Chapter 61
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Facing Each Other
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A blue light flickered in the darkness.
It was prime time for streaming, but after a long while, she'd posted an announcement about taking a break and was sorting through her thoughts.
As Ga-eun's finger swiped down the phone screen, fragments of past times scrolled by.
A capture from a relatively recent stream.
Even to her own eyes, there were so many ridiculous scenes.
A clip of her screaming as she tripped and fell.
A moment where she was mashing the controller frantically without even breathing.
Her holding a paper sword and demanding sponsorships from viewers.
"Pfft..."
Memories flowed backward once more.
This screen showed a scene from when she was still a small-time streamer.
Before going independent, the room and setup were shabby, and everything looked amateurish in every way.
In a rundown corner of the room, her youthful face.
Pouring her heart out in front of the blinking webcam.
The fear mixed with tension, the thrill of her first donation.
And the connections she'd built along the way.
Viewers, No.1 Slave, No.2 Slave, Da-hye unnie.
"......"
Her people, every moment.
It had been tough, but they were the rare few who saw her true self.
A small smile crept onto Ga-eun's lips as she recalled those times.
But when she looked away from the screen, uncomfortable memories not captured in photos came flooding back.
Faces of people who'd stuck to her like "C-rank Hunter prospect" Lee Ga-eun flashed by. In their eyes, it wasn't Ga-eun they saw, but only the title of "prospect."
Those hot gazes full of expectation.
But when she gave up the hunter path, those gazes turned ice-cold.
The most painful part was that her parents' eyes had been among those cold stares.
Disappointment and anger toward their daughter clinging to streaming.
Days of constant opposition and clashes, with no help at all.
Days when she couldn't resist much due to the chains of being a minor.
A shadow fell over Ga-eun's face. Unlike the happy self on the screen, she remembered how much worry and pain had really been there.
At that moment, the phone screen went dark.
Ga-eun's gloomy expression faintly reflected back at her.
"......Hunter."
The word slipped out, and a heavy weight settled in her chest.
The job she'd obsessively rejected.
Truth be told, she didn't hate the hunter profession itself...
Ga-eun let out a deep sigh.
She knew that now, with those hyena-like people gone, there was no more reason to fear.
But the emotions already ingrained in her couldn't be helped.
Like Pavlov's dog, just hearing "hunter" triggered instinctive wariness.
As she stared at the blank phone screen.
Bzzz-
The phone vibrated.
[Caller: Su-hyeon]
The newest pure relationship, one that needed no mask.
Ga-eun hesitated for a moment before answering.
"Hello..."
She tried not to show it, but her voice came out hoarse.
"Were you sleeping?"
"No, just lying down. What's up?"
"Oh, um, it's streaming time but you're not on, so I was wondering what you were doing."
Pfft-
She was still awkward at making excuses.
"I had some things to think about, so I decided to take a day off."
"Because of the hunter thing?"
Not the military, but hunter.
She must think Ga-eun wouldn't give up streaming.
In truth, to keep streaming now, that was the only option left.
"......Yeah."
"I see... Actually, I have something to talk about related to that. Can you come out for a bit? I'm near your place right now."
"Huh? You came all the way here? We'll see each other tomorrow in class anyway."
"Well... I just wanted to tell you as soon as possible?"
Her emotions were honestly, purely glad.
"Heh, okay. When should I head out?"
"Hm, no need. I'm almost there—just come down whenever you're ready."
The call ended, and Ga-eun got up.
She ran her fingers through her messy hair and put on a cap.
Throwing a baseball jacket over her tank top, she finished getting ready to go out.
Ding-dong-
-I'm on the first floor.
As the door opened and Ga-eun stepped onto the first floor, she immediately spotted a strange sight.
'...?'
Outside the lobby entrance, light green hair hopping up and down with both hands raised high.
The first floor led past the security booth to the lobby entrance.
One wall of the security booth visible from inside the building was made of transparent glass up top, allowing residents to see in as they passed.
You'd make eye contact with the security guard ajusshi when entering the lobby and nod in greeting—that kind of setup.
