160. Swimsuit Festival (1)
160. Swimsuit Festival (1)
"Uh, h-hello, it's been a while......?"
At the sudden visitor, Shin Se-hee bowed her head with a flustered expression.
'......What's she doing here?'
Shin Se-hee lifted her head and narrowed her eyes.
Short black hair and an expressionless face.
A woman with a cold, aloof impression.
Of course, she knew who she was.
Baek Seol-hee.
When Shin Se-hee had first entered Velvet Hunter Academy,
Baek Seol-hee had been the training instructor in charge of her, Kang Do-hee, and Jin Yu-ha during the basic training period.
You could say they had a connection of sorts.
But even back then, she had maintained a strictly businesslike attitude toward everyone except Jin Yu-ha,
and now that time had passed, she was an academy instructor who completely and blatantly hovered around only Jin Yu-ha.
Shin Se-hee also knew that Jin Yu-ha had formed a fairly close relationship with her.
Just a few days ago, Baek Seol-hee had taken Im Ga-eul, Sofia, and Jin Yu-ha—pointedly excluding Shin Se-hee herself—and carried out an operation with them.
'But other than that, I have zero information. The only thing I know about her is that she's Jin Yu-ha's swordsmanship instructor. What the hell is her real identity?'
No matter how much Shin Se-hee had tried to dig into her using her own intelligence network, Baek Seol-hee remained an enigmatic figure she couldn't figure out.
'Anyway, why is she here? Did she come to pick up Jin Yu-ha again?'
If that was the case, then this time she absolutely had to be included.
Utopia activities happening without the knowledge of its operator and overall operations manager—that was something that must never happen again.
While Shin Se-hee was turning over these thoughts,
Baek Seol-hee was simply gazing steadily at her.
'Oh, crap.'
"Ah, hello. I was a bit flustered so my greeting is late. It's been a whi—"
"Why are you here?"
Shin Se-hee had put on a mask over her face and offered a welcoming greeting,
but Baek Seol-hee cut her off and spoke.
"......Ah, well, that is."
She was hesitating, about to answer, when—
"Flowerbed!"
Kang Do-hee approached from behind with a scowl.
"I told you not to encroach on my training equipment space....... The flowers from your garden have sent their roots all the way into my training area— Huh? What's this?"
Kang Do-hee, who had been in the middle of addressing Shin Se-hee, belatedly spotted Baek Seol-hee and wore a puzzled expression.
"......You."
With Kang Do-hee's appearance, the temperature of Baek Seol-hee's gaze dropped another degree.
Huff— Huff! Huff!
"So-Sofia hoobae!!! Don't just stand there!!!!"
"St-stop chasing me!! I don't have the channel permissions, I'm telling you!!!"
"But you're the one who made it, hoobae!!!!"
Im Ga-eul was chasing Sofia from the rear.
"Those two......."
Baek Seol-hee's eyebrow twitched.
Just then, Sofia's head whipped around toward Baek Seol-hee.
And with eyes wide open, she rushed at her.
"In-Instructor!! Give back the thing you took!! I haven't even copied the original footage yet!!! What am I supposed to do if you take it!!!"
"Sofia hoobae! Where do you think you're running— Huh? Hm? Instructor Baek Seol-hee?"
"......."
And finally.
Plod. Plod.
From the side, Lee Yu-ri was walking while holding her head.
"Sigh....... Mom and her nagging. Seriously. No, I told her we're not like that....... Huh? What's everyone gathered here for?"
Jin Yu-ha's house, which Chairwoman Rina had told her about.
This was the place the Chairwoman had gifted him in return for his performance during the last Midterm Evaluation.
Yet, upon arriving, the entire Utopia Party except Jin Yu-ha had appeared.
How was she supposed to take this?
"......Why are all of you here?"
"Ah, we're all living together right now?"
Sofia answered in an innocently naive voice.
"Living......together?"
Her gaze, already cold to begin with, seemed to instantly plummet below freezing.
'That idiot!'
Shin Se-hee darted a sidelong glance at Sofia.
With her exceptionally sharp instincts,
she sensed immediately that this situation was about to bring about a very unfavorable conclusion.
She quickly opened her mouth to change the subject.
