Sister of the Ranking 1st (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 3

“Uh…?”

What just happened to me?

My sense of reality hadn’t returned yet. I thought I’d glimpsed a smile on Cheon Shin Woo’s profile as he passed by—was that just my imagination?

“What was that just now?”

“Did that really happen with Cheon Shin Woo…?”

Whispers rose around me. One of them spoke to me directly.

“Hey, do you happen to know Cheon Shin Woo?”

“Huh? Oh, no…?”

“Then what was that just now? Don’t tell me…”

Their gaze swept over me from head to toe. It was rude and unpleasant.

“So that’s how she passed the paperwork without even having an Awakener ID…”

From the side, I heard them muttering among themselves again. For a moment, anger surged up inside me.

“It’s not like that at all!”

“What? What’s her problem?”

“Dunno. Maybe she got embarrassed.”

I was going crazy. How on earth was I supposed to explain this situation?

Eyes darting away as if pretending not to stare, they kept scanning me. The heavy weight of their scrutiny exhausted me. Any explanation would be pointless. It was better to just slip away quickly.

I bolted from the spot.

Only after stepping into the subway did my mind snap into clarity, as if doused with cold water. When I tentatively reached up to touch my hair, it stood stiffly upright.

“…”

I turned on my phone and checked. Already, at the bottom of the news feed, a headline caught my eye:

[(Breaking) Cheon Shin Woo’s Hidden Lover? Digging into the Private Life of the Rank #1.]

The article was based on an anonymous post from some online forum.

Calling this “breaking news”—people really had nothing better to do.

If I truly knew Cheon Shin Woo, I wouldn’t have even needed to attend the interview. I’d already be a guild member of Cheonrang…

Thankfully, there was nothing about my personal details. I closed the browser and scrolled through my contacts.

I should ask a friend to buy me a drink.

[This is the timeline separator]

My head pounded as if splitting open when I opened my eyes. Was this a time loop? Checking the date told me no.

With half-lidded eyes, I scrolled through overnight messages and noticed a text from an unknown number.

“Are you sober yet…?”

Even if I were still drunk, this prank was going too far. I set the phone down—its absurd message glaring back—and went to splash water on my face.

But the message still read the same when I returned.

[Cheonrang Interview Result Notification]

“Huh. Am I still not awake?”

The cool water felt refreshing, but just to be sure, I pinched my cheek again. It hurt. Amazingly, this wasn’t a dream.

No way. The message was an acceptance notice!

I rubbed my eyes repeatedly, yet the words remained unchanged. It even included a friendly onboarding guide. I was supposed to start work next week.

Putting aside the shock of getting accepted—was it even possible to receive a notification this fast, just one day after the interview?

My jaw hung wide open. After rolling around in bed three times, my head buzzed dizzily. I stopped trying to spin in place.

I got accepted! It was only a three-month temporary admin assistant position, but I’d made it into Cheonrang!

I felt incredibly happy. Maybe my life was finally starting to brighten?

I was officially a working adult now!

[This is the timeline separator]

…Three hours into my first day, still buzzing with excitement—and all I wanted was to go home.

“Haha, Ha Young, you’re doing great!”

“Geez… yeah. Haha…”

Just yesterday, while picking out my outfit, I’d been genuinely happy—grateful that someone like me, so unremarkable, had been chosen. I’d resolved to give my absolute best at everything.

Even during the ninety-minute packed subway ride to work, I’d felt… content.

But once the work actually began, all I wanted was to run away.

Senior staff too busy to properly mentor their juniors, teammates filing haphazard reports without any standardized system for settlements…

Couldn’t they just write their reports properly…?

Someone sniffled nearby. A teammate had just returned from collecting reports, utterly scorched white with stress.

In that chaos, no one had the mental bandwidth to care for a newbie. I quietly gathered the dumped documents and started organizing them myself.

When the team leader saw me working alone, she rushed over in panic—but after watching what I was doing, her expression softened with sudden kindness.

This was the summary of my current situation.

I did exactly as she asked, and the team leader beamed happily.

“How do you know so much about Hunter ecology? I was worried since you’re unawakened…”

“I’ve always been interested, so I looked into it a lot. I’m glad it’s helpful.”

“Were you aiming to become a Hunter?”

“Um… yeah. For now, at least.”

“Awakening isn’t something you can force through effort alone… But look—you made it into Cheonrang. Take comfort in that.”

“Thank you.”

“But honestly, I’m worried. Our workload’s pretty heavy, right? What if you refuse to come in starting tomorrow…?”

Despite her smile, her eyes held deep sadness. She looked like someone who’d endured a lot. My soul seemed to leak out through my voice.

“Refuse to come in? At Cheonrang?”

“Well… our team’s workload is a bit excessive, you know? Even when we ask for more staff, upper management won’t listen. And those frontline Hunters—they’ve got high pride. Many get angry, saying, ‘Why should you deskworkers get paid when we risk our lives clearing Gates and earning money?’ So instead of hiring, they keep talking about cutting our already thin staff…”

“I see…”

Her words, laced with quiet sorrow, were genuinely shocking. Both the Association and Cheonrang were just the same. And they wanted to cut staff further—on top of this?

