"Honestly, it'd be a lie to say you're not tempted by S-Rank, wouldn't it? If you make S-Rank, your family won't be able to say a word against your career anymore. You know how viciously they've opposed you being a hero."
"Mmm..."
I had realized mid-conversation why she was bristling so fiercely. The invasion of privacy was one thing, but more than anything, Yoona was angry because she felt guilty toward me. She was watching me sweat bullets over a pathetic B-Rank promotion, and the tactless receptionist barging in to offer her a shot at S-Rank made her feel terribly apologetic.
Her consideration warmed my chest, but because I loved her and knew how kind she was, I wanted to push her forward.
"Besides, I'm about to catch up to you for real anyway," I boasted with a cocky smirk. "The cheetah is finally about to sprint, so you'd better brace yourself."
"...You really do love acting tough, don't you?" She let out a small, amused chuckle at my bravado. After deliberating for a few moments longer, Yoona finally agreed to the evaluation.
And so, the girlfriend who had only come along for moral support was mobilized. Quite unexpectedly, the two of us were taking our hero promotion exams side by side.
"We... go in separately?"
After boldly changing into examination gowns, I was suddenly hit with an awkward dilemma.
Men and women being separated for a physical exam was standard procedure, of course. The real issue was the attending physicians assigned to guide us.
The doctor assigned to me was a slender, delicate woman wearing glasses. The doctor assigned to Yoona, on the other hand, was a tall, heavily built, muscular man.
Is this... really how it's supposed to be?
Shouldn't it usually be the other way around? Yet I couldn't bring myself to point it out. Doing so would make me look like an insecure, overly possessive boyfriend throwing a tantrum at our age.
"Um..."
As I hesitated, the female doctor spoke up in a soft, apologetic tone.
"It is somewhat embarrassing to admit, but someone of my stature simply cannot handle an A-rank hero."
"...Pardon?"
"If an ordinary person handles an elite hero without the proper physical capability, accidents can easily happen... In fact, injuries occur quite frequently during these tests."
"O-Oh, no, that's not what I meant..."
"Haha, don't worry about it at all!" the male doctor chimed in with a hearty, reassuring laugh. "I completely understand what's going through your mind, Junpyo-nim, but I assure you, it's just a routine examination."
His cheerful intervention only made me die of embarrassment. Anyone looking at the situation could tell I was being overly defensive and staking a jealous claim, and heat rushed straight to my face.
"...Maybe we should just call it off after all?" Yoona whispered, reading my discomfort.
"No, no! What are you talking about, Yoona? I'm totally fine! I'll go in first!"
Embarrassed that she had noticed, I bolted through the door ahead of her. Even to my own eyes, it was a pathetic display of bravado.
"Alright, Mr. Junpyo, let's start by drawing your blood."
This was my very first time undergoing a hero evaluation at Association Headquarters. Up until now, I had always done my periodic checkups at local neighborhood clinics, deliberately avoiding the Association's complimentary exams. I had sworn to myself that I would only set foot in headquarters once I earned my B-rank.
...And then I ended up rotting in C-rank for six whole years.
"Please drink this liquid completely, then hold your breath for a moment."
"...Understood."
Despite my anxiety, the process was virtually identical to an ordinary health checkup. The procedures were no different from a regular hospital. Just as I let my guard down, however—
"Strip... completely naked?"
"Yes. We need to conduct the Reaction Speed Test."
She explained that it was a specialized Association examination, a mandatory fixture exclusively required for hero promotion evaluations.
"I will be attaching electrodes across your body. I will step behind you, and as soon as you perceive a physical stimulus from either side, please raise your arm in the direction you judge to be closest to the contact point."
"Excuse me...!" I swallowed hard, a lump forming in my throat. "Do... do female heroes have to do this exact same test?"
"? Yes, of course. In the hero world, there is no distinction between men and women."
Her words struck me like a physical blow, carrying an unmistakable implication.
Right now, in some private examination room down this very hall, Yoona was standing completely naked.
Stripped totally bare before that muscular male doctor who had just smiled at me.
Damn it...!
I had to be honest with myself: that doctor's broad, athletic frame had grated on my nerves from the start. His tall, imposing build reminded me sickeningly of Shim Eui-jin.