"There is a reason we are staying together in one place, so please do not misunderstand. So, um, what brings you here, Instructor......?"
"Where is Jin Yu-ha?"
"He is in his room. He uses the top floor."
"......Understood. For now, everyone go about your business."
Crinkle.
The ticket in Baek Seol-hee's hand crumpled.
And with a composed demeanor, Baek Seol-hee moved her steps toward the residence.
Only after her figure had completely vanished did the Utopia Party members let out a deep sigh.
The pressure she had momentarily exuded was more than enough to make them break out in a cold sweat.
Amidst this, Shin Se-hee alone pulled up the corners of her mouth.
'The ticket that woman was holding just now. That was a Haeundae Festival VIP ticket, wasn't it? And for tomorrow, at that.'
Hmm—
It seemed she had come to deliver it to Jin Yu-ha.
'In that case, I can use this to first.......'
It was while Shin Se-hee was racking her brain and putting together a plan.
"Um, that thing the Instructor was carrying just now, wasn't that a Haeundae Festival ticket? It looked similar to one I received before?"
But Shin Se-hee's plan was ruined before it could even begin.
By Sofia, no less.
'—That stupid bitch!'
Shin Se-hee whipped her head around toward Sofia.
And as she looked into those innocently sparkling golden eyes, Shin Se-hee
let out a hollow laugh. Ha.
'......You did that on purpose, didn't you?'
What Sofia had just said was entirely deliberate.
Right, Sofia had joined as a Healer, but she was a newcomer, a rolling stone that had only just arrived.
Because of that, her voice within the party was weak.
So, seeing Shin Se-hee trying to get ahead on her own,
she had simply made sure everyone knew about it!
And yet there she stood with that innocent expression—this girl was no pushover.
'Ha, this one...... she's interesting?'
Shin Se-hee grinned as if she had finally met a worthy rival after a long time.
And the minds of the party members, having now learned that their next destination was the beach, began to grow complicated as well.
'Hmm, is that so....... Yellow Dog and the beach....... Hmph, it's trivial, but it'll serve as entertainment.'
'Huh? The beach? The only swimsuit I have is from when I was little, and I can't wear that. How much do swimsuits cost these days......?'
'The beach! That's right! Even though the footage got taken away this time, if it's there......! I'll be able to film all kinds of things of Jin Yu-ha!'
'Haeundae!? If it's there...... a chance to fix my ruined image?'
* * *
Hummm—
Baek Seol-hee used the teleporter in the first-floor lobby to head to the top floor.
Since Chairwoman Rina had briefly lived here before, it was a house she was reasonably familiar with as well.
Knock knock knock—
Emerging from the teleporter, Baek Seol-hee knocked on Jin Yu-ha's door.
"J-just a moment, I'm drying my hair right now. The door's open, so come in!"
Jin Yu-ha's voice came from inside.
'He leaves the door open? How careless.'
Even if the door between the teleporter and the room was thin, this was the final defensive line. It contained a security system that an ordinary person couldn't open.
And yet he was going around with it open.
A deep furrow formed between Baek Seol-hee's brows.
Creeeak—
Baek Seol-hee opened the door and entered Jin Yu-ha's room.
A simple, tidy interior.
It was excessively barren for a man's home, but to Baek Seol-hee, who lived a similar lifestyle, it was a familiar sight.
"Master!"
Jin Yu-ha came out of the bathroom, shaking his wet hair with a towel.
He looked as though he had just washed up.
Grind—
A sharp sound leaked from between Baek Seol-hee's teeth.
'......Far too lacking in vigilance.'
Baek Seol-hee's mood was extremely unsettled right now.
No matter how much they were one party who entrusted their lives to each other, living in the same house?
The Utopia Party members were all women.
Jin Yu-ha alone was a man.
Of course, since women were stronger than men, she understood such an extremely skewed gender ratio.
But telling someone to come in as if it were routine, without even checking who was outside. Not even locking the door.
Was it right to turn a blind eye while her disciple led such a dissolute lifestyle?
It seemed a lecture was in order.
"What brings you here?"
Jin Yu-ha looked at her with round, wide eyes.
"I know that you are already an adult man."
"......Pardon?"
