The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 464: I’m a Fan! (4)

“I’m telling you, I’m going to get dumped.”

I said it while organizing, on my laptop, the traits of the monsters I’d cared for so far. Sitting beside the laptop and glaring at Seong Hyunjae, Hangyeol grumbled, asking why Dad would get dumped.

– If Dad likes someone, then I like them too.

“I see, Hangyeol. Actually, Dad kind of likes Seong Hyunjae, too.”

– Except that one. Except the one that’s dangerous to Dad.

Hangyeol’s particular dislike of Seong Hyunjae probably came from the times he’d threatened us. He’d talked about cutting us apart when a dungeon burst, and even tried to lay hands on me on the cruise.

“Is this going to be your office, Director?”

Moon Hyunah looked around as she spoke. This was one of the empty rooms on the first floor of the breeding facility.

“They said we needed a Director’s office. I’ve been working from home till now, but we’ve got staff these days.”

I should start coming and going like a proper worker, too. I’d lived too irregularly. For now I’d only moved in a desk, a table, and a sofa. Not even a nameplate yet. Come to think of it, I should get new business cards printed.

“Anyway, all I’m going to do is confess. That’s it.”

“How does that work? Chloe could say okay, you know?”

“Does it seem that way to you? I mean purely, with no other intent.”

Moon Hyunah scratched the back of her head.

“Hyungnim is cute, but…”

She plopped onto the sofa and continued.

“If you ask whether you’d look attractive to Chloe, honestly, it’s hard to give a yes.”

“Of course. I’m basically the only one who knows her one–sidedly. It’s hard to even claim ‘love at first sight.’ First impressions, whatever people say, are mostly looks, and on several fronts I’m at a disadvantage.”

As if it weren’t hard enough going solo, I’d been wrapped in a flashy backdrop of Yuhyun, Seong Hyunjae, and Song Taewon. Would my face even register? So getting turned down was right—if there were no ulterior motives.

“But you say it pretty coldly. Yesterday you were at a loss, and overnight your feelings cooled?”

“I still like Ms. Chloe. I’d like to keep liking her, too.”

Chloe would have no idea, but when I was struggling, her program had been a big comfort. Plenty of others besides me would have been helped as well. Even though regression erased those events, I still remembered clearly.

“…Suspicious.”

It seemed Ms. Hyunah had begun to feel my attitude was strange.

“In support of Han Yujin–gun’s first love.”

Seong Hyunjae came over and perched on the desk, then held out a USB stick. Hangyeol bared his teeth as if to bite his hand any second. Easy, boy.

“It’s not my first love. My first love dumped me ages ago.”

I plugged the USB into the laptop. Inside was data on Chloe Alger.

“That was fast.”

He’d said he’d contact me in a few days, but he brought information in just one. It detailed not only her personal profile but also her recent movements. I read through it slowly, then let out a long sigh. There was nothing suspicious in the content itself. But—

‘1 cm.’

She was taller than before regression. A small difference, but the problem was that at this point in time her level should be lower than the Chloe I knew. Accounting for that, the difference would be a bit more. About 2 cm.

‘…So it’s safer to assume her stat grade rose.’

Or she obtained a skill that affects the body. That could happen, in fairness. Grades can rise. Skills can be gained. I changed, my surroundings changed—there’s no rule saying others can’t.

Only, change isn’t that easy. If I had no memories—if I’d simply regressed with the same skills—how much would I actually have changed compared to before? Changing without any interference is never easy.

“Han Yujin–gun.”

Seong Hyunjae leaned his upper body at an angle.

“It seems there are parts different from your memory.”

“…Yes.”

“What is this, you two talking about something only you know.”

Moon Hyunah grumbled to let her in. To explain in detail, I’d have to talk about before regression. I rubbed my face like washing it and swept back my hair.

“I’m not certain.”

With a heavy heart, I went on.

“There’s a possibility Hunter Chloe is connected to Park Hayul, or to the person who attacked the Association recently.”

