Chapter 140: The Cheers That Weren’t Meant for Everyone

The moment the Gwangmyeong Guild entered the awards hall, thunderous cheers and applause erupted.

At first, Seong Ji-woo thought the audience was cheering for all the hunters. When he heard his own name popping up sporadically from the seats, he even wondered if he was hallucinating.

But when the next guild appeared and the cheers were noticeably quieter than before, something started to feel off.

Amid the confusion, Seong Ji-woo somehow managed to find the seat marked Gwangmyeong and sit down. Leaning toward Chae Min-jeong, he asked in a hushed voice,

“…Why—why are people shouting at us?”

“Oh, it’s not because of us. It’s probably because of you, Vice Guild Leader.”

“…Me? No, seriously—why?”

Without answering, Chae Min-jeong pulled out her phone and, after a moment, handed it to him.

[SleepWellCat @sleepwell_cat]

I heard you can see the Hunter HERO
if you go to Seongji Pilgrimage General Store <<< here
so I went once

ended up staring blankly
at the Gwangmyeong vice guild leader / shop owner’s face the whole time

and I’m not even an Awakened
but I bought an artifact lol

The owner is delicious
and the artifacts are kind 😊

It was a post on social media.

Seong Ji-woo read the short post three times. Then he poked the last line with his finger and asked Chae Min-jeong,

“…Isn’t this sentence weird?”

The owner is delicious and the artifacts are kind.

Seeing it, Chae Min-jeong burst out laughing.

Then, half crying, half laughing, she wheezed,

“That—ha—that’s just a trendy phrase these days. Oh my god, this is hilarious.”

“No, but… we don’t sell food at our shop. Why am I ‘delicious’? And me—me specifically…?”

It felt too strange to even say out loud, and Seong Ji-woo’s face twisted awkwardly.

“They mean your face is a ‘must-visit restaurant.’ A face restaurant.”

What even is that? Whether he understood or not, Chae Min-jeong snatched her phone back—and then promptly burst into louder laughter, shoving the screen right in front of his nose.

“Look at this. It’s being posted in real time.”

On the screen was a photo of his side profile, taken while he was looking at a phone. Swiping sideways revealed another photo—this one of him making a strange expression while looking at Chae Min-jeong.

Seong Ji-woo stiffened and quickly looked around. His eyes darted back and forth, searching for the angle the photos might have been taken from.

“…Are all those people reporters?”

He pointed toward a cluster of cameras. Chae Min-jeong glanced over and went, “Oh.”

“No. They’re just… fans. Hunters are basically semi-celebrities now.”

“What? Since when?”

“Since forever.”

“So you’re telling me… they’re not reporters, but they’re still taking photos of hunters?”

“Yep.”

“And some of them are taking pictures of me?”

Still unable to wrap his head around it, Seong Ji-woo gestured at the phone again. Another unfamiliar photo of himself filled the screen—taken from yet another angle.

In this one, he was looking straight at the camera. He must have accidentally met the lens while scanning the crowd. Seeing a full-on frontal photo of himself, Seong Ji-woo turned his head away in discomfort.

“They like you, that’s all. Don’t let it bother you. There are tons of people here who’d kill to have fans.”

“It’s not that I’m upset, it’s just….”

He wasn’t offended. It just felt extremely strange—and unfamiliar.

Worse, the posts accompanying the photos were packed with praise so embarrassing he couldn’t even finish reading them. Stuff about his visuals being insane, the suit being blessed by Seong Ji-woo himself, a halo surrounding him, feeling spiritually cleansed just by looking at him—

He stopped mid-scroll and glanced around nervously.

“…Isn’t this a bit much?”

“A bit much how?”

“Someone might think they’re insulting me.”

Chae Min-jeong frowned like she’d just heard something absurd.

“Who would?”

“Who’s insulting my brother?”

At that moment, Yoo Hee-ro suddenly leaned in between them, his face appearing out of nowhere.

“Ah—! You scared me!”

Seong Ji-woo jolted, startled half to death. Chae Min-jeong also shuddered dramatically.

They’d been so absorbed in social media that they hadn’t even noticed Yoo Hee-ro entering. Coming back to his senses, Seong Ji-woo realized the hall was once again filled with thunderous applause.

It felt at least three times louder than when he himself had entered. His ears rang.

Yoo Hee-ro waited with a sour expression until the noise died down, then spoke immediately.

“So who is it? Who the hell is trash-talking you?”

“Nobody, nobody! I was just saying things!”

Panicking at his rough tone, Seong Ji-woo waved his hands frantically—and even clamped a hand over Yoo Hee-ro’s mouth.

“Why would you even say something like that?”

Yoo Hee-ro clearly had no intention of letting it go. Even with his mouth covered, his lips kept moving.

