CHAPTER 47: VISUAL UPGRADE

"YOU’RE AWAKE?"

Wonhee blinked, confused when Yejun’s handsome face greeted her when she opened her eyes.

But...

"Good morning, Yejun-ah," Wonhee said while slowly getting up. She fell asleep on the sofa, so her body hurt a little. "Where did you get those strange sunglasses?"

The sunglasses that Yejun had orange frames and pitch-black lenses.

And the "strange" part was the single leaf growing from both hinges of the sunglasses.

"Can you even see with them?" Wonhee asked worriedly while folding the blanket that she used when she slept last night. "The lenses look so dark."

"That’s the point," Yejun said, pointing at his sunglasses while sitting on the edge of the bed– facing her. "The talking orange forced me to wear this to temporarily make me blind."

She knitted her eyebrows. "Why would Tannie want to make you go blind?"

"Because he’s being a creep!"

It wasn’t Yejun.

Much to Wonhee’s pleasant surprise, the strange sunglasses glimmered before they changed their form.

Then the sunglasses turned into Tannie.

"Oh," Wonhee said, clapping her hands like a child watching a magic show. "That’s amazing, Tannie. You can change forms?"

Tannie looked smug as he replied. "I’m a man of many talents, Chu Wonhee."

"Man?" Yejun asked, scoffing. "That’s a toddler."

Hmm?

"I’m not a toddler," Tannie argued. "I’m the same age as you and Chu Wonhee."

"You’re five years old," Yejun said bluntly. "You’re not the same age as us."

Hmm?

Wonhee had noticed this before, but...

[I think Yejun can see other people’s Status Window.]

"I’m not five," Tannie insisted, his skin turning red as if he was upset. "Why are you insisting that I’m a child?"

It looked like Yejun was determined to pick a fight with Tannie, so Wonhee interfered.

[Why is he picking a fight with Tannie anyway?]

"Tannie, why did you cover Yejun’s eyes?" Wonhee asked curiously. "You said he was being creepy?"

"He was watching you sleep!" Tannie said firmly. "I told him no woman wants a strange man watching them sleep."

Yejun said shrugged. "You should blame the System for making Wonhee so freaking pretty."

Wonhee didn’t know if it was a compliment or what.

"The System didn’t upgrade Chu Wonhee’s beauty because her natural beauty is already S-Grade."

Yejun looked surprised. "Come to think of it, your face is still the same. But there’s something different about it, though. That’s why I thought your face got an upgrade, Wonhee-ya."

"That’s what I thought, too," Wonhee said, nodding. "I saw the "visual upgrade" screen when I awakened."

"The ’Visual Upgrade’ there applies to your charisma, Chu Wonhee," Tannie explained, then he bounced in the air until he landed on Wonhee’s shoulder. "Chu Wonhee, if you utilize your Visual Upgrade, then you can use it to convince people and non-humans to be fond of you. In short, when you use it, people and even non-human entities will find it hard to hate you whether they like it or not."

Yejun nodded approvingly. "That’s a useful ability."

"But I don’t like it," Wonhee said, frowning. "It’s like manipulating people to like me. I don’t want insincere feelings towards me."

Yejun and Tannie looked at Wonhee as if he didn’t understand her.

And, so, she tried to explain.

"Manipulating people is bad, especially manipulating their feelings," Wonhee said, slightly frustrated that she had to explain something as basic as that. "I don’t want that kind of skill."

"Ah, I see," Yejun said, nodding. "Being kind is inconvenient, huh?"

Even Tannie clicked his tongue at Wonhee. "This is why you woke up as a Guide and not as a Hunter, Chu Wonhee."

Yejun nodded. "I was also naïve when I first awakened, but not that kind. Thankfully."

Wonhee frowned even more. "You make it sound like being kind is bad."

"In this world? Yes, it’s an inconvenience," Yejun said. "But it’s okay, Wonhee-ya. I’m here to serve as your guardian anyway."

Tannie nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Thankfully, Hwang Yejun is a spawn of Satan."

Yejun gave Tannie a cold look as if the X-Class Hunter wanted to squeeze the "talking orange" and make juice out of it.

Aigoo.

[Why don’t they get along?]

Wonhee just changed the subject. "Tannie, can we leave the Sleeping Salon now?"

"Ah, yes," Tannie said, bouncing softly on her shoulder as if he was nodding. "Hwang Yejun has completed his much-needed forty-eight hours of sleep today."

A Status Window popped up in front of Wonhee.

She noticed that Yejun’s eyes subtly followed her Status Window before he pretended to look the other way.

[Hmm...]

Wonhee decided to ask Yejun about it later since she had to focus on the message written on her Status Window.

Second Mission’s Progress: 1/31!

