Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Single Night Tempering (6)
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Seoran and Yi Agum headed to the trade headquarters first.
It was to order puppet materials.
Once the procedures were done, it was nearly time to clock out.
Ji-am-seo, having finished her work, joined the group.
Ji-am-seo guided Seoran and Yi Agum to her home.
It seemed the commute was short, as they arrived quickly.
Back at her nest, Ji-am-seo took off her mask.
Meaning her face turned blank.
Seoran asked.
“How do you do that expression acting?”
“Huh? Oh, this?”
Ji-am-seo put on her ‘high-pressure researcher’ face.
It was like she was swapping out two detachable faces.
No matter how many times you saw it, it was amazing.
Seoran was too curious.
“Yeah, that. Is there a secret to it?”
Ji-am-seo answered.
“Just imagine your nose itching.”
Seoran immediately scrunched her nose.
“Agum, what do you think? Does she look like someone else?”
“Yeah, it’s perfect. I’m hungry—shall we get dinner?”
The group had a friendly dinner together.
The menu was the same as on the surface or in the underground world.
Most food was imported from the surface, so it was only natural.
As Seoran ate the lamb ribs, she asked.
“But why did you act like that when we first met? Agum and I are humans. Our races are different, so was there really any reason to be jealous?”
Ji-am-seo stammered in response.
“No, Toto-seo is so popular... I was just worried...”
Toto-seo had been popular since school days.
She had the looks, brains, health, personality—everything.
Someone like that should pay five times the taxes of ordinary people.
As they chatted amiably, the meal ended.
Ji-am-seo’s cooking was excellent.
A mole who cooks well: charm points +5.
Dessert was ice cream and cold drinks.
Seoran hesitated slightly.
Ice cream and iced tea together?
Was this a good combo?
These Labyrinthians really loved ice.
The underground world was chilly to begin with.
If she weren’t a cultivator, she’d definitely get a stomachache.
But since she made it herself, charm points +2.
This was a smooth start.
Of course, the real test began now.
Seoran set down her half-eaten ice cream.
“Ji-am-seo, do you exercise often?”
She asked Ji-am-seo, but Yi Agum answered.
“Suddenly?”
“Shh!”
Seoran blocked her sister’s lips with her index finger.
Then, like a strict interviewer, she said.
“This is to assess your charm level and dating success rate. Anyway, how often do you exercise?”
Ji-am-seo thought for a moment before answering.
“I usually exercise every other day.”
“What kind of exercise, and for what purpose?”
“Uh, lately I’ve been learning to swim... Purpose, purpose... For health improvement and handling disasters?”
“Excellent. Very excellent, Ji-am-seo.”
A mole who exercises: charm points +10.
Crisis response ability: charm points +10.
Seoran threw out the next question.
“Do you do anything else for self-care?”
“I manage my diet for health, get regular fur maintenance. Oh, and lately I’ve been attending night school for a new degree.”
“For reference, what’s your diet like?”
“I eat a balanced variety nutritionally, just enough to keep my weight stable.”
Balanced diet: charm points +7.
No idea what fur maintenance is, but charm points +1.
Never stops studying: charm points +5.
Total score: 40 points.
Overall: Keeps getting better without stopping.
Seoran declared firmly.
“Ji-am-seo, you’re perfectly prepared.”
“Really?!”
“Yes!”
Of course, there were still many factors to score.
Like appearance competitiveness, for example.
But to Seoran, such questions were pointless.
It wasn’t like she’d say ‘you’re ugly, give up.’
Appearance was largely innate anyway.
Ji-am-seo, who consistently self-improved, had likely reached her genetic charm limit.
She didn’t know Toto-seo’s tastes, but prayer was all that was left.
The same went for other factors.
Seoran jumped up and shouted.
“Let’s go confess!”
Yi Agum also jumped up to stop Seoran.
“That’s not right!”
“My gut is screaming! This is definitely going to work!”
“There’s zero evidence for that!”
