Ranker’s Return

It was approximately 14 hours from Incheon International Airport to JFK International Airport, but they drank, enjoyed themselves, and slept. After arriving at JFK Airport and emerging from the immigration department, they found Kale waiting for them with a Crescent Moon sign.

They went over to him. Kale bowed his head slightly and greeted them lightly, “Welcome to New York.” 

“It has been a long time, Kale. You must be really busy, yet you came personally. Isn’t it too burdensome?” Hyeonu smiled and extended his hand to Kale.

Kale lowered the sign to the ground and shook Hyeonu’s hand. 

“What burden? Mister Gang, who are you? I barely managed to stop the boss from coming,” Kale said with a smile.

It might seem like a joke, but it was real. Kale had met Jamie Moore in the elevator just as he was departing for the airport. There, Jamie Moore asked Kale where he was going, and Kale replied without thinking that he was going to pick up the Crescent Moon players. The response he got in return from Jamie Moore was ridiculous. “I have no work, so I will go?”

It was nonsense, of course. Just before the two of them met in the elevator, Kale had put down a pile of papers on Jamie Moore’s desk. Kale couldn’t bear to see Jamie Moore leaving it alone to go to the airport, so he cut off Jamie Moore’s words like a knife and set off for the airport. That had been only an hour or two ago.

“Aren’t you busy preparing for the party? Isn’t it this evening?” Hyeonu continued to speak to Kale as they walked diligently. Perhaps it was because it had been a long time since they last met, but Hyeonu felt it was quite nice to have a chat.

“The party preparations are complete. Now all that is left is to guide the players and streamers who have signed with us to the party,” Kale replied. He stopped in front of a huge bus that had a luxurious and sleek black appearance. Everything was fine except for the slightly embarrassing ‘Nike Management’ written on the side. Then he continued, “You just have to take the prepared bus. It will take you to the hotel comfortably.”

In accordance with Kale’s words, all the Crescent Moon players got on the bus. Gang Junggu, Kim Seokjung, and Yeongchan had already traveled to the hotel in Kim Seokjung’s car that had been brought over for them. Those who followed Mason naturally moved in their own car.

“This bus will take you to the hotel. We’ve reserved single-person rooms for everyone. You can do whatever you want during the day. However, the party is scheduled to start at 7 o’clock, so please be ready before then. If you want to have professional makeup done for you, please contact us separately,” Kale said. He confirmed that all the Crescent Moon players were seated before raising the microphone to talk about future schedules. “If you have a separate schedule, please contact the hotel lobby. A car and a driver will be arranged for you. Of course, the management staff will be waiting to accompany you as well.”

As a management company, Nike Management was very thorough in managing the schedule. The moment Kale’s words were over, Mason raised his hand and looked at Kale. “Can I know who is coming to the party today?”

Kale answered with a smile, “First of all, we know that most of the players and streamers who are contracted with us will come. All those who are participating in Arena Week will be attending. Perhaps... you may be able to meet at the hotel first. There are quite a few people who have already arrived.”

The faces of the participants flashed through Hyeonu’s mind after he heard Kale’s answer. They were the faces of streamers and pro gamers who had contracted with Nike Management. It was just that Hyeonu didn’t know most of them. There were only a handful of them whom he had made conversation with and fewer than five whom he was truly friendly or close with.

‘Liu Shei and Mascherano. Reina as well?’

In the end, the faces left in his mind were the people he saw often.

‘A new relationship is good, but...’

It wasn’t bad to spend time with people he already knew to be good. He would be more comfortable because he was familiar with them.

“Mister Gang, do you remember Mister Choi?” Kale sat down next to Hyeonu. There were many empty seats, but he chose this one deliberately so he could speak with Hyeonu quietly.

‘Mister Choi?’ Hyeonu quickly searched through his memories. A man with the surname Choi that Kale also knew.

“Choi Yoon?” Hyeonu murmured. There was one—Choi Yoon, the father of a child. He was a man Hyeonu had gotten to know through the Alley Leader Academy.

Hyeonu said, “By now... his child must still be in the middle of treatment. I only heard that the treatment’s going well. I haven’t heard anything since.”

The moment he thought of Choi Yoon, he naturally thought of Choi Jisu. She was a poor child who, from an early age, lived with pain that was different from what her peers experienced.

“The surgery was a great success. The result was good. Now she is working hard to rehabilitate her body which has been weakened from a long life of illness. Would you like to see a photo?” Kale asked.

“There’s a photo?” Hyeonu glanced at Kale with a surprised expression. He hadn’t expected to hear about the father and daughter from Kale.

