“‘I love you to death, Han Yujin!!!!’”
“Thank you, yes, thank you all so much.”
My neck flushed. It’s a chat—everyone’s professing love, haha. Though I’m twenty-five on the surface and thirty inside, calling cute feels... odd. Maybe they’re elderly?
“‘Why do you always wear the sa tee, Han Yujin??’”
What? The sa tee? I do get styling...
“‘Pretty.......’”
I froze. Pretty... should I make a pun? But “pretty” is Yerim’s word—or Noah’s... Embarrassing yet strangely gratifying. Who dislikes complints? Still, being prettier than the Sesung Guildmaster—taste differs, I suppose... or does it?
Of course there were insults too, but almost at once comnters rebuked them: “What nonsense, isn’t he a traitor?” Even foreigners here joined in. The auto-translation hid most telltale signs, though emojis varied.
“‘Wow, 60 years old—seriously?’”
“‘Uncle, that’s a joke. I’m 72!’”
Yerim waved her hand.
“‘I’m 78! First love, you know!’”
Mun Hyun-ah laughed. Yuhyun peeked at and answered.
“‘One hundred years old.’”
“‘That’s the oldest!’”
Like Yerim said, surely not true. Heat and awkwardness battled in my chest, but I felt surprisingly buoyant. It wasn’t bad at all—actually quite nice.
“Thanks for saying the beer’s good~ but honestly, umm.”
Better not force refunds. After “delicious,” comnts praising “gross!” cascaded. Haha, sorry. Wow, soone wrote a novel-length comnt. I scrolled back, blushing. Th-thank you.
“Yuhyun, react too—what are they saying?”
“‘Yuhyun and Peace only check that each other’s alive—like family.’”
“No, we’re friends! Look!”
I held Peace up toward Yuhyun. His ears folded back and he scrunched his nose. Ah... it ans he likes it.
“‘Han Yuhyun is so cute.’”
“‘Eek!’”
Yerim covered her ears. Honestly, both Yerim and Yuhyun look cute to . And Peace, though he can’t read chat. Scanning the chat:
“Show us the jelly one ti!!!”
“Peace, go to college with !”
When Peace’s tail swished, comnts flew off the rails. Understandable—our Peace is adorable.
“Director Song, smile for us! Put your hand up—like this, heart! You have to do a heart!”
“...I—”
“Look, even Sesung uncle makes a K-heart! You broke a wall for us? Our Director Song actually breaks walls! Please cheer him on!”
“That’s only in unavoidable situations...”
“Requests welco! The world’s only genuine civil servant S-rank hunter! We’ll do anything today~ just say the word!”
“Hunter Park Yerim, wait—”
“Oh, Director Song’s a colleague! Thank you for your support! Director Song, hand-heart!”
Poor Director Song’s soul drained bit by bit. Was Chatterbox actually targeting him, not ? The blow seems too great. Yuhyun remained impassive but glanced at chat now and then, then suddenly smiled.
“They say you and I look close, hyung.”
I laughed too. I suppose it seems genuine now.
“Our Yuhyun is such a good brother. Please take care of him~ and of course our Yerim too.”
Yerim was in her elent. Even without a dungeon, she’d be streaming with friends. Kids these days do that a lot.
“And Noah too! Noah, I bet you have many French fans.”
Even working in Korea, he keeps his French nationality like Kang Soyeong. He gave a calm smile.
“Probably so.”
“‘They call you an angel most of all. When Noah smiles, it’s like the sun.’”
With translation off, it’d be all ANGEL, ANGEL. Complints on looks piled up.
“I’ve heard it since I was young.”
“Yes?”
“My sister praised my looks too.”
Noah spoke as if being called an angel were perfectly ordinary. I recalled Yoon Yoon’s similar praises—he remained composed. If it were , I’d be mortified. Truly a born pretty youth.
Hyun-ah’s chat was full of first-love gushers. I understood that completely.
“I love you too.”
She said with a bright smile. My heart nearly stopped.
“How did you know my pajamas have dinosaurs? Should I report it? Next year on my birthday, I’ll definitely beat the Guildmaster!”
Kang Soyeong chirped,
“Destroy everything?”
Riet smiled wickedly. Who plants these bombs that go off at the slightest poke? Even Evelyn, who seed dismissive, sweetly said “Thank you.” People drifted over to Seong Hyunjae. He, too, played the polite ordinary gentleman.
“Happy birthday, Minji.”
At the tender birthday wish, both Mun Hyun-ah and I scrunched our brows. Feigned modesty! On Seong Hyunjae’s shoulder, Gyeol tapped the chat window with his paw, tail thumping anxiously, then grinned at . Gyeol’s chat must be exploding with “cute.”
“He actually responds pretty well.”
“A kind, neighborly citizen—that’s Sesung Guildmaster.”
Ah... yes... Seong Hyunjae is popular. I petted Gyeol and glanced at Seong Hyunjae’s chat:
“Seong Hyunjae’s face is 4.9/5—there’s no flaw.”
What even? Then Yuhyun’s face is 4.9 too. Seong Hyunjae feels a bit lonely today—unchallenged beauty... oh dear.
“Are you really the Chungnyeong Seong clan?”
