Chapter 56 – I Have Something to Ask

Because Kim Tae-yang was busy clinking glasses with Kim In-ho, the meat wasn’t grilling as fast.

Left with no choice, Katrinne started grilling the meat herself.

While others ate it as a side for their drinks, she devoured the meat as if she held a personal grudge against it.

She greased the grill with a piece of pork fat, threw a bunch of meat on at once, and busied herself with the dual task of eating and grilling.

I stepped outside for a bit of fresh air. People might recognize me in broad daylight, but not many would at night.

The miracle I performed had given people hope and made me famous, but my face wasn’t as well-known as a celebrity’s.

I called Seo Hyun-ji.

The phone barely rang once before I heard a voice on the other end.

-What is it?

“I called because I need to talk to you.”

Her voice was cold, sharp as a blade.

To be honest, I had hoped to see her today, so it was a shame.

Tae-yang and In-ho were set to become my teammates. Seo Hyun-ji, however, was still in a gray area.

She was juggling her life as both a celebrity and a Hunter. And I knew full well why she couldn’t choose one over the other.

Though I hadn’t understood at first.

-I heard you’re having a team dinner today.

“You could still come, if you want.”

-I’m not going! Should someone who just got out of the hospital be out drinking already?

“I wasn’t injured.”

-Such bravado.

She only said that because she didn’t know the extent of Katrinne’s power.

“Are you at home right now?”

-I am.

“I’m heading your way, so come out for a bit.”

Seo Hyun-ji didn’t answer.

I was about to repeat myself, thinking she might not have heard, when a belated reply came.

-Right now? You’re coming here?

“Yes, I have something to tell you.”

-But, I’m about to go to sleep.

“I’ll be there soon. It won’t take long.”

I could hear the fluster in Seo Hyun-ji’s voice.

I could have waited until the next time we met, but I wanted to wrap everything up today if possible.

-Is it… important?

“Yes.”

It is important.

I plan on recruiting Seo Hyun-ji to my side.

I need Seo Hyun-ji the Hunter, not Seo Hyun-ji the celebrity.

-Alright. How long will it take you to get here?

“About twenty minutes, I think?”

-…Thirty minutes. Come in thirty minutes.

With that, Seo Hyun-ji hung up.

Did she have something to do at home? Well, it didn’t matter, since I wasn’t planning on taking up much of her time anyway.

I went back inside the barbecue restaurant.

I could see Katrinne’s cola glass clinking against Kim Tae-yang and Kim In-ho’s soju glasses with a *cheers*.

Seeing Katrinne so happy over some pork belly made me feel strangely sentimental.

When I first met her, she was such a cold little kid, the type you could prick with a needle and not a single drop of blood would come out.

A doll who was always expressionless, never smiling.

The kid who used to be painfully shy now gets along with anyone, as long as there’s food involved.

A child who didn’t have a smooth upbringing like others.

The young lord, who was always forced to make choices where someone had to die, was all grown up now.

‘What is the right thing to do?’

I considered the option of not sending her back to her original world.

I quickly let out a bitter smile.

No, she would choose to go back.

She wasn’t the type to abandon her people, who were now floating on a sky island.

Even now, behind that smiling face, she was surely worried about them.

To her, her people were the only legacy left by her parents, who had died tragically.

“Team Leader! Where’d you go? Why were you gone so long?!”

Kim Tae-yang waved his soju glass at me. He looked like he wanted to drink more, but I had things to do.

“Something’s come up, so I have to step out for a bit. You guys keep eating.”

“Eat more? I’m full.”

Katrinne flinched at Kim In-ho’s words. Then she cautiously folded the menu.

Kim In-ho’s eyes wavered slightly before he waved his hands dismissively and laughed.

“Ah, you’re at a growing age. You should eat more.”

“If everything she ate went to her height, she’d probably be one of the Attack on Titan giants by now.”

No one disagreed with me.

“But where are you going? Don’t leave us hanging.”

“I’m going to see Ms. Seo Hyun-ji for a moment.”

At my words, Kim Tae-yang’s eyes went wide. Katrinne dropped the menu.

“Huh, right now? You have plans to meet her?”

“I’m going to drop by her place.”

Why is everyone so surprised?

Is there a problem with going to see a teammate?

“Ajeossi. Let’s just wrap it up and go home. I’m full.”

“Huh? Didn’t you just order naengmyeon?”

“No, I didn’t. I’m full now, so I don’t need it.”

Look at her, lying through her teeth. Trying to pretend she’s a light eater now? We’ve already seen all there is to see.

“I’ve already confirmed with Tae-yang and In-ho, but I need to ask Seo Hyun-ji what she wants to do, too. It’ll be quick, so just wait a bit. You can move to another spot and keep eating if you want.”

