Chapter 106
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: Relationship Reversal World
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Today, in the morning.
Before meeting the physician.
Seol Yu-wol received the card from Yi Seo-ryeong, expressed her thanks, and was about to stand up...
"Ah..."
She turned her head.
She already knew what to buy with the card from her mother.
Fresh ingredients.
And her goal was to use them to prepare a delicious meal for the physician.
Of course, there were plenty of ingredients provided by the Association.
But she wanted to buy them herself.
So, what she planned to purchase outside were cookbooks and ingredients.
She had no knowledge of cooking at all, but she was confident.
There had never been anything in the world she couldn't learn from a book.
However.
Come to think of it, the mother right in front of her was...
the greatest culinary master in the Central Plains.
Then... did she really need a cookbook?
Seol Yu-wol hesitated for a moment.
She had never asked her mother to teach her anything first, so there was a bit of hesitation.
But nothing could stop Seol Yu-wol now.
Finally, she mustered her courage and looked at her mother once more.
"Mother."
"What is it?"
"By any chance..."
Seol Yu-wol swallowed dryly and asked in a small voice.
"Could you... teach me how to cook?"
Yi Seo-ryeong was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded and replied.
"Of course."
She stood up and gently took her daughter's hand.
In truth, Seol Yu-wol had never once entered a kitchen in the Central Plains.
So Yi Seo-ryeong thought that this completely new situation might actually make it easier to learn.
Yi Seo-ryeong released her daughter's hand and tied a white apron hanging nearby around her waist.
- Swish... swish...
She undid her neatly tied hair once more and bundled it up tightly so it wouldn't get in the way of cooking.
She rolled up her sleeves and began explaining from the very basics.
"Do you know what's the most important thing in cooking to bring out the flavor?"
Seol Yu-wol shook her head at the question.
Yi Seo-ryeong smiled and said,
"It's putting love into it."
"Love..."
The words were a bit embarrassing, but they also made perfect sense.
Her mother's food was always the best.
Seeing Seol Yu-wol's look of understanding, Yi Seo-ryeong nodded and began teaching her real cooking.
"The start of all cooking... is always washing your hands."
She washed her own hands and...
- Rub rub.
her daughter's hands together in warm water.
From how to use the stove to the function of the refrigerator.
She patiently explained everything from beginning to end.
Seol Yu-wol absorbed it all like a sponge, just as she had when learning martial arts.
Her momentum was truly astonishing.
"......"
Yi Seo-ryeong watched her daughter and recalled the past.
The awe she felt when she first taught Seol Yu-wol martial arts.
Seol Yu-wol was a true genius. Her mind was brilliant, and her body was equally superior.
So she could easily reach realms that others couldn't touch even after a lifetime of effort.
However.
She lacked the most important thing.
'No drive to improve.'
The desire to become stronger.
She had the desire, but no clear reason to back it up.
She didn't know the reason.
A lack of trigger and passion.
Such emptiness could never lead a martial artist to true normalcy.
But now, Seol Yu-wol...
That sense of purpose was burning like a flame in her eyes.
Finally, the cooking began.
"Martial artists have one great advantage in cooking."
Yi Seo-ryeong placed a well-sharpened kitchen knife on the cutting board and said,
"Handling ingredients. Hands that can wield a sword can master a kitchen knife as well."
She demonstrated expert knife work.
"Beginners often cut or injure themselves, but you'll probably be fine, Yu-wol."
Then Seol Yu-wol took the kitchen knife after her mother.
- Slice slice.
- Sizzle...
Perfectly adjusting seasonings she'd never seen before.
Mastering control of the stove for the first time.
With just one explanation, she understood everything and made it her own.
Before long, a deliciously aromatic dish was plated and complete.
"......"
Yi Seo-ryeong alternated between the finished dish and her daughter's face, sweat beading on her forehead as she stared at the food.
- Clap. Clap. Clap...
Yi Seo-ryeong smiled faintly and clapped softly, but...
Seol Yu-wol's expression was... subtle.
And soon, she slowly opened her mouth.
"Will the physician think it's... too... easy?"
Yu-wol's question was unexpected.
Yi Seo-ryeong smiled slightly at the question and reassured her.
"No. The physician will recognize your sincerity."
With that, she reassured Seol Yu-wol, taught her a few more dishes, and left the kitchen when time was up.
Seol Yu-wol was left alone in the empty kitchen, staring blankly at the dish she made.
"......"
The cooking was quite decent.
But that was it.
It was just cooking. It revealed nothing more.
Seol Yu-wol knew.
That she didn't need a learning process.
And thus, there was no clumsy learning phase either.
In other words, she couldn't show an immature side even if she wanted to.
It would look too easy.
Not like a beginner.
As if no effort had gone into it...
Her grateful feelings toward the physician might seem insignificant.
But that wasn't true at all.
She had given her all. And whatever form it took... as her mother said, it was surely filled with love.
So much that it overflowed.
At that moment, her mother's voice echoed in her ears.
'Beginners often cut or injure themselves, but you'll probably be...'
Beginners often get injured...
"......"
Seol Yu-wol picked up the kitchen knife on the cutting board again.
And grabbed a remaining bunch of green onions.
She released the protective aura guarding her body.
What would a beginner do?
Seol Yu-wol pondered.