It felt insane. At this rate, the guild would collapse. It surely would.

Just then, someone screamed—a training dummy for combat evaluation had been utterly obliterated.

Accident reports kept pouring in from every corner, piling even more work onto our already overflowing plates.

My tiny hope—that if I worked hard enough, they’d appreciate me and offer a permanent position—shattered completely.

I had to escape. No matter what, I’d flee after these three months.

Unaware of my resolve, the team leader kept showering me with praise. Her eyes shimmered as she said, “It’ll be such a shame when you leave after just three months.” Probably my imagination.

After focusing intently for a while, a clear birdcall echoed from somewhere. The scorched-white teammates rose in unison and shuffled zombie-like toward some destination.

Curious, I watched—just as the team leader, about to head out, noticed me and asked,

“Ha Young, aren’t you coming?”

“Huh?”

“Oh! Right—I forgot to explain. It’s lunchtime. The company cafeteria’s this way.”

Normally, a mentor would explain this kind of thing. Though I wasn’t even sure who my mentor was. Helpless, I followed the team leader.

The cafeteria was full of people but not as bustling as I’d expected.

“This way.”

The team leader, already seated, called me over. I accepted my tray without protest and sat across from her.

By the way—the food quality was incredible.

Expecting bland, institutional meals like at the Association, I carefully placed a side dish onto my rice and took a bite.

And nearly dropped my spoon.

“Good heavens…”

Without exaggeration, it was the most amazing taste I’d ever experienced. I’d never eaten at a five-star restaurant, but if such a thing existed, this must be what it tasted like.

Seeing my expression, the team leader burst out laughing.

“Haha, look at your face! Everyone makes that face the first time!”

“How can food taste like this…?”

“The chef here is an Awakener in culinary arts. You know, right? Meals prepared by culinary Awakeners come with buffs. These mass-produced meals are low-tier, but the flavor’s unbeatable.”

“Good heavens…”

“Plus, some Gate byproducts are used as ingredients. The buff effect is minor but present, and the taste beats most restaurants. Pretty good, huh?”

“Yes…!”

Tears welled up. The urge to go home vanished entirely. Coming to Cheonrang instead of the Association had been the right choice.

Amused by my reaction, the team leader chuckled for a while, then waved lightly.

“After eating, wanna grab coffee downstairs? My treat.”

“Yes, yes! Thank you!”

People really are simple. Just one delicious meal could lift my spirits this much.

As I savored each grain of rice as slowly as possible, a familiar, famous face appeared on the cafeteria’s TV screen.

“Amid ongoing shockwaves from Cheon Shin Woo—recently confirmed as the sole conqueror of ‘Black Oneday,’ a Gate deemed the worst S-rank threat even elite Am Wol parties failed to clear…”

It was a rerun of a familiar news segment. Glancing over, I saw the famously melancholic, unfairly handsome man giving a somber interview in a gloomy tone.

“He’s seriously handsome…”

“Hm? Oh, right—our guild master is quite good-looking. On lucky days, you might even bump into him in the hallway.”

I’d sighed without thinking, and the team leader answered cheerfully. She studied me closely, then added,

“Now that I look… Ha Young, you kinda resemble the guild master.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. Your eyes, maybe your face shape—just a general resemblance. I was honestly startled when I first saw you!”

“Heh… haha.”

What nonsense. Comparing my face to that stunning man’s was downright disrespectful to Cheon Shin Woo.

When I firmly denied it, the team leader narrowed her eyes.

“Huh? You don’t believe me? It’s true!”

“Thank you for saying that.”

“Don’t brush it off—really, is there nothing between you? You look so alike… Honestly, since you’re unawakened, people in our team have been talking. Your work shows clear skill, so we know you earned your spot—but still, huh?”

“I’m actually Cheon Shin Woo’s blood relative.”

“What?! Really?!”

“Just kidding! It’s a joke! We don’t even share the same surname—I’m Park!”

“Ah, you got me! Well, if it’s not true, then it’s not.”

Her voice had grown so loud questioning my truthfulness that all nearby attention snapped to us. Mortified, I hoped no one overheard. My hurried denial left her still eyeing me doubtfully, clearly unconvinced.

If only it were true—if I really were related to Cheon Shin Woo, I wouldn’t have to struggle so desperately.

“Finished eating? Let’s head down—the cafe on the first floor has great coffee. I promised to treat you, so let’s go.”

“Then I won’t refuse!”

After the meal, a peaceful moment followed. The team leader jokingly added I should repay her after payday—but when I seriously agreed, she panicked and stopped me immediately.

The rest of the day unfolded as before—except now I had a self-proclaimed mentor kindly explaining things to me.

Yes, this was my life—struggling hard, yet flowing quietly without major disasters.

May every day ahead be just like today.