I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 6

Before speaking, Seo-ah took a sip of water and glanced at the people sitting across from her.

“Cough, cough, cough!”

She made eye contact with Yoo Ji-an and choked. Just like when she first saw him, he was staring intently at Seo-ah as if he would devour her.

“……Gasp, is our baby sick anywhere?”

The robust S-Class Hunter, who had never coughed once in her life, fussed and stood up. Seo-ah-hyun silently pulled Baek Eun-hee back down to her seat.

Seo-ah barely managed to clear her throat.

“Ahem, what brings you here to see me?”

Seo-ah asked the two guilds a common question.

They looked at each other, reluctant to speak first. Seo-ah couldn’t stand Yoo Ji-an’s gaze, which was still fixed on her.

“Excuse me.”

She said it boldly, but she was still scared. Still, she had to finish what she started.

“……You look like you have something to say since a while ago.”

“Ten million won per raid, and if you join the guild, we’ll give you a contract fee of 100 million won on the spot.”

Seo-ah’s mouth dropped open.

The enormous amount of money that flashed by didn’t immediately register in Seo-ah’s mind.

More than that, why such a sudden offer?

She couldn’t help but be suspicious.

Baek Eun-hee, who was openly showing her favor from the first time they met, was strange in her own way, but Yoo Ji-an had been sending her suspicious glances all along.

Not to be outdone, Baek Eun-hee joined the bargaining.

“We’ll give you 20 million won per raid, and if you join the guild, we’ll give you a contract fee of 150 million won.”

“200 million.”

“Then we’ll do 300 million.”

“500 million.”

The amounts were getting more and more outrageous, but neither guild batted an eye.

After all, hunters’ earnings were beyond imagination, and S-Class Hunters and the guilds that held them were even more so.

So money wasn’t really the problem, but Yoo Ji-an’s attitude was. He raised the price with a nonchalant face, which made her even more annoyed.

“Hey, Yoo Ji-an!”

Baek Eun-hee jumped up and shouted, causing Park Seo-ah to flinch and cover her ears. An S-Class Hunter’s voice was exceptional.

Baek Eun-hee was startled by Park Seo-ah’s reaction and covered her mouth, making a fuss.

“Oh, my! I’m sorry. I didn’t consider your delicate nature. Are you okay? Don’t just stand there, check on her! See if her eardrums are okay!”

Baek Eun-hee noticeably lowered her voice and urged Kim Jung-soo and Oh Hyun-soo, who were standing behind her.

“I, I’m okay.”

“Tsk, tsk.”

Baek Eun-hee was furious at Yoo Ji-an’s disdainful head shake, but she didn’t shout, conscious of Seo-ah.

“I’m curious as to why you’re doing this in the first place.”

Seo-ah looked at Yoo Ji-an once, then at Baek Eun-hee, and opened her mouth in a soft voice.

Kim Jung-soo and Oh Hyun-soo, who had been in the back the whole time, didn’t know how to interpret this incredible negotiation and remained silent.

“There’s no such thing as a free lunch. Do I have that kind of value? You probably already know, but I’m just an E-Class Healer.”

Of course, that wasn’t all. Had they sensed the S-Class Supporter that even she hadn’t properly grasped?

Silence flowed for a moment at Park Seo-ah’s calm remarks.

To be honest, it was a very tempting offer from Seo-ah’s point of view.

But the world of hunters was dangerous. If she rashly accepted, she might die without even spending those hundreds of millions of won.

“Well, to be honest, I don’t know. Whether you have that kind of value.”

Surprisingly, it was Baek Eun-hee who said that. She didn’t know, but she was spending so much money? The mental world of hunters was truly unknowable.

Even though Yoo Ji-an had been glaring at her since a while ago, Baek Eun-hee also felt suspicious after hearing those words.

“Please tell me the real reason. Otherwise, I won’t sign with either of you.”

At Seo-ah’s firm attitude, Baek Eun-hee sighed and glanced at Yoo Ji-an.

“Yoo Ji-an, wouldn’t it be better for us to see her separately?”

“……I suppose.”

“Everyone, get out. I want to talk to Seo-ah alone.”

Kim Jung-soo and Oh Hyun-soo, as well as Royal’s Vice Guild Leader Seo-ah-hyun, all went outside.

Left alone in the large conference room, Seo-ah swallowed hard. Seeing her like this, she could tell for sure.

She had been smiling and friendly to Seo-ah, so she had forgotten for a moment, but Baek Eun-hee was also an S-Class Hunter. As soon as everyone left, her overwhelming presence was clearly felt.

“I don’t know what Yoo Ji-an’s intentions are, but I’m trying to find out. Like I said before, I honestly don’t know.”

“So specifically, what don’t you know, and what are you trying to find out?”

Baek Eun-hee got up and approached Seo-ah.

“As you know, I’m a bit lacking in destructive power for an S-Class Hunter.”

“Is that so?”

Seo-ah was hearing this for the first time.

