Even Today, the Ranker Dreams of Retirement

Kim Gaemi, the 20-something stock market genius!

He was showing off his investment prowess at the class reunion he was attending after a long time.

Eunseol High School Year 1 Class 7 Reunion,

The most successful person was Kang Taeseo, but he never attended anyway,

The next most successful was Park Minsu.

And the third most successful was obviously Kim Gaemi himself!

He believed this without a doubt.

“Hey, Kim Gaemi, where are you investing these days? Recommend some stocks for me too.”

Envious gazes were directed at him from all around. Kim Gaemi cleared his throat, not hiding his pride as he boasted about his investment history.

“Well, why didn’t you all start investing in stocks when the Gates appeared? As a rule, stocks always go down when a disaster hits, but afterwards, they always! recover.”

“Ooh.”

“It happened during COVID too, right? I predicted it would be the same with the Gates.”

“Wow, that’s amazing…”

“Investing in web novel platforms was especially successful. Haha.”

Kim Gaemi laughed heartily, his shoulders raised high. Despite being only in his early 20s, Kim Gaemi, who had bought a foreign car through stock investments, had tremendous interest and desire for money.

‘I’ll keep investing hard and definitely break into the upper class!’

The rest of his friends were still college students far from employment. Even Park Minsu, who was doing well, was just a salaried Hunter rolling in money.

‘Except for Kang Taeseo, I’m the most successful!’

Just as Kim Gaemi, with his nose in the air, was sizing everyone up one by one.

His eyes stopped at one place.

‘W-What?’

Kim Gaemi’s pupils shook with shock.

‘That… No way, it can’t be!’

His eyes were directed at Hyun Habin, who was munching on meat in the corner.

More precisely, at the hoodie Hyun Habin was casually wearing!

‘That’s!’

Kim Gaemi’s hands trembled.

That fit! Those details!

Even the slightly hidden black label!

“E-Elemes?”

And it’s genuine!

An ordinary person might not have noticed easily, but Kim Gaemi, who was very interested in the upper class, knew everything about the Elemes line.

The most expensive and impressive fashion brand in the world. Clothes he had only dreamed of wearing someday.

‘That, that hoodie is from Elemes’ street collection from two years ago…! Why is Hyun Habin wearing something so expensive?’

“?”

Feeling the intense gaze, Habin, who was eating meat, casually looked up. Just then, friends beside Habin tugged at her hoodie.

“Wow, Habin, your clothes are pretty.”

Kim Gaemi’s face turned pale as he watched.

‘Are you crazy! Guys, let go of that right now…! Don’t pull on that! If it tears even a little, your future annual salary or a car will fly away!’

“Yeah, it gets prettier the more you look at it.”

“Habin, where did you buy this?”

Habin, chewing on meat, answered.

“It was lying around at home, so I just picked it up.”

‘W-Why was that lying around at your home!’

Kim Gaemi collapsed onto the table, his vision going white.

“Kim Gaemi! Kim Gaemi!”

“What’s wrong?”

“Kim Gaemi, snap out of it! Are you okay?”

“Weren’t you going to recommend stocks!”

As he heard his friends’ voices fading into the distance, Kim Gaemi lost consciousness.

◆◇◆◇◆

“What’s going on?”

“Leave him be, I guess Kim Gaemi can’t hold his liquor.”

“You guys at that table should take it easy. How can someone pass out already?”

“……”

Habin, watching this, propped her chin. She looked down at her hoodie as she munched on meat.

‘Hmm.’

An Elemes hoodie.

This was Hyun Siwoo’s clothes.

About two weeks ago, when Hyun Siwoo returned home after a long time, he left in a hurry without packing all his belongings.

So there were a few sets of clothes he had left in his room.

They were all from top crafting Hunter brands like Elemes, Charnel, Louisviton, etc., which made even Habin frown.

‘This bastard, he really lived well all by himself?’

Add that to the list of grievances!

Tap tap, Habin dusted off the clothes and tossed them carelessly into the closet.

‘He’ll come to get them someday.’

