The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 537: New York (3)

[Yerim—What kind of BS is that? So freaking annoying, seriously pissed]

[My Dongsaeng—It didn’t look like you used Grace properly.]

[Hyunah-ssi—There are idiots everywhere]

[Yerim—If I was there, I would’ve turned that party crasher into an ice statue]

[Myungwoo—They said there would be no disadvantages if you don’t break the party rules, but…]

[Hangyeol—I miss Daddy]

[Yerim—Mister, are you really really okay?]

[My Dongsaeng—Hyung, take a picture. No, a video.]

[Yerim—For real, take one!]

[Noah-ssi—I’m still at the airport.]

…As expected, I can’t handle group chats. When I try to reply to one person, someone else posts, so it’s impossible to have a proper conversation. Yerim, you’re too fast.

[I’m really fine. I’ll take one when I get to my room]

Wait, that’s not quite right, is it? To show I’m unharmed, I’d have to take off my clothes. While I hesitated, messages flooded in again. I can’t keep up.

[Yerim, calm down. Myungwoo, just bear with it for now. We agreed not to interfere with party matters.]

I’d said this in advance to avoid accusations of acting like a fox exploiting a tiger’s might. If they followed the party regulations, there would be no disadvantages in using the Breeding Facility and forge afterward.

[Yerim—Still, if they had a brain! There’s nothing good about harming Mister!]

[Hyunah-ssi—It can’t go unnoticed, so anyone with a brain wouldn’t step forward]

Just because someone’s S-rank didn’t mean they were smart, and even smart people varied depending on personality and circumstances. The world had surprisingly many thoughtless people and those completely disconnected from common sense. Anyone who’d worked in customer service dealing with people would realize there were so many strange and stupid individuals. Normal people were the majority and there were many good people too, but troublemakers tended to stick in memory.

Yerim agreed that whenever people gathered, there were bound to be a few weird ones mixed in.

[Yerim—For real though, did you see on the way here?]

[Yerim—Human experimentation lololol]

[Yerim—This is my first time in America lol]

Yerim laughed, saying she’d unknowingly become the result of U.S. government experiments. She even posted moving character images holding their stomachs laughing. She probably didn’t read the signs herself—Chief Song must have translated for her.

[My Dongsaeng—Don’t hold back, and if it hurts a lot, use a potion. The elder said it would be okay sometimes now.]

While Yerim and Hyunah-ssi did most of the talking, Yuhyun consistently worried about me.

[I just got a few scratches. Are you in your room?]

[Peace—Yup]

[My Dongsaeng—Yes]

[Our Peace is a genius!]

He must be copying Yuhyun. Yerim had added Peace to the group chat, but he wouldn’t know how to enter on his own. Did Yuhyun help him? He’s taking good care of him.

[Noah-ssi—I came to the airport to see off Yun Yun-ssi and I’m on my way back now. Since I can’t fly, I’m traveling by car, so it’ll take a while to arrive.]

I got off the elevator and walked down the hallway when Noah-ssi finally sent a message after a long while.

[Thank you for your hard work.]

[Noah-ssi—:)]

[Hangyeol—Daddy! That’s mine]

[Hangyeol—Han Yu]

[Hangyeol—Aaaaa]

…Don’t fight. I could clearly picture Gyeol getting annoyed and trying to push Seong Hyunjae away.

[Yerim—Chief Song asks if you’re okay. Just come in already]

After much consideration, Chief Song declined to enter the chat room. Since he was a related public official, entering a private group gathering rather than one-on-one could be problematic. Besides, he could relay messages through Yerim.

[Hangyeol—Yujin???]

[Hangyeol—llllllllll]

[My Dongsaeng—They made us wait in our team’s rooms. After watching the broadcast, I wanted to go to hyung right away, but…]

[You held back well. Then you’re alone with Peace. Seong Hyunjae-ssi, what are you doing with a kid’s phone?]

The power difference was large, so it seemed he was letting Gyeol try even though he could easily take it back. But it’s Gyeol’s phone in the first place, old man. Is teasing the kid fun?

[Hangyeol—It’s me!]

[Shouldn’t we invite the Sesung Guild Leader too? Even just for information sharing]

[Yerim—It’s a family chat, outsiders need unanimous approval!]

That was the rule for now. We counted Myungwoo and Noah as family, and we’d voted on Moon Hyunah and Song Taewon.

[Hangyeol—No way!]

