I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 65

65.

After finishing her morning training, Seo-ah returned to the dorm and found a basket covered with cloth in front of the door.

“What’s this?”

Su-jeong, who was coming from behind, rushed over.

It was the weekend, so Kang Su-jeong wasn’t at school.

“Ah, it’s my laundry.”

“Laundry? Did you drop off your clothes at the laundromat?”

“Uh… they usually do the laundry here, right? Didn’t you know, *unnie* [Korean term for older sister or female friend]?”

Kang Su-jeong entered the dorm, punching in the password with a familiarity that surpassed Seo-ah’s.

“Then how have you been doing your laundry until now? There’s no washing machine here.”

“Just, well… hand washing?”

“Huh? No, *unnie*. You got here before me, how do you not know anything!”

Seo-ah scratched her head, feigning ignorance.

“I didn’t have time to figure it out, I was too busy.”

That was also because she hadn’t even considered that such a system existed.

“Come this way.”

Su-jeong led Seo-ah to the utility room. Where the washing machine should have been, there was a large, round container with a lid.

“There’s a slot here. You put the laundry in here…”

When she opened the lid, Seo-ah saw a thick pipe connected below. If you put the laundry bag in there, it went straight to the laundry room in the Taeyang Guild headquarters.

“And when it’s done, they bring it to the front of the door like that.”

Kang Su-jeong showed off her knowledge to Seo-ah to her heart’s content. Of course, she hadn’t known from the beginning either; it was just information she’d picked up from conversations with hunters during training.

“Wow, that’s really amazing.”

“Actually, it can’t be helped. When do hunters have time to do laundry when they’re constantly running raids and training? Other guilds probably have similar systems.”

“I see.”

Seo-ah didn’t tell Kang Su-jeong, but she had always done her own laundry even in the Royal Guild. There must have been something like this there too, but she never bothered to look for it.

“Hmm.”

Su-jeong crossed her arms and stared at Seo-ah. Seo-ah, who had been curiously examining the newly discovered laundry system, turned to face Su-jeong’s gaze.

“Why?”

“*Unnie*, have you been to the 60th floor of this building?”

“No, what’s on the 60th floor?”

She had been to the even more impressive 69th floor, but she hadn’t visited the 60th floor yet.

“I knew it.”

Kang Su-jeong shook her head and dragged Seo-ah out of the utility room.

“Why? What is it?”

“I think it’s better to see it in person.”

“Uh oh…”

Seo-ah, who went straight down in the elevator, was surprised as soon as the doors opened.

“What is this?”

The 60th floor looked like an entire shopping mall had been transplanted there. From clothes, shoes, and bags to trivial daily necessities such as soap, toothbrushes, and towels, everything was neatly displayed by zone.

“Amazing, right? You can get things here using the points allotted for each hunter rank. Things on the 61st floor are more expensive than on the 60th floor. They have luxury goods…”

“There was a place like this. Do other guilds offer this much support?”

“I don’t know for sure, but I don’t think it’s to this extent.”

Seo-ah walked slowly, looking around. There were a few other hunters present, casually taking what they needed.

When Kang Su-jeong swiped her access card, the number 3800P appeared.

“These are the points. You buy things with these.”

For reference, Kang Su-jeong received 5000P. It was the same amount as a B-class hunter. With that much, she could buy almost anything she needed.

“Then I’ll see you here later, I’m going over there to look around! Ah, do you want to come with me, *unnie*?”

The place Su-jeong pointed to was a general store with cute character designs on the merchandise. Seo-ah shook her head lightly.

“No, go ahead. I’ll look around on my own.”

“Okay!”

Seo-ah and Su-jeong separated and began browsing. While Su-jeong was gone, Seo-ah also took out her card and swiped it once.

<00000P>

‘Huh? Is it broken? Ah, am I not getting any points?’

She wasn’t an official guild member, so she couldn’t complain if they didn’t give her any. Even Kang Su-jeong got points, though.

‘I can’t help it. I can’t throw a tantrum.’

Seo-ah was looking at the miscellaneous goods displayed near the elevator when a group of hunters stepped out.

They were people Seo-ah knew.

“Ah.”

“Hunter Park Seo-ah?”

Before Seo-ah could greet them, they recognized her and approached.

Song Jin-ho was at the front, followed by the Taeyang Guild Team 1 members she had seen before.

“Ah, that time, that E-class…! With Jin-ho *hyung* [Korean term for older brother or male friend]!”

Kim Su-hyeok, the youngest of them, pointed at Park Seo-ah.

Then Kang Hae-in calmly folded his finger down. Within the team, Kim Su-hyeok was an A-class ranged dealer, and Kang Hae-in was an A-class mage.

“You should shut your mouth, Kim Su-hyeok.”

“It’s been a while, Hunter Park Seo-ah. I think I heard you went to the Royal Guild.”

“That’s right, I did.”

