011. Lee Yu-ri's Misunderstanding
011. Lee Yu-ri's Misunderstanding
After all the business was settled, on the way back to the parking lot.
Lee Yu-ri walked, openly staring at the back of Jin Yu-ha's head.
"Like I said, Yu-na, you don't need to worry. What they mentioned wasn't the leather suit itself, but the idea."
Jin Yu-ha was stroking Yu-na's head, reassuring her as she fretted over whether the outfit had been too shoddy to receive proper recognition.
'A strange man.'
He'd always been impossible to read, but now his suspiciousness had crossed a line.
'Ha. Asking how much I'd take.'
A share that, by all rights, should have been entirely his.
But the team leader had unilaterally redistributed his portion among the other party members.
And after doing that, the man hadn't been so shameless as to insist on his own cut.
'And yet, he dragged Yoon-seo and So-yeon unni into it just to make sure I ended up getting something.......'
Clearly, she'd known Jin Yu-ha had joined this dungeon expedition because he needed money,
but now he seemed almost agitated that he couldn't give more away!
'Suspicious....... And what the hell is with those skills......!'
To think he could finish off a Blood Goblin with a single stroke.
At that level, shouldn't he be playing around in B-rank or C-rank Gates, not an E-rank Gate?
Suddenly, a conversation she'd heard while being carried by Go Yoon-seo earlier came to mind.
* * *
On the way back out of the dungeon.
After the lengthy scolding session was over.
Go Yoon-seo and Lee Yu-ri had talked about what each experienced in the unexplored area.
"Oh, right. Gukbap. I wanted to ask—! Gack! *Cough!* Do-don't choke me! That hurt!"
"Go Yoon-seo, it's because you keep calling me Gukbap. Now even Jin Yu-ha is calling me Gukbap!"
At that, Go Yoon-seo turned her head back with a surprised look.
"Huh? That's actually what I was about to ask you."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you know back in the unexplored zone, after you bolted off. Jin Yu-ha drew his sword to go rescue you."
"Yeah, I know. Since Jin Yu-ha saved me."
"But, at first, I actually told him to stay out of it....... He'd just jumped in today out of nowhere, and I figured it wasn't right to sacrifice him for our party's problem."
"Ah, that makes sense."
Lee Yu-ri nodded. Definitely a fair point. She'd thought the same thing herself while facing off against the goblins.
Didn't he come out just to earn some money, only to run into sheer misfortune?
"So back then, I said some pretty harsh things, since Jin Yu-ha kept insisting......?"
"What did you say?"
"To back off, since you're an outsider. That Gukbap is only Gukbap to us, not to you."
"Hmm....... Well, that's true."
Though the tone had been a bit strong, she understood Go Yoon-seo's intention. At the time, she'd even thought Jin Yu-ha was just a fragile guy.
"Then, Jin Yu-ha suddenly had this really pissed-off look, and he swung his sword with a whoosh—! The goblin far away went hololololo~ and the tree behind it went hololololo~"
"Just the point."
"Ahem! Anyway, he just revealed those hidden skills like that! And then he lowered his voice all flat and spoke."
Go Yoon-seo, head still turned backward, brought her eyes and voice down flat.
She didn't sound anything like Jin Yu-ha.
"Sorry, but Lee Yu-ri has been Gukbap to me too—for a lot longer."
"......Huh? H-he did? Jin Yu-ha said that?"
"Yeah, so that's what I wanted to ask you. Whether you knew each other before."
No way.
In my twenty years of life, there hadn't been a single man among my peers.
Especially not a flashy guy who looked like he'd popped straight out of a comic book.
When Lee Yu-ri shook her head, Go Yoon-seo spoke in a suggestive tone.
"Gukbap, then....... Could it be, maybe, that he likes you? Something like, 'I've always been watching from behind'......?"
* * *
A sudden rush of heat.
Her face flared crimson.
Back then, Lee Yu-ri had brushed it off with a casual, "Nah, come on. What would a guy like that ever see in a plain girl like me?".......
But seeing it that way, all his suspicious actions and kindness suddenly made sense.