“Agum, can’t you see it? The intense life of self-honing! The relentless effort to become lovable! The blood and sweat Ji-am-seo has shed!”
“Still, there’s a process! The most important thing in confession is mutual consent! Like diplomacy, you hint at intentions first and give time to prepare!”
“Only the courageous...!”
Yi Agum used her last resort.
She shoved the ice from her glass into Seoran’s mouth.
It bought them a little time.
Yi Agum said to Ji-am-seo.
“Ji-am-seo, confession is really no. Show your honest self first.”
Ji-am-seo was visibly flustered.
“My honest self?”
“Yes, your honest self. Not that weird acting your work seniors make you do, but the real Ji-am-seo.”
“H-Huh, but I’ve been acting for so long... Without the mask, I can’t speak well in front of Toto-seo. Like, what if she hates me...”
Seoran, having swallowed the ice in her mouth, said.
“No, what’s wrong with you?”
Ji-am-seo mumbled.
“You two don’t get it at all. The fake me from acting is way better than the real me. She speaks at the right times, doesn’t hesitate... and she’s brave. If I were like that, even Mom and Dad would...”
Ji-am-seo hung her head low.
A glass full of ice came into view.
Ji-am-seo’s eyes trembled.
Seoran carefully asked.
“Did something happen before?”
Ji-am-seo looked at Seoran, her mouth opening and closing, then lowered her head again.
She wanted to speak but was hesitating.
Seoran could tell intuitively.
Seoran gently comforted Ji-am-seo.
“It’s okay, Ji-am-seo. Take your time thinking whether to say it. I’ll wait as long as it takes. If you change your mind and don’t want to, that’s fine. No one will say anything.”
A long silence followed.
The ice in the glass had all melted by now.
Yi Agum, who usually went to bed early, was nodding off.
Finally, Ji-am-seo spoke.
*****
Ji-am-seo’s parents were divorced.
They gathered the children and said this.
Do you like Dad more? Or Mom?
If Dad more, go with Dad.
If Mom more, go with Mom.
Ji-am-seo’s siblings split up in an instant.
The last one to decide was Ji-am-seo.
She just couldn’t choose.
Ji-am-seo trembled with her head bowed.
She only stared at her empty drink glass.
Her parents coaxed their last remaining daughter.
Sweet promises, badmouthing the ex-spouse, yelling.
Timid Ji-am-seo couldn’t say, ‘Can’t we just get along again?’
Her furious parents left with only the children who chose them.
Ji-am-seo was left alone.
Staring only at the ice left in her glass.
From then on, Ji-am-seo hated her own cowardice.
Seoran, having heard the whole story, said.
“I see...”
Once the dam broke, Ji-am-seo didn’t stop.
“After my parents divorced, I lived at the orphanage. I was a loner there too. No friends. Even in school, I studied alone until graduation...”
“That’s why you said that earlier? That the fake you is better than the real one?”
“Yes, exactly. At least with the mask, I’m brave. I speak on time, don’t hesitate... It’s obviously better. Look even now, it took me forever to open up about this old story...”
Seoran tried to comfort Ji-am-seo.
“Why no friends? You have Toto-seo.”
“My first conversation with Toto-seo was on graduation day.”
“Graduation day?”
Ji-am-seo nodded.
“Yes, I was crying in the corner of the school on graduation day. Sad that I hadn’t made a single friend during school. That’s when I ran into Toto-seo passing by.”
Seoran asked.
“And?”
“Well. She asked why I was crying, what happened. Since I just kept crying without speaking, she took me to a nearby shop and bought me a drink.”
Seoran focused on Ji-am-seo’s voice.
She wasn’t sure because of the species difference, but it seemed a bit brighter when Toto-seo came up.
So she kept asking related questions.
“That’s how you got close to Toto-seo? And you fell for her after?”
“No, I think I started liking her from then. Something happened, but... it’s too long ago, I don’t remember well.”
“Think hard. It must’ve been memorable, so it’ll come back.”
Ji-am-seo continued haltingly.
