I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 66

66.

As soon as Seo-ah saw Yoo Ji-ahn, she grabbed his left hand and rolled up his sleeve.

Fortunately, his arm was clean. With a relieved expression, Seo-ah looked up at Yoo Ji-ahn.

“It’s all healed. I’m glad.”

“Thanks to you.”

Yoo Ji-ahn said, giving a faint smile. It was so charming that it made her heart flutter.

Seo-ah, caught off guard by his smile and unable to hide her reaction, quickly let go of Yoo Ji-ahn’s hand and turned away. Then, pretending to examine the shelves, she changed the subject.

“Do you know about the pre-training? I heard they do it around this time every year.”

Seo-ah walked slowly, placing gloves, socks, and hand cream into her basket. Since the points were unlimited, there was no need to hesitate.

And Yoo Ji-ahn naturally stayed by her side.

“Yeah, it’s probably around next week. You’re going too.”

The gazes of passing hunters landed on Seo-ah and Yoo Ji-ahn. Being with him and receiving attention had become familiar to Seo-ah.

Fortunately, it was the Taeyang Guild, so the reaction wasn’t explosive, and Seo-ah could mostly ignore it.

“Can I join even though I’m not a guild member?”

“You definitely have to go.”

When Seo-ah looked at Yoo Ji-ahn with a questioning face, Yoo Ji-ahn said calmly.

“Because an A-class gate will be generated there. It’s the gate we’ll be targeting next.”

“Oh, really? Has the association announced it?”

“No, not yet.”

Yoo Ji-ahn picked up a shaving cream and casually put it in Seo-ah’s basket.

“How do you know?”

This time, Seo-ah followed Yoo Ji-ahn, who was walking ahead. But as he walked, Yoo Ji-ahn suddenly stopped, checking the smartwatch on his wrist.

Because of that, Seo-ah’s face lightly bumped into Yoo Ji-ahn’s back.

Yoo Ji-ahn glanced back.

“Are you okay?”

“Ah, yes.”

Seo-ah rubbed her nose slightly and made an awkward expression. Yoo Ji-ahn chuckled again. It was a truly captivating smile.

“I have to go.”

“Did something come up?”

He nodded slightly. Seo-ah stepped back slightly, making way.

“See you later.”

Yoo Ji-ahn greeted briefly and headed for the elevator. But three young hunters got off the elevator that had just arrived. All three were women.

As soon as they saw Yoo Ji-ahn, their mouths dropped open, and Yoo Ji-ahn just walked past them as if he was used to such reactions.

As soon as Yoo Ji-ahn got in and the elevator doors closed, there were squeals.

“Did you see him just now?”

“Wow, he’s so handsome.”

“I’ve never seen him here before… He’s a hundred times better in person than on screen.”

Even just hearing their voices, you could tell they were young. They seemed to be hunters of a similar age to Kang Su-jeong.

“Unnie [term for older sister or female friend in Korean].”

While looking at them, Kang Su-jeong approached. Su-jeong’s basket was also full of various necessities.

“Are you going to use all of this?”

“No, well, even if I don’t use it right now, I don’t know when I’ll be able to leave this place.”

So, she meant she was stocking up in advance. Kang Su-jeong smiled proudly and scanned the barcode of the items she had collected.

Seo-ah herself didn’t know how long she would be here, so she couldn’t say that they could continue to stay here.

While they were a little distanced from each other, choosing items, the group of young hunters from earlier approached Su-jeong. Seeing them, Kang Su-jeong frowned openly.

“Kang Su-jeong? What are you doing here?”

“No Yoon-ji, can’t you tell? Why else would I be on the 60th floor?”

The words they exchanged weren’t very pleasant. This time, the hunter next to No Yoon-ji started an argument.

“What points does an E-rank have to come here? If you don’t scan those points, it’s theft, you know?”

“Heo Chae-yoon, thanks for your concern.”

Su-jeong showed them her card on the barcode scanner next to her, as if to show off. When the number 3800P appeared, No Yoon-ji and Heo Chae-yoon were noticeably embarrassed.

“It’s enough.”

They were C-rank hunters, and the basic points a C-rank received were 1000P. They get more if they go on raids, but these two were still students and hadn’t been sent on official raids. No Yoon-ji’s face turned a little red, and she tried to sneer, raising the corners of her mouth.

“Well, it doesn’t matter. I don’t need to buy anything here anyway. But it’s strange. How did you get so many points?”

“Well, isn’t it because of connections? So you guys should have gotten on the right side.”

“Ha, are you talking about that Park Seo-ah person? I heard she’s also an E-rank. Birds of a feather flock together.”

“E-rank, E-rank every other word. Aren’t you guys tired of it?”

“Why? If you’re upset, you should have been born stronger. You know I went easy on you in the last sparring match, right?”

No Yoon-ji and Heo Chae-yoon openly ridiculed Kang Su-jeong. Not long ago, No Yoon-ji and Kang Su-jeong had a sparring match, and of course, No Yoon-ji, who was a C-rank, completely dominated Kang Su-jeong, who was an E-rank.

Kang Su-jeong was upset, and Seo-ah, who had been listening from behind, approached quietly. She wondered if she should get involved in a childish squabble, but the more she listened, the more unfair it seemed.

