Chapter 173
Chapter 173
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 173
Chapter Title: How to Steal the Protagonist's Woman
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"Ajusshi... why did you rape Unnie Ha-yeon?"
"..."
Seong Su-ho remained silent, his eyes closed.
Seeing that, Han Bom was convinced.
'He really did it...'
She couldn't understand.
In the short time she'd spent with him, she'd felt he was an incredibly good person.
She simply could not reconcile the fact that such a good man could commit an act like rape.
And Han Bom couldn't even reconcile it within herself.
'If I still want to be by the side of a man like that, I must have really gone mad.'
Even in the moment she became convinced he was a rapist, Han Bom felt no repulsion toward him.
Instead, she felt only a desire to help him, ensuring that the act he had committed didn't cause any further problems.
'Could it be... is that why Ha-yeon eonni is like this too?'
From what Han Bom knew, Min Ha-yeon had explicitly stated that she had been raped.
Yet, Min Ha-yeon had instead begun acting all lovey-dovey with the very man who had raped her.
'...Wait, what if it was the other way around? Not that she liked it because she was raped, but that she was raped while already liking him...?'
Entirely unaware that it was a "rape play," Han Bom was confused.
But it also made a certain kind of sense.
'It's definitely different from reality when you're saved and helped in a place where your life is constantly on the line.'
Seong Su-ho had saved Min Ha-yeon when she nearly died during the boss fight, and he had worked tirelessly, running every which way to help her..
Killing the gang in the village, reclaiming the inn, his overwhelming performance in the dungeon.
It all seemed to have been for Min Ha-yeon.
Those actions had indirectly affected Han Bom as well.
And as she recalled the things that had directly affected her, Han Bom lowered her head and smiled.
She thought of Seong Su-ho, who had saved her life and approached her with such kindness.
'...I think I understand why eonni likes him.'
While Han Bom was lost in thought, Seong Su-ho remained still with his eyes closed.
He looked as though he were deep in thought, troubled by the difficult question.
'Wait... Come to think of it, the rape was forced under the pretext of granting requests. And Unnie wouldn't grant just any request...'
Confident in her conclusion, she gazed at silent Seong Su-ho.
'...He used the "granting requests" thing that way, but in the end, they both genuinely fell for each other?'
As Han Bom looked at him sadly, hoping for an explanation, Seong Su-ho remained lost in thought, eyes shut.
She gently shook his shoulder and whispered.
"Ajusshi, if it's hard to say, you don't have to... Huh?"
"..."
As his shoulder was shaken, Seong Su-ho's head slid slowly onto Han Bom's shoulder, and he began to breathe softly.
Kuuur...
"Seriously. Just say you're sleepy."
Han Bom chuckled and settled his head comfortably on her shoulder.
Gazing at his sleeping face, guilt slowly welled up again.
She could never forget what happened with Park Jin-hee earlier.
And not just her—the other two women too.
Right here, where she now sat beside Seong Su-ho.
'I have to fix this.... First, we get out of this dungeon... and even if eonni ends up hating me, I have to tell her everything and make sure he gets her forgiveness.'p>
Han Bom stroked Seong Su-ho's hair, vowing over and over.
With the night watch finally over, everyone gathered in a half-asleep daze.
The meeting was led by Yang Ji-hyun. She began assigning people for the dungeon progression.
But as soon as Yang Ji-hyun finished the assignments, Han Yeo-reum suddenly shouted his objection.
"No way!"
"...Why? Is there a problem?"
"Well... just no! Han Bom and Min Ha-yeon have to come with me, and the rest can figure it out themselves."
"...."
It was nothing but a tantrum with no reason or rhyme.
Everyone except Yang Ji-hyun started looking at Han Yeoreum with pity and disdain.
Even Han Yeo-reum, who normally had zero tact, panicked under all those stares and began babbling incoherently.
"I... I just thought sticking to the original groups would be best."
"Who asked you?"
The one sneering at Han Yeo-reum's excuse was none other than Han Bom.
While everyone else was irritable from lack of sleep, Han Bom seemed more relaxed than the others.
Instead of backing down, Han Yeo-reum got defensive and started yelling at Han Bom.
"What!? You can't talk to me like that...!"
"You should be on your knees apologizing right now, and you're joking around?"
