Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: You Look Beautiful Today
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“Alright, Sang-hyuk. Let's try it again. May I help you?”
Sunlight poured warmly into the Hunter Association headquarters office.
For the past week, I'd been taking three-hour English conversation lessons from Manager Park in this very room.
“May I help you...”
I swallowed dryly and somehow managed to repeat after her.
Manager Park—no, my personal manager turned English teacher—was conducting the lesson in the most bizarre posture imaginable.
Normally, the teacher stands while the students sit and listen.
But my English teacher was sitting seductively with her legs crossed, wearing an incredibly short skirt.
Where? On a chair?
No. On the desk.
She had positioned herself right where I could see her thighs perfectly if I lifted my head.
“Good. Your pronunciation is getting better and better.”
The teacher leaned forward slightly toward me as she praised me.
Her already precarious blouse gaped open between the buttons, filling my view with something I definitely shouldn't be seeing.
Is this an English lesson or a test of endurance?
If the goal was to toughen up the Blue Vest's mentality, the Association President had succeeded.
After enduring this scene for a whole week and still sitting quietly through the lessons, that is.
I'm going insane.
I couldn't keep my head down forever. What was I supposed to do?
Do study abroad types always teach like this?
A short while later, at 11 a.m., I took my usual quiz, just like always.
Manager Park would ask simple questions in English, and I'd respond.
“Alright, Sang-hyuk. Now for some situation practice.”
Manager Park rolled her tongue as she adjusted her position on the desk.
Each time, the hem of her skirt rustled softly against the desk.
“Situation. A couple in a hotel room.”
A couple in a hotel room... Huh?
Something felt off.
Her outfits were always weird, but the English I learned was genuinely useful for everyday conversation.
But this role-play felt different in tone.
This wasn't check-in practice at a hotel. Why practice what a couple does after entering a hotel room?
“It's so hot inside.”
She fanned herself around the neck as if sweating, fluttering the collar of her blouse.
A faint perfume scent wafted over.
“Can I take this off?”
Her hand moved toward her jacket button.
“No!! No!!!”
I slammed the desk in panic.
“Why? I'm hot.”
“Because!! Uh... There is... air conditioner! Air conditioner is working! Don't take off! Please!”
Manager Park responded to my soul's cry with a serious expression.
Studying is harder than I thought.
The three-hour lesson, which felt like three years, finally ended, and lunchtime arrived.
Only then did Manager Park relax her posture and swing her legs on the desk.
She wore a deeply satisfied expression, as if proud of how diligently she'd taught me today.
I couldn't put this off any longer.
I gathered my textbooks carefully and opened my mouth hesitantly.
“Teacher.”
“Yes, Sang-hyuk. Do you have a question?”
“Well... I'm not dissatisfied with the lesson content at all. In fact, it's very useful and great.”
I pointed at the desk with my finger.
“But... may I ask why you have to sit on the desk specifically?”
At my long-overdue question, Manager Park tilted her head.
Her eyes seemed to say, Wasn't this what you wanted?
“Uh... Pardon? I heard this was absolutely necessary for you, Sang-hyuk...”
“For me?”
“Yes.”
Manager Park and I just blinked at each other in confusion.
“Who... told you I needed this?”
“The, the Association President... Sang-hyuk has side effects from his speed-type trait... Ahem. Without visual stimulation, you can't concentrate on studying... You personally requested it...”
Crunch.
This old geezer for real.
If he's going to get caught for sexual harassment, do it alone—why spread rumors that I have perverted tastes?!
Where was that dignified, upright president I saw in the measurement room?
“I, I really thought you wanted this...!”
Now grasping the situation, Manager Park's face turned bright red in an instant.
“It's a misunderstanding! I'm not that kind of woman...!”
That was when Manager Park hurriedly tried to get off the desk.
Did she get a leg cramp?
She landed unsteadily on the floor, stumbled, and toppled forward.
“Eek!”
Whoosh!
I kicked back my chair and effortlessly caught her falling body.
The classic princess carry.
I didn't use Swiftness.
These days, I was training myself not to rely on Swiftness in case my abilities got sealed.
It definitely wasn't because I'd used up all my mana cheating with Swiftness mid-lesson or intently observing something.
Pop.
The impact caused one blouse button to pop off and roll across the floor.
“...Ah.”
Manager Park stared up at my face in a daze.
The situation was awkward.
A woman with disheveled clothes and a flushed face, held in a man's arms.
Anyone seeing this would think...
Bang!
“Hey! Lee Sang-hyuk! Class is over now, right?!”
The door flew open, and a cheerful voice shattered the classroom's silence.
I slowly turned my head toward the door.
There stood Yoo Na-yeon, all dolled up but wearing the expression of a furious demon.