“…Chloe?”

“Yes. Which is why, to check, I need to be dumped.”

Moon Hyunah folded her arms loosely. When Seong Hyunjae’s hand reached toward me, Hangyeol smacked it with his tail.

“Don’t be too disappointed. You can’t judge people by appearances alone.”

“It’s not certain, you know.”

“Wait, so you’re saying Hyungnim pretended to like Chloe?”

“…It’s not pretending. Not romantically, but person to person, I do like her. I’m a fan, for real.”

“Yeah, it didn’t feel like acting. But confessing to see if there’s some scheme—that’s kind of a weird method.”

“Everyone thinks I like Ms. Chloe that way, so I’m matching the situation.”

I couldn’t talk about keywords. If a keyword gets blocked, it’s the Park Hayul side. If it doesn’t get blocked but she tries to date me or pulls some other move, it’s the Filial Duty Addicts. If it’s neither, maybe I can relax a little. Even then, I’ll have to pry about her rank.

“I don’t think Ms. Chloe is the type to date me just for my conditions. Don’t you agree?”

“As far as I know, no. Chloe is—how should I put it—somewhat like Chief Song.”

“Chief Song?”

“I told you before he’s unusual. She doesn’t suppress herself that much, of course, but for a high–rank Hunter she values the public good. She also dislikes Hunters who throw their weight around.”

“…She sounds like a good person.”

“Well, there’s a lot of discrimination over there, too. Less than before, but still. There’s even that saying, ‘America’s heroes are white.’”

Not all, but most of the famous, popular Hunters in the U.S. were white. There had been talk about people getting preferential treatment even with similar or slightly lower ability.

“So her ethics are on the rigid side, and I doubt she’s in league with the ones who kidnapped and sniped at Director Han—but, hmm. As Seong Hyunjae says, you can’t know people’s insides. Some folks are completely different on the inside.”

“Even the Breaker Guildmaster got burned once. So—”

“Shut your mouth, Seong Hyunjae. Before I stitch it shut.”

Moon Hyunah’s brows twisted hard as she snarled. Maybe she’d been scammed once, too.

“It could just be my misunderstanding.”

“So basically, if you get cleanly rejected, there’s no ulterior motive?”

“For now, yeah. If they were targeting me, it’d be a chance too good to pass up.”

Even if we called it a truce with the Filial Duty Addicts, both sides had said simple contact was fine. They wouldn’t refuse getting close to me.

“They might think it’s a trap, but my behavior could also look pretty natural.”

“I was fooled, so I can vouch for that.”

“I’m telling you it’s genuine.”

And with all this noisy ‘he likes her,’ ‘he’s going to confess,’ people poking everywhere and me denying hard, it’d be tough to think we’re staging it together on purpose. In reality, all I’d done was mutter about maybe confessing once.

“Seems the rumor spread a lot.”

“Yup. It’s all over our guild.”

“Soyeong says she wants to catch the bouquet.”

“Ah, Liette said she might try making a move before it’s too late. Be careful. Lock your doors at night.”

What are you even saying. Still, does that mean she won’t touch people who are attached? I thought she wouldn’t care about that—surprising.

“…I’m one thing, but I really feel sorry for Ms. Chloe. If it’s a pointless misunderstanding, I should plant my head on the floor and apologize.”

“You said you weren’t putting on an act. And you’re F–rank and younger on top of that, so it’s fine. If Chloe were a low–rank Hunter or the gender were reversed, I’d tell you to shut it down quietly.”

Saying this could pass as a light happening, Moon Hyunah waved it off. She said Chloe would probably find it amusing.

“Please keep this secret from others. Not just Yuhyun and Yerim—Chief Song too.”

If Yuhyun and Yerim found out, they’d give it away immediately. Chief Song wasn’t great at acting either.

“Don’t worry. So, which hotel? Should I call in an orchestra?”

A confession is still a confession, she said, still excited.

