Chapter 23
Yusol ignored her manager’s instruction to go straight home and went to get a burger instead.
At the end of a chaotic day without a single meal, she absolutely needed some soul food.
“Do they think the advertiser is a god or something? What a fuss.”
She was banned from going out for a week for upending the shooting location in response to the advertiser’s unreasonable demands.
Although she pretended to agree in front of the agency president, Yusol didn’t think she was at fault and had no intention of following the punishment.
– “Noona, my hair is starting to fall out. If you won’t get me Propecia, please hold back for the sake of my hair health.”
“Kid, I’ll get you a year’s supply. So let’s just get through today.”
To avoid the watchful eyes and ears of her manager, who lived right next door, she even resorted to jumping out the window.
After such a hard effort, she arrived at the store.
A burger was the only food she genuinely craved, despite having little interest in food otherwise.
Shanghai Deluxe Burger with extra nuggets, and lots of ketchup.
She lifted the bun, placed the nuggets inside, and squirted a generous amount of ketchup before pressing it down.
Yusol opened her mouth wide, ready to take a big bite out of the flattened burger.
“Hey, hey.”
Someone called out to Yusol. At such a perfect timing, she closed her mouth and forced a smile.
“You’re Yusol, right? I’ve never seen a celebrity before.”
A skinny guy with a wolf cut and wide pants stood in front of her, swaggering. His bleached white hair made him look like someone obsessed with the word “hip.”
That was fine, but the problem was that the scrawny guy’s face was quite red.
“Ah, today’s just not my day.”
“I’m a fan.”
“Oh, thank you.”
“Can I have your number?”
“What?”
The request was so abrupt that she couldn’t even think of the word “no.”
It felt like she was looking at the advertiser from six hours ago, who told her to act like a doll and do as she was told.
“That’s a bit difficult. As you know, I’m a celebrity.”
“Oh, come on, what kind of privilege does being a celebrity give you? You can’t even give me your number?”
“No. Even if you weren’t a celebrity, you’re not my type.”
She finally snapped.
The stress she had endured all day and the frustration of having her precious soul food ruined erupted.
“Jungsu, noona will even buy you Avodart. I’m sorry.”
“Wow, you’re really rude. The rumors about you being trash are true.”
“Whether I’m trash or not, I’m definitely better than you. At least I’m courteous. I’m all about proper manners.”
Splat—
The scrawny guy slapped Yusol’s untouched burger to the floor.
The burger flew in slow motion, landing upside down on the ground.
“Oh no, this is messed up.”
### Translation:
#### Episode 023
Her fingertips tingled. A faint magical power emerged, making it seem like he was a hunter.
“Jungsu, I’m sorry. I’ll even cover your clinic expenses.”
“Don’t think I’ll go easy on you just because you’re a woman. You want scars on your face and to quit your celebrity life?”
“It’s not about going easy on women, it’s about not going easy on anyone, right?”
Grab—
She grabbed him by the collar. His face turning red and blue was quite a sight.
“Giggle, hey. Didn’t you say I wouldn’t get her number?”
“That idiot, he boasted so much and got rejected badly.”
The men sitting at another table approached. They were clearly the same type as the man.
“Three might be a bit tough. Why do these guys always move in packs?”
“So, are you feeling like apologizing now?”
The scrawny guy’s backers laughed wickedly. Yusol dangled as he shook her.
“Have you ever fallen from about five meters up?”
“What?”
“I just jumped from the 7th floor of an apartment. I’m saying I can make you like that Deluxe Burger, scrawny guy.”
She hesitated between being assaulted and committing assault, but the answer wasn’t far away.
Crack
She clenched her fist tightly.
The scrawny guy, who looked at best like an F-rank, could likely be overpowered by herself, who secretly received an E-rank awakening certificate.
“Alright, let’s see a celebrity off work today!”
A fist flew quickly.
Block
At that moment, someone intercepted the scrawny guy’s punch. The punch, firmly blocked, couldn’t move no matter how hard he tried.
“Feel ashamed. Please. And it’s not off work, it’s retirement. You blockhead.”
The man who blocked the punch had a rather handsome face, unlike the scrawny guy.
His solid body, evidence of regular exercise, couldn’t be hidden even by his loose T-shirt.
“And who are you?”
“Just one question. Are you a jerk?”
“So what if I am!”
The scrawny guy, letting go of Yusol’s collar and stepping back, stuttered.