And just as she was thinking...
- Swish...
By mistake, or perhaps from spacing out.
The sharp blade grazed her pale, slender finger.
"Ow..."
With a slight pain, a drop of red blood welled up.
Skin without aura was this fragile...
"......"
Seol Yu-wol stared at the brief red blood...
Then brought the injured finger to her lips.
- Lick.
She licked her finger with her tongue.
The taste of iron.
And she smiled in satisfaction.
Seol Yu-wol washed the wound under running water and clumsily applied a bandage from the drawer.
A bandage now wrapped her finger.
This would do.
She could fully show her effort.
Her feelings for the physician...
They would surely be conveyed.
Before receiving that grateful gift.
"Hold on a moment."
I approached Seol Yu-wol.
It might be different if I didn't know about the injury, but now that I did, there was something to do.
"Did you disinfect it?"
She shook her head side to side.
I immediately brought out the first-aid kit.
"It'll get infected if you don't disinfect."
I carefully took her small hand and peeled off the bandage on her index finger.
The wound wasn't deep.
Clear traces of clumsy knife work.
I dabbed disinfectant on cotton and gently cleaned her wound. She flinched a bit but didn't pull away from my touch.
"Thank you."
As I treated her wound, I said softly,
"I'm thankful you put in this much effort for the gift, and also..."
I looked up into her clear eyes.
"Thank you for trying to get better."
At my words, Seol Yu-wol's pupils trembled.
"...Yes!"
And soon, she nodded vigorously.
After giving her a waterproof bandage.
Seol Yu-wol shyly gathered her disheveled hair with her hand.
And in a familiar motion, she bit a hair tie in her mouth and neatly tied up her long hair like before cooking.
Below the tied-up hair, her slender white neckline was revealed.
Seol Yu-wol had a ponytail now.
A style I'd never seen on her.
"I'll make it right away!"
She spoke in a confident voice and busily moved around the kitchen.
I sat in a dining chair and watched the whole process, but...
"......"
It took less than 20 minutes for the cooking to finish.
Her movements were too skilled.
I wondered how she even cut her hand on the knife.
She seemed better at cooking than me.
When I came to, omelette rice and hamburger steak were in front of me.
"......Why are you so good at this?"
I asked out of genuine curiosity.
Could cooking become this proficient in such a short time?
"Ah..."
Seol Yu-wol blushed and replied.
"I... practiced..."
Practiced.
I see.
But practice doesn't guarantee results.
Just look at that tragic cooking of some JinXX lady somewhere.
"I see."
Moved once more by the fact that she practiced this much for me, I scooped a big bite of omelette rice with a spoon.
The egg was soft, the sauce harmonious...
- Twitch, twitch.
While I savored the food, Seol Yu-wol's hands across from me fidgeted restlessly.
"...What's wrong?"
"Ah... I was thinking... should I feed you..."
What...
Her injured hand was Seol Yu-wol's, not mine.
She seemed to have forgotten.
I ate quickly without a word anyway.
Seeing me eat, she seemed relieved and picked up her spoon.
The meal ended soon after.
"It was really delicious."
I gave my honest.
No lies at all.
"I'm glad..."
Seol Yu-wol nodded in relief.
As I stood with the empty plates, Seol Yu-wol urgently blocked me.
"I-I'll do it!"
"It's fine."
I sat her at the table and did the dishes in the kitchen.
Moments later, small footsteps approached from behind, and she stood beside me.
"Then... I'll do this."
Seol Yu-wol took a dry towel and wiped the water from the rinsed dishes.
We fulfilled our roles silently.
It felt like we meshed well.
Once everything was done.
Seol Yu-wol and I sat across from each other at the table with drinks in front of us.
It had taken a detour, but today was actually counseling day.
Now it was time for the real counseling.
I took out the document envelope in my hand...
"......"
And put it back.
Counseling...
Is done when the subject wants it, or has pain that needs filling.
However.
The Seol Yu-wol I saw today...
Needed no counseling at all.
She knew how to immerse herself in what she liked.
Find joy in it, and share that joy with others... She was a perfectly healthy adult.
In other words, Seol Yu-wol was no longer my client.
So, there was only one thing left to say.
I looked at her and slowly opened my mouth.
"You applied for a bodyguard, right."
Seol Yu-wol nodded quickly, as if she'd been waiting.
I faced the last piece of the worries that had tormented me these past few days.
"We were counselor and client..."
I believed that relationship needed to end.
It was ethics, and the best for her.
But at the end of that thought, I had to confront my own selfish truth.
I didn't want to end my relationship with Seol Yu-wol.
Her growth.
I wanted to keep watching her dazzling changes like today, right by her side.
She would grow more and more, become even healthier.
I slowly opened my mouth.
"From now on..."
And added,
"We'll be bodyguard and colleague."
"Please take care of me from now on."
I extended my hand for a shake.
"Otherworlder, congrats on graduating."
Seol Yu-wol looked at my hand and widened her eyes.
And moments later.
Tears welled up in her large, clear eyes.
- Squeeze...
Seol Yu-wol wiped her flowing tears and grasped my hand.
And replied in a small voice.
"Yes... Please take care of me too..."
Today.
I lost a client.
And today...
I gained an S-Rank Hunter bodyguard.