STC chapter 13

The training room at seven in the morning was supposed to be quiet.

Today, however, the atmosphere was completely different. The expressions on the faces of the groups of people gathered around were clearly excited and eager.

Some people were even making meaningless bets.

“I bet fifty thousand won that he shows up just fine today.”

“Fifty thousand won?”

“Didn’t you see Ye Ilhu’s expression yesterday? He was practically begging him. Not even with that guy, Ha Seonglim… ahem, anyway, he’s never done that with anyone else before.”

“Well, that’s a different case. I’ll bet five thousand won that he comes out beaten to a pulp. His temper isn’t going anywhere.”

“Five thousand won? Are you kidding me?”

“Do you think five thousand won is nothing? Try digging in the ground and see if you find it. I just bought a new bike, so I can’t afford more.”

Five thousand won, ten thousand won, it’s infuriating. I suddenly popped my head between the two whispering people.

“Excuse me.”

“Ack!”

“W-what?!”

The two were so startled, they looked like they’d seen a grim reaper. It was understandable.

The person who might end up beaten to a pulp had appeared like a ghost.

“Did you all get up at dawn to place bets? How diligent.”

Indeed, the guild’s activities were limited to commuting to and from gates, writing reports, and attending the training room.

But an SS-rank Ye Ilhu sparring with a D-rank nobody? That must have been an exciting issue.

Moreover, it had been a year since the end of the love triangle involving five men, so they were probably quite bored.

But regardless, being the subject of gossip, whether for good or bad reasons, never felt pleasant.

“If it were Ye Ilhu, I’d understand, but I really hate this kind of attention. I can’t stand being someone’s entertainment or a way to make money, so stop it.”

The holographic training room had one side entirely made of glass. It could be set to transparent or opaque for occasions when training lectures were given.

Some of the people gathered here had probably come to learn from Ye Ilhu’s combat style.

Again, Ye Ilhu was SS-rank.

He wasn’t someone who could easily enter an A-rank gate, so watching him fight was limited to those who entered S-rank gates with him.

In other words, hunters of ordinary ranks could only see Ye Ilhu’s battles through videos.

I thought it would be a good example, so if Ye Ilhu didn’t mind, I planned to set the window to transparent.

But now I realized there were far more hunters looking to be entertained than those eager to learn.

‘I should set it to opaque as soon as I go in.’

I was getting more attention than I ever wanted.

‘I never asked for this kind of attention!’

Just as I was grumbling to myself and stepping into the training room, someone lightly tapped my shoulder.

Turning around, I saw Ryu Min smiling at me.

“You’re working hard from early in the morning, Hunter Kang Baram.”

He was dressed in a white mandarin collar shirt and a dark beige cardigan.

Despite the ordinary attire, he looked quite stylish, thanks to his pretty face.

They say a good face completes the fashion. It must have been said with Ryu Min in mind. I felt somewhat resentful.

I greeted him with a stiff expression.

“What brings you here?”

The question implied, ‘You’re not here to place bets too, are you?’ rather than a genuine inquiry.

Despite my cold reaction, Ryu Min kept smiling.

“Your tone is quite stiff.”

“There seem to be a lot of people here for trivial reasons today.”

“Do I look like one of them?”

“Well, you’re here now. I doubt an A-rank like you came to learn from Ye Ilhu.”

I’m not usually a prickly person. I actually like people and get along well with strangers.

My hostility towards Ye Ilhu and Ryu Min was because they had been hostile to me first.

Ryu Min sighed deeply at my curt replies. …

Had I been too rude? Just as I was about to apologize, he spoke first.

“I don’t really know why I’m here at dawn either.”

“…Pardon?”

“Anyway, watching you talk is fascinating and new to me. Keep talking, anything.”

Was he treating me like some kind of clown?

“If you want to hear more, pay me.”

Surprisingly, Ryu Min’s expression brightened at my sarcastic remark.

“Oh? Will money do it? Then, would you like to come to my room later and read me a book or something?”

“No, thanks. I’ll earn my living on my own.”

“How much do you want?”

He followed me, quoting a famous line from a well-known drama.

I was thinking how annoying this was when Chae Goya appeared.

When he saw me, his face lit up like a flower blooming, then darkened like a cloud.

He was probably still thinking about yesterday’s incident. Chae Goya knew about the conversation I had asked to keep secret.

“G-good morning, Baram hyung… Ryu Min hyung, hello…”

Despite remembering how Chae Goya treated his brother yesterday, I didn’t want to blame him entirely.

His pale face showed he had been tormented by guilt all night. Although a slight sense of betrayal remained, it vanished upon seeing his condition.

I smiled at Chae Goya.

“Goya, can you show me mini Chunsik?”

“…Huh?”

Chae Goya’s eyes widened at the unexpected request, and he fumbled to comply.

With a small puff of smoke, mini Chunsik appeared on his palms, wagging its long, thin tongue and greeting me happily.

Ah, pet therapy at its best.

“Chunsik seems to like you too.”

“Really? That makes me happy.”

“I’m sorry about yesterday. The thing is… my brother, I mean, the guild master…”

“Shh. Let’s just forget about that, Goya.”

With Ryu Min lingering nearby, I didn’t want the conversation to spread. As I petted Chunsik, a status window appeared above Chae Goya’s head, just like yesterday.

[Chae Goya/C-Rank Hunter (Summon Defense Type)

♥ Affection ♥: 45/??

System: // Chae Goya is so happy they don’t know what to do! Their affection for you is growing rapidly! HAPPY MORNING!⁽⁽٩( ᐖ )۶⁾⁾]

I wish they’d at least get rid of these annoying emojis.

Then I started to feel curious. This mysterious status window keeps talking to me, but can’t I converse with it directly? It seems to know a lot about this world and even feels like it’s transcended the fourth wall.

As I patted Chunshik’s head while deep in thought, someone lifted the collar of my shirt from behind.

“Whoa…”

Startled, I let out a dumbfounded noise and leaned back against the person’s chest. When I looked up, Ye Ilhu was there, looking annoyed even in the morning.

“Why are you here? If you’re here, you should go straight to the training room. You’re not a stray dog.”

I came here because someone asked me to. His blunt tone first thing in the morning made me retort sharply as well.

“Can’t I go where I want? What’s the difference if I wait here or there… Hey, are you ignoring me!”

Despite being late, Ye Ilhu brushed past me and headed straight for the training room. When I shouted, mini Chunshik seemed startled and shrank back quietly.

“Oh, sorry. Did I scare you, Chunshik?”

“It’s… it’s okay. It’s just that I’ve never seen you get angry before. You’re always so kind to me and Chunshik…”

His voice trailed off, becoming almost inaudible. Just as I was about to ask him to repeat himself, Ye Ilhu shouted loudly from the training room door.

“Kangbalbal, come here!”

Where does he get off giving people weird nicknames? I stomped into the training room, feeling the eyes of numerous hunters, including Ryu Min and Chae Goya, on my back.

As soon as I entered the training room, the large glass wall turned opaque. A chorus of sighs echoed from the other side of the glass, but I paid no mind.

It felt better to stoke their unnecessary imaginations than to become a public spectacle.

Before putting on my protective gear, I slapped Ye Ilhu’s arm with my shoulder.

“You’re going to drain my entire fortune with that blank check.”

Ye Ilhu chuckled and shrugged off my shoulder.

“Take as much as you want.”

Annoying guy. I should just ask him to buy me an island. Not that it would matter, as I wouldn’t have a boat to get there.

When will I ever get used to his insolence?

That was my thought on the very first day we promised to spar.