“Ajeossi. Should I go with you?”

Why is she suddenly so desperate to tag along?

“I’ll be right back, so just hang out. Here, the card. You were worried about the bill, right?”

“Uh, no.”

I pressed the card into her hand, went outside, and headed for Seo Hyun-ji’s place.

It wasn’t far from the restaurant, so I arrived quickly. It would have been better if Seo Hyun-ji had just come to the dinner in the first place.

I called her when I got to the front of her building.

“I’m here.”

“I’m already out.”

Seo Hyun-ji, who was already outside, walked toward me, a black cap pulled down low.

Had she just gotten home?

The face visible beneath her cap had light makeup on, and a faint scent of perfume drifted from her.

“Should we go to a cafe or something?”

“No. You want to get our pictures taken wandering around cafes at this hour? You’re a celebrity now, too.”

As she spoke, Seo Hyun-ji pointed to the side.

“There’s a park nearby. The vending machine coffee is pretty good, so it’ll be fine.”

“A vending machine?”

“I have it sometimes.”

“Ah, okay.”

Even though it was late in the evening, there were many people out for a walk.

Even in a world where Gates opened and monsters poured out, it was as if humans were still the masters of this land, creating landscapes for their own enjoyment.

“Do you have any coins? I forgot to bring some.”

Not many people carry coins these days. I was no exception.

So I paid with the mobile payment app on my phone. Seo Hyun-ji flinched when she saw that.

Don’t tell me she didn’t know.

I mean, even I, who’d been in another world for eleven years, had caught up with modern civilization. Did she just come down from training in the mountains or something?

“Oh, when did they change the vending machine?”

“The installation date says it’s been here for a while.”

“Oh, really? Uh, maybe they upgraded it.”

Upgraded, my foot.

“But you’re really okay, aren’t you? Even after tussling with that monster.”

“I told you I wasn’t hurt.”

“It’s just so hard to believe.”

We each took a paper cup and sat side-by-side on a bench.

“People have been asking me a ton of questions since they know I’m on the same team as you. You’re the talk of the town right now.”

“It’s better than being ignored, I guess.”

“That’ll only last for a little while. You’ll get sick of it soon enough.”

At my words, Seo Hyun-ji mumbled with the paper cup to her lips.

“So, why did you suddenly leave the dinner to come here?”

“I have something to ask you.”

“What could possibly be so important that you had to come at an hour when people are bound to get the wrong idea?”

Is there really anything to misunderstand?

But this wasn’t something I could ask over text. Or even over the phone.

Now that the two Kims were firmly on my side, Seo Hyun-ji had to make her decision as well.

“What’s the exact name of your organization?”

“What?”

Seo Hyun-ji looked at me, bewildered.

I licked my dry lips and repeated myself, making sure she’d understand easily.

***

Gates opened, and the world found itself under threat from monsters.

At first, everyone talked as if it were the end of the world.

But that didn’t last long.

The military defended the Gates, and the Awakened appeared.

It wasn’t perfect yet, but the foundations for survival had been rewritten.

Even amidst the chaos, the consumption of entertainment culture never ceased.

Countless celebrities and aspiring stars poured into the scene every day. To survive in a red ocean market that was saturated beyond belief, you needed a unique trait.

Seo Hyun-ji debuted in a four-member girl group with the concept of being Hunter-Awakened.

It was ridiculous at first.

All the members vehemently hated it, but they had no choice but to follow the company’s concept.

It managed to generate some buzz.

Though most of it was negative comments.

They managed to do well with a decent song, and for a time, their activities went smoothly.

But the limits were clear. The group, which had only ever chased cheap buzz, soon disbanded when their contracts ended, and the members went their separate ways to find their own paths.

The path she chose was acting.

With looks that had earned her the center position in her girl group, debuting as an actress was no great challenge. Provided her acting skills were up to par, of course.

Unlike her former colleagues, she wasn’t confident enough to banter on variety shows or act coy.

A stunning face. Passable acting skills.

She began a new career, moving from a girl group to supporting roles in acting.

Then one day, she happened to land a role in Director Jang Jae-ha’s project: *City of Killers*.

The plot was simple.

On the day of the cataclysm when Gates appeared and the world’s ideologies were turned upside down.

The protagonist, who had saved many comrades and defeated countless enemies, went into hiding after suffering from PTSD.

A city where those with power, once heroes, had become corrupted by their own abilities. And a psychopath who drags the protagonist back into the fray to fight fire with fire.

Seo Hyun-ji was cast in a difficult role.

But thanks to that drama, Seo Hyun-ji shot to stardom overnight.

Critics praised the former girl group member for her excellent portrayal of both a ruthless killer and a fragile soul.

Seo Hyun-ji gave a bitter smile.

