The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 303

Chiiiiik— A thick slab of meat sizzled invitingly on the heated grill, making a mouth-watering sound. Next to it, a whole head of kimchi was placed without even being cut. On another grill, large shrimp and scallops were cooking. Yerim neatly removed only the heads of the reddened shrimp and devoured the rest of the shell. She didn’t forget to suck the remaining juices from the heads.

“It tastes better with the shell on, you know.”

She flipped the meat expertly. Eight out of ten times when I went out to dinner with Yerim, it was for meat. She wasn’t particularly picky, but she loved meat the most. Beef, pork, chicken, duck, seasoned, grilled with salt, stew, fried, any part, she ate it all well. However, she seemed to prefer grilled dishes over those with broth, and she liked pork a little more than beef.

“You said you’ll be busy tomorrow, right?”

I asked, peeling a shrimp with plastic gloves. Yerim nodded.

“They’re all over me to do this and that. Especially next summer, they’re saying my image is perfect for summer, so they’re making a fuss about signing contracts first.”

Even though she complained about being bothered, Yerim’s expression was bright. She seemed to have had quite a pleasant day.

“Since there are hardly any S-Rank Hunters who take on commercials, they’re even more eager. Why doesn’t Guild Leader Han do it?”

Yerim looked at Yoohyun while cutting the meat and kimchi. Yoohyun wordlessly picked up the shrimp I peeled for him with his chopsticks. Yerim’s eyes narrowed at the sight.

“Look at that, look at that. Does Guild Leader Han not have hands or feet? He’s making Ahjussi [term of endearment for an older man, like ‘Uncle’] do everything for him. Ahjussi, you shouldn’t spoil him so much.”

“Yoohyun is already twenty years old. How much longer will he be like this?”

“Forever.”

Yerim stated firmly, “Foooorever.”

“Even I can tell that there’s no hope for Han Yoohyun.”

“‘That one’? Yerim, Yoohyun is your hyung [older brother], no, oppa [term used by girls to address older brothers or male friends].”

Yoohyun and Yerim grimaced simultaneously.

“And Yoohyun doesn’t like other people touching him. There’s no need for him to endure that to film commercials. He does interviews for public image sometimes. But don’t other S-Rank Hunters film commercials? I’ve seen Hyunah-ssi a few times.”

“Hyunah unni [term used by girls to address older sisters or female friends] has a fixed arrangement. Her contract states that she can’t film commercials for anyone other than her affiliated company.”

I guess that makes sense. She also said she didn’t like filming commercials because they kept demanding images she didn’t like.

“The Seseong Guild Leader occasionally accepts them when he’s in the mood. Director Song is a public official. He filmed public service announcements, but they said it was incredibly difficult to get him to act. He tried hard to do as he was told, but his acting was so wooden that they only filmed one video and the rest were all photo posters.”

“Oh? You know a lot.”

“Everyone tells me everything. Ahjussi, are you really not thinking about it? There are many places that want you.”

“Don’t bother hyung [older brother].”

“Peel your own shrimp before you say that! Pick up the tongs, Han Yoohyun. You grill the meat!”

“Why should I when it’s all going into your mouth, Park Yerim.”

“By the whale, meat is grilled with fire!”

Hmm, how friendly. I stroked Peace, who was sitting on my lap after taking off my gloves, and watched their bickering with a pleased smile. Just then, an alarm went off on my phone. It was time. I resented the text I had already sent several times, changing only the number.

[20 hours remaining.]

If you ignore me until the end, I don’t know what I might do. Yerim, who had been waving the tongs around, suddenly stood up and peeked at my phone.

“What are you doing, Ahjussi? I think I heard an alarm go off on the hour earlier too.”

“Yeah, a countdown. If the Seseong Guild Leader keeps ignoring my texts, I’m going to blow up his house at three o’clock tomorrow afternoon.”

“Ah, me too, me too!”

“No, Director Song is tired.”

“Just ignore him, hyung. Why don’t you just cut off contact altogether?”

“The Haeyeon Guild Leader really dislikes the Seseong Guild Leader.”

“I don’t care as long as hyung isn’t involved. I neither like nor dislike him.”

“Yeah, yeah, sure. Where would Han Yoohyun go? But the Seseong Guild Leader likes Ahjussi a lot. Ahjussi, you two get along well too.”

“Yerim, we’re not that close.”

Rather than liking, it’s more like he finds me interesting or amusing. Though, if that’s considered liking, then maybe. Yerim narrowed her eyes and looked at me.

