novelraw Chapter 161 : Rumor (1)
Chapter 161 : Rumor (1)
Rumor (1)
==
Post: Does anyone know Unique's manager Park Jung-woo?
Have you heard of Park Jung-woo, who sometimes shows up on broadcasts????
There's a rumor that the manager is an awakener, is that true??
Not just any awakener, but they're guessing he's at least A-rank or higher?
Comments
ㅇㅇ: That's nonsense, don't believe it
Ah-yeon-love: If he's our Ah-yeon's manager, he should be at that level
┗ ㅇㅇ: This guy's still doing this?
ㅇㅅㅇ: Logically, if he was an awakener that strong, why would he be a manager instead of a hunter?
==
Lately, a strange rumor had been circulating on the internet.
It was the rumor that Unique's manager, Park Jung-woo, was an awakener.
Most people dismissed it as nonsense, but there were quite a few who didn't.
【Well, that would explain how he was fine after falling off a cliff in Jeju】
【Didn't he also beat all the hunters at Super Hunter K? Why now all of a sudden】
Some communities were abuzz with heated debates over whether Jung-woo was actually awakened or not.
This also meant that Jung-woo's public recognition had risen significantly.
【My brother works at HSN and said there was an incident in Taean. Apparently Park Jung-woo was flying around there? Says there's a video too.】
【If there's a video, why not release it? Liar】
【They said to keep it quiet until Odyssey ends and then they'll release it.】
【You just got your brother fired, nice job】
On top of that, there was news that HNS had recently filmed a new variety show in Taean.
Although the show had been canceled due to certain events, strange stories had emerged related to it.
While there were stories about Alencia and Ah-yeon, there was an unusually large number of tales about Jung-woo.
"So you've decided to reveal it?"
Chairman Song Hyun-seung watched me thoughtfully.
He was likely considering what kind of impact it would have when I revealed my identity.
"There's no point in hiding it any longer; it'll only restrict me."
"That's true. There's not much you can do as an ordinary manager anyway."
Now, even the demons knew what I was doing and where I was.
So there wasn't any reason for me to keep myself in the background anymore.
"Then why not just work as a hunter instead?"
"I don't intend to do that."
"That's a little disappointing."
Sure, being a hunter would earn me a lot of money, but it would be exhausting.
Either way, once I revealed my identity, public attention would automatically focus on me, and I wanted nothing more than that.
'And money isn't a problem for me as it is.'
The bonuses I'd gotten for my work with Ah-yeon and Soo-ah had been considerable, but the biggest income by far was from Alencia's livestreams.
Alencia had been giving me a portion of her streaming revenue under the pretense of being her editor, so every month a staggering amount of money was being deposited into my account.
'I should build a mansion for my parents later.'
Since they always dreamed of moving to the countryside, I'd have to talk with them about it when I had the time.
"And... there have been absolutely no signs of demon activity domestically."
"None at all, you say?"
"That's right. I don't know about overseas, but have you heard anything?"
"I haven't received any reports from abroad either."
Song Hyun-seung nodded at my words.
"It feels like the calm before the storm."
"......"
Maybe they were just keeping a low profile because of all the recent attention.
But I didn't believe they were simply hiding.
'They must be preparing something.'
Currently, humanity's forces definitely didn't fall short of those from the Demon Realm.
There was an abnormal number of S-rank, and I was among them.
"They might be planning something during Odyssey."
"I think so too. Oh, speaking of Odyssey, there's a favor I wanted to ask."
He tapped the handle of his teacup with his finger as he spoke.
"I hear Sol Mayer is visiting Korea before the upcoming Odyssey."
"Sol... Mayer, you said?"
"You might not know of him. He's a rising star in the world of magic since two years ago. Some even call him the reincarnation of Shin Ah-yeon."
A genius who became a great mage at the age of 22.
He was so reclusive that not many people knew of him, but it was very unusual for someone so young to become a great mage and an S-rank awakener.
