#16
What kind of expression and pose was he supposed to take while standing in the photo zone?
If an ordinary person suddenly became a world-class top star, anyone would fidget like him. What’s worse, since Seo Yi-young couldn’t tell anyone that his consciousness came from another dimension, there was no way for anyone to understand him.
“Hunter Seo Yi-young has arrived!”
Honestly, the emotion he felt at that moment was “ugh.”
It was awkward and embarrassing to enter like that, being introduced as if he were entering a ball. No matter how hard he tried to act naturally without being conscious of the reporters, it was simply impossible.
The Seo Yi-young captured at this moment would dominate real-time search trends as “Wooden Doll Seo Yi-young,” with his hands and feet moving in sync on the same side.
Seo Yi-young stood in the photo zone, recalling videos he had seen on YouTube.
He smiled with his lips closed, pulled his chin in, and straightened his back.
The barrage of flashes startled him at first, but he soon adapted. The light was so bright that he almost felt like he was inside a white void.
And that’s when it happened.
“Hunter Choi Do-jun has arrived!”
The venue suddenly buzzed with excitement.
“Hunter Choi Do-jun?”
“What’s going on?”
“He rarely comes to events like this. What’s happening?”
The reporters seemed to be whispering among themselves, but unfortunately, Seo Yi-young could hear everything.
The reporters in the front row became busy, and the clicking sounds from the cameras intensified tremendously.
He had thought they might run into each other inside the hall, but he hadn’t calculated on meeting like this.
He saw Choi Do-jun entering.
But his attire was casual. Not a suit, but everyday clothes. All in black from head to toe. Whether it was his taste or not, it was still lackluster.
Seeing him like that made Seo Yi-young feel somewhat aggrieved, especially since he had gone to a salon for styling before coming here.
Seo Yi-young was about to step down immediately to make way for Choi Do-jun so the reporters could take his photos, but several reporters shouted:
“Could the two hunters stand together, please?”
“You’re both representative hunters of Korea, please take a photo together!”
“You went on your first joint dungeon entry recently, so please take a photo together!”
With requests coming from everywhere, Seo Yi-young stood there, unable to decide what to do. You need to have done something before to know how to react to it. Seo Yi-young wasn’t familiar with this kind of situation. While he remained frozen with a smile, Choi Do-jun stood about a meter away from him.
Seo Yi-young was secretly relieved that he acted this way.
He had thought that Choi Do-jun might cause a scene in such a crowded place, but then again, this was Choi Do-jun we’re talking about. The same Choi Do-jun who named his agency “Whatever.”
Honestly, why would he care about others’ opinions?
He was a renowned S-Class Hunter in Korea and globally recognized. Without Choi Do-jun, dungeon conquests would become more difficult, which would endanger people’s safety due to dungeon overload.
Choi Do-jun was the one who could protect everyone’s safety in critical situations.
Because of what Choi Do-jun could achieve and why he was needed, he could be forgiven for almost anything. Society would forgive him.
And yet, this Choi Do-jun was complying with the reporters’ requests.
It was unexpected, as Seo Yi-young had anticipated him entering the hall without saying a word.
Choi Do-jun glanced at Seo Yi-young.
“Could the two hunters stand a bit closer, please?”
Who on earth was making such… unreasonable requests?
Seo Yi-young looked toward the direction of the voice, but there were so many reporters that he couldn’t pinpoint who it was. Besides, the flash was so intense that his vision was all white, making it impossible to distinguish faces.
There was no choice.
Seo Yi-young decided to move himself and stepped a bit closer to Choi Do-jun.
Thinking they might need to put their arms around each other’s shoulders, he extended his arm toward Choi Do-jun. But he must have misjudged the distance. His arm sliced through the air, and his body, finding nothing to lean on, wobbled unsteadily.
He tried to regain his balance by swinging his arm widely, but to make matters worse, Choi Do-jun casually dodged Seo Yi-young’s movement. Feeling an inevitable resentment rising, Seo Yi-young looked at Choi Do-jun.
Their eyes met. He had no intention of helping Seo Yi-young. He didn’t even flinch.
That bastard.
Seo Yi-young, flailing his arms, tried to grab the wall of the photo zone.
However, what looked like a wall wasn’t actually a wall but a thin plastic advertisement board, inadequate to support Seo Yi-young’s weight. The pins that had fixed it came loose, and it fell, crumpling with a loud sound. Seo Yi-young noticed a metal pillar that had been holding up the fake wall.
This was the only thing he could rely on now.
He desperately tried to grab the metal pillar to steady himself, but it wasn’t properly fixed either.
Ah, you too?
Seo Yi-young sighed deeply.
