Ranker’s Return

“You don’t want to go? Why are you so sluggish?” Hyeonu criticized Yeongchan who was leaning on the sofa and not thinking about moving. It was time for them to leave for Incheon Airport. Considering the road situation, it would be tight even if they left now.

‘It might be morning, but... I don’t know when the number of cars will increase.’

“No? Then I’m going now?”

At the end of Hyeonu’s words, he turned and dragged his suitcase to the door. It was only then that Yeongchan got up and started moving like a zombie. He asked Hyeonu, “Weren’t you drunk as well? Why don’t you have a hangover?”

There was a reason why Yeongchan was stumbling around with a lifeless face. It was the aftereffect of partying like crazy with Hyeonu last night. They drank and drank so much that there was barely any type of alcohol they hadn’t drunk.

“I’m okay? You should go to the hospital. What if your body is completely broken?” Hyeonu laughed at such a Yeongchan. “Can you drive?”

“No, I can’t.”

“Then take my car. There is one seat left anyway.”

‘One seat left?’ Yeongchan cocked his head at Hyeonu’s words. Hyeonu’s car was a four-seater. This meant there were already two people scheduled to take it.

“Who else is riding it?’

“Yuri and Sunny.”

“Why is Yuri taking your car?” Yeongchan was even more confused after hearing Hyeonu’s answer. It was his first time hearing about this. He hadn’t heard about it even while talking to Yuri the previous day.

“It’s because it is a four-seater.”

That made sense. Still, there was one question left. “Why are you only saying it now?”

“You didn’t ask,” Hyeonu answered firmly.

***

The red Panamera finished parking, coming to a stop perfectly inside the confines of the white parking lines. The car doors opened one by one, and people got off. Two women got out from the rear seats while two men got out from the front ones.

“Is this much luggage really enough? You don’t usually travel so light,” Yeongchan asked when he saw Yuri taking out the backpack from the trunk. The size of the bag was incomparably small compared to what she had taken on previous trips.

“That was normally because I went to play for a long time. This trip is short. In addition, summer clothes are smaller in volume,” Yuri replied like she had been shot. It was a tone like she didn’t know anything.

“Don’t talk too much. Your oppa isn’t sane right now.” Hyeonu turned around and pretended to protect Yeongchan.

“Did you drink again? No wonder why you smell. I have to bring someone like this as a guardian...” Yuri sighed.

Yeongchan saw it and said angrily, “I wasn’t drinking alone! He drank with me. Hyeonu, didn’t you drink more than me?”

“Yet I’m fine.” Hyeonu shrugged. Just then, his smartphone rang. Hyeonu took his smartphone out of his pocket and answered the call, “Yes, Junggu hyung-nim.”

The one who called him was Gang Junggu. He was calling Hyeonu after meeting Mason and the other players.

-Have you arrived at the airport?

“I’m currently grabbing my luggage in the parking lot. I’m going right away.”

-Yes, see you on the fourth floor. We are all there and waiting. 

“I’ll arrive soon.”

After the short call, Hyeonu turned his head and said, “Did you hear? They’re waiting, so we should go quickly.”

***

The next time he woke up, he was on the plane. Hyeonu reflected on how this happened.

‘Clearly...’

Inside the airport, they met the other players of Crescent Moon and Kim Seokjung and then obtained their boarding passes under Kim Seokjung’s guidance. Following that, he was taken away...

After drinking in the lounge with Kim Seokjung, he woke up in first class. Kim Seokjung cocked his head and called out to Hyeonu, “Are you listening, dongsaeng?” 

Hyeonu blinked and opened his mouth quickly to say, “Yes, I was listening. We’ll take a ship from Fiji?”

“Yes, we will take a ship from there to the island.” Kim Seokjung looked very excited like a child proudly showing off his toy.

While smiling at Kim Seokjung, Hyeonu grabbed at his messy hair and asked, “Then when will you tell me?”

“What?” Kim Seokjung made eye contact with Hyeonu like he didn’t understand.

“The guests. Who did you invite?”

“Ah! You will know once we get there. They’ll be there already. Go and see, go.”

Hyeonu turned his head away from Kim Seokjung who hadn’t answered him and buried himself in his seat. A wave of drowsiness came for him, and his vision darkened.

***

They disembarked at Fiji’s Nadi International Airport and took a small bus, which had been waiting for them, straight to the port. Awaiting them at the port wasn’t a huge cruise ship, but it was still a ship that could hold dozens of people.

“Get on this. It is our ship,” Gang Junggu explained while pointing to the ship.

Everyone except for Mason had the same astonished gaze, and they stared at the ship with wide eyes. Hyeonu was no different. He knew they would be taking a ship, but he hadn’t expected Kim Seokjung to book one of this extent. It was already extraordinary to have an island, but the scale of the island was too great. He couldn’t really feel it.

However, the ship was different. It was amazing and admirable.

“Are we really getting on this?” Hyeonu asked with a surprised expression.

“Yes, we will take this to the island. Get on. Time is already tight if we want to arrive for dinner.” Gang Junggu gestured to the ship with his chin like it was bothersome.

Hyeonu glanced at the watch on his left wrist and realized, ‘It’s already 6 o’clock?’

Gang Junggu’s words weren’t wrong. Even if they ate the moment they arrived at the island, it was already later than his usual dinner time.

It didn’t take long to get to the island by ship. There was just one difficult thing.

