Ranker's Return

Chapter 620

Translator: rainbowturtle

While driving the car, Reina’s mind was filled with different thoughts.

‘Face to face?’

It was due to the conversation Kim Seokjung had with Hyeonu shortly before he left. Hyeonu refused Kim Seokjung’s blind date using the common reason of ‘wanting to start from being acquaintances’. He said he wanted to develop a good impression of the other party rather than meet for that purpose from the very beginning.

‘It is right that we should keep meeting each other.’

For Reina to advance her relationship with Hyeonu, she had to spend more time with him face to face as Kim Seokjung said. In other words, they had to meet often.

‘The opposite house…’

“The opposite house…” Reina unknowingly expressed what she was thinking.

“The opposite house?” Hyeonu repeated what he had heard.

“Huh?” Reina was surprised by Hyeonu’s words.

“No… I just want to ask… you said something about the opposite house…”

“Ah… I was thinking about moving my accommodation.” Reina just said some nonsense. She had no plans to move. In fact, she couldn’t move even if she wanted to as she didn’t live alone. It would take a lot of time and effort for her to move to a new home. She needed many buildings and facilities of a similar scale to what she had now. It wouldn't be an easy task.

‘Moving to the opposite house…’ Hyeonu murmured inwardly.

“I hope it goes well for you.” He ultimately just nodded and wished that everything would go well for her.

The car moved quickly, and they soon reached the accommodations of the New York Warriors in New York.

‘It’s quiet…?’

The building and its surroundings were very quiet like the middle of a forest. It was hard to believe that a party would soon take place.

“Why’s it so quiet…?” Hyeonu asked as he looked at the building that didn’t seem crowded at all.

“Uh… The party today… It’s probably just the two of us…” Reina replied.

“Huh?” Hyeonu uttered with a dumbfounded expression. A party for two—this was a completely unexpected situation.

“All of the team members suddenly went home… However, if I canceled the party, I would feel like I’m just playing with you,” Reina explained the situation to Hyeonu.

In fact, it was true that all the players left after a simple after-party last night. Starting from today, it was the formal holiday of the New York Warriors, and they were going to enjoy their vacation. It was just that they didn’t know about the existence of the party because no one had mentioned it. This was the case for both Reina and Mascherano.

“Groan… I understand what you’re saying. So what do you want to do now?”

Hyeonu understood Reina’s situation. For some reason, the players of the New York Warriors had suddenly left their team accommodation, so the scheduled party was a disaster. However, Reina hadn’t known this. No, even if she had known in advance, it would have been difficult for her to tell Hyeonu.

‘She would become a person who mentioned a party that didn’t exist in the first place.’

By this time, what he felt was compassion toward Reina. He could imagine some of her troubles this morning.

“Shall we eat first?”

“Eat? That sounds good.” Hyeonu nodded happily. When he woke, all he’d done was wash up and then go straight to meeting Reina. Naturally, this meant he had an empty stomach as he hadn’t eaten anything.

“By the way, do you have any food prepared? If the party is canceled…"

“No, if we start cooking now, we will be able to eat in an hour or two…” Reina once again answered in a very quiet manner. She seemed to be muttering.

“Then let’s make it together. I’m not very good at cooking, but I know how to use a knife.” Hyeonu smiled at Reina without panicking after hearing there was no food.

“Is that so?” Reina smiled brightly at Hyeonu’s positive answer. It was just that her smile soon disappeared.

***

“Reina, what did you think could be cooked in an hour or two? I’m really curious about this…” Hyeonu teased incessantly without stopping Reina’s “dazzling” knife skills.

“No… It seemed easy when I watched the video…” Reina couldn’t refute Hyeonu’s teasing as her mouth curved downward unhappily.

“If I left you be, you would’ve taken two days, not two hours,” Hyeonu muttered just loud enough for Reina to hear.

The reason for this situation was simple. Under Reina’s guidance, Hyeonu had entered the kitchen of the New York Warriors. He looked at the ingredients Reina took out and decided on the food they were to make together. The problem occurred here.

Reina had a lot of indirect experience through the TV or computer, but she didn’t have much hands-on experience. Naturally, there were problems when they were actually making the food. In fact, Hyeonu rebuked Reina as he was doing inwardly now.

‘Why are there so many things that she wants to eat?’

Reina wanted to make a pretty grand meal for the two of them. Hyeonu cut down Reina’s menu little by little, starting with the most difficult dishes.

‘First of all, dessert isn’t possible. Otherwise, we won’t be able to eat today.’

Hyeonu’s knowledge wasn’t deep enough to do everything, so he wanted to replace the most difficult dessert with a finished product.

“We won’t be able to have the dessert in time. Is there a cake-like dessert?”

“There is a cake—a cheesecake,” Reina responded to Hyeonu’s question loudly like a kindergarten student.

