S-Rank is My Side Character (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 13

“The environmental test for a smooth AI interview will now begin. Please wait a moment.”

In front of Rude, the laptop borrowed from Lee Hyeon was booting up. Inside the study café prepared for the video interview, Rude had changed his avatar’s outfit to office attire and was checking the camera.

“I practiced so much.”

For about five days, he had diligently practiced—meeting at home, meeting again at the study café, and even practicing hard with the Ruler of Chaos in dreams—yet it had ended up as an AI interview.

Feeling slightly disappointed, Rude rubbed his hands together. He had prepared so thoroughly. The fact that there would be no “pressure interview” left him oddly deflated. Noticing his disappointment, the Ruler of Chaos sent him a comforting indirect message.

[The Ruler of Chaos shrugs and says, “Well, ordinary people can’t maintain eye contact with you for long anyway, so a face-to-face interview was impossible from the start.”]

“Yeah… that’s true.”

Anyone who held prolonged eye contact with Rude would be overcome by fear. Although Rude had tried mitigating this—by layering illusion magic onto his avatar’s corneas and such—the effect lasted only a few minutes, at most tens of minutes.

Unlike brief encounters inside Gates or viewing through a screen, an interview required sustained eye contact and conversation over an extended period, which couldn’t be blocked.

Because Lee Hyeon, who stood beside him without any ill effects, had been his constant practice partner, both of them had completely forgotten about this issue.

Had this been an actual interview room, Rude’s overwhelming aura of terror likely would have rendered the interviewers incapable of conducting a proper interview.

“Maybe it’s better this way.”

Besides, his aversion to interacting with others hadn’t disappeared yet. While mock interviews with relatively comfortable partners like Lee Hyeon or the Ruler of Chaos went well, it remained uncertain whether Na Ri could truly withstand the pressure from real interviewers.

If he were to fail simply because he couldn’t endure that pressure… Rude briefly imagined such a scenario and shook his head firmly.

‘No. I’m going to buy back my house.’

In the mornings, when he came downstairs to the first floor, his father would be preparing breakfast, and his mother getting ready for work.

Na Ri would grumble about not wanting to go to school, then run off together with a friend who came all the way to their front door to drag him along. In the evenings, they’d return home and watch TV as a family.

No matter what anyone said, to Na Ri, that home held precious memories. Yet now, it had turned into nothing but a den for thugs—a deserted ruin.

That couldn’t be allowed. Na Ri lived not in the present but in the past, and thus could never afford to lose that place.

“…Get a grip and focus.”

Rude lightly slapped his own cheeks a couple of times—a habit he’d naturally picked up from spending time with Lee Hyeon. Soon after, the AI interview began.

[We will now begin the interview. Please introduce yourself within one minute.]

“Oh, hello. My name is Rude, and I’ve applied for the Seongjeon Guild’s ongoing recruitment.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Rude was flustered. During practice, he’d arrogantly gone with the “intimidate the interviewers” approach… and had even mentally rehearsed that exact image multiple times…

[The Ruler of Chaos smirks and says, “But now that you’re actually in the real thing, you can’t pull it off, can you?”]

Strangely enough, he just couldn’t do it. Honestly, as Rank 1, he’d wanted to confidently spit out bold, sassy remarks and dominate the interview.

But practice and reality were different. No matter how exceptional Rude’s skills were—or how many guilds would welcome him with open arms even without joining Seongjeon—nothing mattered the moment he sat for an interview.

He grew anxious that his carefully hidden truth might slip out: that behind the Rank 1 resume stood not a one-man army, but a pitiful coward who’d never held a real job and couldn’t even interact normally with other people.

‘T-This… If this had been a real interview instead of an AI one, it would’ve been a total disaster…’

Apparently, his “social anxiety” condition was even stronger than he’d realized. Given that Na Ri’s true self had a fragile sense of identity and was psychologically quite withdrawn, this outcome was perhaps inevitable.

