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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: SSS-grade Passive (3)
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"Are you Helper Cha Su-ho?"
It was the first polite voice he'd ever heard in Center 1. Su-ho asked the man in the suit standing before him.
"Who are you?"
"Ah, apologies for the late introduction. I'm Min Gi-uk, your new exclusive secretary. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Hello, I'm Cha Su-ho."
Gi-uk had a somewhat stern-looking face, but his actions and speech were impeccably courteous.
"This way, please."
Gi-uk pointed to the steel door right beside them and continued.
"This is the A-grade Helper lounge."
It was a massive steel door. Even the door itself screamed exclusivity for A-grade Helpers. A security scanner for identity verification was prominently displayed on the side, making it clear not just anyone could enter.
"The door requires vein, iris, and fingerprint scans to open. Your iris, vein patterns, and fingerprints are all registered, so no need to worry, Helper Cha Su-ho."
Vein, iris, and fingerprint scans? Su-ho wondered what they could be hiding to warrant such heavy security. As if reading his mind, Gi-uk explained.
"A-grade Helpers are assets needed not just by nations, but by the world at large. The corresponding security is only natural. Just place your palm here."
Su-ho laid his palm on the machine screen Gi-uk indicated. A hologram immediately scanned it, and a green panel appeared.
"Now for the iris scan."
Su-ho brought his right eye to the same machine that had just scanned his palm. A green laser swept over his eyeball.
Beep-beep-beep.
With the sound of the lock disengaging, the steel door's mechanism released. Gi-uk opened the large door and said,
"Please, come in."
Su-ho stepped inside cautiously, his face tense with anticipation. But Gi-uk stopped in front of yet another door and explained.
"It's a double door. Just one final fingerprint scan."
As he pressed his fingerprint, Su-ho thought to himself that he'd never want to leave the lounge again—it was too much hassle to come back in.
'This much? My Hunter lounge had triple security.'
Su-ho blurted out in surprise at Jin Seong-hyeok's words.
"Triple?!"
"Pardon?"
Gi-uk responded instead of Jin, and Su-ho waved his hands in flustered denial.
"No, nothing! Just talking to myself."
"Understood. Please, go ahead."
Stepping into the room at Gi-uk's prompting, Su-ho froze on the spot at the sight of the interior.
"...Is this really the Helper lounge?"
Gi-uk nodded calmly at Su-ho's question.
"Yes."
"...Not the Center Director's office?"
"No, it's not."
"Whoa."
To think Center 1 had a place like this. It looked just like a luxury hotel suite.
Everything was there: plush sofas, high-end massage chairs, a fridge stocked with every drink and snack imaginable, even gaming consoles.
It was worlds apart from a standard Helper lounge.
"...No desk or anything like that?"
"Ah, there is one. In your private room, Helper Cha Su-ho."
"My room?"
Gi-uk guided him with a look that said it was obvious why he'd even ask.
"This is the common area. Private rooms are upstairs."
Looking closely, there was a staircase at the back. Climbing it with Gi-uk, Su-ho saw a straight hallway lined with four doors on either side.
Each door had a nameplate affixed to it.
"This is your room, Helper Cha Su-ho."
It was the one at the very end. Su-ho stood before the door bearing his name.
[ Cha Su-ho ]
A strange feeling washed over him—overwhelming excitement churning in his gut, mingled with anxiety.
Gi-uk eyed him curiously as Su-ho stood frozen, hand on the doorknob. Why did Jin Seong-hyeok's words choose this moment to echo in his mind?
'Whatever, it's in your body now, so it's as good as your power.'
'So do the A-grade Helper thing properly.'
Jin Seong-hyeok, who had been silent, chimed in.
'Why are you so scared? It's your room.'
'I'm scared.'
'Of what? You absorbed an SSS-grade Hunter's power. What's to fear?'
'Getting something out of nowhere out of the blue is scarier.'
Jin snorted.
'Maybe if it was just a little. But this is a massive amount. No need to be scared.'
Jin had been extraordinary from birth. With nothing to envy, his self-confidence was equally unmatched.
Su-ho chuckled softly.
'Mr. Jin, I could learn a thing or two about self-confidence from you.'
'Just that one thing?'
'For now.'
