Chapter 114
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 114
Chapter Title: EP.114 The Reality Where Destiny Prevails
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"Is that really something to make such a fuss about?"
Having heard Yerin's story, which she claimed to have learned from the self-proclaimed informant of Memorria, Sojeong stared at her with a baffled expression.
The tale of Kang Chaeyoung's fiancé secretly sleeping with another woman, putting their relationship on the brink of collapse, didn't strike Sojeong as any great violation of common sense.
'What's wrong with a man sleeping with another woman?'
With the war against the darkness monsters dragging on, humanity's numbers had dwindled dramatically compared to before. Statistics showed that even the ranks of heroes were thinning out. It wasn't a critical issue yet, but if the war truly erupted in full force, it was bound to become a massive problem.
Even setting that aside, men bore the responsibility of impregnating multiple women to propagate the species. In that light, a man seeing several women was practically a given—a duty, even.
"Ah, no, Unnie, that's not the point..."
Flustered by Sojeong's reaction, Yerin pressed on. As Han Minguk's private secretary in the cartel, Sojeong had always been exceedingly lenient on such matters.
She'd even encourage their cartel leader, Minguk, to sleep with other women...
"So, apparently, Senior Chaeyoung didn't even want to date the guy at first. But he kept saying he loved only her, wooing her this way and that until she finally changed her mind."
"Wow. Monogamy... She must be a real romantic straight out of a novel."
Monogamy. A word you only saw in history books.
Before the war with the darkness monsters, monogamy had been enshrined in law across most of the world—except the Middle East and a few other places—because there were plenty of men back then. But that was a century ago.
"Still, it's not that rare, right? In those chaebol dramas, everyone's always monogamous..."
"That's just TV. Look at our raid leader or the Memorria clan owners. Both third-generation chaebol heirs, and neither hangs on his every word."
"Well... yeah, I guess."
Strictly speaking, Minguk was the impressive one, but Yerin reluctantly nodded along with Sojeong's point. Somehow, the conversation felt like it was veering off track.
"Ugh, anyway, that's how they ended up all lovey-dovey, dating and wedding prep all wrapped up nice and tight—only for her to find out! The guy had been shacking up with not one, but two other women."
"...So Kang Chaeyoung's the second mistress?"
"More like third, technically."
At first, they'd thought it was just one. But the investigation revealed more than a couple of big secrets. And one of them had been seeing him even longer than Chaeyoung had.
For Chaeyoung, it was like a bolt from the blue.
"How'd she fall for it so completely, though? Wouldn't signs have shown?"
"The guy was sneaky enough, but apparently Senior Chaeyoung hated suspecting him. She couldn't stand complicating things when she could just trust him and move on."
Thanks to that, Korea's top-ranked dealer hero, Kang Chaeyoung, had her pride shattered to the ground.
"Kinda dumb, if you think about it. If he swore to love only her before they even started dating, she should've suspected something at the first whiff of trouble."
With that, Sojeong nodded slowly. A flurry of scenarios flashed through her mind, rising and fading in quick succession.
"Does that mean our raid leader has a shot?"
"...Pardon?"
"No, nothing. Something you don't need to know about."
Sojeong waved Yerin off, the corner of her mouth twitching upward ever so slightly.
- Bluntly put, what's wrong with a man seeing a woman? Monogamy? What kind of outdated nonsense is that? You really think that makes sense?
"......"
- Sigh... No, sorry. I'll sort it all out right away. I should've done it ages ago...
Listening to the voice on her phone, Chaeyoung let out a smirk.
It struck her that her boyfriend of three years—whom she'd known for six—had this hilarious side she never knew about. Bipolar much? One minute raging, the next apologizing, his moods flipping like a switch.
- I'm dragging this out because I feel bad for those other girls. Sorry, Chaeyoung. It's all my fault.
The man's pleading voice filled her ear. Chaeyoung barely stifled a laugh. If he felt bad for them, what about her? Ridiculous.
Her eyes, staring out the window, were wide open, brimming with barely contained fury. If the guy were here, he might've wet himself.
"Nah, forget it. Go play house with your precious girls. And monogamy? Did I force that on you? You insisted on it."
- Chaeyoung, don't get mad. I messed up. Completely my fault, okay?
His whimpering tone drained every last drop of her patience. Did he think endless apologies fixed everything? That was the problem with men.
"Yeah, not mad. Why waste anger on trash not worth it? Anyway, we're done. I'll tell people, so pack your crap and get out of my place now. As for the money I put into your company—fine, I'll give you a month out of pity. Spit it all back. Lawyer's on the way."
With that barrage, Chaeyoung hung up.
Seconds later, calls flooded in from her ex-fiancé—no, ex-boyfriend now—but she answered by crushing the phone with her mana, mangling it into a twisted wreck.
"You okay, Unnie?"