But Hyun Siwoo didn’t come after that.

Days passed, and her brother not only didn’t come home, but there was no news of him at all…

Then one day,

As Habin was packing her luggage for the training institute.

‘Gasp!’

[What’s the matter?]

‘Laundry! I didn’t do the laundry!’

She had no clothes to wear!

It was partly because Habin hadn’t bought many clothes to save money in the first place, and she had skipped doing laundry out of laziness after getting used to comfortable bed life for a while.

‘What should I do…’

That’s when Hyun Siwoo’s clothes caught her eye!

‘…Well, at this point, he probably forgot he even had clothes here, so it should be fine if I just wear them for a bit and wash them clean before returning them, right? We used to borrow each other’s clothes often when we were young anyway.’

Habin carefully picked out only the ones that didn’t look too luxurious among Siwoo’s clothes. Even if someone noticed, would they think it was genuine? They’d probably think it was fake or a copy, right?

Being a very kind and warm sister, Habin diligently asked Siwoo for permission.

Borrowing your clothes for a bit thx

Hyun Siwoo New Number

?

…And that’s how Habin, wearing Elemes to the class reunion, ended up creating an innocent victim.

“Kim Gaemi! Is Kim Gaemi already dead?”

“This dude, he’s weaker with alcohol than he looks, and it’s only the first round.”

“Hey, switch tables!”

Bang bang bang. Under the excited class president’s lead, the table seats were changed. Habin, feeling lazy, remained seated, just staring at the meat on the grill.

“Is that seat taken?”

“Probably not.”

And the one who ended up taking the seat next to Habin was.

“Wow, who do we have here? It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

Park Minsu.

“……”

A subtle tension fell over the table.

In fact, Hyun Habin and Park Minsu hadn’t gotten along well from before. This was because Park Minsu was the one who bullied Kang Taeseo the most during their first year of high school.

‘Hey, stop bullying Taeseo! Is this fun for you?’

So Habin, who was Taeseo’s friend at the time, had constantly clashed with Park Minsu.

“Hyun Habin, I heard rumors about you.”

Park Minsu spoke to Hyun Habin as if he had been waiting for this moment.

“I heard you’ve been bouncing around part-time jobs related to Gates? Are you having financial difficulties?”

His tone was seemingly considerate, yet subtly mocking. He added, as if doing her a favor.

“If you need a job in that field, contact me. I’m a Hunter now. C-rank, at that.”

“…C-rank?”

It was then. Habin, who had shown no reaction, creakily turned her head towards Park Minsu for the first time.

“Did you say… C-rank?”

Minsu nodded as if he had been waiting for this.

“That’s right. But honestly, it’s not a big deal. These days, C-rank is barely even considered a Hunter anymore. Of course, if you earn well, you can make more than most big company executives… Ahem, but still, it’s not what it used to be.”

While his tone seemed humble on the surface, his face couldn’t hide his satisfaction.

‘With this, Hyun Habin will probably show an envious expression like the others, right? Or maybe she’ll look frustrated? Go ahead and be super envious. Hehehe.’

However.

The thoughts in Habin’s mind were similar yet completely different.

‘Damn, C-rank, which I wanted so badly!’

That’s right. Habin, who had once desperately wanted C-rank to hide her power. Habin, who had wailed after receiving A-rank!

She muttered sincerely.

“Oh C… C-rank, I’m so jealous.”

“?”

‘…S-Something feels off?’

Minsu stared blankly at Habin.

This was the reaction he wanted, but somehow it didn’t feel quite right…?

As Minsu hesitated, feeling uneasy, Habin asked with genuinely envious eyes.

“Hey, so you don’t have to do face-to-face training, right? You don’t have a mentor or anything?”

“Uh, yeah…”

“You just take online training from your room?”

“Yeah…”

“I’m so f***ing jealous…”

“…?”

As Minsu stood dumbfounded, Minsu’s friend sitting next to him chimed in.

“Plus, Minsu even applied for an experienced position at Solaris this time!”

“What?”

