I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 163

163.

After Kang Su-jeong and Noh Yun-ji left, Seo-ah got up as well.

‘Could he be here? It’s daytime, so maybe he’s out?’

With that thought, she glanced towards the elevator and saw the floor number descending.

Seo-ah sensed with her magic power that there were two people inside. One was A-rank, and the other’s power level was unreadable.

Not being able to read someone’s power meant either they were a civilian with no magic power at all, or someone so strong that she couldn’t gauge their strength.

And in this building, there was only one person stronger than the S-rank Seo-ah.

A flicker of anticipation sparked in Seo-ah’s eyes.

Soon, the elevator doors opened, and Han Seok-hyun and Yoo Ji-an stepped out.

Yoo Ji-an had likely sensed Seo-ah’s presence before the doors even opened. He probably detected her with his magic power as well.

The first to greet her was Han Seok-hyun.

“Oh, Hunter Park Seo-ah, what brings you here?”

“Hello, I was just meeting with Su-jeong for a bit.”

As she spoke, Seo-ah looked towards Yoo Ji-an. Yoo Ji-an’s expression seemed unchanged.

‘So it’s just me…’

“Why?”

Yoo Ji-an asked bluntly, noticing Seo-ah’s gaze.

“Just a moment, there’s something I wanted to ask.”

Seo-ah glanced at Han Seok-hyun, who understood and spoke first.

“Ji-an, I’ll head back first. Take your time.”

Yoo Ji-an nodded, and Han Seok-hyun left. With just the two of them, a brief silence settled.

“Um…”

Seo-ah awkwardly began.

Even amidst this, many people were passing through the TaeYang Guild lobby.

She hadn’t noticed the attention when she was in the café with Kang Su-jeong and Noh Yun-ji, but being with Yoo Ji-an, she definitely felt like she was the center of attention.

It wasn’t just Seo-ah who was conscious of the attention; Yoo Ji-an glanced around once and then asked Seo-ah.

“Are you busy?”

“Ah, no.”

“Then let’s go up.”

Yoo Ji-an held out his hand to Seo-ah. Caught off guard, Seo-ah raised her hand, and Yoo Ji-an firmly grasped it.

‘Oh, oh…?’

Of course, holding hands wasn’t a big deal considering they had kissed the night before, but wasn’t this just like a real couple?

It goes without saying that many people were watching their interaction.

Seo-ah’s face flushed, and Yoo Ji-an headed towards the elevator, still holding Seo-ah’s hand.

In the meantime, the elevator that had gone up arrived, and A-rank hunters from Team 1, whom Seo-ah knew, were inside.

“It’s Seo-ah.”

“Hunter Park Seo-ah?”

“Ah, hello!”

Amidst the friendly greetings, their eyes naturally went to their clasped hands. Yoon Ah-jung giggled, and Kim Su-hyuk mouthed ‘Oh.’

Yoo Ji-an pulled Seo-ah closer to him, seemingly to show her off, just as Song Jin-ho was about to exit.

“…Oh, it’s been a while.”

Seeing that, Song Jin-ho greeted awkwardly, and Seo-ah also replied awkwardly.

“Ah, hello. Has everyone been well?”

“I heard the story. Your younger sibling is all better now. That’s a relief.”

“Yes, they’re fine now. Thank you… oh.”

“Get in.”

As the conversation with Song Jin-ho lengthened, Yoo Ji-an stepped into the elevator. Seo-ah, whose hand was being held, followed him.

“Oh, then!”

“Yes.”

Song Jin-ho waved with an ambiguous smile. Then, seeing Yoo Ji-an’s cold expression, he quickly hid his hand behind his back.

The doors closed, and Seo-ah glanced up at Yoo Ji-an. Yoo Ji-an calmly pressed the 88th-floor button, where his apartment was.

“Um, why…”

Just as she was about to ask if he was angry, Yoo Ji-an turned around, and his expression was calm again.

“It’s nothing, did you get home okay yesterday?”

“Yesterday… yeah.”

Because Yoo Ji-an unusually slurred his words, the events of the previous night flashed through Seo-ah’s mind like a panorama.

Not only that, but his handsome face, especially his lips, appeared vividly, and Seo-ah quickly lowered her gaze.

‘Quickly, I need to say something…’

While Seo-ah was struggling to get her frozen brain working, the elevator arrived at the 88th floor.

“Didn’t you say you had something to ask?”

Fortunately, Yoo Ji-an brought up a suitable topic as he got off.

“Ah, yes.”

“What is it?”

The housekeeper didn’t seem to be around at the moment.

As they entered, pre-set music automatically started playing. Surprisingly, he seemed to prefer mellow and soft music.

Yoo Ji-an headed to the kitchen, and Seo-ah followed closely behind.

“Um, you mentioned it before. About Noh Yun-ji…”

“Noh Yun-ji? Ah, right. Coffee okay?”