He had felt a bit of the man’s immovable strength.
He also realized he stood no chance against him.
“Oh, it’s not important. I just made a bet. Thanks to you, I saved my burger money today.”
Yusol scrutinized the man.
He didn’t have an extraordinary appearance, but there was something about him that kept catching her eye.
‘I think I’ve seen him somewhere.’
“Do you have permission to fight? You know that causing a disturbance in a civilian area without permission can lead to a fine of up to 10 million won or imprisonment for up to one year, right?”
“Are you by any chance from the Investigation Department?”
“Well, something like that. Anyway, even if this is the demon realm, let’s keep our lines, or else.”
Whoosh—
“I’ll cross the line first.”
The scrawny guy was overwhelmed with fear.
Thud—
For the first time in his life, he felt an overwhelming sense of death and collapsed.
His glazed-over eyes seemed unaware that he had collapsed.
“Hey, hey. What’s wrong?”
“Did you wet yourself?”
“Apologize and leave, or I’ll turn you into applesauce.”
Before the man finished his sentence, the scrawny guy bolted.
His friends quickly followed him out of the store, without a word of apology or any other words.
“They just left. Maybe I shouldn’t have used magic.”
The man seemed somewhat regretful despite the situation ending well.
Nod
The man nodded slightly at Yusol and returned to his seat.
His steps were devoid of any lingering regret, like someone who had finished his business.
‘Did he not recognize me?’
There was no question of whether she was alright. Though she didn’t expect it, it was a refreshingly novel scene.
The man, now chatting with his companions as if nothing had happened.
Yusol glanced at what the man was eating.
Shanghai Deluxe Burger with extra nuggets, and lots of ketchup.
“……!”
She almost screamed in surprise.
It was her secret recipe that she hadn’t shared with anyone for 25 years, but the man finished the last bite as if he were familiar with it.
“Excuse me.”
Unable to contain herself, she eventually approached the man.
“Yes?”
The man tilted his head, even after seeing Yusol’s face with her hat off.
He truly seemed not to recognize her.
“Don’t you need my number?”
Johan was bewildered by the current situation.
He was checking the video he secretly took with Alex and the scrawny guy when suddenly a woman approached him.
‘No way, is she here to ask me to delete the video?’
He had planned to post a video titled “A Hunter Teaching a Rogue Hunter a Lesson!” to win public favor, but he faced an unexpected obstacle.
He checked the video just in case, but fortunately, the woman didn’t appear in it.
“Is there something you need?”
He asked confidently. Since she didn’t appear in the video, he wouldn’t need to delete it.
“Don’t you need my number?”
“What?”
Her response was unexpected.
He thought she might ask him to delete the video or thank him.
But suddenly asking for his number?
“Uh… I don’t need it.”
At Johan’s refusal, the woman seemed shocked and staggered.
Her wide-open eyes seemed to protest that this couldn’t be true.
“You don’t need it? Really?”
“Yes. If you’re offering out of gratitude, it’s okay.”
“No way, how can you not want my number?”
Was she overconfident?
The woman was indeed very beautiful, the kind of beauty rarely seen anywhere.
But that’s all.
For someone like Johan, who still had a long way to go, she was beyond his reach.
“Don’t you know who I am?”
“Uh… I do.”
It’s impossible not to know.
Whenever you turn on the TV, there’s Yusol. Any Korean would know her.
‘But so what?’
To Johan, that was the extent of her significance.
To him, a top 10-ranked hunter was a much more thrilling and admirable figure.
‘Getting involved with a celebrity would just be exhausting.’
Whether she knew his thoughts or not, she started to cling more persistently.
“I’m Yusol.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you acting like this?”
“Uh, just because?”
“Is this some new way of hitting on someone?”
“Not at all.”
“So, you really won’t take my number?”
“Nope.”
“No way… you’ll regret this.”
She bit her lip, hurt in her pride, and turned to leave.
Her stomping out of the store was quite endearing.
Glint
Alex’s eyes sparkled. He was more entertained by this scene than anything else.
“Interesting things happen when I’m with Johan. Last time he startled Sanggu, and now he’s rejecting Sol’s advances.”
“Just post the video. I’m not sure if it’ll get a reaction, but we’ll see.”
“Of course. I’ll even add comments. I’ll get you at least 500,000 views.”
Alex watched Yusol’s retreating figure with a sympathetic smile.
