Chapter 21
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Don't Get Involved with Her
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Don't get involved with that woman.
I had no idea how I'd made it to the entrance.
I clamped my mouth shut, realizing I couldn't just let words spill out like that. Oh Yeonseo just gave me an awkward smile in response.
We could've had a perfectly normal conversation, but she kept steering things in that direction, so I defended myself by saying less.
Once we were out of the gate, I handed the artifact ore to the Hunter Agency staffer.
Since she was with a guild, she'd submit the raid report under their name later. I just had to log into the agency's groupware and fill it out.
Before leaving, we'd gotten our stories straight with Oh Yeonseo, so there was no need to agonize over what to write.
"Here, hop in. I'll give you a ride home."
"I'm good. I have to meet a friend... I'll head out first."
"Then let me at least drop you off at the meetup spot."
Oh Yeonseo was persistent.
"No, it's close by..."
She leaned in too close for me to finish.
A soft breath, the sound of a heartbeat—it rang in my ears like it was my own.
She took my hand, her fingers tickling my palm.
The tingling sensation was stimulating in a way that wasn't good for my heart.
"I don't know if it's good or bad. It's nice not to tense up when you touch me, Woojin, but it's a shame it doesn't get me excited. It felt so good, though..."
It seems like a side effect of Yin Energy.
She looked up at me with half-lidded eyes.
Her tongue flicked lightly over her moist lips.
"I made this face during a cosmetics ad shoot. The director lost his mind and rolled around on the floor. What do you think, Woojin?"
"Even if I were the director, I would've rolled around."
She smiled, apparently satisfied with my answer.
"If touching my right breast felt good, I'll make this face for you. You're going to touch it, right?"
This was seduction.
What woman asks a guy she doesn't like to grope her breast?
Something hot surged up from deep in my dantian.
It wasn't arousal.
If it were, blood would rush to my sponge tissue and I'd get hard.
This was desire for Oh Yeonseo.
Domination? Possession? Hard to pin down exactly.
What was clear was that I wanted her.
I wanted her body craving mine, her mind filled with only my thoughts, her head turning at the sound of my voice alone.
"Touching isn't hard, but I told you it wouldn't end with your breasts. If you're still okay with that, give me a call."
"Where do I call?"
"Huh?"
"You didn't give me your number. And you didn't take mine."
Oh.
I'd tried to play it cool and forgot the most important part.
She asked for my phone and punched in her number.
"This is my personal line. Only a few people have it, so don't leak it."
She winked and walked toward the waiting van.
Just this made conquering the gate today worth it.
I'd scored the personal number of Chungmuro's top actress.
Back home, I showered roughly and opened the fridge.
It looked like a motel fridge with just a few bottles of water.
I'd cooked a bit at first, romanticizing solo living, but these days it was eating out or delivery if needed.
That's why the fridge stayed factory-fresh.
I hit the convenience store, grabbing some beer cans and snacks.
Chik—
The can opening sounded extra crisp tonight.
I chugged one, and a satisfying ka~ escaped me.
I could see why that Seo Nayeong bitch clung to her beer.
I sat on the floor, leaning against the bed.
Normally, I'd be cackling at Mutube videos, but tonight it didn't appeal.
'Something's off.'
I'm in my prime; flirting with women is natural.
Especially with premium goods like Oh Yeonseo.
Still, blurting out sex jokes without a brain filter was a problem.
'At least she's interested in me, so she didn't peg me as a perv.'
Yes. But it's not bad. It's just overflowing male hormones.
'Side effect?'
Yes. I told you your Yin Energy contains massive amounts of oxytocin, endorphins, dopamine, testosterone, prolactin, adrenaline, and serotonin, right?
The seven hormones that amp up sexual pleasure.
Of these, testosterone is the most common male hormone. You already had plenty, but now it's mixed into your Yin Energy—it's like flooding the system.
'What's the link between male hormones and sex jokes?'
Testosterone boosts sex drive. You've had more of those thoughts since the Yin Energy appeared, right?
