Chapter 116
Chapter 116
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: I Wish You'd Curse Me Out and Punch My Stomach Right Away When We Meet...♡
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"Aaaahhh!!!"
Bang-!
Park Hee-yeon slammed her fist down on the desk.
It was because of the report from the subordinate she'd planted in Kim Taeyang's group.
-It failed. The constellation protecting Kim Taeyang is too powerful. I can't handle it alone...
The board of directors was hounding her over the phone several times a day.
The religious club Kim Taeyang had created was growing bigger by the day, and now even the media was sinking its teeth into it.
The stock price was still plummeting.
The smear campaign had failed.
'Oh God... what the hell am I supposed to do with that motherfucker...?'
While her insides were burning black with rage.
That's when she showed up.
"Guild leader."
"Cloé?"
Cloé Maiden, Kim Taeyang's closest confidante.
Originally a rookie Park Hee-yeon had scouted herself, but now she was a sow devoted to spreading the Taeyang Cult.
"I want to help you, Guild leader."
"So now I look like a complete joke to you? You're openly trying to plant a spy?"
It was a reasonable suspicion.
Cloé was Kim Taeyang's right-hand woman.
It would be weirder not to suspect her of being a spy.
"That's not it. He betrayed me. If you're still suspicious, ask the guild members. Check what I've been up to these past few days."
Cloé had recently sided with Justice in her activities.
She'd cut all ties with the Taeyang Cult.
In fact, she'd taken the lead in condemning it.
"Stop looking down on me. I know what's going on with you."
"You still can't trust me?"
"It's only been three days. Trusting you after three days would make me the idiot."
"......"
Cloé looked a bit disappointed.
She glanced around the office.
For the office of Justice's guild leader, it was surprisingly spartan.
The only notable thing was an ant farm in the corner.
"You raise ants?"
It was an unusual hobby.
Especially for a woman in her early thirties.
"Are they all dead...?"
The ants in the farm were moving sluggishly.
As she observed them closely, she caught Park Hee-yeon's reflection in the glass.
Her expression was quite fierce.
"Don't drop by unannounced like this anymore. I'll call you if I need you."
"Justice is losing. I can turn this situation around. I get that you're hesitant, but you should decide quickly."
"......"
Cloé bowed her head politely and left.
Park Hee-yeon stood pondering in front of the ant farm for a long while.
'Did she notice...?'
She was convinced Cloé was a spy.
This wasn't a position reached through ordinary politics.
She wasn't naive enough not to see through a 21-year-old punk's intentions.
But what worried her was...
'My constellation...!'
It was her own constellation, hidden away tight in this place.
Park Hee-yeon was known to have sent her constellation away upon retiring as a hero.
But the truth was different.
She still had her constellation.
A partner she'd been with for over twenty years, now indispensable for running the guild.
Cloé showing up out of the blue must be to find the constellation.
That's how Park Hee-yeon interpreted it.
'That Kim Taeyang bastard is crazy about stealing constellations.'
A touch of paranoia mixed in, to be sure.
Park Hee-yeon cherished her constellation.
It was so capable and adorable she didn't want to show it to anyone.
"Haa-"
A sigh escaped her lips unbidden.
Her tension slipped, and she muttered.
"Just fuck up the guild and get lost... I'll recover the dropped stock price, so please don't go after my constellation..."
*
What would've normally taken a full week in the dungeon.
I cleared it in five days flat out of sheer rage.
Cloé...
Cloé...!
Do you really want true freedom?!
Do you wanna live getting treated like a human with human rights forever?!!!
"Hey, Kim Taeyang! Big trouble!!"
The first one to rush at me when I got back to the guild was Kuma.
"Hah? Why the fuss?!"
"It's not a fuss! Something's wrong with Cloé!!"
Kuma's eyes were red-rimmed.
He looked genuinely worried.
"She got her ass spanked by Seol Harin, and the shock must've driven her mad! She's not doing any sow activities at all!!"
"Hah...?"
Seol Harin? Ass spanked?
What the hell is this bullshit.
Did they fight or something?
"That's not the important part anyway!"
"Then what is?"
"Cloé... she's taken a whopping five days off...!!! She's definitely losing muscle by now!!! Those arms are gonna get skinny again!!!! Damn it!!!!!"
"...Hey, Kuma. Calm down. Muscle loss doesn't happen that fast. Heroes can take a month off no problem."
"R-Really?"
"Really."
Kuma surprisingly knows jack about training.
Just brute-force old-school pounding, I guess?
Anyway, not the point.
"So where's the mini sow bitch?"
"Gotta find her now... No muscle loss yet, what a relief..."
"I'm tracking that pervert senior just fine."
Seol Harin cut in.
"Hey, sow. What happened with the mini sow?"
"She kept begging me to spank her ass, so I did."
Hmm...
Suddenly not that curious anymore...
"Do something quick. It's hard watching that senior do something so stupid."
"Kukuku. You say that, but what's this about tracking the mini sow? That worried?"
"Not worried, pissed. She vanished, so now I'm stuck with her work too..."
Cloé's jobs aren't something Seol Harin can handle.
They all require extreme social skills.
No way a total loner like her could replace her.
She wouldn't even try.
So this is real friendship.
Sow-on-sow friendship... I see the legal harem forming!
"Report the mini sow bitch's position."
"She's in the elevator now. Heading to the first floor. Looks like she's planning some outside activity."
"Alright. Going to grab her now."
"I'll come too."
"Hey. I'm going alone."
"But..."
"That's an order. Don't make me say it twice."
"......"
Normally, she'd butt in like the nosy sow she is and take the lead.
But today's Seol Harin was compliant.
Sensing my mood, I guess.
I thought she was holding back well...
But I'm taking this pretty seriously too.