Han Yeo-reum hadn't gotten up for his night watch shift, so Seong Su-ho had ended up covering for him.
Even though he'd slept through it...
"Fuck, can't I get some sleep? You're all on my case for that...?"
"Bom, drop it..."
Min Ha-yeon cut in to interrupt Han Yeo-reum.
Missing the heavy expression on Min Ha-yeon's face, Han Yeo-reum grinned at her and opened his mouth.
"See, Ha-yeon understands. Just because I couldn't wake up properly—"
"This bastard Han Yeo-reum will never change. Just give up on him already, Bom."
"...What?"
Han Yeo-reum stared at Min Ha-yeon in disbelief, who met his gaze with an icy look and said,
"...What are you staring at?"
"...Hah... hah... What did you just say?!"
Just as Han Yeo-reum flushed red and was about to snap at Min Ha-yeon,
"Enough already!"
"Ugh... this is so annoying..."
"Maybe we should just leave him behind..."
The ones treating Han Yeo-reum like a burdensome piece of luggage were the trio of beauties
Park Sun-hee, Son Hye-eun, and Park Jin-hee were glared at him with irritated expressions.
"W-What!? Talking to me like that!?"
"Then what are you going to do about it? Want to try a duel?"
"Ggggh!!"
At the word "duel" from Park Sun-hee's mouth, Han Yeo-reum began trembling like he was buried in a blizzard.
It wasn't a conscious thought; it was a fear etched into his very body, causing him to shake instinctively.
"What... scared?"
"So pathetic..."
"Y-You! Fuck! Fine! Let's do it!!"
And just like that, a duel between Park Sun-hee and Han Yeo-reum kicked off unexpectedly.
"Aaaagh!"
"Wow... isn't this a bit much?"
Park Sun-hee leisurely sheathed her sword and looked down at Han Yeo-reum with pitiful eyes.
Han Yeo-reum was rolling on the ground, screaming his lungs out.
"Fuck this shit!"
"Sigh... just stay quiet for once...."
Han Bom, the only one feeling sorry for him here, approached and began treating his wounds.
The duel hadn't even lasted a full minute.
It wasn't that Park Sun-hee was exceptionally skilled.
Han Yeo-reum was just that hopelessly incompetent.
From his sword stance to his fear of the opponent's weapon—nothing about him was helpful in combat.
"Fuck... how dare you... how dare you attack me like this?!"
"Wow... we got a little friendly on Floor 0, and now you're talking down to me?"
Park Sun-hee was the first woman to approach and talk to Han Yeo-reum when he first arrived at the Colosseum.
She exuded a bold, aggressive energy.
She was the first woman Han Yeo-reum had embraced in every Regression cycle on Floor 0, except the final one.
But that was all from previous cycles.
Right now, Han Yeo-reum wasn't even close to these women—he was treated as an obstacle, an annoying idiot at best.
Rage, pain, and humiliation swirled in Han Yeo-reum's mind like mixed paints.
'I won't let this slide! You bitch!'
Han Yeo-reum swallowed his fury inwardly while receiving healing from Han Bom.
Watching Han Yeo-reum get healed, Yang Ji-hyun resumed the discussion.
"Anyway, we'll stick with the assignments as is. If you want to freely adjust groups, show the skill and responsibility to back it up. Don't make the rest of the party suffer with no skill and zero accountability."
"Ugh... fuck..."
Deflated by Yang Ji-hyun's cool, arms-crossed reprimand, Han Yeo-reum hung his head.
He had no skill, and he'd skipped night watch to sleep.
What he'd done went beyond mere nuisance.
He glanced at Han Bom, who was kindly healing him, and muttered inwardly.
'Just need to kill that Seong Su-ho bastard. They said they wouldn't touch anyone but him...'
As Han Yeo-reum schemed alone, Han Bom finished healing, patted his shoulder, and spoke.
"You're all healed. Please, stop letting your useless pride get in the way...."
"...."
"Get up already."
Out of familial affection, Han Bom checked on him and helped him to his feet.
"We have to eat before we leave. Are you seriously my oppa? Or are you my little sister?"
"...."
Han Bom grumbled as she let go and joined the others to prepare breakfast.
