031. Sparring (1)
031. Sparring (1)
Shin Se-hee barged in right as I was about to make my gukbap recruitment offer.
And then she went and completely wrecked the whole situation with words drenched in misunderstanding.
Is this some kind of trap too...?
I narrowed my eyes and stared at her.
Head bowed, her glossy long hair cascading down.
The cheeks I could glimpse were flushed bright red.
...Wait, bright red?
Don't tell me this girl....
Is she drunk?
Sniff sniff—
When I brought my nose closer, a refreshing floral scent hit me, mixed with the sharp sting of alcohol.
I pressed my palm to my forehead.
Man, this is fucked.
No wonder she skipped morning training and didn't show up.
No, she's the type who doesn't even drink unless something pisses her off. What's with the sudden alcohol?
Shin Se-hee.
Despite her gentle and sparkling appearance, she's a character rotten to the core on the inside.
That's why there were quite a lot of Players like me who hated Shin Se-hee.
She pulled villainous stunts even in the main story,
and whenever she was bored, she'd wreck the condition of the characters I pulled. Who'd like someone like that?
That's what I want to say, but....
The truth is, not only in this Velvetsra world but also in the original world, the fandom that stans Shin Se-hee boasted a considerable size.
The reason is,
the gap moe.
Her personal story reveals why she turned out this way, and the turnaround goes into overdrive,
but more than that—the usual Shin Se-hee only ever shows a twisted, calculating side.
So when she suddenly undergoes an image change and shows up looking like a pathetic loser, the aversion fades, replaced by a refreshing novelty.
Just like Lee Yu-ri got the nickname 'Gukbap,' Shin Se-hee has a similar nickname.
[ Infused Liquor ]
A nickname from combining snake + alcohol.
Of course, this one didn't blow up as much as Gukbap, so only the fandom that stans Shin Se-hee played around calling her 'Infused Gallju' internally.
That's right.
Shin Se-hee's character concept is 'drunk loser.'
She only drinks when something pisses her off,
and even one glass changes her personality into a total loser. With her natural enemy, Gukbap, right next to her, all kinds of messy remarks just come pouring out of her mouth.
Shin Se-hee suddenly jerked her head up.
"We're partners! We had something good!"
She bit her lip hard, her eyes wet with moisture.
"I'll treat you well. Okay? Do you need money? Or something else? Just say the word. I can do it all for you. So, let me in too—. Please."
Here, Se-hee, Se-hee.
Could you maybe stop saying stuff like that?
If you keep doing that, don't I look like a total scumbag?
Murmur—
The eyes of the people eating gukbap around us were drawn in.
Lee Yu-ri's gaze was also gradually shifting from contempt to disgust.
If I don't smooth this over properly right now, it could really get fucked.
Party offers, my reputation—everything is on the verge of plummeting into the gutter.
Alright, stay calm.
First, I need to assess the situation.
"Shin Se-hee."
"......Yes."
When I called her name, she answered in a tiny voice, all hunched over like a wilted plant.
"......So. Yesterday."
"Yes, last night."
"We made a deal, didn't we?"
"......Yes. You told me about a trash guy. You said you couldn't let me in, so you gave me another guy and told me to be satisfied with that instead."
Shin Se-hee looked up at me with her hands clasped tightly on her knees.
An expression that seemed to ask how a person could be so cruel.
"......."
Ah, shit. My head's spinning.
Is she really doing this on purpose?
The murmuring around us grew louder.
Ignoring the surrounding stares, I pressed on with my questions.
"I said I only let Kang Do-hee in, right."
"Exactly! Why only Do-hee! You only let Do-hee in, so why am I...!"
What the hell is she talking about?
Let Kang Do-hee in, what did I—.
Ah?
Just in case, I asked.
"I put it in Kang Do-hee?"
At that, she shook her head side to side as if that wasn't it.
"No, I meant you're putting Kang Do-hee in!"
"Into where?"
"The party!!!"
Ah, so it was about the party.
You little shit.
If you had just said the object of the sentence properly from the start, wouldn't this have been avoided?
"So, you were saying you want me to let you into my party too!?"
I said it in a somewhat louder voice.
"......Yes, why are you talking so loudly. Ugh, so loud. My ears hurt."
Shin Se-hee frowned and dug at her ear.
And whose fault do you think this is...!
My fists are literally trembling with rage.
Anyway,
Shin Se-hee?
But I never expected she'd want to join my party...?
To be honest, I'd never even thought about it, so I didn't immediately realize she was talking about the party.
Because this girl, unless you pulled her from gacha, was always the type to form her own party.
I took a moment to collect my thoughts.
Hmm, and.... I wonder if recruiting her into the party is even the right move.
When you pull Shin Se-hee in the character draw, she certainly has her uses.
But is she an essential character....
No.
In the end, Shin Se-hee's use is mob clearing.
In that aspect, there's a character you meet later who's a straight upgrade.
