I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 109

109.

Although his tone was gruff, Seo-ah knew that Yoo Ji-ahn was actually quite kind and considerate towards her.

That kindness tugged at her heart today.

“Thank… you.”

Seo-ah barely managed to compose herself, then looked back at Yoo Ji-ahn, carefully managing her expression. And she vowed inwardly.

‘This feeling… I have to keep it to myself. Never let it be discovered.’

Even though she was now an S-class Hunter, the difference in status between Yoo Ji-ahn and Park Seo-ah was as vast as the sky and the earth.

Although Yoo Ji-ahn was kind to Seo-ah and had shown quite a few human moments recently, she didn’t think his actions stemmed from the same feelings she had.

Seo-ah couldn’t even dare to imagine it, given her current position.

Perhaps because her emotions were fluctuating, Seo-ah somehow felt the air inside the bus was a little warm.

She only thought it was warm, but Yoo Ji-ahn, somehow sensing it, opened the window on her side just a crack.

‘Could he have developed some kind of mind-reading ability?’

“…….”

Seo-ah looked at Yoo Ji-ahn questioningly, but Yoo Ji-ahn was just gazing out the window.

Seo-ah gave up trying to figure it out and leaned her head slightly against the window frame, closing her eyes against the cool breeze blowing through the opening.

‘This… is making me misunderstand things.’

***

“Here we see Yoo Ji-ahn, a Hunter from the Taeyang Guild, who successfully cleared an A-class Gate. Behind him, we can see CEO Han Seok-hyun, as well as Hunters Song Jin-ho and Yoon Ah-jung.”

Geon-woo, who had been sprawled on the hospital bed, raised his head and stared at the television screen at the mention of the Taeyang Guild.

‘My sister said she was helping with the Taeyang Guild’s work. She didn’t go there, did she? That’s an A-class Gate.’

Thinking there was a chance she might have, Geon-woo sat up and watched with wide eyes.

However, Park Seo-ah’s figure was nowhere to be seen on the screen. Geon-woo was relieved, but also anxious.

“Then where the heck did she go that she hasn’t contacted me for a month? Cough.”

Geon-woo’s grumbling tone was tinged with resentment. That was because Seo-ah hadn’t come to visit or even contacted him for a month.

On the days when he was very sick recently, he felt resentful and bitter towards Seo-ah.

People from the Taeyang Guild had come a few times and kindly taken care of Geon-woo, but that didn’t soothe his resentment.

‘Still, a large guild has good benefits. They even take care of the family of a low-level healer.’

The broadcasting station repeatedly showed scenes of hunters emerging from the A-class Gate and disembarking from the transport.

Soon, a Q&A session between the anchor and the reporter began.

“This Gate took unusually long to clear for an A-class. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“That’s right. However, according to Hunter Kim Soo-hyuk, whom we interviewed, only about a day and a half passed inside the Gate.”

“The time inside the Gate flows differently from the time outside, but why does this phenomenon occur?”

“That can be explained based on physical theories. When we travel in space….”

“Haa, what is he even saying?”

As the incomprehensible explanation continued, Geon-woo turned down the volume of the television. Then he turned his head and looked at the door that wouldn’t open.

“I was really sick, but she didn’t even show her face….”

Clack-

“Geon-woo.”

“Huh…? Sis?”

Geon-woo’s sister, Park Seo-ah, was entering through the door after a month. In her hand, she held a black bag filled with fruit.

Seo-ah put it aside and approached Geon-woo with a bright face. Geon-woo stared blankly at Seo-ah with a dazed look.

“Hehe, seeing you stare so intently, you must have missed your sister?”

As Seo-ah smiled and tried to hug Geon-woo lightly, Geon-woo quickly backed away, snapping back to reality.

“Ew, why are you being so gross!”

“Gross! What’s gross about your sister!”

“It’s gross because you’re my sister! No, move away a bit!”

Seo-ah ignored the struggling Geon-woo and finally hugged his head tightly before letting him go.

“Ugh. Where have you been? For a whole month!”

“Where else? I went to earn money. I was a bit busy.”

“Th… supporting from outside the Gate? You didn’t go to the Gangwon-do Gate, did you?”

Then Seo-ah looked at Geon-woo with a dumbfounded expression.

“That’s an A-class Gate. How could I go there?”

“Well, yeah… I thought so too. Then?”