The security ajusshi dozing inside the booth, and below him, Su-hyeon desperately trying to get noticed.
'She could just press the call button. Oh, the height...'
She could barely reach the door button, but sadly, the lobby keypad was out of reach.
"Heh heh heh..."
It was unfortunate for Su-hyeon, but even if the guard had woken up, he'd only see her hand and the top of her head from the booth.
Soon, whether giving up or exhausted, she stopped jumping.
The leaf attached to the back of her head drooped pitifully.
Vrrr-
"Heh, what are you doing?"
"Ah."
See, she saw...
Su-hyeon's green eyes trembled slightly as she looked at Ga-eun.
The two arrived at a nearby cafe.
"One Americano and one banana cream frappuccino!"
Clink-
"So, what did you want to talk about at this hour?"
Ga-eun said as she set down her glass.
Clink-
Su-hyeon set her cup down as well and spoke.
"I might need to apologize to you."
She had a serious expression, but the whipped cream on her cheek ruined the mood entirely.
Still, she should play along.
"Apologize? What are you apologizing for now? You're just putting on airs like that confession thing before, right?"
"No, this time—mmph!"
She frantically wiped her cheek with a napkin, cutting off her words.
"No, that was important too! You just took it casually!"
"Hm, did I?"
As Su-hyeon pushed the napkin away, Ga-eun pulled back her arm.
Su-hyeon gathered her emotions again and got to the point.
"Phew, about why your rank suddenly went up recently... I think it might be my fault."
"Oh, yeah... Yeah?"
"So, according to Brüel, I'm just drawing in mana from around me, and awakeners increase their power by using and replenishing mana with their abilities... Mmph!"
"I-is that something you can just talk about anywhere?"
"Murr?"
Su-hyeon finally realized the problem, her eyes widening.
Fortunately, no one around seemed to have overheard.
Ga-eun sighed and slowly lowered her hand.
"Where do you even keep your brain?"
"Sorry, it just slipped out..."
Su-hyeon hung her head low, furtively scratching the table with her finger.
She'd come to apologize, but instead made a foolish mistake, looking all downcast.
Ga-eun watched her and felt her lips curve up slightly.
So timid and clumsy, but that honest sincerity melted her heart.
Coming here so unprepared was probably because the moment she learned the truth, she blamed herself and rushed over to apologize.
"Lift your head a bit."
At Ga-eun's words, Su-hyeon slowly raised her head.
Her gaze still pointed at the floor.
"Why are you sorry?"
"But if it weren't for me, you wouldn't have to worry about the military or a hunter job you hate."
"......Do you know why I started streaming?"
Ga-eun asked suddenly.
"...Because you didn't want to be a hunter? Or because streaming suited you?"
She'd mentioned fighting with her parents over it and going independent before.
"No? I didn't really care if it was hunter or soldier."
"Huh...?"
"Third year of middle school, when I got my C-rank awakener rating—the place went nuts."
Unlike ambiguous letters, C-rank had an impressive reputation.
Excluding cautious, low-number A and S-ranks, B-rank hunters were the main force in gate raids.
C-ranks were the next elite tier.
And she'd awakened as C-rank at 16?
Considering C-rank was what untalented hunters barely reached with all their effort, one could imagine Ga-eun's evaluation back then.
"At first, I loved it too? Mom and Dad, teachers all praising me, friends hyping me up, even strangers approaching to get close, watching my mood... After school, random ajusshis always trying to hand me business cards. Felt like a queen."
Ga-eun shrugged, then gave a wry smile.
"But gradually, it got weird."
That atmosphere persisted even into high school.
One day at school, her mistake caused a friend to trip and get hurt.
Blood flowing from the fall.
Startled, Ga-eun tried to apologize, but the surroundings laughed at the sight.
"What surprised me more was that the girl wasn't upset at all. She laughed it off like she was the clumsy one and apologized to me. 'Sorry? I startled you, right?'"
"......"
"Then a school violence incident blew up soon after. Turns out the bully name-dropped me."
