Sister of the Ranking 1st (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 12
“…….”
Well, I’m speechless……. But it was unfair. Last time, I barely squeezed out time from my schedule just to meet you.
Normally, a popular A-rank Hunter would be even busier—but strangely, I’d been even busier than this guy. Was it because I’d been working nonstop all week?
In the end, the words that slipped out mixed with a sigh.
“I’ve been busy. Unlike someone who’s got all the free time in the world.”
“Hmm, I’ve been pretty busy too, in my own way.”
“If you’re so busy, why are you contacting me every day?”
“No, it’s only once a week. It’s just… you seem like the type who might suddenly drop dead somewhere if I don’t check in on you…….”
Who does he think I am, a pufferfish? Of course, when I’d been working all week, I hadn’t had time to reply to anything—not messages, not anything. Even on my day off, I’d just slept like a corpse.
As we walked, making unserious small talk, the chicken restaurant soon came into view. The awkwardness from our long-awaited reunion had already vanished without a trace.
“Get me something expensive.”
“If you’d just entered Cheonrang like I did, wouldn’t you be earning a lot too?”
“They say there’s a world of difference between income for an unawakened person and an A-rank Hunter, Mr. Hunter.”
“Well, if you really wanted, we could go somewhere even pricier than this place.”
“I don’t like that.”
“Yeah, I figured you’d say that.”
After we’d settled into our seats and placed our order, a complicated feeling welled up inside me.
It wasn’t Baek I Hyun’s fault.
We were the same age, both Returnees, and had gone through the same training.
Him—an A-rank Hunter thriving after being scouted by a major guild—and me, struggling through part-time jobs with nothing notable to boast about.
Whenever I met Baek I Hyun, I couldn’t help but feel utterly insignificant.
“So, what’s going on?”
While I was lost in my own thoughts, Baek I Hyun asked me. His ever-gentle tone only made me angrier.
Baek I Hyun was always like this—kind to everyone, considerate, and talented. He never flaunted his abilities; he simply helped others however he could…….
Was it really right to burden someone like him with my situation?
If I opened up to him, he’d surely listen with full sincerity and care. He’d worry, empathize even if he couldn’t fully understand my circumstances, and think of the best possible solution.
That was exactly why I disliked it. This was nothing but one-sided inferiority. I could never be as good a person as he was.
“It’s nothing.”
And so, that was the answer that came out—weak and hollow. Baek I Hyun met my eyes at my feeble reply.
“Ha Young, you’re…….”
Just as he softly began to speak—
“The world shall perish once more! Ooooh, O Lord! The Almighty has passed judgment upon this world! Woe unto mankind that refuses to face its doom……!”
Someone outside the restaurant suddenly started shouting at the top of their lungs.
Dressed in robes, holding a sign, and even equipped with a megaphone—this cultist certainly looked the part.
“Judgment is coming upon this world……!”
Why right in front of this place? I was already exhausted, and now my head throbbed. Couldn’t someone just call the police?
“These cults are really getting out of hand lately.”
“Didn’t you hear? All those people……”
Even the customers at the neighboring table were murmuring among themselves. When I turned my head, I met a pair of pale-blue eyes staring directly at me.
“Oh—sorry. I didn’t hear. What did you just say?”
“……Never mind. I’m just glad nothing’s wrong with you.”
Baek I Hyun, wearing a thoroughly un-relieved expression, muttered vaguely and took a sip from the beer he’d ordered merely for appearances—despite not even drinking alcohol. Clearly, he was deeply annoyed.
I should probably steer the conversation elsewhere.
“I’m really sorry—I’ve just been exhausted lately. How about you? Are you doing well?”
“I’m always doing well. Nothing special has come up.”
“You can’t just brush it off like that! How could an A-rank Hunter have ‘nothing special’ going on? Didn’t you just go through an A-rank Gate?”
“……”
He fell briefly silent, then shook his glass and spoke again, his eyes brightening slightly.
“It really was nothing. I barely did anything in the Gate, and I’m the youngest in my guild……. People have been talking about the Guild Master lately, but I’m not really interested in that sort of thing…….”
“You’re the youngest?!”
“……You really don’t pay attention to me at all, do you?”
A faint smile spread across his lips. Internally wincing, I forced a casual laugh.
“Of course not! I just meant you ranked high among Returnees and were really skilled.”
“Haha, I appreciate you seeing me as cool and all…… but really, maybe it’s because Am Wol is such a big guild. There are plenty of people way more impressive than me.”
By that logic, I’m also the youngest, and Cheonrang is a major guild too—yet I’m swamped with work.
Could it be that even among the Four Great Guilds, welfare varied? I briefly pondered Am Wol but, recalling nothing specific, decided to let it go.
Baek I Hyun being the youngest—now that was truly a waste of talent.
After that, our conversation turned to mundane updates.
Baek I Hyun said he mostly just backed up his older teammates in his squad and rarely did anything significant. The fact that he called them “hyung” and “nuna” despite them being at least ten years older made me think those seniors had no conscience at all.
That was just the sort of talk it was: “How have you been lately?” “Same as always.” “Anyone you dislike?” “Nope.” “Do people treat you well?” “They do.”
I didn’t mention getting dragged into a Gate or becoming entangled with Cheon Shin Woo. I simply didn’t feel like it.