The metal pillar, which had only been placed on the floor, wobbled and slid backward, rolling onto the floor.
In the end, unable to grab onto anything, Seo Yi-young fell with a loud crash.
No, “fell” was an understatement.
He face-planted.
The camera shutter sounds and people’s voices that had been heard from all directions just moments ago were now replaced by a crushing silence, as if they had all been a lie.
He wanted to melt into the floor right there.
Despite falling onto the floor, he felt no pain. The embarrassment, which far outweighed any pain, made him forget about the physical discomfort. He felt like breaking into a cold sweat.
“…H-Hunter Seo Yi-young…?”
Someone’s voice was heard. Seo Yi-young bit both his upper and lower lips and got up.
His face felt like it was about to explode from the heat. Having experienced what felt like the maximum level of embarrassment a human could endure, his heart was now beginning to ache.
As he was getting up, supporting his trembling knees, he saw someone’s shoes approaching him.
“Ah, I’m fine…”
Seo Yi-young, thinking someone was coming to help, was about to decline when he realized the owner of those shoes was Choi Do-jun.
“Move.”
Choi Do-jun left after saying only that.
Seo Yi-young, who had been staring blankly at his retreating figure, shifted his gaze to the PR representative who was hurriedly coming up to the stage with an urgent expression.
*
With the help of the PR representative, Seo Yi-young managed to salvage the situation and entered the hall.
Fortunately, the hall for the regular exchange meeting was a private gathering where the press was strictly prohibited. The interior of the hall was lit with a dim ambiance, soft music played from somewhere, and light refreshments were prepared.
It would have been better if someone had burst into laughter; the awkwardness of that silent atmosphere was unbearably heavy. Just recalling it made him want to squeeze his eyes shut from embarrassment.
In that situation, he glared at the back of Choi Do-jun’s head as he sat on the sofa, recalling how he had walked away leisurely on his own.
That inconsiderate bastard.
If only glaring could drill a hole in his head. Just like how he attacked mobs with just his gaze.
Seeing that situation, couldn’t he at least have asked if he was okay out of pity? Fine, let’s be extremely generous and say he didn’t expect help. But what was with that “Move”? Telling him to move? When he’s younger too.
The more he thought about it, the more infuriated he became, unconsciously grinding his teeth.
He took several deep breaths to calm his anger. Right, what would change by getting angry alone?
Seo Yi-young released the tension from his unconsciously clenched fists and repeatedly opened and closed his hands.
To divert his attention from sinking deeper into his thoughts, he began to look around.
Fewer than five hunters were sparsely seated in the spacious area. The staff providing services seemed more numerous. He had only been informed that it was a regular hunter exchange meeting, but he didn’t know it was exclusively for domestic S-Class Hunters. It wasn’t incomprehensible that the hall wasn’t filled, considering some S-Class Hunters might be engaged in dungeon conquests.
But five people?
Even though S-Class was rare, was the number of S-Class Hunters in an entire country this small?
It was called an exchange meeting, but with so few people, and even those few weren’t creating a warm, conversational atmosphere.
But that was actually good.
The less he spoke, the better it was to avoid revealing that Seo Yi-young’s core had changed. It would be troublesome if he were to engage in conversations with other hunters and give them reason to suspect something was different from before.
Still, the atmosphere was quite chilly, making him wonder why they gathered at all, but recalling the host of this exchange meeting, he understood to some extent.
This exchange meeting was hosted by White, the Awakening Counseling Center where Jo Tae-su was the director.
While each S-Class Hunter might have significant power, Jo Tae-su’s influence, which spanned the entire global hunter community, couldn’t be ignored.
…Whether it’s there or here, they’re both petty and dirty in the same way.
The truly fortunate thing was that Jo Tae-su, the host of this event, had a meeting with the US President, so after giving the opening speech, he had immediately left and wasn’t present here.
“…”
Right. What’s the point of thinking about this?
Feeling awkward just sitting there, Seo Yi-young slowly walked toward the food table to refresh his mood. His steps halted at one spot.
It seemed they were grilling meat here. He had only heard of steak but had never actually eaten it, so he thought he’d give it a try.
“One, please.”
He was curious about the taste, and this was a good opportunity.
“How would you like it cooked?”
Cooked? What does that mean? Seo Yi-young hesitated for a moment.
“Well-done, please.”
The chef responded with a friendly tone, saying he understood. While the meat was being grilled, Seo Yi-young transferred various unidentified foods to his plate.
He didn’t have much of an appetite, but he thought he’d try at least one. Seo Yi-young’s eyes widened after taking a bite.
…It was too delicious to stop after just one bite.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