[The Ruler of Chaos praises you, saying, “Still, this is a huge leap forward.”]

‘Hah… yeah, I guess even stuttering out words like this in front of an AI monitor is a massive leap for someone like me…’

Fortunately, the study sessions seemed to have helped; despite some stammering, Rude managed to speak naturally and say what he needed to. For a ten-year veteran of reclusive, part-time-job-only solitude, this was indeed tremendous progress.

Then, the final question of the basic interview appeared on the screen.

[What motivated you to apply to our organization?]

Instinctively, Rude recalled his interview coaching session with Lee Hyeon.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Alright! Let’s begin today’s interview crash course!”

Inside a study room in the city, Lee Hyeon stood before a whiteboard dressed in office attire—a crisp white shirt, black necktie, and rimless horn-rimmed glasses. Rude, seated with one leg crossed over the other, gave Lee Hyeon a once-over.

“What’s with that outfit?”

“Huh? Th-This? I copied it after watching job-prep content online. ‘Job-Hunting King’ Park-hyung—… Ah, does it not suit me?”

“No, but didn’t you have a morning shift today? Did you really come to work dressed like that?”

“No! I brought the clothes and changed here! The atmosphere matters for stuff like this!”

Kang I Hyeon chuckled. The fact that Lee Hyeon had changed clothes after work and come all the way here just to give another mock interview… Rude couldn’t even fathom how much dedication that required.

“Is it weird… by any chance?”

“No. It looks good.”

“Hehe… thank you…”

Flattered by the rare, sincere compliment from Rude—whose standards for men’s appearances were notoriously high—Lee Hyeon grinned broadly. Then, clapping his hands together, he got back on track.

“Anyway! While someone with your credentials honestly deserves to be treated like royalty, Seongjeon probably has a few questions they want to ask, so just think of it as a standard interview. So, preparing just for those points should be more than enough…”

“What kind of questions?”

“Hmm…”

Lee Hyeon paused, arms crossed, clearly struggling with how to phrase it. After a slight shrug, he carefully addressed Na Ri.

“To be honest, you’ve always worked solo, right? You’ve even refused collaboration with other Hunters.”

“That’s true.”

“So… won’t they wonder, ‘Why is this person suddenly applying now?’ And whether someone used to solo work can really adapt to team collaboration. I suspect that’s exactly why they’re holding an interview.”

Rude tapped his chin thoughtfully. It made sense. Joining Seongjeon meant adhering strictly to company policies, taking responsibility for assigned partners, and—above all—punctually clocking in and out.

Up until now, Rude had dominated the Hunter scene in southern Gyeonggi, reshaping local norms through sheer strength and overriding unwritten rules. Hence, Seongjeon needed to assess whether he could truly submit himself to new structures and lower his pride accordingly.

“So if you can just give a solid answer about your motivation for applying, you’ll be fine. Honestly, just the fact that you’re willing to join already has us over the moon with gratitude.”

With a marker, Lee Hyeon wrote “Motivation for Application” on the whiteboard with a loud squeak. Seeing the words, Rude sighed deeply before answering.

“It’s for the money. I want to earn a lot and become rich.”

“Y-You can’t say that!”

Lee Hyeon stared at Rude with wide, flustered eyes. Rude waved his hand dismissively with another sigh.

“I know, alright? I know you’re not supposed to say that… Ugh, they want nothing more than a cog in the machine, yet they still demand a ‘motivation’…”

“Well, they want a cog that’ll last a long time. High turnover would mean losses for them.”

As any company would naturally prefer employees who stay as long as possible, Lee Hyeon shrugged casually.

“Ugh, this is annoying. Just let me clear Gates quickly, hand over the loot, and pay me my salary and incentives. It’s a simple transaction—I provide labor, they provide money. Why do they want so much more?”

Groaning in frustration, Rude clutched his head, utterly stumped on how to answer “motivation.” Lee Hyeon scooted closer and sat right beside him.

