Even Today, the Ranker Dreams of Retirement

“The repair room is that way. You’re a porter, right?”

Cheon Sara turned her head as if there was no need to look further. She was gesturing dismissively for Habin to go to the repair room.

[W-why is that human acting like that? What’s with that gesture? Is she disrespecting us?]

‘Oh, Jaljal. I thought you lacked awareness, but you’re quite perceptive?’

[Back in my day, cocky ruffians would make such gestures too! And what’s this about being a porter? What does that mean?]

‘She must remember when I used to come here before.’

Habin glanced towards the repair room tucked away in a corner of the luxury section.

She had memories of frequenting that place once. During her porter part-time job. It was a time when she’d rush anywhere for extra pay and delivery fees. Not that she was particularly ashamed of that time or especially unhappy.

Anyway, today’s purpose is different.

Habin folded her arms.

“Repair room? I don’t have anything to repair though?”

“Then why did you come?”

Sara wore a puzzled expression. Her attitude suggested Habin could only be headed to the repair room.

“I’m not a porter today. I’m a customer.”

“A customer?”

Cheon Sara slowly turned her head towards Habin. Someone who was a porter until just recently, now claiming to be a customer?

“Ah, then you have a license, right? This is a hunter-exclusive section, after all.”

“Sara-ssi!”

Unable to watch any longer, Yoo Jihee urgently stepped in.

She bowed her head towards Habin. Her voice conveyed genuine apology.

“I’m truly sorry, customer. Sara-ssi is new here and made a mistake. Would it be alright if I guide you instead?”

‘Hah, what’s this one saying now?’

Cheon Sara frowned. The more she thought about it, the more preposterous the statement seemed.

‘She says I made a mistake because I’m new?’

It’s true that Yoo Jihee has worked here much longer than Cheon Sara.

But even so, Yoo Jihee consistently ranks last in performance with no progress. She hasn’t been promoted, so her position is the same as Cheon Sara’s.

Putting aside positions and everything else, if we’re just talking about ability, no one in this luxury section could match Cheon Sara.

Cheon Sara inwardly sneered.

‘Just watch. You’re probably the one who made a mistake because you don’t know better? I’m telling you, she’s definitely a porter.’

She’ll quiet down once we confirm it.

Cheon Sara opened her mouth towards Habin. Her tone was artificially gentle, almost to the point of being fake.

“……I’m sorry, customer. But you still need to show your license to enter.”

‘It’s obvious. She won’t have a license, will she?’

Cheon Sara was certain of this.

It was rare for an Awakened to work as a lowly porter.

Awakened individuals are precious talents.

Even low-ranking Awakened are sought after by many places.

But a porter who runs errands back and forth to the repair room is truly the bottom of the bottom among porters.

The possibility that such a low-level porter was an Awakened…

‘Doesn’t exist. Absolutely not.’

Besides, just look at her appearance.

The old sweatshirt Habin is wearing, the dirty canvas bag, the unbranded cap.

It was a typical example of a poor non-Awakened’s attire.

‘She probably didn’t even know until now that you need a license to enter here? I should give her a bit of embarrassment and send her away.’

Sure enough.

“……License? You mean like a driver’s license? Where did I put that thing?”

Habin tilted her head. Cheon Sara nodded as if she had expected this.

“Yes. You don’t have one? If not, I’m sorry but you’ll have to leave……”

“Is it this?”

Swish.

Habin rummaged through her canvas bag with one hand. Out came a small card wallet.

It was a lanyard card wallet sold on the street. The kind students use for their transit cards.

‘What’s that? Why is she taking that out?’

Cheon Sara frowned.

She’s treating such an important license like a transit card, carrying it in something like that?

That can’t be right.

‘Does this kid not even know what a license is? It seems like she’s confused it with something else and is taking out the wrong thing.’

As Cheon Sara wore a displeased expression, Habin struggled to pull something out of the card wallet.

“Ah, why won’t it come out. I shoved it in deep because I hate looking at it, now it’s stuck.”

[Don’t use too much force! You’ll burst the wallet if you’re not careful! But why did you hate looking at it so much?]

‘I don’t like the grade! Do you know how much trouble this has caused me! I wanted to get a C-rank…… Oh, C!’

Swoosh!

A small card finally emerged from the card wallet.

On the golden glowing hunter license, an alphabet was clearly written.

A-rank.

Habin held it up to Cheon Sara’s eyes.

“Is this it?”

“……Huh?”

Cheon Sara’s eyes widened as she confirmed the license. She stammered, seemingly flustered.

“W-what is this, wait a moment.”

A-rank? It says A-rank?

Not even an E or D rank, but A?

‘This can’t be.’

Until now, Cheon Sara’s eye for detail had never been wrong. And her memory was just as reliable.

‘She’s definitely the low-level porter I saw back then…… How, why has she suddenly become an A-rank? Does this make any sense?’

Flustered, Cheon Sara blurted out without thinking.

“I-Is this license really yours? You didn’t bring someone else’s, did you? Are you really Hyun Habin……”

“Cheon Sara-ssi!”

Yoo Jihee hurriedly blocked Cheon Sara. She spoke sternly to Sara with an angry expression.

“What kind of rudeness is this towards a customer, over and over? Apologize quickly, now!”

At those words, Cheon Sara came to her senses, looked at the license once, then at Hyun Habin once, and slowly bowed her head.

“……I’m sorry.”

Her voice was gritted through her teeth.

Seeing this, Yoo Jihee bowed her head to Habin once more.

“I’m truly sorry. We’ll make sure this never happens again.”

“It’s okay. These things happen. But do I need to verify my identity again? Should I take out my ID card too?”