"22 years old, that's certainly an incredible genius."
"You, of all people, are surrounded by such geniuses though."
"Well... I can't deny that."
It would be impossible for an ordinary person to become S-rank at age 22.
But in Ah-yeon's case, she achieved it in her teens, and Soo-ah at twenty-one.
Alencia too.
So to me, it didn't even feel that extraordinary anymore.
Just, 'Not bad, I guess?'
"Sol Mayer seems quite interested in Korea's S-rank hunters. Especially those from Unique who became S-rank at a similar age as himself. Maybe he wants to measure their abilities before Odyssey."
"So, you mean..."
"I'd like you to show Sol Mayer around."
It wasn't surprising since I'd already anticipated this much.
It was a bit of a hassle, but since I owed Song Hyun-seung quite a bit, there was no reason to refuse.
'Sol Mayer, huh.'
A 22-year-old prodigy.
It wouldn't hurt to meet him face-to-face, after all.
With the world's biggest awakened infrastructure in the U. S., the country holding the second spot was the UK.
And their representative S-rank hunter was Sol Mayer.
***
News that UK's young prodigy was visiting Korea brought crowds to the airport.
Not only the three major networks—KDC, HSN, NBT—but also numerous cable journalists lined up, and flocks of female fans gathered to catch a glimpse of Sol Mayer's good looks.
"It's Sol Mayer!!"
At someone's shout, Sol Mayer appeared walking out from the airport.
As he emerged, the crowd surged with excitement.
"Hunter Sol Mayer! Please say a word this way!"
"What brings you to Korea?! Is it to prepare for Odyssey?"
Their shouting sounded more like that of crazy fans than actual reporters, leaving Kim Ki-sung, a Sin Dong Ilbo journalist, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Ki-sung, shouldn't you go join them?"
"Even if I do, would they hear me over that crowd?"
"Haaa, but you have to, right? Then again, you're probably too busy after landing a bunch of big articles recently."
At his colleague's words, Ki-sung gave an awkward smile.
After getting exclusives with Ah-yeon, and then with Soo-ah and Alencia, his articles had all been hits.
Because of that, word had spread, and lately he'd been interviewing mainly well-known hunters.
Since Ki-sung's articles were usually positive, there were quite a lot of hunters who liked him.
"It's nice to meet you. I'm truly touched by the warm welcome,"
At that, a gentle voice spread through the crowd.
Even though he hadn't spoken loudly, perhaps because there was magic power in his voice, everyone heard him clearly.
A handsome face, a gentle voice, the genius mage representing UK.
The crowd's jaws dropped at his fluent Korean.
"I'm sure you're all curious why I have come to Korea."
His soft tone eased people's faces.
But Ki-sung felt oddly unsettled.
'Why?'
There was nothing to fault about his voice or appearance.
He was appropriately polite for a young genius.
Yet Ki-sung felt an inexplicable sense of discomfort when looking at Sol Mayer.
"I came to Korea to meet Hunter Shin Ah-yeon before the upcoming Odyssey."
At the name Shin Ah-yeon, the reporters all nodded in understanding.
If not for her, the title of youngest great mage would have gone to Sol Mayer.
Of course, youngest S-rank would still have been Alencia's domain, so he was out of luck there.
"And Unique also has S-rank awakeners around my age. I wanted to talk to them at least once."
The reporters quickly took down Sol Mayer's words.
There was no need to guess what the headline news would be tonight.
***
"Huh? I'm not going to meet him."
Ah-yeon, who was engrossed in a console game with Alencia, said as she looked over at me.
"He says he came to Korea just to meet you, and you won't?"
"I mean, he showed up out of nowhere without even making an appointment. Why should I meet him?"
She wasn't wrong.
Although he put on a polite front at the airport, Sol Mayer's behavior was actually quite rude.
Flying in from abroad and saying he wanted to meet Shin Ah-yeon out of the blue?
