Chapter 7: Hunter Community(4)
[StarHater has entered the chat room.]
LoaderGirl: StarHater, please.
StarHater: How’d you send me a private message?
LoaderGirl: Saw you in recent logs and sent it. I’m really desperate…
What could be so urgent that she’s adding me as a friend to ask for help after just meeting yesterday? I decided to hear her out.
StarHater: So, what’s the favor?
LoaderGirl: So… I got a gate job lined up for tomorrow.
StarHater: Gate job?
According to LoaderGirl, after weeks of struggling to find work due to her rank, she finally landed a job.
LoaderGirl: But… one of the porters we had bailed last minute, and the party’s at risk of falling apart. Old man’s with the association, so he can’t join private parties, Dokdo’s too far, and Red’s got personal reasons.
StarHater: No other friends nearby?
LoaderGirl: I don’t have friends.
Her last message hit me with a pang of guilt. From yesterday’s chat, LoaderGirl and the others seemed like typical internet friends. Even so, you’d expect real-life friends, but as she continued, it sounded like she’d completely cut herself off from society.
LoaderGirl: StarHater, please, just help me this once. If I miss this, I’ll starve this month.
StarHater: But… we just met yesterday…
LoaderGirl: Please… I’m begging.
She sent a kneeling emoji, pleading for help. Her desperation suggested she’d already made up her mind to grovel.
How could someone be this pathetic to a stranger?
Her long-winded life story and relentless begging finally wore me down.
StarHater: Fine… stop crying and give me your contact info.
LoaderGirl: What?! Really?! Thank you so much 😭😭. My number is…
I powered on my phone and entered the contact info she gave me. Since Sihyun and Sohyun won’t be back for a few days, helping LoaderGirl doesn’t sound bad.
LoaderGirl: StarHater, thank you so much. Any questions, hit me up on KakaoTalk or call!
StarHater: Sure.
[LoaderGirl has left the chat room.]
Her decisiveness—bolting the moment her goal was achieved—combined with her lack of tact, no wonder she has no friends. Someone like me needs to guide her to get her life on track.
I updated her contact on KakaoTalk and was about to send a few questions.
“…What?”
[New Friend]
-Hong Suyeon.
Hong Suyeon—the name from the returnee records Sihyun showed me. No profile picture, so I couldn’t be sure, but Dokdo mentioning her D-rank yesterday nagged at me.
‘Coincidence, right?’
There are plenty of people with the same name in Korea. Brushing off the silly thought, I let go of the Hong Suyeon idea.
In a rundown room.
A crazed woman’s triumphant yell echoed through it.
“It worked!!!”
Three months of surviving on instant noodles, now all gone. Despite submitting my hunter license and experience, no one would hire a D-rank like me.
The past three months were pure hell for a returnee like me.
But finally, I landed a job. The party nearly fell apart, but I had a savior.
“All thanks to StarHater.”
StarHater, the newbie in our chat room since yesterday. Not sure if it’s a gimmick or genuine, but they really hate stars.
After a few chats, their hatred seemed beyond dislike—almost visceral. I don’t know why, but I guess they got screwed over by a constellation-bound hunter.
“Poor thing… I’ll comfort them when we meet.”
Thinking of poor StarHater, I packed for tomorrow’s gate clear. Then, I noticed an odd horn flute in my bag.
Seeing it, my happiness sank into gloom.
A gift from the hero party in my old world. I only used it when times were desperate, so seeing it brought back memories of my comrades.
“Guys… I miss you…”
I caressed the horn flute a few times before tucking it deep into my bag. Better to bring it just in case. I didn’t want them to see me like this.
With packing mostly done, my phone rang.
“Hello?”
“LoaderGirl, right? It’s the party leader for tomorrow.”
He asked if I’d found the friend I said I’d bring. I told him I just did and planned to meet them first. He sounded skeptical, warning about the dangers of picking random people from the community.
Talking to the party leader, something felt off. He kept dragging the conversation, subtly acting like a boyfriend.
What pissed me off most was him badmouthing StarHater.
I only dragged them into this because they were desperate, and he says that? If it wasn’t for the job, I’d have cussed him out already.
“See you tomorrow, LoaderGirl.”
“You too, party leader.”
“Oh, and dress pretty tomorrow.”
Going into a gate full of dangerous beasts, and he says this nonsense? After a tense silence, he must’ve sensed the vibe and tried to backpedal.
“Don’t take it too seriously, just kidding. Hanging up now.”
“Uh… okay…”
As soon as the call ended, I wanted to spew every curse I knew.
“What a shitty mood.”
Once this gate job’s done, I’ll never deal with that guy again. Gotta suck it up for now, though. If I had money, I wouldn’t endure this humiliation.
Maybe my prosperous life in the other world was the real happiness.
Korea has a returnee settlement system, but it’s just meager aid and a scheme for government officials to line their pockets.
They don’t care about improving hunter treatment, let alone returnees.
If I had power like Jin Seyeon, I’d have left Korea without a second thought. Not just China—anywhere better.
“…What am I doing?”
Overwhelmed by sudden existential dread, I collapsed onto my bed. Enough overthinking—focus on tomorrow’s gate clear.
Cold air jolted me awake.
The open balcony and morning chill hit me with a sinking feeling—I was screwed. Half-asleep, I flung open my closet, grabbing whatever outfit Sihyun bought or Sohyun coordinated.
It was 7 a.m. LoaderGirl said to meet at 8.
Factoring in meeting her and travel time, I had 30 minutes to get there. Appointments mean arriving an hour early, and I messed up.
Never felt this panicked going to school, but with a gate involved, urgency hit harder.
“Argh… I’m late…”
Heart racing, I burst out the front door. Rushing to press the elevator button—
“What’re you doing?”
“Yuri?”
Yuri stood in front of the elevator. Seems like we always meet here. Elevators are community hubs, after all.
“Where you off to? Why the rush?”
“I… gate…”
“Gate?”
Mid-sentence, an idea struck. Yuri, standing right here, could help me out of this mess.
“…Hey, Yuri.”
“What?”
Pride wasn’t the issue. Only a narrow-minded jerk would get hung up on this. I gave Yuri the most pathetic look I could muster.
Her face hardened, showing unease.
“You… got a car? Can you give me a ride…?”
*
“No way you’d ask me for a favor.”
“…Thanks.”
The smooth ride of Yuri’s fancy new car was so comfortable I barely felt it move. Thanks to her, I’d arrive well before the meeting time, calming my nerves.
Yuri, gripping the wheel, tossed me a casual question.
“You turned down my offer but jumped at a gate job?”
“Well… it’s complicated…”
Her slight edge made me shiver, but I explained calmly to appease her.
“A friend begged me to help with a gate party shortage… I couldn’t say no…”
“A returnee fresh back and you’ve got friends who know you?”
“Community friend…”
“You’re something else.”
Sure, I have real friends, but would they still see me as one in this form? I’m just a girl with the same name as the old Kim Suhyun.
Yuri shared some hunter tips before pausing.
“We’re here. Let’s get out.”
“Wait, you’re getting out too?”
“Duh. Sihyun asked me to look after you if anything happened while he’s gone.”
Sihyun and his unnecessary meddling.
“Don’t worry, I’ll just check your friend’s description and leave. Got guild stuff to do.”
Relieved by her promise, we arrived at the meeting spot and started looking for Hong Suyeon. She’d described herself on KakaoTalk as having blonde hair and a big bag.
“Find a girl with blonde hair and a big bag.”
“Is… that her?”
Without hesitation, Yuri pointed. Across the crosswalk, a girl stood, drawing eyes with her presence.
No doubt, that was LoaderGirl.