She was right; they'd increased.
I'd even gulped looking at Seo Nayeong's cow-like tits.
You can control it rationally up to a point, but you've exceeded that. So the thoughts pop out unfiltered.
'So I just live with sex jokes on my lips forever?'
Only around women who'll accept it—what's there to worry about?
'What?'
I said your Yin Energy only reacts to women the gate would approve of. The testosterone mixed in does the same. They're women hooked on your Yin Energy, so go wild with the sex jokes.
It sounded absurd, but plausible.
Oh Yeonseo had taken my sex jokes without complaint.
She'd even reserved her right breast.
You've become the trendy 'Teto-man.' How great is that?
Teto-man, Egman.
I'd looked it up after hearing it nonstop on variety shows.
'...Refers to men who strongly exhibit masculine traits behaviorally, regardless of biological metrics. They take charge, are goal-oriented... (blah blah).'
The interpretation was decent, but it was a flimsy internet meme.
Pseudo-science like MBTI or blood type personalities.
Mostly used to explain dating market food chains.
'I'm not some Teto-man. I'm just a guy with extra testosterone.'
Potato, potahto. High testosterone builds tolerance to pain and fear, ramps up challenge drive. Physical prowess goes without saying. In short, you're loaded with traits that make women smitten—the ones drawn to your Yin Energy.
So I'm an alpha male in the gates.
Sex-joke side effects are negligible, so don't sweat it.
'It won't pop out anytime, right?'
Probably.
'Probably? Why the vagueness?'
It means if desire builds up, it could burst anywhere. So release it on time.
I want to.
You've got plenty of outlets, so no worries. You're the man the gate chose.
My phone buzzed as we chatted.
The screen showed Seo Nayeong.
"Yeah. You get back safe?"
She'd called right after returning from her parents' house.
We went way back—even her family knew me—so she was checking in.
"We have stuff to talk about. Not tonight; come tomorrow evening."
"Got it."
"Bring beer. You know what I drink."
She never let me show up empty-handed.
Rotten bitch.
Hunter Agency Subordinate Gate Research Institute—
"Na Woojin is a standard semi-awakened. Nothing noteworthy to report."
Lab Director Park Giju told Cha Yona across from him.
The screen data showed no anomalies.
"What about physical records? You compared to pre-awakening data, right?"
"Testosterone levels are up, but that's it."
"Testosterone?"
"Male hormone. Unusual for a mid-20s spike, but not unheard of. Builds muscle or enlarges the dick, but that's unrelated to awakening."
Cha Yona frowned.
As the director said, better libido had nothing to do with awakening.
"Why not hand him to a guild?"
"A guild?"
"Yeah. He's not contacting them because of us, but plenty are interested. Even a semi-awakened guy draws eyes if he's male. The four major guilds would move first."
The four major guilds rode the same boat as the agency, so tracking him would be easy.
"They'll dig for his quirks too, so we watch from behind and pull him back when needed. They'll push him harder, piling up more raid data."
Solid logic.
Under 'public service cooperation,' we could mingle him with more hunters.
Even if he hid his abilities, cracks would show around pros.
We could exploit those to refine our scattered research.
'Could use him to check guilds too.'
Cha Yona decided to release Na Woojin as a free agent to the guilds.
I bought a case of Seo Nayeong's favorite beer and headed to her studio.
"What's with you? You usually get the 2+1 deals."
"Bitch even when I buy extra. No thanks?"
"Thanks, but three cases? You rich now?"
"Yeah, loaded."
Seo Nayeong's eyes widened.
Awakening meant earnings dwarfing part-time gigs.
First time my balance cracked ten million won.
"Must've been raiding gates like crazy while I was gone."
"Eh, Cha Yona hooked me up with a bunch. Got some appearance fees too."
"Cha Yona? You took work from that bitch?"
"Yeah."
Her name dropped like Oh Yeonseo's, same reaction.
She really hated agency folks.
"Don't get involved with that woman."
Seo Nayeong said sternly.