Returnee's S-Rank Management Guide

Villain (2)

"It was at my request that Hunter Shin Ah-yeon-nim received a casting offer."

After that, the movie-related meeting at the café proceeded without a hitch.

To put it simply, the reason Ah-yeon received a casting offer was because of the original author's request.

The character in question was originally modeled after Ah-yeon, so the request was specifically for her to play the part if possible.

"I didn't think there would be a problem since there aren't many lines, but I never imagined something like this would happen."

Baek Dong-woo, the original webtoon author, said that with an awkward laugh.

Originally, he had intended to refuse the film adaptation of 'World of Superhumans'.

That's because, generally, when making a film adaptation of a work that already has a webtoon source, there are bound to be changes.

He did not welcome the idea, and, having no particular greed for money, had declined.

However, since the production company earnestly requested his approval, he set a single condition.

That was for the character Jin Se-yeon from 'World of Superhumans' to be portrayed by Shin Ah-yeon.

"It was three years ago. Hunter Shin Ah-yeon-nim might not remember, but at the time, I lived in a city near where the rift incident occurred."

Three years ago, when he was just an aspiring creator, he had been at home that day working on his manuscript.

Then, he witnessed the 'disaster' unfolding outside his window.

"I thought the sky was splitting open. Those who only saw the situation on the news wouldn't know, but there was a roaring noise like thousands of lightning bolts striking at once, and the earth itself trembled."

Though he lived quite far from the incident, his home was in an elevated area, so he could see the dungeon where the rift occurred.

He watched as the rift gradually crumpled and devoured its surroundings like a monster.

I'm going to die.

That's what he said he thought at the beginning.

There was no point in thinking about running away or anything; it was simply impossible at that level.

If that explodes, we're all dead.

Just as that thought crossed his mind, the rift vanished without a trace.

Baek Dong-woo later learned that it was Shin Ah-yeon who had closed the rift and prevented the disaster.

He also found out that was the reason she disappeared from the public eye afterward.

"This character, Jin Se-yeon, was modeled after Hunter Shin Ah-yeon-nim. I remembered the way she had saved my life and then retired with such confidence. Well... though now it seems she hasn't actually retired."

In short, it seemed that he had set this condition as a way to return the favor for Shin Ah-yeon saving his life.

"I just hope I haven't caused trouble for you two by making such a strange demand."

"It's not a problem. That can happen,"

I said, elbowing Ah-yeon, who was sitting next to me, in the side.

She pursed her lips, looking rather embarrassed.

"Ah, um, well, I really didn't do it expecting anything in return..."

"I understand. Hunter Shin Ah-yeon-nim, you really are just as I imagined."

As Baek Dong-woo looked at her with sparkling eyes, Ah-yeon only shrank her shoulders further.

"There aren't many lines, so I thought it would be fine."

With Baek Dong-woo's last comment, we decided to postpone further discussion of the contract until later and parted ways.

For reference, director Cha Jae-seok, perhaps because he had been chastised so thoroughly, could barely say a word after that.

He just nodded, giving endless signals of affirmation.

'I wonder if he'll be able to do his job as director properly.'

He's a capable director, but his overbearing attitude was a problem.

Moreover, since he had been put in his place by Ah-yeon, it was hard to imagine what kind of tantrum he might throw during filming.

Of course, after today, he probably wouldn't dare to do anything blatantly obvious...

"But it's unexpected."

"What is?"

"To be honest, I thought you'd say no."

Before the acting test, her face had shown some interest, but after realizing she had no particular talent for acting, Ah-yeon had become indifferent.

So I'd expected her to decline the offer at today's meeting.

As I always say, a hunter is not an actor.

She doesn't have the time to learn acting and it would be a waste to invest any effort in it.

But if she filmed a movie without proper preparation, it would only damage her reputation with bad acting and bring her criticism.

"I wasn't planning to do it. With the pace picking up in the circle magic array recently, I wanted to focus on that," she said.

"Then why?"

"... Well, I figured it would be better to raise my recognition first."

Did she really need to boost her recognition even more?

When I looked at Ah-yeon with that thought, she avoided my gaze.

'Ah, could it be because of Ji Yeon-hwa?'

The earlier conversation suddenly came to mind.

Come to think of it, when we had been criticizing Ji Yeon-hwa earlier, she had trailed off for no reason.

