I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 128

128.

“Huh? What did you say…?”

Baek Eun-hee’s voice gradually lowered.

Seo-ah glanced at her, and Baek Eun-hee went to the corner and whispered. But everyone here was an S-class hunter, so there was no way they couldn’t hear her, even if she whispered.

Not only Baek Eun-hee’s voice, but also Seo Ah-hyun’s voice coming from the phone could be heard.

“When did I spend that much?”

– You commissioned ten taming requests a while ago. That’s a total of 10 billion [Korean currency, roughly equivalent to millions of USD], and you also purchased a large quantity of training weapons… Anyway, this month is over the limit. No more.

“No, but I need it urgently now. Can’t you do something?”

– If you’re talking about unnie’s [term for older sister or female friend] personal money, you spent it all last week coating the entire Splinter with Forklyrium….

“…….”

Baek Eun-hee, who was always confident, showed a rare moment of shrinking in front of money.

The Maker, who was watching from the side, openly sneered.

“So you came here and made a fuss even though you don’t have any money?”

Of course, even saying that, Seo-ah’s item that she just paid for was over 1 billion [Korean currency].

The Maker picked up the boots she had brought, as if there was nothing more to hear.

Then Baek Eun-hee hung up the phone and rushed over.

“Wait a minute, Maker. Why are you doing this between us?”

“What, you said you don’t have money?”

“Oh, come on, it’s not like I really don’t have money. What do you think of our Royal Guild? It’s just temporarily tied up. I can give it to you right away next month.”

Baek Eun-hee’s voice, which had been prickly until just now, became more and more gentle.

“Are you perhaps asking for credit now?”

“Yes, please, Maker.”

It was quite confident for someone asking for a favor. But the Maker was adamant.

“Absolutely not. What, I’ve never seen anyone ask for items on credit before.”

“Oh, Maker. It’s not like we’re trading for a day or two. Can’t you give me just this one on credit?”

“I can’t! I need to get paid on time to pay for the material costs this month.”

Seo-ah looked at the two of them with difficulty.

It was unexpected that she didn’t have money, but after listening, it made sense. More than that, she couldn’t bear to see Baek Eun-hee having to ask the Maker for a favor because of her item.

She shouldn’t have bought those shoes, but Seo-ah thought they were quite good.

Seo-ah bit her lower lip slightly and carefully opened her mouth.

“Um, excuse me….”

At Seo-ah’s small voice, the two who were still bickering turned to Seo-ah at the same time.

“Huh? Seo-ah, don’t worry. I’ll persuade this money-grubbing aunt.”

“Ha, I’m really speechless.”

“Ah, no! Um, please pay with this!”

Seo-ah hurriedly took out a black card from her inventory and handed it to the Maker.

It was the card she had received from Yoo Ji-an. She felt very guilty for using such a large amount of money after saying she would never use it, but wasn’t it given to her to use anyway?

She comforted herself that she had saved it for times like this.

‘I, I’ll pay it back… I don’t know how long it will take.’

The Maker took the card and examined it, then smiled.

“You’re putting on quite a show.”

“What is this? Whose is it?”

Without answering Baek Eun-hee’s question, the Maker swiped the card through the terminal. A normal beep- sound rang.

“How much is it…?”

“Doesn’t really matter, does it? It’s not your money anyway.”

“I’ll pay it back, for sure.”

“Really? It’s only 200 million gold.”

“…….”

Seo-ah couldn’t say anything as she watched the Maker attach ‘only’ to the enormous number.

Baek Eun-hee snatched the card from the Maker’s hand and said.

“This is Yoo Ji-an’s.”

“Oh, yes. That’s right.”

“Oh, good! Let’s use it to our heart’s content on this occasion. Consumables and… is there anything else you need?”

Baek Eun-hee looked excited, holding Yoo Ji-an’s card in her hand as if she had a magic wand.

But Seo-ah hurriedly took the card from Baek Eun-hee’s hand.

“Ah, no…!”

She already felt like her soul was draining away just from the price of the shoes, so she couldn’t do any more.

Baek Eun-hee didn’t push her any further, perhaps she was just teasing Seo-ah. However, she seemed a little disappointed that she couldn’t buy everything for her.

“If you’ve bought everything, get out of here! I’m so tired!”

“Are you very tired? Have you had any concerns recently…?”

When Seo-ah asked carefully, the Maker seemed to say something but waved her hand.

“What concerns? I’d be happy if I didn’t see you guys! Get lost quickly.”

“Let’s go, Seo-ah.”

