I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 177

177.

Click-

Yoo Ji-an dimmed the lights and calmly set the tongs aside.

“Park Seo-ah.”

He gently unwrapped Seo-ah’s arms from around his waist and turned to face her.

As their eyes met, a wave of embarrassment washed over her. Even with her eyes still red, Seo-ah didn’t look away this time.

However, seeing an expression on Yoo Ji-an’s face that she’d never witnessed from their first meeting until now, she couldn’t remain composed.

‘Why does he look so disappointed?’

With that handsome face etched with disappointment, Seo-ah instantly felt like the scum of the earth.

“…Uh, well.”

“Does that question mean you’ve been expecting a ‘no’ until now?”

“It’s not that, but…”

“Then I’m disappointed.”

Even his voice had lowered. It was a relief he didn’t look like he was about to cry. If he had, Seo-ah might have dropped to her knees right then and there.

Yoo Ji-an took a step closer to Seo-ah.

“Do you usually kiss people when you have no intention of dating them? Is that what *my* Seo-ah does?”

Seo-ah was rendered speechless by Yoo Ji-an’s accusatory tone.

Well, aside from the time she did it to survive underwater, Seo-ah *had* initiated the kiss.

Yoo Ji-an took another step forward, and Seo-ah instinctively stepped back. It wasn’t overtly threatening, but why was she retreating?

“Who else have you done it with?”

Okay, *now* it was a threat. An unrefined S-class Hunter was subtly releasing his energy right in front of her.

Of course, it wasn’t directed at Seo-ah, and since she was also an S-class, she wasn’t as terrified as she might have been, but it was enough to make her nervous.

Seo-ah reached out and gently pressed against Yoo Ji-an’s chest, halting his advance.

“I haven’t! Not with anyone.”

Instantly, Yoo Ji-an’s momentum vanished.

Seo-ah kept her eyes fixed on his lips as she continued, her voice a little softer.

“Well, because… you haven’t actually asked me to be your girlfriend yet. I was unsure. So, I didn’t know how to refer to Yoo Ji-an Hunter-nim [term of respect] to others.”

“Boyfriend.”

Seo-ah looked up and met Yoo Ji-an’s gaze again. She wondered if he was smiling, but his expression was utterly serious.

“Isn’t that what people usually say?”

“Is that… so?”

As Seo-ah said that, Yoo Ji-an’s lips curved into a smooth smile. Seo-ah, who was watching his smile, grumbled softly.

“Ugh, you were teasing me, weren’t you?”

“Maybe.”

Yoo Ji-an turned his back and went back to the frying pan instead of answering.

“…Tch.”

Seo-ah grumbled and returned to Yoo Ji-an’s side.

She hadn’t noticed it before, but he had a surprisingly sly side.

Yoo Ji-an picked up the tongs and flipped the meat, revealing a blackened side. Even though he had lowered the heat, it had burned in the meantime.

“Tsk, damn it.”

Yoo Ji-an clicked his tongue and lamented. Then, he roughly put it on a plate and went back to the table to get his plate of meat.

“Why is that?”

“You said you like it well-done.”

“…….”

Seo-ah stared intently at Yoo Ji-an’s profile. So, he was going to cook his more and give her the better piece?

In the meantime, the meat was cooked and placed on each of their plates. After adding some garnish, Seo-ah and Yoo Ji-an went to the table.

In front of Seo-ah was a nicely cooked piece of meat, and in front of Yoo Ji-an was the burnt meat.

“Are you really okay? I can just eat that one.”

Yoo Ji-an silently cut the meat and put it in his mouth. Then, he gestured for Seo-ah, who was sitting across from him, to eat as well.

She was grateful for his consideration.

Seo-ah also put a piece of meat in her mouth.

‘Delicious.’

It was seasoned perfectly, melting softly in her mouth. Did Yoo Ji-an do this himself too?

“How was this gate?”

At the casual question, Seo-ah chewed the meat in her mouth thoroughly before answering.

“Well, it was a cold place as you said. It was all snow….”

“Was Noh Hak-young manageable?”

“At first, he tried to take charge, so I let him be. Then, after he followed [Suicidal Ghost, likely a monster or skill name] and got into danger, I saved him, and he became obedient. From then on, he was fine.”

“That’s a relief.”

Seo-ah shared stories about the gate raid with him.

“When the raid doesn’t go well, it’s good to actively use items. The items that appear in the store vary from time to time, but frequently used consumables are always available.”

“For example?”