And yet…….
“Oh right, Ha Young. What’s your relationship with Cheon Shin Woo?”
“Pfft—cough, cough! Hrk, ack!”
The attack came out of nowhere—sudden and sharp.
I happened to be drinking beer at that exact moment, and I had to struggle desperately not to spray its contents all over my food or his face. I turned my head away and writhed for a while trying to calm my choking fit, and after a moment, a gentle pat landed on my back. He’d caused the choking fit himself, then offered both the poison and the antidote. Honestly.
“Why would you bring that up now?!”
Once I’d finally calmed down and voiced my grievance, Baek I Hyun tilted his head slightly.
“You don’t read the Awakened Anonymous forum, do you?”
“I’m not even Awakened—why would I go there?”
“But you have a Returnee ID, so you can join. Look.”
Baek I Hyun fiddled with his phone for a bit and then thrust a screen toward me.
[(Upvotes: 81) Is JG-AC really losing it??Author: Oz’s Goodness Gracious
You know that girl mentioned in the news? I was actually there that day. Honestly, the interviewer was being an absolute jerk, so I get why he stomped on him;; but aside from that, JG-AC was totally nuts.
I had no idea that air conditioner could pull off such a sweet expression and honey-dripping eyes;;;
They say people change when they go crazy……. Has our JG-AC finally snapped? Did he switch from an air conditioner to a heater?
(Reply): What’s your eyesight?
└(Author): 3.0, 3.0, you damn fool
(Reply): But why does CSE get called an electric AC?
└Because when annoyed, he blasts cold air—his element’s ice, after all. He’s basically a walking human air conditioner.
└And when really pissed, he zaps people with electricity. Cheon Shin Woo gets angry, freezes everyone around, then fries them with lightning.
└That’s why “AC” for air conditioner, and “electric AC” since he electrocutes too!
└(Reply author): Bet he’s nice to have around in summer.
└Nice? Hell no—if he doesn’t randomly snap and turn the place into a frozen wasteland, we’re lucky.
(Reply): Phoenix out.
[Read more……]]After reading the entire post, I was left utterly speechless, my mouth slightly agape. Seeing my reaction, Baek I Hyun took his phone back.
“This is about you, isn’t it?”
“……What the hell.”
“You really haven’t seen it, have you?”
Well, I had seen it. Even as my mind frayed, I’d scoured every source of information I could find.
But I never expected to find something like this on the Awakened Anonymous forum.
“There are a lot more posts like this. Someone even claimed they were in Cheonrang.”
“Could you find that post for me……?”
“Calm down, Ha Young.”
“I really need it—the post by someone who said they’re in Cheonrang!”
“……Breathe first before you speak. It wasn’t important, really.”
How would you know whether it’s important or not?! Furious, I glared at him with wide eyes—whereupon Baek I Hyun shoved a piece of chicken into my mouth.
“Are you really not involved with Cheon Shin Woo at all?”
His pale-blue eyes, asking that question, were crystal clear and pure.
For some reason, I felt uneasy. Instead of answering, I simply shook my head, and Baek I Hyun gave me another gentle smile.
“You know, Ha Young.”
“……If you’ve got something to say, just say it. Don’t call me like that.”
“Do you want to Awaken?”
And that was the question he asked. After meeting again after so long, over drinks, his question was whether I wanted to Awaken. My answer stuck in my throat.
Why on earth would he ask something like that? A distant, hollow feeling tugged at me.
“You always said you wanted to Awaken, right? That if you Awakened, you could achieve what you wished for and protect the people you care about.”
His expression showed not a trace of doubt. His clear, gentle face only made the inexplicable frustration inside me grow heavier.
What should I even say in response? Countless thoughts rushed through my mind, yet the words that came out of my mouth were astonishingly calm.
“Oh sure, sure—you’re amazing. Lucky you can do whatever you want, huh, Mr. A-rank Hunter?”
“That’s not what I meant…….”
“I’ll go wash my face for a bit. Order another beer and some more side dishes while I’m gone.”
“……Okay. Oh, you can just drink mine if you want.”
“Keep yours for yourself.”
Without waiting for his reply, I immediately stood up. “You know I can’t handle alcohol,” his voice called after me—but I pretended not to hear and hurried straight to the restroom.
Handle alcohol, my foot—he could drink way more than I ever could.
After washing my face, I saw the reflection of a short-haired woman in the mirror—a face still slightly youthful, ordinary and unremarkable, the kind you’d see anywhere.
The most unusual yet inevitably most ordinary person: me.
What Baek I Hyun had mentioned—those were things I’d already given up on long ago.
I’d abandoned my wish to Awaken and let go of my desire to protect someone. And so, I’d adapted to this world and lived like this.
Why, then, would he ask me such a question—me, who had only just barely come to accept my own powerlessness and insignificance?
Baek I Hyun made me uncomfortable. I disliked him. The way he asked such questions so casually, the way he innocently probed at other people’s raw wounds with that pure expression—yet without a shred of malice, precisely because he was genuinely kind and cared deeply for others.
That his question sounded to me like, “You still haven’t Awakened? I guess you really are just that worthless,” was surely only because my own inferiority complex was too ugly to bear.
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
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