It wasn’t that she was a good actress. It was because she had witnessed a spiral of killing and being killed countless times through her own experiences.

The following year, she received an S-rank evaluation.

Many companies were eager to hire an S-rank Hunter as an advertising model. Moreover, since Seo Hyun-ji was already a celebrity, she had no shortage of star power.

Her agency suggested using her S-rank Hunter status as a promotional tool.

Seo Hyun-ji wanted to refuse, but she had no choice but to accept.

She couldn’t become a star just because one drama happened to do well.

She had people she needed to continue providing for. To do that, she had to gain popularity.

Above all, for *that person’s* sake, she couldn’t give up her dream of being a celebrity.

She chose the Hanul Guild.

Her agency and manager tried to talk her out of it, but her mind was made up.

The days were peaceful.

She gained fame and was so busy she barely had time to breathe.

This wasn’t the training she was used to, with her fellow female members, but with two gruff men.

One was a blond delinquent with a piercing in his ear. She remembered laughing when she found out his hair color wasn’t dyed but inherited from his mother.

The other was an upright young man who hated losing to others more than anything.

The two of them seemed like polar opposites, yet they were extremely close.

Perhaps they had bonded over their shared suffering under a devil-like team leader.

-A Hunter has just appeared on the scene!

Watching the live stream, her hands clenched unconsciously.

The great dragon’s breath incinerated everything, and both the video feed and any trace of him vanished.

It seemed insane.

A massive, building-sized monster. Who in their right mind would charge a dragon armed with only a single sword?

She was sure he had died.

But then, in that desperate situation, he reappeared.

And in the end, he fought the monster in front of everyone.

To Seo Hyun-ji, her team leader’s back seemed to overlap with someone else’s. Her consciousness suddenly blanked out, and by the time she came to, the dragon’s head had been severed.

She saw more ambulances than she had ever seen in her life, and special forces cleaning up the aftermath, speaking into their radios.

Seo Hyun-ji naturally looked for him.

He was being carried away on an ambulance stretcher.

After that, Seo Hyun-ji refrained from broadcast appearances and rested at home. It was the first time she’d been free in a while.

She ordered food she normally couldn’t eat because of the calories.

The delivery person seemed to find it odd that she was wearing a mask and cap indoors, but she didn’t care.

As she enjoyed her small deviation from the norm with chicken and draft beer, her team leader’s face appeared on the TV screen.

It was strange.

It was a face she saw often, but seeing it on TV, he somehow felt like a different person.

It was almost funny watching that sly, wicked man manage his expression just because a camera was on him.

‘Our team leader might not be famous now, but you never know what could happen.’

One of her younger teammates had said that one day.

She had thought it was a foolish delusion.

But now, she had no choice but to admit it.

All of Korea was buzzing with stories about that man.

Every little detail of his life she didn’t know was pouring out of the TV.

‘He was surprisingly good at his studies.’

An interview with someone claiming to be his friend from a prestigious academic high school was on TV.

Seo Hyun-ji let out a dry laugh at the claim that he had been a quiet friend, so reserved you wouldn’t even know if he was in the class.

There was no way that man was like that.

Even now, if she closed her eyes, she could picture him cracking the whip on Kim Tae-yang and Kim In-ho.

For some reason, she felt an urge to see him.

It wasn’t a desire born from romantic feelings.

The sight of him standing firm against the monster, refusing to back down. She couldn’t get the image of his back out of her mind.

‘I heard they’re having a team dinner today.’

She’d gotten a message from Kim Tae-yang.

If the team leader had contacted her, she might have gone out of courtesy. But the great Seo Hyun-ji couldn’t be seen grilling pork belly just because someone called.

That’s when she got the call.

-I called because I need to talk to you.

Suddenly, he had business with her.

Seo Hyun-ji hesitated for a moment. A glance in the mirror showed her in her comfortable, at-home state.

“…Thirty minutes. Come in thirty minutes.”

She moved quickly.

He was an incredibly rude person, deciding to visit so suddenly at this late hour.

Still, she didn’t think he would come to see her for no reason.

That’s why she didn’t get her hopes up. No, there was no need to even think such things in the first place.

When she finished getting ready and went outside, she saw him walking toward her from a distance.

It had only been a few days, but it felt like a very long time.

No, seeing him in person after only seeing him on screen felt a little strange.

She even wondered if this was how he usually saw her.

“I talked to Tae-yang and In-ho, but I haven’t had the chance to speak with you, Ms. Seo Hyun-ji.”

The team leader, who always used formal speech with the two of them, was speaking casually today. For a moment, she wondered if she should have gone to the dinner after all.

“What’s the exact name of your organization?”

“What?”

Suddenly, the team leader had asked a completely random question.

“The name of the organization the Villains belong to.”

She fell silent.