I'm a C-Class, but All the S-Classes Are Obsessed with Me - Chapter 9

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 9
The next morning.
The Classroom felt distinctly heavier than yesterday—a theory lesson had abruptly become a physical training session.
During the break before heading to the Gymnasium.
“They tested us during orientation, and now they’re doing it again? This doesn’t make sense.”
“Seriously. They should just let us do real field work instead.”
“I mean, it’s supposed to be an Academy, but there’s no uniform, no athletic gear. It’s a complete mess.”
Students in the Classroom began voicing complaints one after another.
As for me, my everyday clothes amounted to nothing but training wear anyway, so heading out like this was no problem.
‘This is why life is easier when you don’t complicate things.’
Filling half my luggage with athletic clothes had finally paid off.
“Must be nice for you. So convenient.”
The moment I stood up to head to the Gymnasium first, Baek Seon-woo spoke to me as if he’d been waiting.
I watched him rummage busily through his bag for a moment, then quietly moved on.
‘Don’t get involved.’
I wasn’t about to volunteer for more exhaustion.
The thought alone of having to adjust my strength to C-rank level during every training session was enough to tangle my mind.
As I walked, doing Image Training on how to move during today’s training, I’d somehow already arrived at the Gymnasium.
A place I’d been to when taking the application test and on Orientation Day.
This was already the third time.
[ The Guardian of Taewon waves a picket sign with the contractor’s name written on it, remarking that hiding one’s true strength is quite the job. ]
A picket sign? Where did that come from?
[ The Guardian of Taewon asks with hopeful eyes whether you’ve ever considered doing a second job as an actress, wondering if you might actually consider it. ]
I’d rather not dig my own grave, thanks. Besides, anyone can be an actress? You saw my face and still came up with that?
I expected a comeback even as I grumbled, but contrary to that hope, the system window stayed quiet for a while.
‘…… Where did you go this time? The timing of your disappearances is really uncanny.’
Yet when I remembered the Celestial holding up a picket sign with my name and waving it above my head just moments ago, a laugh burst out of me.
Anyone who saw me like this would’ve thought I was crazy.
I warmed up lightly while staring at the monitor displaying a stopwatch.
Is this a time-limited training session? At least they’re not making us use techniques.
Then I sensed people entering one by one. When I turned around, I could tell I was the only one walking alone.
‘…… Or was I?’
Two unusually tall men were hard to miss, and behind them was another figure—one of my temporary teammates from yesterday’s assignment.
At least Kim Ju-won was coming in while talking to another male student…
‘Oh, without meaning to.’
Had I been staring only at that direction?
I quickly redirected my gaze toward the podium to avoid any misunderstanding.
But not long after, Park Si-eun’s voice cut sharply through the nearby air.
“You.”
Without even turning my head, she’d already entered my field of vision, and I found myself facing the same fierce expression as yesterday.
“Got some problem with me?”
“What?”
I froze mid-stretch on my left arm. It was something else to march right over and start an argument just because our eyes had met briefly.
“Like I said yesterday.”
Tap, tap.
Her fingernail touched my Name Tag lightly.
“Know your place.”
Park Si-eun’s warning—threat, really—caused the air around us to thicken subtly. As if my answer was beneath her notice, she simply turned and walked in the opposite direction.
I didn’t even think of following her with my eyes. I was too stunned to realize my lips had fallen open.
“Ha Ryeong.”
At the sudden call, my gaze snapped up without thinking.
This time, a far too familiar figure blocked my path.
“Why do you look like that?”
His brown eyes tracked the direction Park Si-eun had walked before settling back on me.
From between my stupidly parted lips, words tumbled out unbidden.
“…… You’re better.”
Baek Seon-woo’s eyebrows twitched.
* * *
“As first-year students, you already hold official Registration Certificates issued by the national government, making you licensed Hunters. With that in mind, please understand that training sessions like today’s may be conducted without notice, replacing theory classes at any time.”
Following the instructor’s directions afterward, all of Class B moved in perfect unison.
[ The Guardian of Taewon seemed particularly cautious today, straightening up with an unexpected tension. ]
I drew in a long breath, determined not to lose focus.
In the previous test, there had been so many people that even if I’d scored above the baseline, it wouldn’t have drawn much attention—I could have dismissed it as luck. But now, in this vast gymnasium, there were only twenty-five of us.
“At that level, you wouldn’t stand out. But be careful.”
The moment those words came back to me, the blood drained from my fingertips.
I could only hope no one here was perceptive enough to notice.
“You look nervous.”
Even so, Baek Seon-woo sidled up next to me with a teasing tone.
Then another comment suddenly forced its way into my mind.
“Why is your walking speed faster than your running?”
That question from Baek Seon-woo on Orientation Day, just before we left campus, had been bothering me.
‘He was definitely being sarcastic about it…….’
Though I wondered if I was reading too much into it, something about it felt off. I was about to open my mouth to say something to him as he adjusted his stance when—
Bang!
A gunshot cracked through the air.