“Y–yes. Ms. Chloe knows your personality, so do as you like. I’ll get dragged around by you two and then get shoved into confessing.”

And—this is awkward to say, but I should prepare.

“It seems Ms. Chloe’s stats are higher than known. She might not be A–rank, but S–rank.”

“What?”

Moon Hyunah’s eyes went round. Even Seong Hyunjae hadn’t guessed that far.

“Compared to Chloe Alger when she was A–rank, the current Chloe Alger is about 2 cm taller.”

“So that’s why you were confident after seeing the file.”

“What are you two talking about?”

“Originally, even five years later, Chloe Alger was 1 cm shorter than she is now.”

“…Five years later?”

“I actually came from five years in the future.”

“What Han Yujin–gun says is true.”

Seong Hyunjae backed me up. Moon Hyunah hunched, propped her chin, and stared between us. A brief silence passed.

“…Well, fine. I’ve seen it all—since dungeons appeared, all sorts of things happened. We even went to another world; time travel is nothing. Bottom line is you know five years’ worth of the future.”

“A lot has changed, though. Originally I couldn’t raise monsters. There was no breeding facility. S–rank Monster Mounts didn’t exist even five years out.”

“Then this is way better now! That’s enough for me.”

Her arched back straightened and she sank into the sofa’s backrest.

“Got any advice for me?”

“No. Maybe just ‘be careful with media play’? Why do you think I knew about that incident.”

“Mm. Got it.”

And she didn’t press for more. I felt it in Achates too—Ms. Hyunah is most faithful to the present. To the moment she’s living. So she has little attachment to a future that vanished. Even after the Breaker guild fell before regression, she still would have walked her own path. Same now.

“Big body changes from A to S, so it’s suspicious. Can ‘they’ turn A–ranks into S–ranks? S–ranks into SS?”

“That’d be tough. And I already helped Hunter Kim Seonghan grow to S–rank, remember.”

“Ah, right.”

“That was because I figured out the growth conditions—but that itself isn’t easy. The conditions were strict.”

I also gave her the date I regressed. Saying she’d prepare something splendid, Moon Hyunah left first. Hangyeol glared at Seong Hyunjae, telling him to go quickly as well.

“Are you going to clear out people nearby when you confess?”

“Yes. My Fear Resistance will be off just in case, since the skill hasn’t lifted yet. That’ll make it feel more realistic.”

If she’s connected to Park Hayul, she might try to control me. Confessing to an S–rank I like with Fear Resistance off—won’t I look pathetic? Getting rejected would be the normal outcome. I felt juuust a little sad. It’s not like I have zero desire to date normally.

“Even in the one–in–a–million chance she wants to date, I’ll back out.”

Still, Yerim calmed down and said, “Mister, shake it off in advance—cheer up,” while Yuhyun seemed unable to imagine I’d be refused. Judging by conditions alone, maybe.

“You say that knowing my situation.”

“…Yeah.”

“You once said if I got married you’d step aside.”

“Really? Han Yuhyun really said that?”

Yerim looked between us, incredulous.

“At the time, I thought if hyung was happy, it’d be okay.”

“And now you don’t want to?”

“…Yeah.”

Yuhyun nodded, apologetic. Better than forcing himself to endure.

“And she’s someone we don’t know well. I’m not absolutely opposed.”

“Mister, that’s one hundred percent a lie.”

“If it’s someone trustworthy, I think it’s fine.”

“Does such a person even exist? To pass the Guildmaster’s criteria, at best it’s Peace.”

“Yeah, Peace would be fine.”

Yerim and I stared at Yuhyun in unison. Uh… he seems serious.

“Wow… Han Yuhyun.”

“Yuhyun, at least consider the species difference.”

Of course, I do trust Peace. I raised him, besides.

“If it’s at Peace’s level—he would never hurt you.”

“Right, right.”

As we talked, the car reached the hotel. Even though it was a confession expecting to be dumped, my heart thumped a little.