As Seo-ah asked, a small gun suddenly appeared in Yoo Ji-an’s hand, which was placed on the table.

Yoo Ji-an pointed the gun away from Seo-ah and pulled the trigger. Then, fire burst from the muzzle.

At first, the small fire gradually grew larger, emitting firepower almost like a flamethrower. Seo-ah was startled and stopped Yoo Ji-an.

The flames were already touching the corner of the table.

“S-Stop it! It’s going to catch fire!”

Yoo Ji-an released the trigger, and the flames subsided. However, the table was perfectly fine without a single scorch mark.

“The furniture here is all made from materials inside the gate, so it can withstand it to some extent. It won’t catch fire this easily.”

“…Oh.”

“Of course, it would be different if a high-level mage came.”

How many people would come to set fire to Yoo Ji-an’s house before that happened?

“This can be used about ten times. The market price is about 1 gold [in-game currency]. Noh Hak-young had a flamethrower, but if he had more firepower, he would have cleared it faster.”

In Korean currency, it was about 10,000 won [approximately $8 USD]. If it could be used about ten times, it wasn’t a bad deal for raiding one gate.

“I guess so.”

“Make sure to check the store from time to time. If you know what items are available in advance, you can find what you need when you need it.”

Seo-ah nodded lightly, taking in all of Yoo Ji-an’s advice.

And as the meal came to an end, Seo-ah quietly put down her fork and looked at Yoo Ji-an, saying.

“Still… Noh Hak-young and Noh Yoon-ji, father and daughter, survived.”

“Yes, unlike the past life.”

Yoo Ji-an got up, picked up the empty plate, and looked down at Seo-ah.

“Good job.”

The dark eyes that met hers curved softly before he turned away.

A sense of pride welled up in Seo-ah’s heart. In fact, she had been wondering if she was meddling in something unnecessary.

Seo-ah, who had been sitting blankly, saw Yoo Ji-an heading to the sink and jumped up.

“Ah, I’ll help too.”

***

A little later, they each poured coffee and cocoa into mugs and sat side by side on the sofa in the living room.

Neither Yoo Ji-an nor Seo-ah were the type to initiate conversation. Perhaps that’s why the spacious living room felt particularly quiet.

Seo-ah turned on the television to break the awkwardness. She flipped through the channels a few times before stopping at a music program.

The hottest male idol group T-PLEX was on the screen.

“Eun-gyeol is on.”

Yoo Ji-an glanced at the screen at Seo-ah’s words, but didn’t show much reaction.

“It’s amazing, the person I went to the gate with a while ago is an idol member….”

“There are quite a few people who are both celebrities and hunters besides him.”

Seo-ah stared intently at T-PLEX’s performance as if she was about to enter the screen.

Her gaze naturally went to Choi Eun-gyeol, whom she was close to.

Yoo Ji-an, who was watching Seo-ah, asked in a slightly sulky voice.

“Were you really a fan of Choi Eun-gyeol?”

“Huh? Me? No, I just know a few songs… Actually, more than Eun-gyeol, it’s the one next to him.”

Seo-ah pointed to Sung Min-woo, who was rapping enthusiastically on Choi Eun-gyeol’s right. He had big eyes and an overall round impression.

“I liked this one a little more. He’s cute.”

“I see.”

Yoo Ji-an stared intently at the member Seo-ah pointed to, taking him in. It looked like he was about to devour him, making her feel uneasy.

“I-It’s not like I liked him *that* much. In the first place, I wasn’t very interested in idols… I wasn’t in a position to be interested.”

She was so busy with part-time jobs that she didn’t have time to watch TV properly, and she didn’t have the physical or mental energy to stan [be a devoted fan of] idols.

Yoo Ji-an’s gaze, which had been on the screen, turned to Seo-ah.

Seo-ah swallowed hard.

‘Jealousy, is this what jealousy is? But with *that* face, jealousy? Where did he leave his conscience?’

In fact, Yoo Ji-an was the owner of a face that could easily outshine any celebrity, even if he was put on TV right now.

However, his jealousy wasn’t unpleasant, to be honest. If anything, it was… nice.

As Seo-ah smiled at him, Yoo Ji-an’s hardened expression changed slightly in bewilderment.

“Why are you smiling?”

“Hmm, just… I thought you were really handsome.”

“You’re pretty too.”

“Thank… you.”

Seo-ah’s vision blurred at the nonchalant flirting that came out of nowhere. Seo-ah readjusted her posture and looked at Yoo Ji-an again as if something suddenly came to her mind.