Baek Eun-hee didn’t even respond to the Maker, who she had no more business with. The two had a truly strange relationship.

“Goodbye, Maker.”

As Seo-ah politely bowed to the Maker and turned around, the Maker said to her back as if she had just remembered.

“Oh, and tell her I received Ignis’s Heart well.”

“Yes?”

Before Seo-ah could answer, the Maker turned around and quickly left through another exit.

“Let’s go, Seo-ah.”

Seo-ah hurried out of the exit with Baek Eun-hee, as she could be trapped forever if she stayed in a place without an owner for too long.

When she entered, it was the Maker’s house, but when she came out, it was in the middle of Seoul.

As if she expected it, Baek Eun-hee familiarly called a car.

The roads were deserted because it was dark dawn, so the car came quickly.

“Where is Seo-ah’s accommodation? Let’s go to the Royal Guild today.”

“Oh… yes, I will.”

Before she could answer, Baek Eun-hee put Seo-ah in the car. She couldn’t refuse because she had received so much from Baek Eun-hee today.

“Thank you today, unnie. No, I’m always grateful. I don’t know when it will be, but I’ll pay you back someday.”

Baek Eun-hee smiled kindly as usual and held Seo-ah’s hand tightly.

“You being safe is my reward.”

Seo-ah stared at Baek Eun-hee.

Baek Eun-hee’s affinity was level 4, the same as Yoo Ji-an’s. She used [Emotional Transference] thinking about what her wish might be.

But most of them were ordinary emotions, and [Genie of the Lamp] did not appear.

‘Eun-hee unnie is perfect in herself, so she might not have any wishes.’

She was a little disappointed that there were no wishes to grant, but she understood perfectly.

Then Seo-ah realized that she had to say hello to Yoo Ji-an as well.

It was a bit awkward to call with Baek Eun-hee next to her, so she sent a text message. She wrote in detail about what kind of item she happened to buy, but suddenly became embarrassed.

She deleted everything and wrote again.

‘200 million gold….’

It was a huge amount that made her eyes roll, but Seo-ah was also an S-class hunter.

She might be able to pay it back if she went on a few raids.

‘My hunter life will be a little longer.’

Thinking that, Seo-ah looked out the window. The bright streets of Seoul at dawn quickly passed by.

***

Time passed, and it was the day before the raid. Today was the day when the S-class hunters participating in the raid gathered for a strategy meeting.

There was still time until the meeting, so Seo-ah sat in a nearby cafe, organizing her scheduler and spending time.

“Today’s hospital bill is 1,234,500 won [Korean currency, roughly equivalent to USD $1,000]….”

She also briefly wrote down her expenses along with her schedule. Roughly, she had about 70 million won [Korean currency, roughly equivalent to USD $70,000] that she had earned from previous raids.

But since she was covering all the hospital bills without insurance, it was quickly dwindling.

‘It’s okay, this much is fine.’

Still, she used to have no money at all and was just digging in the ground, so she felt much more comfortable than before.

Seo-ah raised her head and stared blankly outside for a moment when someone carefully approached and spoke to her.

“Um… hello?”

When she turned around, it was a man she didn’t know at all. He looked to be in his mid to late thirties.

“Yes? Who are you?”

When Seo-ah asked, the man quickly took out a business card from his wallet and handed it to her.

“I am the head of the planning department at M Entertainment. Have you ever thought about becoming a celebrity?”

“A celebrity? What would I do.”

Seeing Seo-ah shaking her head at the unexpected suggestion, the man shook his hands more vigorously.

“What are you talking about! You’re ready to debut right now. My eye for talent is accurate. I’ve debuted Shin Man-ah, Song Ye-gyo, Han So-i….”

Hearing the names of prominent and beautiful actresses, Seo-ah became suspicious of the man. Is he a scammer?

“I’m sorry, but I’m really not interested.”

“Ah, that’s a shame. Isn’t it a waste to waste such beauty?”

What on earth is he talking about.

As Seo-ah was making a dumbfounded expression, a large, bear-like man who looked familiar appeared.

“Hey, what are you doing now? Get lost.”

The man, who was the head of the agency, hesitated at the slightly threatening appearance. Of course, he didn’t give up while retreating.

“If you’re interested, call the number on that business card!”

After the man left, Seo-ah looked at the bear-like man who suddenly appeared and her eyes widened.

“Ah, that Choi Eun-gyeol hunter….”

“…’s manager.”

He pointed to the van parked in front of the cafe with a nod. Then the window of the van went down, and Alex, that is, Choi Eun-gyeol, wearing sunglasses, waved slightly at Seo-ah.