“Ah! No, that’s not necessary! This is more than enough confirmation, Hunter Hyun Habin-nim.”

With Yoo Jihee’s response, the entrance to the luxury section opened. The guards blocking the entrance stepped aside, revealing the lavish interior beyond.

Yoo Jihee turned to Habin and asked:

“Then, is there anything specific you’re looking for? I’ll guide you.”

◆◇◆◇◆

What Habin requested was the same as on other floors.

‘Clothes made from cloud bird wool material. Preferably in a comfortable design.’

Hearing this statement, Cheon Sara’s face crumpled instantly.

‘What? Cloud bird wool? Is she joking?’

Cloud bird wool.

Without a doubt, among currently discovered byproducts, it’s the most luxurious material that can be used for clothing.

A material known only to those well-versed in luxury goods, not easily accessible to ordinary people.

Even luxury craft brands go out of their way to obtain this material, and clothes made from it always occupy the top price line of those brands.

‘By the looks of it, she seems to be visiting a luxury section for the first time since becoming an Awakened, probably heard about cloud bird wool somewhere and came to take a look.’

She surely won’t have the ability to actually purchase it.

Cheon Sara looked Habin up and down. Earlier, she had been intimidated by the unexpected A-rank license, but thinking about it carefully, it wasn’t that impressive.

The license clearly stated ‘For Trainees’.

‘That means she’s still a trainee, not an official hunter yet.’

She’s an A-rank, but a rookie Awakened. She hasn’t properly jumped into hunter work yet.

‘Then, she probably hasn’t saved up much money yet. I got scared for nothing.’

Cheon Sara’s attitude regained its composure as her confidence returned.

‘She has no money but wants to see cloud bird wool first? Does she think this is a place where we just take things out and let people look as much as they want? Really, it’s ridiculous.’

That’s not how it works.

Not all luxury goods are the same.

Items that are especially expensive and precious among luxury goods need to be handled with even more care.

‘If by chance it gets stained or marked while trying it on, the product value drops.’

There’s no need to show it to Hyun Habin when she won’t be able to afford it anyway. It would just get dirty for no reason.

Having finished her calculations, Cheon Sara quickly opened her mouth.

“Cloud bird wool? I’m sorry, but we don’t have any clothes made with that material.”

“You don’t?”

As Habin wore a deflated expression, Yoo Jihee, who was nearby, smoothly interjected.

“No, we do. Some lines from Elemes and Ajuel recently caused a stir by using 100% cloud bird wool material. Would you like to take a look?”

‘How tactless! What are you thinking, actually showing it to her?’

Problematic customers sometimes leave invisible scratches on clothes, tear them, or create stains.

To Cheon Sara, Habin was an untrustworthy customer. She took a step back with a disgusted look.

‘I’m not getting involved in this. Yoo Jihee can take all the responsibility.’

Cheon Sara pretended not to know.

“Ah, there was a ‘cloud bird wool’ line? I wasn’t aware of that part. It seems Yoo Jihee-ssi knows better, so leave it to her. I’ll stay here.”

Her intentions were so transparent that Yoo Jihee looked at Cheon Sara as if she couldn’t believe it.

‘Cheon Sara, didn’t you always boast about memorizing luxury lines and materials faster and more than anyone else?’

Inwardly sighing, Yoo Jihee turned back to the side. This little customer she was meeting for the first time. She intended to do her best for Hyun Habin too.

As always, naturally.

She smiled calmly at Habin as if to reassure her.

“Then, I’ll guide you this way. Shall we start with Elemes?”

◆◇◆◇◆

In the end, Habin entered the Elemes store with just Yoo Jihee.

The blazer, shirt, hoodie, and zip-up hoodie laid out before her eyes.

After checking the hoodie and zip-up hoodie among them, Habin wore a troubled expression.

“I already have these.”

“Pardon?”

“……Hyun Siwoo already chose these.”

That’s right. The hoodie from Elemes was already a product Hyun Siwoo had bought. It was almost the same design as what Habin had seen when confronting Hyun Siwoo on the first day, just in a different color.

Moreover, the zip-up hoodie next to it was similar to the one Habin had borrowed from Siwoo.

“Hmm, couple looks are a no-go. It’s our sibling rule.”

Habin shook her head. Since childhood, Hyun Habin and Hyun Siwoo hated going out wearing identical clothes.

‘Ah, Hyun Habin! What’s with that hoodie? Don’t copy what I’m buying!’

‘What are you talking about? I just bought it on my own? When did you buy this, oppa? Our tastes are unnecessarily similar.’

‘Ah, you could’ve at least bought a different color!’

‘I liked sky blue first, you know? You’re the one who copied me!’

‘No, I liked sky blue first!’

‘What are you saying? I liked it first!’

‘It was me!’

‘It was me?’

‘It was me! Since I was born first, I definitely liked it first! Adults said I grabbed the sky-blue globe during my doljabi [first birthday ceremony].’

‘Damn…… I grabbed the globe too, it’s annoying that I was born later. Anyway, let’s not run into each other outside wearing the same clothes.’

‘That’s my line. Even if it’s not the same clothes, just don’t acknowledge me if you see me outside.’

The rule firmly established from that moment on.

Don’t buy the same clothes as each other if possible.

If you happen to buy the same, don’t wear them at the same time outside.

[……?]

Ahezar had a question.

[It’s okay to borrow each other’s clothes but not okay to wear the same clothes at the same time? What a strange rule indeed.]

‘Tch, if we go out wearing couple looks, strangers might ask if we’re a couple. That feels weirdly unpleasant.’

[…….]

If there’s a number one phrase siblings hate hearing most, wouldn’t it be “Are you two a couple?”

Anyway, that was the standard for the Hyun siblings.