The soft, warm sensation shifting against his palm made Seong Ji-woo scream internally.

He quickly pulled his hand away, but the lingering softness made him clench and unclench his fist for no reason.

Unbothered, Yoo Hee-ro continued scanning the area for the supposed culprit, eyes narrowed dangerously. Hunters who accidentally met his gaze quickly looked away in awkward silence.

Unable to watch anymore, Chae Min-jeong intervened. She pulled up the same SNS post again and showed it to him. Yoo Hee-ro’s eyes swept over the screen coldly.

Then, in a low, dangerously calm voice, he said,

“…Hyung. Are you cheating on me?”

“Oh my….”

A random hunter passing by in search of his guild seats blurted out the exclamation without thinking. All three pairs of eyes snapped toward him.

Realizing what he’d just said, the man clapped a hand over his mouth and shook his head desperately, as if to insist he hadn’t heard anything.

Unfortunately, the exaggerated reaction only confirmed that he absolutely had.

Unable to withstand their stares, he bolted toward his guild like his life depended on it. Seong Ji-woo reached out to explain—then sighed and dropped his hand.

“You’re unbelievable…”

He shot Yoo Hee-ro a reproachful look. But Yoo Hee-ro was staring at the screen with an even darker expression.

Then he sharply turned his head toward the direction where the photos had likely been taken.

At once, a storm of camera flashes exploded from the audience.

The lights were so blinding that Seong Ji-woo—who hadn’t even been looking that way—had to blink rapidly.

“Wow. This is no joke.”

Seong Ji-woo slowly closed and opened his eyes, afterimages lingering like heat haze. Seeing how disoriented he looked, Chae Min-jeong laughed and asked,

“Vice Guild Leader, are you dazzled too?”

“Of course. I’m human, you know.”

“But your ability shines way brighter than this. You didn’t even blink back then.”

Seong Ji-woo said, genuinely surprised,

“My light is stronger than this?”

“There’s no way your ability loses to some machines.”

At her incredulous look, Seong Ji-woo felt a little sheepish. His light had always felt warm and gentle to him—never threatening, never painfully bright.

That was why he’d never thought of using it offensively. Honestly, he’d assumed it wouldn’t be very effective.

But judging by Chae Min-jeong’s reaction, his power might be far more formidable than he’d realized.

“Why aren’t you answering me? Did you really cheat?”

He’d dismissed it as nonsense and hadn’t bothered responding—but apparently that silence had only fueled Yoo Hee-ro’s misunderstanding. His calm voice now carried a chill.

“I didn’t. I don’t even know that person. I only found out today.”

“…Really?”

At Seong Ji-woo’s reply, Yoo Hee-ro’s expression finally softened. Seong Ji-woo shook his head, exhausted, as Chae Min-jeong cautiously cut in.

“Wait—what are you two, actually?”

“…What?”

“I mean, cheating only applies if there’s something going on to begin with, right?”

She’d once jokingly called them a married couple, cheering for a stronger Korea—but after working together in the guild, she knew they weren’t actually like that.

Honestly, if she had to say, one of them desperately wanted that kind of relationship, while the other had absolutely no thoughts about it.

And that other one—who’d brushed off every confession-that-wasn’t-quite-a-confession as a joke or reacted in shock—was Seong Ji-woo.

Normally, he would’ve shouted, “Cheating? Don’t be ridiculous! Stop saying nonsense—people will misunderstand!”

But now, he was doing the opposite.

He was explaining to Yoo Hee-ro that he hadn’t cheated.

Chae Min-jeong narrowed her eyes and poked him suspiciously.

“Be honest.”

“A-about what…?”

Even though it was obvious she’d already figured it out, Seong Ji-woo desperately pretended not to understand.

Meanwhile, Yoo Hee-ro seemed to have lost interest in the conversation entirely. He’d taken Chae Min-jeong’s phone and was now searching Seong Ji-woo’s name on SNS.

Post after post poured in, and his brows furrowed.

Who the hell are these people, talking about my hyung like this? Annoying.

Then he saw a post saying they wanted to marry Seong Ji-woo.

Yoo Hee-ro flared with silent fury and quickly checked the profile.

Future middle schooler (7th grade).

Reading the bio, all the tension drained out of him. A dry laugh slipped out.

“Small kid, but you’ve got good taste. Bold, too.”

But his gaze turned cold again as he examined the profile picture. He scooted right up next to Seong Ji-woo, pressing close.

“Uh—hey, what are you doing?”

He’d always known Seong Ji-woo wasn’t special only to him—but he hadn’t realized there were enemies lurking everywhere.

Unable to push him away, Seong Ji-woo awkwardly leaned to the side. Watching them, Chae Min-jeong’s gaze grew increasingly suspicious.

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