“Coffee? Yes, that’s fine. It seems that Noh Yun-ji is going on a raid with Assemblyman Noh Hak-young tomorrow…”

Yoo Ji-an, who had taken out two mugs, paused and turned to look at Seo-ah.

“Has the time already come?”

“Right… right? That thing. They’re supposed to go to a C-rank gate [a type of dungeon] together.”

“Probably, I didn’t pay close attention to that incident back then, but it should be right.”

“So… I decided to go with them.”

“……”

As he placed the cups and pressed the espresso machine button, the cups were filled with the subtle aroma of coffee.

Seo-ah became anxious as Yoo Ji-an remained silent.

“Um, it’ll be okay, right?”

“What will?”

Yoo Ji-an handed Seo-ah a cup, and Seo-ah accepted it with both hands. A warm sensation was transmitted to her palms.

“It’ll be okay for me to go, right?”

“It’d be better if you went.”

Yoo Ji-an’s reaction was more nonchalant than she had expected.

“Unless it’s a really dangerous situation, I’m just not going to get involved as much as possible. I’m going as a protector because of Su-jeong.”

“Okay, do well. Controlling Noh Hak-young will be a bit of a headache, though.”

Seo-ah went to the living room with Yoo Ji-an.

Sitting on one side of the large sofa, Yoo Ji-an sat next to Seo-ah, leaving a space about the width of a fist between them.

That meant they were sitting quite close.

It really felt like they were a couple.

Seo-ah had to try hard to keep her voice calm.

“I thought Hunter Yoo Ji-an would stop me, saying it was dangerous.”

“If I stopped you, you’d feel unnecessarily responsible for the deaths of Noh Hak-young and Noh Yun-ji.”

“Well…”

If she didn’t know at all, it would be one thing, but now that she knew, ignoring it and not intervening wasn’t easy for Seo-ah.

If they really died, it would stay in her mind, as Yoo Ji-an said.

“It’s C-rank, right? It’s impossible for those two to clear it, but not for you now. Right?”

Seo-ah nodded.

“But… if a truly unavoidable situation arises.”

Yoo Ji-an muttered lowly, looking down at the coffee in his mug.

“Prioritize yourself first. Do you understand what I mean?”

Yoo Ji-an turned only his eyes to the side to look at Seo-ah.

He didn’t mind helping to some extent, but in the event of a possible accident, he meant not to sacrifice herself to save them.

Seo-ah took a sip of coffee and then replied.

“I will.”

Seo-ah’s life was precious too, and above all, Seo-ah had Gun-woo.

At the satisfactory answer, Yoo Ji-an smiled.

“Anyway…”

He put the mug, from which he hadn’t drunk much, on the table. His actions were very leisurely and relaxed.

“I still don’t really know.”

Yoo Ji-an’s gaze towards Seo-ah grew closer.

“What… don’t you know?”

Seo-ah was still holding the mug.

“It was too short.”

“…Ah.”

She understood what he meant right away. To bring up that story at this timing.

“So, I was thinking of trying it again now.”

Seeing him approach as soon as Seo-ah’s business was over, Yoo Ji-an must have been thinking about this all along.

“Um…”

“Push me away if you don’t want to.”

Seo-ah couldn’t answer and only blinked, then slightly closed her eyes.

The scent of coffee mixed with his approaching breath. The two hands holding the mug naturally tightened.

It was the moment Yoo Ji-an’s smile deepened.

This time, without anyone’s interruption, they kissed leisurely. Even amidst the pounding heart and trembling breath, Seo-ah clearly felt the sensation of her lips touching.

It was soft, warm, and sweet.

The music that had been playing faded in and out.

Their lips parted slightly, and Seo-ah fluttered her eyelashes and raised her gaze. She could see her face reflected in Yoo Ji-an’s black pupils.

Seo-ah opened her mouth in a small voice.

“…Do you know now?”

Yoo Ji-an took the mug that Seo-ah was holding and placed it on the table instead.

“I don’t know yet.”

It was a lie, as one corner of his lips was slightly raised. But Seo-ah decided to play along with that lie.

Seo-ah smiled slightly and brought her face a little closer to him.

“Then try it again.”

This time, without either of them making the first move, they overlapped their lips, and Yoo Ji-an wrapped his arms around Seo-ah’s back and waist.

Seo-ah could feel his firm arms, shoulders, and chest. The sound of her pounding heart grew louder and louder.

A slightly rougher and more intense kiss continued for a long time.

The kiss, which seemed like it would never end, stopped temporarily at the sound of a phone ringing.

“Um… the phone is…”

Seo-ah gestured with her eyes in embarrassment, but Yoo Ji-an didn’t let go right away and kissed her briefly once more before pulling away. He smiled.

“I know now.”

Yoo Ji-an left the dazed Seo-ah for a moment and got up from the sofa to answer the phone.