The family sat at the dining table eating dinner. The TV was on, showing the news. ⌜Breaking news: The S-rank Great Fissure in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province, has been successfully cleared just eleven hours after the operation began. Led by Hunter Lee Kang-Hyun, the team eliminated the S-rank monsters, Wyverns, and exited the Fissure safely. As you can see, the public’s fervent reaction continues to resonate.⌟ Tonight’s dinner was chicken soup. Do-Jun scooped a spoonful of thick, milky broth filled with ginseng, jujubes, garlic, astragalus, and antler, then tasted it as his thoughts wandered. Lately, Yoon-Hee’s cooking skills had been improving remarkably. He mused that at this rate, she could open a restaurant and find great success. Looking up, he saw Yoon-Hee engrossed in her smartphone while glancing at the TV. She said, “Father, look at this. The real-time search rankings are full of S-rank Hunters!” It seemed the aftermath of the Great Fissure operation was widespread. As Yoon-Hee said, the top twenty search rankings on the portal site were dominated by the names of S-rank Hunters. Do-Jun smiled faintly and replied, “I see.” Yoon-Hee showed him her phone screen with sparkling eyes, saying, “My friends are going wild too.” Her Academy peers had a group chat with over twenty members, made up of freshmen from Class B. It was abuzz with admiration for the S-rank Hunters, filled with chatter about aspiring to become Hunters themselves or enthusiastically participating in fan club activities. Yoon-Hee moved closer to Do-Jun in a conspicuous manner, showing him something else on her phone: a list of online fan clubs dedicated to S-rank Hunters. Starting with Kang-Hyun, it included other Rankers like Jun-Yeol, Ae-Kyung, Min-Hyuk, Young-Ho, and Min-Ji. Each fan club boasted a staggering number of members—Kang-Hyun’s alone had over ten million, with the others having at least one million each. “I see that you’re a member too,” Do-Jun remarked. Yoon-Hee blushed deeply, even though it wasn’t strange at all for an aspiring Hunter to admire S-rankers and join their fan clubs. Do-Jun recalled the first time he met Yoon-Hee when she expressed her dream of becoming a renowned Hunter. With her potential, she would likely achieve her goal of reaching S-rank in the future. “W-well, my goal is to become an S-ranker... so, you know...” Yoon-Hee stammered. “Does that cause you to admire them?” Yoon-Hee lowered her head and gave a small nod, her face flushed. Seeing her , Do-Jun couldn’t help but smile. Hearing Yoon-Hee’s ambitious words, Yong-Yong, who had been chewing on a drumstick, shook his head. The strongest being in existence was right in front of her, yet here she was, wasting her admiration on some small fry. Curious, Yong-Yong searched the rankings on his tablet. “Eh?” Something caught his attention, so he rubbed his eyes and looked closer. It was a small fan club with only ten members, and it had an oddly familiar name—DAC: The Do-JunAdmirers Club. Meanwhile, the small conference room inside the Hunter’s Bureau was dimly lit only by the projector casting light onto the screen. Nine people sat around a round table, each a prominent figure in the Korean Hunter world. Standing at the podium was Kang-Hyun. “First, I want to thank all of you for complete attendance today,” Kang-Hyun began, his deep voice resonating through the room through the speaker system. Gathered here were the top ten S-rank Hunters. To an outsider, this might seem like a mission-critical meeting about a Great Fissure or the Core, but their purpose today was far from mundane. The title of the slideshow displayed on the screen read: Second Regular DAC Meeting. Kang-Hyun cleared his throat and gripped the microphone. His expression was more serious than during the recent S-rank Great Fissure operation briefing, with his voice even trembling slightly. The other S-rank Hunters also appeared nervous, and it was for good reason—this was an extremely secretive project. “I’ve gathered you all here today because of this,” Kang-Hyun said as the slide changed. A full-length photo of Do-Jun appeared on the screen, alongside a list of his accomplishments. It detailed how he had served Earth and how his guidance had benefited the S-rank Hunters. “As you all know, Supervisor Lee has been an invaluable asset. For example, the progress of Behemoths’ Core raid would have faced immense challenges without his strategy guide,” Kang-Hyun explained. Globally renowned S-rankers, the elite of the elite in Korea, regarded Do-Jun as their mental and strategic pillar. “That’s why we’ve convened this regular meeting to plan a surprise gift for him to show appreciation for his efforts. I’d like to hear your thoughts on what would be most fitting.” The room stirred with excitement at the mention of a surprise gift. Min-Hyuk had been watching with crossed arms. He raised his hand and suggested, “How about a sports car? I’ve noticed Supervisor Lee doesn’t own a vehicle and commutes by subway.” Kang-Hyun stroked his chin thoughtfully before