He'd bragged about knowing who she hung out with, threatening to bury them if they talked.
...She didn't even know the bully's name.
Different classes, just exchanging greetings in the hall if she spoke first—that was it. Yet he'd used her name to throw his weight around.
"That guy's the bad one..."
Su-hyeon clenched her fist unconsciously.
Cowardly and a fraud to boot. Triple evil bastard.
"Yeah, I don't blame myself. Anyway, I went straight to his class and wrecked it. Everyone knew—students, teachers. Smashed desks, blackboard, everything until the room was unusable."
Ga-eun mimed slamming her fist down viciously, reliving it.
"Uh, um, that was badass..."
"Hmph, no need to force the cover. I was mad, sure, but I half did it on purpose."
"Huh, on purpose...?"
Ga-eun laughed hollowly and continued.
"Yeah, to see how the adults would react. But they called me in and said to let it go? 'Our Ga-eun is destined for B-rank, maybe even A! Can't have scandals.' The principal even apologized to me and told me to trust them."
Adults proud of her, as if owing her a debt.
Like hopping on a surefire coin investment?
"......"
"That's when I realized. Ah, I'm a guaranteed future cash cow. These people don't see me as Lee Ga-eun, but as 'C-rank Hunter Prospect.'"
Ga-eun cast her eyes downward.
"Then I stumbled on streaming by chance. Seeing people laugh, chat, get mad with real feelings—it looked so enviable."
"Ah..."
"I worried at first, but viewers cared more about my looks than my C-rank, so it was hilarious."
Ga-eun giggled innocently for a moment.
"I even asked once. 'Guys, I'm a C-rank awakener—aren't you curious? Streaming instead of hunting?' They said stuff like 'Does that rank up my something?', 'Uncle OO next door was B-rank', 'What're you on about mid-stream?', 'Dunno, but looks bigger than C-cup.' Keh heh!"
"Uh......"
The last one was straight-up sexual harassment.
"I know it sounds like harassment to others, but back then... Ah, but it got me an editor?"
She'd sued a viewer for especially bad harassment, and he pulled a dogeza in front of the station, claiming he didn't know she was a minor.
"So I got hooked on streaming, declared I wouldn't be a hunter and would live off it—and everyone's gazes totally changed. As the channel grew, money came in, I had to pay the kids' salaries, taxes and stuff piled up. Parents opposed, and as a minor, I couldn't do much."
She'd nearly quit streaming then.
Taxes weren't handled right relative to income, causing losses.
There were times she couldn't even pay editors, but they kept working, calling themselves slaves.
"Then I met Da-hye unnie."
"Ah, that roundhouse kick machine."
"Yeah, I was doing a night stream feeling down, and some drunk guy flipped a street vendor cart and yelled at a woman. Funny thing, she didn't say a word back."
"Considering that lawyer's personality, makes sense..."
"Heh, but the guy was an awakener—smashed everything with his legs."
The rest was predictable.
Ga-eun beat him down cleanly instead, viewers cheered, and her nickname Silga-nu was born...
But the footage was too graphic, and with her C-rank status out, she faced a backlash risk.
Luckily, Da-hye stepped up, turned public opinion, and joined the team to repay the favor, solving many issues.
The corporation was under Da-hye's name now; Ga-eun wasn't legally an adult yet, but they'd transfer it gradually after her birthday.
"Actually a blessing. I'm grateful to her."
"Y-yeah... True."
Ga-eun smiled softly at the sheepish, agreeing Su-hyeon.
"Anyway, no reason to fear becoming a hunter anymore. Can't stream in the military anyway, so no choice."
What she'd feared wasn't military or hunter life, but losing people who saw the real her.
"Now I have viewers, staff, and you. Just old memories bugged me. Not even old—still cold war with Mom and Dad."
Her finger unconsciously traced the rim of her glass.
Silence fell between them for a moment, only the cafe's background music playing softly.
"Thanks, Su-hyeon. For being my friend—it's given me strength."
Her expression looked relieved, like a long-burdened weight lifted.