“I heard you were very active. Do you know Seol Jin-ah in the Royal Guild? She’s a friend of mine, and she praised you highly.”

When a familiar name came up, Seo-ah answered with a happy expression.

“Ah, you’re friends with Hunter Seol Jin-ah. It’s not that much. I barely managed to avoid being a hindrance.”

“Still, just surviving an A-class gate is amazing. The Parasitic Desert… I’m sad I couldn’t go in person.”

When the topic of the A-class gate came up, Kim Su-hyeok got excited and raised his voice.

“That was originally our gate! That damn association is playing tricks, eup eup!”

As his voice grew louder, Kang Hae-in covered Kim Su-hyeok’s mouth.

“This guy is usually a bit noisy, please understand, Hunter.”

“Ah, yes.”

Yoon Ah-jeong put on a hat displayed at the entrance and looked at it in the mirror from side to side.

“Hehe, Hunter Park Seo-ah will join us next time, right? I’m looking forward to it. Ah, how is this hat?”

Yoon Ah-jeong was wearing a white cap with an English logo on it. Seo-ah, who saw Yoon Ah-jeong through the mirror, nodded.

“It suits you well.”

“Thank you, I’m going to wear it during field training. Hunter Park Seo-ah, prepare well. Your clothes will be rags every day.”

“Field training?”

Seo-ah tilted her head, and Yoon Ah-jeong also looked at her strangely.

“Hmm? Haven’t you heard yet? We usually go around the time when autumn turns to winter every year.”

Seo-ah, who hadn’t heard anything, gave an ambiguous smile.

“Well, someone will let me know when the time comes.”

“Hmm hmm, okay. I hope we can go together. Anyway… see you later.”

Yoon Ah-jeong greeted Seo-ah and headed towards the internal stairs.

She seemed to be going to the 61st floor where the luxury goods were. Kim Su-hyeok and Kang Hae-in also followed her up.

Song Jin-ho didn’t go and stayed there. He was standing next to Seo-ah, so she spoke to him.

“What, do you need to buy something?”

“I just followed them because they said let’s go. What about you, Hunter Park Seo-ah?”

“Hmm, I think I’ll just look around today.”

“Why?”

“Well, that is.”

Instead of explaining, Seo-ah swiped her card to show him.

“Because of this.”

Seo-ah pointed to the screen displaying <00000P>. Then Song Jin-ho chuckled and explained.

“Ah, this doesn’t mean 0 points, it means infinity. It’s assigned to S-class hunters. I’m a little jealous.”

“Yes? Ah… yes?”

Seo-ah didn’t know what to say because she felt like she had shown off, not boasted.

But it seemed that Seo-ah wasn’t the only one who felt awkward.

Song Jin-ho also moved his lips as if he had something to say.

“Do you have something you want to tell me?”

“That is, well. Yesterday, Cheon…”

Song Jin-ho’s voice dropped so low that she couldn’t hear him properly. Seo-ah moved a little closer to hear him.

“Yes? What did you say? I can’t hear you well.”

“Cheon… hmm hmm, what were we talking about yesterday…”

“Cheon what?”

Seo-ah brought her face closer to Song Jin-ho. Song Jin-ho was flustered by Seo-ah’s unintentional action.

His face turned red as Seo-ah’s face came into view at a distance where their breaths could mingle.

At that moment, the elevator arrived and another guest appeared.

Song Jin-ho quickly stepped back, sensing the cold murderous intent that washed over him as soon as the doors opened.

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

“Hmm.”

As Song Jin-ho’s gaze turned to the elevator, Seo-ah slowly turned her head and looked in the same direction.

Yoo Ji-an, looking healthy, was walking over.

“Ah, Hunter Yoo Ji-an is here too. Are you feeling better?”

Seo-ah smiled brightly and waved, and Yoo Ji-an glanced at Seo-ah and then frowned at Song Jin-ho.

At that gaze, Song Jin-ho moved further away from Seo-ah.

Yoo Ji-an paused for a moment and then let out a short sigh. As if he had never been displeased, he erased his expression and walked towards Seo-ah.

“You were here.”

Song Jin-ho took the opportunity to slip away. For some reason, Yoo Ji-an didn’t like Song Jin-ho and Seo-ah being together and openly expressed his displeasure.

‘What is it, really? Why do I have to be treated like that by Ji-an *hyung*? It’s not like I have any romantic feelings for her.’

Song Jin-ho, grumbling to himself, stopped abruptly and turned around.

Seo-ah was happily saying something and choosing training gloves, and Yoo Ji-an was watching her without saying a word.

‘It’s… not, is it?’

But that look was something he had never seen in all the years he had spent with Yoo Ji-an.

The moment he realized that, Song Jin-ho found himself overwhelmed by a very unpleasant feeling.

He shook his head hard as if trying to dispel the unfamiliar feeling and hurried out the exit via the emergency stairs.