I Became an NPC That Rankers Are Obsessed Over

“Oh, it’s starting.”

“Take a picture with me in it too.”

A female hunter guest strikes a V pose.

Her boyfriend captures both me pouring drinks and her in the frame.

My shoulders hurt like crazy.

I can’t even feel my wrists anymore.

Champagne and beer overflow on the table.

Clenching my teeth, I push the dripping cups toward the customers.

“Zz-mnh-sn, black blll n-n-dzz-.”

They gladly drink the cocktails, filled only with foam and barely half their content.

Seriously…

Why do they drink stuff like this?

“Oppa, look at this. It’s totally aesthetic.”

“It’s way cooler in person than in the videos.”

The hunter couple fiddles with their phones.

They’ll probably post this on that damn SNS too.

After making this ridiculous alcohol all day, I’ve recently realized one thing.

The pretty girl who came yesterday with her father turned out to be an influencer at the Hunter Academy.

She secretly recorded me making a Black Velvet in front of Anna with her 100,000 followers.

Thanks to her video going viral, the inn became crowded with guests.

So, that’s what she meant by “promotion.”

It’s good that business is booming, but I feel oddly bitter about it.

My hands have become rough.

Pouring drinks nonstop has left my skin constantly wet.

A proper Black Velvet isn’t supposed to be like this…

Angry at people who can’t even appreciate the taste, I grew tired of the charade.

Eventually, I got annoyed and started pouring drinks indifferently with a blank face.

Oddly, the customers found it charming, calling it “dirty plating,” and got even more excited.

Has the world gone mad from all the monsters running rampant?

I shoved the empty champagne bottles into the kitchen corner.

That’s the twelfth bottle… And with the ones in storage gone, this couple’s order is the last.

I clasped my hands together and addressed the waiting guests.

“We’ve run out of ingredients and are closing early. Sorry-.”

The distant groans of hunters in line echo in my ears.

Some even mutter curses, complaining, “We came all this way…”

It’s not my fault the ingredients ran out…

I can’t help but lower my gaze.

How famous is this girl named Anna for her influence to be so powerful?

Sure, she was really pretty, but still, she’s a psycho killer.

Probably none of the people here have met her in person.

Once you meet those pale eyes of hers, you wouldn’t want to see her again.

“Si-ho, great job today. Thanks to you, all the ingredients sold out.”

Ji-wook approaches me with a tired face.

“Well, I just poured drinks. You’re the one who worked hard cooking, senior.”

“Yeah… It’s the first time we’ve had this many customers since last year…”

He slumps into a chair at the counter.

That’s right.

This place was originally a famous bar.

Even Ji-soo noona, who’s a heavy drinker, mentioned it.

But why did the owner neglect such a good inn?

Did something happen?

Usually, there are only two reasons why an adult would abandon a decent job.

Money or family issues.

Judging by the visit from Executor, Seoul’s top loan shark, it’s definitely the former.

Maybe the reason they borrowed money has to do with family.

Family…

I pondered as I saw off the last customer.

The cash register was stuffed so full with bills that they nearly spilled out.

In this economy’s collapse, with few functioning banks left, most transactions are done in cash.

With profits like this, there’s no need to switch to being a hunter.

Of course, I don’t know how much of this will end up in my hands.

I suddenly imagine a future where the owner never returns.

Would that mean Ji-wook and I split the profits?

That wouldn’t be bad.

“—.”

Someone enters the store.

“We’re closed.”

I replied absentmindedly while counting money.

Yet the person leisurely walks in anyway.

Only then did I look up.

And I was met with someone who didn’t belong in a bar at all.

“It’s been a while.”

A girl I’d never seen before greeted me with a bright smile.

She wore the same uniform as the pretty girl I saw yesterday.

The current time is 10 p.m.

Who would come to a bar at this hour and say “It’s been a while” to me?

“Who are you…?”

“Unnie, don’t you remember me?”

Straight black-brown hair and sharp cat-like features.

