Chapter 54 – Kim Joo-Sung and Kim Chun-Bae (1)

“Hunter is also entertainment now.”

Kim Joo-sung and he met for the first time before the semester started. Appearing in a suit in front of Kim Joo-seong, who had completed his Awakened registration, he laughed, baring his white teeth while making such a strange noise. The man who started social work at the age of 20 as a used car dealer, accidentally woke up and walked the path of a hunter, was a person who liked to talk about his social experiences.

“From what I can see, you have talent, you have talent.”

And he was the one who told Kim Joo-sung that he had talent. The talent he was talking about was not Hunter’s. It was something a little higher than vaguely ‘talent to succeed as a hunter’.

The talent he was talking about was close to the ‘talent’ that celebrities are talking about. He criticized the world for not recognizing the talent he was talking about, and he was the one who tried to bring Kim Ju-seong into the discourse.

“Look, so people in the past don’t know what a star is these days? It means that we can only succeed if we read the trends in advance and become people who move ahead. All those boring old hunters talk like that.”

The man cleared his throat and then imitated the voices of older people in strange tones.

“‘Hunter should be good at gate exploration. What are you doing on TV?” What is elite Now it’s ‘commoner’, a little ordinary. That’s the trend.”

Kim Joo-seong listened to the story in silence. He said that what made him a star was an inescapable temptation for him. Growing up with his grandmother after his parents died when he was young, success was directly linked to filial piety.

He gave one mission to Kim Ju-seong, who decided to be with him. Among the students entering the academy, make a team with a student named ‘Chunbae Kim’.

*******

“Hyung, but why is it all about Chunbae?”

One day, Kim Joo-seong asked his man. The man was not a mentor. The mentor was another member of the Diamond Club, but he was a person who was not motivated in everything and only stuck to the assigned work. So Kim Joo-seong relied more on this man than on his mentor.

Why is it Chunbae? Why is it that there is another buffer, but Kim Chun-bae, who is dirty, stinks, has poor social skills, and looks dirty? While he was talking about this, Kim Chun-bae followed his man’s advice and went to the convenience store to buy a drink. He said, looking at the back of Kim Chun-bae, who was waddling away.

“That bastard is easy to deal with, and among the ranged buff abilities that I entered this time, I am the most useful. Look at that. Young. They told me to take the change, so they run excitedly.”

“The long-distance buff ability, ah, that, is what you say to be very active in the gate.”

The man laughed at Kim Joo-sung’s small idea. He had the talent to be a star, but he didn’t know how to draw the big picture yet. The man tapped Kim Joo-sung on the shoulder and said proudly.

“Hey, Joo-sung. Who knows that you’ve been active at the gate lately?”

Kim Joo-sung narrowed her eyes. He brought his face closer and spoke in a low voice.

“If you’re going to do it, you’ll have to work hard, starting with the Rookie of the Year.”

*******

The outline of the plan was as follows. Kim Joo-seong, who won the Rookie of the Year competition with overwhelming skills, mentions his deceased parents in an interview. And he builds an image of a filial son by shouting ‘I love you, Grandma’ while shedding some tears.

“This is where the first build-up goes. The heartbreaking story of Hunter Kim Joo-sung, who won the Rookie of the Year competition! And now, our guild will post a large-screen TV in your house and stuff like this with gifts and sponsorships, and we’re going to publish an article again. At the academy, you will get some interviews with your friends saying that you are a very kind and nice person.”

“Then, can he become a star?”

He shook his head resolutely. And he said

“No, there is nothing wrong with this. Is there a group camp training early next year? I’ll work on it again there. An incident happens there, and you do a great job and save a few kids. It blows up again here, and then it’s real. After completing the curriculum and graduating, you will once again make an article about what we are taking with you, and then you will start broadcasting in earnest from this point on. You mean our diamond club has a V-tube channel? I’m going to start filming you for a special program there. And, now, build up an image with it, and you know roughly what’s next, right?”

It was a very long-planned plan. The idea of ​​making a star very slowly. Kim Ju-seong felt that the plan was plausible. However, I also felt uneasy about the plan. Kim Joo-seong asked cautiously.

“But can I win? Looking at this time, there are a lot of guys with good abilities.”

“Baby. That’s why you prepared for Chunbae. Take a good look. I’ll coax that bastard into putting on your buff.”

Chunbae was coming from afar. He was running and sweating profusely. He stopped talking abruptly, grinning and shaking his hand. Chunbae smiled awkwardly and brought a drink. She said while receiving a drink from the man Chunbae.

