Preparing for the Trip (1)

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Post: So, who the hell is that guy?

Shim Chun-hoo couldn't even compete against him??

I heard Shim Chun-hoo was believed to be an A-rank over-level awakener, but with what he pulled off, aren't there more S-ranks out there?

Comment

ㅇㅇ: Yeah, he's S-rank for sure, but he was really Korean, huh, lol. How many S-ranks are hiding in this tiny country?

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The morning after Shim Chun-hoo was subdued and captured by Park Jung-woo.

The internet, quite literally, exploded.

It was only natural—right after the Jeju incident was resolved, Park Jung-woo, the person at the center of the previous commotion, showed up again.

Countless posts were uploaded analyzing just how strong Park Jung-woo was, and there were many discussions about Shim Chun-hoo's unusual state at the time.

【He closed an S-rank gate, then caught a serial killer—seriously, what kind of person is he?】

After being entangled in two major incidents—both far from ordinary—the public's interest in Park Jung-woo reached its peak.

Moreover, the attention wasn't focused on Park Jung-woo alone.

Posts about Yeon-ji, who fought against Shim Chun-hoo before Park Jung-woo arrived, were popping up just as frequently.

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Post: People might be overlooking it because she was outshined by someone assumed to be S-rank, but isn't she kind of crazy, too?

【Video of Yeon-ji and Shim Chun-hoo fighting】

Looks like they're on the same level, no matter how you look at it.

Her physical abilities are unreal, and those chains shooting out—are those magic?

Reply

ㅇㅅㅇ: idk?

SSS-grade Survival Hunter: That's Hwang Yeon-ji, apparently the Hunter trainee from Unique. I heard she can't debut yet because she's not old enough.

Sangchogang: Really?? Another Unique? Then is the guy who saved her also from Unique?

ㅇㅇ: Lol, no way. After saving her, they hardly exchanged words and just went their separate ways.

==

Still barely in her mid-teens, so young.

Her skill, fighting evenly against Shim Chun-hoo at that age.

On top of that, her mysteriously ethereal appearance sent Yeon-ji's popularity skyrocketed.

This also brought up the issue of young awakened ones unable to debut quickly due to age restrictions.

People argued that talented youths were letting their gifts go to waste because of outdated laws.

"She seems even more popular than before. Since people don't know her personality, they're obsessed."

Shin Ah-yeon commented beside Hwang Yeon-ji, who was practicing dark magic alone in the training ground.

At the moment, the Unique training hall was unusually hosting Shin Ah-yeon, Hwang Yeon-ji, and Lee Soo-ah all together.

They had a lot to discuss because of the recent events.

"But why isn't our Yeon-ji unni saying anything?"

"..."

After Yeon-ji had started giving dating advice, Shin Ah-yeon, like the others, naturally began speaking informally to her. But every time, Yeon-ji would look at her with outright displeasure.

It wasn't just the speech; Shin Ah-yeon's teasing tone annoyed her, too.

But for some reason, today, Yeon-ji was strangely unresponsive.

Even when teased as usual, she simply sighed once.

"Haaa."

She even shot Shin Ah-yeon a pitying look, then continued focusing on her magic.

Because of that, Shin Ah-yeon became a little self-conscious about Yeon-ji's behavior.

'What's with her?'

When asked, Yeon-ji would only shake her head without giving an answer.

It was obvious something had happened during the recent Shim Chun-hoo incident...

"By the way, isn't Manager Park amazing? To overwhelm an over A-ranker so one-sidedly basically means he's S-rank or above, right?"

"Well, closing the gate already proved that much. I'm just curious how much stronger he is beyond that."

Shin Ah-yeon responded to Lee Soo-ah's words while glancing at Yeon-ji.

Yeon-ji still said nothing.

Not just any kind of silence—her expression was unusually grave.

'Is it because she couldn't overpower Shim Chun-hoo?'

Shim Chun-hoo had fought Yeon-ji before he faced Park Jung-woo.

But Yeon-ji couldn't dominate Shim Chun-hoo. If Park Jung-woo hadn't saved her, she might have even taken a hit.

Physically, Yeon-ji would have been fine, but maybe her pride was wounded.

She considered teasing her about it... but Shin Ah-yeon quickly dropped the idea.

Since Yeon-ji showed no reaction, continuing would just make Shin Ah-yeon feel like trash.

'Hmm...'

But actually, Yeon-ji wasn't particularly bothered about not beating Shim Chun-hoo.

Even Park Jung-woo had told her this once, but Yeon-ji still wasn't at S-rank yet.

She was somewhere on par with an A-rank over-level, like Shim Chun-hoo.

That wasn't because Yeon-ji's level was low, but because she hadn't yet managed to fully utilize her strength.

Besides, her dark magic had just reached the 4th Circle.

That was already fast progress, and expecting S-rank-level power right after reaching 4th Circle was asking too much. Considering her current pace, reaching S-rank soon was practically a given.

Compared to her past, when she was chasing S-rank with no prospects, she was just happy now.

According to Park Jung-woo, she could even reach S-rank if she could just draw out all her physical ability as of now.

So, she wasn't bothered by her loss to Shim Chun-hoo...

'Should I say it?'

More than anything else, Yeon-ji was actually preoccupied with something about Park Jung-woo.

The conversation between Shim Chun-hoo and Park Jung-woo.

Learning then about Park Jung-woo's limited lifespan.

'The price of gaining strength without being an awakened.'

That was the conclusion Yeon-ji arrived at.

But she couldn't bring herself to tell Shin Ah-yeon or Lee Soo-ah.

Especially since Shin Ah-yeon had recently come to her for dating advice.