'That's why he rushed in alone to save me the moment I was in danger.......'
Honestly, it was a little embarrassing to be rescued by a man, but that didn't mean her gratitude had gone anywhere.
'If he really needed the money, he'd never have yielded his share of the credit....... He tried to spoon-feed it to me, no matter what.'
A thought suddenly flickered through her mind. A brilliant realization.
'Perhaps Jin Yu-ha knew beforehand that the Camela Forest Gate was dangerous......?'
Firstly, according to Go Yoon-seo, it seemed Jin Yu-ha had taken notice of me long ago.
Frankly, that part was the hardest to understand, but since it came from a third party, it was an objective perspective.
'But, he was always just watching from behind. Without even me knowing.'
It didn't feel bad or anything. If the genders were reversed, it'd be a creepy thing, but to hear a man so incredible in both looks and skill had done that,
'It just feels kind of bewildering.......'
A scenario pieced itself together in Lee Yu-ri's head.
Jin Yu-ha, who despite being in a man's body, had overcome the limits of his gender and lived as a hunter with outstanding ability.
But, even he lacked the courage for the person he liked.
In other words, he couldn't step forward and talk to me, and just watched from behind.
Then one day. He came across a piece of information.
The E-rank Gate Lee Yu-ri was going to.
Camela Forest.
That a Gate explosion might occur there soon.
'So, that's why he made the ridiculous excuse of being broke with those skills......!'
All the puzzle pieces clicked neatly into place in her head.
'In the end, he knew he had no choice but to step forward now. And that's why he revealed his true identity.'
A shiver ran down her spine.
Goosebumps rising all over her body.
Gratitude for him, knowing her danger and looking out for her,
and guilt for being unable to accept his feelings, made her heart tremble.
Her emotions surged up inside, a huge swell of feeling,
but Lee Yu-ri forced herself to swallow them down.
Because if she started taking this seriously, she'd really have to face reality.
So, she decided to accept only the light surface of it.
Just to the extent of, 'Jin Yu-ha has feelings for me.'
And just to the extent that, someday, if he were ever in a dangerous situation, she'd step up and protect him with her life.
Phew—
Lee Yu-ri let out a deep breath and smirked.
'Ha, Jin Yu-ha. It was because you liked me? And despite that, you've been teasing me all this time?'
Right at that moment, while she was lost in thought.
"Team leader. Team leader. Team leader!!"
"Ah......!"
Coming to her senses, she found So-yeon unni waving a hand in front of her face.
"Are you feeling sick somewhere? You didn't get some after-effect from the gate, did you?"
She'd been so deep in thought that she hadn't even realized they'd already reached the parking lot.
"Gukbap. We should wrap things up now!"
The party members surrounded Lee Yu-ri, waiting for the dismissal order.
And among them was Jin Yu-ha.
Thinking about parting ways, she felt a slight pang of regret.
'And I'd just figured out why Jin Yu-ha did all that.'
Of course, she'd see him again when she went to the academy. But still, she found herself wanting to know more about him.
"Hmmmm—"
Lee Yu-ri watched him through half-lidded eyes for a moment.
Then, she brought up something she wouldn't normally have said to her party members.
"First of all, everyone, you all worked incredibly hard today. You can all head home now, but......."
*Ahem.* *Ahem.* Lee Yu-ri coughed awkwardly.
"Would anyone....... care to join me for a drink? Drinks are on me today."
"Gu-Gukbap! We're having a party!?"
At the mention of alcohol, Go Yoon-seo's face lit up with delight.
"Whoa! So the day finally comes when our Gukbap earns big money! Let's go party! I wanna go!"
"I'm in too. I'd actually been wanting to share a drink with you before you head off to the academy anyway."
Yoon-seo and So-yeon unni nodded in agreement.
Then, Jin Yu-ha.......
She glanced sidelong at him, and sure enough, he nodded readily.
"Sounds good, team leader. So where are we going?"
Hmm....... This gave her a moment's pause.
As if she'd ever been to a bar before.
Honestly, she'd technically been an adult for a while now, but she'd never even tasted alcohol.