“Hey, Chunbae, you worked hard. I’m hot too. Hey, let’s have a drink.”

“Ah yes…”

Chunbae nodded her head. He tapped Chunbae on the shoulder and then asked.

“Hey, I heard Juseong praised you so much for your ability.”

“Ah yes…”

“What exactly was your ability? What idol? You said you summoned something like that and made it dance?”

“Ah yes… That’s not an idol… Hanagawa Misaki-chan is my favorite character from [Flower Dream].”

The man widened his eyes at Chunbae Kim’s explanation, and she pretended to be surprised.

“Oh yeah? Flower Dream? Is this a character from an anime?”

“Ah yes.”

“Awesome. Yeah, what can I do with it?”

“You can heal that other person, or you can make them stronger.”

At that, the man who was drinking her drink pressed her lips together, narrowed her forehead, and nodded her head slowly. Her man, who put down her drink and clapped lightly a few times, patted Chunbae on the back, she said.

“Hey, that’s great! Killing our Chunbae ability! Hey Joo Seong, is this a real thing? Yes?”

Kim Joo-sung nodded at his man’s words. Her man lowered her voice and said, holding close to Kim Chun-bae.

“Hey, you help us. We’re doing a job, and if it goes well, I’ll give you some money too. I’ll give you 500 as an advance payment. If the work is done safely, I will add 1,000 more to this.”

Chunbae’s eyes fluttered.

******

A few days later, the three of them gathered at the academy training ground. They were Kim Chun-bae, Kim Joo-seong, and the man of the Diamond Club. The man held in her hand a device that looked like a wrist watch, but the part where the watch should be was completely blank. She said the man

“This is a watch-type detector used in competitions and duels including Rookie of the Year. It’s sensitive to nearby buffs and healing auras, so if someone uses that kind of ability, it’ll immediately locate and set off an alarm.”

Kim Chun-bae swallowed his saliva. He was now challenging the biggest deviant act of his life. He was too late to come and get his feet out. It was because the 5 million won was all invested in the [Flower Dream] Gacha game. He was broke now, but he had no regrets because he had chosen the SSR rare [School Ms. Hanagawa Misaki].

Said the man.

“There are three ways. One is Chunbae. Did you use your abilities from a distance to pinpoint only Kim Joo-seong? Or he goes in with a buff beforehand. Or not…”

Said the man, putting her sensor back in her pocket.

“Pick the referee some money.”

The man looked at the two again and said.

“I bought one. There’s a referee who has something to do with our diamond club. Because I asked him to turn off the sensor when entering the game. At that time, just have fun and use a buff on Juseong. What did you say about the buff conditions?”

“Yes, with this Misaki-chan badge, Moe Kyun! You have to shout it once to receive it.”

The more I listened to it, the more my head hurt. The man sighed deeply and asked.

“…Did you decide the conditions?”

Chunbae said urgently.

“Oh, no. In the [Flower Dream] Anime, when energy is given to fallen soldiers on the battlefield, the fans all shout Moe Kwup! After handing out badges. Then, now the kids suddenly… There is a system called Lovely Point, and with that system…”

“Okay okay. Anyway, just having this badge is all you need, right?”

“Yes. You can put it in your pocket.”

The Misaki-chan badge was a badge with a picture of Hanagawa Misaki winking. Kim Joo-sung stared at the badge and was conflicted. The man patted Kim Joo-sung on the shoulder and said.

“Joo Seong. You don’t want to win?”

“No. I will.”

He put the badge in his pocket and said in a low voice.

“Moe kyun.”

“Oh, you have to pose for that too.”

Chunbae also demonstrated the pose himself. She lifted one of her legs up in a dainty way and held out both of her index fingers like a pair of pistols, winking.

Haha! Fucking crazy bastard. I will turn around.”

Her man laughed madly at the posture her chunbae showed. And she laughed even louder when she saw Kim Joo-seong forcibly copying. Even if she was a health cover model, there was no such spectacle because she was copying the movements of Chunbae who could be trusted.

The man with a long laugh said.

“Listen. The referee who bought this time only goes into two games. The finals, you and Ichigaya Ichie match. Okay?”

“Is that Japanese?”

“Uh. The other kids look at the bracket and you’ll win. You have great luck with the matchup, but he is dangerous.”

“Is his ability that good?”

The man shook her head and said.

“There are rumors that he was the head of the yakuza sub-organization before he woke up.”