Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Magazine Launch Buzz
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Yeon-hwa's messages were so unlike her usual self that they caught me off guard.
In a word... they were surprisingly lively.
[Ha Yeon-hwa: Seo-hyun, thank you so much. I'm not great at face-to-face talks normally, but you kept being so considerate... It made me really happy!]
[Ha Yeon-hwa: If it's not too rude, can I message you like this more often?]
[Yoon Seo-hyun: Of course. Feel free to contact me anytime. The agency director title just makes me feel like a mascot anyway.]
[Ha Yeon-hwa: Hehe, okay then!! I'll do that!!]
But this wasn't all that shocking.
I'd already seen the kinds of posts she made on community sites plenty of times.
And... sure enough.
Today, she was posting a bunch of nonsense again.
[I had the most delicious blood today]
I had no idea blood could taste this good;;
I don't think I can drink any other blood now?
Goodbye, animal blood...
From now on, every day is luxury supreme-grade blood delivery...!
-? What's up with her?
- No idea lol
- Must be something good
- But no more animal blood? She's always talking about drinking that.
- No need anymore... lololol
- Good for her
As expected, she bragged right away.
For some reason, it even seemed cute. Even though she's three years older than me, like a big sister.
Well, I should gradually lower the psychological barrier by meeting up with Yeon-hwa more. Then maybe she'll treat me more comfortably too.
People like that feel even more awkward if you tell them to be casual.
Gotta go naturally, naturally.
And speaking of which, maybe it's time for me to start breaking down some walls with certain underclassmen.
Like Si-hyun, for example.
Well... pretty soon we'll have that academic field trip anyway, so I should just tell the underclassmen I know to treat me casually then.
They're social butterflies, so they'll get the hint if I act chill.
By the way... what was tomorrow's lecture again.
I checked the lecture schedule and assignments. Fortunately, no group projects had started yet.
Of course, that's only for now.
Give it a little more time, and a barrage of endless group assignments will probably rain down.
At least the Department Head's Modern Literature class has no group work, but word is the other subjects still do... so another horror story might unfold soon.
Though, who knows how many people will actually try that nonsense with me now.
Honestly, I had no intention of quietly taking on all the work this time.
I'll take the lead, sure, but I'll make sure roles are clearly divided so I'm not stuck doing everything alone.
Back then, I'd just swallow the frustration and do it, but no need for that now.
I have underclassmen I know now, so they won't ignore me.
Hell, it's funny worrying about this after becoming a dragon.
The agency's director fretting not over mutant crimes but college assignments.
Anyone hearing this might call it slacking off... but what can you do.
The government put me—a guy focused on college life—in the director's seat.
And it's not slacking anyway.
There are hardly any mutants, and mutant-related crimes are extremely rare.
That rare few crimes cost a fortune, so me drawing a salary isn't an issue.
A single mutant causing destruction racks up astronomical repair bills.
Even a Minotaur-type Mutant flipping asphalt wastes tons of tax money—what about worse ones?
If some lunatic pulls that after all my threats, their guts must be hanging out, so the scale would be huge.
I'm just preventing that waste and pocketing a bit of what would've been spent.
In short, my mere existence saves taxes.
So focusing on college life is fine.
Anyway, I hope this group project draws normal members.
Wouldn't it be great if everyone just did their part and wrapped it up.
No embarrassing moments either.
I finished prepping for lectures and knocking out minor assignments around then.
That's when I got a call from Jin-ha.
-Hey, Seo-hyun? It's Seo Jin-ha.
"Ah, yes. Jin-ha, what's up?"
-The magazine's done. It'll hit stores tomorrow.
"Huh, fashion magazines usually wrap up that fast?"
-Hehe, no way. Everyone rushed deadlines to ride this issue's wave.
"Issue?"
-The dragon that appeared smack in the middle of Seoul.
"Ah."
Hearing Jin-ha explain, I instantly understood why the magazine was out so quick.
I'd have pushed the deadline hard too.
I'm already the center of attention, and a dragon as a magazine model? People would go nuts.
Plus, youngest agency director ever... public interest would be massive.
Any magazine ignoring that would be stupid.
-Who wouldn't cash in on that buzz? Especially with the dragon as model.
"True..."
-So they pulled all-nighters on all-nighters till I gave final approval. Amazing speed all around. Never seen anything like it in all my work.
Jin-ha sounded genuinely pleased.
"You seem happy?"
-Of course. The outfit you wore is one of my masterpieces. And not just you...
"Ah, Seo-ah too."
-Yes. Seo-ah showed such overwhelming presence for a newbie face—Ella's response to this issue will be huge.
...Honestly, this might blow up more for Seo-ah than me.
She didn't even tell her department I'm her sister to avoid hassle.
I wrapped up the call with Jin-ha appropriately, then called Seo-ah over right away.
"Hey, Yoon Seo-ah!"
"What?"
"Magazine drops tomorrow."
"What magazine?"
"You know, the modeling shoot we did."
"Oh, Ella?"
"Yeah, that."
"Already?"
"So they say. Timing it for max buzz off my issue."
"Ah... can't blame them. But so what?"
"So? You'll be swamped starting tomorrow—watch out."
"Why would I... Oh, right. We appear together, don't we?"
"Probably with some sister angle in the text."
Seo-ah's face showed faint dismay at my words.
"Didn't think of that... Tsk, tomorrow's gonna suck for department life."
She clicked her tongue, saying her college routine would get annoying.
"What can you do now? Just roll with it. Oh, and this."
Next, I handed her the brooch Yeon-hwa made.
"What's this?"
"For protection in emergencies."
"Huh?"
"I'm the Eradication Agency director, right? Got it from a mutant working with the agency. If danger hits, it'll protect you."
"This? How?"
"When you're in danger, a blood-drop bat appears and puts the attacker in temporary cardiac arrest."
My sister freaked out.
"Temporary cardiac arrest...? Not just kill them?"
"No, 'temporary.' Not killing—just fainting."
"That's still sketchy... You want me wearing this?"
"You never know what might happen. Keep it on you always. Pin it to one of the outfits from Jin-ha or something."
"...Fine."
Handed off the brooch to sis fine... Now to give to classmates and parents.
Anyway... Curious how people at school react tomorrow.
Though it might be overblown. How many even read fashion mags.
* * *
And the next day.
I couldn't help stopping when Ella magazine popped up on the TV news I flicked on casually.
"...Huh?"
Seo-ah, who'd looked over wondering what was up, also froze seeing Ella's cover on TV.
You know how news covers netizen reactions and internet buzz.
But why the hell was Ella magazine there.
-This is... surprising. Not sure when Ella pulled off this coup. Here's the hottest dragon-type Mutant and her sister as models.
I might wonder why news covers it... but then I realized Ella's aggressive marketing.
Of course they'd blast it everywhere online.
Seeing that, I told Seo-ah.
"No more quiet department life for you."
"Ah."
A low sigh of annoyance finally escaped her.
Her eyes dimmed a bit.
Told you—should've expected this from the shoot.
"Not so bad, right? You'll be the department star."
"Sis, wanna get hit?"
"Why blame me? You agreed to the shoot."
"...I must've been crazy."
"Too late now—might as well enjoy. Sign autographs for the fans jumping in too."
Seo-ah sighed at my words.
"I'd rather die than deal. Sigh, fine. No choice. Should've brought classmates to your fire show in the park last time."
"Wanna do it again later?"
"...Please spare me that."