[Hangyeol—TT]

The crying act afterward was definitely Seong Hyunjae. Well, he seemed to be watching anyway. He could send one-on-one texts anytime.

[Myungwoo—I’m heading to Japan tomorrow. It’s easier to connect with rookies from the dungeon there.]

Myungwoo repeatedly urged me to be careful. He seemed ready to connect a dungeon like in China if Chatterbox tried to cross the line while watching the broadcast.

[Hyunah-ssi—Be careful, hyung-nim. Think of anyone who approaches suddenly as a drunk bull]

[Yes. I’ll be careful.]

People who handled social situations well and cared about appearances would be cautious with me from the start. Considering the S-ranks connected to the forge and Breeding Facility, they might avoid touching me altogether. Thanks to that, it was actually easier. I only had to deal with half-assed bastards while showing that even though I’m F-rank, I can do this much!

But why is this hallway so long?

[My Dongsaeng—Hyung…]

[Yerim—Hey! Why did you buy the same thing as me!]

Yuhyun sent a BunnyBunnyBear image blowing hearts and Yerim got angry. How do you buy these? Wow, the doors are really far apart. Are there only three or four rooms per floor? Must be incredibly spacious.

[Hangyeol—Daddy, the payment won’t go through…]

[Yerim—Should I gift it? What do you want to buy?]

[Hangyeol—I’m the one who bought it for him^^]

[Hangyeol—Middle fingers]

[Noah-ssi—Hunter Park Yerim, I’m sorry T_T]

[Yerim—Noah oppa, it’s okay! I’ll gift you something else]

[Yerim—Should I give one to Mister too?]

[Hyunah-ssi—Hyung-nim, this is cute]

I finally found my room. I opened the door and entered, feeling uncomfortable. There were slippers so I changed into them, but people here probably didn’t take off their shoes.

“…Wow, the park is really huge.”

Beyond the glass wall, I could probably see Central Park. The continuous glass wall turned in an L-shape, revealing a city view as well. Must be expensive. Though it wasn’t my money, it felt wasteful to use alone. Still, since it wasn’t my money, I could freely eat the food in the fridge and room service, right? There were still a few buildings under construction on the city side.

New York also had a large population, so the damage from dungeon breaks had been considerable. Several large buildings had collapsed, and many new buildings had gone up in the past four years. The construction industry was booming worldwide. Reconstruction also began on old buildings in urban areas that had been difficult to demolish due to various complications.

[I’m going to shower. I’m a mess.]

[My Dongsaeng—Hyung, video.]

[I told you I’m fine.]

What about clothes? I sent the ones I was wearing for laundry, and since Yuhyun and Yerim said they’d buy things, I only packed pajamas. I looked around and picked up the hotel phone. A kind answer came back saying they’d bring new clothes right away. Not long after, a staff member brought clothes. Three gold coins sat on top of the packaged clothes.

“Chatterbox-nim complimented you, saying the response was very good.”

That made me feel disgusted. They said the Hunter who picked a fight with me also received one gold coin. Damn it, that would only encourage more idiots to bother me. I took the clothes and put the gold coins in my inventory. He’s giving them when it hasn’t even properly started yet. The staff member left, saying to rest well today.

After showering, the sky beyond the window was dyed red. In the group chat, only Yerim and Hyunah-ssi were talking. Being alone in this ridiculously spacious room felt a bit lonely. Perhaps sensing my mood, Grace came out and sat on my shoulder.

– Chirp.

It wouldn’t be good to be caught, so normally she shouldn’t come out, but it should be fine in the room. I sat on the sofa and entered a portal site. Does this place have wifi? In Korea, well…

“…This is a bit embarrassing.”

For once, they were gilding my face. Well, yeah. Since it was against a foreign Hunter, it must have felt satisfying. Ah, embarrassing. How did S-rank Hunters watch this kind of thing so calmly? Was it because they were used to it? Yuhyun probably didn’t care at all. It was much better than being cursed at, but this was still pretty embarrassing.

I skimmed through Korean articles and this time clicked on overseas site addresses I’d received by asking Haeyeon’s PR team. The atmosphere was definitely different from Korea. They talked about me humiliating an S-rank Hunter, but focused more on my relationship with Chatterbox. Chatterbox is really popular. At this rate, won’t a Transcendent end up in Person of the Year or something? And the American gun association also talked about firearms for Awakened…

“Gasp!”

– Chirp?