So while she was hesitating, Jin Yu-ha spoke up first.
"It's about dinnertime anyway, so why don't we just go grab some Gukbap? A glass of soju on the side would hit the spot perfectly."
Jin Yu-ha said that, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
"......Gukbap."
"Yes, Gukbap."
"......."
He was clearly saying this just to mess with her again.
Seriously, who the hell calls gukbap “Gukbap-ie,” like it’s someone’s name?
'I mean, if you like me, you could just be nice......! Why do you keep teasing me!'
A flash of irritation surged up.
But then, the thought of Jin Yu-ha actually being nice to her was, in its own way, pretty awkward.
Maybe this level of distance was just about right.
Still, just taking it lying down from this guy wasn't her style.
'Right. This could....... actually be my chance to pay him back for everything so far.'
Right now, Jin Yu-ha seemed to have suggested it just as a joke,
but she'd once heard somewhere that gukbap, the soul food of women, was 'the number one food men don't want to eat.'
Because things like chili powder and perilla seeds get stuck between your teeth. Is that why they supposedly hate it?
She honestly couldn't understand how anyone could dislike gukbap, though.
Yeah, taking a man who looked like he'd only ever delicately cut a steak in his noble life to a truly rundown gukbap joint might be a good idea.
Then she might get to see him flustered and embarrassed.
"Hah....... Yeah, fine. Let's go. Gukbap."
Lee Yu-ri said through clenched teeth.
*
A shabby signboard. An old gukbap shop, steam rising from a huge pot.
This was a place Lee Yu-ri stopped by only very, very occasionally, when she'd come back from a dungeon run and her results were decent.
'Bet you never imagined I'd actually bring you to a place like this.'
Lee Yu-ri glanced at Jin Yu-ha's face as he got out of the truck.
Ready to tease him for a moment and then head somewhere else at once, if he showed any reluctance.
"Ohh! This place looks great! The real gems are always places like this! And the prices are cheap too!"
But Jin Yu-ha's eyes lit up at once, finding it perfect.
'......He actually likes it? Does he just like gukbap in general?'
No, she couldn't be sure until they actually went inside.
Jin Yu-ha was a man who expressed affection through mischievous teasing.
He might even be doing this right now just to mess with her.
"So, shall we really go in......?"
She asked again, but Jin Yu-ha, ignoring her, had already strode inside with long steps.
Instead, he poked his head back out the door and said,
"What's up? You guys coming in?"
Lee Yu-ri and the party members exchanged awkward glances before following him inside the gukbap shop.
*
They all sat down around an old wooden table.
After a short wait, five bowls of gukbap, some kkakdugi kimchi, and soju arrived.
She'd planned to watch how Jin Yu-ha would react for a moment, but.......
Slurp—
Without a moment's hesitation, he heartily scooped up the gukbap with his spoon.
But maybe it still wasn't quite to his taste.
He tilted his head quizzically.
'Just as I thought.'
It was clearly something he'd said just to tease her.
'Sigh, he could've just suggested we go somewhere else. Why's he so dead serious about messing with me to that extent? We've already ordered, so I can't even back out now.......'
But then, Jin Yu-ha took another bite, and a look of revelation dawned on his face.
And where his hand reached next was the kkakdugi.
He poured the kkakdugi brine straight into his gukbap!
He took another bite and declared,
"Ahh—. This place really knows its stuff!"
'......He really does like gukbap?'
That couldn't be an act.
Just as I was watching his behavior with fascination.
Jin Yu-ha looked over at Lee Yu-ri.
"Ah, I'd feel bad being the only one eating it like this. Here, our team leader too."
"......Huh?"
Gurgle—
Without giving her a chance to stop him, he poured the kkakdugi brine into Lee Yu-ri's gukbap.
"Ah, at this place, you have to pour this in to bring out the real flavor."
"......."
"There, take a bite."
Lee Yu-ri stared at the gukbap placed in front of her, mouth agape, eyes vacant.
At the gukbap now completely drenched bright red by the kkakdugi brine.
'This crazy bastard, really!!!'