“Hmm, I think we sat by the window. Ordered cold drinks each... Mine was probably juice, and Toto-seo... milk with honey?”
“Yeah, juice drink and honey milk. And?”
Ji-am-seo started pondering.
“Same as before, why crying, what happened. Oh, she said she’d counsel me too.”
Seoran brightened.
“With counseling, she healed your emotional wound in one go? And you fell in love?”
“No, hazy but... the help wasn’t much. After agonizing, I confessed I was sad for spending school without a single friend? Then we left the shop.”
“No, why?”
“The shop’s business hours ended. So I just went back to the orphanage. Oh, Toto-seo said let’s be friends from now on, and that’s how we are now.”
“Just which part made you fall for her?”
“Huh, yeah?”
Ji-am-seo fell deep into thought.
Why did she fall for Toto-seo?
One cold drink? Or the counseling she didn’t get?
Kindness shown to a crying girl?
Ji-am-seo’s mind spun quickly.
Tears shed alone after graduation, cold drink full of ice, Toto-seo offering counsel, the shop’s business hours suddenly ending.
Graduation ceremony, cold drink, counseling, business hours.
Tears, ice, Toto-seo, business hours.
Right, the shop’s business hours.
Ji-am-seo realized.
Hearing Toto-seo offer counseling, she agonized.
Exposing inner weakness to others is scary.
Ji-am-seo trembled in fear back then too.
Head bowed low.
Clutching the glass of ice tightly with both hands.
Just like that day abandoned by family and left alone.
Back then too, Ji-am-seo hesitated.
Until the ice melted completely, from the moment graduation ended until all shops closed.
It took a really long time to confess the reason for crying alone, that short story.
That was why she fell for Toto-seo.
She kept ordering more drinks due to the shopkeeper’s glances but waited.
On the exciting graduation day, she waited until night for a girl she’d just met.
Even Ji-am-seo’s parents hadn’t waited that long.
At the end of fear and hesitation, Ji-am-seo raised her head.
Melted ice water in the glass, table full of empty drink glasses, two eyes full of kindness.
Toto-seo had waited for Ji-am-seo all that time.
Surely, Ji-am-seo’s unrequited love began in that moment.
Ji-am-seo jumped up from her seat.
The chair toppled, the table shook.
Yi Agum, who’d been dozing, startled awake, and a drink glass on the table tipped over.
Ji-am-seo thrust her fist toward the sky and shouted.
“I’ve got courage now!”
Even Seoran couldn’t follow the train of thought.
“W-What?”
“No, I mean! I’m always dithering, hesitating... and cowardly, but Toto-seo waited for even me like this! The ice and business hours... anyway! I’ve got courage!”
Seoran didn’t quite get it but agreed anyway.
“Let’s go, Ji-am-seo! The courageous win love! Capture Toto-seo’s heart! You’ve worked to become a better person than yesterday!”
“I’m a Labyrinthian mole, though?”
“You’ve worked to become a better Labyrinthian! Recall the time you honed yourself!”
“Yes, like iron that hardens the more you hammer it!”
“Like a brilliantly shining mane!”
In the end, a complaint came from next door about the noise.
Ji-am-seo, deflating, said.
“Shall we clean up first?”
“Yeah. Agum, go to bed.”
Ji-am-seo righted the fallen chair and glass.
Then she wiped the table soaked with water.
It was cold, being melted ice water.
Ji-am-seo suddenly mumbled.
“Ice...”
Then she looked at Seoran.
She was tending to her sleepy sister.
Counseling, the concerned expression, that kindness.
For a while, Ji-am-seo stood still, watching Seoran.
*****
On the way back to Black Bamboo Sect, Yi Agum asked.
“Sis, what did you do after I slept yesterday?”
“I gave professional counseling.”
“One counseling session changes a person like that?”
Seoran corrected the error.
“Not a person, a Labyrinthian.”
“Anyway, does that make sense?”
“It means my counseling was that great.”
Seoran puffed up proudly.