Chapter 35
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Sisters Resemble Each Other
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Recently, Jin Sea had confirmed the presence of someone tailing Yoo Seon-woo.
However, the other party was extremely meticulous, and she still hadn't uncovered who was behind it.
But it was enough to leave a warning.
'If you get any closer, you won't even leave a trace behind.'
That kind of warning.
They probably got the message loud and clear.
Jin Sea had both the will and the ability to carry it out.
So, she was keeping a closer eye on the area around Seon-woo than ever before.
And that's when she spotted it.
The door to the counseling office, which should have been firmly shut, was slightly ajar.
Jin Sea's smile vanished. She slipped silently through the gap.
That was when it happened.
From deep inside, a very faint sob-like sound leaked out...
Or perhaps, an excited breath.
- Ah...!
"...?"
Without hesitation, she opened the door to the counseling room where the sound came from.
"Who are you?"
And now here they were.
The person inside was someone completely outside Jin Sea's expectations.
'...Luna?'
She knew of her publicly, and had seen her once before.
That time, it was in front of Seon-woo's counseling office too.
Before she could even make a rational judgment, an instinctive wave of displeasure surged through Jin Sea.
Flushed cheeks burning with fever. Forehead beaded with what might be cold sweat.
Gasp after gasp of ragged breath, and slightly disheveled clothes.
And the fact that she was perched on Seon-woo's chair made it feel even worse than when she'd caught that nosy tail before—honestly speaking.
So, Jin Sea asked Luna again, her voice suddenly icy.
"What are you doing here?"
Luna also recognized the woman's face.
Jin Sea, the S-Rank Hunter from Haetae Guild.
The famous hunter always at the center of media attention, topping the subjugation rate rankings.
Luna fidgeted with her fingers and held out a keyring.
"I was just... returning these..."
Jin Sea glanced at them and furrowed her brow.
'Why does this woman have the keys to Seon-woo's office?'
No matter the reason, it rubbed her the wrong way.
Her gaze shifted to Luna's front—to Seon-woo's desk.
There sat a small potted plant that hadn't been there before.
One might call it a kind gesture, but this was a woman's intuition.
Jin Sea was smiling, but her eyes weren't smiling at all.
"Ah, I see."
She spoke in an exceedingly gentle tone.
She smoothly took the keyring from Luna's hand, as if reclaiming her own possession.
"Ah...!"
The moment the keys slipped from her grasp, Luna felt a deep wave of exhaustion wash over her.
And then Jin Sea picked up the air freshener from the shelf right beside her.
- Pshh, pshh.
The artificial lilac scent pierced sharply at Luna's nose.
Jin Sea smiled at her and said,
"Well, I suppose you're done here? You can head out now. I'll take care of cleaning up."
- Pshh, pshh.
She sprayed it into the air once more, blatantly denying Luna's very presence.
Luna couldn't muster a reply.
She merely fidgeted with her fingers and rose from her seat.
She hated conflict by nature.
Rather than clashing with someone, slipping away quietly had always been her way—Luna's true nature.
Even now, that's what she had to do.
She stood and began gathering her things.
But.
But...
A tiny voice in her head held her feet in place.
'Luna, why?'
Why do I have to be the one to back off?
This is Teacher's space.
Not that woman's.
Why is she acting like the owner, forcing me to slink away like an intruder?
'Blessing.'
Teacher had called her presence a blessing to someone.
When he first saw Luna's true form, he called it an honor.
So why?
Why was her existence being denied in Teacher's own space?
That question pushed aside her gentle nature.
It ignited an emotion she'd never felt before deep within her—a scorching heat.
Anger?
Luna's eyes blazed with a clear, deep crimson glow.
"......"
She gently touched the soil on the surface of the potted plant on the desk with her fingertips.
"The soil's dry... Would it be okay if I just watered the lavender before I go?"
"Sure, go ahead~"
Jin Sea began tidying up the office as if it were no concern of hers.
Luna fetched a cup of water from the kitchenette and approached the potted plant.
The moment she reached the desk.
Her foot slipped slightly.
- Splash.
And she spilled it.
Well, about half of it.