On top of that, since I've already internally designated Gukbap as the party's Tank, her value plummets even further.
In Lee Yu-ri's case, having Shin Se-hee around doesn't matter at all,
but Shin Se-hee can't even show 50% of her actual skill if Lee Yu-ri is there.
Hmm, yeah. It'd be better not to accept Shin Se-hee.
I turned my head to look at Lee Yu-ri.
"......Uh, uhh! Oh, I knew! I knew she meant let her into the party! I really didn't misunderstand even a little bit! There's no way you'd do that, Jin Yu-ha!"
Lee Yu-ri stammered like she'd been caught red-handed, even though I hadn't said a single word yet.
"......Huh? Wait, party? What's that supposed to mean?"
She tilted her head belatedly, as if the words didn't register.
"Due to some circumstances recently, I'm going to be able to get the party creation authority early."
"......What!?"
Lee Yu-ri's face filled with shock.
"Ordinarily, party formation is prohibited at the beginning of the semester, so we can't do separate dungeon clears or anything, right?"
"......Ri-right?"
"But what I'm saying is, if you join my party, we can do it from the beginning of the semester."
"!"
I recited the line I'd prepared just for her.
Lee Yu-ri's biggest complaint at the start of Velvet Academy's semester was not being able to do Dungeon Clearing.
Kang Do-hee, who usually moved alone, didn't care, but this girl couldn't go out by herself.
That's why she spent every day doing odd jobs that didn't pay or working part-time at restaurants.
"Lee Yu-ri."
"Uh, uh...?"
I faced her with a serious expression.
At that, Lee Yu-ri subtly averted her eyes.
"We had a good time when we partied together, didn't we."
"......Well, yeah, we did."
"And you remember you promised to protect me?"
"......Yeah."
"So, it's an offer. Can you be my party's Tank? I do plan to bring someone else in, but you're the first one I'm making a formal recruitment offer to."
"I'm, I'm the first?"
I nodded.
Lee Yu-ri stared blankly at those words for a long time.
Then she glanced once at Shin Se-hee, once at the empty air,
and slowly closed her eyes.
"......That's tough."
Her answer was a refusal.
"What...?"
I hadn't expected it at all, so I couldn't hide my bewilderment.
Lee Yu-ri opened her mouth with a calm demeanor.
"We have group sparring during joint training tomorrow, and again next week, remember?"
"......Yeah."
"When that's over, could you ask me again then? I'm really grateful you offered, but... this is kind of my stubbornness."
Lee Yu-ri spoke with a resolute face.
She still doesn't trust me enough....
Maybe because the party leader was a man, Lee Yu-ri made the group sparring during joint training her condition.
Sigh—
I let out a sigh filled with regret and disappointment.
"That's too bad."
"Sorry."
"No. It's fine. I understand. I'll do as you say. I'll make the offer once more after the Group Sparring is over."
"Got it."
For now, it seemed like I should be satisfied just with getting an answer.
"......Again! Again! You only let someone else in, why am I! Why am I!"
Shin Se-hee, who'd been watching from the side, burst out with a choked-up face.
"You sober up first. You're driving me insane just listening to you."
* * *
Sigh—
Lee Yu-ri let out a sigh as she headed back to the training ground.
"I wonder if I did the right thing...."
A party with Jin Yu-ha as the party leader.
It would definitely be amazing.
Regardless of gender, she was the very first person to confirm his skills; there was no way she'd doubt him.
Honestly, she'd been so happy she almost floated away when Jin Yu-ha said she, and no one else, was the first person he proposed recruiting into his party.
So much so that she almost accepted the offer on the spot without realizing it.
But immediately after, Lee Yu-ri's head cooled down.
'The person he plans to bring in separately, that's definitely Kang Do-hee.'
And that strange woman who suddenly cut into the meal today also seemed to be coveting a spot in Jin Yu-ha's party.
Both of them are Special Admission Cadets.
Though one of them may have slightly disappointed her, that woman must undoubtedly be amazing in terms of ability as well.
They were both already enjoying fame in the hunter industry even before enrollment.
People like that are coveting it, so Jin Yu-ha's party must be a very desirable place.
But she herself didn't carry such an impressive name.
All she had was a connection from running a dungeon together with Jin Yu-ha once before coming here.
'And since Jin Yu-ha likes me.'
Being compared to other women and snatching a spot through goodwill, not her own skill.
Her pride would never allow that.
So,
"I'll have to show him. That I'm not a woman to be taken lightly."
It would've been too much of a waste to despair and give up just because of their reputations, wouldn't it?
She wanted to claim that spot proudly through skill, not goodwill.
Hoo—
Smack!
Lee Yu-ri slapped her own cheeks with both hands.
"I will definitely, without fail, hear him say that he needs me."
The moment she arrived at the training ground, she called out to her party members.
"Everyone, fall in!!!!!"