Watching her go, Han Yeo-reum thought,
'Han Bom... I'm sorry. Just for this timeline... I'll have to use you.'
After breakfast, Han Yeo-reum secretly pulled Han Bom aside and handed her some items.
"...? What's this?"
"One's a Blindness Bomb item, and the other's a special dagger."
Han Yeo-reum explained the two items in detail.
The Blindness Bomb was like a smoke grenade that inflicted long-duration blindness on hit targets, and the dagger cursed wounds to prevent healing when stabbed.
"The dagger's apparently one-use only, from the description."
"Where'd you get that? And why give it to me?"
"They dropped from a monster. Use them if a dangerous situation arises."
"...Are you on drugs?"
Han Yeo-reum frowned at Han Bom's suspicious glare and scolded her.
"Can't I worry about you?"
"...Since when did you start doing that?"
Han Bom had never received so much as a birthday wish from Han Yeo-reum, let alone a gift.
He was a thoroughly selfish human being who would protect himself first, even if his own family were in danger.
So she couldn't happily accept this sudden gift.
It just creeped her out.
'This creep, what's his deal?'
Their relationship had soured to the point where even accepting help felt off-putting.
Though she'd agreed to help him keep Min Ha-yeon from leaving, that was pure self-interest on Han Bom's part.
'...Is he really trying to change? Now?'
It was pathetic and sad.
'Idiot.... You should have realized this a long time ago.'
At some point, Han Bom realized Seong Su-ho had taken root in her heart alongside Min Ha-yeon.
And it wasn't something she'd chosen.
'Who would have thought I'd fall that hard for the Ajusshi... What am I going to do, Han Yeo-reum.... Sigh... but we are family after all....'
Even as she sneered, a sense of pity continued to bloom.
Han Bom pocketed the items without checking their info and muttered thanks.
"Thanks. I'll use 'em if it's dangerous. Phew..."
She fanned herself as she expressed her gratitude.
Seeing that, Han Yeo-reum spoke with a stiff expression.
"...Are you hot?"
"Ah... you know how I am. I can't stand the heat in humid places."
They'd just gotten up, eaten, and packed, but sweat was already beading on Han Bom's nape.
'Gotta ask the Ajusshi for a cooling spell.'
As Han Bom fanned herself and turned toward Seong Su-ho,
"Hey, drink this."
"Huh?"
Han Yeo-reum held up a small water bottle toward her.
"What's that?"
"What else? Water."
"I'm good. Got milk."
As Han Bom pulled milk from her inventory, Han Yeo-reum looked at her pitifully and muttered,
"No, I'm telling you, you're finished now. Drinking milk won't do any—"
"...Fuck off, wanna die?"
Han Yeo-reum flinched and stepped back at Han Bom's sudden killing intent.
He knew better than to poke at her complex.
But right now, her mood wasn't the priority.
"You keep sweating. If you drink something like milk, the smell of the sweat becomes disgusting."
"...Do I smell?"
"Do you even smell good to begin with? I'm just saying it'll be better if you drink water."
"You piece of shit...."
Actually, Han Bom felt the same.
Even if other women liked Han Yeo-reum's scent, that was their standard. To Han Bom, his body odor was foul—no other way to put it.
Siblings didn't have "good scents" between them.
As she thought that, her eyes drifted to Seong Su-ho.
'Ah, damn... I've lived without caring about that stuff, so I didn't even think about it.... Could he have been disgusted by my smell this whole time!?'
Sharing blood with Han Yeo-reum, Han Bom wasn't one to mind others much either.
She even had a scent that teased men, but with no interest in them and ballet as her only focus, she'd never bothered about inconveniencing anyone.
This was her first time caring about someone's perception.
'I'll put the milk away for now.'
Embarrassment over her body odor overtook any chest-related shame.
"Hoo... hot. Gimme that."
"...."
Han Yeo-reum handed her the water bottle, pleading inwardly.
'Please don't check... don't inspect the bottle...'
She grabbed it and chugged it down.
After draining it, Han Bom said,
"Phew... feels alive... Got more water?"
"H-Here..."
Han Yeo-reum handed her a few more bottles, thinking inwardly,
'Han Bom.... once that bastard is dead.... I'll truly be good to you after that. So, I'm counting on you.'