The water from the cup drenched the white coat draped over the chair—Teacher's coat.
"Oh no...!"
Luna stared at the slightly soaked coat with a look as if the world had ended.
Nearly on the verge of tears, she turned to the frozen Jin Sea.
"I-I'm so sorry... I'll take responsibility and wash it properly and bring it back...!"
She scooped up the wet coat, cradling it preciously in her arms as if gathering it up.
Pretending to avoid Jin Sea's gaze, she buried her face deep into it.
"Hngh..."
Teacher's scent burrowed deep inside her.
His real scent, one no air freshener could mask.
The true aroma of Teacher tingled through her entire body.
- Pat pat.
In that very posture, Luna bolted out of the counseling office without looking back.
"Wait just a—!"
By the time Jin Sea realized something was wrong and reached out, Luna had already vanished down the hallway.
No one could catch an S-Rank rabbit on a determined escape.
Jin Sea stared at the empty hallway and froze in place.
The smile completely vanished from her face.
Meanwhile, Luna fled headlong to her own rabbit warren.
The moment the front door clicked shut, the burning emotion that had dominated her cooled like a lie.
"What do I do... What do I do..."
She slumped against the entryway, replaying what she'd done.
"Sorry, Teacher..."
She'd soaked Teacher's coat in water.
And buried her nose in it.
And even stolen it away.
In a way, it was theft. Theft.
Why on earth did I do that?
Lately, a stranger kept emerging from within her.
She gazed down at the white coat clutched to her chest.
But his scent tickling her nose paralyzed all her rational regrets.
- Sniff sniff.
Enchanted, Luna buried her face deeply into the coat once more.
Just one more sniff...
'Should I take it to my room...?'
Luna agonized over it for quite a while but eventually gave up.
With that in her room, she wouldn't sleep peacefully.
"I need to wash it properly at least..."
She barely managed to stand and shuffled to the laundry room.
Like it was a precious treasure, she carefully placed the white coat in the laundry basket.
'I'm tired...'
As she returned to the entryway, the door to the opposite room creaked open just in time.
"Sis! Did you come back after lunch?"
Elise emerged, still sleepy-eyed, scratching her belly.
"No... I'm tired and want to nap a bit... You'll have to eat lunch alone."
Luna avoided her sister's eyes and hurriedly opened her own door, slipping inside.
"Okay?"
Elise shrugged and headed to the kitchen.
It was right then.
- Sniff.
Her footsteps halted abruptly.
"...?!"
She smelled it.
Her perky ash-gray ears twitched.
Elise's drowsy eyes sharpened in an instant.
A scent that absolutely shouldn't be here.
Very faint, yet rich and sweet.
"What is this...?"
Elise sniffed around, tracking the source of the scent.
And the trail grew strongest right in front of the laundry room door.
Cautiously, she opened it, and a thick wave of fragrance wafted out.
"Huh...? Why is this here...?"
Elise spotted it at the very bottom of the laundry basket.
A white doctor's coat labeled "Yoo Seon-woo."
The one she'd borrowed a bit from at the counseling office last time.
Elise picked up the coat.
The name tag clearly read "Yoo Seon-woo."
And the back was soaked through.
Several words flashed rapidly through Elise's mind.
Let's put them together.
A transparently wet doctor's coat.
A tired-looking sister.
Sister's flushed cheeks.
Elise shook her head at that point.
'Don't.'
Putting it together like that would be a grave insult to her sister.
And probably not.
Luna wouldn't do something like that. It must have been some kind of accident.
Maybe she spilled water for some reason?
Yeah, that made sense.
"......"
Elise pondered something deeply, then turned her head.
She glanced once at her sister's firmly shut door, then quietly closed the laundry room door.
- Click.
She even locked it.
And turned off the light.
Darkness and silence.
And only the thick scent remained in the space.
Elise sank into the corner and brought the coat in her hand to her nose.
- Sniff sniff.
She inhaled the scent deeply, slowly.
'...I can't help it.'
She'd barely held back last time too.
It really couldn't be helped.
Seeking out a calming scent...
Was the instinct of a beastkin.