Haven't I Seen You Somewhere?
Irina looked utterly dumbfounded. Kim Suhyun, meanwhile, remained on high alert, her entire body radiating tension. I’d been bracing myself for some kind of explosion, but surprisingly, things stayed quiet. As I observed the two of them carefully, I finally understood why Irina was reacting this way.
She’s just genuinely shocked.
Who was Irina, after all? One of South Korea’s strongest S-rank ability users. Even the Elders reportedly found facing her in direct combat burdensome. And that wasn’t an exaggeration—she’d beaten the crap out of one of them multiple times. On top of that, she was a woman who did far more crazy shit than necessary. When dealing with villains, of course, but even with anyone who rubbed her the wrong way, she immediately forced a “conversation.” So naturally, whenever Irina showed up, everyone cowered and walked on eggshells. After all, if you got hit by a full-powered punch from an S-rank ability user, you’d either be counting the steps to heaven or giving the King of the Underworld a shoulder massage.
But Kim Suhyun is acting like none of that matters.
It was enough to make anyone think, Is this even possible? Cognitive dissonance at its finest. To put it in perspective, it was like a house cat hissing at a colossal monster that even seasoned hunters struggled to take down. The sight was so absurd, so bewildering, and so unbelievable that instead of killing or devouring it, the monster instinctively took a step back with a dumbfounded “Uh…”
The bodyguards seemed to finally remember their jobs too. They began inching toward Kim Suhyun, prompting Irina to cry out in genuine offense.
“Whoa, that really hurts my feelings! What did I even do? What the hell did I do?! I haven’t done anything yet!”
It looked like I’d have to step in. There was no way Irina had come here out of boredom, which meant there was only one possible reason.
It’s me again. Why the hell is it always me? First the Elders, now this crazy bitch.
I half-wondered if the Silver Gatekeeper trait came with some kind of pheromone effect. Thankfully, no such trait had shown up no matter how many times I checked.
“Irina. I already have dinner plans with Student Kim Suhyun tonight.”
“Dinner? With a girl? Wait, what? Our handsome Seojin oppa was a forever-alone virgin this whole time?”
How long was this woman going to keep calling me a virgin? There had to be a limit. Didn’t she know that repeating the same joke past the second verse just made it brain-dead?
“…What the. She doesn’t even look that great.”
Irina glanced at Kim Suhyun and grumbled. Then, suddenly, she let out an “Ah!” as if she’d figured something out.
“Is this your type?”
“What are you even trying to say now?”
“I’m not East Asian, after all. Maybe you have some ideology that Koreans should only date other Koreans?”
“Please stop saying things that sound outdated even for this international age.”
The scariest part was that she wasn’t joking—she genuinely believed it. What kind of thought process led to saying something like that?
“If that’s not it, then you don’t want to date me but you’re fine with dating her.”
“Hold on. Hold on a second. The premise is completely wrong. When did I ever say I was dating her?”
“When a man and woman eat dinner together, isn’t that basically the end? They eat, go to a café, watch a movie… and if it gets too late, they head to a motel. And if things progress further, they start tasting each other’s bodies…”
Goddamn it. I instinctively clapped a hand over Irina’s mouth before she could say anything more.
“Mmph.”
Irina stared at me with a strange glint in her eyes. Only after meeting that gaze did regret start to wash over me. Of all people, I’d just done that to the crazy bitch.
Want me to rip you apart? She’d be perfectly justified in saying that with a straight face.
I cleared my throat and carefully removed my hand. Fortunately, she didn’t come flying at me to kill me. I was safe. For now.
“Ahem. There are students present, so please refrain from saying weird things. You’re supposed to be the strongest in South Korea, after all.”
“Wow! Was that a compliment just now?”
How on earth did she interpret “have some dignity” as praise? Incredible. She really was an incredible woman in so many ways.
“So yes, it really is just a simple dinner.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying. Right, Suhyun?”
…Suhyun? Why wasn’t she answering? Was she still angry?
I glanced over and saw that Kim Suhyun’s face had turned bright red, as if it were about to burst. That was dangerous. If she crossed her threshold, her berserk mode might trigger.
“Fine. Then I’ll come along too.”
“…Excuse me?”
“You said it’s really just a simple dinner, right? Then I’ll join you.”
“No. What possible reason would you have for tagging along, Irina?”
“I have more than enough reason. I even got into a huge fight with an Elder because of Seojin oppa.”
Wait a second. What the hell was this crazy woman saying now? She fought an Elder and the reason was me?
“Some weird bastards apparently attacked Seojin oppa. Do you know how furious I got when I heard that?”
“Hold on. Why exactly did that make you angry?”
Yes, Suhyun! That’s exactly what I want to know too! What does getting ambushed by villains have to do with you getting mad?
“Obviously it makes me mad. He’s someone I marked first. If anyone’s going to fight him, it should be me. If anyone’s going to hurt him, it should only be by my hand. Some other bastard leaving marks on him? Absolutely not. I can’t stand the sight of it. I’d rather die than see that.”