'Something must have happened on rehearsal day too.'

Since Ji Yeon-hwa had been picking fights with Ah-yeon throughout the rehearsal, she might have approached her afterward as well.

Whatever happened then, it seemed to have really bruised Ah-yeon's pride.

'... Still, appearing in the movie isn't a bad move.'

There were plenty of things to be careful about, but as Ah-yeon said, nothing would boost her recognition in such a short time quite like this.

No hunter had ever appeared in an A-rank movie like this before.

Especially not S-rank hunter Shin Ah-yeon.

And as Baek Dong-woo had said, Jin Se-yeon was a character originally based on Shin Ah-yeon.

There was no way it wouldn't become a big topic.

If the movie turned out to be a hit, she would gain a level of fame that an ordinary hunter could never attain.

No matter how popular a hunter is, to the public, they fall short of celebrities.

But if she could have both...

It would become a powerful weapon that no other hunter would have.

***

A few days after the movie meeting ended, filming for Super Hunter K began in earnest.

Audience members who had applied in advance for tickets gathered, and representatives from each of the 22 agencies that would be evaluating the hunters who made it to the main round took their seats.

This would probably be the most widely watched audition in Super Hunter K's history.

The scale of investment was clear, but the biggest highlight was Baek Hojun being selected as the main MC.

That an S-rank hunter like him had taken the role of main MC for both rehearsal and the main round...

Most management agencies were inwardly shocked.

S-rank hunters were not people anyone could simply call, even if they wanted to.

That meant Baek Hojun himself had an interest in this season of Super Hunter K.

'Is it because of Shin Ah-yeon?'

It was hard to think of any other reason.

Perhaps he'd agreed to appear due to his connection with Shin Ah-yeon, who had attacked one of the five great demonic zones.

'If that's not it...'

Did special instructions come down from Grand Nova?

Baek Hojun's agency was Grand Nova, but since Grand Nova wasn't participating in this season, it was even harder to guess the reason.

"Now, as we embark on the grand journey of Super Hunter K, allow me to introduce the fifty hunters who will be joining us!"

Baek Hojun, stepping onto the podium, made a short greeting and shouted loudly.

BOOM!!

With a huge firework, the fifty hunters who had made it to the main round appeared one by one on the wide stage. At the same time, a floating digital screen displayed the names of the hunters, from number 1 to 50 in a cascade.

"The numbers on the scoreboard are the current rankings of the fifty hunters. And can you see the numbers next to the names? Those are the 'points' each hunter has earned for reaching the main round."

On the scoreboard, the current state was displayed as 【Rank/Name/Current Points】.

Since the points assigned at the start varied depending on performance in the preliminaries, hunters murmured as they checked their own points.

'...150 points.'

Soo-ah checked her points and quickly scanned the scores of the other hunters.

She had expected it, but it wasn't a good score.

Her current rank was 46th. Given that fifty made it through, it meant she was almost at the very bottom.

'Even worse than I thought...'

The participants in Super Hunter K—hereafter "SuHunK"—were mostly C to B-rank hunters.

Most were B-rank, while there were fewer C-rank.

So as a C-rank, Soo-ah had expected to be behind, but she hadn't thought she'd be this far down.

'And...'

Soo-ah looked at the hunter who was currently ranked number one.

In fact, it wasn't just her.

Most of the hunters in the venue were stealing glances at the hunter in first place.

'Why on earth is that person participating?'

A man with a sharp impression, like a single unsheathed sword.

He was classified as a B-rank hunter, but there was no way he should be only B-rank.

Disciple of the Sword King, Ju Ji-sang.

Though he hadn't updated his hunter grade, his skills were already at a level that would be at home among A-ranks.

Considering he was still in his twenties, it was incredible.

He was one of only five people in Korea to earn the distinction of being a disciple to an S-rank hunter.

'And he has 800 points... That's insane. What did he even do in the preliminaries?'

Compared to Soo-ah's score, that was more than a fivefold gap.

She couldn't help but shrink and lose heart.

The dagger at her side felt all the more shabby and insignificant.

Was it even right to wield such an unimpressive weapon in front of someone like him?

"Hey, Jung-woo. Wasn't that guy absent from the rehearsal?"

"Yeah, he wasn't there."

The hunters weren't the only ones surprised by Ju Ji-sang's appearance.