“I think you’re talking about me. Hello, I’m Park Seo-ah.”

“Oh, that…?”

Not expecting the person in question to be nearby, the three of them looked at each other, flustered.

“But it seems a bit strange to have a C-rank and an E-rank fight one-on-one to determine the winner. It’s like a fight between a child and an adult.”

Seo-ah spoke gently with a faint smile on her face. Their faces turned a little red. No Yoon-ji retorted defensively.

“I didn’t apply for the sparring match first. Kang Su-jeong rushed at me first.”

“Really? Su-jeong did? Really?”

Why would she do that? She wouldn’t have done it for no reason.

“Su-jeong-ah?”

As if to confirm, Seo-ah turned to Su-jeong, and Su-jeong tightly shut her mouth. Then she quickly avoided Seo-ah’s eyes.

“Huh? It’s okay. Tell me.”

When Seo-ah spoke kindly, Su-jeong stared at Seo-ah with tearful eyes.

“I’ll go first, Unnie. I’m sorry.”

Then she dropped her basket on the floor and ran away.

No Yoon-ji’s group smirked at Su-jeong. And they soon left the spot as well.

Seo-ah belatedly chased after Kang Su-jeong, but before she knew it, Su-jeong had quickly disappeared through the emergency staircase exit.

“Hmm. Should I leave her alone for now?”

With no other choice, Seo-ah returned and picked up the items Su-jeong had left behind.

While scanning the barcode of the items she had chosen, she found shaving cream mixed in.

‘Hmm? Yoo Ji-ahn put this in. I should give it back to him later.’

After putting all the items in one bag, Seo-ah returned to her accommodation on the 75th floor.

When she opened the door, Su-jeong’s shoes were scattered around in the entrance.

‘She didn’t leave.’

Seo-ah smiled faintly, neatly placed Su-jeong’s shoes, and went inside.

Kang Su-jeong was crouching in the corner of the living room sofa, sobbing. Seo-ah approached, put the shopping bag down on one side, and sat next to her.

“Su-jeong-ah, why are you crying?”

“It’s nothing, sniffle. I’m just too pathetic.”

“What are you talking about? What happened with those girls? Tell me. Did they bully you?”

Su-jeong lifted her tear-stained face and shook her head.

“It doesn’t matter if they bully me. I can just ignore them….”

“Then why?”

“…….”

Seo-ah wiped Su-jeong’s wet cheeks with her hand. Then she sobbed even more sadly.

“Th-those girls, sniff, they curse at Unnie along with me.”

“Me? Why? I just met them today.”

“There’s no one in the Taeyang Guild who doesn’t know Unnie. But there’s almost no one who knows you properly….”

“Ah.”

Well, to people who don’t know the situation, it might seem unpleasant that an E-rank suddenly appeared and was being treated well.

Seo-ah roughly understood, but Su-jeong must have had a hard time hearing the insults.

“Do you know how awful they are? They don’t even open their mouths in front of Instructor Kim Cheol-du because they’ll get scolded if they curse. Then they say things like that as if they want me to hear them when no one’s around.”

“Hmm.”

Seo-ah listened quietly as Su-jeong poured out her grievances.

“I’m sorry, sob. But aren’t you angry, Unnie?”

“Huh? Ah, well… it’s not good, but it’s somewhat true.”

“What’s true! How amazing you are, Unnie!”

Seo-ah smiled faintly and put her arm around Kang Su-jeong’s shoulder, patting her.

“Su-jeong-ah.”

[Skill ‘Silent Night’ is activated.]

And the skill turned on at the right timing.

“Thank you for getting angry for me. I don’t really care what people who don’t know me say.”

“…But it’s still frustrating.”

Perhaps because of the skill, or perhaps because of Seo-ah’s comforting pat, Kang Su-jeong’s tone softened a little.

“Won’t you get angry if someone insults me, Unnie?”

“Of course, I’ll get angry.”

Su-jeong looked touched by Seo-ah’s immediate answer, then pouted her lips.

“Anyway, that’s why I couldn’t stand it and rushed at them, but I was completely defeated. Well, it’s natural since I did that to a C-rank.”

Su-jeong clenched her fist and burst into anger in the middle of her speech.

“Why was I born as an E-rank! I can’t even beat one of those kids!”

Seo-ah agreed with that statement. Unless it was a special case like Seo-ah, a hunter’s rank was already determined from birth, from the time of awakening. No matter how hard they tried, there was a limit.

Seo-ah looked at Su-jeong quietly and smiled slightly.

“But it’s not like there’s no way at all.”

“Sniff, huh?”

“You have me, don’t you?”

“…Yes?”

Kang Su-jeong’s dull expression and nasal voice were quite cute. Seo-ah lightly ruffled Su-jeong’s bobbed hair and got up from her seat.

“Have lunch and rest. Take your things and organize them.”

“Where are you going, Unnie?”

“Yeah, I have an appointment with Eun-hee Unnie.”

“Wow… Okay, have a good time!”

At the mention of having an appointment with Baek Eun-hee, Su-jeong didn’t whine any more and let Seo-ah go.

Just then, the phone rang.