The luxury handbag in her hand trembled with rage.
“......”
“......”
Yoo Na-yeon's gaze fell on Manager Park's exposed cleavage in my arms.
Her pupils—no, her entire body—burst into flames like wildfire.
“Didn't you say you were studying English? Is this how the Association teaches English?”
Her voice was chilling.
Why could an S-Rank Hunter barge into someone else's organization like this?
“W... Wait. It's a misunderstanding.”
English slipped out unconsciously.
“Misunderstanding my ass—just die!!”
Whoosh!
A fireball formed at Yoo Na-yeon's fingertips.
“I, I'm done with class, so I'll be going...!”
Manager Park screamed, escaped my arms, and fled the classroom at light speed.
In my eyes, her speed rivaled the Blue Vest's.
Was the headquarters building that sturdy, or was the classroom I saw engulfed in flames just an illusion?
Either way, Yoo Na-yeon and I left the intact classroom and exited the Association.
[Taking half-day off today!]
A text from Manager Park.
We probably wouldn't face each other for a few days out of sheer embarrassment.
Still, thank you. Association President.
Aside from trying to paint me as a pervert, it had honestly been a happy week.
A time to rethink efficiency, you could say.
Though I'd pass on a second round.
I was already breaking out in cold sweat under Yoo Na-yeon's piercing glare.
“You could've at least texted...”
“You said you were studying! Didn't want to disturb you.”
Fair enough. If she'd barged in right after lunch with her personality, she'd held back a lot.
She'd lived doing whatever she wanted just because she's S-Rank up until now.
Is S-Rank that impressive?
She probably could've thrown a tantrum to study English with me, and the president would've happily agreed.
“Hmph. I got all dressed up for nothing... What the hell were you doing in there?”
“What else? Studying English during English study time.”
“Dressing her like that? She was practically half-naked!”
I couldn't retort immediately, feeling guilty.
“It's not like that. It was a really special situation.”
“Sure it was~”
Yoo Na-yeon stopped walking and put her hands on her hips.
“You. Remember our promise, right?”
“Of course. That's why I wore a suit too.”
I pulled a crisp ticket from my suit's inner pocket.
The Artemis Restaurant dining voucher from Han Yoo-jung.
Calling it a voucher was for the viewers' sake—it was basically just showing up at the time Han Yoo-jung had reserved six months ago.
Everything was already arranged with the staff.
“Like I'd forget such an expensive voucher.”
“It better taste good. Or else.”
“...... You look beautiful today.”
English came out again without thinking.
Saying it in English gave me more courage than usual.
“Tch. Your pronunciation sucks.”
Yoo Na-yeon snorted, but she didn't seem to hate it deep down.
Proof? She didn't nag me once on the way to the restaurant.
A staff member guided us down a hallway lined with dazzling chandeliers.
Classic music flowed softly through the restaurant interior.
The guests' faces were full of smiles.
“This way, please.”
The staff led us to a window seat deep inside.
A prime spot overlooking the Seoul cityscape at a glance.
“Wow... The atmosphere is amazing.”
Yoo Na-yeon sat down with a gasp of admiration.
Maybe because of the mood or the expensive lighting, Han Yoo-jung's eyes sparkled like jewels as she looked at the table. Wait, no—her eyes.
She really was stunningly pretty, come to think of it.
I hoped my suit made me look worthy of standing beside her.
“First course: amuse-bouche.”
The manager set a massive plate before us with his white-gloved hand.
The glossy nacre plate was nearly the size of a small shield.
But at its center was just a single tart slightly larger than my thumb.
The manager continued his explanation with elegantly graceful gestures, as if presenting a jewel.
“Crispy baked tart filled generously with scallop mousse. Topped with caviar and edible gold...”
The food is tiny.
I kept repeating that in my head until the manager bowed politely and withdrew.
“Hey. It's really small, right?”
Yoo Na-yeon whispered just loud enough for me to hear.
It was exactly what I'd been thinking.
I nodded at her with a grin.
The moment we both popped the bite-sized food into our mouths.
“Oh? Hello there?”
A woman's voice came from nearby.
I looked up to see the Saintess standing there in a pristine off-shoulder white dress.
Han Yoo-jung.
She waved gracefully with her usual elegant smile.
“Hey. What are you doing here?”
“I happened to reserve this restaurant today too.”
“You made the reservation and 'happened' to end up at the same restaurant? That make sense?”
Even as Yoo Na-yeon snapped at her, she remained unfazed.
Han Yoo-jung finished her greeting as if it were pure coincidence and walked to a distant table.
She didn't approach again after that, but I couldn't focus on eating—the caviar felt like it might shoot out my throat.