Habin exclaimed as if surprised. She asked Minsu again.

“You ‘applied’ to Solaris?”

At that response, Minsu quickly answered.

“Y-Yeah, I gave it a shot. Just because people around me told me to try, but now that I think about it, I might not even go if I pass…”

Is she finally realizing the difference in our levels!

‘See, this is the gap between you and me! You probably couldn’t even get near Solaris even if you died and came back to life!’

Just as Minsu was nodding with a satisfied face, Habin asked.

“…So they’re not scouting you?”

“Huh?”

“They’re not bothering you, right? Like chasing after you asking you to join the guild?”

“That’s ri…”

“So they didn’t show any interest until you applied, right?”

“…Yeah.”

“Damn… I’m so jealous.”

“……”

“I’m f***ing jealous.”

Habin muttered bitterly as she drank soju.

Minsu, who had been quietly answering, somehow felt bad.

‘So they didn’t show any interest until you applied?’

For the first time, he felt like he had been hit where it hurt.

‘I-Is this really envy? Is she messing with me? Is this some kind of sophisticated mockery?’

While her expression showed sincere envy, why was the content like this!

Minsu felt strangely angry.

‘Ha, Hyun Habin, how dare you… How dare you look down on me?’

Until now, others had bowed their heads helplessly at his boasting. He could even accept their jealousy born from frustration with satisfaction.

But this kind of reaction was unacceptable.

Especially from Hyun Habin.

Hyun Habin, who had been the biggest thorn in his side among them. Hyun Habin, who he had looked down on and ignored, thinking she had the worst life, having dropped out of school and with no money, was now looking down on him in return.

Was it because of the rising intoxication? Or was it his naturally impulsive personality? Minsu couldn’t control his emotions and asked in a sharp tone.

“…Ha, the more I hear, the more ridiculous it gets. Hey, Hyun Habin. Is this really the time for you to act like this towards me? I’ve been keeping quiet about it, but I know all about your situation. I heard you’ve been bouncing around part-time jobs since dropping out of high school? You should be begging me to introduce you to work, don’t you have any sense?”

His friend beside him hurriedly tried to stop him.

“Hey, hey, Minsu. You’re drunk. Calm down!”

“Let go!”

“……”

Seeing Habin showing no reaction, Minsu grew even more heated and added. His tone dripping with sarcasm.

“You’ve got nothing but your pride left, huh? Do you have something to rely on?”

“……”

“Ah, is it Taeseo? You were close with Kang Taeseo before. But are you in touch with that bastard now?”

“……”

“Park Minsu!”

Minsu sneered. Anyway, the friend trying to stop him was a non-awakened. He was no match.

Whether in actual power or social status.

There was no one at this gathering who could match him. The elation from that position was tremendous. Enough to multiply his intoxication several times. Enough to not fear the consequences of speaking recklessly.

It was at that very moment.

Minsu’s eyes met Habin’s, who had been silently glaring at him.

‘…Gasp.’

Goosebumps rose on his spine for no reason. His whole body stiffened.

‘What is this…’

They had only made eye contact without doing anything, but he felt suffocated, unable to move a finger. It was similar to the sensation he had felt just once before, when facing an unbeatable boss monster inside a Gate.

‘D-Did a Gate suddenly open? That can’t be!’

He hurriedly rolled his eyes to look around. Other people seemed fine. It was while he was in confusion.

“If I’m in touch with Taeseo, what are you going to do about it.”

Habin answered.

“Are you going to apologize?”

“…!”

“I’m asking if you’re going to apologize for everything you did to Kang Taeseo.”

Clank.

Habin put down the soju glass in her hand on the table. Her voice was lower than before.

“If you’re going to bow your head and sincerely apologize to Kang Taeseo now.”

Habin slowly turned her head. Minsu, meeting her eyes again, unwittingly swallowed hard.

“I’ll consider getting in touch again, to pass on that apology.”

“……”

“Because I don’t like seeing school violence perpetrators like you keeping your mouths shut and living well.”

A heavy silence fell over the table.