Chapter 45

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Why?”

“You should strike while the iron’s hot!”

“What ‘iron’? Dirty water?”

After all, all Cho-i got from being involved with the two male hunters was hurt. Cho-i turned on her smartphone now that it was brought up. The article appeared faster than expected. Huntred was in an uproar over the article.

[Guild Leader dumped?] [Wow, the article’s out. Paehyeok Guild Master was really dumped.] [She’s amazing, LOL.] [How will Paehyeok Guild Master go to work now?] [She dumped him openly, right? Officially dumped him, right?] [Will he grovel vs. Won’t he grovel?]

Cho-i quickly scanned the headlines and found a noticeable post.

[Honestly, with that face, dumping the Guild Leader is possible LOL]
[Ms. Cho-i, did you not come to work today? Please show me your noble countenance.]
└ Oh, this jerk again.
└ Every time he shows up, it’s about her face, do it every day. └ No pictures? Pictures?
└ She didn’t come to work today, they said.
└ Everyone shut up, I couldn’t eat today because I didn’t see her face.]

“That’s really funny.”

No matter how she looked at it, it was Ganansu’s writing. She was supposed to create a positive story, but she always just talked about her face. Cho-i turned off Huntred and said to Yeonwoo Han.

“I’m downloading Ansta now.” “Oh, that’s a good idea.” “Take some good pictures for the first upload.” “Alright, alright. I’ll show you why I’m an Ansta celebrity.”

Cho-i posed naturally with the cafe railing and the lake in the background.

“She’s insane. She knows how to be photographed. I wondered why the news photos always turned out so well; she’s a natural.”

Yeonwoo Han held his smartphone and started taking pictures of Cho-i leaning naturally against the railing. Cho-i waited for a long time, but something felt off, so she snatched the smartphone in the middle.

“What is it? Why is it mostly my face?” “Hunter Cho-i is prettier than the background.”

Suui Kim, who was sitting at a terrace seat, said.

“Hey, don’t try any tricks.” “Damn it, it’s not a pickup line, bro!” “You’re talking nonsense.” “Wow, the photos still turned out great, Hunter Cho-i. Look, no editing needed. Should we just change the filter?” “I don’t really know. You try it.”

The two of them squatted on the floor and started choosing filters. Suui Kim looked at them disapprovingly, and Namsu Kang was just sipping his iced Americano and watching.

“Alright, I sent it to you via messenger. You can just upload it, right?” “Got it. First, I’ll create an ID…”

Cho-i finally created an ID and uploaded the photo after a long struggle. It was literally just the photo. Yeonwoo Han, who was watching next to her, sighed and said.

“When you upload a photo, you should also write something.” “What?” “Just whatever you want to say at the moment?” “Guild Master, you son of a bitch.” “Not that.” “Then I don’t really have anything I want to say.” “Just… keep uploading only photos from now on.” “Okay.”

Cho-i then followed Yeonwoo Han, turned off her smartphone, and put it in her pocket. Unaware of what that single photo might cause. The four of them had dinner nearby and headed to Seoul. Yeonwoo Han said he was going to sleep and went to the back seat, starting to sleep shoulder to shoulder with Namsu Kang. The sound of their snoring quietly echoed in the car. In the end, only Suui Kim, who was driving, and Cho-i in the support seat were awake. Cho-i watched the scenery passing by outside the window and said.

“Today was more fun than I expected.” “More than you expected?” “Yeah, more than I expected.” “Honestly, I don’t think something like this can build trust.” “Of course.”

Cho-i turned her head towards Suui Kim. As night fell, orange lights streamed into the car, making her dark eyes glow orange. Suui Kim looked at her eyes for a moment, then quickly looked forward.

“But just trust me this once. Like you said, it’s just an A-Rank dungeon, and we’ll do well.” “…I’ll think about it.” “You’re so stubborn.” “I told you my stubbornness is quite something.”

Cho-i smiled even as she said that. Indeed, they were different from her previous party members. The people seemed close, and they even took time out together to persuade her. Cho-i thought.

‘Should I give them a chance?’

She looked out the window again and hummed a tune.

* * *

[H.C.O. Ansta is up!]
[@GUS-gradeC-rankHDL111]
└ Your ID is so cool.
└ Sister, I’m coming!
└ Hey, did you see that crazy photo? Where is that? Looks like a film set.
└ That looks like Gangguk University Lake in the provinces.
└ Today, a photo of H.Y.Y. going there also went up.
└ Has anyone seen them? Another dating rumor?
└ No, it’s not that. The four of them formed a party this time and went for some bonding, I think.
└ How do you know?
└ Because I’m a Paehyeok Guild employee.
└ Is it okay to leak this kind of information?
└ What kind of leak is this? Anyway, everyone in the company who needs to know already knows.
└ How do they all know?
└ Because they shine wherever they go.
└ What the heck, it was X.X.!

Cho-i woke up to the constant ringing of an alarm while she was sleeping. It was early morning. She opened her eyes with an annoyed expression, and there was a message from the Guild Master.