From what he knew, she was an unfortunate girl who couldn’t do what she truly wanted because of the burden of being Korea’s top star.
“Later, tell her to hang in there. Yusol has her own struggles.”
“Well, if I feel like it.”
The work was done. They started cleaning up to leave.
The transaction was finished, so there was no reason to stay longer.
Thud—
At that moment, the entire building vibrated. This time, it wasn’t a vibration caused by something breaking.
“Ah, what’s it now?”
It was the vibration of strong magical power, a sign of an impending rampage.
“Ah.”
He had just wanted to rest, but why did these annoying things keep happening?
“Are they just telling me to fight forever?”
“Hah, I should be the one saying that. I just finished work, and now it’s overtime again.”
Alex also loosened his tie irritably.
This situation wasn’t pleasant for him either.
“It’s nearby. It seems like we have to go.”
“Before Magye Incheon truly becomes Magye, we need to move.”
Though they spoke with some resignation, they moved swiftly.
If they didn’t properly stop the rampage happening in the busy district, the damage would be uncontrollable.
“Steve.”
“You called.”
A man with black sunglasses appeared out of nowhere nearby.
“Evacuate the surrounding civilians. Clear everything within a 100-meter radius.”
“Yes, understood.”
Steve, as he was called, disappeared silently.
Steve then appeared outside and began shouting to clear the area without delay.
His voice, imbued with magic, enveloped all of Bucheon, alerting people to the danger.
“We’re from the Management Bureau. A rampage is imminent, so everyone, please come this way!”
The area was cleared quickly. Fortunately, no one ignored Steve’s words.
If you didn’t want to die, following was the normal thing to do.
“The magical energy is coming from over there. We need to go that way.”
Johan and Alex moved in the opposite direction of the evacuating people.
Having experienced a rampage before, Johan sensed a similar concentration of magical energy forming in the air and took the lead, running.
“Can you feel it? You can sense the energy of an unfinished portal?”
“Can’t you feel it? Am I the weird one?”
“People who can sense that are really rare. Are you a genius, Johan?”
Johan was taken aback by Alex’s reaction, as if it was unbelievable.
He had assumed that everyone could feel this energy, but apparently, he was the only one.
Seeing that Alex, who was of a much higher rank than him, couldn’t find the direction, it seemed to be true.
‘Is this another effect of my magical energy turning into martial energy?’
The portal that was about to appear was rapidly growing in size at the center of Maru Square.
When the magical energy exceeded five meters, Alex finally sensed it.
“Can’t we attack that thing now?”
“If you cut through unstable magical energy, it will explode. This area will probably disappear without a trace.”
They had no choice but to wait. All they could do was watch the portal form.
That’s when it happened.
“Huh?”
Someone was walking in front of the portal.
It was Yusol, whom they had seen earlier.
“Why is she walking there?”
She seemed out of it, not looking normal.
Was not getting the phone number such a huge shock?
“Yusol!”
Standing near an unformed portal was extremely dangerous. Johan couldn’t just let her pass by, so he called out to her as loudly as he could.
“Huh?”
She looked up. Johan was running towards her.
“I knew it.”
Yusol’s face brightened. It was the only genuine smile she had shown today.
“Now that you think about it, it’s a pity, right? A top star’s number isn’t common.”
She quickly pulled out her smartphone, intending to give him her number before he changed his mind.
Seeing Johan running desperately made her heart pound a little.
“Come here! It’s dangerous!”
At the same time, it darkened behind her.
As she was lost in thought, Yusol suddenly noticed the darkness around her and instinctively turned around.
Gasp.
Something from within the portal grabbed her.
Fear is an emotion that requires time to register.
“Huh?”
Yusol, caught off guard, opened her mouth towards the approaching Johan.
“Excuse me?”
Whoosh.
There wasn’t even time to speak.
She was instantly pulled into the portal by the giant hand.
All that was left was the smartphone she had been holding.
“This is driving me crazy.”
Johan didn’t know the identity of the giant hand either.
Judging by the size of over a meter, he could only guess that it belonged to someone or something at least five meters tall.
“Team leader, handle things from here. The monsters will start running wild soon.”
“Johan? You’re not thinking…?”
“Don’t worry. I have a plan.”
“No! It’s too dangerous!”
Without time to explain further, Johan threw himself into the portal.
Alex looked at the portal where Johan had disappeared with a hopeless expression, then moved to deal with the monsters pouring out.