Even the management agencies, who had been watching indifferently, suddenly sat up straight and fixed their eyes on him.

He was practically the favorite to win this season of Super Hunter K.

"So he skipped rehearsal and went straight to the main round? Why?"

"Just wants attention, obviously."

Responding nonchalantly to Sung-hwan's question, Park Jung-woo looked at Ju Ji-sang.

With his sharp, sword-like appearance, it was obvious to Jung-woo.

'So the protagonist's finally arrived.'

Everyone was watching Ju Ji-sang.

With his overwhelming score and dramatic entrance, the cameras were trained on him as though he were the leading star of Super Hunter K, the other hunters becoming mere background.

'He must've skipped rehearsal to set up this grand entrance.'

Of course, attendance at rehearsal was voluntary.

But since it was an advantage to see who your competitors were, most hunters participated.

Ju Ji-sang, however, didn't bother.

'Does he trust that he'll win anyway, without even looking?'

It must have been the confidence of someone certain of victory.

He'd concluded that drawing everyone's attention like this was better than checking out the other competitors' abilities.

To Jung-woo, Ju Ji-sang's antics were just cute.

"Well, now that introductions are finished, it's time to reveal the first mission. But before that... I'd like to ask everyone a question. What do you think is the most important virtue for a hunter?"

Baek Hojun looked around the audience as he spoke.

Each hunter met his gaze, raised their hand, and answered.

"Diligence?"

"Altruism and the desire to save others?"

Other answers followed, and Baek Hojun smiled and nodded.

"Yes, those are all good answers. But personally, I believe this is the most important."

He said this and casually snapped his fingers.

Then, a screen appeared in the air, revealing a single sentence.

"Teamwork skills."

THUD!

As music thundered through the hall, the screen displayed the first mission.

The first mission of Super Hunter K traditionally showcased the basic performance of each hunter.

"The first mission is to hunt holographic monsters in teams of five. The assigned monsters are, by default, three B-rank monsters, and you must cooperate to defeat them."

In other words, this was the most basic of the basics.

Still, it was nothing to scoff at: facing three B-rank monsters at once was something you would only encounter in an A-rank dungeon.

Typically, hunters preferred dungeons one rank beneath their own.

Dungeons of your own rank posed much greater risks, and even in a C-rank dungeon, B-rank monsters would sometimes appear as bosses.

So for these mostly C- and B-rank hunters, fighting three B-rank monsters at once was a real challenge.

"Isn't that way too tough for the first round?"

"I've only ever fought B-rank monsters a couple of times myself."

If it were real, it would have been a life-or-death difficulty.

It was only because these monsters were holograms that there was no major protest.

"Alright, now please form your own teams. Knowing how to recruit party members is a hunter's skill, too."

CLAP!

As Baek Hojun clapped and called out, the hunters, who had been murmuring among themselves, began to move in an orderly fashion. They figured that teaming up with top-scoring hunters early on would be advantageous.

Since most of them were of similar ranks, some already had background information or previous experience working together.

"Hunter Ju Ji-sang! Join us!"

"Hey, who do you think you are cutting in? He already promised to team up with us!"

Unsurprisingly, the most popular was Ju Ji-sang, disciple of the Sword King.

He merely watched the people flocking around him with his arms crossed, expressionless.

Aside from Ju Ji-sang, there were heated arguments over recruiting the other top ten hunters from the preliminaries to each team.

'... No one's coming.'

Soo-ah, looking despondent, stood alone.

She'd expected this the moment teamwork was brought up, but not a single hunter approached her to form a team.

In fact, they distanced themselves from her as if she were a plague, trying to get as far away as possible.

She stood alone on the stage among all the assembled hunters, an island unto herself.

'Doesn't someone have to play the role of the villain hunter?'

Suddenly, Soo-ah remembered a comment another hunter had made during rehearsal.

Villain.

That was probably what the others thought of her.

'Party-breaker Lee Soo-ah.'

Maybe, the reason the first mission involved teamwork was to take advantage of her infamous nickname.

A third-rate villain who stirs up drama at the start of the show.

That was likely the role the production team wanted Lee Soo-ah to play.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
I just remembered that Grand Nova was the reason Unique is in the dumps right now.
Grand Nova definitely isn't a good agency.
And Jin Su-hyuk is probably not a good person either.
【(⩌‸⩌ )】