“There are a lot of monsters appearing in Seoul these days. So there are a lot of injured hunters and civilians. Thanks to that, my workload has increased.”

“What, if you were in Seoul, you could have come at least once, right?”

As Geon-woo grumbled, Seo-ah smiled and slightly avoided Geon-woo’s gaze.

“I told you. I was busy.”

“Tch, then are you going again? When are you coming next?”

Seo-ah turned around and put the fruit in the refrigerator.

“I’m not going.”

“Huh?”

“I said I’m not going. I’ll be here for a while.”

“…….”

Seo-ah put all the fruit away, leaving only a bunch of grapes, and headed for the door with the grapes on a tray.

“I’ll wash these and come back. Let’s eat together.”

“Oh, okay.”

Geon-woo’s voice, as he answered, seemed to be slightly excited, which she didn’t dislike.

Seo-ah chuckled and came out of the door.

And as soon as she came out, she took the smile off her face and stared at the air.

[ STATE ]

[Park Seo-ah (21 years old)

Position: Supporter (S-class), Healer (E-class)

Title: Best Counselor – Unique Ability: Emotional Transference (S-class)

Life 9000/9000 Mana 7000/7000 Fatigue 1000

Stats: Strength 1000, Magic 1000, Agility 1000, Defense 1000, Stamina 1000, Mental Strength 8430

Active Skills: Recovery (LV.2), Breakthrough (LV.2), Fighting (LV.3), Love Yourself (LV.3), Ironclad Pine Tree (LV.1)

Passive Skills: Brain (LV.2), Gentle Sunlight, Silent Night

Unique Skill: Genie of the Lamp]

Seo-ah had definitely become an S-class Hunter. Although the stats except for mental strength were all the lowest of the S-class, she was definitely an S-class. New skills had also appeared.

But,

‘What good is all this?’

Seo-ah suppressed her surging emotions and trudged to the kitchenette attached to the break room.

Whirr-

Seo-ah stood in front of the sink and stared blankly at the pouring water for a moment.

Then she recalled the conversation she had with the doctor in the examination room earlier.

“Doctor, what are the results of Geon-woo’s CT scan….”

“Can you see this picture? This is a brain scan of patient Park Geon-woo.”

“What are these… black spots here?”

“Hoo, this is a really unlucky case. We thought the chemotherapy was quite effective because the tumor in his liver had shrunk.”

“But… then?”

“These black spots are brain tumors. It seems that the liver cancer… has metastasized. The dizziness and vomiting he complained of are probably due to these tumors.”

“…….”

“If metastasis has occurred in the brain, the cancer has probably already spread to the lymph nodes. In this state….”

“In this state? Doctor, what about surgery then?”

“In this state, it’s meaningless to find a matching liver and perform surgery.”

“You clearly said before that he was getting better.”

“There were no traces in the examination a month ago. It has deteriorated so much in just one month. I can only say that he is really unlucky.”

“Then what should we do now?”

“The location of the tumor in the brain is bad, so a hasty surgery could cause fatal damage. First… we can only hope that the size doesn’t get any bigger while tracking it.”

Clang-!

The iron tray fell to the floor, and the grapes scattered and rolled across the floor.

Seo-ah couldn’t even think of picking them up.

‘Why… why did I… start working as a Hunter at the Gate?’

She felt like her chest was blocked.

Her eyes turned red, but Seo-ah didn’t wail.

‘Silent Night’ was working. It was frustrating, but on the other hand, she thought it was fortunate. If she saw Geon-woo after crying her eyes out, Geon-woo would be anxious.

Ding-

At the notification sound, Seo-ah weakly took out her cell phone from her pocket and looked at the screen.

It was a deposit text message saying that the Taeyang Guild had sent the promised money.

In fact, in addition to this money, the A-class Gate clearing reward and valuable Gate byproducts were piled up in Seo-ah’s inventory.

If she sold all of this and converted it into cash, she would have earned quite a large sum.

But, what good is it all?

‘They… can’t do surgery.’

Seo-ah bit her lower lip as she looked at the text message.

Eventually, the tears that had been welling up fell in drops. Seo-ah covered her face with her palm and sobbed silently.

‘Is there really, no way at all?’

After a while, when she took her palm away, Seo-ah suddenly felt like the break room had become a little darker.

With an ominous feeling, Seo-ah slowly turned her head and looked towards the window. There, a large, bright yellow flower was covering the entire window.

[End of Part 1]