“What if you talk about that Gate we cleared together?”

“That one?”

“Yes! Remember how it suddenly jumped from Grade 4 to Grade 2? Sure, they’ve imposed a media embargo while investigating the cause, but everyone who needs to know already knows—you were the one who cleared it.”

“Now that you mention it, there’s been complete silence about it.”

That strange cult leader had appeared in that Gate… A Grade 4 Gate had abruptly escalated to Grade 2, with an obviously abnormal boss monster—yet the media remained eerily quiet.

A sudden Grade 2 Gate appearing in Korea would inevitably cause nationwide panic, so they’d clearly suppressed the news until they figured out why the Gate’s grade had spiked.

Honestly, whether a Grade 1 or Grade 5 Gate appeared—or even if Korea were on the brink of annihilation—Na Ri couldn’t care less, so he hadn’t noticed anything unusual.

“Couldn’t you use that to smoothly explain your motivation? I-I mean… that’s just my personal opinion!”

“So… ‘Suddenly, anomalies appeared in Gates, and Rank 1, deeply concerned for Korea’s safety, decided to join Seongjeon’?”

Kang I Hyeon nodded. While it certainly sounded plausible on the surface, it didn’t resonate with Na Ri at all.

Rude let out a long, heavy sigh. He hated reciting words he didn’t truly feel—especially something as hollow as “worried for Korea’s safety.”

‘If I said I was worried about Korea’s safety, even a passing dog would laugh.’

It might just be petty pride, but he absolutely refused to utter even a single word about “serving Korea.”

“I’ll think about it a bit more…”

Seeing Rude’s hesitant demeanor, Lee Hyeon stood up, rubbed his hands together, and said with a smile:

“Then… just be honest. That’s your charm, after all. That’s exactly why I like you, Rude!”

[This is the timeline separator]

‘Why did I decide to apply?’

This was the one question he’d failed to prepare an answer for until the very end. He’d planned to simply follow Kang I Hyeon’s suggestion and say he’d joined Seongjeon to save Korea.

Just go with that. It’s the safest route. With that final thought, Rude absentmindedly stared at the name sticker stuck onto the laptop. Yi Hyeon. Kang.

Lost in thought, he gazed blankly at the name—then, as if entranced, words slipped out from his lips.

“A few days ago… I met Hunter Kang I Hyeon inside a Grade 4 Gate.”

And before he even realized it, his true answer began to flow.

“He told me, ‘Isn’t there sometimes something even you can’t handle alone?’”

A genuinely kind person. The one who reached out to help him arrive here, and who gave him reason to want to come at all. The one who encouraged him to rejoin society and stood by him every step of the way.

“The reason I’ve always acted alone and avoided cooperation… was because I couldn’t trust others. I believed I had to, and could, solve everything by myself.”

To Rude’s own ears, his answer sounded like a complete mess. Surely no interviewer would expect or appreciate such a response.

But this was Na Ri’s true inner voice. “Honesty is your charm.” Rude decided to believe Lee Hyeon’s words one more time.

“But after following Hunter Kang I Hyeon’s advice—after tackling the Gate together and accepting his help—I realized… ever so slightly… that I actually felt a bit better.”

Of course, just like everyone else who’d ever stood beside Na Ri, he knew Lee Hyeon would one day inevitably leave his side.

“So…”

But it couldn’t be now. At the very least, it had to happen only after Na Ri himself noticed the signs of departure and had time to steel his heart. Otherwise, he’d undoubtedly shatter again—just like before.

That’s why he couldn’t disappoint him. He didn’t want to let him down. He wanted to meet his expectations. So, just a little longer…

“I wanted… to believe Hunter Kang I Hyeon’s words… a little more. That’s why I applied to Seongjeon.”

He wanted him to be just a bit happier. He wanted him to stay by his side just a little longer.

The kindness of another person—felt for the first time in so long—was overwhelmingly sweet.

“That’s all. Thank you.”