The two images overlapped in my mind.
That bastard who had so casually cupped my chest with that placid look on his face. The unforgettable nightmare of that day rushed back, superimposing itself over the scene playing out down the hall.
Except right now, it was infinitely worse.
That male doctor was going to touch her bare skin. In an examination like this, he would have no choice but to lay hands all over my girlfriend's body.
"Would you please take off your clothes?"
"..."
Yoona would have complied without a word of protest. She was more dedicated to her duty as a hero than anyone else; she was a consummate professional.
And so, she would undress.
Rustle...
Sliding the shoulder straps of the sundress she wore today down her smooth arms.
Unclasping her bra.
Gently hooking both thumbs into the waistband of her panties and sliding them down her slender thighs.
And then, the man's rough, heavy hands would descend upon her. Under the guise of a reaction test, feeling every contour of Yoona's exposed flesh.
"Where is this?"
"Right."
"And here?"
"Left."
"Oh, instantaneous response. Left shoulder, right glute, inner thigh—immediate recognition across the board. The back can be tricky to distinguish, yet you pinpointed it flawlessly."
"Thank you."
"Measured reaction speed is 0.76 seconds... As expected of a combat-specialized A-rank."
Setting aside his clipboard and pen, the male doctor would step even closer.
"Then how about here?"
"Eh...?"
This time, his hands would move to her chest. Reaching from behind like creeping tentacles, his fingers would cup Yoona's breasts, lightly cradling their weight in his palms.
"...Right."
"Yes, the right breast. Correct once again."
Yoona would answer stoically, diligently raising her hand. She was so earnest, so thoroughly dedicated, that she would never suspect any ulterior motive.
"And here?"
"Left... glute."
"Here?"
"Right breast... Wait, you keep touching the exact same—...ngh?!"
Unable to contain himself, the male doctor would squeeze, kneading her breast like milking a cow, sinking his thick fingers deep into my girlfriend's yielding flesh.
Rub, rub...
"Wait, stop..."
And then, he would grind against her. Pressing his hardening bulge directly against Yoona's bare backside.
Against what was mine. Coveting the intimate flesh that only I was ever supposed to touch—
"The test is complete."
"Gasp?! Haa, haa..."
The doctor's flat voice violently shattered my delusion.
I had apparently spent the entire test in a dazed stupor, following commands on autopilot while trapped inside my own head. Snapping out of that waking nightmare left me violently sucking in air, chest heaving in ragged gasps.
Seeing cold sweat dripping down my pale face, the female doctor gave me a bizarre, sidelong glance. But that was all. Showing zero personal interest, she simply turned back to her terminal, her fingers clattering impassively across the keyboard.
Fuck... Am I really doing this?
I had made my resolve, yet a nauseating wave of anxiety shook me to my core.
For the sake of a happy marriage with Yoona. To earn a wedding that everyone would celebrate without reservation, I had thrown myself into this meat grinder. Yet here I was, wavering after barely two days.
A black swamp was creeping up, wrapping thick tendrils around my legs and pulling me under. But there was nowhere left to run. I had already made my choice.
"Alright, the preliminary physical examination is finished."
With the physical out of the way, the female doctor fastened a paper wristband around my wrist, marked with a prominent 2, much like an admission bracelet at a concert.
"Please proceed directly to the testing grounds. If there is a candidate ahead of you, wait your turn before entering the testing chamber." She offered a practiced, commercial smile. "I wish you the best of luck."
I gave a quick nod in acknowledgment of her professional courtesy and hurried out toward the next hall. Slipping my phone out of my pocket, I fired off a message to Yoona.
Seeing her immediate replies brought an overwhelming sense of relief. A quiet laugh escaped my lips as the gnawing dread finally evaporated.
If she had finished ahead of me, then that whole sickening episode really had been nothing more than my own twisted paranoid delusion. Everything had gone completely normally. The number 2 on my wrist simply meant Yoona had finished first and taken number 1.
I took a seat in the waiting area, and after a thirty-minute interval, my name was finally called over the intercom.
What followed was a grueling battery of practical assessments designed to test my eligibility for B-rank.
And when my very first official promotion evaluation came to an end...
"Failed."
I could not escape this living hell after all.