Ugh, what, what is this? Some crazy bastard had written a story suggesting Chatterbox and I were dating. Wow… is it because it’s America? In our country, they’d accept even lip-smacking as a joke. Here too, there probably weren’t many taking it seriously, but still…

‘The kids didn’t see this, right?’

Everyone, that bastard and I are enemies, enemies. More precisely, Chatterbox was unilaterally trying to stab me. If that bastard said let’s stop here, I’d welcome him with both hands raised and even see him off. I’d even scatter flowers.

I browsed websites then put down my phone and sprawled on the sofa. They said I could rest, but I couldn’t relax. Is the security here even okay? There’s no one around. It’s not through a portal, just a room I came up to by elevator. If I got kidnapped at this rate, Chatterbox would be responsible, right?

[I’m bored being alone.]

[Yerim—Should I sneak over? What’s your room number?]

[No. Breaking the rules could put us at a disadvantage.]

They might say they couldn’t be responsible for my safety if I acted impulsively. Should I order something? I turned on the TV and what had happened earlier was showing. Ahhh, I can’t watch this! Embarrassing, so embarrassing! Being a celebrity isn’t for just anyone.

“Hey.”

Then an unfamiliar voice was heard. I jumped up in shock, and a man wearing a mask waved both hands as if to calm me down.

“Just gonna take some pictures and leave, so don’t worry.”

“…What?”

“I knocked on the balcony window but you didn’t hear.”

What, what? The man raised his camera. I reflexively covered my face and he clicked his tongue.

“It’ll be in the papers tomorrow morning anyway.”

“You, you crazy… isn’t trespassing a crime in America too?!”

“I said I knocked. If you really don’t want it, I can just leave, but it’s fine, isn’t it? Now, what was it, kimchi.”

What is this, seriously what? Flustered, I stood up.

“Hey, wait. If you’re going to take pictures, you know, let me compose myself a bit…”

“OK, OK. I like natural shots, but since I trespassed this time, let’s go to the balcony. I’ll make it look as natural as possible, like it was shot with a drone from outside.”

The man—probably a high-rank Hunter paparazzo—led the way with light steps.

“Never thought I’d be shooting an F-rank. It was about time for a low-rank Hunter to make a splash though!”

“Is it… a hobby?”

“Half and half. Chasing high-rank Hunters, especially S-ranks, is so thrilling. The best.”

He must be someone who liked hard-to-capture subjects. Plus he was quite chatty.

“I got exactly one photo of the Sesung Guild Leader but I’m keeping it instead of selling it. Crazy Song could get the Korean government to protest, so I’m just keeping that one too. Got some really killer shots though.”

…I wanted to ask if he could send them to me. I’m curious.

“What about other Korean Hunters? Han Yuhyun or Park Yerim.”

“Never been to Korea. I have some of the Breaker Guild Leader though.”

The paparazzo who’d photographed me handed over his business card. Hopping up onto the railing, he looked down at me.

“The Hunter community is pretty established now, but there are still many who don’t treat Hunters as people. High-ranks are better off since they’re newsworthy, but not mid to low-ranks.”

Still, things had improved a lot since high-rank Hunters became celebrities, the paparazzo said. Unauthorized photography was bad, but maybe he was also taking pictures to help Hunters feel more familiar to Americans?

“I’ve spread the word all over the industry that I’m taking you on exclusively, so you won’t have to worry as much.”

“…Huh?”

“Meaning fewer will cling to you since they’ll just come up empty—no one catches Hunters better than me.”

There are lots of weirdos taking strange photos too, the paparazzo added. So, was he saying he’d help me now?

“…I’m grateful, but why?”

“I told you. It’s time for low-rank Hunters to step up too. Having even one celebrity within a group makes a big difference.”

That was true, but still. The goodwill of a stranger I didn’t even know was still somewhat bewildering. The paparazzo waved at me.

“Good luck!”

Then he disappeared in a flash. Yun Yun suddenly came to mind. He was a bit goblin-like.

“…It’s not like I have any big goals.”

If I did well, it would have some influence though. It was an expectation that made my shoulders feel heavy, but at the same time lighter. People… even in a foreign land with no connections, help like this could pop up… anyway, it wasn’t bad.

The next day, numerous S-rank Hunters arrived in New York one after another. Interest in Chatterbox’s party was so hot that every TV channel showed related broadcasts. And that afternoon, participants gathered in a large hall.