Back to the PC Bang Grind
“Those of you who got caught up in this, come over here!”
“May I have your name, please?”
Ah, seriously.
She roughly tied the blood-soaked tracksuit top around her waist and slipped away from the scene as quickly as possible.
Right after clearing the dungeon and stepping outside, the full-scale investigation had kicked off. Yul had zero interest in heading to the Hunter Management Bureau's post-incident support division for an interview.
Tomorrow's the ticketing day... I've already burned through way more energy today than I had.
She desperately needed some rest at home.
That was when she subtly ducked under the police line.
“Th-that was my café...!”
“The bureau's post-incident support division will cover the compensation for building damage. Your name, please...”
A woman who looked like the café owner was tearfully talking to a hunter.
Wonder if the payout will be generous enough.
Constellation ‘Blind Sovereign of the Sky’ shrugs and says that's for them to handle.
What... It's not like I can help with that anyway.
Yul absently rubbed the back of her neck.
Still, the compensation wouldn't be a total joke these days. They even covered therapy costs now.
Glancing back once, she darted into an alley and sprinted straight home.
Bam.
The front door slammed shut with a thunderous boom.
Yul kicked off her shoes and melted into the living room floor like gooey cheese.
“Things have been way too hectic lately, don't you think...?”
Constellation ‘Blind Sovereign of the Sky’ says it was cool seeing our Yul beat everything down after so long, and blushes.
“Ugh.”
Yul groaned.
This was definitely going to make the news again. She could already feel the annoyance piling up.
Ah, the CCTV... It's probably smashed to bits, but I should still ask someone to handle it.
If Ryu Shin-ah were in Korea, she wouldn't even need to bother, but he was out of town right now.
Yul squirmed around, pulled out her phone, and started typing.
Starlight Café... Café.... Handle the CCTV pls.
The tapping of her keys echoed through the house: tap tap tap.
Once the message sent, Yul smooshed her face back against the floor.
“...Star-nim, wake me up later, okay?”
Constellation ‘Blind Sovereign of the Sky’ panics, saying you'll catch a cold sleeping there.
But Yul had already closed her eyes.
And as expected—as was par for the course—this incident birthed yet another news article.
Something like The Return of the Lee Seonjwa: Consecutive Heroics.
Meanwhile, there were some unexpected folks who'd been waiting for the gate closure news.
“Article's up. Situation's wrapped.”
“For real? Thank goodness.”
“Let's practice. No more building shakes, so we're good now.”
The blond Han Jun-yeol's words to his manager over the phone drew nods from the others.
They were the members of Double Black Label, who'd paused practice earlier due to the faint tremors rocking the building.
Park Sa-ha wiped the last of his sweat and checked his phone.
A familiar—and favorite—name jumped out from the article headline he'd peeked at just in case.
He buried his face in his hands to stifle the grin creeping out.
“Uh, why's Sa-ha hyung acting like that?”
“What's up? Weird comments?”
At Han Jun-yeol's question, the leader hurried over.
Park Sa-ha shook his head vigorously and set his phone down.
“Let's practice, quick. The hunters worked hard to sort it out.”
“What's with the sudden motivation?”
“Yeah, Sa-ha hyung's not usually the type to cheer that brightly...”
Park Sa-ha wasn't as soft as big bro Seo In-ah, but he wasn't exactly fluffy either.
Sure, he had no walls up with the members and never slacked on practice, but still...
“...Obvious who it is, duh.”
Seo In-ah muttered as he swept back his sweat-dampened bangs.
That's the face of someone who's head over heels.
Anyway, good vibes were good vibes, so all five dove back in with renewed fire.
The Hunter Management Bureau director, however...
“...Ranking 1 was sighted?”
“Yes. According to testimony from post-incident support...”
“Haa...”
His face drained of color at the undeniable proof of the real Lee Seonjwa's appearance.
It seemed the moment he'd braced for was arriving sooner than expected.
The long-awaited next day—two days after the impersonation fiasco began, and pre-sale ticketing day.
Constellation ‘Blind Sovereign of the Sky’ urges you to hurry to the PC bang.
Strongly recommends wrapping this up quick and storming that ant nest called the Management Bureau.
Her constellation was fired up from the morning.
Still half-asleep, Yul nodded off as she dragged herself out of bed.
