VSP 169

“Argh.”

Sejun was using Hoya as a makeshift cushion while lying down. He trembled with frustration as he stared at the screen displaying a score of 80 before hitting the restart button once more.

That was when a notification for a new message popped up at the top of the tablet. Since the sender’s name appeared along with it, Sejun froze, unable to continue his game.

“…….”

He remained still for a long while. He stayed that way until his game score hit zero and the “Time Over” message appeared.

After a moment, Sejun set the tablet aside and picked up his phone.

The message was from Cha Dogyeong, who had recently started playing the game to follow Sejun’s lead. However, Sejun bit his lip, unable to muster the courage to check the message.

Should I look at it now? What if he’s asking to meet up or something?

No, I’m not ready yet… With a heavy sigh, Sejun finally checked the message, and his eyes immediately burned with annoyance.

He wondered why the notifications had popped up in such quick succession; it seemed Dogyeong had sent two messages at once. One was an image.

Sejun began to tremble as soon as he checked the attached photo.

[Cha Ddogyeong: (Screenshot of a 150-point score)]

>[Cha Ddogyeong: Lol]

“Fucker!”

The sight of the high score standing in such stark contrast to his own pathetic one made Sejun shout in agony.

Right then, the sound of footsteps echoed up the stairs, and his bedroom door swung wide open.

“Seo Sejun!”

It was his mother.

Sejun’s eyes widened in surprise when he saw his mother, who should have been at the shop, suddenly appearing at home.

“How old are you that you’re swearing like that? Huh? Is it that damn game again?”

“No, Mom, it’s not like that.”

Sejun grew flustered, but since he’d been caught red-handed swearing while gaming, there wasn’t much he could say.

“I figured you weren’t replying for a reason, so I came to check. I knew it! You brat!”

…It seemed he’d missed her messages because he had turned off all notifications except for Cha Dogyeong’s.

Ultimately defeated, Sejun curled up and buried himself in Hoya’s fur.

Sejun had been staying at his parents’ house for several weeks now. It was impossible for him to even step foot in his own place because of the reporters swarming the entrance.

The reporters weren’t the only issue. Within a few days, Sejun had experienced every single headache that comes with excessive media attention, and he was completely fed up with it.

At first, he thought he might have actually enjoyed the feeling. After all, he’d never received this kind of positive attention since awakening as a hunter.

However, it didn’t take long for him to realize that no matter how favorably the media portrayed him, it was never comfortable.

He wondered if things would’ve been different if he’d just agreed to one interview, but the problem was that he had no answer for when they asked how he’d suddenly become an EX-rank.

Sejun simply had no talent for lying.

Furthermore, there was Na Yookyung’s warning.

On the day the first-ever group chat for S-ranks was created, something that had never existed before, Na Yookyung had given them a piece of advice.

[Na Yookyung-noona: Everyone, refrain from doing interviews for a while.]

]Na Yookyung-noona: There’s a lot of good news, but there’s a lot of bad news too. There’s a mourning atmosphere, so it’s better to keep a low profile for now.]

[Yookyung-noona: Buy Sejun, you should do a few.]

I thought this chat would never happen, but here it is. I’m even invited…

Sejun had been marveling at the existence of the group chat, but her last message made him flinch.

[Seo Sejun: Why?]

[Na Yookyung-noona: Obviously, the interest in you is going to be the most intense. It’ll be easier for you if you just get a few over with early on.]

The interest in me is the most intense? That can’t be.

Sejun didn’t particularly want to do interviews. He wasn’t great at thinking on his feet or speaking eloquently, his specialty was blurting out whatever came to mind when faced with a flustering question, which always led to incidents of varying sizes.

Back when the original novel was unfolding, he’d acted like an attention-seeker, desperate for interviews and causing countless scandals. But after the story ended, he absolutely loathed the idea.

More importantly, he didn’t have a heroic story like Cha Dogyeong, who became an EX-rank specifically to take down Asura.

He hadn’t done anything grand to reach EX-rank. He couldn’t exactly say, “My body was taken over, and when I came to my senses, I got it as a reward.”

[Na Yookyung-noona: I’m not saying you should accept all of them.]