"You are now at an age to take sole responsibility for your own life, and perhaps I may not even have the right to interfere."
"Wh-what are you saying! How could you call it interfering....... Please, if there's anything you're unhappy with, tell me."
Jin Yu-ha, saying that, truly seemed to have no self-awareness.
'Yes, that wasn't his intention. There's no way this child would do such a thing. He simply doesn't know basic common sense because he only thinks about the sword.'
Come to think of it, she recalled that she herself had learned the common sense of ordinary people at quite a late age.
Baek Seol-hee, who had been watching Jin Yu-ha for a moment, nodded.
"......Ahem, very well, since you say so, I understand. First—are you living together with your party members?"
At that, Jin Yu-ha nodded.
"Ah, yes......."
"Why?"
"Well, um, the thing is, mo-money is a bit, um. The maintenance costs for this building are quite high......."
Jin Yu-ha said this while scratching his cheek as if embarrassed.
At that, Baek Seol-hee's eyes faintly trembled.
'If he had only sold the swordsmanship kit I gave him, he could have covered several months of maintenance costs.......'
This fool of a disciple had spent his money buying it, and now said he had none.
However Jin Yu-ha interpreted her expression, he answered with a grin.
"Well, still, I'm getting along fine. You don't need to worry. Living together with the party members like this means we can do joint training too. It's lively in its own way, and I like it."
"But are you not being far too unguarded?"
"Unguarded?"
Oh, no.
She had unwittingly spoken too much like a scolding.
But the words were already out. Baek Seol-hee decided to see it through to the end.
"......I mean living like this, without even closing the door. No matter how safe this place is, among the Demonized Humans there are those who hide their identities and infiltrate. The security system on this room is quite impressive when the door is shut."
"Oh, come on, I left it open because you were coming, Master."
"......You knew I was coming?"
"Yes. Originally your presence was faint and hard to detect, Master, but now I've gotten a bit used to it, so I recognize it right away. So I left it open. I always keep it firmly locked normally, so you don't need to worry."
"......Mm."
To be honest, by this point her heart had softened a little.
It pleased her that her disciple had grown familiar enough with her to detect her presence,
and she had said he'd left a door that would never otherwise be open, open in advance.
If that wasn't an expression of trust, what was it?
"Ah, it would have been nice if you could live here with us too, Master......."
"Me?"
"If that's not possible, then stopping by sometimes to supervise my training....... Ah, no! Please forget what I just said!"
Jin Yu-ha spoke as though he felt terribly sorry for having let the words slip and imposing such a request on her.
Finding the sight both endearing and pitiable, Baek Seol-hee let out a small laugh.
"......Due to my duties, living in one place is impossible for me. If I'm not careful, dangerous individuals could follow me here."
"I suppose so......."
"However, stopping by from time to time might be possible."
At that, Jin Yu-ha smiled brightly, as if a light had just been switched on.
With her disciple welcoming her like this, there was no way her mood could be bad.
But there was another thought as well.
'It seems Jin Yu-ha made that choice for the maintenance costs and party-level joint training. But the others—I can't trust them.'
Baek Seol-hee's eyes grew cold as she recalled the young bloods who had been watching her guardedly just moments ago.
'Hm. I'll have to stop by now and then to see if those ones are up to anything suspicious.'
"Um, but did you come all this way just to tell me that?"
"Ah. Take this."
Baek Seol-hee held out the ticket she had received from Rina to Jin Yu-ha.
Jin Yu-ha wore a startled expression.
"Uh, th-this is....... Why does the Instructor have this......?"
"The Chairwoman asked me to deliver it. If you're interested, go. You still lack common sense. Seeing ordinary people in a place like that will be helpful to you as well."
"Ah, yes. Um, then are you going together with us, Instructor?"
Baek Seol-hee shook her head.
"......No, I have work to do, so I cannot join you this time."
Baek Seol-hee clicked her tongue, recalling Chairwoman Rina's face from when she had told her just earlier that she couldn't go to Japan.
* * *
And the next day.
The Utopia Party arrived at the beach.
"Hehe, it's really nice to come out to the sea after so long. What about you, Jin Yu-ha?"
Shin Se-hee asked with a radiant smile.