“Oh my, don’t you know? It’s all over the news every day.”

She didn’t bother to mention that hundreds of hunters had gone to their doom by trusting only that news. The fact that her destructive power was weak was, literally, “for an S-Class Hunter.”

Baek Eun-hee raised her index finger as if to show Seo-ah.

What was she going to do with that? The moment she thought that, Baek Eun-hee placed her index finger on the conference room table.

With that effortless movement, the thick wooden desk caved in the shape of her finger.

“Oh……!”

Seo-ah’s eyes widened.

“You see, I can’t even pierce something like this if I don’t use my strength.”

Hey, lady? The desk is dented. You didn’t use your strength?

Seo-ah couldn’t find the words to say to the statement that was far from the world’s common sense. Baek Eun-hee stood next to Seo-ah and gently touched her shoulder.

“Shall we see? Whether my hunch is right.”

This time, Baek Eun-hee took out her pinky finger and showed it. Then, she dropped it on the desk even more weakly than before.

Crack-

A hole was punched through the desk. Seo-ah couldn’t even make a sound and just opened and closed her mouth.

This time, Baek Eun-hee seemed a little surprised as well, shrugging her shoulders as she looked at her finger.

“Hmm, I was half-doubtful. It really works.”

“That’s really amazing. So that’s an S-Class Hunter.”

“Baby, what’s amazing isn’t me, it’s you.”

“Me?”

Regardless of Seo-ah’s puzzled face, Baek Eun-hee looked at Seo-ah as if she were looking at a very desirable object.

“Where did you really come from? Did the system grant my wish?”

With loving eyes, Baek Eun-hee tried to pull Seo-ah’s cheek, but then stopped herself. If she accidentally misjudged her strength now, this cute child’s cheek would be crushed.

“Anyway, I don’t know why, but it seems like my power increases when I’m in contact with you for a while. The numbers don’t show up in the status window, but that’s what makes it even more amazing.”

“Is that so?”

“Don’t you know the reason yourself?”

There was no way a hunter wouldn’t know their own status. Baek Eun-hee was smiling as she asked, but the question was sharp.

Seo-ah met Baek Eun-hee’s eyes and smiled awkwardly. She couldn’t tell her yet, about the S-Class Supporter.

“I don’t know.”

“Good, you probably can’t trust me yet. If you’re going to live as a hunter, you need to have that much vigilance.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“How about signing with me? Let’s build trust little by little from now on. I’ll treat you much better than Yoo Ji-an. That guy has a bad personality, too…….”

“Thank you for the offer. But first…… Next person, come in!”

Seo-ah cut off Baek Eun-hee’s words and shouted towards the door. When Baek Eun-hee was flustered trying to persuade Seo-ah, Seo-ah smiled brightly.

“Opportunities must be fair.”

If she was that needed, she was sure that Baek Eun-hee would never get angry over something like this.

As if to prove that expectation, Baek Eun-hee sighed but readily stepped back. She smiled kindly at Seo-ah as she left, but ground her teeth at Yoo Ji-an, who was just entering.

“Don’t you dare scare Seo-ah. Seo-ah, you got it? If this guy does anything, shout.”

The door closed, and Yoo Ji-an strode in and sat across from her. Throughout that series of actions, Yoo Ji-an’s eyes were fixed on Seo-ah.

Seo-ah clasped her hands together under the table. She was definitely more nervous than when she was alone with Baek Eun-hee.

And once again, he was really handsome. Most celebrities wouldn’t even be able to hold a candle to him.

“I wondered if you were faking it. You really are an E-Class Healer.”

“Yes?”

“I took a look at your status window.”

Was it possible to see someone else’s status window? Seo-ah also stared blankly at Yoo Ji-an, but nothing came to mind.

“I saw it with my observation skill, so even if you look at it like that, you probably won’t see anything.”

“……Ah, I see.”

She was a little embarrassed. Anyway, what was Yoo Ji-an going to say? Had he been staring at her since a while ago to see if she was a real E-Class Hunter?

“I saved your life that day.”

Unexpectedly, Yoo Ji-an brought up that day first. She didn’t know he was the type to take credit. But it was true that she had been saved thanks to him.

Seo-ah bowed slightly while sitting.

“Yes, thank you very much. I lived thanks to you.”

“I went into that gate to find something. It opened earlier than I expected, though.”

“Wasn’t it a sudden gate? How did you know…….”

Yoo Ji-an closed his mouth at Seo-ah’s question. Instead, he asked a question.

“Did you find anything there? An item in the shape of a bead, or something.”

“No, I wasn’t in the right state of mind to find anything like that. Didn’t you find it?”

“No. But I found something more unusual instead.”

With that, Yoo Ji-an stared intently at Seo-ah. His gaze had been fixed on her since a while ago, so there was nothing new about it. She was getting used to it now.

“Anyway, if you have any conscience, you should choose me. Because I’m the benefactor of your life.”