replying, “That’s a good suggestion, but I heard from the Bureau Chief that Supervisor Lee declined the offer when it was brought up earlier.” Next, Young-Ho spoke up. “What about a home? I believe he’s currently living in a small apartment. Perhaps we could build him a standalone house in Seongbuk-dong.” Seongbuk-dong, known as a wealthy neighborhood, was filled with grand, luxurious homes. Surely, Do-Jun would be pleased with such a gift, but Ae-Kyung shook her head. “He likes his current home. I’ve been there a few times—it’s cozy rather than cramped, and even the be—” She suddenly stopped, nearly mentioning the spacious bed. The others looked at each other, curious about how she knew so much, while Jun-Yeol held back a chuckle. “Any other suggestions?” Kang-Hyun asked. They considered ideas such as gifting a luxury watch or buying a building in Gangnam, but nothing felt quite right. They sighed in frustration. Even though everyone present possessed an astronomical wealth, finding the perfect gift for Do-Jun was no easy task. “Well, I didn’t expect us to decide on this in one go,” Kang-Hyun said, as if it were only natural. After all, this was for Do-Jun. Caution and care were essential. “I’ll create a group chat for further discussion. Share your ideas there if you think of a suitable gift.” Winter finally arrived. By late November, Seoul’s morning temperatures sometimes dropped to -3°C. Although Do-Jun wasn’t affected by the weather, he still chose to wear a coat over his suit, blending in with other office workers. He preferred simplicity. On his way to the subway, Do-Jun walked along the sidewalk as usual when he suddenly stopped. He subtly turned around and looked at the corner of a café building for a few seconds. Then, as if nothing had happened, he kept walking. Voices of Min-Ji and Min-Hyuk could be heard from roughly a hundred meters away. “Good, it seems he didn’t notice us.” “Right, remember, this is a secret project. If we’re caught, it’s over.” Suppressing a sigh, Do-Jun descended the subway stairs. Inside the station, a convenience store caught his eye. Even though he wasn’t thirsty, he bought a small bottle of barley tea and tucked it into his bag. “He bought barley tea. Noted, noted...” Min-Ji said. Min-Hyuk retorted, “What’s the point of noting that? People buy drinks when they’re thirsty.” “Senior, it’s not just a drink! Every little detail counts. Don’t you know that?” “R-right... Well, I guess it is about Supervisor Lee, after all.” “I’ll upload this to the group chat for reference.” Do-Jun let out another sigh. He was fully aware that lately, the Rankers had been tailing him and observing his daily life. What they didn’t know was that, if he wanted to, he could hear their conversations from several kilometers away. He already knew the so-called “secret project” they talked about and their true motives, but chose to keep silent about it. After finishing his morning work, Do-Jun joined his teammates for lunch in the company cafeteria. Later, he stepped out alone and stopped by a coffee shop. He ordered three Americanos to go and browsed the snack shelf, eventually picking up a slice of chocolate cake. He remembered that Hyuk-Soo was fond of chocolate. “What’s Supervisor Lee buying now?” “Looks like chocolate cake, Senior.” “So he likes chocolate, huh?” This time, the voices reaching Do-Jun’s ears belonged to Kang-Hyun and Jun-Yeol. “Hey, Ae-Kyung, you need dating advice from me again? How about giving Supervisor Lee some handmade chocolate next year?” Jun-Yeol suggested. “W-why in the world are you bringing that up right now? Focus on your task, please!” Ae-Kyung rushed in, joining the conversation. Suddenly, Jun-Yeol screamed. “Whoa, what?! Why are you screaming all of a sudden?!” Follow current novᴇls on N()velFire.net “I-I just... s-screwed up, oh no...” Ignoring them, Do-Jun returned to his office. In the break room, Do-Jun relaxed with his team, sipping coffee and eating cake. Hyuk-Soo didn’t make it obvious, but he smiled slightly, clearly enjoying the chocolate cake. The sound of several notifications from a messenger app echoed from Do-Jun’s phone. Cheol-Soo was browsing a search portal and exclaimed, “S-rank Hunters are all over the search rankings these days. It’s insane. I heard their fan club memberships have almost doubled in the past year.” “Well, they’ve been raiding the Core and recently an S-rank Great Fissure. That explains it, right?” Hyuk-Soo said. “Seriously, our country’s S-rank Hunters are amazing.” Meanwhile, Do-Jun’s phone kept buzzing with notifications from the messenger app. He checked his phone and realized he had been added to a group chat he didn’t recognize—a chatroom with ten S-rank Hunters. [Ryu Jun-Yeol has invited Lee Do-Jun to the chatroom.] After that announcement, dozens of messages flooded the chatroom. The content was chaotic, with everyone panicking and scrambling to fix Jun-Yeol’s mistake. “What’s with all those messages?” Cheol-Soo leaned over to peek at Do-Jun’s screen. Do-Jun calmly exited the S-rank group chat and replied, “It’s nothing.”