“Really? Then we can use the cheesecake for dessert. I love cheesecake as well…” Hyeonu was startled by Reina’s answer that was close to a shout, but he nodded like nothing happened. “Then the appetizer is a simple salad. Do you like steak? Pasta?”

“I like steak. I like it medium rare… For pasta, I like oil pasta,” Reina answered.

Hyeonu smiled slightly at Reina’s response. Fortunately, she wasn’t picky about anything.

‘There are ingredients… Basic pasta ingredients… Truffle oil and beef…’

They had everything they needed. There had to be a chef who always prepared food here because there were many ingredients. Hyeonu finished checking the basic ingredients and started cooking in earnest. He lit a gas stove and placed a pan on it.

‘He is good at cooking as well.’ Reina was mesmerized as she watched Hyeonu cooking.

Hyeonu was very skilled. It was obvious through the way he handled the pan as well as the way he placed the ingredients in and fried them. He had the experienced touch of a person who cooked as a hobby. This clearly wasn’t something he had done only once or twice.

‘Really cool,’ Reina thought admiringly. There was nothing that Hyeonu couldn’t do. He was good at playing games and singing. Even his cooking was good.

‘It is said that he also exercises often. I’m sure he will be good at sports as well.’

If there was a man who normally existed only in imagination, he would be Hyeonu.

‘His personality is good too…’

As Reina was staring at Hyeonu, he finished the shrimp pasta with truffle oil and served it on a plate. The moment he finished the pasta, Hyeonu immediately took out another pan and placed it on the gas stove. Then he added the vegetables and cherry tomatoes to a stainless steel bowl. He added olive oil and lemon juice and mixed them well by hand.

Meanwhile, the pan was heating up completely, and smoke was rising. When Hyeonu saw the smoke, he quickly put olive oil in the pan and then placed the prepared beef in it as well. There was a refreshing sizzling sound that made him feel better just from hearing it.

Hyeonu sprinkled a moderate amount of salt and pepper over the beef. After waiting for a moment, he turned the meat over. The flipped beef was a glistening brown. The searing was done very well.

All the dishes came to an end while Reina was mesmerized. Hyeonu placed the completed dishes on the prepared plates.

“Reina? Where should I place this? We can’t eat here.”

The moment Hyeonu spoke, Reina finally came to her senses and stood up.

“I’ll guide you.” Reina took the lead with a plate of pasta. The place they were going to eat at was neither particularly close nor far from the kitchen.

“This is usually the place where we gather, eat, and talk.” Reina guided him to where the players of the New York Warriors usually ate their meals and dessert. It was a place they went to relax. There was a large television hanging on the wall and a sofa.

“This is good. I’ll place the food on the table here.” Hyeonu put down the plate he had brought and returned to the kitchen.

There was still food left that they hadn’t brought with them. Reina placed Hyeonu’s food on the center of the table and pulled out small plates and cutlery from somewhere. Hyeonu returned with two plates of steak and raised an eyebrow at the sight of the perfectly arranged table.

‘I thought I would have to do it.’

In fact, he hadn’t expected much. He thought he would have to come back and set up the table. However, Reina had taken care of it and prepared it in advance.

“You can take some pasta,” Hyeonu said as he placed a plate of steak in front of Reina.

“Thanks,” Reina responded to Hyeonu in a small voice.

The two people started eating the late lunch in earnest. They asked each other about their plans for the future and talked about what move they should make next, especially in Arena.

“We need to finish the main scenario, right? Perhaps most pro gamers will spend their time in Arena… I don’t think it will take long.” Hyeonu briefly spoke about his plans for the future.

The demon world quest was about to end. Of course, that was just for Hyeonu. The other people would be busy fighting over the scraps he left behind.

‘Just kill the demon kings, and it will be over.’

In fact, the goal of this main scenario was to fulfill the emperor’s desire. How many demon kings was the emperor targeting? This was important.

‘We’ve already fought two people and killed one of them.’

Damanos had been killed, and Galiya had been driven to the brink of death. Considering that John Blake was the emperor’s mentor, it meant there were only three demon kings left.

“Really? Then what about in reality? You don’t seem interested in the broadcasting side.”

“Let’s see… Maybe do more exercise? I’ve been interested in tennis recently.”

Reina remembered all of Hyeonu’s word so that she didn’t miss anything. ‘Tennis…’

“How do you usually exercise? Since you are a man… Weight training?”

“I do weight training, and sometimes I just run.”

“Do you do it during the day?”

“No, early in the morning. Around 7 a.m.? Or 8 a.m?”

Reina naturally delved into Hyeonu’s daily life. Hyeonu didn’t notice it and smoothly answered the questions. It was because if the conversation stopped, he wasn’t confident he could endure the silence at that time. Steering the conversation came very naturally to Reina, and she didn’t let Hyeonu feel suspicious of her.

‘Exercise in the morning. Mainly fitness…’

Reina asked everything she could before finally asking, “Do you have any questions for me now?”

“Uh…” Hyeonu’s words, which had been flowing out smoothly, stopped here.