She threw on one of her lined-up tracksuits from the closet and stepped out the front door like always.
Clunk.
Hearing the iron gate shut behind her, Yul checked the time.
10:59 AM.
It started at 2 PM today, same as before.
“Ryu Shin told us to wait. He'll be here tomorrow anyway, so let's hold off till then.”
Constellation ‘Blind Sovereign of the Sky’ pouts, saying our Yul doesn't need to listen to some lowly creature.
“Still, he's better at planning than me.”
Constellation ‘Blind Sovereign of the Sky’ falls briefly silent, then yells that our Yul is the absolute best.
“Huh, what was that silence about?”
Yul roughly tidied her hair.
Her soft, wavy black bob caught on her fingers.
Morning sunlight bathed her dark locks warmly.
She'd only meant to nap a bit, but ended up sleeping straight through till night.
Thanks to that, I stayed up till dawn bingeing series with Star-nim, crashed again at sunrise...
She hadn't opened her eyes at the front door till nearly midnight.
Skipped dinner, obviously, forcing an all-nighter marathon with her constellation.
Yul glanced down at her outfit.
Her usual dark blue tracksuit was in the wash from yesterday's mess, so today it was purple.
She recalled her first time hitting the news.
Her black bob and casual wear had been captured perfectly—would anyone recognize her? She'd worried.
But no need for Ryu Shin-ah's help; it sorted itself.
Curly black bobs numbered in the thousands just in Seoul alone, and tracksuits were peak comfy wear.
Even gender was hard to pin: early on, her ~164cm height fueled the “Lee Seonjwa is female” theory.
Problem was, among top Korean rankers, one guy was exactly 160cm.
The public, burned by that precedent on height exceptions, stayed mum this time too (that hunter was very sensitive about it).
So ordinary it was ironically hard to distinguish.
Or so she'd thought...
I overlooked how easy it'd be to copy.
Yul let out a small yawn.
As she walked steadily, snippets of passerby chatter drifted by.
“No follow-up from the bureau?”
“Nah. But sighting inside yesterday's gate too.”
“Again? Check the boards—impact level in two days is insane.”
“Our hunter average skyrockets thanks to them alone. Duh. How many top-rankers we got besides Lee Seonjwa?”
All about Yul.
...They're probably just dungeon-crawling anyway. Should I really leave 'em be?
Constellation ‘Blind Sovereign of the Sky’ freaks out, asking what that means.
Constellation ‘Blind Sovereign of the Sky’ insists we must shrink their swollen livers back to size.
No, not that far...
Can't even joke around.
Yul suddenly wondered if other constellations were this indulgent with their contractors.
...Doesn't seem like it, from what Ryu Shin's like.
Ryu Shin-ah was always yelling at his own constellation.
If it appeared in person, they'd probably be rolling on the floor grabbing each other's collars.
He raged about a scam contract, but to Yul, they seemed two peas in a pod.
Tap.
Before she knew it, Yul stopped in front of the PC bang.
Something welled up in her dark-circled black eyes.
World's Strongest Comeback Welcome PC Bang
“...”
They changed it already?
The sign swapped in under 24 hours made her seriously suspect the owner had ordered two banners from the start.
Constellation ‘Blind Sovereign of the Sky’ rages that that's not our Yul and stomps the floor.
Ignoring her constellation's markedly different reaction from two days ago, Yul headed inside.
“Hell... oh, you're way too chill.”
“Oh, Yul's here!”
The owner's face lit up like a fluorescent bulb.
“Missed you the other day, huh?”
“Yeah. General tickets are still something.”
“You'll get 'em today for sure! Fighting!”
Yul bowed her head and claimed her usual spot.
Today, she would snag a seat.
Her black eyes blazed with determination.
Constellation ‘Blind Sovereign of the Sky’ waves a cheering stick, saying you'll nail it today for sure.
...You actually got one?
Yul stuck out her tongue at the status window message.
Guess that cheering stick comment two days ago wasn't empty talk.
Star-nim's execution was on point, as always...
She opened multiple tabs and leaned back in her chair.
Plenty of time left—she'd wait a bit.
How much time passed like that?
The clock ticked smoothly forward.
KABOOM—!!
A massive explosion rocked from outside the window.