“Going ahead.”
In that instant, a subtle blackberry scent brushed past my nose, and Baek Seon-woo surged ahead of me and the others.
This test was a long-distance run.
We had to complete a set number of laps within the time limit on the stopwatch—a challenging workout for Support-type Hunters, though slightly easier for Combat-types.
And paradoxically, despite being Combat-type, I couldn’t run at full speed.
[ The Guardian of Taewon notes that of course I need to maintain a reasonable pace; attempting a final sprint could actually invite suspicion. ]
Currently, aside from Baek Seon-woo, Park Si-eun, and a few others, everyone else was running at roughly my speed or falling behind.
Seo Do-hyeok was among them.
‘They’re all saving it for the final push.’
As we entered the middle stretch, the scattered chatter that had drifted across moments before faded away, replaced entirely by the sounds of heavy breathing and pounding footsteps.
Then, far ahead, a male student running on the same pace as me suddenly stumbled and collapsed.
He looked like a Support-type, probably.
‘I can’t falter.’
I felt my heartbeat quicken slightly, and thick beads of sweat trickled down the nape of my neck.
“You okay?”
“……Yeah.”
Baek Seon-woo had closed in beside me again, though he had to be at least a full lap ahead by now.
Yet his breathing, felt from arm’s length away, remained perfectly steady.
“If it gets too hard, try holding your breath while you run.”
I nodded, and he pulled ahead once more.
The stopwatch ticked down, and as expected, most of the remaining runners began to pick up their pace.
[ The Guardian of Taewon sighs that finding the middle ground is always the hardest part, wondering why I have to make life so difficult for myself. ]
I felt just as frustrated. Especially when I had to pretend I wasn’t catching my breath—that was pure torture.
It became even more precarious when the S-rank and A-rank Hunters passed.
“Come on, not much left—let’s pick up the pace!”
At the instructor’s shout, I glanced back briefly and saw only a handful of us still running.
The faces I recognized had already crossed the finish line and were resting.
Then, shortly after, the finish line came clearly into view.
Beep!
「00:00:00」
As the stopwatch hit zero, my foot crossed the white sensor-lined tape.
“Combat-type, but……this is pretty rough.”
As I bent forward to catch my breath, I heard the instructor mutter to himself.
A small, hollow laugh escaped my lips.
‘That’s actually a good thing, right?’
[ The Guardian of Taewon doesn’t quite like it, but gives me a quiet thumbs-up. ]
The gymnasium floor had become like a common room.
Baek Seon-woo, S-rank, and Park Si-eun, A-rank, were sprawled out too.
Finally, everyone looked human again.
Part of me wanted to collapse on the floor as well, but instead I found a quieter corner and dropped onto my backside.
As I swept the sweat-dampened bangs from my forehead, a thick hand appeared in my line of sight.
Holding a bottle of Bottled Water.
“……?”
My eyes slowly traveled up the offered wrist, and I found a man standing there—damp with sweat, but somehow still composed.
“Take it.”
It was Seo Do-hyeok, an S-rank healer whose expression remained impassive throughout.
With hair, eyes, and even the athletic wear he’d chosen all pitch-black, it was almost strange to think his classification was Support-type.
“Suit yourself if you don’t need it.”
“Oh… no, I do.”
I quickly caught his wrist as he tried to pull it back.
I felt a faint flinch, but right now there was room in my mind for nothing but that bottled water.
“Thank you. I was actually thirsty.”
Cold. Everything was cold—the water’s temperature, the man’s expression. He’d barely spoken until now, come to think of it.
‘Well, what’s it to me.’
That was when I was about to uncap it and bring it to my lips.
“You looked worried.”
“…Worried about what?”
Our eyes met again, and my grip on the bottle tightened.
“Nothing in particular.”
Could he have noticed such a minute reaction?
“You just looked like you were calculating something.”
Or not.
The shape of Seo Do-hyeok’s final words was burned into my vision with vivid clarity.
When I looked up at him with a face rigid enough that I could feel the tension myself, he simply turned away with a smooth motion.
A faint smile played at the corners of his mouth as he did.
‘Surely not.’
Yet my heart plummeted.
There really are people who notice everything.
[ The Guardian of Taewon clicks his tongue in dismay, muttering that the appearance of exactly matching the time limit must have aroused suspicion. ]
In the end, without managing to drink even a single sip of water, I let out a hollow laugh.
…God, I want to cry.
What do they expect me to do?
I’m C-rank, yet every S-rank is obsessed with me.
Episode 9
Author
| Seo Yu-yeon
Publication Date
| March 6, 2026
Publisher
| Talesyx Inc.
Illustration
| Choguk
Title Design
| Malang Kongtteok
Website
| https://talesyx.com/
Email
| [email protected]
© Seo Yu-yeon, 2026
This publication is issued by Talesyx under contract with the copyright holder and is protected under copyright law. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution in any form or by any means without written permission from Talesyx is prohibited.
UCI
| G720:N+A277-20260212008.0009
List Price
: 100 won

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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