“For not being that close, you two have great chemistry. What is it, the generation gap seems smaller with the Seseong Guild Leader than with Han Yoohyun. For Ahjussi.”

How perceptive, Yerim. The chopsticks bent like taffy between Yoohyun’s fingers.

“…Hyung, I can adapt to you too. I’ll try.”

Yerim started laughing, drumming on the table at Yoohyun’s earnest words. She was going to break it.

“Yoohyun, hyung likes you as you are now. I love my little brother as he is. So don’t force yourself to change.”

“Why, tell him to try! It sounds like it would be fun.”

I already have too many people to exchange pointless banter with, like Seong Hyunjae. Besides, it wouldn’t suit Yoohyun. Yoohyun grumbled sullenly.

“I wish the Seseong Guild Leader would hurry up and go overseas.”

“He’s leaving Korea? I don’t think he’ll leave Ahjussi behind. Isn’t he trying to take you with him?”

“Don’t talk nonsense, Park Yerim.”

“Why, Sooyoung unni also said it looks like he’ll be around for a while. At least as long as Director Song. Director Song has already been here for over three years, they say. Sooyoung unni clicked her tongue, saying he’s constantly bothering him under the guise of taking care of him without ever getting tired of it.”

Poor Director Song. Unable to suppress my pity, I glanced down at my phone. Should I have contacted Sooyoung-ssi after all? No, let’s go all the way.

“Han Yoohyun lasted about three months.”

Yerim said, counting on her fingers.

“Noah oppa lost interest in a week. Sooyoung unni about a month? Hyunah unni was also about three months. Still, most of them ended quietly in Korea, but there are many people overseas who are sharpening their knives at the Seseong Guild Leader. Especially those who can’t bear the fact that they’ve lost the Seseong Guild Leader’s attention, or so they say.”

“Isn’t it better if they don’t bother you?”

Yoohyun said indifferently. Sooyoung-ssi had warned me before to be careful because many people ended up badly after receiving Seong Hyunjae’s attention. I just brushed it off back then, but now I understood those people. Because he’s such an outstanding person. A near-perfect human being without a single flaw shows interest in you and expresses affection. That alone would easily captivate most people.

Furthermore, if you’re even meticulously cared for, you might even delude yourself into thinking that you’re actually someone special. Even though you’re just a pastime. It’s common for people to become conceited and intoxicated by the fact that such a great person is associating with them.

Someone who was originally outstanding like Yoohyun or Hyunah-ssi wouldn’t be affected at all. They might even be happy that the bothersome attention has disappeared, as Yoohyun said. But for someone who lacks confidence in themselves, it would be no different from a potent drug.

‘I need to be careful too.’

If I let my guard down and become intoxicated, I’ll be the only one who loses out. One person pathetically clinging is enough with Yoohyun. Besides, Yoohyun has never actually abandoned me, but Seong Hyunjae would cut you off mercilessly once he turns his back.

“Why, I’d welcome the Seseong Guild Leader showering me with gifts with open arms. He gives you everything you need when he’s interested. You just take as much as you can and say goodbye cleanly~ Besides, even when he loses interest, he only stops being exceptionally nice. Hyunah unni still meets with the Seseong Guild Leader just fine. Although unni rejected all his offers to help.”

That’s like Hyunah-ssi. Director Song probably rejected everything too.

“More than anything, it seems like it would be fun. He said Yoohyun was too unresponsive and boring. I could play along well!”

“No, what’s wrong with Yoohyun? That Seseong Guild Leader…”

It’s annoying that he treats someone else’s brother like a plaything, but I don’t like the comment about being boring either.

“Han Yoohyun is the type of person who would indifferently flip the light switch even if the sun suddenly stopped rising, as long as it doesn’t affect him.”

“Director Song’s reaction isn’t much different.”

“No. Han Yoohyun would just think, ‘Oh, a dog is barking somewhere,’ and forget about it, but Director Song would earnestly ask and advise the dog to stop because it’s a nuisance.”

…I feel sorry for Director Song, but even if I were Seong Hyunjae, I would have found the latter more amusing. And Song Taewon is the kind of person who continues to respond earnestly even knowing that. It brings tears to my eyes. Should I lower the bomb’s rating a bit? Just enough to blow up the aquarium and its contents appropriately.