This is the first time a heroine's gone rogue on me.
Can't keep it light-hearted.
"I'm off."
"Don't scold Senior too harshly. She's just a bit dumb..."
Scold?
I have no intention of scolding Cloé?
'Cloé, you bitch! How dare you betray this body?! Time for sow motorcycle punishment! Vroom vroom! Parading you around the building confessing your sins to everyone!!'
That's the kind of development Cloé wants.
I have no plans to give her what she wants.
I'm gonna do the opposite.
What Cloé fears most.
For her, the whip is the carrot.
So the carrot is the whip...!
The most shocking thing for her is—
'Senior Cloé. Hello?'
Treating her with basic human politeness!!!
That's the worst!!!
Of course, saying that takes insane mental fortitude and mana.
Kim Taeyang's speech and behavior aren't just personality.
They're hardcoded traits.
Especially overriding speech—it's life-risking dangerous...
But.
For Cloé, I'll endure it.
I made her this way, so I'll take responsibility to the end.
Cloé...!
Get ready!! Get ready!!!
I'll dizzy her brain with human treatment...!!!
*
It was lunchtime.
Cloé was heading out to eat and grab coffee with the Justice guild members.
"Hahaha."
"Hohoho."
"Being with you always puts me in a good mood, Cloé."
Cloé was popular.
Wherever she went, she led conversations and set the vibe.
How she did it was still a mystery.
In-soc energy remains an unsolved problem in loner academia...
Anyway, Cloé was ultra in-soc.
"But Cloé, you look a bit pale. You okay?"
"Yeah..."
But today, she was a bit stiff.
Because it was the day Kim Taeyang returned...!
'Taeyang...! Come find me quick...! Call me a traitor bitch and tear into meee...♡'
Time to reap the rewards of her long buildup.
Cloé had deliberately skipped all sow activities.
Deliberately cozied up to pro-Justice folks.
Her goal: Kim Taeyang's 'genuine berating'.
'Choke me if you want...♡ No, curse me out and stomach-punch me right when we meet...♡'
Hey! What are you doing, you bitch?! Gone insane?!
—And then full-power gut punch...!
That was her ideal scenario.
Finally.
'It's Taeyang...♡ Taeyang's here...♡'
They came face to face.
In the first-floor lobby.
Step...
Cloé's steps halted upon spotting Kim Taeyang.
His already scary face looked even fiercer today.
Like the worst serial killer ever...
His build was so massive, two buff guys couldn't fully block him.
Crease-!
Kim Taeyang's face wrinkled.
'J-Just from that expression, I'm already gonna cum...!'
Her heart pounded.
Her lower belly trembled like she needed to pee.
Her legs were actually shaking.
"Cloé? You okay?"
"Hah...! ♡"
Her colleagues noticed something off and checked on her.
The male colleagues stepped between Kim Taeyang and Cloé.
They'd expected it.
The turncoat Cloé was about to get wrecked.
"Kim Taeyang. Stop."
"Hah? Stop what?"
"Cloé's not on your side anymore. She quit being a sow. So don't do anything nasty and leave."
They were S-rankers with some real power.
Genuinely planning to protect Cloé.
Though Kim Taeyang had no intention of fighting.
"What bullshit is this?"
"You got business with Cloé...?"
"Just saying hi, so move."
"Hi...?"
Kim Taeyang inhaled deeply with a 'Hup...!'
Rooooaaarrrr-!!!
"Kuh?!"
The sheer pressure pushed their bodies back!
Immense mana swirled around Kim Taeyang.
"You bastard...! What are you—?!"
They thought it had come.
Kim Taeyang finally losing it.
Unable to hold back his thug true colors,
about to cause a massive incident...!
"Told you. I'm just 'greeting'."
"?"
But Kim Taeyang wasn't gathering aura for an attack.
When that cloying Seoul dialect came from his mouth,
no, standard speech no one thought possible,
"...Senior Cloé. Hello."
"???"
The lobby filled with question marks.
Especially Cloé.
"Wha...?"
She felt like her head had been smashed with a giant hammer.
"Looks like you're hanging out with new friends. Good for you. Well, then."
Kim Taeyang clasped his hands politely.
Then bowed—
at the waist...!
"Ki-Kim Taeyang bowed?!"
"Not just honorifics, but a full 90-degree bow...?!"
"What the hell?! Did he eat something bad?!!"
"Maybe... he's finally come to his senses...?"
A bit dazed, but Justice's heroes were pleased.
But Cloé was different.
"Wh-Why......?"
It hurt.
Like her chest had been shredded by a dagger.
"Taeyang... Taeyang...?"
Splat-!
Cloé collapsed to the floor.
Kim Taeyang's receding back.
Tears blurred even that silhouette.
"Taeyang...! Sorry...! Sorreeeey...! I was wrong!!! So please!! Please don't use that nice speech!! Don't treat me like a human...!!"
"Cloé? You okay?"
"What's wrong? It seemed to go well?"
Her clueless colleagues tried to comfort her.
It was no comfort.
Kim Taeyang's polite speech and bow were the apocalypse for masochist Cloé.
Right then.
Riiiing-
A call from Kim Taeyang.
"Ta-Taecyang...?! Sorry! I was wron—"
-Hey...! Who said you could sulk without permission? Huh?!
"!"
Unexpectedly, the Taeyang on the phone was still Taeyang.
His bellow sent shivers through her whole body.
A euphoric rush like every nerve awakening.
Like a massive breakthrough in her clogged gut.
"S-Sorry...! Sorry...!"
-Get your ass to my private lounge right now.
"Yes...!"
-Oh. Stop by the convenience store first.
"Convenience store...? What should I get?"
A chuckling laugh came through the speaker.
Finally, that cavernous voice commanded.
"Ten boxes of condoms."