“I met Mister Choi a few days ago. I don’t see them often, but we do meet occasionally. This is part of my duties in managing your matters, Mister Gang.” The reason Kale cared for the father and daughter wasn’t that he had sympathy or compassion toward them. It was just because Hyeonu had helped them. Kale took care of them so they wouldn’t talk behind his back. Of course, that had been the reason at the beginning, but he liked both of them now.

“Is that so? Then we can meet this time. I hope they look happier than before.” Hyeonu remembered Choi Jisu’s crying. He felt emotional even thinking about it now.

Kale handed his smartphone to Hyeonu. As Hyeonu took hold of it, he saw a girl with pale skin on the large screen of the smartphone. The word ‘skinny’ was very suitable for the girl. Her body was one where there was no visible muscle definition or signs of fat.

‘She has gained a lot of weight.’

Choi Jisu was such a skinny girl. However, Hyeonu thought she looked much better now. Her condition had improved greatly compared to when she was lying on the bed in the hospital room and seemed to be only skin and bone.

“She doesn’t look so sick on the outside now. I’m glad, truly,” Hyeonu said.

Kale explained, “This was a month ago. She should currently be in better condition. I don’t know precisely because I’ve only seen Mister Choi these days. Still, I should know it’s true based on the way Mister Choi’s face lights up every day?”

“I would like to see it once—his bright face.” There was a bit of anticipation on Hyeonu’s face.

***

“Have a safe trip. Don’t go and make trouble. Think three times before speaking,” Hyeonu told the other players in the hotel lobby. It was as if he was sending his children on a trip. He was very worried about them.

“Hyung, don’t say anymore. Are we children? Moreover, Dwayne and I are American.” Mason looked at Hyeonu with an expression of tiredness. Hyeonu’s current behavior was very familiar to Mason. This was because Mason often had to hear such words from his own father, who would always pour out words of concern for him.

Hyeonu didn’t stop at Mason’s rebuttal and continued to attack. “This is why I’m even more worried. If your English isn’t good, you will think twice about your words. Meanwhile, you can just say what you think, Mason.”

Faced with Hyeonu’s poisonous tongue, Mason just waved and got into his car. He used his body to express that he wouldn’t listen any longer. The moment Mason disappeared, Hyeonu stopped nagging. He’d said such words in everyone’s presence, but his ultimate targets were only Mason and Lee Hoon. No one else would say the wrong thing. Through her long streaming experience, Sunny had learned how to cherish words.

Meanwhile, Yuri was originally reserved in front of people she wasn’t close to. As for Dwayne, he was similar to Sunny. With his long career as an actor, he was well aware of the power of words. This didn’t mean Mason and Lee Hoon had problems. The problem was that they were just like other young men their age, and the world’s standards didn’t align with that.

Lastly, Hyeonu waved to Yuri in the black limousine.

“Everyone, have a good time. I’ll be resting in the hotel.”

He confirmed that the limousine had exited the hotel before turning and entering the hotel again. While waiting in front of the elevator to return to his room, Hyeonu met an unexpected person. When he saw the figure that appeared between the elevator doors, he exclaimed, “Reina?”

It was a bright, blonde beauty with fair skin—Reina.

“Hyeonu?” Reina also called out Hyeonu’s name with a surprised expression. The two of them stood still, staring at each other’s faces.

Just then, the open elevator started to close again. Hyeonu regained his mind and pressed the elevator button again. The elevator doors opened, and Reina walked out. “Did you just arrive?”

Hyeonu responded by shaking his head. “No, I arrived in the morning. I just saw the players off on their schedules.”

He took a step back from Reina. As Hyeonu withdrew, Reina stepped forward again. Hyeonu finally stopped retreating when he felt the cold sensation of marble on his back.

“Then do you have time before tonight’s party?” Reina asked.

Hyeonu pulled out the smartphone in his pocket and checked the time. ‘It is 1:23 p.m.’

The party started at 7 o’clock. Apart from the preparation time, he had around four or five hours of free time.

“Well... I was going to go up and rest?” Hyeonu looked blankly between his smartphone and Reina’s face.

“Do you want to go with me? You guided me around Seoul the other day, so I’ll be your guide in New York this time,” Reina suggested.

Hyeonu had a reluctant expression. ‘Now?’

He had no desire to go out now; he just wanted to rest. No matter how easy one’s travels might be, fatigue would still accumulate, and Hyeonu felt this very fatigue spread throughout his body. He needed to rest rather than go out. Yet when he gazed at Reina standing before him, he couldn’t say a word of rejection.

Unlike how he felt, Hyeonu nodded in agreement. “That’s good. There’s a place I wanted to go to once. New York…”

Reina smiled brightly when she heard Hyeonu’s words. “Then let’s go. It will be quick if we take my car.” 

She grabbed Hyeonu’s arm and led him to the entrance of the hotel.