Showing up as if it were only natural she'd see him, without even arranging a meeting in advance.
Of course Ah-yeon was indignant.
"Besides, I'd rather appear on Alencia's stream and accept donations. I need to make up for what I spent on gacha last night."
"How much did you spend?"
"About thr... thirty thousand won?"
Ah-yeon looked away awkwardly as she said it.
She definitely didn't have the face of someone who'd spent only thirty thousand won.
"But are you okay with showing your face on Alencia's stream? I thought you hated that sort of thing."
"Ah, Ah-yeon unni appears as a virtual character, so it's fine!"
It was Alencia who answered.
Alencia had shown me a video she'd filmed earlier, and in it, a 3D penguin could be seen waddling beside her.
"... Is that penguin supposed to be you, Ah-yeon?"
"Yeah, doesn't it look like me?"
As I watched the penguin with half-lidded eyes playing the game, I had to admit it did kind of resemble her.
When Ah-yeon saw me watching her on the stream, she glanced away and cleared her throat softly.
"Ahem, anyway, I can't go. My schedule's totally booked, all right? If I do meet him, it'll have to be tomorrow."
At Ah-yeon's firm words, I nodded.
It was an unreasonable request in the first place; Ah-yeon had no obligation to comply.
Besides, what Sol Mayer really wanted was to meet Unique's S-rank hunters.
"So Hunter Shin Ah-yeon said she'd meet you next time."
"I... I see?"
Sol Mayer, whom I met at the newly opened café on Unique's first floor, smiled as he answered, but couldn't completely hide his embarrassment. The cameras around quickly captured his flustered expression, forcing him to collect himself right away.
"Then, the people beside you...?"
"Hunter Lee Soo-ah and, recently active at Unique, hunter Hwang Yeon-ji."
Since Alencia and Ah-yeon were busy with their internet broadcasts, the only ones I could bring were Soo-ah and Yeon-ji. Originally, I'd considered just bringing Soo-ah, but because Sol Mayer was a famous young great mage, I thought it would be good for Yeon-ji to meet him too.
"Ah! I've heard of Hunter Lee Soo-ah. I heard you just became an S-rank awakener recently?"
"Yes, hello. I've also heard a lot about you—a genius who became a great mage at the second youngest age ever."
For a moment, I could see Sol's eyes twitch at her words.
It was a very slight reaction, but I didn't miss it.
"Haha... Yes, that's a bit much, but that's what they call me. May I call you Yeon-ji?"
After averting his gaze from Soo-ah, Sol shifted his attention to Yeon-ji.
Yeon-ji, as usual, simply sat quietly and drank her beverage.
She clearly couldn't have cared less about who Sol was.
Perhaps it was because of this attitude that Sol's eyes twitched again.
"... Yeon-ji, you're said to be one of Unique's next S-rank hunters."
"Yes, she's a talented hunter being called the next Shin Ah-yeon."
That comment was made by an association staffer who joined us. Initially assigned as an interpreter, he was also accompanying me as a precaution for any possible incidents with Sol Mayer.
"The next Shin Ah-yeon, huh..."
He said this as he scanned Yeon-ji up and down.
Even then, Yeon-ji showed little interest in Sol.
Her attitude was likely quite alien to him.
With striking looks and his reputation as a 22-year-old genius mage, Sol Mayer was always the object of envy among young mages.
But now, here was Yeon-ji, who didn't seem to care at all, wearing a look that said she'd rather go home.
No wonder he looked disconcerted.
"That's a bit disappointing."
Perhaps because of that, Sol Mayer spoke while looking at Yeon-ji.
He was smiling, but his voice had an oddly subdued tone.
"I really wanted to meet the real Hunter Shin Ah-yeon, after all."
Yeon-ji's hand, which had been calmly holding her drink, paused.
His words basically implied that Yeon-ji's talent fell far short of his own.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】