Hurt only by her hand? What kind of terrifying thing was she saying? If she hurt him with her own hands, wouldn’t that mean beating him half to death?
“I absolutely cannot stand seeing the Examiner get hurt.”
This time, Kim Suhyun cut in with a low, sunken voice. The sight reminded me of a very fierce, angry cat.
“You’ve been picking fights since earlier. It’s starting to piss me off, so tone it down.”
“I think you’re the one being more rude here.”
Was this really the same timid Kim Suhyun? Had her personality changed along with her trait awakening? The bodyguards looked extremely surprised and flustered by her sharp response.
…Ah. Maybe they weren’t shocked by the change in Kim Suhyun, but by the fact that she was acting that way toward Irina?
“And. I also flipped over several villain organizations to get revenge for Seojin oppa. Thanks to that, my dad and mom completely tore my soul apart before I came here.”
“I never asked you to do any of that.”
“I did it because I wanted to. Oh, and I’m planning to finish off the Jinhan Group too.”
“Why them?”
“When I had a little chat with those pieces of trash last time, that name came up.”
The “last time” probably referred to the bastards who tried to bury me with a sexual harassment scandal. The Jinhan Group? Weren’t they Jeong Yuhyeon’s backers? So that bastard really had been pulling strings?
“I already flipped them over once, but I got called away on a dispatch to Russia and couldn’t finish the job. The prosecution said they’d handle it, so I held back. But looking at it now, it seems like they were the ones pulling the strings.”
“You don’t have any solid evidence, do you?”
“Whether I do or not, the fact that they tried to mess with Seojin oppa doesn’t change. So I’m going to crush them.”
She was out of her mind. I had no idea why she was so obsessed with me, but now she was talking about harming innocent people without even having proof. Would even Kim Suhyun find this ridiculous?
If Irina really got angry, it would be troublesome, but…
“…”
Strangely, this time Kim Suhyun said nothing. Instead, she was nodding as if she understood Irina’s words perfectly.
“Anyway, with all that, I should at least have the right to join you for dinner. I worked so hard, after all.”
I never asked her to work hard, and I didn’t think she had worked hard at all. But saying that outright felt like it would only make things more exhausting. As I was internally groaning over what to say, Kim Suhyun spoke up again.
“Still, you can’t.”
“Hey, I told you to stop butting in.”
“It’s because it really won’t work. Right now the Examiner… um, well. He’s scheduled to come to my house.”
“Huh?”
“To your house?”
What the hell was this now? Suddenly it was Kim Suhyun’s house? Irina slowly turned to look at me, her eyes asking what this was about. But how could I answer something I knew nothing about? Don’t look at me like that, you crazy woman. This is the first I’m hearing of it too.
“Ah, um. My grandfather! He said he wanted to have a meal together.”
“If it’s your grandfather…”
“It’s Chairman Kang Minsung.”
One of the nearby bodyguards answered, and Irina let out a soft “Ah” of realization. Then she muttered, “That old man is a bit exhausting for me too.”
“So, are you still going to come along?”
“Ugh. Now that I think about it, you’re that old man’s granddaughter. Ah, this is such a pain.”
Irina scratched her head irritably, then let out a sigh and shrugged.
“Can’t be helped, Seojin oppa. Let’s have dinner next time.”
“What? You’re not going to follow us?”
“I told you. He’s an annoying old man. Why would I go there? Am I crazy?”
Still grumbling, Irina slowly stepped closer. Then she suddenly pulled me into a tight hug and whispered in a quiet voice.
“Promise me. Next time, it’s my turn. I worked hard too, so I should at least get that much compensation.”
“Shouldn’t we first determine whether you actually worked hard or not?”
“Don’t be so stingy. Just say yes. A super beauty like me is asking you nicely. You can’t even do that much? Do I seem like that easy of a woman to you?”
She wasn’t easy. No, she definitely wasn’t easy. The problem was that she was simply a crazy woman.
“Fine. We’ll definitely have dinner together next time.”
“Okay. Deal. Negotiation complete, so I’m out.”
After Irina left, I once again got into Kim Suhyun’s car like last time. Then, just to be sure, I asked.
“Um, Suhyun. Are we really going to see Chairman Kang Minsung?”
“That… I just made it up on the spot. So I’m still thinking about it… but we probably should go, right?”
“Yeah. I think so too. We should go.”
If the lie I’d just told got exposed, I had no doubt Irina wouldn’t stay quiet. Rather than dealing with that hassle, it was better to just visit the Kang Minsung family.
“It actually worked out well, miss. The Chairman has been saying multiple times that he wants to thank Examiner Baek Seojin in person.”
The bodyguard leader I’d seen last time spoke with a smile. Somehow, everything had lined up perfectly.
Still, I never expected to end up visiting the Kang Minsung family.
Was this really okay? I’d refused the Matap Clan’s invitation while talking about being a civil servant, yet now I was heading to the Kang family—which held higher status than most clans.
If this causes any problems…
I had no idea. Ma Hakjun and Kang Minsung would probably take care of it somehow.