Su-ho let out a short breath and gripped the doorknob firmly.
This was the moment it truly sank in—he was A-grade.
Gi-uk spoke to Su-ho, who was blankly scanning the lounge interior.
"If you need anything else, just let me know anytime."
What more could anyone need here? Su-ho surveyed his room in silence, mouth agape.
He'd imagined a small space with just a single bed and a wardrobe. But it was anything but. The bed was spacious enough for two, complete with a wardrobe, TV, cozy sofa, and even a private bathroom—everything one could want.
"There's a watch on the desk. It monitors your physical condition, and you can use it to call me anytime, so please keep it on you."
At Gi-uk's words, Su-ho picked up the watch from the desk amid his frantic scanning. As he slipped it on, his heart rate displayed on the screen.
"To call me, just say 'Call secretary Min Gi-uk' into the watch."
"Got it. Thank you. Oh, by the way, where are the other Helpers? I should at least say hello."
This time, he wanted to get along with them. Unlike regular Helpers, there were only three A-grades—a small number, so they'd surely be tight-knit.
"They're all busy. You'll probably run into them once or twice a month."
"Once or twice a month?"
"Yes. A-grade Helpers are different from the regulars."
It made perfect sense. With only three A-grade Helpers, the demand for them must be endless.
"Ah... I see."
"Then I'll take my leave. Call if you need anything. Rest well until the Hunter matching test."
Gi-uk bowed politely and closed the door behind him.
Alone in the spacious room, Su-ho slowly took it all in.
"Incredible..."
'It's small.'
"Pardon?!"
'The room's tiny.'
"Tiny?!"
It was far from tiny. Compared to the room he'd shared with another Helper back as an F-grade—which was maybe a third or fourth the size—this was luxurious. And all to himself? Escaping shared quarters was blessing enough.
'My office bathroom was about this size.'
Su-ho's jaw dropped.
What kind of treatment did SSS-grades get? If A-grade was this good, he couldn't even fathom what Jin Seong-hyeok—SSS-grade, not even S or SS—must have enjoyed.
"Did you have... a private jet or something...?"
'Two.'
"Two private jets??"
'Yeah.'
Su-ho stopped questioning Jin after hearing about the two private jets.
Flopping onto the bed and blinking up at the ceiling, Su-ho suddenly spoke up as something occurred to him.
"Did you have an exclusive Helper too, Mr. Jin?"
'Yeah.'
"You did?"
'Four of them, I think.'
"Four?! All A-grade?"
'Yep.'
With power like Jin's, he'd need a ton of Cleansing too.
'Yeah. But even with all four on me, it barely kept the power purified.'
Four A-grades clinging to him, and it still wasn't enough?
"Then... how did you manage?"
'How did I purify it?'
"Yes."
Jin said flatly,
'Right up to the brink of rampage. Lived like that my whole life and got used to it.'
"Up to the brink of rampage?!"
Hunters grow unstable in body and mind the more they use their power, eventually leading to mental collapse and rampage. In rampage, they destroy everything around them, including themselves, until death.
That's why Helpers were vital—they steadied Hunters' minds and powers. To Hunters, Helpers were a lifeline.
Getting Cleansed only right before rampage every time? Jin must have never known a clear mind. Endless self-destruction, anxiety, and nightmares must have tormented him.
'Maybe that's why I tried to kill myself.'
Su-ho felt pity for Jin's casual tone.
'It's great now. The headache that crushed my skull all day is gone.'
At least that was a relief. Su-ho let out a long sigh.
"Glad to hear you're doing better now."
'The sooner I enter eternal rest, the better.'
Su-ho's lips pressed into a thin line. Eternal rest. Jin's body was dead, but his mind lived on, so the death hadn't fully registered.
But if even his mind vanished completely?
It had only been a few days. Sharing a mind naturally built intimacy.
"Mr. Jin."
'Yeah?'
"Since you're doing better than before, stick around a bit longer."
'Where? Here?'
"Yes."
Jin laughed heartily.
'Can't control vanishing, but I'll hang on as long as I can. Watching you is fun.'
"Feel free to watch," Su-ho said firmly, then closed his eyes. With the recent chaos sorted in his mind, sleepiness flooded in.
Jin fell silent.
As if not wanting to disturb his rest.