A woman who'd overheard from behind spoke cautiously.
It was Memorria's raid leader. Chaeyoung wasn't just Memorria's star—she was like the big sister to them all. That's why the raid leader's voice carried a hint of tears.
Seeing her junior like that, Chaeyoung sighed deeply. It pained her to think she was stressing out her teammates over this.
"Psh, it's nothing. Don't make me feel bad for no reason. Hey, you all forget about it too."
"Still, how can we..."
"I'm fine, really. Just chalk it up to dodging a bullet with a loser. He wasn't right for me anyway. Any guy of mine, Kang Chaeyoung's, oughta at least take down a named monster, right?"
Her exaggerated gesture, arms flung wide, drew chuckles from those around her.
Since the war with the darkness monsters began, named monsters had pushed humanity to the brink. Even heroes—the bulwark of mankind—struggled against their minions, let alone the nameds themselves.
"Ugh, still feels like shit, though. Should I hit a quick [B]-rank raid? Need to blow off some steam."
"Ooh? Sounds good. How about we hog all the loot boxes?"
"I'm in!"
"Cool, I'll class-change and join. Been ages since I practiced tanking."
One by one, Memorria's first-string heroes chimed in.
All 8th-rank heroes, a [B]-rank dungeon was child's play for them—anything short of a 5th-rank monster, they could clear while messing around. No strategy needed.
The party assembled in a flash, and as Chaeyoung strode ahead to the dungeon, she flung the door open.
"...Huh?"
Chaeyoung and the Memorria heroes' eyes went wide.
"Oh? Was gonna chat, but looks like you're in a meeting... Bad timing. Should I come back?"
A handsome male hero stood there, hand hovering awkwardly over the bell. Chaeyoung bit her lip upon recognizing Minguk's face, but Memorria's raid leader swiftly stepped forward, oblivious.
A guy visiting a girl's room to talk? Had to be something juicy. And wasn't there that saying—a man heals wounds from a man?
"Oh? No, we're done here. Senior, we'll head out now."
"Yeah, have fun chatting."
"Senior, dungeon next time. Let's grab food!"
Catching the raid leader's meaningful glance and gesture, the others scattered like the wind.
"Hey, wait! Where you all going?!"
Chaeyoung gaped at her vanishing teammates in disbelief.
Moments later, as her gaze shifted back to Minguk, the friendly, charismatic senior was gone—replaced by Memorria's dealer ace and Korea's ranker hero, Kang Chaeyoung.
"...Hey, my dear junior. I'm in a really foul mood today. Can't you just leave?"
"That's why I'm here."
"What, what?"
His brazen reply from the blue-eyed rookie drew an involuntary scoff. And the fool had lost all sense of fear, shoving her back into the room with brute force. Hero strength packed a punch, alright.
'Cocky bastard.'
She wanted to scream it, tell him to get lost. He'd gotten too full of himself after she blew him once in the heat of the moment.
But his sheer audacity left her speechless. Part of her even wanted to see how far he'd go. And the face of her betraying ex lingered in her mind.
She itched to blast him with mana and knock him down a peg...
'Ah, whatever. It'll work out.'
Chaeyoung halted her jumbled thoughts.
"Hey, Han Minguk. I'm seriously in a bad mood today 'cause of work... Hup! What's this? Beer?"
"Bad mood calls for cracking one open. I'll drink with you. This stuff's strong, fair warning."
"...Funny guy."
Muttering that, Chaeyoung cracked the can. Maybe it was his looks, but it didn't feel all that bad.
The long-chilled beer from the fridge hit cool and refreshing. Post-dungeon break, monsters ravaged Vietnam's lands, plunging the country into chaos. Yet the government and Hanoi heroes spared no luxury.
World Hero Association's call had drawn heroes from everywhere—their only lifeline to stem the spread. Local Vietnamese heroes? Laughable compared to Korea's.
"Snacks via room service?"
"Do whatever."
In the end, Chaeyoung let Minguk into her room. He was so shameless, she figured she'd play along once.
The two plopped onto the sofa, setting up a modest drinking session. As the alcohol flowed, words started spilling—mostly from Chaeyoung, with Minguk listening.
"So I was the idiot for buying it. My grandpa and dad loved only Grandma and Mom. But the world's changed. Who even loves just one woman these days?"
"Someone might."
"Typical guy, taking his side. No way."
Minguk shrugged at Chaeyoung's gripe. His old world had monogamy as the default.
If Chaeyoung went there? Guys would line up by the truckload to win her heart.
'Someday I can go back.'
Ppuu said once the darkness war ended, he could return home.
This world was too fun—like a VR game—so he hadn't dwelled on it. But occasionally, he missed his parents.
'Save this world first, then filial piety.'
Lost in thought for a moment, Minguk turned back to Chaeyoung. She was still chattering nonstop.
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