072. Knowledge from the Future (4)
072. Knowledge from the Future (4)
I told her I saw the texts she sent while drunk.
"......!"
Shin Se-hee's face flushed so red it looked like it would burst if you poked it, and the upturned corners of her lips stiffened rigidly.
I'd wanted to bring it up a little more casually, but seeing her about to dig herself into another hole on her own kinda got to me.
'Still, I made it crystal clear now that she's a party member, so she should be fine.'
Some time ago, I'd drawn a line between Shin Se-hee and the other party members and brought her in separately as External Cooperation.
The reason I went that route.
Setting aside my personal like or dislike of the original character,
it was because of the chemistry with the other party members if I recruited Shin Se-hee, and because of her background.
The family in Shin Se-hee's background.
The prestigious Shin Hunter family.
That place is a massive pain in the ass.
In the original game, they only show up in Shin Se-hee's Personal Story,
but now that the game had become reality, it was obvious they'd start exerting influence on my party.
'So that's why I brought her in as External Cooperation, to avoid putting up with all that hassle.......'
To begin with, I've always drawn a pretty sharp distinction between characters I personally pulled and raised and those I didn't.
That was the case even when they were just characters on a screen, so how much more so now.
The moment I recruited Shin Se-hee as the Operator for my party.
I called it External Cooperation, but in truth, from that point on I'd already accepted her as a party member.
After that, well, whatever this kid does, she doesn't really come off as hateful.
As expected of the woman who churned out fan tears with her Infused Liquor gap moe and Character-Appeal One-Trick, I guess you could say.
'......This reaction right now is pretty damn cute too.'
She bit down hard on her lip and shouted with an aggrieved face.
"Y-you said you checked the text and deleted it! H-how could you lie to me like that─!!"
"Then let's call it even."
I answered with a little chuckle.
At that, Shin Se-hee twisted her expression like she'd just heard something utterly bizarre.
"......E-even...?"
"Yeah. You tricking me about your phone having a virus. And me tricking you that one time. So we've each traded one. Let's just pretend it never happened. And I'll apologize first. I'm sorry."
Shin Se-hee's mouth clamped shut like she'd been struck mute.
'See, this stuff seems trivial to her, but it matters.'
Basically, Shin Se-hee's setting is that her family has a lot of money, so her Affection doesn't go up through gifts.
But that absolutely does not make Affection Farming hard.
You just have to check in on her often and show her attention.
And even if you just make the gesture of believing in her no matter what she does, to the very end, most of Shin Se-hee's personal problems—aside from her family—tend to resolve themselves pretty easily.
"......."
Shin Se-hee covered her face with both hands, seemingly embarrassed.
And through the gaps in her hands came a voice barely louder than a mosquito.
"......I'm sorry too. I promised at the start, but, that was, s-so embarrassing......."
"It's fine. So from now on, let's agree neither of us brings that up again."
"......Okay."
Shin Se-hee gave a small nod.
* * *
A short while later.
Vroooom─
A black sedan with an elegant gloss flowing across its body.
Secretary Kim, who had come after receiving the call, took the wheel, and Shin Se-hee sat in the back seat with Jin Yu-ha.
When she glanced to the side, she caught sight of Jin Yu-ha looking impressed.
"Ohh! The ride is no joke. Secretary Kim, you're an incredible driver, huh?"
"Hoho, I'm merely average."
'......What a strange person.'
She still hadn't shaken off the shock from earlier, so it was hard to make conversation with him.
After all, her embarrassment was still sky-high.
'......And he just keeps teasing me!'
─ Hey, Shin Se-hee. When you walk, your right hand and right foot go out at the same time.
─ Ah! Eek! Erk! Hng!?
Clench.
At the renewed surge of humiliation, Shin Se-hee bit her lip tightly, face still hidden.
But even so, she couldn't bring herself to hate him.
─ I'll tell you straight, right now. Shin Se-hee. You are my party member. And you haven't done anything weird to me.
Twitch.
Twitch.
Even in the middle of her humiliation, the corners of her lips kept creeping upward.
Honestly, what had been the reason she was so anxious?
The other party members were all found and recruited by Jin Yu-ha first, but she had wheedled her way in by practically clinging to him.
She didn't want to admit it, but honestly, an inferiority complex had been blossoming inside her and growing bigger by the day.
And at a time like that, Jin Yu-ha had once again said exactly the words she most wanted to hear.
'So. Now it's my turn to repay him.'
Thankfully, what he'd requested today was one of the areas she felt most confident in.
'Shopping.'
She'd heard that men's shopping actually takes quite a long time.
That when men shop, they act like they have infinite stamina.
That they stare at the same item over and over, an endless circle of hell that never ends.
So the advice that circulated quietly among women was: if a man wants to go shopping together, make up an excuse and avoid it if you can.
But for Shin Se-hee, none of that was a problem at all.
In this respect, Shin Se-hee was more masculine than feminine.
'Real shopping starts with setting aside a whole day and looking at everything from start to finish.'
And if there was something he wanted, she also had the financial means to get him anything.