After dinner, we went outside. Unlike usual, the streets were very deserted. The curfew had been lifted, but the aftermath of the monster appearances still lingered. There weren’t many people in the restaurants either. Many stores were closed, and the karaoke room that Yerim often went to was not open.

“Ahjussi, look at that. The claw machine store’s glass is shattered.”

“The monster must have been drawn to the flashing lights and sounds.”

If you turn off all the lights, silence the sounds, and quietly stay inside the building with strong air fresheners, mid- to low-level monsters often just pass by. Thanks to that, there weren’t many casualties this time either.

“How’s the egg? When will it hatch?”

At Yerim’s question, I took Peace out of my arms and pulled out the blue egg that I had put in my shirt pocket. There were no noticeable changes on the outside yet.

“There’s no special method, I just have to keep it by my side as much as possible. Rina, don’t touch it.”

Irin, who had stealthily climbed onto my shoulder, flicked her tail.

– Rina doesn’t like that!

“It’s like a younger sibling, you have to get along.”

– Yoohyun, hyung only likes the water spirit!

“I like both of you, both of you. Good girl, Rina.”

She was acting like a firstborn who couldn’t accept a second child. Irin puffed out her cheeks comically and turned away, returning to Yoohyun. Yerim looked worriedly at the fire spirit disappearing into her clothes.

“By any chance, she’s not going to do anything bad, is she?”

“If she was going to, she would have already done it secretly. She’s just showing off whenever I pay attention to the egg, like a protest.”

It’s not difficult for her to approach me without me knowing.

“Once it hatches, you two will become close like you guys—”

“We’re not close, you know?”

“We’re not close.”

You’ll become close. There might be some fighting at first, though. Yerim spotted a convenience store open in the distance and flew off to buy ice cream. My phone alarm rang, and I sent the text again. There was still no reply.

We each ate an ice cream and returned home. Fortunately, other than one of the living room table legs being broken, nothing else was wrong. Bbyak and Bellare were both well-behaved.

[18 hours remaining. Yerim says she’ll turn off the lights for you.]

[17 hours remaining.]

[16 hours remaining. Are you sleeping? It’s still early, though.]

[15 hours remaining. I’m going to sleep.]

[I hung up what you gave me. Bbyak is chewing on it.]

[Doesn’t seem very effective. But I slept a little more than yesterday.]

[Ah, 10 hours remaining.]

[9 hours remaining.]

[8 hours remaining.]

[7 hours remaining. Evacuate the poor fish.]

“It’s finished.”

Kim Hayeon placed the Peace doll on the table. The previous one was cute too, but this one was really, really cute. It captured the real thing’s features as much as possible while adding a doll-like deformation to make it rounder and plumper. The fur was also well-done and fluffy, making me want to hug it right away, but I held back because Peace was showing signs of discomfort. It looked like it would bite if I even touched the doll.

“It’s really well-made. I’ll keep my comments brief since Peace is listening.”

“There are also dogs who are jealous of dolls that resemble themselves, I hear. How cute.”

Team Leader Kim Hayeon smiled contentedly.

“I heard that Peace has gained a wing skill. Could you possibly show it to us? Peace, can you take out your wings? Wings.”

– Kkyauung.

Peace looked up at me once and then jumped onto the table. Then, he spread his wings wide. Thud, the doll collided with the wings and fell off the table. Seeing that, he even more proudly growled and spun around once.

“It’s certain that they’re created from nothing, but are they connected to the body? Please confirm.”

Kim Hayeon asked, taking out a camera. I parted Peace’s fur to show the part where the wings were attached. It looked almost attached to the body, but there was a faint gap. No wonder there was little shaking even when he flapped his wings strongly.

Kim Hayeon took pictures from various angles and nodded in satisfaction.

“Since it’s a skill, it would be good to make separate versions with and without wings. You haven’t revealed Peace’s skill yet, when are you planning to?”

“Well, I haven’t thought about it.”

“Since Comet’s growth is said to be ending soon, let’s release another broadcast or article introducing the ride-type monsters.”

She said it would be good to start selling the dolls at that time too. Including Blue, since Blue’s performance has been outstanding this time.

Other stories related to the breeding center were exchanged. There was also subtle pressure to quickly hire more people and establish a system. Yes, yes, I will.

“Team Leader Kim, you know Team Leader Seok Simyeong well, right?”

“I know him reasonably well.”

At her questioning gaze, I swallowed hard. Seok Simyeong and Kim Seonghan, I couldn’t be the only one feeling uncomfortable about them forever.