[Thirty more days.]

Yejun stood up and stretched his arms. "This is the first time I’ve slept for that long. I feel refreshed."

Wonhee checked the color of Yejun’s eyes. It was more orange than red now. Seeing that improvement made her smile. "You’re doing well, Yejun-ah. Good job."

Yejun opened his arms. "Then do I deserve a hug?"

"No," Wonhee said bluntly, then she stood up and grabbed her phone on the bedside table. She just wanted to check the time when she noticed her missed calls. "Oh."

There was one missed call from Lee Seodam.

[Seodam Oppa...]

"I actually saw your phone ringing earlier," Yejun confessed. "I was tempted to answer your ex-boyfriend’s call for a moment."

"Why would you do that?" Wonhee asked, looking at Yejun with knitted eyebrows. "I didn’t take you for a nosy person, Yejun-ah."

"Well, I thought of laughing at your ex’s face for losing someone precious like you."

"That would have made me feel pathetic, Yejun-ah. I don’t want Seodam Oppa to think I need someone else to fight in my place, so I’m glad you didn’t do it."

"I stopped him," Tannie said proudly. "I told Hwang Yejun that it’s not right to touch your things without your consent."

Wonhee gently patted Tannie’s head(?) with her finger. "Good job, Tannie. Thank you."

"Hehe."

"Wonhee-ya, can I ask a private question?"

She was surprised that someone like Yejun who did everything he wanted to do without a care in the world had to ask first, so she found herself nodding right away.

"Will you take him back if your ex asked you to get back together?"

"I don’t think Seodam Oppa called to ask me to date him again," Wonhee said while shaking her head. "In the three years that we’ve been together, he never once changed his mind after making a firm decision."

"That wasn’t my question, Wonhee-ya."

Hmm.

She really couldn’t see Seodam begging her to give him another chance, but if he did...

"I’ll tell you once Seodam Oppa asked me to take him back," Wonhee answered vaguely, then she smiled at Yejun as she headed towards the door. "Let’s have breakfast first, Yejun-ah."

Yejun raised an eyebrow at her. "Wonhee-ya, I’m the jealous type."

Uhm, so what...?

***

"GOOD MORNING, Hee-ya."

"Unnie!" Wonhee smiled and ran towards her older sister’s waiting arms. "I’ve missed you, unnie!"

"I’ve missed you, too, Hee-ya," Semi said while patting her back gently. "Is everything alright? That bastard Hwang Frost didn’t touch you inappropriately, did he?"

Wonhee shook her head. "Tannie– I mean, the administrator in charge of my welfare protected me all night. He didn’t even let Yejun look at me while I was asleep."

Unfortunately, Tannie disappeared when Wonhee and Yejun left her bedroom.

"That’s a relief, Hee-ya."

"Semi Noona, do you think I’m that kind of person?" Yejun, who was standing behind Wonhee, complained. "You know I never touch Guides more than necessary."

"Well, our Hee-ya is more charming than your previous Guides, isn’t she?"

Yejun beamed and nodded eagerly. "But don’t worry, Noona. My self-control is S-Grade."

Wonhee, who was embarrassed by the conversation happening, changed the topic while pulling away from her older sister’s hug. "Unnie, where’s Soobin Oppa?"

"Ah, Soobin already left to prepare for the press conference," Semi said, then she looked at her watch. "In fact, I also need to go. I only waited to make sure Hwang Frost didn’t lay a hand on our Hee-ya."

Right.

The press conference was a part of their plan, after all.

"I’ll call Ahyeon before I leave," Semi said, cupping Wonhee’s face between her hands. "If Hwang Frost annoys you, just kick him in the crotch. Even high-class Hunters haven’t found a way to protect their "family jewels" yet."

Yejun, as if it was instinctively, covered his crotch with his hands. "Noona, don’t teach Wonhee how to kill men."

Wonhee only covered her face out of embarrassment. "Unnie, I’ll be fine..."

***

[I SURVIVED.]

Yool stared at his ceiling, still in disbelief that he was still alive after getting cornered by Song Moonho.

[That ghost-like bastard...]

Fortunately, an important call forced Song Moonho to leave before Yool could finish making his instant coffee.

But Yool didn’t let his guard down, so he barely slept last night.

[What if that bastard returns?]

He really should hide in Graham’s apartment then.

Yool got up and was about to grab his backpack when he noticed a sticky note attached to the bedside table.

A sticky note with a scary message, to be precise.

["If you leave your apartment, you’re dead. ^^"]

The note didn’t have a name on it, but Yool knew where it came from.

[Does it mean Song Moonho came by when I fell asleep for a moment?]

Yool felt a shiver down his spine. "Song Moonho, you crazy old man!"

***

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