“Are you okay?” Yeongchan asked as he approached Hyeonu, who had a twisted expression in the corner.

“I’m going to die. Die.” Hyeonu barely endured his nausea. Every time the ship moved due to the waves, Hyeonu’s stomach moved along with it.

“Is it still far away?” He asked.

“The island is over there. Endure it for a bit more.” Yeongchan pointed to an island in the distance. The island that Hyeonu saw was too small.

“Ah, it’s far.” Hyeonu was annoyed by Yeongchan. It was too far. Hyeonu felt like he would die first.

“I didn’t expect Gang Hyeonu to get seasick... Haven’t you ever been on a ship? You take the car every day...” Yeongchan nodded as if he understood why Hyeonu was seasick. Gang Hyeonu, the all-rounder who was good at everything, was finally showing a weakness, but it was surprising that it was in such a place.

“I’ll come back when we arrive. Just lie down.” Yeongchan didn’t think about teasing Hyeonu anymore when he saw Hyeonu’s pale face.

Hyeonu was originally fair-skinned, but now he was getting as pale as a corpse. Even after Yeongchan disappeared, he continued to groan but held back the swear words that wanted to emerge.

***

Hyeonu felt alive again the moment he put his feet on the ground, and his pale tired face started to regain some vitality. They got off the ship, and a clean white minibus was waiting in front of them. Standing in front of the bus, there was a neatly dressed Asian man who greeted them, “Welcome to the Chairman’s island. Everyone can get on this bus.”

The people listened to the man’s words, picked up their luggage, and got on the bus.

Gang Junggu approached the man instead of getting on the bus: “You’ve worked hard. What about the people who came first?”

When the man saw Gang Junggu, he bowed at a 90-degree angle and then said, “Yes, Director. They came early for lunch and are resting at ease now.” 

“Are you ready for the party? Seokjung hyung-nim is looking forward to it.”

“The preparations are perfect. In addition to the drinks from the brands he enjoys, external chefs have been invited.”

“Really? I understand. Then let’s go.” Gang Junggu waved his hand to dismiss the man and got on the bus.

Meanwhile, the man disappeared in a small electric car that was parked next to the bus. The bus drove smoothly on the road. There were no other cars, so the bus naturally drove without stopping. At this time, the sunset could be seen from the bus windows. The sun had set halfway.

“Nice!”

“Wow...”

There were exclamations of admiration from all over the bus. It was a romantic sight. They left this small bit of happiness behind them as the bus arrived at its destination.

Gang Junggu got up from his seat and stated, “You just need to hand your luggage to the person standing there. Then head straight to the garden and enjoy the party. Simple, right?”

The process wasn’t hard, but some people felt pressured by Gang Junggu’s appearance. Regardless, everyone nodded. After that, Gang Junggu kindly explained again in English for the two foreigners who couldn’t speak Korean.

“Hyung, who are the surprise guests?” Mason asked Hyeonu after checking in his luggage. It seemed he was quite curious.

“I don’t know. I haven’t heard about them either,” Hyeonu replied.

Mason whispered in a low voice into Hyeonu’s ear, “However, I heard before I came here... that Reina and Mascherano departed from the US yesterday? Perhaps they came here?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Why would they come here?”

“It’s on the Internet news. There was even an article asking if they were in a relationship since they took the same plane.” Hyeonu refuted it, but in a corner of his heart, he was anxious that Kim Seokjung might’ve called them over.

‘Don’t tell me...’

Finally, they arrived at the garden that was the location of the party, and Hyeonu encountered a scene where his vague anxiety became reality.

“Wow, it’s Reina.”

“Really pretty.”

“It’s ridiculous once I actually see her in person.”

Yuri, Lee Hoon, and Sunny each expressed their feelings. Then they took out their smartphones and ran to Reina.

“You came?” Hyeonu looked flustered when he saw the two of them.

Beside him, Mason spoke with an aggrieved expression, “Hyung, you didn’t believe me? I was telling the truth.”

“Seriously...”

Just then, someone put an arm around Hyeonu’s shoulder. That someone said, “How do you like my gift? Are you surprised? I had to go specifically to that narrow-minded person to invite them. I barely stopped that narrow-minded person from coming too.”

“Narrow-minded person?” Hyeonu asked.

“Why... Dongsaeng, you should know him... Jamie Moore.” Kim Seokjung was talking about the CEO of Nike Management, Jamie Moore.

“The CEO? Why him?”

“That isn’t something you need to know about. Let’s just enjoy it today. Go and say hello first.” Kim Seokjung relaxed his arms and pushed Hyeonu’s back.

The pushed Hyeonu had to walk over to Reina. As Hyeonu walked over, the three people near her left their positions after making a promise for the future: “Then please sign for me tomorrow!”

Hyeonu greeted her awkwardly, “Reina, it’s been a while.”

“Didn’t we see each other yesterday?” Reina smiled when she saw Hyeonu.

“That was in Arena. Isn’t this the first time seeing each other since the party last time?”

“That was the first time, and this is the second time.”

The two of them continued the conversation naturally; they took their time and spoke slowly. Seeing them like that, Kim Seokjung asked Gang Junggu, “Junggu, don’t they make a good match?” 

“They are a good pair. The saying that ‘a handsome man and beautiful woman match well’ is true,” Gang Junggu agreed.

The party began happily.

...Except for one person.

“Why isn’t anyone talking to me...?” Mascherano muttered with a gloomy expression.