I really don’t know her…

“So, after running away from the shop saying it was tough, you finally crawled back?”

Was this girl acquainted with Si-ho before I possessed her?

“Guess there really wasn’t a place that would accept an incompetent like you?”

But this girl’s tone was way over the line…

“Oh, sorry… I’ve had so many customers today I must’ve mistaken you for someone else.”

I roughly pretended to know her.

“Right—there really are a lot of customers today. Usually, when you were managing the shop, there was no one.”

The girl clasped her hands behind her back and looked around the inn.

She met eyes with Ji-wook, who was cleaning the tables.

“Oppa—it’s been a while.”

She greeted him in a completely different voice than she used with me.

Her sickeningly sweet tone made my jaw drop.

“Oh, Se-hee. What brings you to the store?”

“A friend of mine posted about our shop online, so I decided to drop by.”

“How’s the boss? He hasn’t shown up for months now, and I’m worried…”

He rested his chin on the mop handle with a concerned expression.

“My dad? He’s doing fine, I guess.”

“Don’t you live with him?”

“I haven’t been home in a while. You know how he gets when he drinks…”

She casually perched herself on the table.

Se-hee’s short skirt was incredibly distracting.

“Just take over the shop’s finances, oppa. He’ll drink himself to death soon enough anyway.”

“That’s not how it works… First, we need to pay off the shop’s debt with whatever profit we make.”

“You’re too nice, oppa. If I were you, I would’ve run away from the shop like Si-ho unnie.”

She subtly kept dragging me into the conversation.

I wanted to smack her, but she was the boss’s daughter, so I couldn’t.

“Hey, we’re not bloodline hunters like Se-hee. We’ve got to make money steadily.”

At the mention of “bloodline hunter,” my urge to hit her vanished.

That title is usually reserved for rankers or the children of famous hunters.

In other words, the boss was at least a renowned hunter, and this girl inherited his abilities.

I felt envious and unfair at the same time.

“You two should head home first. I’ll handle closing up tonight.”

Se-hee stepped off the table and said.

“Huh? No, it’s our job as employees to do that.”

“I didn’t come when there were no customers, but now that business is booming, I should help out.”

What’s this?

It sounded like a kind gesture, but something about it made me uneasy.

Se-hee enthusiastically took Ji-wook’s mop and swiped it across the floor.

Where she passed, footprints remained, completely negating the cleaning effort.

She mopped from the hall to the counter and stopped abruptly in front of me.

“You should go too, unnie.”

Unlike with Ji-wook, she whispered in a cold voice.

“Oh… Okay.”

I forced a smile and untied my apron.

I put on an old hoodie I kept under the counter.

“Wow, unnie. You still don’t care about your appearance at all?”

“Who’s there to dress up for…?”

“True—there isn’t anyone. It suits you.”

She narrowed her eyes and chuckled softly.

I hurried home as quickly as possible because I didn’t want to hear that voice anymore.

Outside, Ji-wook was already waiting, dressed in his coat.

Seeing my shabby appearance in contrast to his neat look, I could kind of understand why Se-hee said those things.

“Is that all you’re wearing in this cold weather?”

“I don’t really have clothes at home…”

He looked at me with a worried expression.

“Do you want to wear this?”

As he started to take off his coat, I shook my head.

“It’s okay. My house is nearby anyway.”

I walked through the night alone.

How many times have I been called “unnie” today?

I was beginning to grasp my current situation.

Will I have to live with this face forever?

Well, at least my body isn’t completely flat despite my height, so that’s a relief.

At least people won’t think I look like a child.

Although I am short…

Thinking about such trivial matters, I stuffed my hands into my pockets.

“It’s definitely a bit cold.”

I should buy some clothes when I earn more money.

These days, even malls barely stay open.

But how am I supposed to buy women’s clothes?

I’ve never bought them before, so it’s confusing.

I don’t even have any female acquaintances nearby…

“…!”

Something brushed against my hand in my pocket.