[Na Yookyung-noona: I’m saying do at least one. Just stick to the major news outlets, okay?]

Sejun replied that he understood. However, he didn’t think it was that big of a deal.

Even if the world needed a hero, he didn’t think it was him. Cha Dogyeong was the one who landed the final blow, he didn’t see why it mattered.

So, he started by rejecting a few interview requests. He figured he could just do them later.

But he had underestimated the public’s interest in him.

The very next day after defeating Asura, Sejun saw the reporters camping out at his apartment entrance, making life miserable for the security guards. That was when he realized the level of interest was beyond his imagination.

I’m happy! I’m really happy! But… this is a bit much!

After getting burned by the media several times and deciding he was being a nuisance to his neighbors, Sejun packed a few things and fled to his parents’ place in Bucheon.

There were still a lot of people here, but it was much better than his own home.

Reporters had flocked to his mother’s shop too, but after she threatened to report them for business interference, the numbers dwindled. Thanks to that, Sejun was able to spend his time lounging around the house.

And as everyone who lives alone knows, once you’ve tasted freedom, returning to your parents’ house means their interference becomes a bit painful. Just like right now.

“No? What do you mean ‘no’? You’re just going to stay holed up in the house playing games? Staying up all night every day! How old are you!”

When Sejun grumbled back, “Twenty-six…”, his mother breathed a frustrated sigh.

“If you’re going to keep acting like this, go back to your own house!”

“Alright… I get it.”

“You’re not twenty-six, you’re six! When are you going to grow up? Huh?”

In his mother’s eyes, he wasn’t an EX-rank hunter who had saved the world; he was just her childish son.

However, his mother, who had been hounding him like a demon, softened instantly the moment her gaze turned towards Hoya.

Before this, Sejun had never summoned Hoya without a reason when visiting home, this trip was the first time his family had met him.

Sejun’s mother, who had owned several cats in her youth, had fallen head over heels for Hoya the moment she saw him. Her son and husband were now completely forgotten.

“Hoya? Do you need anything to eat?”

Even though they couldn’t communicate, his mother always asked Hoya things like that. She didn’t even acknowledge him when Sejun explained that a summoned beast didn’t really need food.

[Purr.]

Surprisingly, Hoya didn’t seem to find his mother’s attention annoying.

His mother watched the giant tiger as he made a rumbling sound and licked his front paw. She was melting from admiration.

“Aww, so cute.”

…Cute? That big thing? Where?

Sejun also thought his Hoya was the best, and he occasionally thought he was cute and said it out loud! But seeing someone else do it felt like “mirror therapy,” and it was painful to watch.

When Hoya stuck out his tongue, his mother, who was dancing the blues because it was so cute, belatedly brought up the matter.

“Anyway, go wash up and put on some decent clothes.”

It seemed she had come home in the middle of a busy workday specifically for this reason. Sejun tilted his head.

“Why?”

The answer was something he never expected.

“Dogyeong said he’s coming over.”

Those words brought a sudden awakening. Sejun, who had been lying in Hoya’s embrace, suddenly sat up.

“What? Mom, are you in touch with Cha Dogyeong?”

“Of course~ we’ve been talking every now and then.”

Sejun’s jaw dropped. He knew they’d exchanged numbers last time, but he never imagined they were on “checking in on each other” terms.

While Sejun was wasting time without even having a proper conversation with Cha Dogyeong, Dogyeong was apparently chatting with his mom?

Actually, Sejun had been exchanging trivial messages with Cha Dogyeong as if nothing were wrong, but that was just on the surface. The reality of their relationship was completely different.

Neither of them had brought up the deeper issues, and time was just slipping away. It was a cycle of superficial conversation.

The reason was simple. First of all, Cha Dogyeong was incredibly busy in Sejun’s stead, and both had seemingly reached a silent agreement to keep quiet about the series of events.

No, maybe “agreement” was just Sejun’s perspective. Cha Dogyeong surely wanted to talk to him. It was just that Sejun wasn’t ready.

But even the thought of talking to Cha Dogyeong made his fingertips go cold.

“Haaaaaa.”

He exhaled a heavy sigh.