'I thought it was just a friend's story at first.'

But as she continued listening, she was sure it was Shin Ah-yeon's own story.

Even with her lack of experience, Yeon-ji could read that much.

And the person in question was obvious—Park Jung-woo.

As for Lee Soo-ah, she could barely hide her own feelings towards Park Jung-woo.

The only one oblivious might be Shin Ah-yeon herself.

She was truly clueless.

"By the way, manager Park is at the TV station, right?"

"I heard he went to America."

"I heard that, too. I was there when PD Jung made the offer to Manager Park."

That was what occupied Shin Ah-yeon and Lee Soo-ah the most.

Why America, and so suddenly?

And it wasn't like he had no duties. Park Jung-woo had plenty to do:

Managing Shin Ah-yeon and Lee Soo-ah's schedules.

Checking in on Yeon-ji and teaching her dark magic.

Guiding the training of new recruits Unique had recently accepted.

Even the older Unique trainees didn't want to be left behind by the new arrivals, never skipping practice. And all those training sessions were managed by Park Jung-woo.

Of course, with Director Song helping him, there wouldn't necessarily be problems just because Park Jung-woo went to America.

He had already handed over the main duties.

"Usually he'd insist on doing everything himself, even if it killed him."

"Right?"

"Him suddenly participating in a show in America? There's definitely a reason."

"Yeah, it's not like Manager Park is greedy for screen time or anything."

Having reached that conclusion, Shin Ah-yeon and Soo-ah turned to Yeon-ji.

It was a look demanding she agree with them.

'Why me, though?'

Would agreeing change anything?

Still, Yeon-ji slowly nodded.

"Heh, huh. That's true, it is suspicious."

"I knew you'd see it our way, Yeon-ji unni."

With that, Lee Soo-ah fell silent, thinking.

Making Yeon-ji tense for no reason.

"What are we going to do...?"

Shin Ah-yeon and Yeon-ji were polar opposites in personality.

While Shin Ah-yeon was gruff yet passive in action, Lee Soo-ah was considerate and shy in speech, but impulsive in action. Sudden outbursts were frequent with her.

Yeon-ji knew this well from observing them from a slight distance.

Whenever Lee Soo-ah wore that face, she usually ended up acting without thinking.

'... But why is he really going to America?'

The meaning was a bit different for Yeon-ji than for the others, but she, too, wondered why Park Jung-woo was going.

Was it because of the Shim Chun-hoo incident? No, it didn't seem related.

'Oh, right. Was it because of what Shim Chun-hoo said at the end?'

Why was someone from 300 years ago here?

The demon that turned Shim Chun-hoo into a monster had supposedly said that.

She'd completely forgotten about this, worrying over Park Jung-woo's lifespan.

'But what's that got to do with America...?'

Thinking this over, Yeon-ji suddenly focused on the demon part.

'Did the demons do something in America? ... Ah, Mexico!'

In Korea, the Jeju incident and Shim Chun-hoo becoming a serial killer caused a nationwide stir, but globally, the biggest incident was Mexico's demonization.

Mexico, devastated, with most of the country turned into an uninhabitable Demonic Zone.

And now, the US, where Park Jung-woo was headed, had shut down most flights due to the Mexico disaster.

Rumor was you couldn't get in without a business visa.

'That's it.'

That must be Park Jung-woo's reason for going to America.

But, Yeon-ji couldn't bring herself to say this to Shin Ah-yeon or Lee Soo-ah.

'If I say that, they'll both 100% insist on going after him, right?'

But honestly, Yeon-ji had zero inclination to follow.

Though Park Jung-woo's fate worried her, there was no need for her to chase after him to America.

He clearly had his own reasons—chasing him there could only get in the way.

But Shin Ah-yeon and especially Lee Soo-ah... If they found out, they'd do everything to follow him.

'Let's just stay quiet.'

Tuning out Shin Ah-yeon and Lee Soo-ah's chatter, Yeon-ji focused her mind as much as possible on her magic.

Right now, her only desire was to become S-rank as soon as possible.

***

HSN broadcast station.

PD Jung Jun-soo beamed, reaching out to shake my hand.

"I really didn't expect you would accept my offer, manager Park."

He truly hadn't expected me to accept his proposal.

He must have asked half-heartedly, just in case.

It wasn't as if I was eager for TV appearances, and I was responsible for two S-rank Hunters.

"I bet Unique must hate this. From what I hear, manager Park, you have more than enough on your plate already."

"You don't need to worry about that. The President is there, and Director Song can substitute for me just fine."

"Haha! I see. Well, considering Unique's momentum lately, president Choi is clearly no ordinary person."

Recently, Sung-hwan was almost never at Unique.

He was always out at meetings, hustling to land more shows or dungeon runs for the Hunters.

Right now, Unique was in its prime.

With two S-rank Hunters, it was crucial to grow the management side as fast as possible, so Sung-hwan's desperation made sense.

'That's why I can focus on Shin Ah-yeon and Lee Soo-ah without worry.'

Including Yeon-ji, too.

I was still involved with vetting new recruits, but recently had been handing off much of that to Director Song.

"Ah, right. Manager Park, I heard a fascinating rumor recently. May I ask you about it, if you don't mind?"

"A fascinating rumor? Well... I don't mind."

The only thing that came to mind was the recent incident at Sillim.

I wondered if rumors were spreading that it had been me, but that seemed unlikely.

If it were, my phone wouldn't have been this quiet.

"I only heard this by chance, but..."

PD Jung hesitated a bit, watching for my reaction, then finally spoke up.

"Manager Park, is it true that you're a 'returnee'?"

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=【(；☉_☉)】

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