[You’ve made him a truly rejected man. And congratulations.]

“What the hell are you talking about, damn it…”

Cho-i scratched her head and checked her smartphone. She wanted to see why it was ringing so much. And then she saw a ton of Ansta notifications on the top bar.

“Why are there so many?”

She logged into Ansta and immediately saw her incredibly inflated follower count. 10,000? No. 20,000? No. A staggering 820,000. Cho-i stared blankly at the number for a moment. Nara Shim, who had woken up with the alarm, was looking up at Cho-i with a deep frown between her eyebrows.

“What is it?”

“This.”

Cho-i showed the Ansta screen to Nara. Nara Shim, who had just woken up, squinted at the screen as if her eyes were blurry, then her eyes widened.

“Huh, what? When did you start Ansta?”

“Yesterday.”

“Yesterday~?”

Nara Shim sprang up and climbed onto the bed. Then she snatched the smartphone and checked the follower count again.

“That’s insane. It’s been a huge topic lately, did it grow this much in just one day?”

“It seems so.”

“All the comments are about how pretty you are. It seems like there are no guys who got sued and then came to Ansta to leave malicious comments.”

“Of course, that’s how it should be.”

Cho-i took the smartphone from Nara Shim’s hand and checked the Ansta comment section.

[B-rankeauty (rainbow emoji)]
[Sister, you’re so pretty!]
[Wow, it looks like just a casual photo, but you’re incredibly pretty~]
[With your face, Nara, stand tall!]
[So beautiful, innocent, everything. Always be happy~]
[love love love]
[♥♥♥♥Truly the One Tower]

It was literally nothing but compliments. There were about 500 such comments. Cho-i casually scrolled through the comments with an uninterested expression, then flipped her phone over and prepared to go back to sleep.

“Hey, get up. Didn’t you say you’re going to practice with your party members today?”

“Oh… right.”

She slowly got up and headed to the bathroom. First, she had to wash up, clear her head, and go to work at Paehyeok. And she also had to show her face to Ganansu, who couldn’t eat because he couldn’t see her face. But that day, Cho-i went to work at Paehyeok and saw Ganansu’s face in a different way. The Entity also in a rather bad way.

When she arrived at Paehyeok, her three party members were looking troubled in front of an employee from the dungeon management team. Next to them, Ganansu stood with a guilty expression. Cho-i had no reason to watch further and approached them.

“What’s going on?”

At her question, all five people turned their gaze to her. Cho-i blinked, her hands in her pockets. Why are they staring like that? Damn it. Suui Kim chose to continue talking with the dungeon management team rather than explain to her.

“There’s nothing preventing us from taking a B-Rank hunter into an A-Rank dungeon, but since it’s the first time with a non-combat type, things will become very difficult.”

“He won’t participate in combat. He has stealth skills, so he won’t be a hindrance. We just need to receive real-time updates on your combat situation.”

“Ah.”

Cho-i let out a small gasp of admiration. She knew Ganansu’s skills very well. It seemed that ability would be used in this way. Now that she thought about it, Ganansu seemed to have another skill besides the camera back then, and it must have been a stealth skill.

“Wow.”

A stealth skill. It really is a skill that suits a stalker. She chuckled to herself and tilted her head, looking at Ganansu as if teasing her, and Ganansu turned her gaze away as if ignoring her.

“If that’s the case, then it’s fortunate, but why our team of all teams? There must have been a way to enter a B-Rank dungeon together.” “I’ve already been to B-Rank. Although I can’t enter S-Rank dungeons for safety reasons, B-Rankers sometimes enter up to A-Rank dungeons together.” “Even if you have a stealth skill, shouldn’t we, as B-Rankers, fundamentally protect you while clearing the dungeon?” “I trust that the three of you here, who already have experience, will do well. Anyway, it’s a decision from above, so it’s best to assume you don’t have a right to refuse.” “….”

At those words, Suui Kim fell silent, and the dungeon management team left Ganansu behind. Ganansu stood there, restless as if sitting on a bed of thorns. Cho-i looked back and forth between Suui Kim and Ganansu, then raised one hand.

“Then how about we practice with her?”

Cho-i said, pointing at Ganansu with her finger.

“I think we can put this person in the middle in a diamond formation.”

Yeonwoo Han asked.

“Not at the very back?”

“It could be dangerous if something pops out from the back.” “Wouldn’t it be the same if the tank left the front open?”

Suui Kim sneered at Cho-i. Cho-i didn’t like his sneering, so she reached out, pulled his lower lip, and then let go. Suui Kim looked at her with a bewildered expression, but Cho-i continued speaking regardless.

“Let’s only do that when moving, and during combat, stay by Yeonwoo’s side. How about that?”

Yeonwoo Han nodded.

“Well, there’s no reason I can’t. I’m a bit worried since it’s B-Rank. But if it’s A-Rank and not A-plus, it might be okay. At least it won’t be at a level where you die if you’re even grazed.”

At those words, Ganansu’s face turned pale. Regardless, Cho-i picked up Ganansu and headed to the practice room.