“Well... who knows? As you see, rumors of discord with Director Han Yujin are just rumors.”
“It’s a broadcast—we pretend to be friendly. But our families really do get along. Right, Yuhyun? Yerim? Peace?”
“Yeah, hyung. Love you.”
“Uncle, heart too!”
“Kiiang!”
I copied Yerim, forming a hand-heart.
“Sesung Guildmaster is handso, I agree.”
I swallowed the rest—too risky. He’s wealthy and capable too.
“Good luck on your test.”
Seong Hyunjae kept his gentlemanly tone. Everyone, this is all for broadcast! They’re fooling you!
“Make the broadcast fun, would you?”
“Isn’t my face fun enough?”
...Unbearable. It being true made it worse. I flicked the middle finger inwardly and forced a friendly smile. Business, business.
“Yes, happy birthday to all celebrating~ Happy birthday, Yeji~”
I sent birthday wishes too. So hunters were used to streaming, others awkward. Mostly, they smiled.
“Damn it!”
One hunter angrily closed the chat. So have bad images from the start—
‘One who I beat is calling out.’
So mocked for an F-rank stat. Can I only block severe insults? Can I sue? Even so, I’d protect the kids legally if needed.
The initial commotion died down. Yerim released a weary Director Song. Many left chat closed despite the stream. I kept mine open.
“Information useful to the opposing team is automatically filtered during the party.”
The mood cald and Chatterbox spoke.
“During a poker ga, even if soone posts about your hand in chat, players can’t see it.”
Live streaming could work that way. Anything else okay?
“Sponsorships are disabled. Instead, you’ll receive a small daily gold reward proportional to views and watch ti.”
Hunters who closed chat reopened it. No real penalty—stingy but fair. Who could resist?
“Viewer age is 15 , content moderated in real ti. The broadcast may be halted if needed.”
So requested a separate adult channel. With minors present, we’ll keep it clean.
“The A-rank dungeon on Governors Island, the Barren Isle. On Channel Chatterbox, we’ve prepared a special space based on the dungeon for this party.”
Caras swung toward the open dungeon entrance.
“As expected, Phantom!”
“Isn’t it dangerous? What if the dungeon explodes?”
“There are how many S-ranks? They’ll wipe it in seconds.”
“That’s why it’s on an island.”
While so were puzzled by using the dungeon, most were intrigued. Dungeon researchers must be ecstatic—sudden teleportation into dungeon-like spaces, live broadcast. They asked to find out the thod, but how to answer?
“It’s because he’s a transcendent,” I couldn’t say. I just claid it was a trade secret.
“You can’t skip the dungeon in a hunter party. Alright, everyone!”
Chatterbox raised an arm toward the dungeon.
“Please enjoy yourselves.”
He wouldn’t reveal what lay inside. Viewers would be curious, especially since this was the first live dungeon interior broadcast—impossible even before regression.
‘If it’s a real raid, I’ll be at a disadvantage.’
Even if they scale it down, it won’t be as thrilling as higher difficulty. Yuhyun and Yerim shot worried glances.
“Are we tackling it together or in teams?” Yerim raised her hand.
“Of course in teams.”
“If it’s A-rank, hyj is screwed.”
“Director is the coolest...! Go!!”
“Yes, I’ll hold out as long as possible.” Perhaps it’s not an ordinary dungeon. I wished to all beco unawakened again as when I lost the invitation.
“Then, dear Hunter °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° Han Yujin.”
Chatterbox invited in with a friendly gesture. We’re not that friendly! Ignoring concerned looks, I stepped inside the dungeon building. Unlike other gates, this one glowed white. A staffer by the gate smiled kindly.
“Order of entry makes no difference. Will you surrender phones and possessions?”
“Can’t we use them inside?”
“Devices will function, but communications are disabled.”
What use without comms? Calculator? Notepad? I couldn’t check my stream or others’. Maybe they barred comms to prevent watching other streams. Just in case, I removed my SIM and stowed it.
“There won’t be monsters attacking right away, right?”
“No.”
I inhaled deeply and stepped through the gate.
CH. CHATTERBOX ? Han Yujin
A sapphire sky. The view drifts downward, revealing a parched valley split three ways. Zooming in on the left, nearly straight path, a giant lizard’s head suddenly looms: blue scales, jet eyes, three horns, two flickering tongues. The cara pans to the rough central path, then focuses on a small forest in the right fork, trees teeming with red-eyed, crow-like birds.
[Flight prohibited area.]
The subtitle appears and the cara shifts to .
“Ah, it’s hot.”
A sweltering wave of air hit . Does Chatterbox love wastelands, or is he warming viewers for early winter? My coat would dry fast—I shrugged it off. It felt wasteful, but I couldn’t carry it in the heat.
[Starting point.]
A prompt appeared. A no-fly zone, so:
[Proceed to the opposite end of the valley.]
I surveyed the three forked paths. No guesswork needed.
“Everyone.”
I smiled at the empty air. Still awkward. I recalled my test stream at the hotel—it began with a sky shot then a full overview. So...
“Please send directions~♡”
I made a heart with my hands. Ugh, still awkward. Chat comnts began to pour in.
Reviews
All reviews (0)