A bad feeling rose within me, and I immediately took it out to check.

“Oh, the shop key.”

I sighed deeply.

I had forgotten to leave it with Se-hee before leaving.

Her constant annoying remarks made me storm out of the shop.

Now I’d have to face her again…

Reluctantly, I headed back to the inn.

Most of the streetlights were off, except for a few scattered ones.

Because of this, the streets felt eerie, like a ghost town.

At least the small amount of light came from the power supplied by the Hunter Association rebuilding the city…

But for someone like me at the bottom of the food chain, it wasn’t enough.

“…?”

As I approached the shop, I heard loud music playing.

What is this? Did Se-hee turn on some music while cleaning?

Cautiously, I opened the front door.

Inside, people I had never seen before were sitting around the sofa tables.

They were drinking the shop’s alcohol as if they were having a party.

Who are these people…

Dumbfounded, I scratched the side of my head.

Then I made eye contact with a large boy.

“Who’s she?”

I wanted to ask the same thing.

Who are you people?

“Se-hee, didn’t you say kids from other classes were coming today?”

“No, I never said that.”

Her voice came from the kitchen.

If they’re her friends, are these kids also Academy students?

Still, what are they even doing at the shop?

Two female students casually sitting on the table approached me.

When they stood on either side of me, I felt even smaller.

“I’m an employee here, and we’re closed for business…”

I tried to speak as clearly as possible.

But the overwhelming height difference made my voice seem to shrink.

“What are you doing back here?”

Hearing my voice, Se-hee quickly came out to the counter.

She looked like a younger sister caught doing something wrong.

Having had a younger sister in the past, I felt a bit more courage.

Still, I was the adult here, so I should at least say something to these minors.

“I forgot to give you the key…”

“Thanks. Don’t worry about it; I just invited a few friends to Dad’s shop.”

Just a while ago, she was saying her dad was on the verge of death, and now it’s “Dad’s shop” when it suits her?

She leisurely pulled a cigarette from her chest pocket.

The sudden appearance of the cigarette made sweat drip down my back.

Was that student-like appearance from earlier all an act?

“Well, using the shop’s alcohol like this is a bit problematic…”

I muttered while fidgeting with my fingers.

Se-hee smirked and began to look down on me.

“This is my dad’s shop, so why should you care? You’re just a part-timer—”

She blew smoke in my direction.

The acrid smoke made me cough and frown.

This is the time to stand firm, but…

For some reason, tears welled up in my eyes.

It’s probably because of the strong cigarette smoke.

Probably…

“What’s going on?”

A large man entered the shop through the back door.

His heavy footsteps seemed to shake the entire shop.

He had bronzed skin and black, undercut hair.

If he’s the same age as Se-hee, he’s only 17, but how does he look like that?

“You’re the one, right? The bartender recognized by Anna.”

He asked in a deep, weighty voice.

I needed to answer, but…

My body froze, and no words came out.

That’s how intimidating his presence was.

“Make me a drink.”

He sat at the central table and ordered.

But I just stood there in a daze.

“What are you doing? Go make the drink. Don’t you know who he is?”

Se-hee scolded me in a low voice.

“Who… who is he?”

I stammered and asked her.

“He’s Choi Si-woong, the youngest A-rank hunter at the Academy. Do you not watch the news?”

An… A-rank hunter?

Even the noona who killed a wyvern only recently got promoted to B-rank… and he’s higher than that?

Something’s not right.

Why is someone like him here?

Si-woong gestured to the girls beside me.

They immediately grabbed my arms.

Dragged against my will, I was thrown in front of the table.

Only then did I truly realize my “incompetence” as an “incompetent person.”

“Trying to act all high and mighty? You’re just an incompetent.”

Si-woong’s bronzed face leaned closer to mine.

“Up close, your face is kind of cute.”

The large man prodded the beauty mark under my eye with his thick fingers.

The unpleasant sensation made me shrink back.

At this late hour, there was no one who could help an NPC like me…