Of course, in the eyes of Jin Yu-ha who'd glimpsed the future, the things she gave him would be nothing more than the crudest of items.
But she'd be able to appeal with her eye for quality, enough to minimize that gap.
'Hoo! Alright. Today, I'll treat you to a truly lavish time!'
That was the moment Shin Se-hee firmed up her resolution inside.
"Ah, right. Shin Se-hee. Do you think you could convert this into money for me?"
Jin Yu-ha held something out toward her.
And the moment she saw the object in his hand, Shin Se-hee's eyes widened into circles.
'A highest-grade Magic Stone!?'
Shin Se-hee looked startled at the sudden appearance of a highest-grade Magic Stone, but soon nodded with an expression of understanding.
'Ah, come to think of it, was it Jin Yu-ha who gave the highest-grade Magic Stone to Ga-eul sunbae too?'
"......You want me to turn that into money?"
"Yeah, I've earned some cash here and there, but it's looking like that'll fall a bit short."
Jin Yu-ha spoke as if the thought of leaning on her hadn't even crossed his mind from the start.
Shin Se-hee, who had been staring at the Magic Stone, raised her head.
"Um, I could just cover the cost of today's shopping......."
"That's not happening."
Jin Yu-ha cut her off flatly.
"This only means something if I buy it, as the party leader."
"......."
"Hmm, how do I put it, it's sort of like a signing bonus?"
"A signing bonus?"
At Shin Se-hee's question, Jin Yu-ha nodded.
"Of course, I do plan to distribute the profits we earn from now on fairly. But I never gave any of you your recruitment fees, right?"
"......That's."
"Whether it's Kang Do-hee or you. Your stock is pretty damn expensive. Well, even for Lee Yu-ri or Im Ga-eul, if you look at potential, they could find any number of Sponsors willing to invest."
Ah, that was certainly true.
The party gathered here was by now a group of people drawn to Jin Yu-ha himself, after all.
Their names were on the party roster, but no real contract had been written up.
"But I don't want to pay you off with money. I just wanted to give you gifts. And besides, what meaning would there be in giving you a present using your own money, Shin Se-hee."
Ah, really.
As expected, this man is different.
'Someone you can't even compare to the trash who've chased after me for my money, power, or looks.'
Shin Se-hee slowly nodded her head.
"Yes, I understand. I'll buy that Magic Stone and pay you the equivalent value."
"Thanks. Just take a small commission fee, friends-and-family discount."
And so, right then and there, Shin Se-hee exchanged money for the Magic Stone with Jin Yu-ha.
'......But, seeing how he is today, I bet Jin Yu-ha will only buy things for us and stop there, won't he?'
Since he never invests in himself.
Compared to the way he'd casually gone to Lohana Restaurant like a regular, or how he'd whip out a highest-grade Magic Stone,
the glimpse she'd caught of Jin Yu-ha's life at his lodging a while ago had been utterly shabby.
'I get that he's experienced it all in the future and lost the thrill.......'
But still, she really didn't like it.
'I should get him something.'
Honestly, secretly getting Jin Yu-ha a gift here and scoring some points wouldn't be a bad move.
Because wanting to be treated specially compared to the others was only a natural desire.
But,
'Hmm, I did get told by Jin Yu-ha today that I'm a party member too....... If I don't say anything, the others will all try to return what they've received somehow.'
Shin Se-hee glanced down at her phone.
Group Chat.
《 Yu-ha Party Without Yu-ha 》
A group chat with only the women, excluding Jin Yu-ha.
It wasn't made behind Jin Yu-ha's back.
It was a group chat he'd permitted long ago.
The reason they had created a separate room was simple.
There were things they couldn't talk about with a different gender present,
and since she'd been entrusted with managing the party members, she also needed a room where she could speak bluntly.
'Because I don't want to show that side of myself to Jin Yu-ha.'
In truth, compared to the chat with Jin Yu-ha, the women-only chat had way less filtering on everyone's mouths.
'Huh? But what is all this......?'
Shin Se-hee frowned and read through the piled-up messages.
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《 Yu-ha Party Without Yu-ha 》
【Warm Autumn Weather】 ─ Do-hee.
【Fire Fist】 ─ ?
【Warm Autumn Weather】 ─ But what do you mean you got picked up and pierced?
【I'm Not Gukbap】 ─ Picked up...and pierced......?
【Fire Fist】 ─ ......Sunbae. The bitch who spouted that shit. What position, what bitch. Name. Now!
【Warm Autumn Weather】 ─ Hmm. It's a little awkward to give a name. But she said you got picked up and pierced by your hoobae......?
【Fire Fist】 ─ I SAID NO!!!!
【I'm Not Gukbap】 ─ Can I ask what happened? It seems like we need a serious talk here.
【Fire Fist】 ─ Fuck. I just got careless while sparring with Yellow Dog, that's all!
【Fire Fist】 ─ If I'd gone all out from the start, I wouldn't have gotten jack shit!!!!!
【Warm Autumn Weather】 ─ Huh? No matter what, isn't that a bit much......? Your hoobae is a guy!
【I'm Not Gukbap】 ─ .......
【Fire Fist】 ─ .......
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